Theatre

A 2023 holiday season exclusive for U.S. and Salt Lake City: Pioneer Theatre Company set for production opening of Christmas in Connecticut musical adaptation

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The most enduring Hollywood movies about Christmas reinforce the nostalgia about holiday celebrations, even when chaos threatens to upend plans for the perfect gathering. In 1945, as GIs began to return to the States after the long world war, American audiences welcomed the holiday madcap farce of Warner Bros.’ Christmas in Connecticut.  Nearly 80 years … Read more

More from a bountiful autumn season in performing arts: Fem Dance Company, Local Independent Theatre (LIT Co.) and NOVA Chamber Music Series

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The fall performing arts season in Salt Lake City has been a bountiful harvest of enterprising programming. Featured reviews include Fem Dance Company, Local Independent Theatre (LIT Co.) and NOVA Chamber Music Series. FEM DANCE COMPANY: HEAR HER Earlier this month, Fem Dance Company’s premiere of Hear Her, choreographed by Alicia Ross, was an enlightening, … Read more

Outstanding performances propel Pygmalion Theatre Company’s first-class staging of Lauren Gunderson’s The Half-Life of Marie Curie

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Some 60 years after Marie Curie died (in 1934) from a rare blood disorder caused by her work with radium and polonium, the French government had planned to move her body as well as that of her husband Pierre to the Panthéon. However, the team responsible for exhuming their coffins had to be extraordinarily cautious … Read more

A 60th anniversary special: Ballet West’s extraordinary history, the legacy of Willam F. Christensen

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Ballet West is celebrating its 60th anniversary and the newest production, which opens Nov. 3, is a tribute to Willam F. Christensen, who co-founded the company. Featured are Christensen’s version of The Firebird, the world premiere of Fever Dream by Joshua Whitehead, recently retired and long-term Ballet West artist, and George Balanchine’s Stars … Read more

Live blog and review: Radio Hour Episode 17: Sherlock Holmes and The Final Problem, by Matthew Ivan Bennett, presented by Plan-B Theatre, KUER-FM’s RadioWest

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Welcome to the 17th episode of the Radio Hour series of Plan-B Theatre’s Radio Hour series, produced with KUER-FM’s RadioWest, hosted by Doug Fabrizio on KUER-FM (90.1). For the first time since 2014, a Radio Hour episode will have a live audience for its premiere. The episode, written by veteran Radio Hour scribe Matthew Ivan … Read more

Halloween season must-see productions: Ballet West’s Dracula, Pioneer Theatre Company’s The Rocky Horror Show

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What better way to celebrate the Halloween season than with the first-class productions of Ballet West’s Dracula and Pioneer Theatre Company’s The Rocky Horror Show. BALLET WEST: DRACULA  By Chris Myers  In 1997, choreographer Ben Stevenson chose to celebrate the centennial of Bram Stoker’s Dracula with a ballet adaptation that would not have seemed out … Read more

Plan-B Theatre, in partnership with KUER-FM’s RadioWest, to present Radio Hour Episode 17: Sherlock Holmes and The Final Problem, in live broadcast with live audience for first time since 2014

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EDITOR’S NOTE: On Friday, Oct. 27, at 11 a.m., from the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, The Utah Review will live blog the world premiere of Radio Hour Episode 17: Sherlock Holmes and The Final Problem, produced by Plan-B Theatre and KUER-FM’s RadioWest program. Tune into KUER-FM 90.1 and follow The Utah Review during the … Read more

When becoming uncomfortable is important to finding truth: Morag Shepherd’s Worship in exceptional Immigrant’s Daughter Theatre production

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Earlier this year, playwright Morag Shepherd directed the excellent Pygmalion Theatre Company production of Debora Threedy’s Mountain Meadows, which was about historian Juanita Brooks’ search for the truth behind the Mountain Meadows massacre, one of the darkest stains in Mormon history. With news of the massacre, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints institutionalized … Read more

Salt Lake Acting Company scores magnificently with Sarah Shippobotham’s solo show Can I Say Yes to That Dress?

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Joining what has been an outstanding start for several independent and local theatrical companies this season, the Salt Lake Acting Company has scored magnificently with Sarah Shippobotham’s solo show Can I Say Yes to That Dress?, directed by Jamie Rocha Allan. Channeling herself through the character she has written as Sîan Jones, Shippobotham presents a … Read more

The Sting & Honey Company production of Mamet’s Oleanna was riveting success

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In the adroit hands of The Sting and Honey Company, the recent production of David Mamet’s Oleanna, a controversial 1992 two-hander drama, was a riveting success.  Directed by Javen Tanner, artistic director and founder of the company, who stars as John, a university professor up for tenure, and Suni Gigliotti as Carol, a student, the play … Read more