Theater

Ready to be serenaded and scandalized all at once? Jersey Boys is hitting the stage at Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. It’s bringing the magic of Frankie Valli and promises to bring the magic of The Four Seasons to life right before your nostalgic eyes.

This jukebox musical takes us on an exciting ride through the lives of Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito, and Nick Massi—four guys from Newark who went from neighborhood nobodies to international icons. Think of it as The Sopranos meets “Bohemian Rhapsody,” with a soundtrack so iconic it might be in your own Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

The plot unfolds, revealing the band’s story from four distinct perspectives. Frankie Valli, with his unmistakable falsetto, is the charming lead whose ambition and talent push the group to stardom. Bob Gaudio, the musical mastermind, brings the hits and helps keep the band’s sound fresh. Tommy DeVito, the flamboyant troublemaker, adds to the drama with his larger-than-life personality and financial woes. And Nick Massi, the quiet bass player, provides the steady backbone—literally and figuratively.

The musical covers their rise to fame, starting with their early days playing local clubs and struggling to get noticed. The story takes a few twists and turns, exploring their personal lives and the challenges that come with sudden success. Expect a rollercoaster of emotions as the group deals with everything from creative differences to financial struggles and personal betrayals.

And, of course, there’s the music. The show features an electrifying playlist of The Four Seasons’ greatest hits, from the infectious “Sherry” to the classic “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” It’s a non-stop parade of unforgettable melodies that will have you tapping your feet and singing along before you even realize it. We’re excited to see this production of a musical that blends top-notch tunes with a juicy behind-the-scenes look at one of the biggest bands of the ’60s, Jersey Boys is your ticket to a night of pure entertainment. I’m curious to see firsthand why this show had a 12-year residency on Broadway. I’ve got my tickets and dancing shoes ready.

Read our full review of Pioneer Theater Company’s Jersey Boys.

• WHAT: Jersey Boys
• WHEN: September 13-18th, 2024
• WHERE: Pioneer Theatre Company, in the Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre
• TICKETS AND INFO: pioneertheater.org

As improbable as it seems, Leo Tolstoy’s 1869 novel War and Peace has been turned into a Broadway musical. The production, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, originally opened on Broadway in 2016 and starred Josh Groban. The production has finally made its way to Utah and will open at the Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theater on May 10, 2024.

Nominated for 12 Tony Awards, this hit Broadway Show will have you swooning through imperialist Russia on a vodka-soaked wild ride. This story encompasses love and lust, and everything that comes with it. From rogues to redemption, dancing to dueling Tolstoy’s epic tome has it all and is strangely charming converted to musical form. 

Natasha is visiting Moscow while she waits for her beloved fiance, Andrey. While feeling lonely and uneasy about the engagement, she is seduced by Anatole Kuragin. Anatole, who is married, ruins Natasha’s position in the community with the scandal and her engagement. The misanthropic Pierre Bezukhov may be the only compassionate person to help redeem her standing. But can he get past his own lonely, internal struggles?

Leo Tolstoy was an esteemed Russian writer. Possibly, one of the most influential authors of his time. He received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature consistently from 1902 to 1906, and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902, and 1909. War and Peace is one of his most notable works; often credited as a pinnacle of realist fiction, some critics even called it “the greatest of all novels.” (You may disagree if you had to slog through it during college.)  
This production is a musical. This show is full of musical numbers. On stage, there will be a cast of 20 amazing actors; So, come ready to see some triple threats (excellent singing, dancing, and acting). The score of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 merges Russian Folk, Classical, Indie Rock, and EDM influences. Dave Malloy, the score’s writer and orchestrator, has written 14 musicals. His long list of awards speaks for itself, but this particular show has to be one of his biggest achievements. The New York Times called it “the most innovative and best new musical to open on Broadway since Hamilton!” Looking forward to seeing it for myself.

• What: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
• When: May 10 through 25, 2024; Monday through Saturday
• Where: Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 S. 1400 East, SLC
• Tickets: $55-79 ($5 extra, if purchased at the door) and are available at pioneertheatre.org or by calling PTC’s Box Office at (801)581-6961.

Lady Helen Macduff waits in wonderment, isolated in an undefined space. Her silence is broken by the appearance of the loathsome King Macbeth, a specter from her past and the emissary of her condition. And it is here, in limbo—the existential space between heaven and hell—where together they await their destiny.

Macbeth (played to pompous effect by Bobby Cody) is in a state of confusion in the presence of Helen Macduff (played by the powerful Yolanda Stange). His first recognition of her is an emerging memory of the two of them as children, aligned in youthful play turned to romance, and of her bewitching Bitter Lemon cake.

How quickly that sweet memory turned bitter. Macbeth’s death, thus his presence in this ethereal space, came at the hands of Andrew Macduff as an act of revenge for Macbeth’s slaying of Macduff’s beloved wife and three children, Andrew Jr., Alexander and baby Angela, 

Here in limbo, Helen Macduff seizes the moment. A woman murdered alongside her children is not to be toyed with, after all. An enraged Helen Macduff is given her voice in playwright Melissa Leilani Larson’s imaginative epilogue to Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Kudos to Jerry Rapier, Plan-B’s artistic director and the director of Bitter Lemon, the final play of Plan-B’s season. His commitment to progressive, intelligent theatre and to the enriched community is truly nothing short of remarkable. 

The scenery (designed by Janice Chan) is tiered, vertical backdrop panels, with a fluidity representative of an undersea scape. Emma Belnap’s lighting design underscores the room’s impermanence, yet illuminates space for the impending confrontation. Current-era costumes (designed by Victoria Bird) further set the mood for the 21st Century adaptation. Cheryl Ann Cluff has again surpassed audience expectations with the sound design of Bitter Lemon.

The characters evolve as the conversation between Finley Macbeth and Helen Macduff turns into a confrontation. While a defiant Macbeth turns to defensiveness, an angry, bitter Helen Macduff summons her rage in a full-out assault on Macbeth, railing against his vile tactics and his self-obsessed schemes for power. 

Helen Macduff seeks reconciliation through forgiveness, while Macbeth defends his violent quest for permanent rule. And in one of her most inspiring and most defiant retorts to his queasy defense of his self-seeking aggrandizement, she claims, “That is just typical of you, and your gender. It reeks of privilege. What can be more selfish than to tire of someone else’s pain? If you are the hero, the leader, you claim to be, you will embrace your sins. Own them, hold them up and say—‘I did this.’” 

And in his one, stunning act of contrition, Finley Macbeth asks Helen Macduff for forgiveness. To which she replies …”That’s the balance, then. You must own your wrongs, and I must forgive them.”

As the audience’s applause faded and we walked out of the theater, I was reminded that political leaders’ self-seeking obsession for power and wealth, irrespective of mass human deprivation is sadly not just a relic of the 16th Century.

• What: Plan-B Theatre’s Bitter Lemon by Melissa Leilani Larson, Directed by Jerry Rapier
• When: Bitter Lemon at Plan B runs April 11-28, on Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 4 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
• Where: The Studio Theatre, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South, SLC
• Tickets and info: planbtheatre.org

The murderous couple Bonnie & Clyde and their infamous story of adventure and romance have hit the stage at Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Theater Company. This version, directed by decorated and experienced actor and director Gerry McIntyre, adds a spin to the original musical. “I’ve added numbers to the show so it’s completely different than Broadway. Broadway just told the story,” McIntyre said. “No one really moved at all.” Pairing his revamped version with a Tony-nominated score by composer Frank Wildhors, Bonnie & Clyde is a celebration of quintessential American musical genres like gospel, rock & roll and blues. To see first-hand how McIntyre and the talented crew at Pioneer Theatre reinterpreted the lawless lovers’ Broadway number, I caught the show on opening night on Feb. 23rd, 2024.   

The decorated cast of talented actors included PTC alumn Alanna Sanders who played Bonnie Parker, with her passionate vocals and strong acting that really made the audience feel for her character and understand her raison d’etre. “So when we were talking about casting Bonnie, it was such an obvious choice that it should be Alanna Sanders, because she’s, first of all so talented…She could do anything,” McIntyre said. “And that’s the part about diversity that I find perfect when we can cast somebody no matter if they’re a historical character, that we can still have someone who’s just talented.”

PTC newcomer Michael William Nigro’s charismatic performance as Clyde Barrow gave the audience a new perspective into the deranged outlaw’s psyche and how he ended up in this situation in the first place. Nigro and Sanders’ tandem performances demonstrated strong, electric chemistry in their scenes, encouraging their literal ride-or-die romance to come to life on stage.

Penny Hodson, who played young Bonnie during opening night’s performance, gave her all to draw out audience sympathy for Bonnie and her life story. Kiyan R. Wyness, who was cast as young Clyde the same night, demonstrated strong and intense vocals, emphasizing juvenile Clyde’s yearning to succeed and escape a bad situation, even if it meant breaking the law.

Other standout performances included Dan De Luca, who plays Buck, Clyde’s brother, and Gina Milo, who plays his wife, who gave a chemistry-filled and humorous (at times) performance. Similarly, April Armstrong and Marry Fanning Driggs, who played Bonnie and Clyde’s mothers, respectively, delivered a heart-wrenching performance showing a mother’s loss of her children.

The stage was alive with the electricity of the cast on stage. With musical numbers ranging from the romantic ballad that is “Dyin Ain’t So Bad” to the upbeat and hilarious “God’s Arms are Always Open” to the historically eye-opening “Made in America” the cast and ensemble sang their hearts out..

The stage and costume design really set the scene to show that these characters are in the dirty 30s, one of the hardest and most depressing times in America’s history. The interactive set, though simple, featured mugshots of Clyde, Bonnie, Clyde’s brother, Buck and his wife, Blanche, plastered as if they were wanted signs. As each of the characters experienced their big moments in the show, their respective poster would light up for added drama.. The production’s costumes were equally designed with the period and theme in mind. Like Bonnie’s gorgeous, though humble dress, which honored her beauty while staying true to the reality of economic disparity. Clyde’s outfits were more simple and rugged, really displaying his focus on the chase and his love, disregarding the less-important things in life.

Overall, this is the musical to be at for a laugh, a cry and for everything in between. The action and the drama are impressively performed by the cast, and the audience is left inspired, and maybe a little envious, of the larger-than-life adventure had by history’s most notorious couple

This show will continue to run at the Pioneer Theater Company until March 9, find tickets at Pioneer Theatre’s Website. 

On Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, Plan-B staged the world premiere of Balthazar, a new play by Debora Threedy that puts a modern twist on Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.

The lights go up and Portia enters the law library of her staid cousin Bellario. The scene is set for a battle of the wills. She implores her cousin to teach her the law, so she can defend Antonio, her paramour, Bassanio’s “friend,” in debtor’s court. The debt, she believed was hers. Bassanio, an impoverished suitor, borrowed the money from Antonio so he could court and marry the noblewoman, Portia.

Bellario (played by Jason Bowcutt, with equal parts gravitas and humor), refuses. Women are barred from practicing law. And he is after all a successful man, a doctor of the law and a practitioner of 16th Century Venetian mores. He also is gay. But Portia (played by the effervescent Lilly Hue Soo Dixon) will not be deterred. Still, he refuses to aid in the charade and emphatically instructs Portia to forget about such deception lest she end up in a convent for wayward women.

Portia returns to his office dressed as Balthazar, a young man. Bellario doesn’t recognize Portia as Balthazar, and proceeds in the game of deception by teaching him the rigors of the law. The two engage in a lively discussion regarding the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law. Through the exchange between the two, Balthazar reinterprets and reimagines the law into a successful defense of Antonio as a debtor-criminal defendant.

Threedy developed the play in Plan-B’s Lab and Script-in-hand Series and the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s Words Cubed, a week-long, intense development process. Derek Livingston, director of New Plays at Utah Shakespeare Festival says, “As a Utah writer, Debora has been fortunate to have Plan-B as a home at which she has developed the play.”

“Plan-B’s focus on women, queer stories, and Utah writers is an important commitment to elevating underrepresented voices,” Livingston says. “That Balthazar manages to have those foci, was developed by two different theaters with very different missions, located at opposite ends of the state, points to how universal Threedy’s work is,” he said.

The combination of Plan-B Theatre, playwright Threedy, and William Shakespeare is a powerful concoction. Threedy doesn’t shy away from creating plays with progressive themes, and Plan-B Theatre, likewise, produces and stages powerful and exploratory productions. In Balthazar, the audience is given a Shakespearean romp with a contemporary twist. 

Throughout the play the set is constant, a glimpse into a successful lawyer’s environs. The set design (created by Scenic Designer, Janice Chan) evokes the rigidity of 16th-century tradition. The furniture is heavy, the art is “Titian” as Portia points out, and the image of conservatism reigns. Likewise, the costumes (designed by Aaron Asano Swenson) effectively convey convention.

Once Antonio is released from the debtor’s claims, and Bassanio fulfills the obligations of Portia’s father’s will, Portia and Bassanio marry. The three set up a household, with Portia seamlessly transitioning from Portia to Balthazar to the joy and amusement of Bassanio and Antonio.

“‘Different’ is different from ‘unnatural,’” claims Portia. “I am Her, I am Him.”

As the play ended, the sold-out theater erupted with resounding applause. The 70-minute play captured our imaginations at seeing justice, in every sense, was served.

• What: Balthazar by Debora Threedy
• Where: Plan-B Theater’s studio stage in the Rose Wagner Theatre, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City
• When: Runs through March 3, 2024
• Tickets, showtimes and information at planbtheatre.org

Sherlock Holmes and the Final Problem is the 17th episode in Plan-B Theatre’s radio presentations and the first to be aired with a live theater audience in nearly a decade. 

But is this Sherlock’s final episode? You’ll have to attend one of Friday’s World Premier performances or tune into KUER 90.1 to find out! 

To the plot. Sherlock Holmes (voiced by KUER’s RadioWest host Doug Fabrizio) is driven to seek refuge from his longtime nemesis Dr. Moriarty (played by Jay Perry). On the run with Dr. Watson (played by Isabell Reeder) the duo travel by train from London to the Channel crossing, destined for Paris. Or so it seems. Holmes, a master of disguise and misdirection, eludes Moriarty and their destination from Paris to Brussels, then to Strasbourg and into Switzerland.   

Amid the escape, Sherlock Holmes avows his fondness — then love — for Dr. Watson. Their interchanges are gentle, his affirming and hers resistant, but finally conciliatory. 

From their Alpine hideaway in the Swiss Alps, Dr. Watson is called back to the hotel to treat an ailing British woman, who refuses care from a “foreign doctor.” Holmes is left alone to fend for himself against the cunning, murderous Dr. Moriarty who lurks nearby. 

The live audience will see backdrops move from one destination to another, illustrating international chase. Meanwhile, for listeners gathered around the radio, clever Foley work fills in the visual gaps and brings the action to life. 

The British accents of the three presenters are finely tuned and pitch-perfect. As a member of the radio generation, I can say that this live radio broadcast is true to its nostalgic form—including the pauses for station identification. It brought back memories of listening to the Lux Radio Theater around the family RCA as I sat back in my theater seat and closed my eyes, I was transported.
The World Premiere of Sherlock Holmes and the Final Problem by Matthew Ivan Bennett, adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, airs before a live audience on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, with two performances at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the Jeanne Wagner Theatre. Presented by Plan-B Theatre, Jerry Rapier, Artistic Director.

• What: Plan-B Theatre and KUER 90.1 present Radio Hour: Sherlock Holmes and the Final Problem
• Where: The Jeanne Wagner Theatre, 138 W. 300 South, SLC and broadcast live on KUER 90.1
• When: Oct. 27, 2023, at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Note: Because the performances will be broadcast live, there will be NO late admissions to the theater.
• Tickets and information: planbtheatre.org
• Also: The program will be available to listen on-demand starting Monday, Oct. 20, 2023.

Related: PLAN-B AND SHERLOCK HOLMES RETURN TO THE AIRWAVES