Repertory Dance Theatre’s Flying Solo concert film stands out in season of virtual, streaming productions

A modern dance artist’s solo is more than an opportunity to demonstrate technique. It offers a rare moment for the individual artist to command the stage: to present their inner persona in ways that transcend the kinetics of the company ensemble performance. Repertory Dance Theatre’s (RDT) latest concert film Flying Solo stands out as the … Read more

Torrey House Press’ recent spate of releases in nonfiction, fiction, essays, poetry underscores breadth and depth of fresh perspectives

EDITOR’S NOTE: Part II of The Utah Review’s feature package on Torrey House Press’ 10th anniversary offers a roundup of reviews about THP’s recent releases in 2019 and 2020. For Part I, see the centerpiece article. As Torrey House Press (THP) begins its second decade, the press continues to ramp up its pace for new … Read more

Pygmalion Productions’ virtual world premiere of Catherine Filloux’s White Savior is generous, satisfying fare in tense post-election period

In Catherine Filloux’s newest play, White Savior, a Black journalist’s tweet goes viral and tees up the right dose of tension to anchor the story’s acute contemporary relevance. The tweet reads, “White savior complex distracts organizations from seeing the fundamental flaws of human rights law.” It accompanies a video clip of Jean, a human rights … Read more

Dreamscapes exhibit at The Gateway perfect backdrop for enterprising new show The Carousel by SONDERimmersive

Dreams are the unifying universal driver of our human existence. Carl Jung, as he explained in The Collective Works, wrote that dreams “put on the likeness of that more universal, truer, more eternal man dwelling in the darkness of primordial night. There he is still the whole, and the whole is in him, indistinguishable from … Read more

Music for Nina, latest release by Matt Starling, is absolutely glorious manifestation of pure musicality embedded in structure of loops

In music, the structure of loops is fascinating for its meditative and blissful potential. In 1963, just a year prior to the release of one of his most famous compositions (In C), Terry Riley used tape loops to create music for the avant-garde play The Gift, which was being staged in Paris. Riley used recordings … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series presents transfixing Rising Tide film featuring Fry Street Quartet, scientist Robert Davies, music by Laura Kaminsky, magnificent artistic visuals

In the last decade, many performers and creative producers have risen to articulating the dimensions of human sustainability and vibrancy when it comes to speaking up about climate change and other major environmental impacts. The diverse spectrum of examples continues to proliferate in all genres of music. In July 2019, the band The 1975 released … Read more

Salt Lake Acting Company presents Utah premiere of Working Theater production, American Dreams, smart virtual show that gets many things right about immigration

In a different immigration system, a Palestinian chef, a Pakistani cartoonist and a Mexican army medic, who came to the U.S. as a child but was deported as an adult because he lacked updated documents, would have an easier time settling in the country. Prior to the last major overhaul of the U.S. immigration system, … Read more

Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts opens Growing Rocks exhibition, featuring stunning intersecting expressions of ceramic science, art by Brad Evan Taylor; annual gala announced

In the realm of materials science, researchers, engineers and specialists strive for perfection in the materials they study. If there are defects or failures, especially as they test and stress the materials to assess their strength and durability, those instances often lead to unexpected discoveries, sometimes in the most creative and technical ways possible. Artists … Read more

How the Utah Film Center has elevated the drive-in movie experience above its nostalgic renaissance, with pop-up locations in Salt Lake City, Midvale, Alta

By the 1960s, drive-in theaters already were on the retreat, thanks to the growing number of multiplexes, the dominance of television and a broader trend of declining movie attendance. Depending on one’s perspective, drive-ins either were described as “passion pits” for young lovers or inexpensive nights out for families with children who often fell asleep … Read more

A bit of romance on Library Square: Sackerson’s Cherry Wine in Paper Cups a magnificent little gem of live outdoor theater

Sometimes, love and romance are fantastical tales of immortal connections reignited through the experience of reincarnation. There also is the mystifying sense of love at first sight. And, then there is déjà vu, that sensation we are familiar with in our dreams but also some of us have experienced it in real life when we … Read more