Less than an hour after we published our original post about the coronavirus on March 12, Governor Herbert asked Utahns to limit public gatherings to 100. (Since then, the state has asked Utahns to voluntarily limit gatherings to 10.) Immediately, theatre companies in Utah started to announce adjustments to performance schedules.

Streaming Productions

Let’s start with the good news and list the productions in Utah that producers have (somehow) been able to stream online:

We hope the list of streaming productions continues to grow.

Cancelled Performances and Productions

Salt Lake County

  • Pioneer Theatre Company has closed the staged readings of The Messenger, effective March 14.
  • The Eccles Theatre closed March 12-31, which shuttered the touring production of Dear Evan Hansen early.
  • Hale Centre Theatre has suspended all performances through March 30, effective immediately. On March 17, Hale Centre Theatre announced that all remaining performances of Bright Star and Strictly Ballroom were cancelled.
  • The Utah Opera has cancelled all performances of The Barber of Seville from March 12 to May 23.
  • Westminster College’s one-act play festival (scheduled to open April 20) has been cancelled.
  • The Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival’s 2020 season is cancelled and will be replaced with another event (details to be announced).
  • The Empress Theatre in Magna had a double whammy to deal with. Coronavirus and a magnitude 5.7 earthquake have closed the building and cancelled their productions of Xanadu, West Side Story, and Guys and Dolls. The Youth Theatre production is cancelled also.
  • The March, April, and May staged readings by the Babcock Performing Readers have been cancelled.

Utah County

  • On March 12, all arts performances at Brigham Young University were cancelled, effective immediately. On March 25, the university cancelled all performances through June 15.
  • All performances from March 16 to May 1 on Utah Valley University campus are cancelled. The theatre for audiences production of Señora Tortuga played March 13 and 14 as planned. The production’s tour may be postponed (see below).
  • Hale Center Theater Orem cancelled all performances of Matilda from March 16 to 28. The production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has been cancelled. Later performances are postponed (see below).
  • Provo City has cancelled all performances at the Covey Center for the Arts, which includes Talley’s Folly, starting March 13.
  • An Other Theater Company’s production of Trifles/A Number has been delayed and will now open on April 3.
  • The SCERA youth production of Just So: The Musical closed early after its March 14 performance.
  • Prospero Arts and Media closed their production of Cyrano, From Nowhere early, on March 14.
  • Cobb & Co. Theatre’s production of Robin Hood the Musical has been cancelled.

Weber County

Davis County

  • The Hopebox Theatre’s production of Arsenic and Old Lace has been cancelled.

Other Parts of Utah

  • The Utah Shakespeare Festival’s entire 2020 season has been cancelled, including the Shakespeare production from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts that was planned to visit the Utah Shakespeare Festival in July.
  • Lyric Repertory Theater has cancelled their entire summer 2020 season.
  • Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre has cancelled their entire summer 2020 season.
  • Tuacahn has cancelled their entire 2020 season.
  • The Simon Festival’s 2020 summer productions have been cancelled.
  • According to the Deseret News, the upcoming performances of Newsies at the Egyptian Theater will be postponed.
  • St. George Musical Theater’s production of The Foreigner will opened as scheduled on March 13, but performances from March 16 through 28 are suspended.
  • Pickleville Playhouse has cancelled their summer production of Peter Pan.
  • The Egyptian YouTheatre spring season has been completely cancelled.

Postponed Performances and Productions

Salt Lake County

  • The touring production of Disney’s Frozen will now play at the Eccles Theater on October 28 through November 14.
  • Pioneer Theatre Company’s production of Something Rotten! (originally scheduled to open May 8, 2020) is postponed to February 19, 2021. The company’s production of Ass (originally scheduled for March 2020) will open March 26, 2021.
  • Salt Lake Acting Company has postponed the opening of Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet.
  • Plan-B Theatre’s production of Audacity has been postponed until a later date that is still to be determined.
  • The University of Utah production of Tartuffe is postponed until late August.
  • Westminster College’s production of Sweet Charity has been postponed until a date that is to be determined later.
  • On March 19, Hale Centre Theatre announced that their production of Titanic would be delayed to another season.
  • The performances of the Parker Theatre’s production of The Three Musketeers that were scheduled for March 20 or later have been postponed. Their production of Cinderella is also postponed.
  • The Grand Theatre’s production of To Kill a Mockingbird has been postponed indefinitely.
  • SONDERimmersive is delaying their production of The Chocolatier by two weeks to May 1.
  • Bluffdale Arts Advisory Board’s production of Annie (originally scheduled for March 26-28) is postponed.
  • Sackerson’s Immersive Theatre Festival has been postponed, and all of the company’s productions scheduled through May are on hiatus.

Utah County

  • Performances for Hale Center Theater Orem’s Matilda that were originally scheduled for March 30 or later are postponed. The company’s productions of Little Women and Over the River and Through the Woods all now have undetermined opening nights.
  • Utah Valley University’s tour of Señora Tortuga to local schools is on hiatus. It may possibly begin in May.

Davis County

  • CenterPoint Legacy Theatre has delayed the opening of their production of The Music Man until a date that is yet to be determined.
  • The Hopebox Theatre production of Thoroughly Modern Millie has been postponed until at least March 30. The company’s youth production of Cinderella is also postponed.

Weber County

  • Weber State University’s production of Pippin is postponed until October.
  • Rest of the 2020 season at Terrace Plaza Playhouse (five productions) is indefinitely postponed.
  • Good Company Theatre’s production of Babel has been delayed and is now scheduled to open October 15. Two Mile Hollow‘s opening is now postponed to September 10.

Other Parts of Utah

Other Impacts

  • UTBA’s theatre reviewing workshop has been postponed. We will reschedule at a later time.
  • The West Valley Arts production of Footloose at the Harman Theatre will continue with limits of 100 audience members per performance.
  • The Parker Theatre has a new production called The Corona Conundrum, which is designed with audience and patron safety in mind.
  • Auditions for Hale Center Theater Orem’s upcoming productions of Little Women and their youth production of Freaky Friday will be by video only.
  • The Parker Theatre has laid off the majority of their part-time staff and artists.
If you are aware of any inaccuracies or any missing productions, please email our president at russell (at) utahtheaterbloggers (dot) com. List last updated on June 25, 2020 at 10:28 PM.