Showtime Utah! entertains with Old West music, show

Published: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 12:05 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
PLEASANT GROVE — Parley may be a stereotypical sidekick kind of cowboy but he's still amusing.

He's also a big part of the Old West Dinner Adventure entertainment at Showtime Utah! playing three nights a week.

Parley — otherwise known as Drew Keddington, the show's producer — gets in the way, cracks corny jokes, and even tries to sing with the band.

All the while, he's stumbling and talking out of the side of his mouth in a sing-song Western way.

Miss Ruby, played by Kristine Bethers on some of the nights (Miss Abby is played by Sarah Peterson and Miss Molley is played by Jennifer Cook) — is the friendly grande dame of the "bar" trying to keep Parley out of trouble and run a respectable establishment at the same time.

She's gracious, funny and busy.

She can sing pretty well too!

Parley and Ruby are part of the fare at the newest effort to keep a business going at the old Alhambra/Little London/Grove theater.

Joan Peterson has taken the place over and is making a pretty good attempt.

"I spent the summer in Spain working on a project called "Play for Good" which was a $4 million fundraiser with talent such as Paris Hilton, Eva Longoria, Goldie Hawn, Fran Drescher and more. I've been in the entertainment business for years in casting and live events. After Spain I decided I wanted to stay home more and began pondering what to do for my next project," Peterson said. "The thoughts came flooding one day and Showtime! Utah was created, a culmination of years of talking, wishing, dreaming and finishing my father's dream."

Story continues below

Peterson's grandfather was one of the "few true cowboys left in Arizona," Peterson said. She and her dad talked about putting together a western-theatrical place for years. Four years ago her father opened a theater in an old train station in Fillmore but a year into the project, he died from a stroke. She views Showtime Utah! as a way to bring her dad's dream to fruition.

"After looking with a real estate agent for months for a location, I found the Grove Event Center on the Internet and it seemed like a good match. The age of the theater (1926), the ambiance, and the hometownhome town location fit nicely with the goal of the Old West Theme. The Old West Show was the dream, and it's become a wonderful reality."

Peterson said she's been pleasantly amazed at the positive response.

"After just a few weeks we have had many return customers bringing back friends and relatives with them. One older gentleman said "Wow, I don't have to go to Jackson Hole anymore to see the Bar J Wranglers."

Peterson's formula works: The food is simple but good, chicken and/or pulled pork and beans served buffet style into tin plates and cups. Dessert consists of a brownie and ice cream or a root beer float.

Recent comments

Hi

We were interested in your shows but do not see when the dates...

Beverly Dennis | July 9, 2008 at 10:59 a.m.

Went to the dinner and show last week it was great!
The food was one...

Joan great idea | July 9, 2008 at 3:48 a.m.

We loved the old west show when we went a couple weeks ago, it was...

Alex Boye - not there! | July 8, 2008 at 9:50 a.m.

Image
Ashley Lowery, Deseret News

The band Mama's Boys performs at Showtime Utah! in Pleasant Grove on Saturday. The Mama's Boys play blue grass, western, rock and barbershop.

previousnext

Latest comments

Then why were all those people there?

BYU, Bronco collecting a galaxy of recruits

And BYU went 10-3 without one last year. Believe me that side of the ball...

Megan Joy looks forward to tour's Utah stop

Read reviews of the venues that have already had their AI tour show...Megan's...

Is it fair to say that law school professors would be among those knowing and...

I say do it, what do you have to lose. If it doesn't work, we all know what...

It means "zero". However, the spirit is great to see maybe that can spread...

I'm not sure why this game has been brought up, having not read the comments....

Got some eye-opening reality for those of you that are too emotionally...

The question I posed wasn't "what is the difference" between student...

My house is gone, and so is some of my family... but George Clooney is going...

Advertisements