Geary Theater schedule for 2010-11

The faculty of Eastern Utah Theatre are proud to announce their inaugural season as Utah State University-College of Eastern Utah Theatre Department.
“We are proud to announce the Carbon County premiere of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Auditions were held Aug. 30, and were open to college students and the community,” said Corey Ewan, Ph.D. Sweeny Todd plays October 7-9 & 11-12, 2010.
The fall season continues with Thornton Wilder’s American classic, Our Town, playing November 11-13 & 15-16.
Spring will see a return of Larry Shue’s hilarious comedy, The Foreigner, playing February 10-12 & 14-15, 2011.
Finishing the season will be Neil Simon’s comedy of opposites, The Odd Couple, playing March 31, April 1-2 & 4-5, 2011. All performances will be in the Geary Theatre.
“I think we have a strong and exciting selection of plays this year,” said Ewan. “I am looking forward to starting Sweeney Todd. I have seen the play several times and have wanted to bring it to CEU for many years. Some have expressed concerns about the play’s dark subject matter. I believe that the play offers much to learn from the extremes these characters choose to live. I think that the recent film version is still very strong on people’s minds. Our production will focus more on the choices and not on the graphic violence.”
The USU-CEU Dance Department has also announced their performance schedule. The fall dance concert will be performed December 2-4, 2010. The spring dance concert will be performed April 21-23, 2011. All performances will be in the Geary Theatre.
USU-CEU Theatre will also be hosting the travelling production of the USU – Old Lyric Repertory Company’s production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare . . . Abridged. This production was performed this past summer in Logan and is directed by Weber State University Professor Jim Christian.
It proved so popular that Craig Jessop, dean of the Caine School of the Arts, decided to take it on the road. The production features three actors who in the course of about 90 minutes perform all of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets.
“This is a very funny and very fast-paced show,” Ewan said. One great aspect to this production is that CEU Theatre alumni, Nicholas Dunn, is one of the stars of this show. Dates are not final, but keep the last part of September available. This show will perform in Helper at the Rio Theatre. More information will follow.
We are also looking forward to our collaboration this year with Morgan Lund and the Rio Theatre Advisory Board and the Otherside Players. Two years ago they produced the successfully funny and heartfelt A Christmas Carol . . . More or Less. They have great plans for expanding the repertory in Helper this year.
The community is lucky to have people of such talent and excitement bringing theatre to our area, enhancing an already strong theatrical tradition with USU-CEU’s Theatre, Castle Valley Community Theatre and The Otherside Players, Ewan said.
The cast for the play, in alphebetical order, goes as follows: Darrin Brandt, Ruth Brandt, Jordan Burrows, Kelli Burke-Gabossi, Leisl Cope, Diana Cox, Joshua DeMie, Ellie DeMie, Mitch Ewan, Troyal George, Bethany Gilmoor, Mae Goss, Amy Guthrie, Emilee Hales, Mylie Harper, Dave Hocanson, Shelby Howard, Brynne Zuri Hunt, Isaac Jones, Michael Johnson, Preston Leignton, Sara Mantz, Kearlisa Marfield, Todd Olsen, Shayla Jo Pitchforth, TJ Revas, Henry Rudolph, Ryan Severin, Jamin Smith, Scyler Smith, Blaine Warner, Kelton Wells, Wilford Woodruff, and R. Scott Zaborski.