Clik here to view.
UTBA reviewers sound off: EXCELLENCE IN 2013
It’s been another busy year for UTBA. In 2013 we reviewed 223 productions—our second-highest annual total. From Garden City to Ivins, our reviewers traveled the state to review plays in Utah. Below are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Have a carefree night of entertainment at THE FOREIGNER
WEST VALLEY CITY — There’s a difficult balance in the nature of comedy—striking the elevated levels of humor, while allowing the resonance of serious moments to properly take effect. I was wholly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fans and newcomers should enjoy Hale Centre Theatre’s LES MISERABLES
WEST VALLEY — I am sick of the musical Les Misérables. Having seen three other stage productions and the atrocious film adaptation, I have had enough of pathetic little Cosettes, recitatives, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
WV Hale’s ARSENIC AND OLD LACE slays audiences with laughter
WEST VALLEY CITY — Black comedy unfurls in fine form on the West Valley Hale’s stage, with it’s latest production of Joseph Kesselring‘sArsenic and Old Lace. Set in the 1940’s Brooklyn, this story...
View ArticleClik here to view.
MARY POPPINS soars at the Hale Centre Theatre
WEST VALLEY CITY — There is a scene in both the movie and the stage production of Mary Poppins wherein the title character pulls a series of large objects out of a seemingly ordinary carpet bag, much...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A lot to love in HCT’s SHE LOVES ME
WEST VALLEY CITY — I love romantic comedies. To me there is nothing quite so comforting than (re)watching my favorite rom-coms, stopping and rewinding scenes over and over. True, I enjoy other genres...
View ArticleClik here to view.
UTBA reviewers sound off: EXCELLENCE IN 2014
December is full of annual traditions, and at UTBA our favorite is our yearly blog post about the excellence we saw on the Utah stage during the year. In 2014 UTBA reviewed 200 productions, which means...
View ArticleClik here to view.
WV Hale Theatre’s IS HE DEAD? slowly comes to life
WEST VALLEY — Is He Dead? is an intriguing historical artifact. Written by legendary write Mark Twain in 1898, it wasn’t until the 2003 that the piece was finally published as a novel. A few years...
View ArticleClik here to view.
GHOST THE MUSICAL never comes to life
WEST VALLEY CITY — Based on the 1990 Oscar Award winning romantic drama film, starring Patrick Swazye, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg, Ghost the Musical is fresh off of Broadway in its first Utah...
View ArticleClik here to view.
OVER THE RIVER & THROUGH THE WOODS serves up laughter and memories
WEST VALLEY CITY — In Over the River and Through the Woods 29-year-old Nick Cristano (played by Alex King) has dinner at the home of his maternal grandparents, the Gianellis, every Sunday. Also...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An unfulfilling reinvention of OKLAHOMA! at the West Valley Hale
WEST VALLEY CITY — Producing a classic play can be a challenge for theatre artists. An inherent tension exists between the creative impulse to do something new and audience members’ expectations of a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BIG FISH is big fun!
WEST VALLEY CITY — Big Fish is an adventurous story full of every element a good writer could hope to include. Written by John August, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, the musical tells of love...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A noble effort to save THE PIRATE QUEEN
WEST VALLEY CITY — A woman ahead of her time, Grace O’Malley is her own woman. Whereas other women in 16th century Ireland are expected to keep house and care for their families, Grace sails the seas...
View ArticleClik here to view.
You’ll never want to grow up with PETER AND THE STARCATCHER
WEST VALLEY CITY — Everyone loves an origin story. However, I have to admit, I am getting a little tired of seeing Batman’s parents getting killed outside of a theatre over and over again, a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A beautiful BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Hale Centre Theatre
West Valley City – Beauty and The Beast is a tale most are already familiar with. Belle, a beautiful girl, lives in a small French village with her inventor father. Gaston, a brutish but popular man,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Charming holiday cheer in A CHRISTMAS CAROL
WEST VALLEY CITY — The Christmas Carol has been a popular story for over 170 years. It has the magic of Christmas, the human condition, redemption, family, love, kindness, unrequited romance, it’s a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
UTBA reviewers sound off: Excellence in 2016
The social media consensus is that 2016 was a rough year for America. With a surplus of celebrity deaths and a chaotic presidential election, many people are ready to put 2016 behind them. But the Utah...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Nerd out with HCT’s THE NERD
WEST VALLEY CITY — For years a colleague of mine has been telling me how hilarious The Nerd, by Larry Shue, is. I recently had the opportunity to watch The Nerd at Hale Centre Theatre and I have to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A “wonderful, wonderful day” at SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS
WEST VALLEY CITY — Seven Brides for Seven Brothers has long been a favorite musical for me, so I was excited to have the opportunity to review the Hale Centre Theatre’s production of it, directed by...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A vibrant JOSEPH…DREAMCOAT at Hale Centre Theatre
WEST VALLEY CITY — Most active members of the Utah theatre community have had more than one opportunity to memorize the particularly famous list of 29 colors attributed to one amazing dreamcoat....
View Article
