Utah Shakespeare Festival Launches Culture and Community Initiative 

By Liz Armstrong, guest writer

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is pleased to announce a renewed goal of celebrating being a vibrant community space that honors varying perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences through a Culture and Community initiative.

Spearheaded by Artistic Director John DiAntonio, the Culture and Community initiative was created in order to remain focused on making sure that every person at or coming to the Festival feels included, seen, heard, and valued. 

“Our culture and community work is at the heart of who we are as a company. The staff and board crafted a new statement in the spirit of founder Fred C. Adams and the legacy he began more than sixty years ago,” DiAntonio said. “I hope everyone feels welcome at the Festival—just as I did when I was first greeted by Fred on The Greenshow lawn nearly twenty years ago.”

Part of the statement is as follows: 

“The Utah Shakespeare Festival remains committed to being a gathering space for connection and shared ideas. The Festival strives to foster a culture of respect, kindness, curiosity, and collaboration among artists, audiences, and staff. Grounded in the timeless works of Shakespeare and other playwrights, we celebrate the richness of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.”

Ongoing Culture and Community initiatives are currently taking place in the following categories: Accessibility, Artistic Practice, Company Culture, Facilities and Housing, Education and Community Engagement, Human Resources and Hiring Practices, and the Culture and Community Committee.

Some of these initiatives include offering ASL-interpreted, open captioned, and sensory-friendly performances; regularly evaluating the stories the Festival tells and the voices elevated on stages; fostering an environment that welcomes diverse ideas and perspectives; and maintaining and improving equitable housing options for company members. 

The addition of the Culture and Community Committee will help ensure that Festival productions and experiences are accessible and welcoming to all patrons, company members, and community members and will include rotating members from different departments, seasonal staff, and the Board of Governors. The committee will advise staff, support implementation, and help prioritize future initiatives. 

For more information on all listed initiatives and the full culture and community statement, visit our Culture and Community page. 

“Storytelling has the power to engage, uplift, and transform,” DiAntonio continued. “This culture and community work strengthens our bonds—not only among artists and staff, but with the communities we serve—and ensures the Festival remains a vibrant, relevant, and inclusive space for all.”

To be a part of this transformative power of storytelling, the Festival invites you to participate in the 64th season, going now through October 4. Visit bard.org for more information on this season’s lineup and activities.

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to Perform Twelfth Night at Utah Shakes

Next week the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) from London is bringing a group of recent graduates to perform a touring production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, as part of a strategic partnership between the two theatre organizations.

The ninety-minute version of the play will be presented from July 29 to August 2 at 9:30 each morning in the Anes Studio Theatre located at the Beverley Center for the Arts.

“Each year, Festival patrons have asked me, ‘When is RADA coming? We love attending the Festival during that time so we can also see their performances!’” says Executive Managing Director Michael Bahr. “This is an excellent opportunity to see high quality work performed by one of the world premiere actor training institutions.”

The RADA training program boasts a number of exceptional alumni that have seen success as actors, including Cynthia Erivo, Alan Rickman, Allison Janney, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes, Tom Hiddleston, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Perhaps the next RADA “star” may just be on the Festival stage this summer.

In its sixth year, the partnership between the Festival and RADA includes a commitment to present the annual RADA touring production at the Festival and to work to hire at least one RADA student or graduate in the Festival acting company each season.

The idea for the artistic exchange program began in 2019 when a friend of the Festival mentioned he had seen a very strong production of RADA’s Hamlet. That conversation soon expanded into a strategic partnership between the two theatre companies where one of RADA’s Shakespeare for Young Audiences touring groups would bring a show to the U.S. During the school year, this program performs specially-adapted Shakespeare plays for school children all over London.

Touring to Cedar City gives Festival audiences the chance to see the art of contemporary Shakespeare from the Bard’s homeland and the actors have an opportunity to connect with the Festival and its people, programs, and productions. 

During the previous five years, this has been a wonderful opportunity for the Festival to expand its artistic horizons and collaborate with one of the most prestigious training academies in the world.

“The RADA collaboration brings a refreshing surge of creative energy to our season each August,” says Artistic Director John DiAntonio. “We’re honored to showcase the work of these exceptionally talented young artists as part of our dynamic repertory lineup.”

Bahr agrees: “We are so grateful for the relationship that we have been able to develop and share over the last five years. It serves as a testament to the artistic and educational commitment of both RADA and the Festival. It is a wonderful cultural exchange between artists, audiences and organizations!”

Tickets are $20 and are available by visiting the Ticket Office, calling 800-PLAYTIX, or purchasing online at bard.org/plays/rada-2025.

Festival Welcomes New Marketing Manager

By Kathryn Neves, guest writer

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is pleased to welcome MaKaylee Cole as the new marketing manager. Bringing with her a strong background in communications and a passion for storytelling, Cole plans to expand the reach of the Festival’s marketing, and to deepen the connection between the Festival and its audiences.

Originally from Lehi, Utah, Cole moved to Cedar City to attend Southern Utah University, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communication and a minor in Graphic Design. Her interest in marketing began in high school, while working at a family-owned print and copy shop. “That experience sparked my passion for the creative and strategic aspects of communication,” she said, “which led me to pursue a degree in the field.”

Since graduating from SUU, Cole has managed marketing campaigns for a range of clients, particularly in Cedar City; from local businesses to authors and thought leaders, her work focuses on helping clients to define their voice and grow their audiences. Her time in Cedar City, both as a student and as a digital marketing manager, has well-equipped her to connect with the Festival’s audiences and the local culture.

“While I was at SUU, I learned about the Festival and its deep connection to both Cedar City and the University, and only heard amazing things,” she said. “When I saw this job opening, I was thrilled. I could feel the culture, love, and passion everyone had for the organization. I knew I wanted to be a part of it.”

As marketing manager, Cole has several goals moving forward, including brand recognition, revenue growth, and patron engagement. “Overall, I want to continue to support the goals of past and current years,” she said, emphasizing the Festival’s values of connection and growth. “I’d love to carry some of those ideas into future projects and campaigns.”

Cole is eager to dive into her new role and become a part of the Festival family. “I honestly can’t choose just one thing that excites me most,” she said. “Just having the chance to be in the room is exciting.” With her experience and creativity, as well as her love for Cedar City, she’s poised to build meaningful connections—with the audiences, the artists, and the community that makes the Utah Shakespeare Festival so beloved.

To Bard or Not To Bard: Festival Introduces New Junior Bard Program

By Kathryn Neves, guest writer

This summer at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, our youngest patrons will have an exciting new opportunity to look forward to—the Festival’s Junior Bard program! Inspired by the National Parks Junior Ranger program, this fun-for-all-ages activity quest will give young theatre-lovers a chance to dig deeper into Shakespeare, the Festival, and the magic of theatre.

“The idea came about in a staff meeting where we were brainstorming ideas to really connect with our community,” said Festival Education Director Stewart Shelley, “especially children and youth—as they are the rising generation of theatre patrons.” Shelley noted that one of the most common questions he hears in the Seminar Grove is the question of community outreach, specifically toward youth: What are we doing to connect with the younger generation? The answer: lots! From the annual Shakespeare Competition to the Shakespeare in the Schools education tour, from student summer camps and classes to initiatives with local students, education and youth outreach has always been a high priority at the Festival. And with this new Junior Bard program, children will have a fun, free, and accessible way to dive deeper into the Bard as they visit the Beverley Taylor Sorensen Center for the Arts.

The program is centered around an activity booklet, which young guests can fill out and enjoy in order to earn a Junior Bard pin. With acrostic poems, coat-of-arms design, word scrambles, and interviews about the Festival Experience (to name just a few!), the program is designed to take participants on a journey through the Festival itself. 

To earn the pin, participants must complete as many activities as they are years old (guests twenty-five or older are invited to complete the whole booklet). “It invites participants to become more actively involved in the Festival Experience,” Shelley said, highlighting the play orientations, seminars, and backstage tours. “We are hopeful that it will highlight the many different experiences one can have at the Festival, in addition to seeing the plays.” Once the booklet is complete, participants can be sworn in as Junior Bards and receive their pin after play orientations at 1:15 pm and 6:45 pm in the Balcony Bards Seminar Grove.

In preparation for this summer’s program, Shelley worked with Festival Creative Director Clare Campbell on the design of the pin. Then he reached out to a pin vendor to print the pins for program participants. “I had a delightful interaction with him. He commented that he takes his son to Shakespeare in the Park at his home on the East Coast; and after seeing the pin and learning who we are, he said his son would be thrilled to participate in a program like this,” Shelley said. “I am excited to send him a booklet and pin for his son, and to invite them to Utah to join us.”

The Festival’s education department looks forward to the connection, community-building, and fun that this new program will provide. “This is an opportunity for our guests to interact face-to-face with Festival staff, and explore the Beverley Center and our theaters on a deeper level—perhaps with a different lens than they have in the past,” Shelley said. “It provides a different and new opportunity to learn more about Shakespeare’s plays, the theatre, and the welcoming and warm community that we share here at the Festival.”

This summer, be sure to pick up a free booklet at the Ticket Office, in the Engelstad gift shop, or in the Festival administration offices, and earn your commemorative pin while you’re here. Whether you’re solving a word scramble before Macbeth, or designing a mask during The Greenshow, the Junior Bard program invites the young––and young-at-heart––to dive deeper into their Festival Experience. With a season of some of the Bard’s best hits and other contemporary favorites, it’s the perfect time to discover the magic both on and offstage. 

For questions about the Junior Bard program, email usfeducation@bard.org.

Regency Ball is Coming

Back by popular demand, you are cordially invited to attend a delightful evening of elegance, charm, and revelry at the Festival’s Regency Ball. Join us Thursday, July 17, from 5 to 7pm, following the matinee performance of The Importance of Being Earnest. This special event, hosted by Festival board member Andrea Golding, will take place in the stunning Gilbert Great Hall on the campus of Southern Utah University.

Step into the refined world of the early 19th century as guests learn authentic Regency-era dances, enjoy light hors d’oeuvres, and celebrate in the spirit of a bygone era—one that might have shaped Lady Bracknell in her youth. (Yes, we know Earnest is set in a later period, but surely even Oscar Wilde would agree: any excuse for a ball is a good one.)

Formal or themed attire is not required, but it is most enthusiastically encouraged—dust off your gowns, cravats, and gloves if you wish to embrace the full experience.

Tickets are $50 and may be purchased online (click here) or by contacting the Ticket Office at (800) PLAYTIX. Don’t miss this enchanting Festival tradition!

Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise First Look

Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise previews on July 11, officially opens July 12, and runs through October 4 in the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre. Members of our artistic teams have been busy behind the scenes—designing the hair, makeup, and costumes that transform each performer seen here in this first glimpse.

Costume design by Jeffrey Lieder. Hair and Makeup by Fox Snead. All photos by Karl Hugh.

Tickets available at bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.

Dear Jack, Dear Louise, Dear Friend

By Ryan Paul, guest writer and Festival Orientation/Seminar Moderator

Summer 2025

Dear Friend,

I hope this message finds you well. They say that letter writing is a lost art, and you know how I feel about losing things, so I thought I would give it a try. I ran into an old friend, Ken Ludwig, you may remember seeing one of his plays on one of our many summer excursions to the Utah Shakespeare Festival. In 2016 we saw his adaptation of The Three Musketeers and in 2007 we enjoyed the rousing musical adaptation of his Tony Award-winning Lend Me a Tenor.

As Ken and I were catching up, I mentioned my recent visit to London where I had seen the WWII-themed musical Operation Mincemeat and the song that I could not get out of my head, with the line “Why did we have to meet in the middle of a war? What a silly thing to do.” Excitedly, he told me that he had written a play along those same lines, titled Dear Jack, Dear Louise. The play chronicles the fictionalized meeting of his parents during WWII. His father was a military doctor from Pennsylvania and his mother was a showgirl from Brooklyn. His parents “met through letters, courted through letters, and finally his father proposed by letter.” He mentioned that a play written as “a series of letters during World War II seemed like one truthful way to express their unique and wonderful relationship.”

In the play, the two characters, Jack and Louise, begin corresponding at the request of their fathers. The play and their relationship unfolds through their letters. As they begin to learn more about each other and the challenges of trying to meet in person during the war, their relationship grows, and of course, is tested, and not just by distance. Through their correspondence, we get to meet a variety of other characters including roommates, family members, and military officers. Each of these people help define the relationship between the two letter writers. 

As Jack and Louise continue their correspondence, the writing moves from formality to a closeness that belies the fact that they have never met in person. This thought has me pondering the meaning of connection. In our modern society, one of digital and sometimes impersonal communication, what does it mean to connect with someone? Sure, we can look them up on social media, but how true is that really?

There is visceral and physical impact of putting pen to paper, but, I suppose, there is still the lingering notion that my message to you could be read by somebody else. Unlike our conversations in the Seminar Grove, letters––while meant to be private––rarely are. I wonder if John and Abigail Adams or Harry and Bess Truman ever thought that their private letters would be published for anyone to read?

It seems to me the notion that we as the audience are “listening in” to the private conversations of Jack and Louise and are hoping and rooting for their success, even when it looks as if it may never happen, is an intentional way of connecting us to the story of these two young people who met in the middle of a war. As Ken was describing the play I had a sudden realization that I had never really thought much about the youth of my own parents, that they were young once. What a love letter Ken has created to his parents who were married over 50 years!

Imagine my surprise when I found out that our beloved Utah Shakespeare Festival is producing Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise this summer in the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre. This is a perfect space for this play! In other exciting news John DiAntonio and Caitlin Wise, who performed as Petruchio and Katherina in last season’s The Taming of the Shrew have been cast as Jack and Louise. What fun it will be to see them together again on the stage. (And a bonus: they are real-life husband and wife too!)

As you know, I devoutly believe that both history and theatre are intimately connected. Ultimately, they are both about story, those things that motivate us, connect us, and bind us together as a wonderfully diverse and expanding society. Please, my friend, let us continue our story this summer at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. I hope to see you in the Grove and as always, in the words of the great American poet Bill Withers, “I wish you well.”

Yours, 

Ryan

P.S. References to a friendship with Ken Ludwig are fictional and used for dramatic purposes. This is the theatre after all. -R.P.

Steel Magnolias First Look

Steel Magnolias previewed on June 21, officially opened on June 28, and runs through October 4 at the Randall L. Jones Theatre. Members of our artistic teams had about seven weeks to prepare this show for audiences, designing the wigs (so many wigs!), makeup, and costumes that transform each performer seen here in these studio photos.

Steel Magnolias costume design by Lauren Roark. Wigmaster Dana Rochester. Assistant wigmaster Brittany McDowell. All photos by Karl Hugh.

See the rest of their work on our Randall L. Jones stage this season. Tickets available at bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.

Steel Magnolias: Exploring Humor and Self-Expression to Cope with Difficulties

By Liz Armstrong, guest writer

Theatre has long been a form of expression that captures the essence of the human experience. Since possibly as early as 2500 BCE, it has been a way to help both performers and audiences cope with the challenges and difficulties of life.

But the creation and writing of a play itself can be just as therapeutic. This is especially true for playwright Robert Harling with his play, Steel Magnolias. For him, writing the play served as a cathartic process while he struggled to cope with the passing of a loved one. 

In 1985, Harling’s sister Susan Harling-Robinson passed away from diabetic complications after the birth of her son, and the transplant failure of a family-donated kidney.

Harling’s friend encouraged him to write to help him come to terms with the death of his sister. The playwright not only did this to help process his own grief, but hoped it would give his nephew an understanding of his deceased mother.

“I desperately needed to celebrate [my sister], my mother, and the loving community of neighborhood ladies that had supported them through good times and bad,” Harling wrote for Garden and Gun.

He was an actor at the time, and what originally was going to be a short story developed into a play, where Harling explored themes of coping. Through the play, he illustrates the various ways in which the characters deal with the hardships they encounter. 

Set in a hair salon, the women of Steel Magnolias share their lives and laughter with each other. 

“I don’t trust anybody that does their own hair. I don’t think it’s normal,” Truvy, a character in Steel Magnolias, says. 

This humor was based on Harling’s own sister. 

“She had an ability to turn a phrase that could make you laugh and cry at the same time,” Harling said.

The characters in Steel Magnolias lean on humor throughout the play as a coping mechanism, representing what Harling’s own family did before and after Susan’s death.

“Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion,” Truvy says*.* According to Harling, it seems that was Susan’s favorite emotion too. 

Written in just ten days, the play not only served to honor Harling’s sister, but lives on as a symbol of resilience for all those who experience the story. It portrays the indomitable tool of using humor, love, and friendship to find the strength to move forward, especially when doing so seems impossible. 

The play has shown its own form of resilience, with people still quoting, performing, and enjoying it nearly 40 years later. 

One of Harling’s most famous quotes from Steel Magnolias is: “I’d rather have 30 minutes of wonderful, than a lifetime of nothing special.” 

Originally opening off-Broadway, the national tour launched in 1989 and hit the West End in London the same year.

In 2005, Steel Magnolias made its Broadway debut. It was also adapted for the well-known film of the same name, starring Julia Roberts, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as the character Shelby. Steel Magnolias was adapted again as a film in 2012. 

Since its debut, Harling said that he knows of seventeen authorized translations of the play, having seen it performed in Japanese, Chinese, French, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian, demonstrating its ability to transcend languages and cultures. 

One thing Harling has learned throughout the popularity of his work: beauty parlors are universal. But even more universal, though, is the theme of the strength of female friendships and humor despite all odds.

To see this touching play, visit bard.org to purchase tickets. Steel Magnolias opened June 28 and runs through October 4 in the Randall L. Jones Theatre.

Utah Shakespeare Festival Opens 64th Season

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is excited to announce the opening of its 64th season. After months of preparations and six weeks of an intensive build process and rehearsal schedule, the Festival welcomes patrons to experience another wonderful season of live theatre, now through October 4. 

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is a professional theatre, hosted on the campus of Southern Utah University and was started in 1961 by the late Fred C. Adams and his wife Barbara. 

“Fred will always be remembered as a passionate visionary who saw Cedar City and the university (College of Southern Utah at the time) as an ideal home for a world-class theatre,” says Executive Managing Director Michael Bahr. “Because of the town’s history with putting on plays, its connection to the works of William Shakespeare, and its location near some of the most beautiful recreation destinations in the country, Fred knew the Festival could be a thrilling addition to the campus and community.” 

Today, with a year-round administrative staff of 30, a seasonal staff of over 200 theatre professionals, and a volunteer base of 350 local residents, the Festival welcomes over 100,000 guests to the annual productions each year. 

From Shakespearean masterpieces to laugh-out-loud comedies and modern favorites, this season offers something for everyone. The lineup includes William Shakespeare’s dark and tragic Macbeth, the historical romance (and rarely-performed) Antony and Cleopatra, and the pastoral comedy As You Like It in the outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. 

In the beautiful indoor Randall L. Jones Theatre, audiences won’t want to miss the witty and touching Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling*,* the Tony Award-winning musical comedy A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder by Steven Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman, and the Victorian satire The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. 

In the intimate Anes Studio Theatre, patrons can enjoy the World War II love story Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise, a week-long traveling production of Twelfth Night by the students of London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) at the end of July, and two new plays––one of which is Lauren M. Gunderson’s Muse of Fire––for the annual Words Cubed staged reading new play program during August. 

“All of these productions represent the very best––and sometimes the most challenging––parts of all of us,” comments Artistic Director John DiAntonio who oversees each show from hiring the directors and casting to ensuring finishing touches are complete before the curtains rise and audiences show up. “We are thrilled to celebrate these stories and these artists, and welcome everyone to experience the power of live theatre.”

In addition to the plays, other opportunities referred to as the Festival Experience ensure that audiences’ participation goes beyond––and sometimes behind––the stage. A variety of seminars, pre-show orientations, Backstage Tours, Repertory Magic, classes, camps, and more aim to enhance patrons’ understanding of Festival productions and the process of repertory theatre. And no evening at the Festival would be complete without attending The Greenshow. Bring the whole family for this free 30-minute celebration starting at 7:10pm, Monday through Saturday, where everyone is invited to sing, dance, and play along.

Tickets are on sale now! Visit bard.org, call 800-PLAYTIX, or visit the Ticket Office for more information and to reserve your seats.