MORMON MIRACLE PAGEANT: Experiencing Utah’s theatrical heritage
MANTI — On Thursday night, I made a pilgrimage, of sorts, to the small, quaint town of Manti, Utah, to attend the Mormon Miracle Pageant. For many thousands of people…
Worth the drive for Pickleville’s SEVEN BRIDES
GARDEN CITY — I’ve heard many good things about the shows produced each summer at the Pickleville Playhouse on the shores of Bear Lake, but had never had the opportunity…
Desert Star’s THE LONE STRANGER is mostly funny fare
MURRAY — Desert Star Playhouse is a theater known for its tongue-in-cheek, slapstick-style, Utah-catered humor. As a result, I knew going into The Lone Stranger to be prepared for a…
JUANITO BANDITO RIDES AGAIN–and steals the comic gold
GARDEN CITY – Pickleville Playhouse in Garden City, Utah, is a true hidden gem. For 36 years they have been presenting melodramas and musicals every summer on the shores of…
The GSC cast reigns over a rough HENRY IV, PART 1
OREM — Utah’s Grassroots Shakespeare Company (GSC) is one of the most innovative theatre companies in the state. As has been stated in many UTBA reviews of their work, they…
Strong leads and good directing create a memorable SPAMALOT
OGDEN — The Ziegfeld Theatre shows what good community should look like with its latest production of Spamalot. Though working with a small budget to put on a huge production…
STEEL MAGNOLIAS survives, despite its weaknesses
PROVO — Annelle, Truvy, Clairee, Shelby, M’lynn, and Ouiser: these six women come together in the small town salon of Steel Magnolias to be beautified and befriended. Shelby is the…
Solid script, intriguing story save 12 ANGRY JURORS
CENTERVILLE — The setting is a deliberation room for the citizens serving on jury for a murder trial to discuss and argue a teenage boy’s fate. As the jury enters,…
Grassroots Shakespeare’s MUCH ADO is really something
PLEASANT GROVE — Thinking back on my Saturday night at Discovery Park, I realize now that my expectations were hinging on unrealistically high for Grassroots Shakespeare Company’s production of Much…
“Journey On” to see RAGTIME
WEST VALLEY — “It was the music of something beginning.” That’s how Lynn Ahrens‘s lyrics describe ragtime, the first American music style that became popular internationally. Born in the communities…