Bandito Rides Again concludes in Logan

On Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., the show Bandito Rides Again will be performed at the Ellen Eccles Theatre in Logan.

"This weekend will be the last time we ever perform this version of Bandito Rides Again," said T.J. Davis, the creator and actor who portrays Juanito Bandito. "It’s always emotional to say goodbye to a huge chapter in life, but as they say, one closed door means that another one is about to open. We’ll do all that we can to make these last two shows the best performances we've ever had."

A series of shows based on the character Juanito Bandito have been going on at Pickleville Playhouse Theatre since 2008, and this will be the sixth production done in Logan.

"We do a lot more shows in Bear Lake so sales up there are greater in every aspect," Davis said. "But we have thousands that see us in Logan and SLC during our touring production every year."

A special promotion called “buy tix and get an equal number of free tix for your friends who have never seen Juanito Bandito” was offered for the first time this year.

"We've always wanted to figure out an easy way for people to introduce their friends to Bandito," Davis said. "This year we decided that we would rely on people’s honesty and give it a shot."

Davis said some may see this as a silly way to lose thousands of dollars, but he is more focused on creating future friends and customers.

"We’re confident that once people see a Bandito show, if it’s their kind of humor, they’ll return for many years to come," Davis said.

The promotion was first tested out at the Salt Lake City shows.

"We had big crowds and a hugely overwhelming positive response at our SLC shows," Davis said. "Overall they were awesome — or a-w-e-s-e-o-m as Bandito would say — and I think the same thing will happen in Logan."

Davis said two members of the original cast had conflicts and could not do the shows, so Sharli King and Eric Sackett were chosen as replacements.

"They are pros and learned it really quickly," Davis said. "It’s been super fun to have some new faces in the show with us."

King said she is playing the part of Jesse — one of Bandito's sidekicks — and has choreographed every show at Pickleville Playhouse for the past 10 years, so "it was easy to slip right into this part."

"I'm excited to be a part of these shows," King said. "And I hope our audience members leave with sore cheeks and stomachs from excessive smiling and laughter."

Madison Smith, Madeleine Bramhall, Natalie Nix, Torrey Green, Morgan Poulsen and Diego Mendiola contributed to this report.