Wonderful trio of season openers: Salt Lake Acting Company’s Sleeping Giant, Ririe-Woodbury’s Precipice, Repertory Dance Theatre’s Quadruple Bill (plus)

SALT LAKE ACTING COMPANY: SLEEPING GIANT, BY STEVE YOCKEY For connoisseurs of macabre stories with a generous twist of humor, like classics such as Supernatural, Tales from the Crypt, Creepshow, Shirley Jackson short stories or the geekdom culture of the Cthulhu folklore, Steve Yockey’s Sleeping Giant is a devilish delight. The play’s world premiere production … Read more

Fall arts calendar off to a rousing start: Pioneer Theatre Company’s Scapin, Plan-B Theatre’s Ballet for Aliens, NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Connect with Inspiration

The 2022-23 performing arts calendar has filled quickly, including a new adaptation of Molière’s play about Scapin the schemer, Plan-B Theatre’s Ballet for Aliens to mark the 10th anniversary of its Free Elementary School Tour and NOVA Chamber Music Series’ concert to open its 45th anniversary season. PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY: SCAPIN  The schemer is one … Read more

Ballet for Aliens  set to premiere as 10th anniversary entry in Plan-B Theatre’s Free Elementary School Tour program

Jacob is hoping Sophie, the nurse who is going to administer the infusion he needs for his chronic disease, is better at needles than the last nurse he encountered. But, the 12-year-old boy also is hoping that Sophie can ease his concerns. Explaining that he is an alien, Jacob says, “I decided that was a … Read more

Interstitial spaces highlight three summer exhibitions at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art; Rose Exposed! celebrates downtown arts hub’s 25th anniversary

UTAH MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: JOHN SPROUL, BERNARD MEYERS, TOBIAS FIKE Three Intermountain West artists are among the latest to have exhibitions to round out the summer season at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA). The connecting thread for this trio involves asking viewers to consider abstractions that reveal multiple layers going beyond typical … Read more

Eighth Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival concludes on several impressive notes, in show quality, attendance and awards

EDITOR’s NOTE: This is the second of a two-part series offering a roundup of reviews of shows from the eighth Great Salt Lake Fringe festival. For Part 1, see The Utah Review feature here. The Great Salt Lake Fringe completed its eighth edition, in venues at The Gateway, on strong notes. Representing both weekends of … Read more

The Sting & Honey Company offers an elegant cosmopolitan palette of myth and folklore in Sleeping Beauty’s Dream

Watching Sleeping Beauty’s Dream, by Javen Tanner, in a recent production by The Sting & Honey Company, one can appreciate the cosmopolitan melange of myths that supersedes the traditional Disney-like narrative portrayal. Tanner’s script shows that the relationships connecting the romantic lead characters extend beyond physical attraction into loyalty, commitment, friendship and dignity.  The results … Read more

Opera, Shakespeare, Ibsen adaptation, a trio of clowns and local satire are some highlights of 8th Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival

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

Eighth Great Salt Lake Fringe set to open July 28 at The Gateway

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

SLACabaret: Down The Rabbit Hole is scintillating summer delight in Salt Lake Acting Company production

IYKYK. The writers, cast, musicians and production crew deliver fully on the premise of the title in Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC)’s SLACabaret: Down the Rabbit Hole — pleasurable, scintillating, invigorating and chic like a brand new pair of white sneakers😉😈. Indeed, 2022 is the year that SLAC’s summer production has successfully cemented itself as … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2022: Two of Salt Lake City’s legendary dance institutions — Repertory Dance Theatre and Tanner’s Children Dance Theatre — set to perform.

Two of Utah’s most prominent historical dance institutions will be among seven dance companies being featured this year at the Utah Arts Festival this year, signifying the enormous place that dance occupies in the area’s performing arts culture: The University of Dance Tanner Dance Program’s Children’s Dance Theatre and Repertory Dance Theatre. Tanner Children’s Dance … Read more