Let the summer theater season begin

With the beginning of summer and the end of this school year’s printings of the UVU Review, come opening nights across Utah. The summer musicals that local theaters pride themselves by accompany a few eclectic locally-written and produced scripts to be performed at the smaller theaters across Utah and Salt Lake Counties.

Regular theater coverage will resume this June as the UVU Review comes out of hibernation, and until then here are the standout openings near you:

Also, check our coverage of the Hale Center Theater’s As You Like it on page B3,
directed by UVU’s own professor Chris Clark.

April 9 – Every Day a Little Death
As covered in the April 13 issue of the UVU Review, Every Day a Little Death, by local playwright J. Scott Bronson, is a comedy about the commonality of death. “We laugh at life,” Bronson said. “We ought to anyway. And if we do, it’s not such a stretch to laugh about death as well. After all, it is just another part of life.” This refreshing non-musical about the small details surrounding what we recognize as life’s milestones will continue at the Covey Center until May 2.

WHO: The Covey Center for the Arts

WHAT: Every Day a Little Death

WHEN: April 9-May 2

TIMES: Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: In the Brinton Black Box Theatre at 425 W. Center Street in Provo

PRICE: $10

BOX OFFICE: The Covey Center ticket office is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., or by calling 801-852-7007 or visiting www.coveycenter.org.

April 24 – Thoroughly Modern Millie
The classic movie-musical version of Thoroughly Modern Millie, starring Julie Andrews, was made into a Tony-winning (six awards in one year, to be exact) Broadway musical in 2002. SCERA will produce the show this month at their indoor live theater.

WHO: SCERA Center for the Arts

WHAT: Thoroughly Modern Millie

WHEN: April 24-May 9

TIMES: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: 745 S. State Street, Orem

PRICE: $10-$12

BOX OFFICE: Tickets can be purchased at www.scera.org, by calling (801) 225-ARTS or at at the SCERA Center box office weekdays from 10am-6pm and Saturdays from 12Noon-6pm. Tickets may also be purchased at the door 30 minutes prior to showtime.

April 27 – Treasure Island

The Hale Center Theater in West Valley will open Treasure Island late in April, complete with an on-stage 12-foot pool and waterfall. Perhaps the most versatile and well-decorated stage in the state, HCTWV will also use faux rain and mist in the production, while actors swing from ropes off of a 20-foot tall aluminum ship mast. The classic pirate tale will be re-told in dramatic fashion.

WHO: Hale Center Theater

WHAT: Treasure Island

WHEN: April 17-June 6

TIMES: Monday-Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday at 12:30, 4, and 7:30 p.m
Occasional weekday matinees at 4 p.m. and Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: 3333 S. Decker Lake Drive, West Valley City

PRICE: $15-$26

BOX OFFICE: Tickets may be purchased online at www.halecentretheatre.org, via telephone at (801) 984-9000 or at the Hale Centre Theatre box office, 3333 South Decker Lake Drive, West Valley City, Utah.

May 1 – Miss Saigon

Miss Saigon has the plot of MADAME
BUTTERFLY, the drama of the Vietnam war, and the flare of all 80’s Broadway musicals (think Cats, Phantom of the Opera, and Les Miserables). There’s no word yet if Pioneer Theater Company will include a live moving helicopter in the production, as most large-scale high-budget productions of Miss Saigon do. But with or without the helicopter, Miss Saigon is certain to produce many surprised gasps from the audience.

WHO: Pioneer Theatre Company

WHAT: Miss Saigon

WHEN: May 1 – May 16, 2009

TIMES: Mondays – Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday matinees, 2:00 p.m.
WHERE: Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre
300 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City

PRICE: $30 – $49; Children K – 12 are half price on Mondays and Tuesdays

BOX OFFICE: (801) 581-6961. The Box Office is open 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday – Friday, and Saturdays when there are performances