In keeping with the Agatha Christie-inspired title “Murder on the Silver Lake Express,” creative members of The Park City Follies, the annual musical that pokes fun at all things Park City and raises funds for the Egyptian Theatre, has kept the production’s storyline a cryptic mystery.

“It’s about Park City things,” said Director Mark Conklin, Script Writer Tom Clyde and Musical Director Katrina Kmak in unison during a Zoom interview.

And that was that.

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Those five words, however, confirmed that the heart of The Park City Follies production, which runs three weekends starting Thursday, April 18, at the Egyptian Theatre, has not changed, even though longtime director Paul Tan has stepped down, said Clyde.

We want it to be so Park City specific that if you don’t live in the Wasatch Back or Park City, you’re not going to get it.” Tom Clyde, Park City Follies creative team

“The stress Paul felt every year putting this on stage was pretty much eating him alive, so he’s pretty much retired these days,” he said. “He needed a break.”

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Keeping the show Park City centric is the key to the love local residents feel for The Park City Follies, which began its annual run in 2001 as “The Mud Season Variety Show.” (See list of productions and years below). The production was, and still is, something special presented by Parkites for Parkites to enjoy during the break between the town’s winter and summer seasons, Clyde said.

“That’s the key,” he said. “We want it to be so Park City specific that if you don’t live in the Wasatch Back or Park City, you’re not going to get it,” he said.

That task has become a bit more challenging throughout the years as the town has grown, according to Clyde.

“The body of common knowledge and experiences has expanded a lot in the past 20 years,” he said. “It’s come to the point where everybody doesn’t know everybody else anymore. And everybody isn’t focused on the same things or the same activities like we did in the past.”

Even with that paradigm shift and Tan stepping down, the creative team — Clyde, Andy Cier, Terry Moffitt, Rick Klein, Josh Mann and Scott Greenberg — never thought Follies would stop, Conklin said.

“It’s so interesting that it was even a question,” he said. “The Follies is a huge collaboration of many, many people. So it surprised me when people asked if it was still going to go on. Of course it’s still going to go on because it’s a fixture within the community.”

Conkin, who started his Follies tenure in the house band, was honored to be asked to direct this year.

“Really as director you’re someone who has the final say in the shape of the overall piece, and you also help guide the actors with their characters, but so many people bring their talents to it,” he said. “So it’s really a pleasure to watch people grow into where they are going.”

Another change this year includes Kmak’s role as musical director, a position whichShelle Jennings and Katy Lillquist have held in the past.

“Initially when I was a very young adult, I thought I wanted to be a music educator,” said Kmak, who made her Park City Follies debut as an actress in 2014. “That’s what I went to school for, but then singing and doing the thing was also super fun.”

Coming from a household of educators, musicians and artists, Kmak worked with Moffatt on the popular songs of today that will be parodied in the show.

“One of the great parts about Follies is Terry does a great job with the music and the lyrics,” she said. “And this year, we have some new tools to help with the singing and performing.”

Those tools include a playlist, sheet music and recordings, according to Kmak.

“We made a playlist of the music we parody, so the cast knows what the originals sound like,” she said. “Our pianist, Jenny Floor, has been cranking out sheet music, so if people are that type of learner, they could see the notes. And we are also recording the song, so we can hear someone singing the new lyrics. So, when people come up to me and say, ‘I’m not a singer,’ I can tell them, ‘You are now.'”

Floor is another new Park City Follies face this year, Kmak said.

She worked on the Ziegfeld Theater Company’s production of “The Who’s ‘Tommy'” when it opened at the Egyptian years ago, and she teaches at the Utah Conservatory, located in Park City, Kmak said.

“So Jenny’s awesome already,” she said. “We already know her band’s going to be amazing. It’s tangible and palpable.”

In addition to the new talent, the Follies also recruited more of the Egyptian Theatre staff, including its Artistic Director Jake Larabee, Clyde said.

“(Theater manager) Randy Barton sat us down and said he has incredible people working in the theater and said they would love to participate at a higher level,” he said. “Randy also said if we can’t get them a script any sooner than a week before curtain time, there is nothing they could do. So Randy, Jake and the Egyptian staff forced a little bit of discipline on us, which doesn’t come naturally. But having some hard deadlines and schedules has given Jake the lead time to do some amazing stuff.”

Larabee has been busy designing and creating sets for the production, Conklin said.

“He is doing a phenomenal job with the set, and he has been 3D-printing props.”

Rounding out the Follies artistic staff is choreographer Stephanie Chace Bass and producer Peg Tan, who happens to be Paul’s wife, Conklin said.

“Steph is working with Jenny and has already gone through many of the numbers,” he said. “And Peg has also done an amazing job. There are so many things that need to be taken care of, and she has done it with ease and with care and incredible talent. She makes sure everyone gets the resources they need so they can all do their best. That’s been a huge bonus for this production.”

Kmak looks forward to seeing audiences’ reactions to this year’s performances.

“Follies is my home away from home,” she said. “I’m more comfortable on stage with people who I trust and love than anywhere else. The Follies Family is my people, and I think the root of it stems from the love of Park City and the people who make it Park City. I think that’s why the impact of this show is so great year after year.”

Park City Follies years and titles

• 2001 — The Mud Season Variety Show

• 2002 — The Child of Light

• 2003 — Shorts and a Wad Vignettes

• 2004 — Laugh in Wall

• 2005 — Road to Branson 2006 East Side Story

• 2007 — An Inconvenient Truth 2008 Follies on the Roof 2009 Stimulate This

• 2010 — Infectious

• 2011 — No Follies Left Behind

• 2012 — The One True Follies End of Days 2013 Nothing Special

• 2014 — An Epic Follies

• 2015 — Shangri-Latte

• 2016 — The One Way Follies

• 2017 — No Vacancy

• 2018 — Housing Games

• 2019 — The Last Straw

• 2020 — virtual

• 2021 — Gold Rush

• 2022 — A and C District

• 2023 — A Follies you Can’t Refuse

• 2024 — Murder on the Silver Lake Express