Backstage Utah » Backstage Review

Category Archives: Backstage Review

Syracuse City Art Council’s “Into the Woods” shows great community spirit

By | |
Comments Off on Syracuse City Art Council’s “Into the Woods” shows great community spirit

In reviewing this particular production of “Into the Woods,” it was apparent that the majority of the actors were newcomers to the theatre and I applaud these actors’ efforts in tackling challenging material as their first or one of their first productions… Continue reading →

Be Sure to Save some Money to Pay for RENT this month at Midvale Main Street Theatre

By | |
Comments Off on Be Sure to Save some Money to Pay for RENT this month at Midvale Main Street Theatre

I had the privilege of attending Saturday night’s production of “RENT” at the Midvale Main Street Theatre. I had never been to this theatre or a production of “RENT” in Utah before, so I was excited for the opportunity. “RENT” is a very popular production nationally, but is rarely performed in Utah, due to the subject matter and controversial issues that it addresses. However, “RENT” in a lot of ways is even more relevant to Utah audiences in light of recent political events and controversies involving LDS views on homosexuality, proposition 8, etc. The name “RENT” is an appropriate title for the piece—not only is it tender for living in a space (which is a central conflict to the plot, but it also means “torn apart”). Continue reading →

My Fair Lady, Just Loverly!

By | |
Comments Off on My Fair Lady, Just Loverly!

Spanish Fork gives us a classic community theater production with help from neighboring businesses, a large support staff, and a huge cast with a broad range of age, education, and experience. The auditorium of the High School was filled on opening night with family, friends, and neighbors. I happened to visit a friend who lives next to the school the following night and from the looks of the parking lot, there were just as many seats filled for that night. And for good reason. This is a great production! Continue reading →

Voyeur Gives Peek Into The Mormon Moment

By | |
1 Comment

Director, Cynthia Flemming, who is also the show’s choreographer, has assembled quite an impressive cast and crew and working together they put on one H-E-double-hockey-sticks of a show. The high level of energy, sustained throughout the three act musical parody, started the moment the first players stepped out onto the stage singing Our World and was still alive and kicking in the finale, Be Free. Continue reading →

Razzle me, dazzle me, baby!

By | |
1 Comment

Who needs 50 Shades of Grey or Magic Mike when they have Dark Horse Company Theatre’s Chicago? This musical, currently the fourth longest-running show on Broadway, is full of songs that pack a dark-humored punch. Its also one steamy show with lots of sex appeal. Continue reading →

Five Forever!

By | |
Comments Off on Five Forever!

I love Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women.” Perhaps it’s because I never lived with sisters, but as a young girl I was fascinated with the dynamics of this family, their different personalities, borrowing each others possessions, their frustration and love for each other. I am not, however, a big fan of classic literature being turned into musicals, especially when a new one seems to pop up every other day. In my home, “. . .The Musical,” is a term used with derision and mockery. So, with mixed feelings, I attended the Springville Playhouse production of Little Women: The Musical… Continue reading →

Wasatch Theatre Company presents Neil Simon’s “Chapter Two”

By | |
Comments Off on Wasatch Theatre Company presents Neil Simon’s “Chapter Two”

Chapter Two is inspired by Simon’s own second marriage, after the death of his first wife, and the grief he still felt for her. “Doesn’t sound like a comedy,” you say? And you would be right. It’s not the subject that’s comedic, it’s the writing of it. In fact, most Neil Simon plays I’ve seen are basically depression and angst wrapped in wit, which isn’t a bad thing. I will admit I’m wary of “auto-biographical” pieces. Usually the author finds them much more interesting than the rest of us. But Simon obviously loved his second wife very much because in Jennie Malone, he wrote a character that was surprisingly interesting. Continue reading →

Wive it Wealthily in Draper!

By | |
Comments Off on Wive it Wealthily in Draper!

For the hardcore theatre fan in Utah this is the time of year when thoughts are turning to the many works of one William Shakespeare and plans are being made to attend a certain annual festival named for the legendary bard, but this month you don’t have to travel all the way to Cedar City to get your Shakespeare fix, only as far south as Draper for the Utah/Idaho Performing Arts Company’s (UNIPAC) highly entertaining production of the Taming of the Shrew at the Historic Draper Theatre. Continue reading →

The Lesson of The Scarlet Letter

By | |
2 Comments

As you walk into the Studio Theater at the Rose Wagner Center for the Performing Arts, as with any play done in a studio space, you expect to see the set subtly lit with the stage lights, but you expect it to be vacant with the actors hiding backstage or in the wings waiting for the show to start. That’s not the case with Plan-B’s THE SCARLET LETTER, by Jenifer Nii (Adapted from Nathaniel Hawthorne). Yes, you see the set, subtly lit by the stage lights, but it’s not empty. Hester Prynne, played by Lauren Noll, stands defiantly at the top of the scaffold holding her baby bundled in a black cloth. Occasionally the baby cried or otherwise fussed, and she would attend to it. I heard one audience member say, “oh! She’s real” when Hester moved. Continue reading →

  • Subscribe to Backstage Utah

    Get the latest Audition, Now Playing, and Classifieds posts directly in your email.