‘Chaps’ brings Western music to OLRC stage
“CHAPS!” BRINGS WESTERN MUSIC AND FUN TO OLRC STAGE? LOGAN – A knee-slappin’ good time is sure to be had when “Chaps!” comes to the Old Lyric Repertory Company stage in Logan. The production opens Thursday, July 3, and continues Friday and Saturday, July 4 and 5, at 7:30 p.m., with an additional matinee Saturday at 2 p.m.?
Directed by Richard Call, “Chaps!” is the third play of the OLRC’s 42nd season and is sure to please all with its wide variety of Western tunes.?
The Old Lyric Repertory Company is a production program based in the Department of Theatre at Utah State University in Logan and is a part of the Caine School of the Arts and the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Home to the company is the Caine Lyric Theatre, 28 W. Center Street, Logan.
“Chaps!,” set in 1944 WWII England, follows six BBC employees and a band manager who are left hanging after the famed American musician Tex Riley and his band of singing cowboys get lost on the way to the BBC station, never making the show. With no one to do the show, the employees find themselves performing the greatly anticipated Western broadcast, taking on the roles of journalists and Tex’s crew.? Call said he is excited to direct “Chaps!” because it is such a fun show.? “This is great, old-time Western music that the older generation will want to sing along with, and it’s got great, fun British humor that younger generations enjoy,” he said.? The cast of “Chaps!” makes an already good show better, he said. The cast is mostly returning OLRC members, but USU senior Lucas Bybee makes his OLRC debut this season.? Call said everyone will like the show.? “‘Chaps!’ is fast-moving and upbeat,” he said. “It will make you want to stamp your feet and tap along. With live music, including piano, bass and fiddle players, and great acting, ‘Chaps!’ is a must-see.”? In tight, four and five-part harmonies, the witty comedy entertains with old-fashioned and classic Western tunes, including “Ride, Cowboy, Ride” and “Back in the Saddle Again.”? The book (the non-singing parts) for “Chaps!” is a product of collaboration between Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner. Vocal arrangements are by Hillgartner and Chip Duford. Parody lyrics in the songs “Way Out There” and “Duelin’ Divas” are by Harrison Long.? Following its July 3-5 opening, “Chaps!” will have evening performances July 16, 18, 24, 26 and 29, that begin at 7:30 p.m. Matinees are July 5 and 26 at 2 p.m.? For OLRC ticket information visit the OLRC Web site (www.usu.edu/lyric) and click “Tickets and Passes,” call the Caine Lyric Theatre box office, (435) 752-1500, or the Caine School of the Arts box office, (435) 797-8022. The Caine Lyric Theatre’s box office is at 28 W. Center Street in Logan. ? Ticket prices vary based on seating, and discounts are available for youth, seniors and USU faculty, staff and students. Adult evening tickets range from $21-$25. For details, call the box offices or visit the OLRC Web site.
The Old Lyric Repertory presents four productions in repertory this summer at the Caine Lyric Theater, 28 W. Center Street, Logan. “Chaps!” joins the previously opened productions “Beau Jest” and “The Dresser,” with “Deathtrap” yet to open. The season runs June 12 through Aug. 2. Students working in the OLRC High School Apprentice program also present a production that is open to the public.