I Wanna Hold Your Hand: 9th annual Rose Exposed goes virtual with six companies hitting the nail on the head in these pandemic times

There always is something soothing in the familiar pop strains of such Beatles classics as I Want to Hold Your Hand, the 1963 hit that truly brought the British quartet to its fame with American audiences. Unfortunately, when one washes and sanitizes their hands, the immediate impulse to touch, however, is constrained by social distancing … Read more

Presenting: Super Cat and Reptile Robot a bright, exuberant virtual addition to Plan-B Theatre’s superb FEST program

Never underestimate a child’s resourceful imagination. Cass, who is just shy of turning 10, becomes Super Cat. Cass’ best friend, Ray, who already has turned 10, is Reptile Robot. Together, they battle Captain Squid and Octo-Baby. During their sleepover, Cass and Ray learn a lot more from each other about what it really means to … Read more

Expanding the theatrical library during the pandemic: Plan-B Theatre adds 7 short plays from Utah theatrical artists of color to the national Play At Home initiative; its free, public app

One of the most formidable challenges in the COVID-19 pandemic, where live productions have ground to a near-complete standstill, is to keep the engine of creating new work going, especially when it still is unclear when the performing arts will return to an appreciable state of producing work. One national project has been the #PlayAtHome … Read more

Outstanding quartet of new short plays drive successful premiere of Plan-B Theatre’s Radio Slam; free app now available to listen to performances

Now that all four new short plays from Plan-B Theatre’s Radio Slam have premiered in KUAA (99.9 FM) broadcasts, the company is making available recordings of them free and open to the public via its new mobile app, which can be downloaded here. Each play runs approximately 10 minutes. The project was coordinated with KUAA (99.9 … Read more

Plan-B Theatre’s Radio Slam to feature four world premiere short plays in daily KUAA-FM broadcasts, May 5-8

Radio always has been a resilient medium in extraordinary times. The COVID-19 pandemic is no different. Results from a recent Nielsen Audio survey show that 83% of consumers are listening to radio more frequently and extensively. Characterizing radio as a “local lifeblood,” Brad Kelly, managing director of Nielsen Audio, says, “In this environment, it’s no … Read more

Live blog and review: Troll presented by Plan-B Theatre, KUER-FM’s RadioWest

Listen live at KUER-FM’s RadioWest, and click on the ‘listen live’ icon in the upper right hand corner. The show will be rebroadcast today (Dec. 13) at 7 p.m. and will be available in the RadioWest archives. For a preview of Radio Hour Episode 13: Troll, written by Matthew Ivan Bennett and produced by Plan-B … Read more

Unconventional comedic holiday season treat: Plan-B Theatre, KUER’s RadioWest plan live broadcast premiere of Radio Hour Episode 13: Troll

NOTE: On Thursday, Dec. 13, at 9 a.m., The Utah Review will live blog the only live performance of Radio Hour Episode 13: Troll, produced by Plan-B Theatre and KUER-FM’s RadioWest program. Tune into KUER-FM 90.1 and follow The Utah Review during the broadcast. Four years ago for the Halloween season, Plan-B Theatre’s Radio Hour … Read more

Plan-B Theatre’s Good Standing is masterpiece of exceptional incisiveness; Matthew Greene play heads to NYC United Solo Festival

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

Original video game idea turned into a play, Plan-B Theatre’s Zombie Thoughts slated for Utah schools fall tour

At 11, Oliver Grey Kokai-Means already can claim that a play he created and wrote with his mother, playwright Jennifer Kokai, is being produced and will be viewed by thousands over the next month and half in Utah. Zombie Thoughts is the sixth play of Plan-B Theatre’s Free Elementary School Tour (FEST), which takes the … Read more

Breaking News! 7th annual Rose Exposed to highlight The Rose’s six resident companies in premieres of thematically connected short works

We rely on skilled journalists and editors to make sense of a volatile news cycle. Forty years ago, Umberto Eco wrote about the artist who protests through form in The Open Work. In part, he suggested that the artist, while rejecting the current order and system, also accepts the world in its crisis terms. The … Read more