Broadway Across America-Utah

Salt Lake City has some very nice theaters which offer various cultural events throughout the year. An organization called Broadway Across America-Utah brings touring Broadway shows to Salt Lake City and Wayne and I have been able to see 2 of their productions since our arrival.

The first, on Friday the 22 of February, was Menopause the Musical. We saw it at the Jeanne Wagner Theater, a modern theater in downtown SLC. The musical is listed as "the Hilarious Celebration of Women and the Change". It is the story of 4 women who keep running into each other while shopping a sale at Bloomingdales in NYC. The songs are parodies of familiar pop tunes from the 60's and 70's. The 4 actresses did a good job of sharing some of the symptoms commonly associated with menopause in a light-hearted manner. Our audience was 95% women ( as I think most audiences for this musical probably are). The playbills we received had inserts by local clinics with medical information on variouse menopause symptoms.

We were entertained by a large group of women, cancer survivors, who had attended a dinner in the banquet hall before the show and came into the theater dressed in feathery boas of bright pink or purple. These women came into the theater primed to have a great time and led the crowd in laughter for each new number. Their laughter was contagious and they made the event a fun place to be.

I couldn't help but feel that the musical could have said so much more. Many great musicals have mixed comedy in with a serious message for the audience to take away. I didn't feel anything for the actresses when the show was over other than being entertained. I didn't feel their loss, as an important part of their life was ending. I wish there had been more!

The second musical was The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It was performed at Kingsbury Hall, an older theater on the campus of the University of Utah. On Saturday, March 1st, Wayne and I took the TRAX to the University and walked through the campus in a light snowfall to the theater. Not knowing how long it would take to get there we arrived more than 1/2 hour early. This turned out to be exciting as we were asked to audition to be participants of the spelling bee (each production includes 4 members of the audience). I declined, not being proud of my spelling, but Wayne filled out a form, was interviewed by a member of the production, and was chosen to be one of the 4!

He joined me in our seats 5 rows from the stage just before the musical started, having received his instructions. He was to go onstage when called, just be himself, and spell to the best of his ability after first asking for the definition of the word and to hear it used in a sentence.

He was able to spell 2 words; jihad which he spelled correctly, and kannikanik which he missed. He was onstage for the first 20 minutes of the show and got to participate in 2 of the musical numbers as well as watch a few others from his spot on the risers with the other contestants. One of the actors, who was doing "community service", gave Wayne a big hug and a juice box and escorted him off the stage when he missed his word.

This musical took a look at the lives of the 6 young people who were contestants as well as the adults who were at the bee. It made us think about the pressures we put on young people, the attitudes and behaviors that make good parenting, what happens to people when pressured to win at all cost, and choices we have. There was lots of comedy mixed in with the songs, but also some tradgedy and this time we left the theater with a lot to think and talk about.

I know that musical theater isn't for everyone, but it is one of the things I enjoy most in my life and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't tried it!