CHILDREN OF WAR is a New Story Told Beautifully in an Old Way
PROVO — Children of War, a new work presented by a new company — Poet’s Star Theatre Company — is an impressive tale that invites the audience to choose their…
Orem Hale’s THE HELLO GIRLS Recreates History
OREM — The Hello Girls, a musical written by Peter Mills and Cara Reichel, is a somewhat newer musical, having first premiered in 2018 off Broadway. The show has only…
Headphone Theater’s SIRENS offers adventure in an uneven script
SPANISH FORK — Sirens is an original musical written and composed by Levi Taylor and directed by Adam Cannon. The unique storyline begins with a group of sailors in the…
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE bubbles with life and history at BYU
PROVO — Director Stephanie Breinholt’s voice caught with emotion as she spoke to the audience before opening the final show on BYU’s Pardoe Theatre stage: Kate Hamill’s award winning adaptation…
Director and actors are #1 at BYU’s URINETOWN
PROVO — As I sat at intermission of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s admirable The Pirates of Penzance last month, I mentioned to my companion that BYU was putting on Urinetown…
Exquisite music saves ZÉMIRE ET AZOR from middling stagecraft
PROVO — The tale of “Beauty and the Beast” has captivated people for centuries. While modern audiences know it best through literature, television, stage, and film adaptations, the opera world…
THE JESTER falls flat
PROVO — The Jester, a new play by “Eugene Shackspeare” and produced by Corral de la Cruz Theatre, is billed as a tragicomedy in the vein of “Noises Off! meets…
UTBA reviewers sound off: Excellence in 2020
Every UTBA reader knows that 2020 was a tough year for Utah theatre. For over two months, we did not review any theatre productions because all theaters in the state…
DESPERATE CROSSING & LETTERS FROM CUBA exposes immigrants’ plight
PROVO — Brigham Young University’s staging of Manual for a Desperate Crossing and Letters from Cuba is the most innovative production I have ever seen. With a striking, timely message…
ILLUSIONARY TALES: spooky stories at their staged best
PROVO — One of the few good things to come out of the pandemic is experimental theater, and BYU’s Illusionary Tales has done a great job of finding a way…