West Jordan area schools’ drama students and teachers invite community members to come see their theatrical productions, which will transport them to magical places and times.

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Copper Hills High School presents “Brigadoon”

Nov. 21, 22 and 24 at 7 p.m.

$10 adults/$8 students/$7 seniors and military: Tickets available at the door or online at chhstheatre.ludus.com.

Copper Hills High School’s fall production is the Golden age musical “Brigadoon,” a Scottish folktale about two characters who stumble upon a magical village where they make friends and fall in love, but eventually leave to return to their own world.

“Brigadoon only appears every 100 years, but if somebody really, truly longs for Brigadoon, or somebody in Brigadoon does, that power might be strong enough to bring it back,” drama teacher Jordan Morrell said.

Morrell, who has taught drama at CHHS for 22 years, really wanted to bring back “Brigadoon” this year for the school’s 30th anniversary. 

“I wanted to pay tribute to the legacy of the school opening by doing the first musical they did,” Morrell said.

Morrell reached back in time to contact CHHS faculty alumni and collected memorabilia from that first show, including the promotional poster and the program, which will be on display during the show’s run. The display will also include a few items belonging to Kent Burrell, who was CHHS’ first drama teacher (1995-2003.) Morrell said that while Burrell has since passed away, his influence is still felt.

“He started the whole program rolling and he started the legacy,” Morrell said. “We still have things that he built with his stage crew classes that we still use to this day.” 

In fact, the church window Burrell built for that first show will be used in this performance, as well.

“I used it in my first musical here when I did “Sound of Music” and I've just kept it all these years,” Morrell said. “It is so well-constructed and beautiful, and it's one of those things I can't throw away. I know I will use it at some point so I keep it.”

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West Jordan High School presents “Mamma Mia”

Nov. 20, 21 and 24 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.

$10 adults/$8 students and seniors

With the production of “Mamma Mia,” West Jordan High School’s theater department will magically transport audiences into what is basically a concert of ABBA’s greatest hits.

“What's good about jukebox musicals is there is already a fan base around the songs,” Michael Mortensen, who plays Bill, said. “We hardly need to promote it. Everyone's going to know the music, and it's very popular.”

The cast is expecting the popularity of the show will draw larger than normal audiences, especially to the Saturday evening sing-a-long performance.

The show’s popularity also drew in more students to get involved in the show this year.

“I loved how many people auditioned,” Mortensen said. “Because it's such a popular musical, so many people auditioned for it—people we haven't seen before. We put them all in because it was just awesome to see 60 people audition.”

Adele Wyatt, a senior who plays Donna, was thrilled to be part of the iconic show.

“This is like my childhood show,” she said. “Me and my grandma and my sister watched it all the time.”

She said the show’s music evokes a range of emotions, from sorrow and regret to comedy and fun, for audience members.

“I think it'll just be an overall good time,” Wyatt said.

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Sunset Ridge Middle School presents “Xanadu, Jr”

Nov. 20, 21 and 22 at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $5 each or 6 for $20

Sunset Ridge Middle School’s production of “Xanadu, Jr” mixes Greek mythology enchantment with the quirky charm of the 1980s, which SRMS choir teacher Matthew Oviatt describes as a bit of nostalgia and a lot of fun.

“We’ve got funny accents, fun costumes, new foot lights and disco magic effects,” he said.

“Xanadu,” a 2007 stage play featuring ‘70s and early ‘80s music by Electric Light Orchestra, is better than the 1980 film it is based on, said SRMS drama teacher Susan Robinson.

“The film is terrible and so this was made into a musical, which is much better than the film, has a better storyline and a better plot,” Robinson said. "It's got a lot of really fun music. It's really kind of cheesy and making fun of itself, and so it's just a really fun musical.”

The enthusiastic cast of 60 actors and 20 stage crew members promise the time travel story will be as fun for audiences as rehearsals have been for them.

“It’s family friendly, and it's really funny, and the dances are super cool, so your kids might be interested to watch it,” one cast member said.

One said, “It makes fun of itself and there’s roller skates,” and another said, “It’s so cheesy that it’s funny.”

Referencing the Greek muses who inspire the main character in the story, one student promised the show will be “very pun-ny and a-muse-ing” and another quipped, “We bring the Greek. You bring the leg warmers.”