One of the greatest hallmarks in 20th century choreography was a broad movement of multi-media dance compositions performed by the Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, Pilobolus and MOMIX. Influenced in part by the legendary choreographer Alwin Nikolais, these groups have honed elements including multimedia, costumes, music and lighting techniques. One example was Physalia, a … Read more
Published in 1820, Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow stands out as America’s first ghost story. The town’s residents enjoy telling stories of the supernatural and The Headless Horseman is among the most fascinating. The ghost of a Hessian mercenary hired by the British during the Revolutionary War who was decapitated by a cannonball, … Read more
Born in Massachusetts, the heart of New England where the American Revolution was born, pianist Mackenzie Melemed is 60% on his way to performing his recital tour Keys Across America in every state in the nation, which began last year and will continue through 2028. Expectedly, Melemed has selected an all-American repertoire for this tour. … Read more
Definitely a first for NOVA Chamber Music Series, Recuerdos Musicales (March 8, 3 p.m., Libby Gardner Hall) will feature Spanish, Cuban and Mexican music by composers from the diaspora, all of whom make for one of the richest chapters of music history to be represented this season at NOVA. Among them will be Manual Ponce … Read more
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