Family fare and adults-only dramas scheduled

Stage productions opening in Salt Lake City this week range from children's fare to an adults-only drama.

"WHEN WILL I DANCE? A PLAY ABOUT FRIDA KAHLO," written by Claire Braz-Valentine and first staged in 2000 at a Women's Playwrights International conference in Athens, Greece, is being produced by Salt Lake City-based Avalon Isle Women's Theatre Group.

Directed by Gail McCulloch, performances will be from Friday through Jan. 22 in the Dumke Auditorium of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts on the University of Utah campus.

The drama focuses on the life and times of the legendary Mexican artist. The play has two actresses — Nicol Razon and Leticia Velez — playing Kahlo. Razon portrays the social "everyday" Kahlo and Velez reflects her artistic, spiritual side.

The play touches on the tragic trolley accident Kahlo survived at the age of 18 and her tempestuous relationship with artist Diego Rivera (both became each other's greatest admirers and critics — and both engaged in numerous affairs).

The drama was chosen as "one of the best plays in 10 years" at the Multicultural Theater Festival in Portland, Ore., and ran for nearly a year in Tampere, Finland, where it's scheduled for a return engagement.

The play is being produced in conjunction with the museum's exhibition, "Frida Kahlo Through the Lens of Nikolas Muray," which opened in October and continues through May 14.

Admission to the exhibit is free during January with a ticket stub from performances of "When Will I Dance?"

Performances are 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets $10-$15 at the door (free for UMFA members).

"STAR WARS EPISODE MDCCLXXXIV," an original comedy by Liz Christensen, opens Thursday in the Desert Star Cabaret Theatre, 4861 S. State, Murray, where it continues through March 25.

Subtitled "The Sequel to the Prequels That Were the Sequel," the musical parody has filmmaker George Lucas visiting his "pathetic fans" at a "Star Wars" convention in Salt Lake City, where he announces plans for his next trilogy.

The mostly single-cast ensemble, directed by Scott Holman, includes Jack Drayton as Lucas and the Emperor, Bob Longoria as Darth Vader, and Liz Christensen, Heather Ferguson-Elmer, Ashley Grant, Ed Farnsworth, Ashley Mayfield, Aaron Swenson, Mary Parker Williams and Jennifer Tanner in other roles. The program will also include an "At the Movies" olio revue.