Salt Lake City, UT— With razor-sharp timing and enough insider jokes to fill a stake-wide Relief Society group chat, The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive is SLAC’s Summer Show at its most audacious and absurd. Directed by Cynthia Fleming and penned by a writing dream team of Austin Archer, Olivia Custodio, and Penelope Caywood, this world premiere is both a love letter and roast to the Beehive State—one that many locals will feel in their funny bones. Drawing on pop-culture powerhouses like The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and Hulu’s hit The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives—billed as the platform’s most successful unscripted series—the show taps into MomTok drama, influencer culture, and Utah’s unique brand of curated chaos.
If you’ve ever side-eyed a stake dance, doomscrolled through influencer parenting tips, or voted blue in a red state, this show isn’t just for you—it’s about you. The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive isn’t just funny—it’s necessary in this political climate. It gives liberal Utahns a space to vent, laugh, and maybe even cry at the contradictions they live with daily, while also affirming that they’re not alone in noticing them.
“It feels like SNL and The Book of Mormon musical had a baby—then raised it on funeral potatoes, Jell-O, and influencer delusion.”
—Rhetorical Review—
Context and Creative Team
Salt Lake Acting Company’s Summer Show is more than an annual comedy—it’s a ritual of irreverent reflection and local satire. As arts writer Les Roka notes in The Utah Review, SLAC has steadily redefined its summer tradition since retiring Saturday’s Voyeur in 2021, first with SLACabaret and now with an original musical each year that riffs on Utah’s evolving sociopolitical terrain. This year’s offering, follows in that lineage—blending parody with cultural critique in what Cynthia Fleming calls “a joyful, hilarious, and lovingly irreverent look at life in Utah.”
“a joyful, hilarious, and lovingly irreverent look at life in Utah.”
—Quoted in The Utah Review, Written by Les Roka, Local Arts Expert—
—Director Cynthia Fleming—
Recent productions like SLACabaret and Close Encounters in the Beehive tackled everything from book bans to extraterrestrial missionaries. This year, SLAC doubled down on its mission to produce “a show written for our community, about our community,” says executive director Cynthia Fleming. With Real Wives, the company made its first-ever appearance at the Utah Arts Festival, offering sneak-peek performances and expanding its reach into new artistic spaces. “We’ve truly found our voice for the Summer Show,” Fleming explains. “It’s become something our community looks forward to: a joyful, hilarious, and lovingly irreverent look at life in Utah” (Fleming, interviewed by Les Roka in the Utah Review).
Utah’s appetite for homegrown satire is alive and well—evident in recent productions like The Fork at The Hive Collaborative and the sharp-witted work of local improv troupes at Improv Salt Lake. When satire blends heartfelt commentary with farce, it resonates deeply with audiences eager to laugh at, and reckon with, the contradictions of life in the Beehive State.
This year’s writing trio—Archer, Custodio, and Caywood—are no strangers to SLAC or to Utah’s eccentricities. Their insider knowledge fuels a script that is unique to Utah’s unique culture and they do not hold back.
“Real Wives lands its punches with parody, pathos, and unflinching self-awareness.”
—Rhetorical Review—
Head writer Austin Archer has acted in over 15 SLAC productions across 17 years and brings a rich portfolio of original work—including Marty Has Cancer, Jump, and Thick Metal Ball. Now based in Los Angeles, Archer continues to write plays, screenplays, and digital essays that dissect social and political absurdities. For him, this year’s theme—catharsis—reflects SLAC’s mission to provide “brave, contemporary works” as a release for Utahns navigating cultural contradictions. In addition to his theatrical work, Archer maintains a prolific social media presence under the handle @yourpal_austin, with over 1.6 million followers and nearly 50 million views on TikTok, along with active platforms on YouTube, Instagram, and the podcast People Pleaser with Austin Archer. He has created more than 1,000 satirical commentaries, which he credits with sharpening his skills in comedic writing.
Olivia Custodio, returning as a writer for the third consecutive Summer Show, is a powerhouse performer and playwright. Trained as an opera singer (BFA, Carnegie Mellon; MM, University of Utah), Custodio brings comedic timing, musical insight, and social justice commitments to her writing. She currently serves as Director of Major Gifts at the Sphinx Organization, working at the intersection of arts and equity.
Penelope Caywood, known for her award-winning work in youth theatre and musical direction, rounds out the team as lyricist. A longtime SLAC collaborator, Caywood recently directed Yoga Play and The Robertassey and regularly leads SLAC’s children’s programming. Her teaching and advocacy roles at the University of Utah and national theatre organizations make her a vital voice in Utah’s arts education landscape.
Together, this team blends sharp satire, theatrical experience, and deep community ties into a production that’s uniquely local and gloriously unhinged—exactly what SLAC’s Summer Show promises to be.
Plot & Structure (light spoilers)
The story follows four fictional “Momstagram” Real Wives of Salt Lake, each being filmed for a reality TV series while preparing to launch their new hair product, SPRM—which they proudly pronounce “Sparm.” That is, until their production assistant Brooke dryly points out that SPRM looks suspiciously like sperm. The chaos intensifies when their show, their product launch, and their curated friendships are all threatened with cancellation—literal and figurative—by the arrival of a guest appearance no one asked for: Donald Trump. Referred to with mock-ecclesiastical flair as “the king, the lord and savior,” Trump’s entrance detonates the show’s final act with absurdist pageantry and pointed political farce.
“The satire doesn’t mock faith itself—it mocks the gap between performance and practice.”
—Rhetorical Review—
The wives and husbands are entirely fictional, but their anxieties—about influence, image, and identity—are sharp caricatures of Utah’s social ecosystem. While there are references to tithing, garments, and other LDS signifiers, the show makes it clear that these “Real Wives” are far from paragons of religious virtue. In one recurring bit, a wife spikes her daily Diet Coke with booze—and secretly sells those spiked sodas to minors. It’s an obvious wink to local audiences, who will recognize just how flagrantly this behavior breaks LDS norms. The satire doesn’t mock faith itself, but rather the gap between performance and practice—the curated image of righteousness clashing with private indulgence and hypocrisy.
There are appearances from figures like Russell M. Nelson, Spencer Cox, RFK, and Joseph Smith, all reimagined through a surreal, satirical lens. At its best, the show feels like Saturday Night Live had a baby with The Book of Mormon musical—then raised it on funeral potatoes and scandal podcasts.
Standout Songs & Musical Rewriting
The musical parodies in Real Wives are nothing short of audacious, repurposing iconic Broadway hits into razor-sharp satirical showstoppers. One standout transforms the Village People’s “Macho Man” into “Alpha Alpha Male”—an absurdist anthem belted by the husbands during masculinity boot camp, complete with sweaty desperation. Shrek: The Musical’s “I Know It’s Today” becomes “We Are the Latter-day,” reiterating the Mormon belief that these are the “last days,” while tracing the main characters’ daydreams and martyrdom—with perfectly posed smiles and just a hint of existential dread.
“I’ve never seen a tithing anthem end in a Cynthia Erivo–style belt—and I’m not sure if I was spiritually moved or personally attacked. Either way, 10% felt like a bargain.”
—Rhetorical Review—
Then there’s Wicked’s “What Is This Feeling (Loathing),” rewritten into an anthem about tithing. With clever lyrics like “I’ve Paid It All” and biting references to “manipulation,” the number features five enormous checks paraded across the stage, building to a Cynthia Erivo–style belt that’s both reverent and ridiculous. Les Misérables’ iconic “One Day More” becomes “One Scheme More,” a full-cast frenzy of influencer launches, secret ambitions, and marital chaos—anchored by powerhouse vocals from the ensemble.
Waitress also gets its moment, with the opening up number reimagined as a Botox ballad, as the wives harmonize their way through pain, perfection, and pressure.
Finally, “Real Ladies of the Hive,” a glamorous nod to Lady Marmalade, channels diva energy and momfluencer glam into a powerhouse group number that opens the show with sequins, sass, and perfectly coiffed chaos.
And in one of the most surreal, side-splitting numbers of the night, Hamilton’s “The Room Where It Happens” becomes “The Vault Where It Happened”—a wildly imagined encounter inside a secret granite vault in Cottonwood Canyon. President Russell M. Nelson, Ashley and Ryan Smith, and Mary Cosby gather in an Illuminati-level swirl of ego, influence, and mystery. It’s bonkers.
“These are wildly talented actors working with tricky, high‑stakes material—and nailing it.”
—Rhetorical Review—
One thing is for sure: these are seriously talented actors and singers. The material is tricky—layered with religious satire, political parody, and musical homage—but the cast handles it with remarkable vocal power and tonal precision. All of it is grounded by Zach Hansen’s musical direction and live performance by Spencer Kellogg, who navigates the entire score with just Hansen—matching the show’s comedic beats with impressive precision and energy. That it’s just Hansen and Kellogg making the music happen backstage makes the production’s soundscape all the more remarkable.
“These aren’t devout representatives of the Church. They’re avatars of curated chaos.”
—Rhetorical Review—
Performance Highlights
The ensemble is a comedic powerhouse, with each actor playing multiple roles and slipping between satire and sincerity with ease:
- Noelani Brown anchors the chaos with gravitas and impeccable pipes as Parlor Christensen—a #Momstagram who could just as easily run a stake presidency as she could a wine club, and probably does both without breaking a nail.
- Mikki Reeve is pitch-perfect as Stefaneigh DeLong, leaning into melodrama and Mormonism with campy conviction. Reeve is a strong actress who knows exactly how to bring the drama—whether delivering a self-serious monologue or throwing side-eye in athleisure. Tattooed nearly head-to-toe, Stefaneigh insists it was all part of a rebellious phase after college—one she has since repented of, so no one can blame her.
- Tori Kenton plays Melinda Nielsen, the wife mysteriously married to a man who never seems to be around. Always agreeable to a fault, Melinda tries to keep the peace and stay likable—only to be steamrolled by the louder, more forceful personalities around her. Kenton brings just the right mix of vulnerability and comedic timing to make the character both endearing and quietly tragic.
- Rachel Johnson shines as Reighlynn Maxwell, the youngest of the four wives. She’s more than up to the task of embodying the sweet, funny, and quietly passive archetype—with just enough edge to keep the character from becoming a caricature.
- Laurel Morgan, as Brooke—the all-black–clad production assistant in combat boots—is sharp, grounded, and kick-ass, delivering deadpan zingers and no-nonsense energy that anchors the chaos around her. In her dual roles as Brooke and Ashley Smith, Morgan skillfully balances parody and pathos.
- Robert Scott Smith not only takes on the most characters in the show—Taylor Nielsen, Ryan Smith, Joseph Smith, RFK, John Curtis, and JD Vance—but toggles between them with breathtaking agility. His range is on full display as he inhabits tech bros, prophets, politicians, and cultural punchlines with uncanny precision. And somehow—against all odds—he even makes Joseph Smith… attractive. It feels wrong to type that. But Smith sells it, complete with a knowing wink to the ladies in the audience.
- Kaden Conrad leans into delightful absurdity as Tent Rasmussen with bro-energy brilliance and Russell M. Nelson, playing both roles with an earnest, exaggerated conviction that makes the satire sting just right.
- Bryce Romleski plays Ryland Christensen, a MAGA-Trump enthusiast taken to absurd extremes. His performance is so disturbingly spot-on that at times, it’s almost hard to watch—in the best, most satirical way.
- Harrison Timm delivers double-barreled satire as Mark DeLong and Spencer Cox, infusing each performance with a just-barely-contained smugness that feels uncomfortably familiar. Of all the husbands, he’s probably the most redeemable—though still hilariously out of touch.
- Marc Nielson delivers a standout performance as Trump, with an impersonation that’s both hilariously exaggerated and unsettlingly accurate. He also shines in his turns as Cool Cody, Gatekeeper, and Producer, showcasing sharp comic timing and physical versatility.
- Bill Allred serves as Announcer, lending his iconic Utah voice to frame the show with a self-aware nod to public media and local radio legacy.
Design & Direction
Under Cynthia Fleming’s nimble direction, the show moves at a brisk, breathless pace, its choreography—crafted in collaboration with Hannah Keating—cheeky and efficient, never letting the energy dip for a moment. Characters, costumes, and accents change in the blink of an eye, thanks to a top-tier creative team working seamlessly behind the scenes. Erik Reichert’s modular set allows the action to shift quickly and flexibly, while Dennis Hassan‘s costumes deliver a steady stream of visual punchlines—each outfit not only lands a laugh but perfectly matches the character wearing it. Jesse Portillo’s lighting and Joe Killian’s sound design elevate the absurdity with effects that feel one part nightclub, one part fever dream. David Smith’s projections add another satirical layer, casting political backdrops and working helping the drama that land with biting precision. Meanwhile, props by Erika Ahlin Bird and Lucy Urquhart sneak in clever visual jokes that support the show’s comedic world-building. Heightened physical moments are handled with care and camp thanks to Adriana Lemke’s fight and intimacy direction. All of it is grounded by Zach Hansen’s musical direction, performed live with sharp comic timing and playful flair by musician Spencer Kellogg and Hansen. Behind the scenes, the production runs like clockwork thanks to expert stage management by Jennie Sant, Tahra Veasley, and Bridgette Lehman.
“Watching Trump get slow-motion pummeled felt like a theatrical exorcism—and it was worth the wait.“
—Rhetorical Review—
Cultural Commentary & Catharsis
The show doesn’t shy away from big targets—sometimes too big. I’ll admit, I was a little exasperated when Trump showed up (again—does he have to be everywhere?). But to the writing team’s credit, they know exactly how to deliver the punchline. Watching him get slow-motion pummeled in the final moments felt like a theatrical exorcism—and it was worth the wait.
The satire hits hardest when it parodies the gaps between belief and behavior, especially within Utah’s social and religious culture. In this world, the husbands are weak, insecure, and often painfully off-putting. A standout sequence sends them to “Cool Cody’s Masculinity Boot Camp,” where they take advice from a hyper-masculine guru who’s been divorced seven times and later confesses to taking testosterone—a moment that’s both self-aware and knowingly ridiculous. The sketch lampoons toxic masculinity and performative manhood, exposing just how fragile these archetypes really are.
But not all the satire lands. In one particularly troubling scene, two of the husbands idolize Elon Musk and admit they want to “have the courage” to perform a Nazi salute like him. I don’t think joking about such a thing is ever funny—and this moment didn’t feel satirical so much as jarring. Even the most committed conservative voices I know wouldn’t align themselves with that kind of overt fascism. If anything, many conservatives are in denial about the extremism brewing in our country—not openly celebrating it. I know plenty of Trump supporters who believe I’m the one who’s been brainwashed. The moment may have aimed for shock satire, but instead it blurred a line that shouldn’t be played for laughs.
Still, Real Wives captures something real in its absurdity. The satire lands especially well against the backdrop of accelerating religious disaffiliation, particularly among millennials and Gen Z. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 40% of millennials now identify as religiously unaffiliated, compared to just 10% of Baby Boomers—a trend often tied to frustration with institutional hypocrisy and the entanglement of religion and conservative politics (Pew Research Center, 2022). Real Wives taps into that cultural fatigue, parodying the collision of sacred and secular with just enough camp to laugh through the discomfort.
In doing so, Real Wives joins a recent wave of Utah productions—like & Juliet at Eccles (which I reviewed as a glitterbomb of feminist revision), and Tootsie at the Ziegfeld Theater (where I unpacked gender performativity through Butler’s lens)—that use camp and comedy to probe deeper questions of identity, power, and belonging. The humor punches up, mocking public figures and institutional absurdities while still making space for the audience to laugh at their own complicity.
Beneath the wigs and wigs-on-wigs, it’s less about housewives than about survival. It invites the audience to laugh, cry, and live—without apology—for a few sparkling hours.
“Beneath the wigs—and the wigs-on-wigs—it’s not about housewives. It’s about survival.”
—Rhetorical Review—
Conclusion
The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive fits squarely within a lineage of local theatre that dares to critique while it entertains. It echoes the ensemble innovation I praised in The Grown-Ups, and the regional specificity I found so effective in Paper Weight. SLAC’s summer tradition has always been a space where artists and audiences meet to make sense of their home—and this year’s production might be one of the sharpest yet.
The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive doesn’t just deliver laughs—it delivers solidarity. It’s theatre that knows its audience, skewers its context, and still finds room for joy. Bring your flask. Pack your picnic. And prepare to laugh like your eternal salvation depends on it.
Show details:
Run Dates: July 2 – August 17, 2025
Evening Shows: 7:30 PM (most nights)
Matinees: Sundays at 1:00 PM | Select Saturdays at 2:00 PM
Special Times:
- July 4 & July 24: 6:00 PM
- Closing Performance: Sunday, August 17 at 6:00 PM
Performances typically run Wednesdays through Sundays, with occasional Tuesdays.
Ticket Prices
- Skybox Table (seats 2): $55
- High‑Top Table / Floor Tables (up to 4 seats): $50
- Center Theatre Single Seats: $45
- Student & Ages 30 & Under: $20 (with valid ID; in-person or phone purchase)
Accessibility Performances
- Open Captioned: Sunday, July 13 at 6:00 PM
- ASL-Interpreted & Sensory-Friendly: Saturday, July 19 at 2:00 PM
- Audio Described: Sunday, July 20 at 6:00 PM
Running Time
90 minutes with a 15-minute intermission
Contact & Links
Box Office:
- Phone: (801) 363‑7522
- Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 12 pm–6 pm (extended hours on performance days)
📍 Venue
Salt Lake Acting Company – Upstairs Theatre
168 W. 500 North, Salt Lake City, UT 84103
🌐 Online
- Tickets & Seating Map: purchase.saltlakeactingcompany.org/ChooseSeats/4006
- Show Info & Accessibility Details: saltlakeactingcompany.org
📧 Email
boxoffice@saltlakeactingcompany.org
Cast
Noelani Brown
Kaden Conrad
Rachel Johnson
Tori Kenton
Laurel Morgan
Marc Nielson
Mikki Reeve
Bryce Romleski
Robert Scott Smith
Harrison Timm
Creative Team
Cynthia Fleming – Director/Choreographer
Hannah Keating – Assistant Director/Assistant Choreographer
Zach Hansen – Music Director
Erik Reichert – Set Designer
Jesse Portillo – Lighting Designer
Joe Killian – Sound Designer
Dennis Hassan – Costume Designer
Leah Brown – Assistant Costume Designer
Erika Ahlin Bird – Props Designer
Lucy Urquhart – Assistant Props Designer
David Smith – Projection Designer
Adriana Lemke – Fight/Intimacy Director
Jennie Sant – Production Stage Manager
Tahra Veasley – Stage Manager
Bridgette Lehman – Assistant Stage Manager
References
Pew Research Center. (2022, September 13). Modeling the future of religion in America. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america/
Salt Lake Acting Company. (2025, March 4). Meet the Playwrights – SLAC’s Summer Show: The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive. https://www.saltlakeactingcompany.org/about/latest-news/item/1360-meet-the-playwrights-summer-show-2025
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