Many of the scenes in the documentary film Dogtown Redemption, representing the nickname for a western section of Oakland, California in the East Bay area, likely are familiar in many cities across the country, including Salt Lake City. Initially, Amir Soltani and Chihiro Wimbush, co-directors of the film, set out more than seven years ago … Read more
You’ve probably driven by the big white tent at South Towne Mall and seen the billboards advertising Odyesso long before it opened to the public in Utah last week. And the question on everyone’s mind is: is it worth the hype? Attending Odysseo on opening night with approximately 2,000 other spectators, I was pleasantly surprised … Read more
One of Utah’s most prolific, diverse composers with the wisest sense of musical egalitarianism returns on his latest recording release featuring 12 masterly executed tracks of cosmopolitan music performed by the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra (SLCJO). Henry Wolking also conducts the dozen works on In Sea, his debut album on Big Round Records, which … Read more
A federal bank examiner who is relocating from Chicago to San Francisco stopped by Caffe d’bolla in downtown Salt Lake City, based on the recommendation of a friend in Milwaukee. A young Utah man had budgeted carefully for one of his regular visits to the shop which has become one of the nation’s most respected … Read more
Early in her novel Alibi Creek, Bev Magennis, succinctly sets the place of her story: Tucked in a fold of the Mariposa Mountains, Brand had been overrun by unfamiliar faces, the locals showing their disapproval by shunning greetings, refusing to indulge in small talk, and forgetting names. Walker, however, saw this small, steady influx of … Read more
One of the many joys in Kingdom of Heaven, Plan-B Theatre’s first take on an original musical, is the set of songs that lift Jenifer Nii’s already substantive story about a dutiful, faithful Mormon housewife who comes to terms with a newly emerged part of her identity as a drag king performer. The songs are … Read more
The art of writing a good time travel story can be difficult to the point of confounding, tentative, and enigmatic. The pilot script for Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone series was titled The Time Element, concerning a man who is in therapy with a psychoanalyst. Serling’s script lay untouched for a year before producers decided to … Read more
There is much to celebrate in the frenetic vitality and in-your-face relevance of the punk ethos in Foster Body. The Salt Lake City band’s current lineup comprises Robin Banks and Korey Daniel Martin, both dynamic visual artists who also happen to be musicians, and Dyana Durfee and Jeremy Devine, well-respected musicians who are refreshingly comfortable … Read more
The February performance of Ballet West is historically a romantic production and this year’s premiere of John Cranko’s version of Romeo and Juliet is no exception. Most will be familiar with William Shakespeare’s telling of the long-standing feud between the Montague and Capulet families and what happens when young lovers from each family (Romeo and … Read more
A creative collaboration of two artists who have become prominent in the Utah Enlightenment will see their new short film screen this week at the 2016 Slamdance Film Festival as part of the Fearless Filmmaking shorts program. A dark, physical comedy running just barely six minutes, B+A is the work of Connor Rickman, his crew … Read more