The regional premiere of a play centered around a gala Parisian artists event, the revival of a pre-"Joseph" biblical musical and a community theater edition of a Broadway hit are among this week's new theatrical offerings along the Wasatch Front.THE BEAUX ARTS BALL, by one of off-off Broadway's most produced playwrights, will have its regional premiere April 7-22 at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, where it will be "April in Paris" nearly all month long.
Robert Patrick's comedy, based on an actual event that was held in Paris over the course of many years, is being presented as a joint production of Dance Theatre Coalition and Girlfriends' Productions. During its time, the Beaux Arts Ball was a sort of trade show for the Parisian arts community -- artists, agents, critics, journalists, gallery owners and a variety of hangers-on, including wives, models and mistresses. They all gathered to discuss, pitch, flirt, brawl and promote themselves and their art. The play itself takes place in the Ladies' Lounge at the ball. According to producer Carolyn Wood and director Teresa Sanderson, the visual element of play "is nothing short of a lesson in over 100 years of art history."
The denizens of the women's lounge include Madame Henri Matisse and Madame Raoul Dufy, both vying to unseat Madame Georges Seurat as the unofficial leader of the pack. And there's Gigi, considered the quintessential artist's model, who can transform herself into whatever the current trend dictates. In Patrick's piece, she begins as the legendary Gibson Girl, then evolves through Marie Laurencin's style, and winds up as Andy Warhol's version of Marilyn Monroe. All of the characters in the play will be costumed to represent the artists they are associated with, or the man in their life -- Madame Seurat looks as if she just stepped out of "Le Grande Jatte," and Jolie, notorious womanizer Pablo Picasso's latest model, will be unmistakably cubist.
Wood, Sanderson and Vicki Pugmire, who comprise the Girlfriends' Productions team, have previously mounted such plays as "Uncommon Women and Others," "Ladies Room" and "The Diary of Anne Frank." Sanderson has also produced and directed "Jeffrey," Patrick's "Untold Decades" and "Kennedy's Children."
Patrick, a native of Kilgore, Texas, who now lives and works in Los Angeles, will be present for the opening night performance. Curtain is 8 p.m. on April 7, 8, 13-15 and 20-22, with 4 p.m. performances on two Sundays, April 9 and 16. Tickets are available through ArtTix locations or by calling 355-2787.
GODSPELL, considered by some to be the "grandfather" of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," will be presented April 6-17 in the Black Box Theatre at Utah Valley State College, Orem (Room 627 of the Gunther Trades Building). The ensemble piece is being directed by G. Randall King, who describes Stephen Swartz's musical as "free-wheeling, abstract theater."
"Godspell," like "Joseph," is based on the scriptures. It's a folk-rock version of the book of Matthew.
Six of the show's nine performances will include a dinner-theater package. Curtain will be 7:30 p.m. on eight nights -- April 6-8, 10, 13-15 and 17, with dinner served at 6:30 p.m. on April 7, 8, 10, 14, 15 and 17. There will also be one matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 15. Tickets for the combined dinner-theater productions are $14.50 each and must be booked at least 24 hours in advance. Tickets for the three non-dinner performances are $7.50 each. For reservations or further information, call 222-8797.
HELLO, DOLLY! brings matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi (Connie Crapo) and half-a-millionaire Horace Vandergelder (Steve Levesque) to the South Hills Middle School for four performances April 7-10 under the auspices of the Bluffdale Arts Council. Directed by Laura Garner, the cast also includes Kim Bowman and Rex King as Vandergelder's two adventurous clerks, Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, who find love and excitement in New York City with the widow Malloy (Cherelle Stone) and Minnie Foy (Loni King).
Curtain is 7:30 p.m. April 7, 8 and 10 at the school, 13508 S. 4000 West, with one matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 8. Tickets are $5 per person, with a family pass available for $20 (admitting six immediate family members -- plus $4 each for any additional persons). There is also a "value coupon" available admitting four people for $16. Allseats are $3.50 for the Thursday evening and Saturday matinee performances. Tickets may be purchased at the door, and will also be available in advance at Herb House, 12704 S. 1830 West, or Peterson's Foodtown, 1795 W. 12600 South.
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