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…
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE dictates its own terms
CEDAR CITY — Shakespeare‘s sermon on mercy and forgiveness, The Merchant of Venice, has returned to the Utah Shakespeare Festival in a production that mixes traditional techniques with new choices.…
Less is so much more at Utah Shakespeare’s BIG RIVER
CEDAR CITY — Rather than a big, flashy musical, the Utah Shakespeare Festival chose this year to produce Big River, the musical adaptation of Mark Twain‘s The Adventures of Huckleberry…
Lessons learned from seeing 4 productions of ROMEO & JULIET
In the space of seven months—from July 2017 to February 2018—I have seen four separate stage productions of Romeo and Juliet in Utah. Now it’s time for me to take…