"THRILLER," ODYSSEY DANCE THEATRE, Kingsbury Hall, Oct. 14, additional performances through Oct. 30 (801-581-7100)

All of you who are planning to go see Odyssey Dance Theatre's "Thriller" be warned. There are a lot of pyrotechnics this year. And you may have a coughing fit during the second act.

All of you who weren't planning to go see this season's performance may want to reconsider. It's that fun.

After more than a decade of performances, this year's danse macbre could be considered the best.

Part of Wednesday night's successful performance was due to the audience, which really got into it.

The dancers' energy was already high, but with each selection, the audience responded — especially to the classics such as the balletic "Frankenstein & Frankenstein" and the hip-hopping "Curse of the Mummy."

Black light and glow-in-the-dark femurs of "Dem Bones" was another crowd pleaser as was the acrobatic and gory "Lost Boys."

Of course, it was the rhythmic mayhem of "Jason Jam" that got the most cheers — and laughs.

Some new off-the-cuff additions to the serial-killer weapon/dance showcase refreshed this much-anticipated work.

Speaking of new additions, ODT, directed by Derryl Yeager, added a touching work called "MJ," a tribute to the late Michael Jackson.

Six dancers, donning Jackson's trademark fedora and white socks, pay their respects to the fallen King of Pop through slow-motion takes on his ground-breaking moves. And while the ending could have been considered cheesy, it stands up well and actually made a few people tear.

The haunting "Salem's Mass," the performance-art-inspired "Chucky-Rama" and "River of Blood Dance," a bullet-in-cheek nod to Celtic epics, not only entertained the audience, but displayed ODT's and other young dancers' versatility.

This year, taking on the clown and Loreena Bobbitt segments were John Boy and Mindy Lilyquist, respectively.

John Boy's deadpan depressed delivery and unexpected cameos ran throughout the night, and Lilyquist's demented singing and hardware visuals not only gave the dancers time to set up the next work, but also gave the audience another reason to laugh.

While "Thriller" is fun and spooky, there are some horror-story imagery and gore that may disturb younger viewers.

e-mail: scott@desnews.com