Sundance 2021: Compelling documentary shorts led by poignant, lyrical A Concerto Is a Conversation; story-telling resourcefulness of When We Were Bullies

A documentary about a jazz pianist-film composer who talks with his 91-year-old grandfather about a lifetime journey that took him from the Jim Crow era days of Florida to Los Angeles as a successful business owner and another about a filmmaker recalling a 50-year-old incident when he was among the students who bullied another fifth-grade … Read more

Sundance 2021: New Frontier’s Weirdo Night is spicy, bracing, delightfully naughty underground experience

No Sundance experience should ever go without visiting the festival’s New Frontier programming. One of the best options is Weirdo Night, a filmed version of a popular underground show that has attracted a solid following in Los Angeles. The 42-minute episode, which was filmed last summer and was discovered online by a Sundance programmer, is … Read more

Stress, healing, empowerment: The top 10 moments of The Utah Enlightenment in 2020

INTRODUCTION One year ago, when The Utah Review presented the 2019 edition of the top 10 moments of the Utah Enlightenment, it was a jubilant representation of Utah’s integral strengths as a community of the arts and the momentum that catapulted Salt Lake City as one of the Intermountain West’s most dynamic centers for creative … Read more

Music for Nina, latest release by Matt Starling, is absolutely glorious manifestation of pure musicality embedded in structure of loops

In music, the structure of loops is fascinating for its meditative and blissful potential. In 1963, just a year prior to the release of one of his most famous compositions (In C), Terry Riley used tape loops to create music for the avant-garde play The Gift, which was being staged in Paris. Riley used recordings … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series presents transfixing Rising Tide film featuring Fry Street Quartet, scientist Robert Davies, music by Laura Kaminsky, magnificent artistic visuals

In the last decade, many performers and creative producers have risen to articulating the dimensions of human sustainability and vibrancy when it comes to speaking up about climate change and other major environmental impacts. The diverse spectrum of examples continues to proliferate in all genres of music. In July 2019, the band The 1975 released … Read more

Salt Lake Acting Company announces its 49 ¾ season, including streaming, in-person productions, digital film series, world premieres

Major anniversaries always call for big celebrations. For an independent performing arts company, a golden anniversary not only demands an extravaganza but it also is a moment to highlight the triumph of resilience in demonstrating to the community that local cultural enterprises are indispensable for elevating the social conscience and inspiring others to join creative … Read more

I Wanna Hold Your Hand: 9th annual Rose Exposed goes virtual with six companies hitting the nail on the head in these pandemic times

There always is something soothing in the familiar pop strains of such Beatles classics as I Want to Hold Your Hand, the 1963 hit that truly brought the British quartet to its fame with American audiences. Unfortunately, when one washes and sanitizes their hands, the immediate impulse to touch, however, is constrained by social distancing … Read more

Great Salt Lake Fringe 2020: Virtual format delivers smart concept shows, excellent performances

In Edinburgh, the birthplace of the Fringe festival concept in 1947, this year’s version has gone digital. “It’s hard to imagine a summer without the Fringe,” Shona McCarthy, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society chief executive, said in a statement published online. “The explosion of creativity and community that the festival brings every year is unparalleled, and … Read more

Utah Film Center Damn These Heels 2020: Dramatic narrative Song Lang from Vietnam, Breaking Fast rom-com about Muslim doctor marvelously entertaining queer cinema films

Two marvelously entertaining queer narrative films with emotionally mature perspectives representing unlikely lovers discovering each other — – one from Vietnam and the other an American film starring a Muslim doctor living in West Hollywood – are featured in the Utah Film Center’s 17th annual Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival. They are Song Lang, a feature-length … Read more

Utah Film Center Damn These Heels 2020: The deep spirituality of queer musicians is explored exquisitely in Portuguese biopic Variações, documentary Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story

The stories of two introverted queer musicians who express their deep spirituality through their work are told separately in an exquisite pair of films as part of this year’s slate of the Utah Film Center’s 17th annual Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival. They are Variações, a Portuguese biopic written and directed by João Maia, and Keyboard … Read more