Cache Regional Theatre will mount three productions this season, starting with 'Little Women'

By Jon Rash

November 8, 2005 | Cache Regional Theatre Company will present three productions in their upcoming theatrical season, "The American Dream." The season begins in January and will include Little Women, Crazy for You, and Ragtime. The company, formerly known as the Capital Arts Alliance Theatre Society and Cache Community Theatre, has increased its number of performances from one a year to three for the 2006 season. Kody Rash, assistant director and costume designer for the company says that all three productions promise to be both entertaining and inspiring.

The first production, Little Women, is a musical created by local musician Jay Richards, based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott about a family of four daughters living in New England during the Civil War. Richards has been composing and writing the script for five years and is now excited to have it completed and ready for the stage. He said, "I want people to be touched enough by the story and the music to go away saying, 'hey, this is real... I know those people.'"

Richards says he can hardly wait to get rehearsals underway and see the cast bring life to the characters on the pages. He said, "There is something of each of us written into this story. I want people to connect with that character, whoever it is."

Little Women will be performed at the Ellen Eccles Theatre in Logan Jan. 12-14 and 19-21, and on March 4 at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City. Samples of some music from Little Women are available online.

Crazy for You, a musical based on several George and Ira Gershwin songs, is the second production in the plans for the 2006 season. Crazy for You is the story of a New York big-wig, Bobby Child, whose true desire is to be a stage performer. He is sent to Deadrock, Nev. to close down a failing theatre. Upon his arrival, Child meets Polly Baker, the only female citizen of the town. He immediately falls in love (with Baker and the rundown theatre), and through a series of deceitful and persuasive plans, wins her love in return and saves the theatre from being closed.

Crazy for You won a Tony for best musical in 1992 and has been described as "a great evening in the theater," by Mark Cipra in an online musical theatre discussion group. Cipra says, "Crazy for You is more than just a compilation of the Gershwins' greatest hits, although it does pack in a dozen of their finest and best-known songs."

Floyd Salisbury, director and president of Cache Regional Theatre Company, says that Crazy for You was chosen because it is "different than anything we have ever done. It involves a lot more dancing, particularly tap dancing. We felt like it would be fun to do a show that didn't require the audience to do any more than sit back, relax, and enjoy a couple of hours of pure fun.

"I would like the community to leave Crazy for You humming their favorite song and wishing they could tap," he added.

Crazy for You will run Feb. 16-18, 20, and 23-25 at the Ellen Eccles Theater.

As a complete contrast to either of its former productions, Ragtime is scheduled for performance in mid-October, 2006. Noel Katz said in an online discussion group, "Ragtime and Crazy for You are polar opposites. [Ragtime] takes a complex novel, with many story strands, and throws it up on stage with stunning original songs by a fairly young writing team. [Crazy for You] steals the simplest of stories... and peps it up with a catalogue of hits by a long-dead composer."

Ragtime is a musical based on E.L. Doctorow's 1975 novel of the same title. It is a complex story which involves three classes of people in the early 20th century. Katz explained these classes as "the WASPS who controlled society, immigrants who sought entrance, and blacks who were there already but weren't allowed in."

Katz said, "Ragtime was a musical so ambitious, I recall thinking ten minutes in, 'Wow. We'll never see anything like this again.' So much plot, so many themes. And these were brilliantly spelled out in the opening number."

Salisbury's hope in choosing this musical is to encourage the Cache Valley community to "leave with a greater appreciation for all mankind, regardless of race or origin. I want them to think and be inspired to greater heights by the poignant music and the depth of the story."

The cast for Ragtime has not been chosen yet. Auditions will be held in April for main characters and chorus members. Salisbury said the company is looking for people of all ages and from many ethnic backgrounds. Audition information will be available on the Cache Regional Theatre Company's Web site.

Additional Links:

Ragtime CD
Crazy for You CD

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