Ahead of Plan-B Theatre’s world premiere of Darryl Stamp’s Dumbed Down, which will open this week, audiences should be mindful to see the story not arising primarily from the familiar (and lazy) trope of the school-to-prison pipeline, but to see it on a broader sobering scale of a messy education system with impacts that are … Read more
Puer Aeternus translates from Latin into eternal boy, a mythological description of an eternally young child-God. All children, except one, grow up. In J.M. Barrie’s timeless classic, Peter Pan’s eternal youth is preserved and in both the play and novel the author wrote, Peter teaches the Darling children to fly, thanks to sparking their imagination … Read more
The third concert of this season in UtahPresents’ jazz series turns the spotlight on two Cuban-born musicians who came from the legendary musical pedagogy of their homeland: Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez. Discovered by his mentor Quincy Jones at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Rodriguez studied at the classical music conservatory in Havana, mastering keyboard works … Read more
Every family has rules that deal with how emotions are expressed, which may or may not be helpful especially when something radically changes the status quo or when grief enters the picture. If the family member who has died was cherished for how they communicated to another family member, the loss likely makes it more … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: Part II summarizes the films and programs from Sundance 2026 that are part of The Utah Review coverage. For Part I which is an overview of the state of the film industry in Utah, see here. About this year’s Sundance festival, Geralyn Dreyfous, the principal cofounder of the Utah Film Center as well … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: Part I is an overview of the Utah film industry in the current moment. Part II offers a summary preview of the Sundance 2026 films, which The Utah Review will cover. See here. It is a bittersweet opening to the Sundance Film Festival which will continue through Feb. 1, with in-person premieres in … Read more
Continuing its 62nd season. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company brings back the programming concept of Traverse, a collection of world premieres, including works by award-winning guest artist Annie Rigney and four current company dancers (Luke Dakota Zender, Fausto Rivera, Sasha Rydlizky, and Miche’ Smith). While the venue is the Jeanné Wagner Theatre in the Rose Wagner Center … Read more
Percussionist and composer Brian Blume said in a 2017 concert talk, “I think that, by nature, percussionists are tinkerers. We are explorers.” In the Cambridge Companion to Percussion, Adam Sliwinski wrote that percussionists are “curators of sound.” In the world of classical chamber music ensembles, string quartets have many encyclopedias of masterworks to consider. Meanwhile, … 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
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