Theater in Las Vegas: ‘Into the Woods,’ ‘Godspell,’ ‘Oregon Trail’ and Shakespeare in Utah

Las Vegas’s summer community theatre scene makes a hot summer hotter. The coolest spot to catch Broadway quality musical theater is Super Summer Theatre (SST) at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

SST kicked off their 44th summer season with the Stephen Sondheim hit “Into the Woods” in May. The woodland fantasy continues June through July 13 with a musical version of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

The LAB LV (Interdisciplinary Experimental Theatre) is combining Shakespeare’s hallucinogenic fantasy with live contemporary music for a fairy-immersed magical experience in the Meadow at Spring Mountain Ranch.

Majestic Repertory Theater’s director Troy Heard is teaming up with choreographer Kimberly Amblad and musical director Bill Fayne for a PG-13 version of the bawdy Bob Fosse classic “Chicago,” July 31 – August 17, followed by the more family-friendly, “Annie,” August 23 – 25.

The SST summer season is sure to close with a bang with the Poor Richard’s Players production of the British musical farce, “Noises Off,” September 5 – 21. Poor Richard’s Benjamin Loewy is directing, and you’ll probably hear the laugher echoing all the way down Red Rock Canyon.

Tickets for the Summer Series at Spring Mountain Ranch are family-priced at $15 for general admission. All performances are outdoors. For more information, call 702.579.PLAY (7529) or visit www.supersummertheatre.org.

When this summer is suddenly last summer, watch for SST at the Studio Theatre for outstanding off -season shows.

Former Las Vegas showgirl April Kidwell wrote, produced and stars in “I, NOMI: The Las Vegas Homecoming Shows” from Peaches Christ Productions at the Majestic Repertory Theater on Main Street, June 27-30 and July 10-14. Kidwell incarnates the iconic showgirl from Paul Verhoeven’s 1995 cult movie, “Showgirls” in a performance that the New York Times described as a “wonder.” Tickets are $30 and available now at aprilkidwell.com.

“The Legend of Georgia McBride”enjoyed an extended run in June at Downtown’s Majestic Repertory Theatre. The hit show featured drag shock costumes by Cirque du Soleil’s RuBen Permel, who last designed the award winning costumes for Majestic Rep’s “Marie Antoinette.”

The nerds come out at night. Majestic Rep will be presenting “Oregon Trail: The Play!” by A. J. Allegra on Saturdays at 10:00 p.m., July 13, 2019 – August 31. This irreverent comedy honors or skewers that most traumatizing and beloved of educational video games from the 1980s and 90s. Tickets are $20. For ticket information call 702-423-6366.

The Vegas Fringe Festival at the Las Vegas Little Theatre in Chinatown celebrated its 10th anniversary in June with 9 plays from 9 different theater companies each lasting no more than 90 minutes. Seeing every show is an immersive theater experience.

Next up for Las Vegas’s oldest community theater company is a resurrection of “Godspell,” the early hit from Stephen Schwartz of “Wicked” fame and John-Michael Tebelak. This irreverently reverent musical version of the Gospel according to St. Matthew is an eternal favorite with audiences and should be perfect for the Las Vegas Little Theatre’s intimate stage in Schiff Alley in Chinatown. The show runs July 12 – 28. Tickets are $25 at www.lvlt.org.

A Public Fit Theatre Company returned to its roots in the off -season with a free staged reading of “Closer” by Patrick Marber and directed by Andrew Calver at the Clark County Library on Flamingo in June. Visit apublicfit.org to find out about the upcoming season at Public Fit’s home on East Fremont at PublicUs Coffeee House.

“Satango” heated up the boards at Cockroach Theatre Company in the Arts District in June. The U.S. premier of this tango-based musical was directed by Wayne Harrison from “Absinthe” and starred Human Nature’s Toby Allen.

In June and July, the “intergalactic” musical duo The Nik Naks are landing at the Cockroach. In four special one-hour interactive concerts on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. kids’ ages 2-10 are invited to collaborate, create and play. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.cockroachtheatre. com.

Sin City Opera has been rechristened as Vegas City Opera. The company artistic director Skip Galla Katipunan said the company has been part of Las Vegas’s evolving cultural scene and the name change reflects the company’s and the city’s growing cultural maturity. He said, “We started out at the Onyx Theater and will be at The Smith Center next season.” He pointed out that when the company started, “there wasn’t a Smith Center” or even a functioning opera company.

The Vegas City Opera will reveal its 10th Anniversary season at a free Celebration Concert at the Summerlin Library and Performing Arts Center on Saturday, August 3rd at 7:30 p.m. Executive Director Ginger Land-van Buuren said that the upcoming season will be a “Celebration of Women.” She said, “We have put together a true celebration of female talent and artistry into our celebration.”

The highlight of the new season will be Vegas City Opera’s production of Donizetti’s, “The Daughter of the Regiment” at The Smith Center and featuring Las Vegas’s beloved opera matriarch Luana Devol of Opera Las Vegas as the Marquise of Berkenfi eld, long lost mother of the daughter raised by the regiment battalion.

Vegas City Opera will also be the resident opera company at the Amargosa Opera House near Death Valley National Park as the historic opera house celebrates its 52nd season bringing culture to the desert. The company will launch a State Opera Tour with concerts in Tonopah, West Wendover, Laughlin, Mesquite, Boulder City, and Pahrump. Catch their Viva Las Popera concert at the Tonopah Convention Center on Saturday, August 24th at 7:30 p.m. Visit vegascityopera.org for more information about the upcoming season.

No summer would be complete without a trek to Cedar City for the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Playing in repertory throughout the summer are three of the Bard’s most complex plays, “Hamlet,” Macbeth” and “Henry VI: Parts 2 and 3,” along with the non-binary gender comedy, “Twelfth Night.”

Contemporary and lighter fare includes Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” For ticket information visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.