MACBETH for the rising generation
WEST VALLEY CITY — In a world where youth are constantly looking down at their phones to watch the latest asinine YouTube video with a limited attention span, I wonder…
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE: COSTUMES FROM UTAH’S GREATS is dressed to the Nines
BRIGHAM CITY — Every year at the first of September, long before most people give it a thought, I sit my kids down and ask them one of the most…
Introducing Statera: Supporting women in the performing arts
CEDAR CITY — Making a living in the arts has always been a challenge. But—as in many other fields—women experience challenges in the workplace that men do not have. Rather…
UTBA reviewers sound off: EXCELLENCE IN 2018
It’s time for the annual UTBA retrospective, where our reviewers send kudos to all the excellent productions they saw in the state this year. There are no firm criteria for…
AN ILIAD brings the Homeric tradition into the 21st century
CEDAR CITY — As one of the fundamental stories of Western literature, The Iliad has entranced audiences for centuries. In a reimagined adaptation entitled An Iliad, the Utah Shakespeare Festival…
Here’s the truth: THE LIAR is a flop
CEDAR CITY — The Utah Shakespeare Festival’s new fall production, The Liar, is so inherently flawed that I cannot imagine a worthwhile production of this play even being possible. Not…
Fights, acting, and directing make HENRY VI, PART ONE a pleasing choice
CEDAR CITY — The Utah Shakespeare Festival is in the midst of an ambitious initiative to produce all of Shakespeare‘s plays, part of which is to produce all ten histories…
Laughter not a stranger to Utah Shakespeare’s THE FOREIGNER
CEDAR CITY — It starts out as an innocent trip for Charlie Baker. In need of an escape from his troubles, Charlie’s friend persuades him to visit a bed and…
THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR disappoints in Cedar City
CEDAR CITY — The Merry Wives of Windsor is known as Shakespeare’s foray into domestic comedy. Taking his beloved Falstaff character and transporting him to the contemporary countryside, this play…
At the Utah Shakespeare Fest, OTHELLO’s reputation grows
CEDAR CITY — Every minute of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s current production of Othello demonstrates why this play is considered one of Shakespeare‘s greatest tragedies. The play is a case…