By Whittney Marble
Waving his arms and yelling, Timothy Threlfall acts more like a football coach than the director of a major musical production.
Threlfall is the director of Tuacahn Center for the Arts? presentation of ?Disney?s Beauty and the Beast? and he is also an assistant professor at Brigham Young University.
Over 110,000 people will visit Tuacahn this year and few know of the university?s impact on the program. The two largest shows, ?Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat? and ?Beauty and the Beast?, are directed by BYU professors and the majority of both casts are current or former students.
In addition to 'Beauty and the Beast,' Threlfall has directed several Tuacahn productions including 'The Sound of Music' and 'The Wizard of Oz.' His career with BYU includes directing ?Elton John & Tim Rice''s Aida? and 'Bus Stop.'
Two songs do not appear in the animated film version, ?If I Can?t Love Her,? sung by the Beast, and ?A Change in Me,? sung by Belle. While these beautiful ballads help to tell a more intimate story, the big show stoppers like ?Be Our Guest? lend excitement and fun.
Summer Naomi Wood, a BYU graduate, is playing the part of Belle this year and is looking forward to playing this role in such a picturesque atmosphere.
?I really think this amphitheatre with its beautiful natural scenery adds so much to this production that will be different than any other rendition of this musical that anyone would see,? Wood said.
She is also featured in ?Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat? as Potiphar?s wife.
?We have found it to be successful to go to BYU for talent because they have one of the best programs around,? said Kevin Smith, a producer.
The most popular show is perennial favorite ?Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.? Joseph is a poor young boy living in southern Utah in the 1950s who hears the story of Joseph and his amazing dreamcoat for the very first time. The story tells the tale of Joseph through the boy?s childlike imagination.
The show is returning to Tuacahn this year with an unique new look to celebrate Tuacahn?s 10 year anniversary and is being directed and choreographed by part-time BYU instructor Dave Tinney. He has choreographed previous Tuacahn productions including ?Singin? in the Rain? and ?The Unsinkable Molly Brown.? Tinney is also the artistic director for Provo Theatre Company in northern Utah.
?The professionals we get from BYU can do it all,? Smith said. ?They are really talented and that is something for BYU to brag about.?
Both ?Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat? and ?Beauty and the Beast? will play 54 shows this summer. Tuacahn will employ 48 actors from all across the country including several BYU students and alumni. Tuacahn has also hired 50 behind-the-scenes experts including costume, sound and lighting employees and more than 30 local musicians.
In addition, a children?s choir of over 40 local children will join the cast of ?Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat? each night. This year Tuacahn will be offering six different performances including ?Les Miserables,? Odyssey Dance Theatre''s 'Thriller,' and BYU?s Young Ambassadors.
The center began as the vision of Doug Stewart, a well-known playwright and St. George resident. In 1993, he was searching for a location for an outdoor amphitheatre in the St. George area and stumbled upon the site. Enamored with the location, Stewart began a non-profit organization to raise funds for purchase of the 80-acre parcel at the base of Padre Canyon and construction of the Tuacahn Amphitheatre and Center for the Arts.
The design was grand and consisted of a 42,000-square-foot facility featuring a 330-seat indoor theater, a dance studio, a black-box theater, a recital hall, a costume shop and scene shop, studios and classrooms, a gift shop and a spectacular 1,920-seat outdoor amphitheatre, which was designed as the home of the original musical ?UTAH!?
The $23 million facility was finally completed in the spring of 1995.
Showcased by 1,500 feet red rock cliffs, the almost 2,000 seat outdoor amphitheater offers many different performances including Broadway productions, seasonal concerts, and the annual Christmas Festival of Lights with a live nativity.
The other side of the Tuacahn experience is a liberal arts-centered high school. Tuacahn is not only known for its commitment to uplifting entertainment, it is also known for its devotion to quality education.
In August of 1999, Tuacahn began operation of the Tuacahn High School, under the direction of school administrator, Dr. John P. Broberg. The Tuacahn High School, known today as the Tuacahn High School for Performing Arts and Technology, is the first public charter high school in the state of Utah.
With 140 students and only five teachers, this high school is different from your average locker-filled experience. Located in the rural city of Ivins, Utah, students here have the opportunity to receive a challenging college preparatory program as well as immerse themselves in the performing arts track of their choice.
Students have the choice of receiving intense training in different facets of dance, drama, and music. Programs are designed to offer promising students the focus and preparation needed for future careers in these professions.
This will be one of Tuacahn?s biggest seasons as they celebrate their 10th anniversary with two exciting productions. Tuacahn?s summer theater season begins June 8 and runs through October 15 featuring ?Disney?s Beauty and the Beast? and an all new ?Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.? Tickets can be purchased online at tuacahn.org or by calling the Tuacahn Box Office at 1-800-746-9882.