Showtime Utah

Showtime Utah is set to open on Friday with a Monday show, Family Night Live, opening a month later.

The theater is located at 20 Main Street in Pleasant Grove. For more information, log onto www.showtimeutah.com.

Showtime Utah will be a variety entertainment theater specifically designed for Utah County. Peterson says she saw a need for family friendly live entertainment in Utah County and has spent much of the last year putting that idea into action. What she came up with is unique: six different kinds of entertainment on three different nights the entire year round.

The three evenings are highlighted on Friday and Saturday night by the Old West Dinner Adventure, a dinner extravaganza with music and comedy on the stage and even in the audience because the servers are part of the show.

Friday late night is anchored by the Entertainment Hot Spot, an evening of professional caliber musical talent with several acts every show.

Late night Saturdays are devoted to a different show every week. Starting with It's Just For Laughs, a full comedy show with stand-up comedians, comedic musicians and a game or two thrown in for fun. The second Saturday is the Beginners Luck show, an open mic where anyone who dares to can get on stage, while keeping the shows at an easy PG-13 rating.

Peterson says the evening is open to comedians and anyone who can get up, set up finish up, and give an audience a good time in 10 minutes or less. Peterson says she has even found a didgeridoo player who wants to perform (that's a wooden instrument played by the Australian Aborigines and at least one guy in Provo).

Monday nights bring a whole different kind of talent to the stage with Family Night Live. This is a variety show specifically for and featuring children along with a few adults. It will be hosted by internationally known entertainer Alex Boye', a Londoner whose boy band "Awesome" opened for the likes of 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.

All late shows and Family Night Live have treats and refreshments such as root beer floats in a frosty mug, ice cream treats, nacho's, popcorn, sodas and homemade cream cheese brownies.

Utah Valley Symphony

Symphony to play Mendelssohn, Copland

The Utah Valley Symphony will offer visually evocative works by two distinctly different composers in its final concert of the season today in the Covey Center for the Arts, 425 W. Center.

Under the baton of Bryce Rytting, the orchestra will play Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony no. 4 in A Major ("Italian") and Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring," finishing out a season of music the orchestra has never performed before in its 49-year history.

"We decided that these two works would make a wonderful conclusion to the season," says Rytting. "We saved the best for last." Reserved seats are $10 each ($8 for students and senior citizens). Call 852-7007 for tickets.

SCERA

SCERA Youth Theatre to have Fundraising Yard Sale and Car Wash May 3 -- The more than 300 young people in the SCERA Youth Theatre program will host a community yard sale and car wash on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The yard sale will be held on the front lawn of the SCERA Center for the Arts, 745 S. State Street in Orem and will feature a wide variety of donated items. The car wash will be held in the parking lot behind the SCERA Center.

The two activities are a fundraising event for the SCERA Youth Theatre program, to help raise money to cover a portion of show production costs and other program expenses not covered by tuition and donations.¬ 

For more information, call SCERA Youth Theatre at (801) 225-ARTS x. 1027.¬ 

Synthesis to bring Prize-winning Jazz & Big Band at SCERA May 9 -- A classic jazz song declares, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing," and if that's true, then the May 9 performance at the SCERA Center for the Arts by BYU's award-winning jazz and big band ensemble Synthesis should mean a lot of things.

The celebrated ensemble will swing with jazz, big band, American swing, blues, pop, Latin, funk and fusion in a 7 p.m. concert where playing renditions by such classic musicians as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Harry Connick, Jr., Glenn Miller and Louis Armstrong is a performance staple.

Reserved-seat tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for seniors (65 and older), students (w/ID) and children (age 3-11). They are available weekdays from 10am-6pm and Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m. at the SCERA Center, 745 S. State St., Orem, by calling (801) 225-ARTS, online at www.scera.org or at the door 30 minutes prior to performance.

Synthesis began in 1973 and quickly became one of the university's most sought after groups. It also became one of the most difficult groups of which to be a part. Rigorous auditions yield between 18 and 20 student musicians selected for the premier group. ¬ 

Much of the group's success can be attributed to its director, Ray Smith, who is the director of jazz studies and a woodwind professor at BYU. He earned his bachelor's degree at BYU where he played lead alto saxophone and was first clarinet in the Wind Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestra. He subsequently earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Indiana University and became a part of the BYU faculty in 1982.

SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre announces 2008 Summer Season -- American Idol" will find its way to Orem this summer -- or at least last year's winner will -- when the winner of American Idol 2007 Jordin Sparks performs as part of the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre 2008 summer season.

The summer schedule also includes Little River Band, ABBA Live! (with the Swedish tribute band Arrival), the Utah Symphony, Boyz II Men and Three Dog Night.

Also planned are three musicals: "The King & I," "Footloose: the Musical" and the world premiere of "Pride and Prejudice."

The season will open Memorial Day May 26 Little River Band. The first musical of the season is the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic "The King and I," directed by Kathryn and Howard Little and playing June 6-21.¬ 

Jordin Sparks, the youngest winner in American Idol history, will bring her enthusiasm and vocal range and power to the stage June 25.

The season will continue July 5-19 with "Footloose: The Musical," directed by Neal Johnson.

Also planned in July is a Pioneer Day celebration on the 24th called ABBA Live!, featuring Swedish tribute band Arrival.

Aug. 1-16 will be the world premiere of a new musical based on Jane Austen's popular novel "Pride and Prejudice," directed by Jerry Elison and Robert Barham.

Next up will be the Utah Symphony under David Cho's baton on Aug. 18, and featuring light classical and pop favorites including Bizet's "Carmen," music from Star Wars, Sousa marches, Brahm's "Hungarian Dance," plus composers Wagner, Puccini, Copland and Strauss.¬ 

Finishing the month of August is an evening with Boyz II Men. The Aug. 28 concert will feature the group's hip-hop doo wop style mixed with a capella and soul.

The season will conclude on Labor Day Sept. 1 with Three Dog Night in concert.

All events begin at 8 p.m. Seating is on a grassy slope, with specific sections for chairs and blankets. General admission patrons may bring their own blanket or low-style beach chair or rent a chair from SCERA for $1.¬ 

2008 season tickets, which include all three musicals and all six concerts, are available by calling (801) 225-ARTS, visiting the SCERA Center for the Arts (745 S. State St., Orem) weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m.¬  General admission season tickets are $60 adult, $45 child (age 3-11), students (w/ID) and seniors (65+). Two reserved seating areas are also available and tickets range from $80-$95 adults, and $60-$80 for children, seniors or students. Individual event tickets are also available. More information can be found online at www.scera.org.

Also planned at the Shell this summer, but not part of the season ticket, is a series of outdoor movies that include "Hairspray" (June 11); "Clue" (June 18); "Stardust" (July 9); "Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix" (July 16); "Dan in Real Life" (Aug. 6); Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" (Aug. 13); "Enchanted" (Sept. 5); and "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" (Sept. 6). Movies begin at dusk. Season ticket holders may purchase the outdoor movie series for $8 adult, $4 Child/Senior/Student, which is 50 percent off the regular price.¬  ¬ 

Before the first six outdoor movies is SCERA's 3rd Annual Celebrity vocal competition. The talent search is unique as it offers singers vocal and instrument backup from a live karaoke band called This Is Your Band. There is a $30 registration fee for interested vocalists and a limit of 15 singers per night. The Top Six finalists will open for Boyz II Men on Aug. 28. To sign up, call SCERA at (801) 225-ARTS. Orem, UT¬  84058

Lehi Arts Council

"All I Really Need to Know..." opens -- The Lehi City Arts Council presents "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" today, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Glen M. Smith Family Theatre, 685 N. Center Street.

Based on Robert Fulghum's best-selling books, "Kindergarten" takes a funny, insightful, heartwarming look at what is profound in everyday life. This tightly woven adaptation has earned standing ovations from L.A. to D.C. It's an evening of theatrical storytelling in revue format, with monologues, dialogues, and multiple voice narration, enhanced through the use of live piano underscoring, which provides fluidity, charm, and emotional texture.

Tickets are $8 and are available online at www.lehicityarts.org or by calling 369-8806. Reservations are recommended. Small children are discouraged in courtesy to the actors.

Utah Baroque Ensemble

Utah Baroque Ensemble to perform -- The Utah Baroque Ensemble directed by Martha Sargent, will present two concerts in north Utah County in anticipation of their upcoming tour to Italy and Switzerland, where they will perform at Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, among other locations.

The ensemble will perform on May 5 at 7 p.m. at the Orem City Library, 58 N. State St.

Hale Center Theater

The Miracle Worker to open¬ -- The inspiring story of young Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie Sullivan, is currently being performed through May 24 at the Hale Center Theater Orem, 225 W. 400 North, with performances nightly, except Sundays.

Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday matinees are scheduled for May 10, 17 and 24 at 3:30 p.m. (The theater will be dark April 15, 16, 22, 23, and 26.)

Ticket prices range from $11.50 to $15.50, depending on night and seating location. Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 801-226-8600.

The play is directed by David Morgan, who single cast the play.