Musicals and comedies are on this week's theater calendar.
"A GERSHWIN CONCERT: I'VE GOT RHYTHM," a staged theatrical concert showcasing tunes by George and Ira Gershwin, Feb. 28-March 29 in the Rodgers Memorial Theatre, 292 E. Pages Lane, Centerville. With Cliff Cole directing and Marilyn May Montgomery choreographing, the show contains such Tin Pan Alley treasures as "Fascinatin' Rhythm," "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Summertime."
The double-cast ensemble includes Lisa Rodgers, Brooke Flinders, Tiffany Galvin, Emily Jeppesen, Deanne Gardner, Tiffany Jones, Bryon Finch, Dan Gardner, Jay Henderson, Justin Jones, Kevin Burtenshaw and Don McCullough in the Monday-Wednesday-Friday cast, with Erin Royall, Jenny Whitlock, Jen Adams, Seletha Deru, Wanda Copier, Jennifer Tarasevich, Danny Tarasevich, Brandon Cecala, James Mayo, Jim Dale, Darin Stites and Lee Fobert on alternating nights. Amy Dalton accompanies both casts.
Performances are 7:30 p.m., Mondays-Saturdays. Tickets range from $9-$14 with group discounts available. For reservations, call 298-1302.
"BAREFOOT IN THE PARK," one of Neil Simon's early comedy successes, will play Feb. 28-March 29 in the Little Brown Theatre, 239 S. Main, Springville. Director Dane Allred's cast features a married couple, Scott and Liesl Shurtliff, as newlyweds Paul and Corie Bratter in Simon's romantic comedy. Also in the cast are Robinne Booth as Corie's mother, Roger Nelson as romantic Frenchman Victor Velasco, and Chris Boyadjian as a feisty telephone repairman.
Performances are Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $6-$8 (or $35 per family). For reservations, call (801) 489-3088.
"EVA C," a new drama by Stephen Fellner, a doctoral student in the creative writing and literature program at the University of Utah, will have its world premiere Feb. 27-March 2 in the Lab Theatre of the Performing Arts Building (directly west of the campus bookstore). Hugh Hanson is directing the play, described as a modern-day ghost story about a married couple sharing their encounters with the spirit of a 16-year-old girl from the 1950s spiritualist movement. Fellner worked on his script under the guidance and support of local playwright David Kranes.
Performances will be 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday, with one matinee at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Tickets are $7 for general admission and $5 for all students. They may be purchased at the door or in advance from the Kingsbury Hall box office (581-7100) or ArtTix at 355-2787 or 1-888-451-2787.
"PETER PAN" flies into the SCERA Center's Showhouse II for a Feb. 27-March 17 run, co-directed by Robert and Laurel Barham, with Fred Lee in the title role, Eric Glissmeyer as Captain Hook, Kristen Rae Hill as Wendy and Kate Lowder as Mrs. Darling. Dan Anderson and Adam Steele alternate as Wendy's brother, John, with Seth Claitor and Kevin Urguhart sharing the role of young Michael. Rigging installed by Las Vegas-based ZFX will enable Peter Pan and the Darling children to soar off to Neverland. Peter's feisty sidekick, Tinkerbell, will be a computer-generated fairy with her own language.
Performances will be 7:30 nightly, except Sundays and Wednesdays. Tickets range from $4-$9. Call (801) 225-2569 or 225-2787 for reservations.
"THE KING AND I," Rodgers & Hammerstein's classic musical based on "Anna and the King of Siam," is playing Feb. 28-March 23 in the Heritage Community Theatre in Perry. Scott and Melanie Nelson are co-directing Annette Whitaker as British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens and Mike Combe as the king, with Hallie Campbell as Tuptim, Nathan Wecker as Lun Tha, Shanon Barton as Lady Thiang, Nick Vellis as the Kralahome and Brian Hirschie as Anna's young son, Louis.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, with one matinee on Saturday, March 8, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for children and senior citizens and $6 for adults, with a special $25 family ticket on Monday nights for up to six people. For reservations, call (435) 723-8392.
"THE WIZARD OF OZ," directed by Bev Olsen and choreographed by Jacci Olsen Florence, will play Feb. 28-April 19 in the Terrace Plaza Playhouse, 99 E. 4700 South, Washington Terrace (Ogden). The double-cast ensemble includes Amanda Monson and Emily Hunt as Dorothy, Justin Beecher and Justin Stanford as the Scarecrow, Jacob Taft and Brent Taft as the Tin Man and Derek Dean and Nicholas Porter as the Cowardly Lion.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children for reserved seating, and $8 and $5 for general seating. Tickets for senior citizens and students are discounted $1. For reservations, call (801) 393-0070.
"AESOP, ALIVE AND WELL," featuring Parents' Choice Award-winning storyteller Dianne Ferlatte, is the final Pillow Theatre series offering for this season at Park City's Eccles Center for the Performing Arts. The Oakland, Calif., performer, backed up by two musicians, has been called "a cultural blockbuster" by the San Francisco Chronicle. Her usual sidekick, banjo/guitarist Eric Pearson, will be joined by Salt Lake bass player Eric Coombs.
Performances will be Saturday, March 1, at 1 and 4 p.m. at 1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City. Tickets are $5 for children and $10 for adults. For reservations, call (435) 655-3114.
"THE BROADWAY BOYS," a tribute to the African-American influence on Broadway, is being presented as part of Black History Month on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Lair of Weber State University's Shepherd Union Building. WSU deejays Kenny Kendall, Arthur Lazalde and Paul Draper originated the Broadway Boys concept as a two-hour program on FM 88.1, the school's student-run radio station. With the trio graduating and moving on, the program is ending — but will be re-created live on Friday to focus on African-Americans on Broadway.
The show, which is free, will include tunes from "Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk," "Big River," "Ain't Misbehavin' " and others in a casual, cabaret setting. Audience members are invited to bring their own picnic food or purchase items from the vending machines.
"THE FOREIGNER," the late Larry Shue's dark comedy about a shy visitor in a remote deep South hunting lodge, is this season's nonmusical presentation by the St. George Musical Theatre Company. Performances are Mondays and Thursdays-Saturdays, Feb. 27-March 17, in the historic St. George Opera House, 212 N. Main. Tickets are $8 for children, $10 for senior citizens and $11 for adults. Call (435) 628-8755 for reservations.
"THE SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS," Carlo Goldoni's classic commedia dell'arte farce about a servant who attempts to double his income by working for two masters, has opened a monthlong run in the Valley Center Playhouse, 780 N. 200 East, Lindon. The frenzied pace of the Italian Renaissance comedy is complicated by the fact that one of the servant's two masters is a woman disguised as a man — and she is also the servant's long-lost love. Performances are Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., through March 24. Tickets are $5 and $6. For reservations, call (801) 785-1186.
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com