"The Dance" is based on a Carol Lynn Pearson play about a pivotal night in the lives of three couples attending a dance at Harvard University. The cast includes veteran Utah stage actress Joyce Cohen, Utah character actor Frank Gerrish (the guy in the rat suit in those anti-smoking ads), K.C. Clyde (one of the leads in "The Best Two Years"), newcomer Kari Hawker and Michael Flynn, who doubles as the film's producer.

Cast and crew shot scenes last weekend at a downtown Salt Lake City warehouse - standing in for Harvard - where passing TRAX trains sometimes interrupted filming. Much of Friday afternoon was spent on one punch-bowl scene between Clyde and Hawker, who play a young couple on a first date. Sample dialogue:

He: "You're incredible!"

She: "You're not so bad yourself."

He: "Every guy in there thinks you're the hottest thing to hit the church dance."

Well, let's hope it gets better from there.

The crew heads to Boston this week for more filming. Written and directed by McKay Daines, the movie will be released this fall.

The filmmakers are trying something unprecedented by shooting two versions of the movie: One with LDS references and one without. For example, "How was your mission?" becomes "How was your relief work in Africa?" If the LDS version performs well in Mormon markets, the producers hope to release the mainstream version in the rest of the country.

Maybe it's just me, but I think tailoring a movie to niche audiences is unnecessary. It assumes that some filmgoers only want to see stories about people like them. What makes a great movie is not semi-obscure references but a compelling story, strong characters and a smart script.

Or lots of stuff blowin' up real good.

griggs@sltrib.com or 801-257-8689. Send comments to livingeditor@sltrib.com.