INTRODUCTION It has been an enormous project to regain the spirited momentum that many arts and cultural organizations in Utah’s creative industries had amassed before the pandemic brought everything to a ground stop in the early spring of 2020. With resilience and durability exercised to their intrinsic advantages for respective organizations, many creative producers also … Read more
Justin Ivie’s consummate set design for Salt Lake Acting Company’s (SLAC) world premiere production of Elaine Jarvik’s Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet highlights large banner portraits of the four historical characters and the smaller portrait of Frederick Douglass. The shrouded body of Douglass lies in repose on a bier in the … Read more
Longevity of independent arts organizations in Salt Lake City is an encouraging marker of the local acknowledgment of the indispensability of community cultural and arts activities, especially given the metropolitan area’s compact size. The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art is celebrating its 90th anniversary. Ballet West will mark its 60th anniversary in 2023. Ririe-Woodbury Dance … Read more
Provocative comedy is an underappreciated, underutilized art form in Utah. The state’s social character and pop culture are sufficiently peculiar, offbeat and unusual to produce spot-on satires and farces. Some segments of Utah’s independent film industry (think of the HaleStorm comedies, for example) have aspired to achieve crossover appeal by highlighting weird, quirky aspects of … Read more
Peculiar yet approachable, alternating between effulgent and piercing, complex and elucidating, Audrey Cefaly’s play Alabaster on paper, at first glance, might not be the ideal candidate for a filmed theatrical production, especially as part of the National New Play Network’s Rolling World Premiere program. Alabaster’s intricately woven elaborate character textures make for ideal stage pyrotechnics … Read more
Spring 2021 news from three independent theatrical companies in Salt Lake City include a $1 million capital campaign, a fine update on the dinner theater genre and a video piece highlighting the multifaceted legacy of Utah women. SALT LAKE ACTING COMPANY: THE AMBERLEE FUND: ACCESSIBILITY ELEVATED Capital campaigns can be a formidable undertaking for small … Read more
INTRODUCTION One year ago, when The Utah Review presented the 2019 edition of the top 10 moments of the Utah Enlightenment, it was a jubilant representation of Utah’s integral strengths as a community of the arts and the momentum that catapulted Salt Lake City as one of the Intermountain West’s most dynamic centers for creative … Read more
In a different immigration system, a Palestinian chef, a Pakistani cartoonist and a Mexican army medic, who came to the U.S. as a child but was deported as an adult because he lacked updated documents, would have an easier time settling in the country. Prior to the last major overhaul of the U.S. immigration system, … Read more
Major anniversaries always call for big celebrations. For an independent performing arts company, a golden anniversary not only demands an extravaganza but it also is a moment to highlight the triumph of resilience in demonstrating to the community that local cultural enterprises are indispensable for elevating the social conscience and inspiring others to join creative … Read more
Several major arts organizations in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area have adapted their programming and classes to streaming and interactive platforms. Initial responses and numbers of participants also have been encouraging, indicating that arts and culture are just as essential (if not more so), even as regular routines have been upended by the coronavirus … Read more