THE 39 STEPS brings comedy and intrigue to BYU
PROVO — One of the best parts of watching local theater is getting caught up in the energy and passion of the performers. This is especially true with student productions…
“What Could Be Better” than HCTO’s BRIGHT STAR?
OREM — The storytellers at Hale Center Theater in Orem have outdone themselves. Bright Star is a moving, lively tale that is coursing with nostalgic energy for anyone with or…
THE CHRISTIANS is a strong start to BYU’s CONTEMPORARY VOICES
PROVO — Everybody wins with the new series of staged readings called Contemporary Voices, mounted by the Theatre and Media Arts Department at BYU. The readings give students a low-risk…
Actors, designers can’t escape weak script of THE FOSSIL RECORD
PROVO — One of the very few good things to come out of the pandemic is frequent local streaming theater, and An Other Theater Co.’s streaming production of The Fossil…
BYU’s AS YOU LIKE IT is a bullseye (for the wrong target audience)
PROVO — As You Like It is the BYU Young Company’s latest touring show, and it is an odd production for the company. Not because of any artistic choices that…
Kids can let their hair down at RAPUNZEL! RAPUNZEL!
OREM — Once upon a time, there was a critic who took his 5-year-old daughter to the SCERA. They saw Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale and had a…
BYU’s FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is a superb “Miracle of Miracles”
PROVO — It is supposed to be a college production, but BYU’s Fiddler on the Roof is so well executed that audience member can be forgiven if they mistake it…
LA BOHÈME is to die for at UVU
OREM — La Bohème at Utah Valley University is an opera for the masses. While still faithful to Giacomo Puccini‘s vision, this production strips away any pretense, distance, and stodginess…
Grassroots Shakespeare’s MERRY WIVES is a messy letdown
OREM — The Merry Wives of Windsor is an anomaly in the Shakespeare canon. The play is Shakespeare’s only domestic comedy, and it is the only one that takes characters…
Take the trip OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS at HCTO
OREM — If a comedy features grandparents who shove food down people’s throats, mistakenly call a Blue-Ray machine a sting-ray, and take 5 minutes of long-winded discussion to answer a…