Review

Something from Everything leads current excellent array of exhibitions at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art

by

Five excellent exhibitions, including an outdoor public art installation, are currently on view at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA). The Utah Review highlights each one below. Something from Everything (through Jan. 3, 2026) With works curated from 19 artists which incorporate mundane, discarded, routine, and overlooked materials and objects, Something From Everything is … Read more

Great Salt Lake Fringe closes on highest notes in its 11-year history: awards, payouts, reviews

by

The 11th Great Salt Lake Fringe (GSLF) is in the books. Once again, the venue of the Alliance Theater, connected to the Utah Arts Alliance, at Trolley Square, was ideal for this event, along with the MadKing Fellowship Theater at The Gateway. This year’s edition with 23 shows was the strongest in quality and writing … Read more

A very good first weekend at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival: second weekend starts July 31 at Trolley Square, The Gateway

by

The first weekend of the 11th Great Salt Lake Fringe (GSLF) is in the books and the numbers look good: as of yesterday, current sales stood at $16,615. Audience numbers reached more than 1,000, with more than 900 tickets sold and complementary tickets included.   Shows for the second weekend resume July 31 and run through … Read more

Morag Shepherd’s brilliant My Brother Was A Vampire set this weekend for special engagement at Great Salt Lake Fringe, before heading to Edinburgh Fringe

by

In the updated, slimmer, far more terse version of Morag Shepherd’s two-hander My Brother Was A Vampire, only occasional wisps of the crisp, tart and sardonic banter between Callum and his sister Skye from the earlier version remain. Played by actors Tyler Fox and Ariana Farber who are considerably older than the two actors who … Read more

Salt Lake Acting Company’s The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive is the finest, tightest summer show in recent memory

by

This year, the devilishly astute and enlightened triumvirate of writers behind the exceptional The Secret Lives of the Real Wives in the Salt Lake Hive, Salt Lake Acting Company’s (SLAC) summer show, reached deep into the spice cabinet, ensuring that the 2025 edition mogged its predecessors. Hands down, SLAC now has the secret formula for … Read more

A pair of outstanding one-act world premieres at Meanwhile Park: Andrea Berting’s Red Devil; Nathan Johnson’s Vacation

by

Just one weekend remains in Meanwhile Park’s world premiere production run of two one-act plays: Andrea Berting’s Red Devil and Nathan Johnson’s Vacation.  Only limited availability remains for tickets. The production runs through July 20. Meanwhile Park, which is near the Herman Franks Dog Park, opens at 8:30 p.m. on performance nights, and the shows … Read more

Art in its finest bad-ass form: Les Chingones at Material Art Gallery signifies cultural power, resistance, excellence

by

No question, the current U.S. presidential administration is trying its damndest to erase and eradicate a pluralist society that long ago  successfully synthesized a monumental diaspora of Latin American, Indigenous and Hispanic cultural legacies which have constructed localized identities that have effectively developed, controlled and disseminated their narratives crossing back and forth across political, cultural, … Read more

Taiwanese artist Lu Wei’s impressive intellectual exploration of Mestiza consciousness rendered appropriately in Entering into the Serpent at Ogden Contemporary Arts

by

It is impressive to recognize how some artists become fluent in and even translate and incorporate distinct and faraway languages of the visual arts so quickly and respectfully within a short time into their work. And, they accomplish the utmost sensitivity to embody the original meaning of a particular visual art language in translated forms … Read more

Torrey House Press series: Witty and absorbing, Dallin Kohler’s PYRO: The Quest for a Beautifully Elusive Snake brings readers wonderfully into the world of herpetology

by

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth in an ongoing series of features highlighting authors and new books published by Torrey House Press in Utah.  “Publish or perish” is still the operating mantra for any budding scientist. From Meridian, Idaho, Dallin Kohler understood the assignment as a herpetologist seeking to establish his credibility in his chosen … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2025 Feature Profile: 22nd Fear No Film set with 78 short films representing 15 countries

by

EDITOR’S NOTE: For preview coverage of the 49th Utah Arts Festival, which runs June 19-22, The Utah Review is presenting individual or group profiles of artists, performers, entertainers and some newcomers to the event. Visitors will also see the first significant change of the last 15 years in the festival map. There are several new … Read more