There are times when reviewing theatre or film one has to look at the intended audience for a piece and assess if the needs of the audience are being met. Not everything should or can be for everyone and it’s perfectly fine for something to have a niche appeal. Such is the case for the new parody musical from Salt Lake Acting Company called The Gaslight Zone. This is part of a tradition SLAC has of a summer comedy show each year, a tradition I have not attended until now. I’m honestly not the biggest fan of this type of skit type comedy play so I went in with some hesitation. I’m also way more mixed politically than the typical SLAC patron. I’d call myself a moderate conservative (yes those still exist.) After seeing the show I can’t say that it is all for me but I think it was well done and will definitely please the target audience it is going for. Local liberals looking for a homebase to connect and vent will love it. Nothing wrong with that!

This production is directed and choreographed by Cynthia Fleming, and I must say it was much more ambitious than a lot of this sketch comedy (particularly improv which by its nature is unplanned and usually not very funny) usually is. I was particularly impressed by the pre-recorded video bits used. I’d put them up there with anything you see on SNL these days (although that may be damning with faint praise but still it looked very professional.) Most of these are old-school advertisement style like an informercial for a Redact-O-Pen 5000 to use on the Epstein files or a Stretch Johnson toy commercial to make fun of Speaker Mike Johnson. One of the frustrating parts about the political life of President Trump is how horrifically Hollywood has failed to mine any humor from it. You’d think with someone like him it would be ripe for the parody and satire but especially SNL has fallen flat in that department most of the time (I particularly can’t stand Alec Baldwin’s bland and useless Trump.) Anyway, the fact I laughed as much as I did at what SLAC presented says something because so many have completely failed in that department in the last decade.

My favorite part of The Gaslight Zone outside of the video skits is the songs. I didn’t realize going into it that it was a musical. In parody fashion they have taken classic Broadway songs and reworked them to be topical like “Revolting Neighbors’ off of ‘Revolting Children’ from Matilda or a reworking of “American Idiot” from American Idiot with the same appropriate title. Some times I found the segments went on a little bit too long, and I grew weary of them after a while (particularly the local humor) but it was still overall a fun time.

The cast is up for the task ahead of them and not afraid to look silly or be controversial. Everything is hosted by Scotty Fletcher playing a drag queen Broad Sterling who was a perfect choice for that job. It was also impressive to see the massive costumes with elaborate headpieces designed by Dennis Hassan. In addition, I enjoyed Marc Nielsen’s Trump. The clips are shot by Kenny Riches and like I said they are the most polished aspect of the night.

Obviously The Gaslight Zone is not going to win over a lot of the conservative audience in Utah but it’s not designed to. I think it is perfectly fine for the liberal minority to have a place to go to laugh, gather and commiserate together. And for that purpose this show does its job well. It’s a situation where you have to know who you are and if something is a good fit for you. If it is, than you should go see it. Simple as that! It is playing through August 16th and tickets can be purchased here (also consider subscribing to SLAC if you are its target audience. You won’t regret their ambitious schedule)

For its audience I give it a

The Gaslight Zone is written by Olivia Custodio, Austin Archer and Penelope Caywood with direction and choreography by Cynthia Fleming. Music director is Zach Hansen.

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.

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.

I always love when a local company let’s me check a play or musical off of my theatre bucket list. Especially being here in Utah there are some shows that aren’t done often and yet I long to see them. This week I had such an experience provided to me by Lil Poppet Productions and their staging of True West. I’d long heard of this play but was delighted to get to see it and it did not disappoint. What a gripping night of community theatre.

This play is put on in the black box space at the Alliance Theater at Trolly Square and it is one of the strongest plays I’ve seen there recently. What I think makes it work is not only are the performances professional quality but it has a good mixture of humor and drama keeping the audience guessing on what will happen next.

The story is set in Los Angeles in the late 1980s and focuses on two brothers who have a volatile relationship to say the least. Austin is back in town to talk to a Hollywood executive about screenplay he has and Lee is financially irresponsible and angry man who has become a thief to make by. They are staying at their mother’s home while in Los Angeles and make a mess of things since she is vacationing in Alaska.

Once they start talking Lee shares with Austin his idea for a new western film and wants his help to write it. As you can imagine this collaboration between the brothers does not go well creating a good mixture of comedy and drama. They even end up attacking each other at several points in the story. I also like that the script stays ambivalent about which brother is our main protagonist. They both have positive and negative qualities to them and one can understand why they find it so difficult to be together at all let alone work together.

True West is directed by Morag Shepherd and she smartly keeps things simple so that we focus on the actors and the tension building between them. The set looks like a small apartment with a kitchen area getting the main focus (costumes, set and props by Stephanie Stroud.) It is also great how little details like the box TV and landline phones take us back to the setting of the play.

Technically this play has 4 actors but it is the 2 actors that get most of the stage time. It’s a play that lives or dies on its performances and fortunately they are excellent there. The more volatile angry brother Lee is played by Jesse Nepivoda in one of the stronger performances in Utah theatre this year. And then Austin is played by David Knoell and I had a lot of questions about his character, which is an interesting choice. For instance, he talks about having a family but then wanting to stay with Lee in the desert. Has he abandoned his family? Are he and his wife separated?

There is a sense of a time capsule appeal to a play like True West. Austin is writing his screenplay on a typewriter, Lee steals a box TV, and the men are writing a script for a version of Hollywood that basically doesn’t exist any more. The amount producer Saul (Jacob Barnes in a very LA performance) offers to pay for a new writer in a Western is wild by today’s standards. Now such a story would probably be co-opted into a Yellowstone spinoff but that’s about it. I’d be interested to learn how writer Sam Shephard would portray Hollywood now in the age of streaming and superhero movies.

The thing that makes a sibling dynamic especially ripe for theatre is it is the one relationship in life we have basically no say in. Outside of who our parents are everyone else we decide if they will be in our life or not. We decide whom to marry, date, be friends and work with. Siblings you’re stuck with and outside of rare circumstances you have to make things work. This in spite the fact you may or may not have anything in common with this brother or sister. Such is the case with Austin and Lee. They may be related but they see the world completely differently and hashing out those differences is the core of the story.

Lil Poppet has a ‘pay what you can’ system so with True West one gets a chance to see a classic play for low cost (be as generous as possible.) Unlike some straight plays it’s not that long and like I said it has both drama and comedy. It is playing through June 28th and tickets can be purchased here.

True West is play by Sam Shepard and it was first performed in 1980 in San Francisco and it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1983. It was nominated for a Tony Awards in 2000 for Best Play and the actors playing the brothers were Phillip Seymour Hoffman and John C Reilly.

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.

There’s nothing like the early opportunities parents can take to introduce their children to the wonderful world of the theatre. I vividly remember early experiences I had like attending the Utah Shakespeare Festival with my Dad in 1991 when I was 10 or seeing The Phantom of the Opera in the early 90s with my Grandma in San Francisco. These moments helped me develop a love for the artform from a young age but also allowed me to decide on what my tastes are in terms of music, stories, styles and even fashion. Therefore, I rejoice when a company provides a quality experience aimed at kids and such is the experience that can be had at Tuacahn Center for the Arts this year and their Disney & Pixar’s Finding Nemo: A Family Musical (full title is a mouthful!)

I must admit when I heard Tuacahn was going to put on Finding Nemo I was a bit perplexed by the choice. With such long seasons it seems like it would be a hard show to fill such a large amphitheater up with. I’m still not sure it makes the most sense for attendance with it being only a 70 minute show including intermission but those who do attend will have a good time. It’s nothing life-changing but it’s a lot of fun and like I said will make for a great introduction to theatre for the kids who attend.

Most people have probably seen the Finding Nemo movie made by Disney/Pixar in 2003. It tells the story of clown fish Marlin and his journey to find his son named Nemo. Along the way he meets a forgetful fish named Dory, some sharks in rehab and chill turtles riding the East Australian Current (they are heading to Sydney.) The musical was first written for the Animal Kingdom park of Walt Disney World and it was a 40 minute attraction there. It has now been condensed to a shorter version for the park but it has been expanded to a 70 minute version here including an intermission (the movie is 100 minutes.)

Despite the condensed runtime one doesn’t feel like they are missing much of the story in this musical version. At Tuacahn Dominic Giovanni plays Marlin and his suit is a clever way to pay homage to a fish without it being too literal. There are characters like the turtle Crush that are actual large puppets (Sittichai Chaiyahat) but the mixture of costumes and puppetry keeps things exciting. The Crush puppet in particular takes 5 people to operate which is very impressive to behold.

The whole production by director/choreographer Mara Newbery Greer is impressive with all of the elements working together from the live orchestration (music director Alex Huff,) to the scenic design in scenes like the jellyfish forest (set designer Paul Black,) to the wildly creative costumes (designer Dustin Cross.) I also really enjoyed the set for the aquarium and how they used video projections, lighting and other visual effects to create the feeling of a tank complete with lots of bubbles.

Unlike most Disney offerings Finding Nemo has completely new songs unless one is super familiar with the Disney World attraction. While it is nice to hear something new it isn’t likely to have the same effect on kids as hearing a song they know and love from an animated film. The songs are also on the forgettable side and sometimes feel like padding we need to get done with to get back to the story we do know so well. It seems like this show would be just as enjoyable as a play as a musical. It’s a little surprising they don’t have a song for the seagulls as I think a “Mine, mine” song could be funny

Still what Tuacahn has put together for this production is a lot of fun. It’s bright and colorful and just long enough to entertain small children with short attention spans. It might feel like a lot of money for this type of experience for parents to afford particularly with large families but they do have season packages and at least if they can afford it they’ll have a good time with it. I don’t know if it has a ton of a appeal outside of families but it is well done so there’s plenty to enjoy. Fortunately you have until October 24th to see it and tickets can be purchased here. My advice is take the family and have a great time with Finding Nemo at Tuacahn.

Finding Nemo: The Musical has music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and it was originally written for an attraction at Disney World which was 40 minutes and now it has been condensed down to 25 minutes. It first opened in 2007 and got the refurbishment in 2022. The movie is from 2003 where it received 4 Oscar nominations winning one for Best Animated Feature Film.

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.

Recently I had the chance to see the musical Urinetown for the first time. I’d heard about it but never had the chance to see it until Terrace Plaza put it on earlier this year. What I like about this musical that manages to say a lot (having commentary on politics, government, leadership, and even musical theater tropes and cliches) but it never feels like it is preaching or overly-political. It keeps a spirit of humor and frivolity throughout while leaving the audience with plenty to discuss on their way home from the show. The new production at Hopebox captures this unique dynamic of Urinetown even if the production itself was a little bit plainer than I was expecting. It’s still enjoyable and worthy of your time.

There are so many aspects that make Hopebox a special place to see theatre but most importantly their mission with Hopebox recipient fighting cancer that the company fundraises for throughout the run of the show. I’ve always been impressed with not only this wonderful mission but that the company uses this as a catalyst for great productions not an excuse for any imperfections. They are always doing their best I’m sure partly to help their great cause get as many donations as possible.

The night I attended I saw the Teal Cast and they are all terrific in their performances. I particuarly enjoyed Katie Jones as Little Sally and Porter Beesley as Bobby Strong. Most of the memorable songs are in Act 2 and I especially love “Run, Freedom, Run” sung with the energy of a gospel choir by Beesley. It’s a blast. “Follow Your Heart” and the reprise sung by Bobby and Jess Sannar is another highlight of the show.

If you are wondering what on earth Urinetown is all about it’s a very unusual show about a dystopian city where public utilities are tightly controlled including access to toilets. This means people have to pay to use the bathroom and if they don’t pay or relieve themselves elsewhere they are sent to the mysterious Urinetown. Dave Hanson plays the criminal bad man of business behind this operation as Caldwell B Caldwell and Melissa Trenery runs the toilet that becomes the home of the rebellion as Penelope Pennywise. I’m not normally a fan of dystopians but Urinetown never lets things get too serious, which actually makes the themes it’s trying to explore more effective and memorable.

My only disappointment with this production at Hopebox is director Jim Christian decides to go the more minimalistic approach with simple backgrounds and sets/props. I understand their space is small but I was honestly hoping they would do something similar to what they did with Oliver! a few years ago. They took a steampunk approach with the costumes and sets and that was so cool. When I saw that production I told my friend it would be a great approach to Urinetown. It’s not that they had to do the same thing they did with Oliver! for this but I do think it was a missed opportunity giving it a simpler style and feel. I hope that someone reading this gets inspired to do a steampunk Urinetown because I think that would be really neat. I actually feel Terrace Plaza had a little bit more immersive world building and costumes with their production.

Still, this musical is very well done in its simplicity and Urinetown is so unique it’s very much worth seeing while you have the chance. It is playing with 2 casts at Hopebox through July 3rd and tickets can be purchased here.

Urinetown has music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann with lyrics and book by Greg Kotis. It first premiered Off-Broadway in 2001 and then Broadway that same year and recently was Off-Broadway again in 2025.

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 like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.