PYGMALION THEATRE COMPANY: SWEETHEART COME One of the most extraordinary renderings of Emma Hauck’s story came in 2000 with In Absentia, a 19-minute film made by Stephen and Timothy Quay. The BBC commissioned the short film as part of a series matching filmmakers with music selected by BBC producers. The Quay Brothers already had chosen … Read more
There are many reasons why the sleeper hit comedy Napoleon Dynamite (2004) deserves to be the pride of the Utah film industry. Directed by Jared Hess and written by Hess and his wife Jerusha, it has become a timeless pop culture staple featuring authentic characters and tropes who epitomized the high school scene that remains … Read more
The Red Desert ensemble, the duo project of clarinetist Katie Porter and composer/percussionist Devin Maxwell, organized one of the most interesting public jam session concerts to happen recently in Salt Lake City. Joining forces with numerous local musicians, Westminster College students, and University of Utah students from Radical Quiet, Phillip Bimstein’s honors college course about cultivating a heightened … Read more
Many florists and horticulturists associate metaphorical themes with flowers and plants. Indeed, in every spring bloom, there is a unique significance: friendship, perseverance, patience, enthusiasm, honesty, unconditional love and affection, rebirth, dignity, strength of character, trust, just to name a few. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company delivered all of these blooms in a magnificent bouquet in its … Read more
In 1931, as the Great Depression’s grip tightened, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the obituary for the flimsy age of roaring confidence and youth-driven abandon that had been “jolted” out of existence when the stock market crashed in 1929. In an essay titled Echoes of the Jazz Age, he wrote, “It was an age of miracles, … Read more
Repertory Dance Theatre’s (RDT) Voices concert capped an unforgettable expression of diversity and inclusion for its 53rd season. However, before delving into the specifics of the rich, subtly emotional dynamics of the Voices performances, a broader context is essential. The theme of Manifest Diversity came full circle with Voices. In the season’s first concert last … Read more
For a critic who sees the creation of art, in its broadest terms, as framing difficult questions that pull us out of our comfort zones, creative expression that is fearless in taking risks becomes the most meaningful to consider. In Utah, we put a premium on civility, politeness and gentility that tacitly signals restraint – … Read more
Within the first three minutes of the exceptional documentary Intelligent Lives, the viewer is introduced to the film’s two most important themes. The first dismantles the narrow yet long accepted perceptions of measuring intelligence that have done more damage than good in gauging a person’s meaning or value to their community. The second strikes down … Read more
NOVA CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES’ ODYSSEY With Odyssey, its most recent Gallery Series concert, NOVA Chamber Music Series once again flexed its perfectly tuned muscles, by curating intellectually inspiring music from two Pulitzer Prize winning composers: the Israeli-born Shulamit Ran (1949-) and Steve Reich (1936-), who unquestionably has influenced the direction of American classical music more … Read more
Wendy Burger is as definitive a character could be for the young person living in the remote hinterlands of a state like Utah who finds the empowering comfort zone of the theater as the perfect home for a budding confidence in her sexual identity. She is the lead character in Julie Jensen’s 2003 play Wait!, … Read more