Musicals and comedies, including a rarely produced Stephen Sondheim classic and Rob Becker's "farewell tour" of his one-man show "Defending the Caveman," are among productions opening this week.
"CHRISTMAS VACATION: THE BI-POLAR EXPRESS," Desert Star Cabaret's newest holiday spoof, opens Thursday and plays through Jan. 7 at Desert Star Theater, 4861 S. State, Murray.
Written and directed by Scott Holman, the cast includes Erica Hansen, Ed Farnsworth, Bob Longoria, Lisa Grow, Heather Ferguson, Phil Lowe, Brian Bahr, Brooklyn Pulver, Ashley Mayfield, Aaron Swenson, Justin Berry, Kerstin Davis, Jennifer Tanner, Matt Mullaney and Matt Kohler.
The plot centers around a highly dysfunctional family, which is brought together at Christmas — not only for a holiday celebration but for the reading of a will.
All shows will include a tune-filled, Christmas olio routine and possibly a visit from Santa Claus. Admission is $8-$13, with optional food service available at additional cost. Performances are 7 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays-Thursdays, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Fridays, and noon, 3, 7 and 9:30 p.m. on Saturdays, through Nov. 26, with additional performances Mondays-Thursdays, 6 and 8:30 p.m., from Nov. 28-Jan. 7 (266-2600).
"ASSASSINS," Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's dark satire on the American dream, set against the macabre backdrop of a carnival barker introducing a succession of presidential assassins, will play Wednesday through Nov. 23 in the Babcock Theatre, located in the lower level of Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre on the University of Utah campus.
"Assassins" examines the lives of three successful presidential killers and six who tried but failed — John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, Charles Guiteau, Leon Czolgosz, Giuseppe Zanbara, Samuel Byck, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, Sara Jane Moore and John Hinckley.
The cast includes Thomas Marcus as the Proprietor, Hannah Stone as Fromme, Nicholas Dunn as Booth, Benjamin T. Brinton as Oswald and Khristal Jeremy Curtis as anarchist Emma Goldman.
Weekday and Saturday performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 17-19, with Sunday performances at 7 p.m. on Nov. 13 and 20, plus one Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. on Nov. 19. Tickets are $12 for general admission and $6 for all students (581-7100 or in person at the Kingsbury Hall Arttix box office).
"THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA," Shakespeare's comedy about two childhood friends falling in love with the same woman, will play from Wednesday through Dec. 3 in the Pardoe Theatre of Brigham Young University's Harris Fine Arts Center, Provo.
Director Alexandra Mackenzie is giving the comedy a contemporary setting with modern costumes. The character Proteus will carry a camcorder on stage, filming scenes to be projected onto screens above and on both sides of the other performers.
Discounted preview performances ($5 for all tickets) are Wednesday and Thursday. Regular performances begin Friday and continue nightly except Sundays and Mondays. All evening performances are 7:30 p.m. There will also be one matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $12 for general admission or $9 for BYU students, faculty and staff. All tickets for the matinee are $5 each (422-4322).
"DEFENDING THE CAVEMAN," Rob Becker's one-man Broadway hit, which has been performed for nearly 2 million theatergoers over the past 12 years, will make one final Salt Lake City stop as part of Becker's "farewell tour."
Considered to be a peacemaker in the ongoing misunderstanding between men and women, "Defending the Caveman" delivers humorous insights on contemporary feminism and masculine sensitivity.
There will be three performances this weekend at Kingsbury Hall — 8 p.m. on Friday and 5 and 8 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $39.50 and $49.50 (581-7100 or www.kingsburyhall.org).
"BAREFOOT IN THE PARK," Neil Simon's classic Broadway comedy, will be performed Friday and Saturday by the newly formed Around the Globe Theatre Company in the Studio Theater of the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. Broadway (300 South).
The company's founder, Robert Easton, will play newlywed Paul Bratter, with Brianna Cook as Corie, his wife; Blake True Heywood as Victor Velasco and Iris Weikert as the Mother and Chris Harvey and Robert Weikert in other roles.
Performances are 7 p.m. on Friday and 2 and 7 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $15 for evening shows and $10 for the matinee (355-2787 or www.arttix.org).
"THE RIVALS," presented recently as a readers' theater production by StageRight TheaterCompany, will have a free, one-night-only revival on Thursday for a gathering of the Babcock Performing Readers in Read Auditorium of Orson Spencer Hall on the University of Utah campus. Curtain is 7:30 p.m.
Written by Richard Sheridan in the 1700s, it's a classic comedy of manners, skewering pretentious society twits and romantic silliness. A recent revival on Broadway won a Tony Award for best costumes.
"THE SPITFIRE GRILL," an off Broadway hit about a young woman just out of prison who moves to a small Midwestern town, is being staged from Thursday through Dec. 17 at St. George Musical Theater.
Ryan Norton is directing a cast that includes Martha Hill, Shellie Truax, Karmen Wilson, Dawna Kenworthy, Bruce Bennett and himself.
Performances are Thursdays-Saturdays and Mondays at 7:30 p.m., with one matinee on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 2 p.m. Evening prices are $15 for adults, $13 for senior citizens and students and $10 for children. Matinee tickets are $10 for adults, seniors and youths and $8 for children. "Student rush" tickets, for any available seating on the day of the show, are $7 each (at the door only). For all other tickets, call the box office at 435-628-8755.
"ARSENIC AND OLD LACE," the classic 1941 comedy about two spinster sisters and their killer recipe for elderberry wine, will play from Friday through Nov. 18 in a Timpanogos Valley Theater Company production at the Town Hall, 120 W. Main, Midway. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children or $5 for all seats on Monday night. Performances are 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays ant Nov. 14 (435-654-6406).
"DRACULA VS. THE WOLFMAN," the Off Broadway Theatre's recent Halloween comedy, will be restaged Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with an all-new cast — youths from OBT's Acting Up! theater school instead of the previous production's adults. Performers in this weekend's performances range from 12-18 years of age.
Tickets are $9 for adults, $7 for students, senior citizens and military and $6 for youngsters 12 and under. The theater is located at 272 S. Main (355-4628 or www.theobt.com).
"OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD," Timberlake Wertenbaker's award-winning 1988 drama, based on Thomas Kenneally's novel, "The Playmaker," is being staged by Southern Utah University for six performances in the Auditorium Theatre, Cedar City. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, Nov. 10-19. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for SUU faculty and staff and $5 for students (435-586-7878 or 800-752-9849).
"THE MIKADO," one of Gilbert and Sullivan's most popular comic operettas, will be presented from Thursday through Nov. 19 in the Main Stage Theater of Dixie State College's Eccles Fine Arts Center, St. George.
Varlo Davenport is directing a cast that includes Rick Pickett in the title role, Skyler Scott as Nanki-Poo, Kimball Wirig as Ko-Ko and Brandon Wainwright as Pooh-Bah.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. on Thursday-Saturday and Nov. 15-19. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens, $7 for youths 5-17 years of age, and free for DSC students (435-652-7800).
"TWAIN BY THE TALE," a readers' theater style presentation showcasing several pieces by Mark Twain, will be staged Friday and Saturday and Nov. 14 and 17-19 by the Midvale Arts Council in the community's performing arts center, 695 W. Center (7720 South).
Directed by Katey Lynn Lowder, the cast includes Jeffrey Steadman, Jennifer Hamilton, Jason Wadsworth, Leisl Bonell and Lissie Huff.
Tickets, available at the door beginning at 7 p.m., are $4 for general admission and $2 for children and senior citizens, or $15 for a family pass (one per household).
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com