A group of touring actors from London is among this week's theater highlights.
-- "SWEENEY TODD," Stephen Sondheim's "cutting-edge" musical (Sweeney's reputation as "the demon barber of Fleet Street" is well- founded), has become a Halloween tradition for the Provo-based Actors' Repertory Theater Ensemble.
The company is staging its fourth annual concert version of the Broadway musical from Thursday through Oct. 31 in the Castle Amphitheater, 1300 E. Center (on the grounds of the Utah State Hospital).
Marcie Jacobsen is directing and also performs the role of Mrs. Lovett, whose pies -- featuring Todd's secret ingredients -- are the toast of London. Others in the cast are David Hanson in the title role, Matt Cloward as Anthony, Korianne Johnson as Johanna and J. Scott Montgomery as Tobias, part of an ensemble of more than 30 singers.
Performances will be 8 p.m. nightly (except Sunday), with an additional 11 p.m. performance on Halloween night. The box office opens at 7 p.m., and doors open at 7:30. Tickets ($9 for adults, $7 for students and senior citizens and $5 for children) are available only at the gate (cash or check only).
ARTE is also sponsoring Red Cross blood drives in the area. Two- for-one ticket vouchers are available for those donating blood at any Red Cross drive during October. There will also be a mobile Red Cross unit at the Utah State Hospital, 2-7 p.m. on Oct. 31, with vouchers for either of that night's performances. Call 362-2062 to sign up in advance for the Halloween blood drive.
For further information, go online to www.arte-ut.org.
-- "CRAVE," an abstract drama by the late British playwright Sarah Kane, will have its regional premiere in a Tooth & Nail Theatre Company production, Thursday through Nov. 9 in the Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. Broadway (300 South). Kane's works have stirred up critical commentary throughout Europe, but have been largely overlooked in America.
Roger Benington, co-artistic director of Tooth & Nail, discovered Kane's scripts while browsing through a local bookstore. "Crave" is considered the gentlest of Kane's works, lacking the violence of many of her earlier pieces. (Kane committed suicide in 2001 at the age of 28.)
The local cast includes Anita Booher, Cameron Jones, Tammy Davis and Mark Anthony Taylor, performing what has been described by one critic as "a poem . . . dishing out stream-of-consciousness testimonies."
Performances are Thursday-Saturday this week, and Oct. 29-31 and Nov. 1 and Nov. 5-9 at 8 p.m., with matinees at 3 p.m. on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, all in the Studio Theatre of the Rose Wagner center. All tickets are $20, available at all ArtTix outlets or by calling 355- 2787.
-- "MEASURE FOR MEASURE," featuring the touring Actors From the London Stage, will be presented Friday and Saturday in the Morgan Theatre of Utah State University's Chase Fine Arts Center, Logan.
The five-member ensemble is known for its unique brand of Shakespeare -- presenting the full text without a director and with minimal props and lighting, allowing audiences to focus on the language. The performers come from such renowned troupes as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
The Logan performances will be 7:30 p.m. both nights. Tickets are $9 for adults, $7 for senior citizens and USU faculty/staff, $6 for youths and non-USU students and $4 for USU students. For reservations, call (435) 797-0305.
-- "YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU," the classic 1934 Kaufman-Hart comedy, opens Thursday in Utah Valley State College's Ragan Theatre, Orem, where it continues through Nov. 1. The action revolves around the wacky Vanderhof family, where individualism is welcome, no questions asked.
G. Randall King's cast includes Katie Purdie, Brittany Howard, Renee Huggins, Mark Pugh, Timothy Hall, Shayne Hudson, Edmon Washington, Jason Purdie, Mary Jackson, Ryan Templeman, David St. Julien, Joel Petrie, Trisha Warbuckle, Kemuel Swallow and Krystal Wayt.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and Oct. 29-Nov. 1, including Halloween night. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for students, senior citizens and children, and $4 for UVSC students with valid activity cards. For reservations, call 863-8797 or purchase tickets at the door.
-- "SAGA OF THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE," Farmington City Arts Council's annual dinner-theater production, is a Western spoof. Toni Asay is directing the show. The characters include Clem Chowder, a handsome but not-too-bright blacksmith; Philly Parsnip, Clem's maiden-in- distress love interest; Ma Chowder, Clem's mother; Madam Roseola, a fortune teller with a secret, and Blackjack Gulch, a tough-as-nails gunslinger.
Performances are 7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. The $10 ticket includes the show and dinner. For reservations, call the Farmington City's Leisure Services office at 451-0953.
-- "A BAD YEAR FOR TOMATOES," a 1974 comedy by John Patrick (who also wrote "The Curious Savage," "Teahouse of the August Moon" and "The Hasty Heart"), plays Friday through Nov. 24 in the Little Brown Theatre, 239 S. Main, Springville. Directed by Daryl Tucker, it's about a TV star who decides to abandon Hollywood and retire to a small town of Beaver Haven, Vt., to write her memoirs, if only the locals would leave her alone.
The cast includes Arlene McGregor as Myra Marlowe with Maureen Eastwood, Lisa Briggs and Bonnie Pence as a group of nosy neighbors. Larry McLay is local handyman Piney with Kent Fowers as Myra's longtime agent, Tom Lamont.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are $8 for adults, $7 for senior citizens and students and $6 for children (3-11). Call 489-3088 for reservations.
-- "SING ON!," a play-within-a-play comedy by Rick Abbot about a community musical production that goes disastrously awry, is being produced Friday through Nov. 10 by the Pleasant Grove Players in the Keith Christeson Little Theatre, 30 E. Center, Pleasant Grove. Eldon Randall is directing. The cast includes Verdon Walker, Melissa Smith, Hayley Bastian, Karlene Young, DeShawn Smith and Andrea Brower.
Curtain is 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 27 and Nov. 1, 3, 7, 8 and 10. General admission seating is $7 for adults and $6 for senior citizens and children. No advance reservations are needed.
-- "FOREVER PLAID," the off-Broadway musical showcasing memorable, "guy-group" tunes from the mid-1950s and '60s, opens Friday and plays through Nov. 29 in Hale Center Theater Orem.
Syd Riggs' double-cast ensemble includes Bradin Wilhelmsen and James Stevens alternating as Jinx, Cody Walker and David Nutter as Frankie, Oliver Gaag and Ben Tichy as Sparky and Dave Smith and Nate Hatfield as Smudge.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, with Saturday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 8, 15, 22 and 29. Tickets range from $9.50 to $14.50. For reservations, call 226-8600.
-- "CLOSE TO HOME," an evening of four original one-act comedies, is being staged Wednesday-Saturday by the Cedar City Project, a local theatrical company involving Southern Utah University students and alumni. The program includes short plays written by L.J. Chandler, Mark Matthews, Matt Bennett and Sean Critchfield.
Patrons are cautioned that the plays contain themes that are adult and explicit in nature. Performances are 8 p.m. in the SUU Auditorium's Black Box theater (Room 108). Admission is $5, including free pizza provided by Little Caesars.
-- "SEE HOW THEY RUN," a British comedy, plays Friday through Nov. 15 at the Old Barn Community Theatre, Collinston. Written by Phillip King, it's being directed by Laura Lee Hull. Performances are Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., with one matinee on Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults and $6 for senior citizens and children. For reservations, call 435-458-2276.
-- "AN HEIR TO MYSTERY," an audience-participation murder mystery produced by Chameleons, the Whodunit Company, is being staged an as overnight event Friday and Saturday at Snowbird Resort. Unlike the usual one-night-only performances, which take place in one evening, "An Heir to Mystery" is being presented as part of an overnight lodging and meal package, starting at $99 per person at the Inn or $123.50 per person at the Cliff. The package rates include dinner, breakfast, show, lodging and a tram ride.
Patrons are encouraged to come in costume (there'll be a contest). The evening performance starts at 7:30 p.m. For reservations, call 1- 800-453-3000.
-- DESERT STAR THEATER has scheduled a noon performance on Saturday for its current production, "Jekyll & Hyde: Double the Pleasure, Double the Pun," in addition to the regularly scheduled performances at 3, 7 and 9:30 p.m. For reservations, call 226-2600.
