Theatre

Season opener review roundup: Pioneer Theatre Company’s Murder on the Orient Express, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s Groundworks, Plan-B Theatre’s Squeak, NOVA Chamber Music Series on Hungarian music

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PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express has remained resilient. It is surprising for a 1934 novel that more often than not has been denigrated by contemporary scholars of literature as lowbrow along with what they perceived as insensitive portrayals of cultural and ethnic stereotypes they contend … Read more

World premiere of Sarah Shippobotham’s solo play Can I Say Yes to That Dress? will open Salt Lake Acting Company’s 52nd season

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Within the last year, a spate of celebrities have publicly announced themselves as gender fluid. One might be tempted to assess this as a new phenomenon about new experiences, especially as there are now available a wide-ranging set of vocabulary terms for one to express their identity. But, for those individuals who came of age … Read more

Pioneer Theatre Company’s 62nd season filled with twists on canonical stories, plenty of music, some of most widely sought after contemporary dramas and comedies

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Coming off a previous season that produced several momentous takeaways highlighting Salt Lake City’s enviable status as an important and discerning cultural destination, Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) is offering seven productions for its 62nd season which not only celebrate canonical contemporary classics but also inflect them with just enough twists to stimulate fresh perspectives for … Read more

Plan-B Theatre’s 11th Free Elementary School Tour production to highlight Squeak by Tito Livas; Sept. 9 public premiere at Repertory Dance Theatre’s Ring Around The Rose

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Early in Tito Livas’ new play, Squeak, the main character tells the audience emphatically that they have a very active brain. “Sometimes I can’t control what I do or what I say because there’s SO MUCH GOING ON IN HERE and my feelings can be pretty big,” Squeak says. When Squeak feels overwhelmed, they imagine … Read more

Six resident companies in Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts set for Aug. 26 Mix Tape offering of their artistic strengths

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Formerly known as Rose Exposed, the annual fast paced one-hour show of the six resident companies in the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts has been rebranded as Mix Tape, frankly a better title for the event. The show will go on Aug. 26 at 8 p.m. at the Jeanné Wagner Theatre in The Rose. … Read more

Great Salt Lake Fringe wraps up 9th edition with solid shows, award winners; four Fringe shows set to present at Utah Arts Alliance’s inaugural Wild Wild Westside Arts Fest this weekend

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The Great Salt Lake Fringe (GSLF) festival completed its ninth edition, on strong notes. The event found its ideal bearings in three venues at the Alliance Theater, which is connected to the Utah Arts Alliance, at Trolley Square. Representing both weekends of the festival, 1,225 tickets were sold, generating some $13,080 in ticket sales. In … Read more

A summer rom-com in a new urban park setting in Salt Lake City: Meanwhile Park presents world premiere of Matthew Ivan Bennett’s From June to August

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There has been a heartening trend in the last five years or so, thanks to small theatrical groups in Salt Lake City and elsewhere in the state who have been enterprising in pop-ups, site-specific productions, outdoor venues and places where a proscenium is unnecessary. There have been productions in retail spaces such as a chocolate … Read more

First weekend of Great Salt Lake Fringe at Trolley Square sets festival pace: Reviews of Canyon Country, Bedtime Stories, The Bacchae, Savage Resources, Roxie Hart Syndrome

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With one weekend down and one more to go, the ninth Great Salt Lake Fringe (GSLF) festival sold 723 tickets in the first weekend and, if the trend of previous years follows, sales will pick up substantially when the shows resume Friday through Sunday, Aug. 4-6 in the three venues at the Alliance Theater, which … Read more

Just how well informed are you?: SLAC’s Summer Show: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood takes audiences on a bristling tour of zeitgeist in Utah’s news cycle

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For those planning to attend Salt Lake Acting Company’s (SLAC) Summer Show: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, it would be wise to be up on all dimensions of Utah’s contentious, quirky, even bizarre, news cycle. Written by Olivia Custodio and directed by Cynthia Fleming, augmented by excellent dramaturgical material provided by Latoya Cameron, the … Read more

Ninth edition of the Great Salt Lake Fringe has new home at Trolley Square in Alliance Theater venues

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For its ninth edition, the Great Salt Lake Fringe (GSLF) festival has a new home at the Alliance Theater, connected to the Utah Arts Alliance, at Trolley Square.  The move signals the best opportunities to ensure Fringe shows will have access to the ideal professional technical capacities for producing top quality shows, according to Jay … Read more