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…
ESCAPE FROM PLANET DEATH! mixes sci-fi and comedy on stage
PROVO — Science fiction plays are rare, likely because many of the genre’s staples, like laser guns and transporter devices, are hard to depict on stage. That has not stopped…
Grassroots Shakespeare RICHARD III: authentic, unique and online
OREM — Starting off with a fun pre-show concert performed by the cast, Grassroots Shakespeare Company’s production of Richard III is a unique kind of theater not often found in…
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…
A cozy and thrilling night at Pleasant Grove Player’s production of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE
PLEASANT GROVE — I really don’t know why I’ve done this to myself, reviewing another Agatha Christie production within two months. It’s challenging to review a production where I don’t…
Don’t be a stranger to THE FOREIGNER in Spanish Fork
SPANISH FORK — In live theatre, expectations matter. If a theatre company builds up expectations too high, then a satisfactory production can feel disappointing. Several years ago, a theatre company…
A glimpse of heaven’s light at HCTO’s HUNCHBACK
OREM — David Paul Smith, director of The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Hale Center Theater in Orem, was bullied as a child. Why is this relevant? Because during…
BYU Young Company’s LUNA is too full to enjoy
PROVO — After a year of streaming productions, Brigham Young University’s Theatre and Media Arts department is once again mounting plays before a live audience. The department’s first production is…
Come for a night of fun at SCERA’s THE DROWSY CHAPERONE
OREM — Utah has become enamored with the musical The Drowsy Chaperone in recent years, but I hadn’t seen a great version in this state until tonight. In fact, I…
AIR PLAY is a joyful celebration of life
PROVO — For a year and a half Brigham Young University’s de Jong Concert Hall brooded in COVID-induced silence. Then into the darkness came the laughter of care-free children. Then…