Lyric Repertory Company Celebrates 50th Anniversary Season

The 50th Anniversary season at the Lyric Repertory Company (Lyric Rep) brings you audience favorites from prior years for the summer of 2017.

“The Lyric Repertory Company has been an integral part of the community for more than 50 years,” Dennis Hassan, co-artistic director of the Lyric Rep, said. “We have a cast of amazing actors from all over the country who bring their incredible talents to Cache Valley.”

The Lyric Rep was founded in 1967 by W. Vosco Call and has produced musicals, dramas, mysteries, farces, comedies and classics to the delight of audience members from Cache Valley and visitors from around the country. The theater company brings in members of Actors’ Equity Association and other professional actors and guest artists to work side by side with advanced theater students from USU’s Caine College of the Arts.

The Lyric Rep 50th Anniversary Celebration and season opening in June represents the kick-off for Utah State University’s 2017-18 Year of the Arts which will be a year-long celebration of events and promotions spotlighting the unique power of the arts to illuminate, transform and inspire the human spirit. University and community partners, including the Lyric Rep, will work together to present a schedule of events focused on the broad spectrum of artistic disciplines offered at Utah State. The Year of the Arts will showcase the breadth, depth, power and purpose of artistic exploration and expression at USU across colleges, departments and regional campuses.

Celebrate the Year of the Arts with the Caine College and the Lyric Rep at our special 50th Anniversary Celebrations on July 21 and 22! The night will begin with a catered reception in the lobby of the Caine Lyric Theatre where you can mingle with past and present company members and fellow patrons. Next, join us in the theater where Lyric Rep alumni from all over the country will perform musical numbers from Lyric’s greatest hits. To cap this magical evening, step outside to a street party featuring a DJ, food, dancing and a one-of-a-kind light show. This opportunity only happens once every 50 years and we’re putting on a Golden Anniversary bash that you won’t want to miss.

Opening this year’s season is The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield. Don’t miss the hilarious, mad-cap action that ensues when three young American actors undertake the Herculean task of performing the entire repertoire of the Bard…in less than two hours. Zany, irreverent and uproariously funny, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] will change the way you think of the English language’s premiere playwright. See Shakespeare in a new light June 16, 17, July 14, 15, 20, 27 and August 4.

Next up is Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with music and lyrics by Roger Miller and book by William Hauptman. Follow Jim and Huck down the Mississippi in this toe-tappin,’ knee-slappin,’ musical misadventure based on Mark Twain’s classic 1884 novel and set to music by the great country singer-songwriter Roger Miller. In the Lyric Rep’s audience survey, this musical received twice as many votes as any other production in Lyric history. Sing along on June 23, 24, July 12, 15, 17, 25, 29, August 3 and 5.

Join us June 30 for the spine-tingling, blood-curdling thriller, Wait Until Dark, written by Frederick Knott and adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher. This play has kept audiences gasping for more than 50 years and was Broadway’s biggest hit in the year the Lyric Rep was founded. A sinister con man meets his match when Suzy, a blind woman, won’t believe her husband is implicated in a woman’s murder. With the help of a neighbor, Suzy learns that she is the victim of a bizarre charade and forces her antagonists to play by her rules. Find out if you’re afraid of the dark June 30, July 1, 13, 18, 28, August 2 and 5.

The fourth show of the season is The Foreigner by Larry Shue. Euphoric joy and laughter have been the consistent response to The Foreigner since it was voted the Best New American Play more than 30 years ago. Charlie, a shy visitor from the U.K., hides out in a Georgia fishing lodge pretending to have no knowledge of English to maintain his privacy. Soon, he knows everyone’s secrets, and when a peculiar resident with good intentions attempts to “teach” him English, the results are side-splittingly hilarious. Laugh along July 7, 8, 11, 19, 26, 29 and August 1.

The Lyric Rep will also be offering four dates for Dinner & Discussion. Enjoy a meal with the actors, directors and designers by the river at The Riverwoods Conference Center prior to curtain. Dinner & Discussion will feature special presentations, discussions and interactions with Lyric patrons’ favorite artistic team. Individual dinners are $30 per person with a 20% discount when purchased in a pack of four. All dinners start at 4:30 p.m. Dinner for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] is Saturday, June 17; dinner for Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is Saturday, June 24; dinner for Wait Until Dark is Saturday, July 1 and dinner for The Foreigner is Saturday, July 8.

Tickets for the 2017 season are on sale now. For more information or to purchase tickets, go online to lyricrep.org or visit the Caine Lyric Theatre Box Office from June 1-August 4 on Mon.-Fri. from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Writer and contact: Whitney Schulte, whitney.schulte@usu.edu, 435-797-9203