Scenic Utah amphitheater launches new Disney musical

It's a place where Tarzan flies out across a natural red rock canyon and onto a massive stage, flooded just moments earlier by a waterfall that spurts out of the rusty sandstone backdrop. It's a place where princes enter scenes riding on live horses and fireworks echo across the canyon, closing out six Broadway-style shows each week.

Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Ivins City, Utah, built its reputation on a large natural location that enables elaborate spectacles. And in recent years the 20-year-old venue has formed close ties with Disney Theatrical Group. This relationship has resulted in multiple regional premieres for a number of established Disney musicals, including "The Little Mermaid" and "Mary Poppins."

On June 13, the amphitheater opened the world premiere of a Disney musical called "When You Wish." Billed as a "musical spectacular," it unfolds like a revue, culling characters, storylines and music from a number of established Disney tales and stringing them together through the imagination of one little girl.

"This show was created with love. We share it with you with love. And we hope you receive it with love," said co-director Scott Anderson on opening night.

David R. Scott, senior manager for theatrical licensing for Disney Theatrical Productions, said a team from Disney compiled songs from the company canon with arranger/orchestrator Jim Abbott to provide a variety of styles for the show. While many of them came from existing stage musicals like "Beauty and the Beast," "Newsies" and "Aladdin," other numbers came from storylines only portrayed on film.

Then Tuacahn put its signature touch on the production. Executive producer Kevin Smith said they wanted the show to be big because "that's Tuacahn's thing." As a result, horses gallop across the red rock panorama behind the stage in one scene while a water curtain makes it look as if the cast is under the sea later on in the show.

"We worked with (Tuacahn) to put together a show that would maximize the beauty and splendor of the natural setting and (provide) an entertaining evening for family audiences," Scott said.

For Bridgette Biggers, the 11-year-old actress playing the girl at the center of the story, it's a chance to not only share the stage with iconic Disney characters, but also to interact with them. She dances with the Beast during the "Beauty and the Beast" segment, flies a kite with Bert in "Mary Poppins" and is kidnapped by Ursula during "The Little Mermaid."

"It's like one of my dreams come true," Biggers said.

On stage, the novice actress from Lehi, Utah, acts alongside professional Equity actors like Drew Aber, who portrays multiple characters, including Tarzan. Aber said there are pros and cons to the scenic outdoor venue.

The cons, like inclement weather and various critters, are few. The pros, however, make acting a Tuacahn a "one-of-a-kind experience," he said.

"It's just amazing," he said. "I've fallen in love with this theater."

Even a downpour on opening night that forced the production into a 20-minute rain delay didn't hinder 15-year-old Hadley Clement's enthusiasm.

She and her teenage cousins enjoyed Aber's shirtless portrayal of Tarzan but were also impressed with the technical elements, including the flooding of the stage with a thin sheet of water to create a "river" during the "Tarzan" segment.

"That was pretty cool. I'm surprised they could pull that off," Clement said during intermission. "I feel like I'm at Disneyland."

Her mother, Wendy Clement, said the musical revue style of the show brought back memories of her children growing up with these stories and songs.

As the audience filed out of the theater on opening night, children could be heard offering their own reviews of the show to each other.

"'Under the Sea' was the best," said one.

"Ursula looked really cool," another replied.

Although Disney gave Tuacahn the green light and helped conceive the project, "When You Wish" is not a Disney production. It's a Tuacahn project with Disney's blessing. And Scott, from Disney Theatrical, said there are no current plans for the show beyond Tuacahn Amphitheater.

"It's 100% produced by Tuacahn," said Tuacahn associate producer Ryan Norton. "But it was a great opportunity for us to collaborate with Disney on a level of putting together a new project."

Going forward, any future productions of "When You Wish" may not look the same as the version running at Tuacahn. Certain selections may come or go. That means a future take on it could include songs from the mega-popular "Frozen."

"When You Wish" will continue to run alongside Tuacahn's production of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" through October with the musical "Sister Act" joining them at the end of July. For information visit www.tuacahn.org.

Passey also reports for The Spectrum in St. George, Utah.