Hi theatre friends! I hope you are doing well and enjoying some good local theatre in this wonderful season of Fall. I am continuing on my Theatre Tuesdays segment and have a really fun new episode with Reagan Fausett where we pick the best and worst songs of our favorite Broadway musicals:

I have 3 shows to catch you up on that I saw in the last week as well as a UTBA review to catch you up on. Please let me know what you have been watching.

RAGTIME- MUSIC THEATRE OF WEST, LOGAN

If I am going to drive all the way up to Logan it has to be for a show worthy of my time. Fortunately Ragtime up at Musical Theatre West in the Eccles Theatre was such a production. I’ve never seen this show before but this was definitely an equity level production with everything from the costumes to, to the sets, to the quality of the singing being top notch.

Ragtime opened on Broadway in 1998 but it has the feel of an older show with the big brassy numbers but it has the messaging and brave themes of a modern show. The combination really makes it hold up nicely. It is a long show and it takes on a lot with 3 main characters interacting with a variety of other characters in turn-of-the-century New York. The main focus, however, is on the immigrant experience and the outsiders looking in on white elite citizens of the time.

The most impactful story of Ragtime revolves around Coalhouse Walker who was played very well by Conlon Bonner. His love Sarah (Brittany Andam) and him are separated at first but come back together through the help of a kindly woman just named Mother. Unfortunately not many share in this kindness and that’s how we see it all play out.

The timeline for the book of Ragtime feels a little confusing. There are multiple storylines including the family moving to Atlantic City and Coalhouse courting Sarah and finally winning her over, and yet the baby remains a babe in arms the whole time. It felt like at least a year had gone by but I guess it was just weeks? Regardless, the events feel authentic and true and the songs including “Wheels of a Dream,” “Make Them Hear You,” and “Back to Before” are stunners.

My favorite moment of the show is the end of Act 1 when Sarah’s Friend (Nneka Barcelona) sings “Till We Reach That Day.” I can’t recall a show leaving the audience into intermission on a more moving note. Wow! (They also have a full live orchestra for this incredibly professional show.)

Unfortunately Ragtime has finished its run but if you are in the Logan area Music Theatre West is worth checking out for wonderful theatrical experiences. You can find out more information here.

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE- PG PLAYERS, PLEASANT GROVE

I love any chance I get to see a show over at PG Players in Pleasant Grove. It is an adorable little theatre in the Pleasant Grove Library and their latest Arsenic and Old Lace was hilarious. I went with my friend Rachel and she enjoyed it as well. I wrote up my review for UTBA you can read here. Arsenic and Old Lace is playing until Oct 16 and you can purchase tickets here.

THE LITTLE MERMAID- HOPEBOX THEATRE, KAYSVILLE

If you’ve followed my content for a while you know I’m not the biggest fan of this Broadway adaptation of The Little Mermaid. I love the Disney classic film (of course) but they made some weird choices when adapting it as a Broadway musical that I don’t love (such as making Flounder in love with Ariel…what?) However, my friend and fellow theatre critic Amber Kacherian was playing Ursula, and I love supporting Hopebox and their mission, so I decided to give it a watch. While I still have issues with the adaptation it’s a fun jubilant community production and one most families will enjoy.

I saw the Silver Cast and Julia Bradford is strong as Ariel. She has a beautiful belt voice and a nice chemistry with Jayden Barrera as Eric. Most of the time I have seen The Little Mermaid on stage Ursula has been played by a man in drag but Amber has a big enough personality that I didn’t mind the change (I still think it is stupid to make Triton and Ursula related in this version but oh well…)

The ensemble scenes like “Under the Sea” are a ton of fun in this production, and I appreciate the diversity in the cast including an ensemble member in a wheelchair. Integrating her seamlessly into the choreography is awesome. The production values including the sets and costumers were good but a little more muted than I expect from Hopebox. It felt like they ran out of money and couldn’t make it as elaborate as most of their other productions.

But that’s really my only flaw. The singing and performances were all wonderful and the cast seemed to be having a great time together. Especially with their hopeful mission I love being a part of Hopebox and recommend supporting them whenever you can. The Little Mermaid plays until Oct 7th and tickets can be purchased here.

JEKYLL & HYDE- CENTERPOINT LEGACY THEATRE, CENTERVILLE

It’s funny as a theatre critic I often see shows in waves. Sometimes a trend is obvious like seeing A Christmas Carol in December or The Addams Family in October but then other times it’s totally random. Like, for instance, this summer I went from never having seen Jekyll & Hyde to seeing it 3 times since May. The experience at Draper Historic is unlikely to be topped any time soon especially having Tanner Tate as my Jekyll/Hyde (he has since guested on my Theatre Tuesdays segment.) Now I have seen it at CenterPoint Legacy and it’s another quality production from a theatre that almost always delivers.

There are problems with the book by Leslie Bricusse. It takes so long for the Jekyll/Hyde transformation to come, which is really when the plot starts to get interesting. It needs to come way sooner but they did the best they could at CenterPoint. The cast is all uniformly strong. In particular Jessica Knowles Andrus is outstanding as Lucy. She has a Broadway-worthy voice and her acting and stage presence really stands out. Christian Lackman is good as Jekyll/Hyde but I didn’t get the rawness of the transformations or as invested in his character as I did with Tanner’s performance at Draper.

I also found the fight choreography by Justin Lee to be excellent. It really feels like characters are fighting and hitting each other. The violence and kills feel real and are staged convincingly. The rest of the production lives up to the quality I expect from CenterPoint. The only critique I’d give is they had big screens on top of the stage that mostly played images of windows. Since I was in the balcony these don’t add much to the experience and are distracting. Also some of the costumes, particularly the corset fits, are a little sloppy and needed work.

All that said, this is a quality production of Jekyll & Hyde and it’s worth attending for the amazing performance by Jessica Knowles Andrus as Lucy. Jekyll & Hyde is playing at CenterPoint until Oct 21. You can purchase tickets here.

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