Just as unlikely, perhaps, is that Hutchinson’s play is receiving its premiere at Salt Lake Acting Company. The Utah production showcases the talent of Utah’s African-American actors — beyond August Wilson characters or musical roles in “Evita” and “Big River.” Or as the playwright tells it, her characters are people who aren’t just sassy sidekicks to white protagonists.
Hutchinson admitted her East-Coast-centric attitude, prompted when she learned “Surely Goodness and Mercy” would premiere in Utah before receiving productions in New Jersey and Chicago through the National New Play Network’s rolling world premiere program. “There’s theater in Utah?” she asked her agent, and then: “There are black people in Utah?