A wide array of writers, from Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams to New Yorker essayist John McPhee are represented in the nine new stage productions opening this week in the region. (For details on the regional premiere of Miller's "The Ride Down Mount Morgan," see today's Arts section cover.)SUMMER AND SMOKE, Tennessee Williams' 1948 classic drama, will play Nov. 10-21 in the Babcock Theatre, on the lower level of the Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre building on the U. campus.
Set in a small Southern town just before World War I, the play focuses on Alma Winemiller, the sensitive, pure-minded, idealistic daughter of a reverend, who is infatuated with her childhood boyfriend, John Buchanan Jr., an intensely handsome, charming -- and irresponsible -- man of the flesh. John, however, is more interested in the passion and adventures he finds with Rose Gonzales, the "fast" girl whose father owns the Moon Lake Casino.
According to New York critic Brooks Atkinson, Williams "looks . . . into the dark corners of the human heart and what he sees is terrifying."
Directed by Jay E. Raphael, head of the U.'s actor training program, the cast includes Liz Simmons as Alma, Daniel Beecher as John Jr., and Luz Violeta Gonzales as rosa, with James Dale as Alma's father, Alison W. Jensen as her mother, Francesca Mintowte as Alma as a child, Ron Frederickson as John Buchanan Sr., David Valenza as Papa Gonzales and Christopher Wood Eckels as John as a child.
Also in the cast are Megan Schutt, Barbara Smith, Bryan James, Jeremy E. Rishe, Kristin Moore and Alexis Baigue.
Performances will be 7:30 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 10-13, and Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 18-20, and 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. Nov. 14 & 21, with one matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20 (the latter followed by a free panel discussion and open forum). Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students for all performances. To reserve tickets in advance, call 581-6961.
FATHER OF THE BRIDE, stage version of the 1950 film classic (and its 1991 remake), will be presented Nov. 10-15 by the Riverton Arts Council in the Riverton Community Center; 12830 S. Redwood Road.
Directed by Kerry Simi, it's the hilarious representation of how one family's "simple" wedding affair escalates into a grand, but chaotic, event.
Performances are 7 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 10-13, and Monday, Nov. 15. Tickets are $7 for adults or $5 for children, senior citizens or military personnel. Also, on opening night only, all fathers will be admitted free of charge when accompanied by a daughter (any age). There will also be a special $15 family pass (for a maximum of five people) on Friday evening.
Tickets may be purchased in advance at Riverton Drug or by calling 254-8275. They will also be available at the door.
JOHN McPHEE'S ESSAY, a readers' theater presentation of works by a prominent New Yorker Magazine writer, is this month's featured program by the Babcock Performing Readers.
According to director Joyce Marder, McPhee "brought sparks to the commonplace in his brilliant essays." He's considered a master at creating compelling information by looking into the world rather than merely at it.
The performance, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 11, in the U.'s Union Building Little Theatre, is free of charge. There will be an informal reception and refreshments following the reading. Free parking (after 6 p.m.) is available in the lot just east of the Union building.
THE EGYPTIAN CINDERELLA, an ancient version of the timeless fairy tale, adapted for the stage by Salt Lake Repertory Theatre's associate artistic director Nigel James, will be mounted at City Rep's Family Theatre, Nov. 13-27.
Following a brief break in the run for City Rep's 1999 holiday show, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" (Dec. 4-14), "The Egyptian Cinderella" will continue Jan. 14-Feb. 5.
Based on the accounts of an Egyptian "Cinderella" named Rhodopis, the story appears in Greek literature written by Herodotus and Aelian, and also by Roman historian Strabo.
Rhodopis was born in northern Greece, kidnapped by pirates as a child and sold to a slaveholder on the island of Samos. When she was grown, she was taken to Egypt and sold to Charaxos, a merchant. Her new master was also Greek, and he treated her as a daughter, giving her many gifts.
In one version, she receives a pair of rose red slippers. One day an eagle picks up a slipper while Rhodopis is dangling her feet in the Nile. The eagle drops the slipper into the lap of Pharaoh Amasis, who then searches for the beautiful maiden with the unusual slipper.
He finds here and, together, they reign over the 26th Egyptian dynasty (570-526 B.C.).
The cast, directed by James, includes Julie Nielson in the title role, Keith Holland as the pharaoh and Megan Smyth as Hathor, Goddess of Love (the "fairy godmother" role).
Performances will be Friday evenings at 7:30 and Saturdays at 2 p.m., with additional performances for elementary school field trips on several weekday mornings at 10:30. (The latter must be scheduled in advance.)
Tickets are $7 per person, or $3.75 for the school performances. For reservations, call 532-6000 or visit the box office at 638 S. State.
For school performance information, call the City Rep Teacher Hot Line at 856-6810.
THE RIVALS, Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 18th Century comedy of mistaken identity and old-fashioned romance, is scheduled Nov. 10-13 and 17-20 in Salt Lake Community College's Lab Theatre, Room W381 of the school's South City campus, 1575 S. State.
Kerstin Anderson has the play's most recognized role -- Mrs. Malaprop, whose penchant for speaking with an unequaled vocabulary (despite the fact she doesn't quite know all the meanings of the words she uses), has been immortalized by the English language term, "malapropism."
Also in the cast are Rich McComas as Sir Lucius O'Trigger, the recipient of Mrs. Malaprop's amorous, but misdirected, correspondence, and Heather White as Lucy, Mrs. Malaprop's maid, who earns extra money by delivering letters for people (though not necessarily to those for whom they were intended).
Saesha Carlile will play the woman's niece, Lydia, who is smitten with a lowly ensign (who is actually Captain Absolute, the highly eligible son of Sir Anthony Absolute). Chad Allen Taylor plays the son, with Hyrum Robb as his father. Also involved in the action are Frederick Jackson as "Fighting Bob" Acres, Catherine Jamie Wilcox as Julia, Sir Anthony's ward, and Tim Wilde as Faulkland, her betrothed, with Suzy Goates, Chad Lillywhite and Berret Maynard in other roles.
Margaret Aoki is directing the piece.
Curtain is 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $6 for general admission and $3 for those with SLCC activity cards.
THE SERPENT, playwright Jean-Claude van Itallie's 1969 improvisational style exploration of the Book of Genesis and how it relates to our modern experience, will be presented Nov. 12-20 in the new Eccles Theatre, an intimate "black box" space in the newly renovated Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts on the WSU campus in Ogden.
Tracy Callahan is directing the production, in which van Itallie's script provides a meaningful "shape," while the actors use "improv" techniques to provide the color and texture.
The cast includes Corey Atkins, Carrie Farnsworth, Travis Gauchay, Pablo Godoy, Vanessa Harvey, Meredith Hinkley, Jake Jarvis, Joey Khoury, Kirsten Morgan, Patti Mayer, Mari Robertson, Daniel Simons, Nancy Thacker, Shilo Trionfi and Gamyr Worf.
Tickets, priced at $8.50 for adults or $5.50 for students and senior citizens, will be available at the door, or may be purchased in advance at the Dee Events Center ticket office (626-8500 or 1-800-978-8457) or Peery's Egyptian Theater box office.
AN EVENING OF ONE-ACTS, actually two alternating evenings of seven one-act plays, all directed by budding new student directors, will be presented Nov. 10-13 on the Studio Stage, Room 224 of the Chase Fine Arts Center on the Utah State University campus in Logan.
Plays scheduled on Wednesday and Friday, Nov. 10 and 12, are "Mere Mortals," "Botticelli" and "Stage Directions." Those on Thursday and Saturday, Nov. 11 and 13, include "Rosemary with Ginger," "Hello Out There," "Never" and "The Poets."
The plays are part of Utah State Theatre's Conservatory Series. General admission seating is $5 per person. USU students will be admitted free with current I.D.
VINNIE CALZONE'S WAKE, a Hunt Mystery & Company audience participation mystery at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi on Friday, Nov. 12, is sold out. The same show will be presented Saturday, Nov. 13, at Gray Cliff Lodge in Ogden Canyon. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets for the dinner and show are $30 per person. Call 801-392-6775 for reservations.
Information on stage productions or auditions must be submitted at least two weeks in advance. Compiled by Ivan M. Lincoln, Deseret News theater editor, 1-801-236-6017. Fax: 1-801-237-2550; e-mail: ivan@desnews.com