A national touring production for kids and a couple of adult-oriented dramas are opening this week.
"CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG," a touring musical version of PBS' popular Scholastic kids' show, is scheduled for three performances this coming weekend in Kingsbury Hall — Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.
For more than four decades, Scholastic's Clifford the Big Red Dog has been teaching children about such values as fairness, respect for others and teamwork in books and cartoons.
The script (by "Sesame Street" writer Tish Rabe) is an all new story that brings Clifford and the show's other beloved characters — Emily Elizabeth, Cleo, T-Bone, Jetta and Charlie — together in an effort to write their own play on Birdwell Island. Costumes for the touring musical were designed by Michael Curry, of "Disney's The Lion King."
Tickets are $14, $19 and $23, available at the Kingsbury Hall box office (581-7100) or online at www.kingsburyhall.org.
"THE LORELEI," an original drama chosen from Wasatch Theatre Company's 2005 "Page to Stage" playwriting program, will have its first fully staged production Friday through Nov. 19 at the Columbus Center, 2530 S. 500 East.
Directed by George Plautz, this new work by local writer Ann Chamberlain is centered around one fateful day in the life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, a monarch known as "Mad King Ludwig." Under the observation of his doctor, he relives moments from his life, with his faithful servant taking on various roles from his past. The king's imagination leads to a tragedy that still remains unsolved to this day.
The cast includes Daniel Torrence as King Ludwig, Kevin Smith as the Doctor and Sean Pickell as the Servant.
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. (no performance on Nov. 11). Tickets are $8 for adults and $7 for senior citizens and children, 11 and under (446-5657).
JOKYR AND JESSTER LONG FORM IMPROV will perform on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on Sugarbeats Stage, 2106 S. 100 East, Sugar House, marking the end of their 2005 North American tour.
There will be no additional acts. The entire program will be performed by the two local improv artists — Joseph Kyle Rogan and Jesse Parent.
General admission seating is $5. The venue is open to all ages, but Rogan cautions that the performance may not be appropriate for "sensitive audiences" (891-6397 or www.jokyrandjesster.com).
"SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION," playwright John Guare's tragi-comic exploration of 20th-century society, will play from Friday through Nov. 12 in the Eccles Black Box Theatre of Weber State University's Browning Center for the Performing Arts, Ogden.
Tracy Callahan, who is directing, sees the work as "a portrait of our time and contemporary society — in other words — us." The title comes from dialogue spoken in the play by Ouisa, an upper class New Yorker, who says, "I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people."
The plot revolves around an African-American who poses as the son of actor Sidney Poitier in order to gain access into New Yorkers' homes. The cast includes Carleton Bluford as Paul, Allison Holtkamp as Ouisa and Mitch Fowers as Flan.
Public performances are Friday and Saturday this week and Nov. 9-12, all at 7:30 p.m. The first Saturday performance will have American Sign Language translation. Tickets are $8.50 for general admission and $5.50 for all students, senior citizens and military personnel (626-8500 or 800-978-8457).
There is also one free performance Nov. 8 for WSU students with a Wildcard.
Because "Six Degrees" deals with a pair of New York art dealers, the opening night has been set up as a gala coinciding with Ogden's First Friday Art Gallery Stroll for November. In connection with the play's opening, Universe City Gallery, 2556 Washington Blvd., will host a reception immediately following the production.
"THE ABDICATION," Ruth Wolff's 1971 drama based on Sweden's 17th century Queen Christina, who abdicated the throne for Catholicism and fled to Rome, is being staged Thursday-Saturday and Nov. 10-12 by the Westminster College Theatre Department in the Jay W. Lees Courage Theatre, located in the Jewett Center for the Performing Arts, 1250 E. 1700 South (on the north side of the campus).
Michael D. Vought is directing a cast that includes Jessica Shurtleff as Christina (with Kirsten McGann and Laekin Rogers as her two alter egos, Chris and Tina), and Patrick Kibbie as Cardinal Azzolino.
Christina's strange tale is told in a series of flashbacks while she is being interrogated by Azzolino after her arrival in Rome. (Has she come for religious asylum or political advancement?)
Vought told the Deseret Morning News that, historically, Christina grew up being very confused about who she was. Her father, then king of Sweden, raised her as a prince. "She was very confused about her sexuality, wondering how she could be a woman and also strong enough to be queen."
In Wolff's drama, which premiered in 1971 in Bath, England, Christina is played by three women — occasionally all three onstage at the same time. One plays Christina, the queen; another plays Tina, her feminine side; and the third portrays Chris, who is her more masculine side.
Performances will be Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for general admission and $5 for all students and senior citizens (832-2455).
"WHAT THE BUTLER SAW," a controversial British comedy first performed in 1969, is being staged Wednesdays-Saturdays, Nov. 2-12, by the Salt Lake Community College Department of Performing Arts.
The comedy stirred up a storm of outrage when it first premiered in London and, nearly 40 years later, it still touches on a variety of taboo subjects — incest, black magic, madness, transvestism, racial prejudice, drug abuse, nymphomania and murder. (A British review in 2004 said that today, most of the sexual humor comes across as relatively tame or even slightly perplexing.)
Director Frank Gerrish cautions that the play contains graphic adult language and themes and is not recommended for children under 14.
The cast includes Hank Pond as Dr. Prentice and Reb Fleming as Mrs. Prentice, with Corinne Penka, Nate Jones, Matt Whittaker and Tim Maness in other roles.
Performances will be in SLCC's Black Box Theater, located in Room W-381 (on the third floor of the South City campus building), 1575 S. State.
All tickets are $5, with free admission for SLCC students, faculty and staff. Tickets may be obtained through the Grand Theatre box office, 957-3322. Gerrish also warns that those arriving after the 7:30 p.m. curtain will not be seated.
"BROADWAY BLAST," a musical revue featuring 34 youths ranging from 10-18 years of age, is being staged Thursday-Saturday by the Midvale Copperview Theatre Arts Youth Program.
Directed by Wendy Dahl-Smedshammer, assisted by Gwyneth Kenner and choreographed by Peggy Sherrett, the revue will be performed at 7:30 p.m. nightly at the Midvale Performing Arts Center, 695 W. Center St. (7720 South). All tickets are $1 each, general admission.
"THE MOUSETRAP," Agatha Christie's classic thriller, opens Friday and plays through Nov. 21 at the Springville Playhouse, 50 S. Main.
Directed by Al Ricci, the cast includes Erica Baxter and Jared Gillins as Mollie and Giles Ralston, Scott Stringham as Christopher Wren, Maureen Eastwood as Mrs. Boyle, Lon Keith as Major Metcalf, Becky Gardner as Miss Casewell, Tom Lamoreaux as Paravincini and Jon Warner as Sgt. Trotter.
Performances are Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 7:30 p.m., with one additional Thursday performance on Nov. 17. Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for students, senior citizens and children and $30 for a family pass, admitting up to six. Group rates are also available (830-1551). A discount coupon is online at www.springvilleplayhouse.org.
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com