On stage: Families who sing and act together stay together
Tyson Allred, rear, plays Charlie Cowell in "The Music Man" at Ogden's Ziegfeld Theater. His children, who are also in the show, are, from left, Porter Allred, Lydia Allred and Isaac Allred, who plays Winthrop.
Mother and daughter Jana Wangsgard, right, and Jayci Wangsgard are in "The Music Man" at Ogden's Ziegfeld Theater. Jana Wangsgard is Alma, one of the "Pick-a-Little" ladies, and Jayci Wangsgard plays Amaryllis.
Sisters Sarah Christensen, left, and Rebecca Christensen rehearse for "The Music Man" at Ogden's Ziegfeld Theater. Sarah Christensen plays Marian Paroo and Rebecca Christensen is a dancer.
"The Music Man" at Ogden's Ziegfeld Theater is a family affair for the Parrys. From back row, left to right, are Virginia Parry (Eulalie Shinn, the mayor's wife), Caleb Parry (director and theater owner), Jeff Parry (barbershop quartet) and Kristin Parry (music director). On the middle row are Pippa Parry, 5 (kids chorus), Kiera Parry ("Pick-a-Little" Lady) and Keely Parry (dancer). On the front row are Nieve Parry (kids chorus) and Boston Ord (a nephew and member of the Boys' Band chorus). Lloyd Parry, not pictured, plays Mayor Shinn.
OGDEN — Summer theater season is in full swing and if you look closely at area theater programs, many of the last names will be the same. That’s because summer seems to be the time for entire families to perform in plays and musicals together.
Brandon Stauffer of Terrace Plaza Playhouse in Washington Terrace said although many family members do act on stage together all year long, during the summer, entire families seem to get in the mix a little bit more.
Take Jackie Ward of Layton and her family of four, who are all in Terrace Plaza’s ”Shrek the Musical,” now playing through July 30. The Wards have also done shows at Hale Centre Theatre in West Valley City and CenterPoint Legacy Theatre in Centerville, and last summer the whole family took part in “Tarzan” at the Hope Box Theatre in Kaysville.
“It’s really fun for us to do a show together,” Ward said. She added, “We all ride up together and have that time, plus it’s nice for me to not feel so guilty for leaving my family to be in a show.”
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Ward usually notes that their family is a “package deal” when they audition at a theater so everyone will get a part. The family looks at the potential shows carefully to make sure they will be a good fit for everyone.
“The theaters are very accommodating. I think they like it because the parents can watch their kids and they don’t have to babysit as much,” Ward said.
Andrea Scanlon of Clearfield is also doing “Shrek” with her family and has performed with her husband and children quite a bit at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse.
“It’s just a lot of fun,” Scanlon said.
She said being in plays with her children has helped build their confidence. And, she said, her family often gets a great message from whatever production they are doing. She said, for instance, she loves the message of “Shrek,” of being true to yourself.
Scanlon also said she likes watching the friendships that are formed between families at the theater.
“The theater becomes a second home for all of us,” she said.
Ogden’s Kristin Parry and her family also do plenty of shows together. She is the youth theater director at the Ziegfeld Theater in Ogden and has enjoyed watching her daughters and husband act together.
Her 14-year-old daughter Keely is one of the main dancers in the upcoming production of ”The Music Man” at the Zig. Parry’s family has participated in “Seussical the Musical” and “Fiddler on the Roof” together.
“I love doing it with my family because it’s something we can all relate to and understand about each other,” Keely Parry said. “We understand how important it is and we love to talk about what we’re doing.”
At the Heritage Theatre in Perry, Marilyn Whipple — who just finished directing “Fiddler on the Roof” — said she noticed how many families were in her show.
“We love the families. It is fun to watch them together on stage and off stage,” Whipple said.
Stauffer said it creates a feeling of togetherness to have the families on stage and really seems to unite the cast in a unique way. That’s one of the reasons he likes to stage big summer shows, so families can be a part of them together.
Linda Palmer’s family is currently doing “Shrek” at the Terrace and the Syracuse resident said she feels the time they spend together at the show is real quality time.
“It’s fun to have fun with your kids,” she said.
Palmer said her family has downtime at rehearsals to spend together laughing and playing around. This year, her husband is stage managing rather than acting in the show, and that has been a great experience, too, she said, because it has offered a different perspective for her kids.
All the families say they intend to keep at the acting and singing thing as long as their members want to participate because they say the experience is rich and unifying.