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Continuing through July 27, Utah Museum of Fine Art’s Gateway to Himalayan Art, traveling exhibition by Rubin Museum, is extraordinary for its holistic multimedia impacts

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The traveling exhibition Gateway to Himalayan Art, which continues at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA)  through July 27, is extraordinary on several levels. The exceptional amounts of detail in traditional scroll paintings (thangka), sculptures, medical instruments and ritual objects are mesmerizing. Just as extraordinary are the equally meticulous installations outlining step-by-step lost-wax metal … Read more

Works from Within, Ballet West’s newest program, set to premiere this week, featuring world premieres choreographed by five company dancers

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When Adam Sklute joined Ballet West as artistic director in 2007, it had been nine years since the company had last produced any new work. But, that would change dramatically. For example, between 2011 and 2016, Ballet West presented 16 Utah premieres of works by past and present choreographers. By 2016, the company’s Innovations program … Read more

Absolutely delightful chamber theater acting animates PYGmalion Productions’ season closing production of Deborah Zoe Laufer’s Be Here Now

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In Deborah Zoe Laufer’s Be Here Now, the character of Bari epitomizes what an academic diet heavy in post-structuralist theory with oversized portions of Barthes, Derrida and Foucault can do in wreaking havoc on one’s psyche. However, as much as Bari wants to flex her intellectual prowess in the study of nihilism, she is at … Read more

Pioneer Theatre Company’s 63rd season closer, Waitress, puts the crowning touch on a string of outstanding musical productions

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It has been a banner year for musicals in Pioneer Theatre Company’s (PTC) 63rd season. There were the exuberant cavalcade of pop music excellence in Jersey Boys, roof-raising performances in Beautiful, The Carole King Musical and while not a musical per se, the two-hander Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins was … Read more

Utah Symphony’s percussionists and concertmaster Madeline Adkins among featured musicians for NOVA Chamber Music Series’ American Gamelan concert on May 4

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Percussionists have become a staple in recent NOVA Chamber Music Series seasons and the forthcoming American Gamelan season closer will illuminate the fact that while percussion orchestras might not be commonly found in Western music it is the quintessential practice in many world music cultures.  Two works will drive home the point. One is Lou … Read more

Two exhibitions at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art with strong sociological themes: Amanda Smith’s Trust Issues, Holly Rios’ I’d Like to Return This Body

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Two  current exhibitions at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) point to substantial sociocultural epiphanies:  Amanda Smith: Trust Issues (through May 3) and Holly Rios: I’d Like to Return this Body (through May 31). Visitors also are encouraged to visit the galleries for three shows featuring ceramic artists from the recent the National Council … Read more

Repertory Dance Theatre’s Deux puts the exclamation point on two dance masterpieces

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Closing out its 59th season with DEUX, Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT)  brought out two crown jewels from its extraordinary catalog with performances that once again put the exclamation point on why the company is heralded as one of modern dance’s most distinguished institutions.  Conditioned with stamina, grace and agility that would be the pride of … Read more

Plenty of exceptionally moving masterpiece moments in Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s season closing Re-Act

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At 2024 Sundance, two documentaries about artificial intelligence premiered that raised tantalizing questions about whether in some way or another, could we really live forever. In Love Machina, director Peter Sillen highlighted a head-and-shoulders robotic bust which unquestionably does not resemble the flesh-and-blood version of the individual upon which it was modeled but it also … Read more

Warhorses by Limón, Gotheiner set for DEUX, Repertory Dance Theatre’s 59th season closer

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Two warhorses from Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT)’s choreographic catalogue will highlight DEUX, the company’s closing production for its 59th season. In advance of RDT’s 60th anniversary season coming this fall, the company has presented works of landmark importance during the 2024-25 season. The two choreographers represented in DEUX are among the most significant in RDT’s … Read more

Escapist entertainment of the first order: Salt Lake Acting Company’s Bat Boy: The Musical is fiercely satisfying

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Remember when fake news was simply freakish entertainment? When the Weekly World News had run dry on its long streak of ‘Elvis Is Alive’ stories, editorial staff member Dick Kulpa came up with ‘Bat Child Found in West Virginia Cave.’ When the story ran in June, 1992, Weekly World News sold 975,000 copies.  Other ‘Bat … Read more