Theatre Reviews by Patrons and Professionals
WEST VALLEY CITY — No Time For Sergeants, based on the 1954 novel by Mark Hyman, has been enduringly popular, having been adapted into a teleplay, a comic book series, a television series, a film, and a Broadway play. The production underway at Hale Center Theater is a clear illustration of why this story remains a [...]
WEST VALLEY CITY — Start with one arena stage, two straight backed chairs, three old fashioned steamer trunks, and four extremely versatile actors. Toss in a foley artist and a stage manager to crank up the visual and aural high-jinx, and it’s the perfect recipe for a riotous evening of theatre the likes of which is [...]
WEST VALLEY CITY — It’s an unusual experience when to go into intermission thinking that you are going to write one review and leave the show ready to write another. And yet, after viewing Hale Centre Theatre’s production of Oliver! (music, lyrics and book by Lionel Bart), that is exactly what happened. As I watched Act [...]
WEST VALLEY — There’s a great show playing at the Hale Centre Theatre this fall. The classic movie Nine to Five got a revamp in 2009 as a flashy Broadway musical with book by Patricia Resnick and songs by the country glam queen herself, Dolly Parton. 9 to 5: The Musical opens on Judy Bernly’s first [...]
WEST VALLEY CITY — If you haven’t seen the iconic movie musical The Sound of Music, you might as well be hiding your head in some proverbial sand. To say the movie is a classic is a gross understatement—it is Julie Andrews at some of her best, and musical theater transformed to the movie screen [...]
WEST VALLEY CITY — Hale Centre Theatre is celebrating a wedding as it gets ready for its production of Father of the Bride, and, for a first time visitor of this beautiful theater, I couldn’t think of a better location to have it. The theater is a beautiful building, complete with a spacious lobby and impressive performance [...]
WEST VALLEY — I’m really torn about this one. When I take it apart, there were a lot of great things in Hale Centre Theater’s production of Zorro The Musical. I liked the sword fighting, the beautiful costumes, and the talented performers. But, after hour one of this three-hour production, I was hanging my head [...]
WEST VALLEY CITY — The premise is delightful (the execution, not so much). Playwright Ken Ludwig chose real-life William Gillette— a famous actor/writer/director from the early 20th century quite famous for originating the stage role of Sherlock Holmes— as our hero for the evening. Slightly eccentric in his own right, Gillette has invited a few close friends to [...]
WEST VALLEY CITY — It’ s perfectly natural to walk into a theater with certain expectations, certain requirements that will tell you whether or not the company performed this show as it ought to be done. As a theatre practitioner that can be frustrating. Do you reject those notions or do you welcome them? To [...]
WEST VALLEY — Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has been a staple of Utah community theater for decades. Each year you can be assured of 7-10 productions of the show somewhere in Utah. And it tends to be one of those shows that is seemingly director-proof: No one seems able to truly ruin a [...]