By John R. Behn
The theatre department at Utah State University Eastern in Price is pleased to announce that they will be presenting Arthur Miller’s quintessential drama of two families in Midwest America toward the end of World War II, “All My Sons,” starting Wednesday, Jan. 20, and running through Saturday, Jan. 23.
All productions will be held in the Peterson Black Box Theatre at the CIB building at USU Eastern, 451 East 400 North, in Price. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the curtain time will be 7:30 p.m. except for an additional matinee on Saturday, Jan. 23 when doors open at 1:30 p.m. with curtain time at 2 p.m. for the matinee only.
This production was originally scheduled to be presented in October of 2020 but due to COVID-19 restrictions had to be postponed into 2021. However, due to our continuing struggle with COVID-19, all safety precautions will be strictly adhered to, including the required wearing of face masks and social distancing. Additionally, the number of available seats will be limited.
Tickets are available online only at Eventbrite by entering “All My Sons.” Due to COVID-19, ticket prices for this production only have been discounted and set at one price for all patrons.
This production is unique to USU Eastern in that the theatre department was fortunate to have acquired the services of Conner Wilson, the current director of San Francisco’s off-Broadway production of “Harry Potter: The Cursed Child,” to direct the production. The set was designed and executed by Brent Innes, Associate Professor of Theatre at USU Eastern. In addition to directing the production, Mr. Wilson held master classes for the theatre students and interested community members while directing “All My Sons” and is now directing an original full-length play entitled “American Yu” by Terence Patrick Hughes at the Prologue Theatre in Washington D.C..
“All My Sons” features Associate Professor Dr. Corey Ewan in the lead role of Joe Keller. The leading role of Kate Keller, Joe’s wife, is being performed by Robin Edwards, a theatre education teacher at Olympus High School.
Supporting roles are being performed by USU Eastern theatre students, including Jensen Ottesen, a freshman at USU Eastern, graduate of Stansbury High School; Emma Bowers, freshman, graduate of Stansbury High School; Max Ottesen, freshman, graduate of Stansbury High School; Kyra Waelchter, freshman, graduate of Green Canyon High School; Patrick Paullis, freshman, graduate of Carbon High School, Cheyann Needles, sophomore, graduate of Cedar Hills High School; and Hunter Peterson, sophomore, graduate of Gunnison High School.
“All My Sons” was written and produced in 1947 and won Tony Awards for both playwright, Arthur Miller, and for director, Elia Kazan. A revival of the play in 1987 won Tony Awards for best performance by an actor in a featured role for both Jamey Sheridan and Richard Kiley. There have been multiple recent revivals both in the United States and in Great Britain.
The theatre department at USU Eastern is planning to present the comedy “Sherwood – The Adventures of Robin Hood” in October of 2021, Shakespeare’s comedy “As You Like It” in December of 2021, the historical drama “Huebener” in February of 2022, and in April of 2022 the musical “Bright Star” which was written and composed by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell.