One of my favorite local companies is Hopebox Theatre up in Kaysville. They not only produce high quality shows at reasonable prices, but they have a wonderful mission where each production helps benefit a ‘Hopebox recipient’ who is fighting cancer. They have usually nailed their shows but I have to admit I was not a big fan of their recent production of A Christmas Story (a show I normally love) during the last holiday season. This last weekend, however, they opened the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof and fortunately it is a big bounce back to the outstanding shows I’ve come to expect from Hopebox.

Given its popularity Fiddler on the Roof is often performed but there are a couple of aspects that make this Hopebox production unique. The biggest standout is how obviously careful they have been to honor and respect the Jewish culture and religious traditions and portray them accurately. I am obviously no expert on the topic but one could just tell there is more of an attention to detail in costumes, language, pronunciation and traditions like how the wedding ceremony and the sabbath prayer are portrayed. In the playbill they thank Liz Paige the Associate Director of the United Jewish Federation of Utah and her involvement is clearly seen and appreciated.

The casting is also strong throughout. I particularly enjoyed all of our young couples with Jarom Young and Rachel Stephenson as Fyedka and Chava as my favorites. “Chavaleh (Little Bird)” is one of my favorite moments of the musical and it is beautifully portrayed here. I also love how they handled Chava and Fyedka’s goodbye with Chava putting her arm on Tevye as he refuses to make eye contact. I’ve never seen it staged that way and it added a moving layer to the scene.

I saw the Teal cast and Jacob Draper appears younger than the typical Tevye but he has the charm and charisma needed for the role and Marsha Holmes is perfect as Golde. Their rendition of “Do You Love Me?” was a highlight of the night.

Whenever I see Fiddler I look forward to “Tevye’s Dream” because it’s a chance for the company to flex their creative juices. Director Marinda Maxfield and choreographer Jordan Wheeler have done so here with them maximizing the small space with sheets coming off of Fruma-Sarah to act like a parachute that can move and flow with the music. It’s very innovative and surprising.

As with any community production there are flaws but the only major ones at Hopebox’s Fiddler is there are times when the singer and the backtrack are a little off and everything isn’t quite working but it’s usually remedied and all is well. I also felt like fiddler Carrie Young was a little underused and there are times when she is sitting watching that I felt she could have been playing or interacting with the cast.

That said, Fiddler on the Roof at Hopebox is a wonderful production I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s playing until March 15th and tickets can be purchased here (also try and avoid the B seats as there is a pole that obfuscates some of the view.)

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.

I’m not quite sure why The Play that Goes Wrong has proven so popular in Utah, but I suppose theaters in the area are always on the lookout for amusing straight plays that are relatively family friendly. Nevertheless practically every company has done this farce, and I admit to being a bit weary of it. However, when I heard West Valley Performing Arts Center was going to tackle it I was immediately intrigued because I have never seen it done by a theater in the round before. So many of the gags revolve around a 2nd story study falling apart and various items on the walls and doors that I wondered how it could be done in a theater in the round where there are no walls and doorways are limited. Fortunately director Kristi Curtis and her team have found a way to make the production work well and the talented cast delivers an entertaining evening at the theater.

The Play That Goes Wrong first appeared in London in 2012 as part of the Mischief Theatre Company. It is written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields and can currently be seen in London and Off-Broadway in NYC. The concept behind the play is a community theater company has the worst luck when putting on a mystery performance of The Murder at Haversham Manor. This provides a setting where we not only get lots of jokes about the putting on of a performance (ala Noises Off!) but also lots of jabs at murder mystery plays such as The Mousetrap, which has been running in the West End for decades.

The cast at WVPAC are a big part of what makes this show work so well. They are all skilled at physical comedy and commit themselves to every gag whether it be falling from a platform or having a door slammed in their face. My favorite was Samuel Wright as Dennis who is playing the butler Perkins in the play. The gag for his character is he always forgets his lines which he has written on his hand and says incorrectly to great comedic effect. I particularly laughed at one moment where he is exasperated by the goings-on of the play and wants to give up on it all together. Given the chaos afoot it’s a mystery why all the actors aren’t equally despondent.

The downside to the production at WVPAC is they can’t completely make up for the configuration of the round stage. Much of the jokes depend on your line of sight to be able to appreciate them, and I missed out on some being on the west side of the venue. They get as much humor out of the corner door but it can get crowded and difficult to see what is happening despite being close to the action. I’m not sure how one fixes this as without blocking out a huge portion of seats which isn’t practical. I appreciate the actors move up and down the aisles and even into the seats on a few occasions. This immersion helps account for a few missed jokes.

That said, any imperfections in the venue are made up for by the high comedic energy of the cast and their nailing of so many funny scenes. It’s as my Grandma would say a real hoot.

The Play That Goes Wrong is playing at WVPAC until March 1st and tickets can be purchased here.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.

As a critic I try to not let my personal expectations and biases impact my reactions too much but it’s impossible to not have it happen a little. I am a human being with life experience and opinions after all. Fortunately sometimes a show is actually helped by those expectations and something is much better than I expect it to be. That is always such a fun experience to be more delighted by a production than I anticipate. Such is the case with Pioneer Theatre Company’s new show Beautiful: The Carol King Musical.

I’m by no means a jukebox musical hater and have enjoyed some of the biographical types over the years but they can often be on the dry and boring side- going through the motions of the rise and fall of a singer with their accompanying tunes. This is what I was expecting with Beautiful but what I got was a much more interesting study of the creative and writing process and the ebbs and flows of marriage and friendship.

Admittedly part of my surprise at this show is because of my own ignorance. I had no idea that Carol King wrote so many classic songs. In fact, we only get 5 songs from King’s Tapestry era. Not only is this show (book by Douglas McGrath) not just a laundry list of King songs but it also tells the story of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and has many of their songs. This is a couple I’d never heard of which made the experience all the more fresh and fascinating.

At PTC King is played by Sara Sheperd and it is clear this role is in her bones as she didn’t miss a beat throughout. I found it particularly impressive how she transitioned from teenager energy at 16 when it starts to a more mature woman and mother of 2 at the end. Kate Casalino’s hair and makeup also deserves a shoutout for making these transitions convincing and seemingly effortless.

Anthony Sagaria plays King’s husband and songwriting partner and his role is written a little more one-note but he brings all he can to the role. He’s definitely your typical tortured artist we see in these types of jukebox musicals but because we see enough empathetic moments from him and with them as a couple that it works quite well.

I can see why Beautiful is a daunting production to put on. The huge cast, number and variety of songs performed would be challenging for any company but PTC is up for the challenge. I admire director Karen Azenberg’s staging of the musical numbers keeping them compelling and always aware of how they are impacting our lead characters. When the Drifters are singing “Up on the Roof” or The Shirelles with “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” we can see the other actors responding and how the song and songwriting is affecting them.

The set by Jason Simms with lighting by Dawn Chiang is on the simple side with most of the time spent in a studio with a 2-story structure they used for different scenes. The back of the stage has a light board that helped create tone with different colors but the focus of this show is on the music and the characters experiences writing said songs (maybe I like jukebox musicals better about song writers than singers?)

If readers are reticent to see another jukebox musical I’d encourage them to give Beautiful: The Carol King Musical at Pioneer Theatre Company a try. The only real flaw I had with it is the fake piano playing could have been either done better or hid more. It was pretty obvious but that’s a small complaint for a wonderful production with truly beautiful performances and a tribute to the power of songwriting and the creative process. It’s a win for PTC! Beautiful is playing through March 1st and tickets can be purchased here.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.

Naturally I love nothing more than a night of community theatre but sometimes just getting to the venue is an accomplishment in and of itself. Such was the case February 13th. Normally it takes me about 30 minutes to drive down to Provo but due to weather and multiple crashes it took me almost 3 hours to get there. I debated many times about throwing in the towel and giving up but I had made a commitment to review the show so I pushed forward. Nevertheless, after such a stressful experience I was ready to be entertained by the folks at Covey Center for the Arts in their new production of Barefoot in the Park. Fortunately for me the drive was well worth it as I was treated to a hilarious night of theatre.

Barefoot in the Park is a play written by Neil Simon that first premiered in 1963. It is also well known for the feature film with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford with Mildred Natwick in a memorable role as the Mother of the story. Previous to Covey’s production I had seen the movie but never seen the play so it was a lot of fun to check this one off of my bucket list.

The plot for this play is simple making it a great fit for the black box at the Covey. It focuses on a newly married couple Corie and Paul who not only come together quickly but chose quote possibly the worst apartment in all of New York. Paul played by Jared Gaskill starts off optimistic but quickly is worn down by the apartment trying to kill him at every turn. Corie played by Laura Herscovici is more of a trooper but the stress it causes for Paul makes her more unhinged as the play progresses. Director Robinne Booth has the role of our beleagured Mother and Mathew DelaFuente and Eric Johnson round out the strong cast.

To be honest comedies with a lot of conflict can be stressful for me but this one leans so much into the physical comedy that the characters are still likable and fun to watch. I particularly admired Gaskill’s gift of physical comedy. He throws his entire body into the role sometimes literally flailing his body onto the ground in hard falls! That actor is going to be sore by the end of this production!

Neil Simon wrote 2 intermissions into this show which allows for little changes to the set (Robert Seely & Spencer Powell.) In the director’s notes Booth says this production is in tribute to her Mother who passed away while she was last performing this play. Costume designer Jessica Moody used Booth’s mother’s clothes for her wardrobe, and they used her Mother’s painting above the mantlepiece of the apartment set. Such touches give the whole production an authentic and warm feel amongst all the fighting.

It is terrific planning by The Covey to plan Barefoot in the Park to open Valentines weekend. This funny show about marriage would be a perfect choice for date night or just for anyone who wants a good laugh. It is playing through March 8th and tickets can be purchased here.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.