New Year's productions set
Door-slamming farce and 'student slam' onstage this week
• LEND ME A TENOR, Ken Ludwig's Tony Award-winning, door-slamming farce about a mishap-plagued 1934 performance of "Othello" by the Cleveland Grand Opera Company kicks off both New Year's and the 2008 season for Hale Centre Theatre, 3333 S. Decker Lake Drive, West Valley City. It's running from Monday through Feb. 9.
Directed by Shawnda Moss, the double-cast ensemble includes Bruce Bredeson and David Stensrud sharing the role of a world famous, high-strung, womanizing Italian tenor Tito Morelli (known in the opera world as "Il Stupendo"); Ryan Poole and Greg Barnett as Max, an opera company assistant who aspires to take center stage; and Shanna Jones and Eden Benson as Maggie, the daughter of Max's boss. Maggie is in love with Max — and deliriously infatuated by Tito.
There will be two performances (6 p.m. and 10 p.m.) on New Year's Eve. During the latter, a preselected audience member will interrupt the production and lead the crowd in the countdown to midnight, followed by a brief celebration and the singing of "Auld Lang Syne," after which "Lend Me a Tenor" will continue.
Regular performances, beginning Jan. 2, will be Mondays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. with Saturday matinees at 12:30 and 4 p.m. and occasional 4 p.m. weekday matinees. Tickets are $13-$23 (984-9000 or www.halecentretheatre.org).
• PLAN-B THEATRE COMPANY, through its Theatre Arts Conservatory youth education program, is putting together a "Student Slam" involving 25 talented youths during the holiday school break on Wednesday only at 8 p.m.
Since 2004, Plan-B has produced four previous "Slams" using adult performers.
The premise is fairly simple but frenetic. Five 10-minute plays will be written and rehearsed in one 24-hour period, beginning at 8 p.m. Tuesday and concluding at 8 p.m. Wednesday, when — ready or not — all five plays will be performed for the public.
Professional playwrights, directors and designers will join with 25 local student actors, ages 14-19, for what Plan-B Theatre Company producing director Jerry Rapier calls "an outrageous day of extreme acting."
Playwrights include Matt Bennett, Cort Brinkerhoff, Matthew Greene, Eric Samuelson and Larry West. Directors will be Kirt Bateman, Colleen Baum, Mark Fossen, Teresa Sanderson and a fifth director to be announced.
All tickets are $12 for general admission seating (355-2787, any ArtTix outlet or online at www.theatreartsconservatory.com).
Recent comments
WHO iS GOiNG TO PERFORM iN NEW YORK FOR NEW YEARS ??
NADiA | Dec. 30, 2007 at 2:06 a.m.
