Pioneer Theatre Company closes season with Mamma Mia!

The cast of Mamma Mia!, courtesy of PTC

Opening on Mother’s Day weekend, Pioneer Theatre Company’s production of Mamma Mia! is a true celebration of strong female relationships in dual dimensions—part disco musical and part women’s anthem. Featuring music and lyrics by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, Mamma Mia! the musical has been seen (and heard) by more than 60 million people … Read more

Downtown SLC becomes a unique stage for Hindsight, a new play by Sackerson, 3 Irons

Look at any display ad touting a city’s downtown district. The images focus less on a venue such as a restaurant, shop or bar than on the people’s faces. It is about the convivial, romantic experience of city life. The spaces of downtown are empty until they are filled with the stories of the people … Read more

Opening night audience goes batty over Utah Opera’s Die Fledermaus

courtesy of Utah Opera

Leave it to Utah Opera to close out its 40th season with the ultimate party opera. Filled with Champagne, duplicitous identities and disguises, Die Fledermaus drew hearty laughter and applause on opening night. Gracing the Utah Opera stage for the fourth time, Johann Strauss Jr.’s light-hearted operetta is sung in English with English supertitles. And … Read more

Spring review roundup: Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, NOVA Chamber Music Series, Samba Fogo, PYGmalion Productions

A busy spring season for many Utah based performing arts company has produced memorable performances. RIRIE-WOODBURY DANCE COMPANY: RETURN In Daniel Charon’s Return, the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company created a new realm of dance theater by imagining the six dancers aboard a starship on a galactic journey, one of the most conventional elements of science fiction … Read more

Utah Symphony presents an adventurous evening of Strauss

Utah Symphony’s tribute to Richard Strauss continues this evening with three pieces, all highlighting the talents of Utah Symphony’s own musicians. Presented as part of the O.C. Tanner Company Masterworks Series, the program featuring two of Strauss’ most popular tone poems and his Serenade for Winds with masterful storytelling through the voice of instrumental music. … Read more

Spy Hop Productions cultivates indispensable community roots as it launches campaign for new home

Indispensability can be a challenging concept to articulate, especially for nonprofit arts institutions in communities where the arts are seen as an amenity rather than as an absolute necessity. But then there are those institutions which build upon their most successful and visible programs to cultivate deeper roots in their communities by offering activities and … Read more

Shakespeare comes to life in Utah

Principal Emily Adams and Chase O’Connell in Jiří Kylián’s Return to a Strange Land. Photo by Beau Pearson.

The mere mention of Shakespeare-related live performances in Utah might lead readers directly to thoughts of the world-renowned Utah Shakespeare Festival held annually in Cedar City each summer and fall. Yet, this spring, Shakespeare was alive and well in the heart of Salt Lake City too. Pioneer Theatre Company produced Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night from March … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series closes its 40th anniversary season with a changing of the guard; music by Schubert, Messiaen, Lutoslawski

Some of Utah’s most accomplished musicians will gather May 6 to close out NOVA Chamber Music Series’ extraordinary 40th anniversary season with a concert highlighting familiar as well as not widely known works by Schubert and two giants of 20th century music – Olivier Messiaen and Witold Lutosławski. This spring concert highlights works by composers … Read more

Hamilton: NYC versus SLC

“Have you seen Hamilton yet?” It’s the question often heard around Salt Lake these last few weeks since the first touring production of of the Broadway musical came to town. “You and your words… You built palaces out of paragraphs, you build cathedrals” –Eliza In the Tony and Grammy award-winning musical created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, … Read more

Live blog and review: Stand presented by Plan-B Theatre, KUER-FM’s RadioWest

Listen live at RadioWest, and click on the ‘listen live’ icon in the upper right hand corner. Also, listen here. The show will be rebroadcast today (April 26) at 7 p.m. and will be available in the RadioWest archives. For a preview of Radio Hour Episode 12: Stand, written by Matthew Ivan Bennett and produced … Read more