Show Grand Theatre Review The King and I Demands an encore Brenda Upright Staff Writer FTER viewing the Grand AFTER Theatres Theatre's production of TIle The King and I I have to say its it's one of the best theatrical plays Ive I've ever seen at the Grand Theatre It seems fitting to have a hit for the last play of the theatre season The theater itself is inspiring inspiring inspiring ing but is made even more ethereal by the casts cast's enchanting enchanting enchanting enchant enchant- ing voices The play was made famous in the by the musical talents of Rodgers and Ham- Ham I think had they been to see rendition of the musical they would have stood and demanded an encore The play not only sounded of good quality thanks to the talents of the King Anna Lady and an impressive Tup Tim but also looked colorful by y way of backdrops and n richly elaborate costumes The play was interesting entertaining and full of clever staging I was able to hear every word which isn't always easy in other theaters and the dancing was creative and imaginative The performances by Dave Jensen as the King and Margo Watson as Anna were full of feeling and respect for their characters I never expected the professionalism present not only by the cast 51 of whom were very small children but also the magnitude of the work involved in getting the play to the stage Numerous people worked on the production some coming as far as beyond Tooele to aid the project every day This kind of dedication can only magnify the success of the play Not only was the play a medium for the actors to develop their talents but some of the proceeds go directly to to the Grand Theatre to fund the replacement of the seats I was very impressed with the behavior of the children the youngest of whom was four years old They were a fun part of the show to watch Im I'm amazed at the amount of patience Director Pat Davis had to direct them She explained explained explained ex ex- she kept them interested interested interested inter inter- ested by positive reinforce reinforce- ment She said the lithe ultimate focus was on everyone's needs Davis Dayis said she hopes the play will be able to II make a statement among the fine arts community in the city After seeing the production I have no doubt that the Grand Theatre is strong competition with other theaters in the valley valley valley val val- ley thanks to the dedication of Pat Davis and her cast and crew The show is enchanting for all ages I highly recommend recommend recommend mend seeing The King and I. I |