Tyler Hinton - Page 8

FREAKY FRIDAY, presented by the SCERA’s nationally award-winning high school performing team, Acting Up!, is a cut above the average high school performance. It is a vivacious, thoroughly enjoyable production on any level.

It is nearly impossible for Hale Centre Theatre to surpass its 2011 regional premiere of A TALE OF TWO CITIES, which is still a theatre-going highlight for many who were lucky enough to attend. However, its stunning new production of the show has much to recommend it, with bold imagery, meaningful moments, and haunting performances.

It is a rare treat to see a major Broadway performer in concert during a pandemic, and in Layton, Utah, no less. Original RENT and AIDA star Adam Pascal appeared at Layton High School on Sat. Jan. 23, 2021 to provide increasingly important aid for live theatre and education in a fundraising concert for On Pitch Performing Arts (OPPA!) and the high school’s drama department.

Tyler Hinton's Picks: 1. STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL at Hale Centre Theatre, www.hct.org 2. DEAR EVAN HANSEN at the Eccles Theater, www.broadway-at-the-eccles.com 3. MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS at Hale Centre Theatre, www.hct.org 4. MARY STUART at Pioneer Theatre Company, www.pioneertheatre.org 5. A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL at the SCERA, www.scera.org

A CHRISTMAS STORY at the SCERA is a truly great community theatre production of a truly great musical. If you are able to see one of the few live productions available this holiday season, support the SCERA and see a wonderful musical from top to bottom.

Salt Lake Acting Company fully embraced 2020 with its unprecedented 49 ¾ season, including both new and archival digital theatre, and hopefully hybrid in-person audiences starting next March. Executive Artistic Director Cynthia Fleming spoke with BroadwayWorld about dealing with the pandemic, the unique elements of their plans, and the next show on the docket: CLIMBING WITH TIGERS, streaming November 30 to Dec. 20.

While the professional theatre is working to return to full productions in February (with perhaps a surprise sooner), it is focusing on keeping its full-time artists employed in the meantime with initiatives such as creating and selling artisan masks and the unique items in the theatre’s Second Act line of merchandise from repurposed costumes, sets, and props.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET fills Hale Centre Theatre with big personalities, big voices, and big feelings.

Agatha Christie's MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS on Hale Centre Theatre's Jewel Box Stage is superbly thrilling and well crafted, thanks to the writing, direction, acting, and use of a set that is stunning in its opulence and realistic detail.

Hale Center Theater Orem's Hale Academy is presenting the regional premiere of Disney's MOANA, JR. Visually striking and musically satisfying, it is certainly worth the effort to see.

Hale Center Theater Orem has been waiting patiently to finally open its first new post-quarantine show, and its production of LITTLE WOMEN strikes just the right chord at this moment in time. Intimate and moving, it entices audience members to escape into its story while keeping their feet firmly grounded in reality. Just as the March family, Hale Center Theater Orem refuses to be defeated and will carry on with hope for days of plenty to come.

Hale Centre Theatre has quietly reopened in Sandy with a fanciful, high caliber new production of MARY POPPINS to fill the void of blockbuster musical theatre. Without fanfare, the non-profit theatre announced its production plans for the remainder of the 2020 season, while also revealing an ambitious 2021 season. Attending the production, for those willing to comply with the essential health precautions and who feel comfortable and safe doing so, will help support Hale Centre Theatre's efforts to keep large-scale musical theatre alive at this difficult time.

The SCERA realized it would be able to comply with state and local guidelines, keeping audiences safe while also providing them the live theatrical experience they've been unable to indulge in for several months. And after the dearth of opportunities to attend a performance in person, it was electrifying to hear live singing again and express appreciation communally through applause. The SCERA produces community theatre at its best, and THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL is no exception, providing an enjoyable evening out with impressive talent and production values.

Hale Center Theater Orem is premiering a new contemporary musical, BLINK, via streaming. The show was written over a matter of weeks entirely during quarantine by David Paul Smith and Chase Keala Ramsey, who is the standby for the lead role of Elder Cunningham in the Broadway cast of THE BOOK OF MORMON. Ramsey spoke with BroadwayWorld about creating the show and the effects of the pandemic on his work.

A favorite tradition of Orem's SCERA is A NIGHT OF BROADWAY--the annual concert that showcases local performers in songs from musicals. The show will go on this year in a special fully produced 'Quarantine Edition' that has been newly rehearsed, designed, and professionally filmed especially for streaming through social distancing. Adam J. Robertson, President and CEO of SCERA, and April Berlin, Operations Manager/Marketing and Development, spoke with BroadwayWorld about the concert and some of the effects of the pandemic on the community organization.

Hale Center Theater Orem has announced that it has restaged its acclaimed 2018 Utah professional premiere of the musical DADDY LONG LEGS and will release a stream of the pre-recorded performance starring Kelly Coombs and David Smith.

The national tour of DEAR EVAN HANSEN has arrived at the Eccles Theater, bringing fascinating story, deliberately flawed characters, and a modern score that are enthralling and deeply emotional, eliciting both sadness and hope.

Pioneer Theatre Company's professional production of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND is a creative reimagining of the star-crossed story.

Hale Centre Theatre's U.S. premiere of Baz Luhrmann's STRICTLY BALLROOM THE MUSICAL dazzles on its Centre Stage following productions in Australia and on the West End. The direction, choreography, lighting, set, and costumes--all created specifically for Hale Centre Theatre's new production--are beyond fabulous.

BRIGHT STAR on Hale Centre Theatre's Jewel Box Stage creates homespun warmth that cuts through the darkness in an emotional journey. If you have never had the opportunity to see BRIGHT STAR, or if you really want to see it again, this uplifting production will be your best bet.