'Timeless Tales of Terror' will premiere this week

Two Halloween-oriented productions, a Broadway musical and a classic drama are among this week's diverse theater openings.

• TIMELESS TALES OF TERROR, presented Thursday only by the Babcock Performing Readers, will spotlight four tales performed by three local storytellers.

—"The Carriage Driver," by local author Michael von Rosen, is a ghostly 19th-century tale set in southern Europe. It will be read by Dan Christensen.

—"The Dead Girl" and "Amanda," two 19th-century stories by authors unknown, have been edited and adapted by Michael Jesse Bennett. They'll be read by Richard C. Russell.

The evening will close with Bennett reading Edgar Allan Poe's horror classic, "The Tell-Tale Heart."

The BPR gathering will be 7:30 p.m. in the University of Utah's Union Building Little Theatre. Admission, parking and refreshments are free.

• STEEL MAGNOLIAS, Robert Harling's drama examining the bonds of friendship among a group of six Southern women in Louisiana, will be staged Friday through Nov. 5 by the Pleasant Grove Players in the Keith Christeson Little Theater, in the Pleasant Grove City Library, 30 E. Center.

Co-directed by Howard and Kathryn Laycock Little, the cast includes Luone Ingram as Truvy, owner of a beauty salon where the action takes place; Charlie Little as Annelle, Debora Escalante as Miss Clairee, Hailey Nebeker as Shelby, Kathryn Little as M'Lynn and Jan Williams as the curmudgeonly Ouiser.

Performances are 7:30 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays. There will also be Saturday matinees at 3 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for students and senior citizens or $25 per family. Single tickets are $1 less for the matinees and $20 per family. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Pleasant Grove City Offices or by calling 785-5045. Some may also be available at the door.

• SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS will play Friday through Nov. 17 in the Center Street Musical Theatre, 177 W. Center, Provo, with Gavin Grooms directing. Performances are Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students, senior citizens and children. There is also a "family" pass on Monday nights only for $35.

Optional dinners, served at 6:30 p.m., are $10 for adults and $5 for children 11 and under. Advance reservations are required for the meals (764-0535 for all reservations).