2025 Season in the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is excited to announce its shows and directors for the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre and The Greenshow for the 2025 season. “We are thrilled to share with you these amazing titles and artists who will head our Shakespeare productions and popular Greenshows for our sixty-fourth season,” says Executive Managing Director Michael Bahr.
With Shakespeare as our cornerstone, the Festival is excited to produce these three amazing stories, all very different from each other and one of which hasn’t been done here for nearly twenty years. Get ready to immerse yourself in the Bard’s works!
By William Shakespeare
Directed by John DiAntonio
Preview on June 16, 2025
Opens on June 19, 2025
Last produced in 2019, Macbeth––one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies––tells the story of a Scottish general who receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become king. Fueled by ambition and encouraged by his power-hungry wife, Macbeth embarks on a ruthless path of destruction and betrayal to seize the throne.
The Festival’s Artistic Director John DiAntonio will make his directorial debut here. He was previously seen at the Festival in 2024’s The Taming of the Shrew as Petruchio. Prior to coming to Cedar City, he was the producing artistic director at Creede Repertory Theatre. Additional acting and directing credits include the Denver Center Theatre Company, The Arvada Center, and Cleveland Shakespeare Festival. He received his MFA in acting from the National Theatre Conservatory and also attended the British American Drama Academy. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
“I hope your thumbs are pricking because something wicked this way comes,” DiAntonio says. “The performances, set, costumes, lighting, sound, and overall feel of Macbeth will be immersive and haunting. Prepare yourselves for the gripping, horrifying, and seductive story you know, but expect to see it with new eyes. This play will touch a nerve for every audience member whether they are 12 or 89 as they journey through the personal cost of treachery. I couldn’t be more honored to be directing this play!”
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Carolyn Howarth
Preview on June 17, 2025
Opens on June 20, 2025
The Festival is committed to continuing their Complete the Canon initiative (which is almost finished!) with this tragedy by Shakespeare, which was last produced in 2006, almost 20 years ago. It portrays the passionate and tumultuous love affair between Mark Antony, a Roman general, and Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt. Set against a backdrop of political intrigue and warfare, their relationship faces challenges that ultimately lead to misfortune.
Carolyn Howarth, who previously directed The Winter’s Tale in 2024, spent 14 seasons at Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Her work has also been seen at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, and Foothill Theatre Company where she served as artistic director. She earned her BA and MFA from UC-Davis and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
She says: “I’m so excited to tell this epic story about the first celebrity power couple––two titanic personalities, superstars in their empires, modern day equivalents of rock and roll idols––swept up in a thriller with political intrigue, military strategy, and ever changing alliances. The characters swerve from jubilation to jealousy, paranoia to fury. It dances around the conflict between passion and duty, expectations and failure, and ultimately comes down on the side of love, perhaps showing us the essence of what makes us human. I think USF audiences are going to fall in love with the play as much as I have and really respond to the abundant humor and pathos.”
As You Like It
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Beth Lopes
Preview on June 18, 2025
Opens on June 21, 2025
In this beloved comedy last seen at the Festival in 2017, Rosalind flees persecution in her uncle’s court and seeks refuge in the Forest of Arden, disguised as a young man. Through a series of mistaken identities and humorous encounters, love blossoms amidst the captivating forest setting.
Beth Lopes was last at the Festival as an assistant director in 2010. She also spent ten seasons with New Swan Shakespeare Festival where she was associate artistic director. Her work has also been featured at South Coast Repertory, San Antonio Shakespeare in the Park, and Theatre Horizon. She received her MFA from UC Irvine and is a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).
“I’m delighted to return to Utah Shakes to direct the magnificent adventure that is As You Like It,” she says. “Brimming with humor and heart, As You Like It is an ode to love, freedom, and the resiliency of the human spirit. I’m thrilled to be spending this time with USF’s audiences in the magical and transformative Forest of Arden.”
ON THE GREENSHOW STAGE
The Greenshow
Written and Directed by Britannia Howe
Previews begin June 16, 2025
Opens on June 19, 2025
Prepare for delightful summer evenings of stories, music, and dance with three new shows on the green. Written and directed by Festival veteran Britannia Howe, who has helmed The Greenshow five times before, these shows are the perfect way to spend time with family and friends before the mainstage shows.
The themes for the three 2025 Greenshows are inspired by the three Shakespeare shows in the Engelstad.
First, inspired by the setting of Macbeth, Scottish night with Highland Games will be an evening of strength, competition, and fun as performers and audience join in exciting challenges like tug-of-war and shot put.
Next, the Mariner Greenshow celebrates through sea shanties, adventurous tales, and the comedic retelling of Antony and Cleopatra.
Third, the Mountain Wilderness Greenshow is set in the woods reminiscent of As You Like It, where love letters adorn trees and Americana folk tunes fill the air.
A Cedar City native, Howe grew up attending the Festival. She earned a MFA in directing from Illinois State University and has directed at Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, and with the Utah Symphony. She was awarded a national directing fellowship from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.
We are busy planning this coming season. Be sure to get your tickets during our Cyber Monday sale on December 2 and join us in 2025 for a season of mischief, friendship, and love. For more information visit bard.org or call the ticket office at 800-PLAYTIX.
