Summer theater season set

Three of Utah's major repertory summer-theater companies open their 2007 seasons this week at opposite ends of the state — one west of St. George and two others in Cache Valley.

TUACAHN'S "BROADWAY IN THE DESERT" in Ivins has two romantic family musicals, with a third tap-dancing hit to be added in the fall. The 2,000-seat amphitheater's "fairy-tale season" will showcase two beloved characters — Cinderella and Eliza Doolittle.

David Tinney, who has choreographed such recent Tuacahn productions as "Peter Pan" and "South Pacific," is directing and choreographing Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," originally created by the duo as a 1957 prime-time television special starring Julie Andrews.

The cast includes Sarah Brandon as Cinderella, Caleb Damschroder as the Prince, Pamela Dayton as the Fairy Godmother and Jan Broberg Felt as the Queen. Flying by Foy, which was responsible for some of the high-flying special effects in last summer's "Peter Pan," will provide technical wizardry for "Cinderella" as well.

Tim Threlfall is directing Lerner and Loewe's "My Fair Lady," his eighth production for Tuacahn. His big challenge — and that of scenery designer Doug Ellis — is creating Victorian London against Tuacahn's familiar red-rock canyon setting.

The "My Fair Lady" cast includes Mindy Smoot Robbins as Eliza Doolittle, Daren Kelly as Henry Higgins, Andrew Boyer as Alfred P. Doolittle and Hal Blankenship as Colonel Pickering.

"Cinderella" will play on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from June 13 through Aug. 17. At the end of August it will play in repertory with both "My Fair Lady" and "42nd Street," which plays Aug. 30-Oct. 20.

"My Fair Lady" plays on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays through Aug. 18, with the three-way schedule beginning Aug. 25. Curtain times also vary for the Tuacahn productions — 8:30 p.m. during June-August, 8 p.m. in September and 7:30 p.m. during October.

All seating is reserved. Single tickets range from $24-$44 for adults and $20-$36 for children, 12 and under, depending on seat location and day of the week. Senior citizens' tickets are $3 less. Group discounts are also available (800-746-9882 or 435-652-3300 or online at www.tuacahn.org). For group rates, for 25 or more, call 435-652-3204.

A variety of other discounts are also available, including preview performances, three canned food drive nights, six specific family night packages and five ten-buck Tuesdays.