The trial that came about after Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist, sued “Iron Man” actress Gwyneth Paltrow for allegedly running into him on Deer Valley’s Bandana ski run in 2016 will return to the Egyptian Theatre Jan. 8-18.“Gwyneth Goes Skiing,” which made its Park City premier last May, is not a retrial, nor does it cross the double-jeopardy line. Instead, it’s an updated version of the hit musical farce produced by Awkward Productions in London that features Linus Karp as Paltrow and Joseph Martin as Sanderson. “We’ve put in more memes,” Karp said. “We reference a lot of pop culture, and as pop culture changes, we try to put in a few fresh references. So there are a lot of ‘Wicked’ references at the moment.”Act 2 also starts with a new meme compilation of events that happened during the seven years between the collision and trial, which Sanderson brought on, Martin said. Gwyneth Paltrow, portrayed by Linus Karp, enjoys the sights and sounds of Deer Valley in a scene from “Gwyneth Goes Skiing.” Karp and cohort Joseph Martin, who portrays Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist who sued Paltrow in real life, will bring the musical comedy back to Park City from Jan. 8-18 at the Egyptian Theatre. Credit: Photo courtesy of @annaclarephotography“We’ll be looking at refreshing that for the American audience because so many of the memes in the compilation are British based,” he said. “So, we’re talking to people in the states and asking them which of the memes make sense to them and which don’t.”The two actors also added more roles, which will be performed on-the-spot by audience members, and upgraded Paltrow’s wardrobe, Karp said.“There is more audience involvement, and we’ve recreated some of Gwyneth’s more iconic looks,” he said.Karp and Martin have also revamped some of the script and added a new puppet that represents Sanderson’s lawyer, Kristen VanOrman.“She’s a lot more lightweight and easier for me to handle,” Martin said with a laugh. “We’ve really upped the camp factor even more, somehow. I don’t know how, but we did.”The original trial began on March 21, 2023, after Sanderson sued Paltrow, and “Gwyneth Goes Skiing” officially opened in December 2023 in London. By the end of the year, the production attracted some media coverage in the United States, including The Park Record.Terry Sanderson, portayed by Joseph Martin, emotes during a scene from “Gwyneth Goes Skiing.” Credit: Photo courtesy of @annaclarephotographyThrough it all, Karp and Martin never really entertained the idea of taking the show across the Atlantic.“When we started writing the show, we thought it would just be a small show during Christmas in London,” Karp said. “But after U.S. media began covering it, we thought maybe it could go somewhere, because it was an American story that happened in America.”Premiering the U.S. run in Park City felt right, but also surreal, Martin said.“It was really meta going to the place where it all happened and giving a fake version of the town we were performing in,” they said. “That was a weird thing to process in my head.”Karp and Martin couldn’t contain their amazement when they met VanOrman, who had attended some of last spring’s shows.“We always think back to when Kristen VanOrman came to see the show,” Karp said. “She was the loveliest person.”The same could be said when the two met Paltrow’s lawyers, Stephen Owens and James Egan, after a show.“Steve and James were lovely,” Martin said. “We never anticipated that lawyers from both sides, as well as witnesses, jurors and people who attended the trial, would be in the audience. It was so amazing for us to get to meet them and tell us about their experiences.”Meeting the lawyers was only part of the fun about performing “Gwyneth Goes Skiing” at the Egyptian Theatre, Martin said.“It was incredible seeing a lot of the people who were involved in the trial come to see us and say, ‘It really did feel like that in the room,’ and tell us other real-life connections for this thing that was so far-removed for us,” they said.Terry Sandrson, portrayed by Joseph Martin, left, and Gwyneth Paltrow, performed by Linus Karp, right, flank a puppet modeled after Sanderson’s lawyer Kristen VanOrman in a scene from “Gwyneth Goes Skiing.” The musical comedy returns to town for a run from Jan. 8-18 at the Egyptian Theatre. Credit: Photo courtesy of @annaclarephotography“Hearing them tell me that I nailed my portrayal of Gwyneth Paltrow was a real blessing because I know my American accent isn’t the best,” Karp said. “It was also so nice when all of our silly, Utah-based jokes we wrote land and kill. It was like the material was finally being appreciated.”Karp and Martin were also taken aback by reactions by local residents.“We didn’t know what to expect, because we’ve never been to America before,” Karp said. “We were coming from the other side of the world to do a comedy show about something that happened locally in Park City, so we had a little fear of people saying, ‘Oh, here comes those people from far away who will mock us.’ But people were just the nicest, the friendliest, and everyone just embraced us.”Martin has never felt so welcome in his life.“We could not have felt any more welcome and drawn into the community,” he said. “All we knew about Utah was that it was a conservative-leaning, majority-Mormon state, and as queer people from the UK we knew we could have some fun, but we thought how would that be?”If the local residents’ welcome touched Karp and Martin’s hearts, the reception by the Egyptian Theatre’s staff added multiple cherries on top. “We were treated like rock stars, and it doesn’t get better than that,” Martin said. “It was one of the first places that had catering in the fridge for us, so we thought we could retire, but really we can’t, because we’re coming back.”After “Gwyneth Goes Skiing” wraps up its Park City run on Jan. 18, the show travels to New York City and Los Angeles, Karp said.“We’re looking forward to going to New York City because it’s such a theater city, and that’s a dream-come-true in many ways,” he said. “Then to go to L.A. will be interesting because Gwynneth is such an L.A. character.”Martin said they’d be happy to perform yearly at the Egyptian Theatre. “If the opportunity was there, I would go back to Park City and do this show for the rest of my life,” they said. “Anytime they want us, we’ll do it. It’s just so silly, as if the trial wasn’t silly enough. We made a silly show about it, and we still get to perform in the town where it happened. This shouldn’t be happening, but it is.”‘Gwyneth Goes Skiing’When: Jan. 8-18 Where: Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St. Tickets: $39-$69 Phone: 855-745-SHOW Web: parkcityshows.comThe post ‘Gwyneth Goes Skiing’ returns to the Egyptian Theatre appeared first on Park Record.