Hi theatre friends! I hope you are doing well and enjoying some great local theatre near you. Today I have 4 shows to catch you up on. These logs are for shows I saw as a paid patron not as a critic so they are much briefer and less detailed (and can take longer to come out than my full reviews.)

American Idiot– The Grand Theatre, Salt Lake

I had seen American Idiot one time previous to seeing it this Saturday at The Grand. That production wasn’t the strongest so I was eager to see it again to hopefully get a better idea of what I think about the show. In most aspects this production was better than the previous one especially with the live band but I think the other company did a better job portraying the story of the musical. I honestly had no idea what was happening at The Grand, but I enjoyed the music.

The story is challenging to portray because the book has no dialogue and just goes from one song of Green Day’s American Idiot album to another but there was something missing in the staging at The Grand to make the narrative clear. Instead it felt like one song sung after another at a concert with individual vignettes for that particular song.

The cast is all up for the challenge of the rock opera songs with Tristan B Johnson as Johnny and Taylor J Smith as Tunny. It is also impressive how large the ensemble was and like I said the live band with conductor Johnathan McDonald at piano adds a lot to the experience. As the name would suggest the stage at The Grand is large where the other production I saw was in a black box and I think this musical might be more at home in a smaller environment but the spectacle by stage director Mark Fossen was impressive.

I do appreciate that The Grand continually takes risks and allows me to see shows I rarely get to see at other venues in Utah. While I probably won’t be lining up to see American Idiot again I’m grateful I got to see this production. It is playing until March 21st and tickets can be purchased here.

Singin in the Rain– Hopebox Theatre, Kaysville

I already did a full review of Hopebox Theatre’s Singin in the Rain but I had the chance to see the Teal cast last week, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This will be a quick log but I had a different cast except for Braden Charles Hull was still Don Lockwood. I was a little sad to not get to see the other Don but Hull is a delight to watch so I didn’t mind it much. He’s one of those actors that has a vibrant undeniable stage presence and he’s great with the choreography.

The rest of the Teal cast was a lot of fun with Terresa Shreve a standout as Lina Lamont (both of their Lina’s are excellent.) I also loved the way the set effortlessly folded in and out to create the difference settings and screens. They did a great job with the filming of the silent movies and had Hull and Shreve in the video even though they don’t normally act together. I was also very impressed with how physical Spencer Ford’s acting and dancing was for Cosmo Brown. Honestly in “Make Em Laugh” I was concerned he was hurting himself the falls to the ground made such a hard splat! Hopefully he just sold it well and wasn’t actually hurt.

Hopebox has finished its run of Singin in the Rain but they have Urinetown up next and I’m excited to see that there. Make sure you keep up on this wonderful company with their important mission. You can find out more information here.

Urinetown– Beverly’s Terrace Plaza Playhouse, Ogden

Speaking of Urinetown I actually saw this musical for the first time this month at Terrace Plaza in Ogden. This is what I would describe as a learning company and while I enjoy it sometimes they can wear their amateur status on their sleeve. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case with Urinetown. It is unquestionably the best show I’ve ever seen at this company and I’m so glad they helped me check this off of my musical bucket list.

If you’ve never heard of Urinetown it’s a dystopian story of a city that has made it expensive to use the bathroom. I’m not always the biggest fan of dystopians but this musical keeps things light enough and director Carol Madsen gets the most out of her actors to keep me invested.

Kelby Talbot was the standout as Bobby and Cariel Goodwin was also expressive and vocally strong as Penelope Pennywise. They are perhaps a little over-reliant on projections where I would prefer handmade sets but it’s a weird world so I get the choice. Urinetown is playing at Terrace Plaza until March 28th and I definitely recommend it. Tickets can be purchased here.

Are You Afraid of the 90s?– Rob Anderson at Wiseguys Comedy Club- Salt Lake

While I have been to comic stand up performances before I have never been a comedy club outside of improv clubs in college. I’d heard a lot about Wiseguys but never been to a performance there until I had the chance to see tiktok star Rob Anderson there. In many ways this was a perfect performance for me to start with because it really is more of a one man play than a traditional stand up routine. In a continuation of his tiktok persona Anderson goes through television and movies of the 90s making pithy remarks and pointing out how ridiculous we all were, which of course is very true.

I was impressed with my experience at Wiseguys. It is very clean and it despite being fairly far back it was easy to see and hear everything Anderson was doing. I think this would make for a terrific and creative date spot and I did not feel out of place at all not ordering any alcohol or coming alone.

I could see some thinking Anderson’s routine is nothing more than an amplified version of his tiktok but as that is something I enjoy I had a good time. It’s not too raunchy and I consistently laughed throughout. Find out more about Wiseguys here and more about Anderson on his website here.

So there you have it! What have you been watching and have you seen any of these shows? Let me know! Happy theatre watching

American Idiot features music by Green Day and lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong. The book is by Armstrong and Michael Mayer and it is based on Green Day’s “American Idiot” album. It first premiered on Broadway in 2009. Singin in the Rain is based on the classic 1952 film with music by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics by Arthur Freed. The book is by Adolph Green and Betty Comden based on their script for the film. It first debuted on Broadway in 1985. Urinetown has music by Mark Hollmann and lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis with a book by Kotis. It first premiered on Broadway in 2001.

These logged shows I pay for out of pocket and I’d love to do that as much as possible. If you have a show you’d like me to take a look at and write a full review let me know. I also have my patreon which is a great way to support what I do and get some really fun perks. Find out more here.