"Dracula vs. Jekyll & Hyde" is the next comedy on the boards of Salt Lake City's Off-Broadway Theatre, which opens Friday and runs through Oct. 28.
The parody, written by Eric Jensen and Jon Baty with music by Dave Cooke, plays around with Jekyll and Hyde stereotypes, throwing a vampire character into the story for good measure. The comedy revolves around a potion Dr. Jekyll invents to cure vampires, but when he accidentally takes his own medicine, complications ensue.
The family-oriented show plays at 7:30 p.m. on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are $16 ($8 to $12 children/students/seniors), available by calling 801-355-4628. The Laughing Stock Improv comedy troupe also performs at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and tickets are $14 ($8 to $10 children/students). The theater is at 272 S. Main St., Salt Lake City.
The red revolution: Terrace Plaza Playhouse opens its musical "The Scarlet Pimpernel" on Friday, and the show plays Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays through Nov. 11.
The musical, which sets a love triangle against the backdrop of the French Revolution, is directed by Leslie Richards and stars Jeremy Hall and Jeff Parry as Percival Blakeney, with Sally Paskins as Marguerite St. Just and Caleb Nelson as Chauvlin.
Curtain is at 7:30 p.m. at the theater, 99 E. 4700 South, Ogden. Tickets are $9 to $11 ($6 to $8 children), available by calling 801-393-0070 or visiting http://www.terraceplayhouse .com.
Eat me: The musical based on a 1960 Roger Corman cult movie, the fantastical "Little Shop of Horrors," opens Friday at Desert Star Playhouse and plays through Nov. 4.
The musical features Seymour, a nerdy floral-shop worker who lovingly names a mysterious, exotic plant Audrey II, and the plot gets thicker when the curiosity turns into a bloodthirsty, ill-tempered singing carnivore. The show features music by Alan Menken and lyrics and book by Howard Ashman, the team that created the music for Disney's "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast."
The musical has a fertile history, making its off-Broadway debut in 1982. The Desert Star production is directed by Scott Holman, with Bob Longoria as Seymour and Dominic Quin-Harkin as Scrivello.
Tickets are $15.95 ($8 children), with a buffet dinner available for an additional fee. To make reservations, call 801-266-2600. Curtain is at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at the theater at 4861 S. State St., Murray.
Drama of lost loves: Boston playwright James McLindon will answer questions about his play "Distant Music" on Thursday after a staged reading presented by Utah Contemporary Theatre. The free event will take place at 7 p.m. in the Ambassador Room of the Embassy Suites Hotel, 110 W. 600 South, Salt Lake City.
McLindon's play, set at an Irish pub in Cambridge, Mass., on a stormy night, is a humorous look at exploring lost loves and unfulfilled dreams.
Oh, what a beautiful musical! The Highland City Arts Council cowboys up with counterparts in American Fork to present the musical "Oklahoma!," which plays Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sept. 25.
The show is directed and choreographed by Josh Long, with music direction by Katie Tenney. Leading a cast of more than 50 players, Mason Lefler is Curly, Emma Bullock is Laurey and Jacob Shamy is Jud Fry. The musical will play at 7:30 p.m. at the American Fork Amphitheater, 855 E. 700 North. Tickets are $8 ($6 seniors/students), available at the door.
Women who rock: Utah Valley State College presents staged readings of a new play, "Queens of Birdland," based on celebrity profiles of superstars Madonna, Tina Turner, Mariah Carey, Chrissie Hynde, Patti Smith and Carly Simon.
The play, written by New York celebrity journalist Carl Arrington with his brother, UVSC professor James Arrington, follows the divas' paths to stardom. "It was fascinating to hear these gifted, driven and legendary talents describe their separate roads to fame and fortune," said Carl Arrington, a former music editor of People magazine and writer for Time, Rolling Stone, US Weekly and TV Guide. "In my 30 years of work and hundreds of interviews as a reporter, these six women stand out as the most unforgettable modern heroines. . . . 'Queens of Birdland' is really the answer to the question I am asked most often: 'So what is she (name your favorite diva ) really like?' "
James Arrington will direct the readings at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday in the Ragan Theater at the college at 800 W. University Parkway, Orem. The show contains material inappropriate for children under 6.
