SALT LAKE ACTING COMPANY ANNOUNCES THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM FOR THE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF ACCLAIMED UTAH PLAYWRIGHT ELAINE JARVIK’S NEW WORK SUNNY IN THE DARK
We are over the moon to introduce the cast and creative team for their World Premiere production of celebrated local playwright Elaine Jarvik’s Sunny in the Dark.
Originally workshopped in the '23/'24 New Play Sounding Series, Sunny in the Dark, Jarvik’s 4th premiere with Salt Lake Acting Company, makes its professional debut with a team of artists led by Marion Markham, who returns to us in a new capacity as director following her on-stage appearance in 2024’s You Will Get Sick. The production will run in the Upstairs Theatre from February 4th through March 1st, 2026. Tickets and information are available here.
A former newspaper reporter and current drummer for local band The Distractions, SLAC’s audiences will remember Jarvik from previous hilarious, jarring, and thought-provoking plays Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet (2021), Two Stories (2015), and a man enters (2011).
This newest addition to our catalog of World Premiere works will follow our New York Times recommended must-see season opener, The Roommate, and be helmed by a cast of out-of-this-world artists, both new and well accustomed to SLAC’s stage. The first will be another local playwright, Matthew Ivan Bennett (The Caretaker), as the Astrophysicist. Previous SLAC director, dramaturg, and actor, Alexandra Harbold* (Hand to God, Two Stories, Circle Mirror Transformation), will play Elise. Returning after last season’s Bat Boy: The Musical will be Micki Martinez* (Close Encounters in the Beehive, Pinkalicious, Diary of a Worm, a Spider, and a Fly), as AJ; and Paul Mulder* (A Doll's House, Part 2, Seeing the Elephant, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde), as Tom.
Making their main stage debuts at SLAC will be recent University of Utah graduate Coco May Berwald† in the title role of Sunny, and Jason Andrew Hackney (who audiences will recognize from our Front of House Staff!), as Man, Priest, and Dad.
Matthew Ivan Bennett, Coco May Berwald, Jason Andrew Hackney, Alexandra Harbold*, Micki Martinez*, and Paul Mulder*
15-year-old Sunny wonders about the universe, God, and her own creation story. When a DNA test reveals a complicated truth, her journey gets... well... complicated. Sunny in the Dark is a play about mysteries, yearnings, and lies. Oh, and astrophysics!
Joining Marion Markham (Director) on the creative team will be Gage Williams** (Set Designer), James Padilla (Lighting Designer), Spencer Potter (Costume Designer), Jenn Jackson (Sound Designer), Jessica Graham (Props Designer), Calvin Vinson† (Asst. Sound Designer), Adriana Lemke (Intimacy Director), Bridgette Lehman* (Production Manager/Stage Manager), and Tahra Veasley* (Production Manager/Assistant Stage Manager).
Opening Night will be Friday, February 6th, 2026, at 7:30 PM. The production will run through March 1st, 2026, on Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 PM, and Sundays at 1 PM and 6 PM. There will be a Tuesday evening performance on February 17th at 7:30 PM, as well as a Saturday matinee on February 28th at 2 PM.
Tickets are available on Sour website by clicking here or by contacting the Box Office at (801) 363-7522 during business hours, 11 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday. For additional pricing, discount information, and group or event reservations, please click here.
†Part of SLAC's Professional Theatre Program for Emerging Artists. The program creates opportunities for aspiring theatre artisans in multiple disciplines to learn and develop their skills in professional productions. For more information on the program, please click here.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
**Represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 of IATSE.
