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Having prayers addressed to her is one of the perks Annette Wright expects in portraying Heavenly Mother, who is a hero in the 2016 edition of "Saturday's Voyeur," Salt Lake Acting Company's annual musical send-up of Utah culture.

Wright jokes she's perfect for the role because she's naturally bossy. Besides, the comedic actor, who is returning to the "Voyeur" stage after an eight-year hiatus, describes herself as tired out theatrically, which also mirrors her character's attitude. "She's over it," Wright says. As Heavenly Mother, she even gets to intone that famous screed everybody knows from the 1976 movie "Network": "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore."

There's also the pleasure of plowing mostly unfurrowed comedic territory, since Heavenly Mother is so rarely referenced institutionally by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "I'm kind of a regular Joe," Wright says, or maybe a regular Jane, describing her costume featuring the imagery of suns, stars and moons, rather than wings or a magic wand.

This year's stranger-than-fiction bizarro presidential campaign, as well as the recent LDS Church announcement about children in gay families commonly referred to as "The Policy," offers rich material for "Voyeur." Allen Nevins, who writes the show along with Nancy Borgenicht, refers to this year's play as "Liberal Screed: A mythic book of comic adventure."

The theater company promotes "Voyeur," now in its 37th year, as an annual summer party to celebrate "the camaraderie of being a Utah liberal." Last year's show played to 14,795 ticketholders over its three-month run.

"Voyeur" previews Wednesday and Thursday, opens Friday, June 24, and continues for 76 shows through Aug. 28 at the Marmalade Hill theater company. (See box for tickets and show details.)

"It's like 'High School Musical' meets 'Wizard of Oz' meets a fairy tale meets 'Saturday's Voyeur,'" says director and choreographer Cynthia Fleming, SLAC's executive artistic director.

The satirical musical draws upon the comedic flavors of vaudeville and burlesque theatrical traditions. "I think it's become its own genre," she says, adding: "What I love this year is there's a proactive kind of hope at the end."

The show is SLAC's cash cow, a high-spirited opportunity to enroll subscribers and fund the company's season of contemporary plays.

The plot of this year's "Liberal Screed," such as it is, follows Ned (Tito Livas), the son of lesbian mothers and next-door gay fathers. When he's blocked from being baptized into the Mormon church until he turns 18, his confusion sparks several visitations in dreams.

In one dream, he meets popular Joey Smith (Robert Scott Smith), surrounded by cheerleaders, at Eagle Mountain High School. In another, he hies to Kolob, a star near where God lives, where he meets Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father and Sister Luci — short for Lucifer.

God, played with Trumpian flare by eight-year "Voyeur" veteran Justin Ivie, ignores Ned's consternation. Ivie's character is described as "a white man, in a white robe, with Donald Trump hair."

Instead, Heavenly Father is too busy duetting with Smith for the title of "King of the Mos" and trying to birth 1 million more Republican spirit babies to be raised by Utah families.

Ivie, notable for his Brigham Young voice and stature in last year's "Voyeur," has been immersing himself in Trumpisms. He's not playing The Donald, he says, but borrowing mannerisms to make his characterization of Heavenly Father seem familiar. "As painful as that has been, it's an interesting acting challenge," Ivie says. "I'm having a really good time sorting through all of pop culture to mock him."

For her part, Heavenly Mother becomes Ned's ally, while refusing to produce babies until her celestial partner guarantees them health care, clean air, sex education and female priesthood ordination.

"Heavenly Mother, in our admittedly very irreverent version, is a champion for all her children, and sad so many are mistreated," says Ivie, describing a heavenly couple who have drifted apart politically over the millennia of their relationship. "She has sway over Heavenly Father because she has such fabulous legs."

Of course "Voyeur" features a song about drinking dirty soda. Other song parodies draw from the Roger Miller canon, such as "King of the Hill." Then there's the transformation of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" into "White Prophet," while Tammy Wynette's 1969 classic "Stand by Your Man" becomes "Stand by Your Plan."

More edgy is how "Voyeur" morphs "Young Blood" from "Smokey Joe's Cafe" to "Young Slut (It's Your Fault)," sparked by the recent news stories about rapes reported by Brigham Young University students that triggered Honor Code investigations.

For the 12-member cast, one of the challenges of summering with "Voyeur" is maintaining their voices and health through the 76-show run. A more difficult acting challenge is finding and playing the authenticity that's at the core of the show's comedic material.

"When people talk to me about 'Voyeur,' they assume what we're doing is more slapstick," Ivie says. "They don't realize how much time and effort we put into figuring out the [characters'] backstories and primary motivations. You constantly have to remind yourself to try to be honest and think about what your real motivations are in each moment."

As for his Heavenly Father, Ivie is appreciating the chance to shower those around him freely with blessings. "I guess I do have to admit that it's easy to live inside that ego a little bit after the scene ends," the actor says. "Also, I find myself pursing my lips in that very strange pucker that Donald does. During the day, my muscles get sort of used to it."

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Let's do the 'Voyeur' time warp again

Salt Lake Acting Company's ripped-from-the-headlines annual satirical musical, written by Allen Nevins and Nancy Borgenicht, returns for its 37th year.

When • Previews Wednesday and Thursday, June 22-23; opens Friday, June 24; continues through Aug. 28. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday

Also • Additional performances Tuesday, Aug. 16, 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 20, 2 p.m.

Where • Salt Lake Acting Company, 168 W. 500 North, Salt Lake City

Tickets • $45-$55 (subscribers, group discounts); 801-363-7522 or saltlakeactingcompany.org

Artistic team • Cynthia Fleming, director/choreographer; Kevin Mathie, musical director/arranger; Heidi Ortega, costume design; Michael Horejsi, set design; James M. Craig, lighting design; Janice Jenson, stage manager; Shannon Musgrave, assistant director/choreographer; Christian Stringham, Timothy Swensen, Martin C. Alcocer, assistant stage managers