All the world's a stage ... or so it seems

Some other companies are either on the move or contemplating possible moves to other venues and one — Provo Theatre Company — is closing down for a year to revitalize its funding.

The Bountiful Performing Arts Center, which was recently booted out of its tiny basement in Bountiful's community art gallery due to fire-safety concerns, hopes to move into a space that formerly housed the city's indoor swimming pool (not the more recent one in a bubble north of downtown but the old, long-vacant building in the City Hall complex).

The Bountiful Fire Department told BPAC that if they stayed where they were, they could have no more than a total of 49 people — including actors, crew and patrons. If the move is approved by the Bountiful City Council, the new space would provide seating for 250-plus patrons and a stage big enough to handle large-scale musicals.

St. George Musical Theatre may also be moving into a new venue sometime during its 2006-07 season. The old school building where they're now housed is located on property which could be part of a new retail development project.

Desert Star Dinner Theatre has a new season mixing original shows and some more established off-Broadway style productions, including the region's first-ever all-male version of "Nunsense A-Men."

There are plenty of regional premieres and a few world premieres as well, including the recent off-Broadway hit "Rabbit Hole" at Salt Lake Acting Company; an original spoof of "Oklahoma!" called "Utahoma!" at the Off Broadway Theatre; what could be the first English translation of a French farce, "The Ladies Man," by Pioneer Theatre Company; Pygmalion Productions' Utah premiere of the off-Broadway hit, "Frozen"; and Steve Martin's comedy "The Underpants" by Utah Contemporary Theatre.

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E-mail: ivan@desnews.com