Bryan Dayley is not a groom, he just plays one onstage. Or he will, several nights a week, through Sept. 18.
The Centerville actor is double cast as Dax, the groom, in "My Big Fat Utah Wedding," a Desert Star Playhouse production that opened Thursday night in the Murray comedy theater.
"I am the non-Mormon groom the bride falls in love with," said Dayley, 23. "It's about all the different goofy things that happen before you get married, and the struggles in marriage, particularly the Utah things. It pokes fun at a lot of Utahisms you'll understand if you grew up here, no matter what denomination you are."
Expect crazy relatives, crepe-papered basketball hoops, a zany wedding planner and arguments about butter mints.
Scott Holman wrote the play, which debuted at the Desert Star in 2004 and ran for a record-setting 15 months. The Salt Lake City actor/writer said weddings are a great source of material.
"Weddings are such a big deal to people at the time, and meanwhile everyone around them is asking 'What's the big deal?' So many people spend so much time creating the 'perfect' wedding, only to find themselves, years later, embarrassed about the photos and how dated everyone looks," Holman said.
"I think there is something for everyone to relate to in this play, at least that was the intention. I literally had hundreds of people come up to me and say something to the effect of 'you must have written this play about me.' I did."
High tension can lead to a lot of laughs.
" 'My Big Fat Utah Wedding' is an over-the-top comedy, but it also requires greater character work than some of our other productions, since it is based in reality rather than fantasy," Holman said. "Bryan's got a great quality that hits the mark in the character of Dax, allowing him to be a part of outrageous comedy without losing his connection with the audience and the story."
Dayley, a film student at Salt Lake Community College, said he relishes his time onstage.
"I enjoy just kind of escaping from my regular life, pretending to be someone else," he said. "I enjoy making people laugh."
Dayley has been acting in Desert Star plays for about a year, he said, and has appeared in five other shows, including "Twi-Lite: I Was a Teenage Vampire" and "Home School Musical."
"They were all pretty good-sized roles, due to small casts," Dayley said. "In the vampire show, I was Barnabas Collins."
Holman said Dayley is right for the role, which he shares with Salt Lake City actor Jeff Jensen.
"Bryan is a great young actor," Holman said. "He is a very hard worker, takes direction well and is very committed to creating the role that fits in with the overall vision of the play. I cast Bryan because he has the right look, but he's also shown the versatility to create the subtle traits that make this character succeed."
Holman said he hopes the show will attract old fans and new.
"Everyone is asking me 'How long do you think it will run this time?' and the answer is '10 weeks,' " he said. "It is part of our normal schedule and in this economy, considering the struggles that all theaters are having nationwide, I just hope we can sell the tickets we have. I can tell you that this is a different world than five or six years ago, but even if we did sell out, we will not extend the show. So, I hope people don't wait to get their tickets thinking it's going to have another long run."
PREVIEW
- WHAT: 'My Big Fat Utah Wedding'
- WHEN: 7 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays; 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Fridays; 11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays; through Sept. 18.
- WHERE: Desert Star Playhouse, 4861 S. State, Murray
- TICKETS: $12.95-$17.95, $8/children, discounts for seniors and students on some shows. 801-266-2600.
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