Jerry Rapier

A prized chamber theater jewel: Outstanding acting invigorates Plan-B Theatre’s production of Melissa Leilani Larson’s Bitter Lemon

by

The two actors in the fabulous Plan-B Theatre production of Melissa Leilani Larson’s Bitter Lemon persuade the audience to reconsider Shakespeare’s Macbeth, not just as a chronicle about the fatalistic machinations of power but also as the moral conflict about good and evil. This conflict is manifested in Larson’s character creations of Lady Helen Macduff … Read more

Enemy fiction: Melissa Leilani Larson’s Bitter Lemon set for Plan-B Theatre’s (sort of) world premiere this week

by

In February, Plan-B Theatre mounted a world premiere production of Balthazar, Debora Threedy’s fresh reimagining of The Merchant of Venice’s Portia. As The Utah Review noted at the time, Threedy’s play is a well-crafted piece of fan fiction. In her two-hander script, she successfully sustained the broader integrity of Shakespeare’s literary world while reconfiguring characters … Read more

Plan-B Theatre’s 11th Free Elementary School Tour production to highlight Squeak by Tito Livas; Sept. 9 public premiere at Repertory Dance Theatre’s Ring Around The Rose

by

Early in Tito Livas’ new play, Squeak, the main character tells the audience emphatically that they have a very active brain. “Sometimes I can’t control what I do or what I say because there’s SO MUCH GOING ON IN HERE and my feelings can be pretty big,” Squeak says. When Squeak feels overwhelmed, they imagine … Read more

A perfect trinity of playwright, actor, company: Revival of Jenifer Nii’s Fire!, about Wallace Thurman, set for Plan-B Theatre production run

by

FIRE . . . flaming, burning, searing, and penetrating far beneath the superficial items of the flesh to boil the sluggish blood. FIRE …  a cry of conquest in the night, warning those who sleep and revitalizing those who linger in the quiet places dozing. FIRE . . . melting steel and iron bars, poking … Read more

With strong performances, Melissa Leilani Larson’s Mestiza, or Mixed, is outstanding season closer for Plan-B Theatre

by

After a long talk with Alex, her girlfriend, Lark seems she can barely stay afloat, wondering if she will ever find success as a filmmaker. She speaks to her absent Filipino father: “It makes sense, Dad. That you wanted to fit in. The westerns are all about this idea of finding a place to belong … Read more

A mixed Filipina filmmaker adrift about her identity in American society: Melissa Leilani Larson’s Mestiza, or Mixed, set for Plan-B Theatre premiere June 9-19

by

In Melissa Leilani Larson’s newest play Mestiza, Or Mixed, thirty-something Lark Timon is a struggling filmmaker hoping to make a big break with one of her six screenplays. Lark, who identifies as a mixed Filipino female, believes her script set in the American West is a sure bet. Lark describes her female protagonist as Reyna, … Read more

An unsurpassed, extraordinary opening night performance for the premiere of Carleton Bluford’s The Clean-Up Project, Plan-B Theatre’s newest production

by

Just slightly past the midway point of the opening night performance in the world premiere of Carleton Bluford’s The Clean-Up Project, it was evident that another Plan-B Theatre production was having the usual very good opener. Bluford’s script, about a swift revolution that has transformed the country and flipped the power structure, is complex in … Read more

Free Plan-B Theatre offerings of Radio Hour Episode 15: Sleepy Hollow, Alli and #3 signify strengths of two of company’s outstanding programs

by

RADIO HOUR EPISODE 15: SLEEPY HOLLOW For Plan-B Theatre’s Radio Hour series, in addition to his original science fiction episodes, playwright Matthew Ivan Bennett has penned outstanding adaptations of Frankenstein, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s only Christmas-themed short story The Blue Carbuncle.  But, his latest adaptation, which premiered last week in … Read more

A socially conscious theater in full bloom: Plan-B Theatre’s Local Color audio production ends 30th season on outstanding note

by

Take the title of one of the four short plays in the premiere audio production of Local Color, and a listener can appreciate the organic commitments that Plan-B Theatre has made in bringing original plays that reflect a more genuine sense of the creative place at the core of the Utah Enlightenment. For closing out … Read more

Plan-B Theatre set to close out its 30th season with Local Color, featuring works by playwrights in its Theatre Artists of Color Writing Workshop

by

In the final show — a quartet of short plays — to close out its 30th anniversary season which has featured audio productions, Plan-B Theatre highlights two strengths that emphasize the small company’s leadership in producing original work with incisive timeliness and relevance. From playwrights in Plan-B’s Theatre Artists of Color Writing Workshop come four … Read more