Music, comedy and more in Wasatch Front theaters

A 1992 off-Broadway hit is among the handful of new stage productions this week in Wasatch Front theaters.

• "SONG OF SINGAPORE," a musical parody of 1940s war dramas (think "Casablanca" gussied up as a cabaret revue), opens Friday and plays through Nov. 5 in the Grand Theatre, South City Campus, Salt Lake Community College, 1575 S. State.

Directed by Robin Wilks-Dunn, the cast includes local musician David Evanoff as Freddy S. Lyme, owner of a seedy waterfront dive in Singapore on the eve of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Enemy troops are massing on the border, a customer at the bar has been murdered and some priceless jewels have vanished — setting up the backdrop for a comedy showcasing several '40s-style tunes, ranging from Andrews Sisters harmony to swing and gospel.

The drawing card at Freddy's Song of Singapore Cafe is the house band — the Malayan Melody Makers — and the club's sultry chanteuse, the Rose of Rangoon (who suffers from a chronic case of amnesia). Camille Van Wagoner will play Rose, with Sandy Ann Thuy Jensen as the mysterious dragon lady Chah Li, and Doug Irey as the corrupt, creepy Inspector Kurland.

The band's musicians also play integral roles in the action. They include Darrin Doman as drummer Spike Spauldeen, David Halliday as Zoots, Keven Johansen as Hans van der Last, keyboardist Kevin Mathie as Ivory, Seth Miner as Lips and Alex Rowe as Pete.

The all-original score includes such tunes as "I Miss My Home in Harlem," "Never Pay Musicians What They're Worth" and "I Want to Get Off This Island" (which they do, by flying off to Hawaii — on Dec. 7, 1941).

Performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday of this week, then Oct. 26-29 and Oct. 31-Nov. 5, with Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 only. Tickets range from $10 to $24, with discounts for students and senior citizens (957-3322 or www.the-grand.org).

• DESERT STAR DINNER THEATER, 4861 S. State, Murray, will close its production of "My Big Fat Utah Wedding" on Nov. 19, following a record-breaking 75-week run — the state's longest continuously running stage production. It will play in repertory with the all-new "The Rat Pack Remembered," beginning Oct. 27.

Starting the weekend of Nov. 25, "The Rat Pack Celebrates Christmas" will rotate in repertory with a second show, "Home for the Holidays" (266-2600).