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Show SCENE The Park Record. Editor: Scott Iwasaki arts@parkrecord.com 435.649.9014 ex.15713 NEWCOMERS MONTHLY COFFEE MEETING Newcomers Club of Greater Park City will host its monthly coffee from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Park City Community Church, 4501 N. S.R. 224. The speaker for the free event this month will be Jared Steffensen, curator of exhibits at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. Newcomers will visit the museum on Feb. 16. For information, visit parkcitynewcomers.org. ‘HOW THE WEST WAS WON: THE OREGON TRAIL’ Park City resident Dorian De Maio will give a lecture, “How the West Was Won,” at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at the Park City Museum’s Education and Collections Center, 2079 Sidewinder Drive. De Maio, who previously presented his exploration of the Lewis and Clark Trail and Mountain Men era, will follow the American westard expansion and settlements. He will talk of the struggles and hardships of these men, women and children who journeyed from the Midwest to the West Coast. The lecture is free and open to the public. For information, contact Diane Knispel at 435-649-7457 ext. 102 or email her at education@parkcityhistory.org. ART OF LOVE AT THE KIMBALL ART CENTER Nashville songwriters, including Gene Miller, will help attendees of the Art of Love write songs for their Valentines from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 14, at the Kimball Art Center, 1401 Kearns Blvd. The cost is $150 per person. Proceeds will benefit the nonprofit. For information and registration, visit kimballartcenter.org. PARK CITY FILM: ‘LEANING INTO THE WIND’ Park City Film will present Thomas Riedelsheimer’s “Leaning Into the Wind” as part of its Art on Screen program at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 14, at the Park City Library’s Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Ave. The documentary follows installation artist Andy Goldsworthy as he explores the layers of his world and the impact it has on his art. General admission tickets are $8. Tickets for students and senior citizens are $7. For information, visit parkcityfilm.org. AVALANCHE DOGS MEET AND GREET Park City Mountain’s avalanche dogs and ski patrol will meet the public at 4:30 p.m. every Friday at Canyons Village. The dogs will also meet the public at 1 p.m. every Saturday at the Park City Summit House. The events are free and open to the public. For information, visit parkcitymountain.com. CELTIC FIDDLERS BRING FAMILY TO TOWN, C-2 MARY WILSON LIVES A SUPREME LIFE, C-3 www.parkrecord.com C-1 WED/THURS/FRI, FEBRUARY 13-15, 2019 New musical follows the Lost Boys of Sudan Parkites wrote the production from the refugees’ perspectives SCOTT IWASAKI The Park Record A meeting with two of the Lost Boys of Sudan nine years ago inspired Park City-based singer, songwriter and choreographer Tanya Taylor to learn more about the refugees’ plight. Solomon Awan and Gabriel Atem, who lived in Salt Lake City at the time, were two out of more than 20,000 youths who were orphaned by the Sudanese Civil War, which lasted from 1983 to 2005 and killed millions. “I don’t know why I asked to interview them, because I have no interviewing experience,” Taylor said. “But I felt like I should. And I feel like that meeting was supposed to happen, like it was intended by God.” Little did Taylor know that interview would mark the start of a project that would culminate with a musical called “Sudan & Me,” which is set to premiere Friday, Feb. 15, and Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Rockwell Room. The musical’s main characters are Some of the immigrants were forced to become child soldiers in the Sudanese army...” Tanya Taylor, “Sudan & Me” composer and lyricist COURTESY OF TAYLOR PRODUCTIONS Taylor Productions will present “Sudan & Me,” an original musical about the plight of the Lost Boys of Sudan on Feb. 15 and 16 at the Rockwell Room. “Sudan & Me” brothers Solomon and Deng. Solomon, played by Tim Gallagher, is based on Awan, who, after spending 14 years in different refugee camps in across Africa, finally made it to the United States and graduated from college, according to Taylor. Gallagher is a featured soloist with the Park City Singers choir. On the other hand, Deng, who is portrayed by Vegaz Taelor -- the son of B. Murphy, a former member of the vocal group the Platters -- is a refugee having a hard time integrating into a society at peace. “Some of the immigrants were forced to become child soldiers in the Sudanese Army when they were 11 and 12,” Taylor said. “And they saw and committed atrocities that no child should have had to do.” Other actors in the musical include singer-songwriter Yanique Bland, Peg Tan and Nick Massarella. Bland is a soloist with Le Pumz Dance Group, and Tan has performed in the Park City Follies, Taylor said. Massarella has opened for LeAnn Rimes, Little Big Town and Dierks Bentley. “This cast has been so supportive,” Taylor said. “They are 100 percent invested, and they have taken this on full-force.” When: 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 16 Where: Rockwell Room, 268 Main St. Cost: $20 for evening productions; $15 for Saturday matinee Web: tanyataylorproductions. com The music during the performance will be played by Taylor on piano, Bigatel on guitar and Palmer Krehel on percussion. “What we wanted to do was tell the story of the Lost Boys through their own eyes,” Taylor said. The idea to write the musical came after Taylor asked to attend a church service with the refugees at All Saints Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City shortly after she interviewed Awan and Atem. “When I first started going, I remember sitting in this session that ran twoand-a-half hours,” Taylor said. “They were all speaking in Dinka, the Sudanese language, and I sat there thinking how tough it was.” Not only was she the only white person in the congregation, she didn’t understand the language. “I felt awkward, and that’s when I COURTESY OF VEGAZ TAELOR Vegaz Taelor portrays Deng Awan, a character that represents Sudanese refugees who have a hard time integrating within American culture. Please see Musical, C-5 AND NEW $10 PRESENTS LUNCH WING IT SPECIALS WEDNESDAYS MON-fri $.75 WINGS OF YOUR CHOICE $2 PBR 4 PM - CLOSE 8208 GORGOZA PINES RD WWW.BILLYBLANCOS.COM 435.575.0846 |