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Show Cool characters have hearts of ice in Salt Lake City's Yuletide plays Ik Aj?, , by RICK BROUGH Record staff writer It's odd that at the Christmas season a warm, cheerful time of year we become interested in chilly, chil-ly, even malevolent characters. Thus, on the Salt Lake theater scene, we find the evil Snow Queen at Pro-mised Pro-mised Valley Playhouse and Scrooge at the Dickens Theater stage at the Triad Center. The Snow Queen My favorite of the two, by far, is "The Snow Queen." Even though it is a musical morality children's tale, adapted from a story by Hans Christian Chris-tian Andersen, it is also appealing to adults because it's so flat-out pleasurable to look at. It starts out in high fashion in the Snow Queen's kingdom, a cold, blue smoky domain populated by huge Bigfoot guards, imps and wickedly swirling dancing snowflakes. Presiding over all is Carol-Ann i Kelleher's assured, icy Snow Queen. She shatters her Magic Mirror, let-, let-, ting the pieces fall to Earth where . they will freeze and shrivel the ' hearts of the people they strike. One shard strikes young Kai (Matthew (Mat-thew Beck) who turns on his grand- ,'t mother (Nancy W. Gibbs) and his . sister and is seduced away by the , Snow Queen. . Imprisoned in her kingdom, he is . given a riddle to solve. If he succeeds, suc-ceeds, his reward is "the whole ' world and a pair of skates.' , i, Sister Gerda (appealingly played by Jana Farr) sets off in pursuit, and in Alice in WonderlandDorothy in Oz fashion, she encounters a series of strange lands and people. ''r The supporting cast comes to the fore here, as Gerda encounters an old woman of magic (Marlene Brinkerhoff) who is motherly, but smotherly among her dancing flowers; two comical wooden soldiers (Douglas Davis, Jeffrey C. Beazer); a shy reindeer (Stephen Williams) ; a slap-happy gypsy robber rob-ber band (led by Wendi Longstroth, as the robber girl) ; and two squawking squawk-ing crows (David C. Maxwell and Wendy Wood). Along with this, we have fine work A Christmas Carol "A Christmas Carol," presented at the Dickens Theater at the Triad Center, doesn't have as many splendors splen-dors as "The Snow Queen," but it does have Noel Twitchell. The musical is based on the 1970 film, "Scrooge," which starred Albert Finney. The play, like the movie, features an erratically tuneful score by Leslie Bricusse. The most memorable song here is the lively "Thank You Very Much," which is also the Triad show's best production number. Twitchell does a nice job. In the early scenes, he is rather an ordinary or-dinary churl even, when he is dastardly enough to swat the hand of a poor caroler asking for some charity! His performance really comes to life when the Ghosts of Christmas shows him the joy he has forsaken and is forsaking. Twitchell is like an overgrown kid who realizes, afresh, the joy of life and wants to get in on the party. To help create this picture, director direc-tor Pat Davis has invented some lively production numbers amid a handsome set and some clever scene changes. The Ghosts are, by and large, imaginatively presented. The scene where Marley's face appears on a door knocker is nicely done. So who cares if, in a later scene, you can see the wire on Marley's floating spectre? The supporting cast is capable, but none come up to Twitchell. The . play also has a slight problem with technical glitches. The pre-recorded music sometimes drowns out the singers. The body-mike system is erratic, er-ratic, so that the "ghosts" speak at ordinary volume, while everyday Londoners boom out like God when they speak. If I had my choice of Scrooges, I'd still take Alastair Sim, from the old British film version. However, it is pleasant to watch Twitchell's cold heart thaw. . "Scrooge," the Dickens Building at the Triad Center, SO S. 300 West, Tuesday-Saturday through Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m.; matinees, Saturday at 4:30p.m. The Snow Queen (Carol-Ann Kelleher) kisses Kai (Matthew Beck) to make him forget the cold in a scene from "The Snow Queen" at Promised Valley Playhouse. from choreographer Julie Orlob, costumer Seven Nielson and scene designer Atkin Pace. The dances are populated by an enthusiastic mob of child and teenage dancers. I wish I could also give credit for the spooky voice of the North Wind, who narrates the tale, but my program pro-gram doesn't say who filled that role. The production's only drawback is the moral, which is Sunday-school simplicity compared to the imagina tion of the rest of the play. Gerda fends off the villains, rather easily, with the aid of the Lord's Prayer. The adaptors, Joanne M. Parker and Madelyn Larsen, seem to be saying the play's subtext is about a search for the "Christchild." But it's not apparent ap-parent in most of the storyline. "The Snow Queen," Promised Valley Playhouse, 132 S. State, Wednesday-Saturday through Dec. 21 at 7 :30p.m.; matinees, Dec. 7 and 14at2p.m. |