Unlikely couples are a staple of great literature. Take Benedick and Beatrice in Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, who constantly battle each other and then, of course, Beatrice commands Benedick to kill his friend to demonstrate his passion to her. In the genteel Victorian era, we have Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, who appear in … Read more
At one point in Good Standing, certainly among the top three original plays ever produced by Plan-B Theatre, Curt (played by Austin Archer), facing the 15 men who will decide if he should be excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because he married a man, tells us there are no secrets … Read more
Five years ago, when Matthew Greene’s first play was produced by Plan-B Theatre, Adam & Steve and the Empty Sea centered on how two characters (Steve, a young gay man, and Adam, whose Mormon mission was cut short by illness) in California develop a close friendship then struggle to preserve it as they come of … Read more
NOTE: This is Part II of reviews of shows from the 2018 Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. For Part I, see here. Austin Archer’s Marty Has Cancer – Prufrock Productions Every performance of this play sold out or had standing room only, which likely makes it one of the most successful productions ever presented at … Read more
“He not only started to doubt America, but he started to doubt himself. He started doubting the gift that Allison claimed he was born with. She had first whispered that word a year and half ago, that strange, sacred word, she had whispered it into his ear one morning, and it had sent thrill and … Read more
When the play Jump opens, the audience is enjoying the pithy, rapid banter between Erick, the young confident skydiver (Matthew Sincell), and Phil (Darryl Stamp), a 60-year-old first-timer, as they prepare for the fateful jump from 12,000 feet above the ground. The audience laughs as Erick tries to ease the nerves of Phil, who rattles … Read more
Nearly nine years ago, Shirley Dygert, then in her mid-50s, went on her first tandem jump at the Skydive Houston drop zone in Texas. Her husband, who had plenty of thrilling experiences of his own as a cliff diver, stayed on the ground to photograph his wife’s first jump. As a 2014 Sports Illustrated feature … Read more
Being a conservative in the arts has also been great for me because those in the arts give me a full environment to hear other perspectives. Being close to those with different viewpoints has opened my mind and sometimes changed it (and sometimes reinforced it), but either way it’s been an expanding experience. I sometimes … Read more
NOTE: This is Part Two of a series about Plan-B Theatre, which offers a glimpse of the four new productions for the 27th season. For Part One, see here. “We want a beginning of the story. And we go as far ahead in the future as we can. We want an end to the story. … Read more