Let’s be honest. There is no better season for farce than the holidays at the end of the year. Ask any host who envisions the perfect holiday gathering only to see it unravel, thanks to clashing egos or the chaos of personal drama and fragile relationships. Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) has wisely chosen farce as … Read more
It would be a very easy task to find examples that counter the assertion of the existence of one truth. In the history of civilization, it often has been assumed that how we inscribe, connote or annotate every experience will lead to a single correct definition or interpretation, thereby negating every other possibility. For instance, … Read more
For Ballet West dancers, the company’s historic production of The Nutcracker is more than an annual holiday tradition. For many, it is a proving ground. It is sort of a report card for dancers who are ready to expand into more prominent performing roles not just in The Nutcracker but also in the company’s internationally … Read more
In between pieces in Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT)’s sensational Ovation production, Nicholas Cendese, a former RDT dancer who is now executive/artistic co-director for the company, talked briefly about the company’s 60th anniversary as an occasion to celebrate its “luminous pinnacle.” Indeed, this phrase encapsulated the astonishing quintet of commissioned works, including two gorgeous world premieres, … Read more
In fashioning complicated characters that encourage audiences to handle more than one thought about a person in their minds, playwright Jen Silverman has always deftly handled themes of isolation, paranoia and loneliness well while suggesting larger social epiphanies in her stories. That certainly is the case in The Moors (2017) and the latest Voodoo Theatre … Read more
For many years, I have been moved by the blue at the far edge of what can be seen, that color of horizons, of remote mountain ranges, of anything far away. The color of that distance is the color of an emotion, the color of solitude and of desire, the color of there seen from … Read more
A celebration of commissioned works, including two world premieres, is set for this week’s blockbuster Ovation production by Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT). As part of its 60th anniversary season, the five works for Ovation constitute one of RDT’s most technically and stamina demanding programs in recent seasons. Just as dynamic as the company’s mission to … Read more
PYGmalion Productions Theatre Company’s Utah premiere production of Tiny Beautiful Things, which is based on the bestselling book by Cheryl Strayed that was adapted for the stage by Academy-Award nominated screenwriter and award-winning actor Nia Vardalos, is a charming delight of chamber theater, with a quartet of actors who give the audience a soothing respite … Read more
The juxtapositions of music by Bach and Grammy-nominated composer Shawn Okpebholo, in the upcoming concert Sacred Spaces, as part of NOVA Chamber Music Series current season, are wisely chosen. Distance for cello and marimba (2016) and Two Black Churches (2020 by Okpebholo will receive their Utah premieres, running parallel to two Bach cantatas, Liebster Jesu, … Read more
Continuing its lead up to celebrate its 50th anniversary next spring, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation will feature the 1978 gold medalist from its International Artists Piano Competition in a Nov. 14 solo concert featuring music by Bach, Liszt, Beethoven and Chopin. The concert will take place at 7:30p.m. in the Jeanné Wagner Theatre … Read more