"THE CIVIL WAR: A MUSICAL EVENT" is back for an encore engagement in Rodgers Memorial Theatre in Centerville, where it opens Friday and continues through Aug. 23. Cliff Cole is directing a double-cast ensemble, which includes several actors from last year's sellout production.
Leading roles include Dave Hill and Scott Van Dyke as Lochran, Scott Wetsel and Cameron Cole as Pierce, Alex Boye and Burnie Hill as Frederick Douglas, Jay Henderson and Dave Peterson as Union captains, Andrew Noyes and Derek Trythall as Confederate captions, Ashley Lapine and Cori Cole as Sarah, and Dee-Dee Duffin and Deedee Riches as Bessie Toler.
During a series of vignettes — many based on material drawn from Civil War journals and other historical data — the production explores the tragedy of the conflict that pitted the North vs. the South. Words of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and Walt Whitman, among other notables of the period, are woven into the script. The production utilizes a variety of musical styles — pop, country, folk and gospel.
Performances are Monday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $12-$14 for adults, $11-$12 for students and senior citizens, and $9 for children. Group rates are also available. For reservations, call 298-1302 or visit the box office at 292 E. Pages Lane, Centerville.
"FIDDLER ON THE ROOF" is being staged Thursday-Saturday and July 28-30 by the Murray Arts Council in the Murray Park Amphitheater. The cast, directed by Gerry Graves, includes Tom Drury as Tevye and Rosalie Richards as Golde. Performances are 8 p.m. and tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children and senior citizens. Tickets may be purchased in advance at Day Murray Music or the Murray Parks Office or at the gate, which opens at 7 p.m.
"MY FAIR LADY" is being presented Thursday-Saturday and July 28 by the Utah Lyric Opera Society in UVSC's Ragan Theatre, Orem. Directed by Anna Murdock, the cast includes Melani Mitton as Eliza Dolittle. Mitton is a Provo native currently studying at Juilliard. She has performed in operas in Paris, Versailles, London and New York. Performances are 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission seating, or $15 for reserved seats. Call the Ragan Theatre box office at (801) 863-8797. Group discounts are available.
"ARE WE THERE YET?" is a new production written and developed by Michael Jesse Bennett especially for the Pioneer Days celebration this week at This Is the Place Heritage Park. The production, staged in the Old Social Hall, features vignettes drawn from pioneer journals, focusing on humorous incidents during the historic 1847 trek from Nauvoo, Ill., to the Great Salt Lake Valley. Performances are 7:30 p.m., Thursday-Saturday. Admission is $2 per person (in addition to entry into the park itself, for which fees are $5 for children and $7 for adults). Call 582-1847 for reservations or further information.
"AALMAURIA, THE VOYAGE OF THE DRAGON" is this summer's annual Old Lyric Repertory Company "family" production, staged by the company's apprentice group. The swashbuckling adventure, written by Max Bush, is a Celtic tale involving magical wizards, fairy tale monsters, sword fights and (since it's geared to younger audiences) a not-too-mushy love story.
Unlike the usual Old Lyric's repertory productions, which play at the historic Caine Lyric Theatre in downtown Logan, "Aalmauria" will have six performances Monday-Wednesday in Utah State Theatre's Black Box venue, Room FA 224, in USU's Chase Fine Arts Center. Performances are 4 and 7 p.m. Monday, 4 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. Wednesday and 4 and 7 p.m. on Thursday. All performances are free.
"THE PIONEER LEGACY PAGEANT," now in its fourth year, will be staged Wednesday-Friday at 9 p.m. in the Spring Arts Park, 620 S.1350 East, Springville. The hourlong pageant features nearly 150 performers and utilizes dance, music and narration to tell the story of Elizabeth Fox and her family, who emigrated from Birmingham, England, to Salt Lake in 1956. She became separated from her family and was lost on the plains of Wyoming, but later was reunited with her husband and three children in Salt Lake City.
The pageant, directed by David and Lynne Thompson, is free. (The Thompsons have also been invited to bring the pageant to Kygyzstan and Moscow next summer as part of the University of Bishkek's Youth Arts Festival. They'll draw on the local community in both cities for their casting.
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com