Hi theatre friends! This post is extremely late which is both a good thing and bad thing. As anyone who follows my site knows I have both reviews and logs. The logs are just quick thoughts on shows I attend as a patron not detailed reviews. I try and post a log each month but I have been so busy with full reviews I have gone a month and a half in June. This is a good thing because I am being asked to cover more shows with full reviews but it makes the log rather ungainly when I get around to posting about it. Needless to say this one is likely to be particularly brief but hopefully it gives you all an idea of what has been on the stage in Utah over the last 9 weeks. I do always give my out of theater reactions to film and theatre on my instagram unless I’m embargoed so make sure you are following me there.

Also I would be willing to do full reviews of all of these if the companies are interested. Just email me at rachelsreviews65@gmail.com

Something Rotten- The Ziegfeld Theatre, Ogden

I have seen Something Rotten many times and I do find it very funny but I probably wouldn’t have gotten a ticket for the production at the Ziegfeld but their marketing worked and peaked my curiosity. They advertised an ‘uncensored version’ of Something Rotten so I was interested to see if it was really that different than the other versions I have seen. In the end I’d say it’s not with the main difference being in the innuendo for Brother Jeremiah (played by David Storm.) But it was still a fun production with Caleb Parry and Jonas Stone feeling like believable brothers as Nick and Nigel Bottom respectively. The Shakespeare by Colton Ward was also a hoot. This was directed by Jennifer Westfall and Ziegfeld is putting on Frozen (like every company this year!) right now until July 4th. Can find more information here.

Daddy Long Legs/Pride and Prejudice- Springville Playhouse, Springville

This log entry actually accounts for 3 performances. Springville Playhouse put on both Daddy Long Legs and Pride and Prejudice so you know I had to see all 3 (2 casts of DLL.) I love that they not only did a great job with both pieces they compared and contrasted them in the directors notes. Aside from them both being period romances I wouldn’t have thought of them together (P&P is more of a social commentary than DLL also one is enemies to lovers while the other is friends to lovers) so it was neat to think about 2 shows I adore in new ways. Director Sara Jane Isom has made this a labor of love and I appreciate she made the black box space flexible and easy to maneuver for both shows. The P&P was a new to me adaptation by CS Griffel and I could tell it was originally written for high school because it included every character. The cast was absolutely massive. I really enjoyed seeing Matthew DelaFuente as Darcy as he is one of my favorite local talents. I had just seen the version at Bluffdale Arts that was very silly and I prefer this more grounded take but it’s always fun to see new versions of P&P. Of the 2 DLL casts Cast 1 (called blonde haired cast) was probably my favorite with the better chemistry but they were both very pleasant and I enjoyed them very much. They had them alternating on the letters more than some other times I’ve seen the show getting Jervis to sing a little more than he sometimes does. I always prefer if there is some kind of mailbox or other device on the stage for the letters just to give them a little sense of connection but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Find out more about Springville Playhouse here.

Six: the Musical Teen Edition- Centerstage Performing Arts, Pleasant Grove

Unfortunately I do not have my program for Six: the Musical Teen Edition but I saw it at Centerstage Performing Arts at Liahona Theater. Most people know I’m not the biggest Six fan but these teens did such a great job. The costumes were incredible and looked just like Broadway. I was invited by Lia who played Anne Boleyn and she rocked it. In some ways I think teens makes a lot of sense for Six as their jr shows are shorter anyways and most schools have more interested female participants than male. They had actually triple cast the show which I like to see as it gives as much opportunity to participate as possible. Find out more about Centerstage here.

Hallmarked- Hale Center Theatre, Sandy

I have already written about Hallmarked 3 times so this will be extra brief. I wanted to get one more watch in before it closed at the beginning of June and I’m so glad I did. I was particularly glad I got to see Cameron Dietlein as Luke which I hadn’t seen him before. He is actually the talented composer behind the piece and I was able to interview him and the rest of the team here. Hale has Our Town coming up next on the Beehive Stage which I’m really looking forward to seeing next week. You can find out more information here.

No Time for Sergeants- Parker Theatre, Salt Lake

I really appreciate at the Parker they decided to put on an old fashioned show about the military for the celebration of America 250th birthday. I had heard of No Time for Sergeants but had never seen it before and overall I enjoyed it. This is directed by Joanne Parker and it is a very impressive production for community theater. The flight hangers and boot camps look professional with the always state-of-the-art sound and lighting the Parker always has. The cast is also fun with Truman Schipper playing the dopey Will. That said, I didn’t particularly find it very funny but maybe that’s just my sense of humor. Today is actually the closing day for No Time for Sergeants but I’m glad I had a chance to see such a classic. Next up the Parker has Cyrano De Bergerac and tickets can be purchased here.

School of Rock- Draper Amphitheatre, Draper

If I was making a list of underrated Broadway musicals I would definitely include School of Rock. It is of course based on the movie but they add to it with really good songs including one of my favorites “If Only You Would Listen.” I always look forward to the productions at the Draper Amphitheater and their School of Rock did not disappoint. My only surprise was how poorly attended it was. Usually Draper brings out crowds so I’m not sure what happened. I love how this show gets the teens to play instruments live and they were a highlight of the night. I also loved Kersee Whitney as principal Rosalie. It’s a harder role than you’d guess having to do everything from rock to opera but she nailed it all. This was probably less visually special and more reliant on projections than their previous productions of Mamma Mia and Hairspray but I still had a good time with it. School of Rock has finished its run but you can find out more on Draper Arts Council here.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels- Draper Historic Theatre, Draper

I will always support my local theatre companies but lately the productions at Draper Historic haven’t been as strong as they were for a while. This is why I was so happy to see such a strong staging of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. It’s a musical I honestly can find a little dry and boring when I’ve seen it in the past but they did the best version of it I’ve seen. I particularly loved the cast and Marion Pack as Muriel and Todd Taylor as Andre. They are both such talented comedic actors. The rest of the cast was first rate in both the singing and acting with sets and props that were all very well done. Draper Historic has High School Musical coming up next and tickets can be purchased here.

So there you have it 9 shows! What have you been watching? Have you seen any of these shows? Would love to hear your thoughts.

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.