There has been a heartening trend in the last five years or so, thanks to small theatrical groups in Salt Lake City and elsewhere in the state who have been enterprising in pop-ups, site-specific productions, outdoor venues and places where a proscenium is unnecessary. There have been productions in retail spaces such as a chocolate … Read more
With one weekend down and one more to go, the ninth Great Salt Lake Fringe (GSLF) festival sold 723 tickets in the first weekend and, if the trend of previous years follows, sales will pick up substantially when the shows resume Friday through Sunday, Aug. 4-6 in the three venues at the Alliance Theater, which … Read more
For its ninth edition, the Great Salt Lake Fringe (GSLF) festival has a new home at the Alliance Theater, connected to the Utah Arts Alliance, at Trolley Square. The move signals the best opportunities to ensure Fringe shows will have access to the ideal professional technical capacities for producing top quality shows, according to Jay … Read more
Sometimes, a feel-good musical comedy reminds us that the ideal of everyone dancing together at a concert, festival or school prom has not yet fully materialized. In Hairspray, segregation is the barrier but Tracy Turnblad’s bountiful optimism in hoping that everyone of all identities can dance on The Corny Collins Show prevails. In The Prom, … Read more
Welcome to the 16th episode of the Radio Hour series as part of Plan-B Theatre’s partnership with RadioWest, hosted by Doug Fabrizio on KUER-FM (90.1). Today, during the live RadioWest Friday broadcast, which begins at 11 a.m., The Case of the Missing Dog by Brandan Ngo will receive its premiere. For fans of The Naked … Read more
NOTE: On Friday, May 12, at 11 a.m., The Utah Review will live blog the world premiere of Radio Hour Episode 16: The Case of the Missing Dog, 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. In a writer’s skillful hand, bumbling characters … Read more
As Lane Richins’ good-hearted play Near Mint opens on the Pygmalion Theatre Company stage, the sunny mood signals that ‘Cracker’ Jack Patterson, retired pro baseball catcher, feels his life is pretty close to ‘near mint’ condition. It is 1988 in California. With his best friend, Pepper Crawford, they host a popular AM radio show for … Read more
Even quick research will show that many of the stretching and relaxation classes that go by the name of yoga in the U.S. barely resemble the religious yoga practices of a devout Hindu. But, there also are other implications of stripping away Hindu and Vedic elements from contemporary yoga. The Hindu remains an inscrutable foreign … Read more
The regular sign off on the fictitious Cracker Jack and Pepper Radio Show neatly summarizes the theme of Lane Richins’ new play Near Mint: “Thanks for joining us, and remember, baseball isn’t life, but life’s no good without baseball.” Along with the radio show, Pepper Crawford helps run her best friend’s baseball card shop. Her … Read more
The script for Jenifer Nii’s Fire!, the one-actor show which is in the middle of a sensational run in the Plan-B Theatre production, is so exquisitely crafted in the precise rhythm of the playwright’s language that it becomes magic in the hands of a gifted actor. Reprising a role that he performed 13 years ago, … Read more