There's no business like show business! I saw the opening night for the Tu/Th/Sat cast and, while it was good, the best part of the show was the 30 minutes of "moo" time at the opening scenes of the cattle ship. (The show stopped, due to a technical problem with the stage.) The constant "moo-ing" had the audience joining in with various animal calls making it almost like being on Noah's Ark! That's live theatre! After about 10 minutes of being in the "zoo," Sally Dietlein finally came to the rescue and kept the audience amused until the problem was fixed. The audience was fortunate to be given a sneak preview of some possible shows being considered for the 2009 season and it's going to be AWESOME! Hale Centre Theatre is like no other! Let's go on with the show!

The quality of Deseret Morning News local theater coverage is suddenly taking a turn for the better again,after weakening. Good to see.

This is a very-well written review that doesn't just play like a press release. Keep it coming, Ms.Hansen.

I agree Cranston. I've not always been completely supportive of the quality of reviews in this publication (by Ms. Hansen or her colleagues), but this is excellently written and articulated.

I particularly appreciate her drawing attention to issues of staging and sight lines in that arena. I have had similar problems with just about every show I've seen at Hale Centre. Staging something in the round is tricky, and the endlessly revolving stage is called upon far too often to give a sense of fluidity where focus would serve the piece better. Ms. Hansen being unable to see a poster, a focal point of the scene, is inexcusable. Don't lay blame on the designer alone, though. Ms. Adams, as director, should retain responsibility for the entire experience of her audience.

One piece of constructive criticism: the phrase (in the last paragraph) "all in all" reads like an 8th grade book report. Find another way of summarizing your thoughts, Ms. Hansen, and you've got an excellent review there.

Shelby, seeing as Erica Hansen has a job as a professional writer, and you are posting on a message board, I suggest, all in all, you leave the writing to the professional.

First, this is a comments section on a newspaper website, not a message board. Second, your suggestion that any paying consumer of this publication does not have the right to criticize the quality of its writers or make comments he/she feels are constructive is ridiculous. Ms. Hansen's mere status as a paid writer does not inherently make her a great one, and I stand behind my earlier comment. "All in all" is a cheap, immature phrase, and it undermined the otherwise high quality of her review.