t may do well for those about to read on to understand one thing: I saw the 25th anniversary of Salt Lake Acting Company’s satire spectacular, “Saturday’s Voyeur,” on Cabaret Night with a personal, paid ticket.

And no, that does not mean I got to wear cool bohemian eye makeup.

What it does mean, though, is that I was allowed to partake of libations and food. And partake I did, a fact which may or may not have everything to do with the review I consequentially concocted and the love affair I had with one of the Mormon-girl leads in my head.

Before I saw my first one, I always assumed that “Saturday’s Voyeur” was where you went the day after Friday to watch people doing naughty things. Imagine my surprise when my mom offered me my first pair of tickets.

Whoa. Mom, say it ain’t so!

Regardless, Utah liberals do have cause to rejoice this year, as it is the quarter-century anniversary of Salt Lake City’s most notorious escapade in debauchery. Indeed, Nancy Borgenicht and Allen Nevins’ accosting love child of a play has been around longer than the majority of people reading this article. Fancy that.

With its central theme of first- amendment rights and its rotating cast of regular characters—everyone from good ol’ Mikey Levitt to a recently unemployed porn czar make an appearance—”Saturday’s Voyeur” in 2003 is a sight to behold. Borgenicht and Nevins realize the importance of their quick wit and unabashed Mormon bashing, as the insider-friendly throwbacks to previous plays are met with roaring laughter and the occasional “oooh, ahhhhh.”

But there are some problems, and they may not be easily remedied in the future.

“Saturday’s Voyeur” is a play based on the lack of diversity in a state as milquetoast as ours, and while that idea may seem ingenious and rebellious, it doesn’t always make for the most interesting of plots.

This year’s hinges on the battle over the Main Street Plaza and the insertion of old punching-bag political favorites into a new scenario.

Cool. Funny. Familiar. Tired.

Maybe it’s the fact that “Saturday’s Voyeur” has been around as long as it has. Maybe it is just that our state is sooo boring that nothing of note really ever happens and that the attempt to make fun of nonexistence is futile.

Maybe that’s it. Or maybe this year’s “Saturday’s Voyeur” was just too long.

The first half of the play is a laugh-riot, and, fire hazards be damned, the aisles were full of rolling audience members. The cast was obviously having the time of their lives, laughing in what they assumed to be under-their-breath fashions, and the playwrights were smiling during intermission—a phenomenon very surreal to those familiar with SLAC.

But the wonders of the first two acts segue into a laborious and somewhat trivial final act which, at times, does little more than toot the horns of those interested in the fact that “Saturday’s Voyeur” has been around for such a long time. Who knows, maybe those horns do deserve tooting. But for a series of plays that have made habit of not taking themselves too seriously, this year’s “Saturday’s Voyeur” comes dangerously close.

The parting thoughts of wisdom that “Saturday’s Voyeur” tries to impart on its captive audience are easy to understand, though, and no measure of redundancy can ever take away from their simple and important message: “Laugh often and smell the fucking roses!”

Oh yeah, and the shorter, Mormon lead girl is pretty cute. Pretty really cute. Libations rule.

“Saturday’s Voyeur” Runs to August 24. Ticket prices range from $39-54. Show times vary. Visit www.saltlakeactingcompany.org or call (801) 363-SLACfor more info.
eryn@red-mag.com