Arts

Five Utah Museum of Contemporary Art exhibitions include shows about sociopolitical culture, coping with grief, queer community in Salt Lake City, short film about Indigenous culture, an artist’s spiritual reconciliation in relationship with father

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Five exhibitions round out the early spring slate at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA), including a major exhibition about contemporary political engagement, an exceptional show that translates the literary memoir genre into a visual art synthesis by an artist from the Carolinas, a celebration of queer voices in Salt Lake City, a regionally … Read more

Two major concerts coming to Salt Lake City: Bachauer presenting Ching-Yun Hu in all-Liszt program; NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Songs of Play with world premieres by Stephanie Ann Boyd, Luke Dahn

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Two concerts in Salt Lake City this coming weekend highlight outstanding programming options by major institutions.  GINA BACHAUER INTERNATIONAL PIANO FOUNDATION: CHING-YUN HU, CONCERT OF LISZT Pianist Ching-Yun Hu remembers how the stereotypes about Franz Liszt were ingrained in her as a child when she was studying music. “This was not a composer we were … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series’ all-British concert rare, exquisite treat, emphasizing Britten’s greatness

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A rare all-British NOVA Chamber Music Series concert was an exquisite treat last weekend for the organization’s only Gallery Concert of the current season in the G. W. Anderson Family Great Hall of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. The music of Benjamin Britten, John Dowland and Henry Purcell actually fit marvelously in the museum … Read more

Once again, the audience has the voting power: Repertory Dance Theatre’s Regalia available this week in streaming video on demand format, as 4 choreographers set their sights on commission prize 

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While Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT) is holding Regalia, its largest annual fundraiser, online for the second year ago, the event is no less audacious than its usual in-person format.  Four choreographers are assigned a group of dancers to create a short work (usually five but less than 10 minutes in length) in just four hours. … Read more

An unsurpassed, extraordinary opening night performance for the premiere of Carleton Bluford’s The Clean-Up Project, Plan-B Theatre’s newest production

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Just slightly past the midway point of the opening night performance in the world premiere of Carleton Bluford’s The Clean-Up Project, it was evident that another Plan-B Theatre production was having the usual very good opener. Bluford’s script, about a swift revolution that has transformed the country and flipped the power structure, is complex in … Read more

Two worthy Utah premieres: Salt Lake Acting Company’s Egress, Pygmalion Theatre Company’s Bella Bella

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SALT LAKE ACTING COMPANY: EGRESS Aided by excellent acting in a small ensemble cast, the Salt Lake Acting Company’s Utah premiere of Egress, a play by Melissa Crespo and Sarah Saltwick nicely elucidates the metaphors about exits and safety that embody the narrative about the trauma and the steps toward recovering from a horrific breakup … Read more

Plan-B Theatre set to open 2022 season In Person. In Color. with world premiere of Carleton Bluford’s The Clean-Up Project

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This is the psychological balm of racial caste in America: If you’re Black and couldn’t overcome every obstacle to pull yourself up, it’s because you’re lazy and did not want to work hard. If you’re Black and you manage to be successful, it’s because of affirmative action and you didn’t earn it. Your failures and … Read more

Two excellent dance concerts: Ririe-Woodbury’s Fill in the Blank; Repertory Dance Theatre’s Emerge: Sounds Delightful

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The Utah Review offers reviews of two dance concerts: the live performance of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s Fill in the Blank and Repertory Dance Theatre’s Emerge concert film.  RIRIE-WOODBURY DANCE COMPANY: FILL IN THE BLANK In a word. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s Fill in the Blank concert was superb. Tremendous emotional intensity propelled the enthralling pace of … Read more

Sundance 2022: Eight short films emphasize excellent range of options featuring the best of international filmmaking

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This year’s Sundance Film Festival’s shorts offerings are filled with plenty of excellent options. The 59 short films for the 2022 program were selected from a record 10,374 submissions. Of these submissions, 4,701 were from the U.S., and 5,673 were international, representing 26 countries. The Utah Review selected eight shorts from around the world to … Read more

Sundance 2022: Sam Green’s 32 Sounds hugely entertaining, fascinating example of STEAM presentation into the wonders of sound

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Sam Green’s documentary 32 Sounds, which premiered in the Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontiers program, is a superb example of a cross-disciplinary  STEAM presentation (that is, putting Art into STEM). Intelligent as it is hugely entertaining, Green has crafted an ideal film that will nourish anyone’s aspirations for a career or personal experiences, which integrate … Read more