For the impetus of his 1999 book, For the Love of It: Amateuring and Its Rivals, Wayne Booth, a prominent American literary critic, recalled how in his sixties he stumbled over the hurdles of trying to master the thumb position down toward the cello’s bridge. An amateur musician, Booth already had been playing for more … Read more
One of numerous striking boundary-busting scenes in the riveting Ballet West production of Val Caniparoli’s Jekyll & Hyde occurs just past midpoint in the second act. Hyde (David Huffmire) commandeers the attention when he arrives at Deacon Brodie’s Tavern, the after-hours refuge for the sophisticated Victorian gentlemen to indulge their libertine pleasures whatever they might … Read more
November was an outstanding month for performing arts in Salt Lake City, including programs by the Repertory Dance Theatre, Opera Contempo and the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation. REPERTORY DANCE THEATRE: VENTURE Repertory Dance Theatre’s (RDT) most recent production, Venture, demonstrated how the company’s eight dancers are sizzling in excellence during the company’s 58th season. … Read more
NOVA Chamber Music Series’ 46th season is all about personality, as noted previously in The Utah Review. The eight concerts for the 2023-24 season will showcase a generous sampling of the outstanding level of musicianship that exemplifies just how high the bar of artistic quality has been set in Utah. The Utah Review offers a … Read more
As noted in the centerpiece curtain raiser, organizers of the 47th Utah Arts Festival have packed impressive numbers of participants into its multidisciplinary programs. The following summarizes the top line highlights. Follow The Utah Review in the days leading up to the June 23 opening for features about the following: ARTISTS MARKETPLACE For example, the … Read more
This year’s selection in The Utah Review of the top ten moments of the Utah Enlightenment in 2022 was easily the quickest to lock in, considering the possibilities. There were no close calls. The ten selections were a slam dunk. This year, however, presented the opportunity for a twist. While nine of the ten selections … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part I of a two-part series featuring reviews of some of the shows at the 8th Great Salt Lake Fringe festival. The event continues this weekend, Aug. 4-7, at The Gateway. See The Utah Review preview here. There may be nine fewer shows and one less venue than last year for … Read more
With two dozen shows in four performing venues at The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City, the Great Salt Lake Fringe (GSLF) returns for the eighth year, with shows spanning the two weekends from July 28 through Aug. 7. This is also the first year since 2019 that all shows will be in person. The … Read more
Performing arts schedules are blossoming this spring, as companies and ensembles return to live productions in full swing. SUPERWOMEN: REPERTORY DANCE THEATRE’S LINK SERIES A regular point made in The Utah Review’s dance coverage is how and why this particular performing arts form wears the empress crown in arts and culture in Utah. Recently, that … Read more
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