The Little Mermaid at the Draper Amphitheater

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is see a live performance outside under the stars and I was able to see my first theatre production last night at the Draper Amphitheater. This was actually the first of three productions of The Little Mermaid that I have scheduled this month and it was so much fun! A mermaid named Ariel (Amanda Frisby) just wants to be where the people are but her father King Triton (Mike Handy) doesn't trust them. After she saves Prince Eric (Danny Keetch) from a storm that sinks his ship, Triton destroys her collection of human objects and forbids her from going to the surface again. Ariel defies her father and accepts a deal with her aunt, a sea witch named Ursula (Naomi McClure), to trade her voice for a pair of legs. She must get Prince Eric to kiss her within three days so a crab named Sebastian (Chad Smith), a fish named Flounder (John Arntz), and a seabird named Scuttle (Sam Martinez) attempt to help her. This show put a huge smile on my face because it was filled with so much heart. Both Frisby and Keetch have beautiful voices and have tremendous chemistry together. Frisby portrays Ariel's wide-eyed wonder very well, espcecially in "Part of Your World," and Keetch is incredibly endearing in "Fathoms Below," "Her Voice," and "One Step Closer." I was also impressed with all of McClure's antics as Ursula (I loved her peformance of "Poor Unfortunate Souls") and Smith's as Sebastian ("Kiss the Girls" and "Les Poissons" are highlights). The ensemble of dancers, featuring Hilary Biggart, Addison Brotherson, London Brotherson, Aliya Gardner, Eliza Hebdon, and Ileah Washington, is outstanding and I particularly enjoyed the tapping in "Positoovity." There are lots of really fun effects used in this show and, while Ariel, Eric, Scuttle, and even Ursula fly across the stage (the scene where Ariel saves Eric is very dramatic) and aerialists perform on silks, I loved seeing Ariel and her sisters (Lizzie Burget, Brielle Denning, Addison Horrocks, Abbie Ricord, Olivia Shelton, and Miranda Stokes) glide around the stage on heelys, King Triton and Flounder on hoverboards, and Flotsam (Jessica Duncan) and Jetsam (Alyx Rees) in rollerblades. They even had the turtles crawling around on skateboards during "Under the Sea." The staging of the big numbers is a lot of fun and everyone really liked it every time the cast came out into the audience! My favorite is when Chef Louis (Dwight Western) chases Sebastian into the crowd during "Les Poissons," The backdrops and set pieces are great and the costumes, especially for all of the sea creatures (the jellyfish made out of umbrellas were so cute) and for Ursula, are very creative. The best thing about community theatre is seeing so many children in the audience with huge smiles on their faces and this particular show is especially magical! There are two more chances to see it (go here for tickets) and I highly recommend it for the whole family!

Hairspray at the Draper Amphitheater

Last night I saw Hairspray at the Draper Amphitheater and it was so much fun!  I had never been to the Draper Amphitheater before but, since I love seeing outdoor performances in the summer, I decided to make the drive and I am so glad I did because it is a great venue and the show was fantastic!  Hairspray has always been a favorite of mine (I saw the Broadway touring production a few years ago and another touring production will be coming to SLC next year) because it has such a great message about loving who you are, following your dreams, and standing up for what you believe is right.  Plus-sized Tracy Turnblad (Linze Struiksma) wants to be one of the dancers on the Corny Collins (Weston Seiler) Show, to have Link Larkin (Austin Kimbell) notice her, to integrate the show so her Black friends can dance with her, and to win the Miss Teenage Hairspray crown.  Velma Von Tussle (Marilyn Oveson) and her daughter Amber (Kellie Seiler) do everything they can to stop her but Tracy proves that you can't stop the beat and makes all of her dreams come true.  The main cast is outstanding but I particularly enjoyed Struiksma's performance as Tracy because she could really dance and was very charismatic.  I also really enjoyed Gennell Goodman as Motormouth Maybelle, because her rendition of "I Know Where I've Been" brought the crowd to their feet, and Chad Smith and Joey West as Edna and Wilbur Turblad, respectively, because their antics were incredibly amusing in "Timeless to Me."  The ensemble is also very noteworthy, especially all of the dancers on the Corny Collins Show and the Dynamites (Ariana Marshall, Rebecca Meats, and Kimberly Teitter), because they execute the choreography very well.  I especially loved the staging of "The Big Doll House" (the tap dancing!), "Nicest Kid in Town," "I Can Hear the Bells," "Run and Tell That," "Hairspray," and "You Can't Stop the Beat."  My favorite song in the show is "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" and Struiksma, Kellie Seiler, and Kaitlyn Schreiner (as Penny Pingleton) did such a good job with it. I loved the costumes (the sheer number of costumes is very impressive) because they were so colorful and sparkly.  The set was a lot of fun with a giant LED television screen that featured live shots in black and white of the Corny Collins Show.  I really enjoyed every aspect of this show and it was wonderful to sit outside because the weather was absolutely perfect (although it did get a tad cold when the sun went down).  I highly recommend getting a ticket for one of the remaining shows (go here) through June 11.

Note:  Most of the seating is on grassy tiers so bring a blanket or a camp chair and grab some snacks because food is allowed.