Weber State College Comment, July 1989, Page 4 o@ U to our Gy 2 Ky Centennial Summer of fun by Sue Hiatt Utah Musical Theatre opens its ninth season this summer at Weber State with the 1989 theme of “Escape to Our Centennial Summer of Fun.” The “Season of Escape” opens July 6, and runs through July 19 with four great productions, Anything Goes, Working, Something’s Afoot, and Grease. “As we embark on a new era for Utah Musical Theatre, we hope everyone will What is UMT by Sue Hiatt Utah Musical Theatre is a semi-professional theatre that began in 1980 when a small but determined group of theatre artists met to explore how the summer theatre offerings at Weber State could be expanded to better serve Utahns. | Building on the solid theatrical founda- continue to find their lives enriched by the laughter, song, and human spirit which they will find with us this summer,” said James C. Christian the new artistic/ managing director for UMT. Christian joined the full-time faculty of the Weber Stafe department of performing arts this past year. Christian worked as a performer, director and choreographer thoughout the and Grease. The Summer of 1981 saw the first of a series of exciting musical plays prepared and presented to enthusiastic and growing audiences. In its brief history UMT productions have included: Godspell, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Something’ s Afoot, Sound of Music, Annie Get Your Gun, My Fair Lady, Man of La Mancha, George M!, The Old Maid and the Thief, Rock on Broadway, Anne of Green Gables, Annie, The Music Man, Gypsy, I Do! I Do!, Hello, Dolly!, The Pirates of Penzance, Little Shop of Horrors, and more. Audiences and critics have responded enthusiastically to the shows. More than 100 singers, actors, dancers, musicians, directors, designers and technicians have come from all over the state and the nation to make Utah Musical Theatre a success This year the UMT core company is comprised of actors from coast to coast, including New York, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado, California and Utah. Outstanding high school students are selected from Utah and surrounding states to be “apprentices” and work with the professionals on all productions. _ The UMT apprentice company is fea- tured in the leading roles of the final production of the season. ey years by such artist/teachers as Thatcher Each year Utah Musical Theatre is expanding and growing bigger and better Allred, Leland Monson, Leonard Rowley and John Elzey, the founders of UMT decided to focus on a single theatrical as it gains more support from the Utah community. Summer 1989 marks the ninth season. form—the musical—and to offer productions of the highest possible caliber. Musical Theatre are proud of where we Professional actors make up the core of have been, in awe of where we will go, the theater group, augmented with local and tremendously excited by the opportunities available for Utah Musical Tee tt tion that had been established over the talent. This year’s season includes Anything Goes, Working, Something’s Afoot, As one supporter said, “We in the Utah country with such companies as San Diego Civic Light Opera/Starlight Bowl, Musicana Dinner Theatres of Florida, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Lawrence Welk Village Dinner Theatre, La Jolla Stage Company, and Pioneer Memorial Theatre. Anything Goes is set on a luxurious cruise liner and is filled with dancing, singing, romance, gangsters, celebrities and mistaken identities. “It is sheer escapist entertainment,” Christian said. “We wanted to kick off the season with a show that really explodes on stage.” The second offering of the “Centennial Summer of Fun” is Working, a musical based on the book by Studs Terkle. Working is a show filled with the spirit, pride, and honest emotion of the working class. Terkle interviewed hundreds of men and women as the source for this work. The musical will run July 20-29, and celebrates the men and women of our country. “It’s hard for me to think of a musical that involves an audience more than Working,” said Christian. “Only a piece of nonfiction such as this could capture the humor and truth of life in America the way this production does.” Something’s Afoot is an intriguing British mystery-comedy written by James McDonald, David Voss and Robert Gurlach. This musical will run August 312. Back by popular demand, this show was a smashing success in 1982 and is being especially revived for the Centennial Season. “This musical was chosen because of its delightful blend of suspense and silliness,” he said. The final production of the summer runs only five days. The well-known popular musical, Grease, will be presented August 15-19. “Featuring our Apprentice Company, this rock and roll blowout is the perfect finale for our Centennial Summer of fun,” Christian said. Season tickets are available now at the Dee Events Center ticket office. The price for the season is $29 for all four productions. Individual ticket sales begin June 16, with tickets at $9 each. For ticket information or phone orders, call (801) 626-8500.