WHAT THE BELLHOP SAW to Be Staged by Utah Repertory Theater, 5/31-6/15

Utah Repertory Theater Company announces its production of the hysterical farce WHAT THE BELLHOP SAW -- the funniest show you've never seen.

Billed as "a riotously entertaining, splendidly silly, laugh-out-loud slapstick farce," WHAT THE BELLHOP SAW will be staged May 31-June 15 at The Historic Murray Theater, with performances Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and matinee at 2 p.m. on June 15.

"WHAT THE BELLHOP SAW was written for pure enjoyment," says director Chase Ramsey. "Some of the themes expressed are semi-political -- making it, at moments, a satire. But in truth, the reason BELLHOP has to be seen is because you will laugh until you're sore. It is a show that will 'help you escape from the dreary horrors of the real world.' "

"The laughs keep on coming!," wrote a reviewer of the original New York production, and Broadway Stage magazine called the show "A rip-roaring good time!" Playwrights Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore also wrote the popular comedy "Love, Sex, and the I.R.S."

"In a farce, it is the cast that makes or breaks the show," Ramsey explains. "This cast has been complimented by many as one of the best casts they have ever seen in local theater."

Leading the cast as Wally the Bellhop is Jack Kyle Oram, an actor with Grassroots Shakespeare Company. He was recently seen as Koko in The Mikado and as Orpheus in Eurydice.

As the hapless guest Georgie who checks into Hotel Titlmore is James McKinney, who recently played the lead role of Vincent in a nationally honored production of Vincent in Brixton.

Reviewed as one of the finest comic actors in Utah, Jake Ben Suazo will cross-dress in the role of Arlene, Georgie's jealous wife, which will add to the show's hilarity. Suazo is co-creator of Thrillionaires Improv Theater and was last seen in The 39 Steps.

The other cast members are Aubrey Bench (Little Heidi), Maddy Belle Forsyth (Heather), M. Chase Grant (Hotel Guest), Benjamin James Henderson (Stan), Robbie X Pierce (Babu the Terrorist), Jason Sullivan (Roger), Bethany R. Woodruff (Missy), and Daniel Whiting (Missy).

"Look forward to some brilliant performances," Ramsey promises. "This cast is incredible."

Synopsis: WHAT THE BELLHOP SAW tells the story of Georgie, a mild-mannered accountant, who uses the connections of his bellboy brother to secure a room in a posh New York hotel where he intends to seduce Heather, his shapely secretary, who is unaware of his impending advances. When a fugitive author with a price on his head takes up residence in the same room, shadowed by a CIA agent, things begin to get out of hand. Throw in Georgie's jealous wife, Arlene, who resembles Rosie O'Donnell, and a terrorist -- and the pot really begins to boil, all stirred up by these colorful characters who include an oversexed hotel maid.

Advance tickets are $18-$15 and can be purchased at UtahRep.org/Tickets. The price of tickets at the door is $20-$17.

WHAT THE BELLHOP SAW is the third production of the burgeoning Utah Repertory Theater Company, after the Utah premieres of two musicals, Side Show and I Love You Because.