We often do not think of the stories about pioneers and settlers in the American West in the context of the aftermath of violence and the trauma of coping with the indelible markings of witnessing violent incidents that occurred more frequently than what we might have perceived. We do not imagine the repeated hammering effects … Read more
In the stupendous world premiere Plan-B Theatre production of Camille Washington’s Oda Might, there are so many brilliantly executed moments of foreshadowing. Early in the play, the Patient (Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin) says she could sleep through group sessions and “daydream about the crowds on the J train.” Reminiscing about how she lost “half of her virginity” … Read more
Countermeasures is an apt title for a piece of music. The term typically refers to political or military tactics or to a biological instinct of nature where plants and animals respond to a threat or combat danger. Like authors, composers sometimes struggle with titles. “My working title initially for this piece was ‘Four for the … Read more
“They chose well,” Stephanie Stebich, executive director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), says, in an interview with The Utah Review, of the paintings the Utah Museum of Fine Arts staff chose as loans made possible by two innovative programs established to share works from the nation’s most prestigious art collections. Given that UMFA had … Read more
For the second year in a row, Ballet West opens their season with works from renowned choreographer George Balanchine. Noted in the ballet world as a modern-day genius, this year’s Ballets Russes features a triple bill of his most significant early works created for the Ballets Russes in France. Imagined when Balanchine was in his … Read more
The world that Amali Wilson is about to experience as an adolescent who has just begun her menstrual cycle is, on one hand, a turbulent one marked by police brutality, sexual assault, discrimination and disenfranchisement. On the other hand, it is a resilient, vibrant one where Black women are at the forefront socially, politically and … Read more
At the center of Cole Sax’s short documentary Second Sight, the story of Virgilio and Joanly Lahioan and their four children in the Philippines eloquently conveys the human impact of broad questions that researchers have sought to answer by empirical evidence. Does poverty perpetuate poor health? Does poor eye health deepen poverty? How and why? … Read more
Continuing a month of free, public screenings dealing with big issues, two documentary films along with talkback sessions – one on white nationalism and the other about the traumatic impacts of child abuse – will be presented by the Utah Film Center. They are the award-winning White Right: Meeting the Enemy (2017), directed by Deeyah … Read more
HONG XU: GINA BACHAUER INTERNATIONAL PIANO FOUNDATION It was a perfect homecoming for Chinese pianist Hong Xu, who opened the 2019-2020 season series of concerts for the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation. Xu, who won the bronze medal at the 2001 Bachauer competitions at the age of 17 in Salt Lake City, returned last week … Read more
PLAN-B THEATRE FREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TOUR (FEST): FLORA MEETS A BEE The sense of feeling borrowed can become alienation. In Morag Shepherd’s Flora Meets A Bee, the latest play in Plan-B Theatre’s successful Free Elementary School Tour (FEST) program, Flora, 8, is committed to making her new friendship stick. In one scene, Flora recalls seeing … Read more