Pioneer’s ELF is fairly fun, mostly harmless
SALT LAKE CITY — Continuing Broadway’s quest to turn every family-friendly intellectual property into a stage musical, Elf premiered in the Big Apple in 2010 for a short, successful holiday…
Uneven script makes for a flat ASS at Pioneer Theatre Company
SALT LAKE CITY – What is the subject matter of a show called Ass? Who is the ass? Does it show an ass? Something to do with donkeys? While there…
AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ is the fun musical revue I needed in my life
SALT LAKE CITY — 547 days. That is how long Pioneer Theatre Company went without a live, in-person production. Now, they’ve opened their doors with a stunning, must-see production of…
Theatre Thursday: Coronavirus and Theatre
Note: Because the coronavirus situation is changing rapidly, some of the information in this post is outdated. Please see the current list of streaming, cancelled, and postponed productions in Utah.…
MARY STUART is a victory of royal proportions at Pioneer
SALT LAKE CITY — “The voice of majority is no proof of justice,” says Friedrich Schiller in his play Mary Stuart, published in 1800. This sentiment rings true in the…
UTBA reviewers sound off: EXCELLENCE IN 2019
2019 was a great year for UTBA! This year we published 231 reviews, which is our highest total in several years. With so many shows to look back on, it…
THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG is a must see
SALT LAKE CITY — I’ve never seen an audience laugh more than at the performance of, The Play that Goes Wrong, in Pioneer Theatre. The 2015 British concoction has bounded…
LIFESPAN OF A FACT is a powerful quest for truth
SALT LAKE CITY — “Sometimes we misplace knowledge in pursuit of information,” says John D’Agata in his essay, “What Happens There.” Read it; it’s superb. In D’Agata’s essay, he writes…
Time for CAGNEY to tap out
SALT LAKE CITY — Based on a book by Peter Colley, Cagney, playing now at Pioneer Theatre Company, is a show whose creators’ Broadway hopes are too high. Directed by…
“Mooning” over Pioneer Theatre Company’s production of GREASE
SALT LAKE CITY — The very first CD that I bought was the soundtrack to Grease. I had never seen the show, but a friend had convinced me that I…