| Show Wb AfU § Jsalt fake Tribune & Entertainment Sunday Morning — September 13 1987 Seetion K Page 1 Salt Lake’s professional theaters open seasons with Utah premieres By Nancy Melich Tribune Theater Writer Professional theater doesn't come to Salt Lake City just once in a blue moon via a touring show It lives here year round in the form of two distinct companies one downtown one up one small one big one offering a season the other a seven Their names: The Salt Lake Acting Company (that's the downtown one give or take a few blocks) and Pioneer Theatre Company (the one up from town — on the hill as in University of Utah campus) People are often surprised to learn that not all stages which light up in these parts are of the same quality The viewpoint is understandable given the fact that for several years community or university theater had the comer on the local thespian entertainment market In terms of quantity that still is the case but in recent years it has become apparent that SLAC and PTC have taken on a new dimension one that unmistakenly puts them in a class by themselves a professional class “Stardom" did not come overnight For PTC it began in the ’40s with a man named C Lowell Lees who chaired the U of U theater department He had two dreams: one to build a replica of the old Salt Lake Theatre which had elegantly graced State Street and 100 South from 1862 until 1928 when it was closed and later demolished the other to form a theater company using a nucleus of professional actors five-sho- Gryska and his loyal unpaid troupe of actors tired of striking sets on Saturday night to make room for church activities on Sunday so they moved downtown The Glass Factory Theatre in Arrow Press Square was home for several seasons and as audiences grew so did the repertoire New plays by Sam Shepard Lanford Wilson and local playwrights were presented as well as an occasional classic or musical “Saturday's Voyeur" continued to be immensely popular and served the dual purpose of filling the house as well as the bank account Local support for "the new and different" convinced Gryska and his board that it was time to move to larger quarters In 1982 SLAC became a permanent resident of the Marmalade Hill Center 168 W 500 North A subscription season was added national and local grants were applied for and received a full time staff was hired and professional wages were paid Operating budget was $100000 National honors were bestowed on the theater (' ie FDGCBS New Plavs Regional Awan vent to SLAC m 1985) r legitimate theater bag there is the matter of budgets PTC’s for the current season is $16 million (below Ballet West's $32 million and higher than Utah Opera's $1 million) SLAC’s 8 budget rounds out at $412000 And still there is another ingredient a one that is more important to professional theater which can be found in abundance under the artistic direction of these two men Call it ethics call it professional integrity or dedication to furthering excellence of the craft Whatever it is Morey Gryska and their respective staffs have began for Pioneer Memorial Theatre in 1945 In 1947 Lees became one of the founders of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) the prestigious national organization for nonprofit professional theaters He also served on its first board of directors The 1000-sea- t Pioneer Memorial Theatre was dediTribune Staff Photo by Rick Egan cated in 1962 Keith Engar From left: Nancy Borgenicht Debora director of university theLynn Threedy Valerie Kittel portray ater became executive proVictorian ducer expanded the proexplorers in Salt Lake Acting Company’s “On the Verge” gram to a season and eventually built the largest subscription audience of any Utah arts organization A adopted it as a code University Resident Theatre Association contract with Though box office is an obvious concern for both in Actors’ Equity Association was signed with PMT in 1976 these days of dwindling financial support for the arts there is a sense that if push came to shove the art form moving the theater even closer to "legitimate” status Charles Morey a director from New York became would take precedence over the dollar Sure there are the theater’s first artistic director in 1984 and a year concessions — "Saturday’s Voyeur” remains on the PTC offers Arthur Miller not Athol later the theater was accepted as a member of TCG the SLAC schedule Fugard — but survival dictates that every regional thegroup Lees had help establish nearly 40 years earlier ater include some “sure bets” Now the theater has a new name Pioneer Theatre A close look at the two respective seasons reveals that a and under of operates League Regional SLAC is the more adventurous Company this season With the Theatres (LORT) contract with Actors’ Equity The past exception of “Saturday’s Voyeur" in December there is two seasons have reflected a change in programming not a chestnut in the bunch Eric Overmyer’s “On the 18 performances each of five plays and two musicals opens in preview Wednesday David Kranes’ Verge” The theater prides itself on operating fully profession“Cantrell” premieres in March and an Annette s al shops employing a professional beach musical “Livin’ Dolls” arrives in May orchestra and hiring professional actors many from Another new play is to be announced New York All persons working at PTC receive wages PTC will bring two musicals to its stage comparable to what other regional theaters offer this season The popular "My One and Only” currently The history of SLAC is shorter Ed Gryska a native of drawing rave reviews in a national tour with its star Chicago who later became an English teacher at CotTommy Tune opens Sept 23 The season will end with tonwood High School began presenting alternative the“Singin’ in the Rain ” In between there will be a quintet ater at The First Unitarian Church in 1969 Everything of classics: Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” Kaufman & Hart’s from “Hair” to “Medea” wound up in Eliot Hall the “You Can’t Take It With You” George Feydeau’s “A recreation room of the church It was there in 1978 Flea in Her Ear” AR Gurney Jr’s “The Dining that “Saturday’s Voyeur” the locally written satire that Room” and Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” See E-- 6 Column 3 launched a thousand laughs was born Soon after Fund-raisin- g ’87-’8- non-tangib- six-sho- behind-the-scene- new-to-Uta- h Tribune Staff Photo by Paul Fraughton New York actors Deborah Carlson and Mark Martino return to Pioneer Theatre Company to star in “My One and Only” the hit Tommy Tune Broadway musical ZEH6-- 6 W3JM0NTHS VITHCELESTIAllBOPIEi BALLET WEST ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Ljml WENT ON TO BE Ms Bodylift in May 1986 1 on 1 Training North American Premiere! Learn in Unique exercises for life leng control over shapebody fat 4-- 6 wks AIM KARMA With members of the Utah Symphony September 23-2- 8 1987 Capitol Theatre '2:008:00 Tickets at Ballet West Box Office 50 West 200 South FATBUR JOHN HART ARTISTIC 533-555- 5 DIRECTOR 6900 So Highland Drive £2 KUTVi TOGIMM ional-l- y vrights recognized p' such as Emily unn and Utah's David K anes publicly stated how pleased they were to have their works presented at the theater and SLAC became a member of TCG Now as if that isn't enough to put both in the KRL1910 AM STEREO Sponsored by KLCYWM (20th East) Phone 942-590- 0 |
