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Show Davisites In 'Promised Valley 'Vit .A i- - 1 , & fc ftftft ri nk .ml Htverlv Robison, 930 North kmgwuid Road Kaysville, and their i Id daughter Kristen auditioned for tht r pari m the chorus of "Promised F Valley for the first time this year The Robisons had been active in drama while they lived in Boise They were persuaded by Knsten to get back into drama and so tried out for the parts MRS. Robison said, "The production has been so much fun that we will definitely try out nxt year By ROSELYN KIRK Performing in "Promised Valley, a summer production at the Promised Valley Theater in Salt Lake City, is a family affair for several Davis County families who tried out for the production together, practice songs and lines together and ride back and forth to the pioductions together BRYAN Bowles, 1203 North 950 East, Bountiful, assistant director, said that, since people of all ages were needed in the production, the easiest way to get this blend would be to have family groups try out Many Bountiful families liked the ANOTHER member of the cast, Winnie Neilson, 1260 North 850 East, Bountiful, said it's exciting to watch the children from one family learn to play the member of another family in the play and identify with the part Im offstage when the Mormon Battalion comes home I watched one boy Hes as excited for his stage father to come home as he would be if it were his own father in real life The children really get in the parts, Winnie says, which is why she wanted her own two children, Brad, 8, and Tana, 11, to try out for "Promised Valley it was the first time that either had been in a play and the audition was a frightening " experience W inme and Arthur Neilson's other three older children had other at tivities and didnt have time for the play Winnie said SHE SAID the children help her wn her lines as Emma The whole fan I, went to see the production the first ng that Winnie was on She said the i Likin n dont seem to get tired, although tin , art rarely home before 10 30 ' They enjoy the costumes, Winnu , it Tana, who has short hair, must , , long pony tail attached to her It night so she can look the part of a g m child Tana also has another cctin e change as she plays Abigail Adam daughter in the prologue and wears a pilgrim costume ' 1 . con- of family theater and at the urging of one of the family members who was in the cast, tried out as a family group cept BRIAN BOWLES said that Promised Valley, which was written in 1947 for the centennial celebration of the LDS Church, 7 o South 875 Fast, Centerville, talkii' his ftmilv into trying out Dave is ao.n e uH as Jed, one of the leads He has bet n in many productions in the Bountiful as well as some in the Promised Valiev iheser and warned his children V. chi lie 11 and David, 7, to i icnce in theater have some Dave H 11 ara ep WL HAD to talk like the dickens to get them to try out "A lot of the children in the production had already had experience and David and Michelle didnt have the confidence at first THE CHILDREN, who are in the childrens chorus ride to Salt Lake with their father each night that all are scheduled to perform They help me with lines right before the performance, Dave said The schedule is worked out so that the children are on stage the same night that Dave is cast as Jed It.f tv y f f I 1 will provide 42 performances this summer Its important to have all age children as well as groups on stage-sm- all adults Most of the parts are double cast, with a few being triple cast Steve Evans, 1292 North Nola Circle, Centerville, is also cast as Jed His children Lori, 10, Sheri, 8, and Julie, 6, play his own children in the play. Last year Steve and Pat Evans son Brad played Jeds baby in the production, but now that he is 24 he has outgrown that part STEVE SAYS the children constantly sing the songs from Promised Valley at home Even though Brad is not in the production this year, he knows most of the songs, his father said and spends a lot of time on the floor, dramatizing the part of a cricket Although Pat is not in the production, she accompanies the family to the theater about half of the time Its a big job to get all the kids in costume and thats Pats job, Steve said OTHER Davis County residents in the production are Noel Twitchell, Dorothy O'Brien, Dave Howell, Teresa Toone, Nona Rae Miller, Lamta Miller, Suzanne Todd, Betty Sedgley and Boyd Fisher PHOTOS Although Dim and Anita Thompson, South b Mi ast Bountiful, are too busy this year, to be in Prnmistd Valley their four il Idiin continue in the lie fi ur Thompson children production Diana, lb, David 10, Dwight, 8, and Aaron, 5, do 'hi .r makeup at home and 175 1 if ; ij r-- A BY FRED WRIGHT The Claude Snow family, 1531 Emerald Hills Drive, Bountiful, also has a young member of their family on stage Michael, three months, will make isolated appearances as Jeds baby. Michael will join four of the Snow children and his father Claude, who appear in the production Claude Snow, who is double cast as Governor Bradford, was talked into trying out for the part by his 11 year old daughter Vicki Other cast members from the family are Shreen, 14, Karen, 7, and Ryan, who will be two next month COLEEN SNOW said she hasn't lorn able to see the show as much as usual this year because of the new baby, but oih r years it has been a full time commitment in the summer She made Vicki a ptlgt ini costume this year. Two of the other Snow children, Eddie, 12, and David, 16 or t , busy playing baseball to be in the production In addition to playing Governor ford, Claude has worked in coaching dies Little League ball team E 1 then go in a car pool to the production Dwight and Aaron are two of the Fennelv boys and Diana and David are in the chorus Darrel and Anita Thompson have given their time to "Beautiful Bountiful Home," playing at the Valley Music Hall I i & 4? N THE JOHN and Ab.gail Adams family is also plaved by anotner Davis County couple, Sharon and John Morgan, 138 West 100 North Bount ful Since the play is double cast, Christine Little, 669 East 100 South, Kay sv Tie, plays the part of Aoigaii Adams on the other nights They, aiong with their children, Angela, 10, Darnel 8, ard Matthew, 44 take the part of the Adams family Last year the children were in the chorus The Morgans have been in the production for three years Their first year they commuted from Coalville where thev lived at that time, to San Lake City for the production I f t t 'll THIS YEAR Sharon didnt plan to be in the production since she had a new baby, but she wasnt able to resist She went to tryouts with her family and ended up trying out for the part of Abigail Adams-- a part she says she is partial to The baby has adjusted to the production too Once in awhile he goes on stage as Jeds baby Although 34 month old Jared was on stage for only a few seconds, he did a beautiful job, Sharon said "He didnt cry or make a fuss " JOHN AND Sharon Morgan sing together and began to play in "Promised Valley three years ago with their family DAVID Park, 14, was influential in talking his family, the Richard Park family of 995 East Elaine Drive, in trying out for the production of "Promised Valley "David got us into it," his mother, Sandra said Richard Park is Governor Bradford, one of the historical parts that was written into the plav last year for the Bicentennial Oinei family members in the production are David, who is in his third year, Kathy, 20, in the chorus Sandra Part plays the wife of Angus in the play, while her real husband Richard has another wife Their daughter, Karen, 12, plays her daughter SANDRA says that she was in the original production of Promised Valley when it first opened 30 years ago "Of course I had a younger role," she said Although the familv arrived together for the tryouts, they had to try out individually for the parts She said the family devotes most of the summer to the production Rehearsals began the middle of May for the production, which wul p;,n for 42 performances Promised Valley," directed by Pat Davis, is a play about the Mormon pioneers trek across the plains and th- - r experiences in settling in the Sait Lake Valley The play is produced everv summer by the LDS Church V 5 a v 5 s |