"The Cry Is Still They Come"

By Liz Armstrong

“The cry is still ‘they come,’” said William Shakespeare’s Macbeth; but it could just as easily have been Utah Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Brian Vaughn as he recently announced the slate of directors for the Festival’s 2022 season. These creative and talented directors come to the Festival from home bases across the country and are already at work on putting together the Festival’s sixty-first season, which will run June 20 to October 8.

“Each of these directors brings a unique mixture of talent to the Festival,” said Vaughn. “I’m thrilled to welcome them and extremely excited to bring these productions to life.”

Cassie Abate will be returning to the Festival for the second time after directing The Pirates of Penzancelast year. This season, she will be directing The Greenshow. She was assistant choreographer off-Broadway for The Brain from Planet X at the New York Music Festival and has directed and choreographed at theatres across the country, including Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Barrington Stage, ZACH Theatre, Redhouse Arts Center, the Stephen Sondheim Center, and Theatre Workshop of Nantucket. She was also the associate choreographer for the world premiere of the new musical The World According to Snoopy.

As always, Abate says the three versions of The Greenshow this season will both honor the tradition of The Greenshow while bringing a new and fresh take on the event. “My goals for The Greenshow this year are to provide a fun, interactive, joyful welcome through song and dance,” Abate said. “I feel so honored to be a part of the beloved Greenshow and to add a tiny piece to their vast history.” 

Vincent J. Cardinal is returning to the Festival to direct the tragic King Lear after directing the hilarious comedy The Comedy of Errors last season. He has also directed Every Brilliant Thing and The Foreigner at the Festival. He has worked off-Broadway at Circle Repertory Company and at numerous other theatres, including Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Redhouse at City Center, Bucks County Playhouse, Theatre Aspen, Monomoy Theatre, and Cleveland Public Theatre.

Cardinal describes King Lear as “the story of a king who demands love and admiration and, through a series of epic reckonings, becomes a man who has earned love and respect” and adds that the play is one of the finest tragedies in the English language. “King Lear challenges all of us to make a production that tells the story clearly and honestly while being entertaining and moving,” he said. 

Brad Carroll has been a part of the Festival for seventeen seasons and this year is returning to produce Sweeney Todd. Past Festival directing credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 2019, as well as South Pacific, Anything Goes, Les Misérables, Spitfire Grill, H.M.S. Pinafore,andMan of La Mancha, among others. He was also the composer for the new musical Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical, which premiered at the Festival in 2007. He has worked at numerous other theatres, including PCPA, Utah Festival Opera, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and Anchorage Opera.

Carroll explained that he has wanted to direct Sweeney Toddfor over thirty years, and he is excited that it’s the first musical to ever be performed at an outdoor theatre at the Festival.  “Given its epic, Shakespearean nature —encompassing themes of innocence, betrayal, love, lust, humor, deceit, revenge, insanity, and murder—it is the perfect ‘first musical’ to take the stage in the Englestad Theatre,” he said.

Hunter Foster is working at the Festival for the first time in 2022, sitting in the director’s chair for the hilarious comedy Clue. He is the artistic director for the Redhouse Arts Center in New York, and he was named the 2018 Director of the Year, by the Wall Street Journal for his productions of 42nd Street and *The Drowsy Chaperone.*He has directed Cluebefore at the Bucks County Playhouse. 

Foster wants the audience to have a great time watching the play. “There is so much ridiculous humor, which is my favorite kind,” Foster said. “An escape like this is so necessary right now!”

Keenon Hooks will be making his Festival directorial debut with the immensely popular musical The Sound of Music, although he was the choreographer for last season’s Ragtime. He is originally from Los Angeles and got into the world of theatre when he began dancing in high school. He attended the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts and worked with Cabrillo Music Theatre, San Diego Musical Theatre, Long Beach Opera, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, Musical Theatre West, Noho Arts Center, and many more. He is also the conservatory director and co-founder of Studio C Performing Arts. 

Cameron Knight is returning to the Festival for his second year after directing the dark and tragic Richard IIIin 2021. This time, he will direct Shakespeare’s famous and beautiful romance, The Tempest. Originally from Flint, Michigan, Knight has worked in television, film, commercials, and voice-over. He has a growing number of directing credits (including work at Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, the Theatre School at DePaul University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Twelve Peers Theatre) and has taught at some of the most prestigious actor training programs in the country. 

Knight hopes that, through the play, the audience is provoked to conversation, to see each other a little more clearly and to hold on and listen to the ones they love. “This play is a great exploration of forgiveness and what can happen when we try to control the ones we love,” Knight said. “It asks us to explore what happens when we can’t let go of the negative events in our lives and we seek revenge.”

Melissa Maxwell will be directing at the Festival for the first time, helming Trouble in Mind. Maxwell started in the business as an actor, but has been directing for over twenty years and has spent many years specializing in new play development and directing world premieres, such as Tunnel Visionand Safe House. She is also a director, writer, educator, and motivational speaker. Maxwell is the co-associate artistic director of the Great River Shakespeare Festival and the director of professional development at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. 

“I love this play, and the history behind it is fascinating. It is a not-so-well-known classic that everyone should know,” Maxwell said. “It has many layers to it, and I am eager for us all to figure out exactly how this onion needs to be peeled.” 

Melinda Pfundstein will be returning to the 2022 season to direct Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well. Last season she performed the roles of Mother in Ragtimeand Margaret in Richard III. At the Festival she has also directed The Merchant of Venice in 2018 and The Book of Will in 2019. She has performed at the Festival a number of times, beginning in 1996, and is the founding executive director at StateraArts. She has acted across the country in a variety of theatres including Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, The Skylight, Lake Dillon Theatre Company, First Stage Children’s Theatre, and Nevada Conservatory Theatre.

Pfundstein emphasized the fact that not only is it a rare opportunity for the audience to attend this play, but that All’s Well That Ends Wellfeels relevant to our current time. “I am particularly interested in considering that there is nothing inherently good or bad, right or wrong with [the characters’] behavior—that it is just human,” Pfundstein said. “And therefore they are clumsy and imperfect and full of complexity. What if each of these characters is actually trying to do the best with what they’ve got?”

Delicia Turner Sonnenberg will be working at the Festival for her first time in 2022, directing the one-man play Thurgood. She is the founding artistic director of MOXIE Theatre and received the New Visions Award as well as the Craig Noel award for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Dramatic Production from the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle. She graduated from the New York Drama League’s Directors Program and was the recipient of the Van Lier Directing Fellowship. She has also received NAACP theatre awards and a Women’s International Center Living Legacy Award. 

Tickets are now on sale for the 2022 season and may be purchased by visiting bard.org or calling 800-PLAYTIX.

What We're Thankful For!

Photos from the 2021 season, top left then clockwise: René Thornton Jr. as Gower in Pericles*, a scene from* Richard III*, a scene from* The Comedy of Errors*, a scene from* The Pirates of Penzance*, Alex Keiper (left) as Jo Smith and Michael Doherty as Vyvian Jones in* The Comedy of Terrors*; Afua Busia (left) as Esther and Yao Dogbe as George in* Intimate Apparel*; Jasmine Bracey as Belarius, Constance V Swain as Imogen, Yao Dogbe as Posthumus, and Afua Busia as Pisanio in* Cymbeline*; and Daria Pilar Redus (left) as Sarah and Ezekiel Andrew as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in* Ragtime*. (Photos by Karl Hugh.)*

By Liz Armstrong

After a wildly successful sixtieth anniversary season in memory of our founder Fred C. Adams, everyone at the Utah Shakespeare Festival has much to be grateful for. With Thanksgiving right around the corner and the start of 2022 coming quickly, it is a time to reflect on the year and think about moments that made 2021 so memorable and that fill us with thanks. 

Here are some of the show-stopping moments we can’t stop thinking about from the season:

Pericles

An audience member commented on a post, praising René Thornton Jr.: “We were eager to see Pericles after hearing René talk about it in 2019,” said Lisa. “We loved seeing this play . . . and feel delighted and grateful that he led us through the story [as Gower].” 

Properties Director Ben Hohman’s creation of the creepy heads used in the play is forever burned in our memories. 

Richard III

“Richard’s villainy was so amazing to watch unfold,” said General Manager Kami Terry Paul. “I found new depths in our production of Richard III this year.”

When the ghosts of his victims returned to haunt Richard, all the family and friends he had betrayed—well, that moment still sends chills down our spines months later. 

The Comedy of Errors

A social media comment from Mandie read, “This show was beyond amazing. I think it’s my favorite that I’ve ever seen at the Festival! [And this is] a non-sponsored, ordinary person review.”

This play was a bright and hectic production, and we can’t get over the stunning 1970s costumes, adding to that colorful Greek island paradise. 

“I didn’t know Ephesus was a real place,” added audience member Melanie on an Instagram post. “If I ever go there I’ll be picturing ’70s fashion and rock-star conjurers.”

The Pirates of Penzance

“Cecilia Iole’s portrayal of Mable [was so memorable], especially her comedic vocalizing in ‘Poor Wandering One,’” said Company Manager Tracy Blackwell.

We can still hear the tap dance battle between the Pirate King and the Policeman—and the roar of laughter from the audience at this point in every performance!

Ragtime

“I was able to take my friend to see Ragtime,” said Development Assistant Emily Cacho. “The opening number and the Model-T number were so powerful. We were both sobbing by intermission and after the curtain had closed.” 

Coalhouse Walker Jr. holding his beloved wife after she died was heart-wrenching and unforgettable. This was an important and impactful play and it was scenes like this that were truly memorable. 

Cymbeline

“[One of my favorite moments from the season was] Belarus as a female character, which was beautifully performed by Jasmine Bracey,” said Blackwell.

Ahhh, and we can’t forget about the moment Constance V Swain—as Imogen dressed as Posthumus—jumped into Yao Dogbe’s arms. 

Intimate Apparel

“The moment where she [Esther] cuts the quilt, gives him all of the money, and kisses her on the cheek and says he’ll be back with the horses,” is one of Social Media Manager Astrid Bacy’s “favorite” moments. “It still makes me so angry!”

A social media comment on Instagram read: “Emotionally wrecked. This was beautiful storytelling.” 

We will also forever remember Esther returning to Mrs. Dickinson’s with a broken heart and, despite it all, finding the resiliency within herself to sit back down at the sewing machine and once again create something beautiful. 

The Comedy of Terrors

“I remember gasping in shock when the [fight between the two brothers broke out] and the mannequin went flying across the stage,” said Southern Utah University student Abby. “I cried laughing; its arms and legs flopped so pathetically.” 

What roaring nights of fun husband-and-wife duo Michael Doherty and Alex Keiper gave us with their performances throughout the season. 

Lastly, we at the Utah Shakespeare Festival are thankful for you, our loyal and amazing patrons. Without you, the Festival, of course, would not exist. 

What were your favorite moments from the season? Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @utahshakespeare and personal message us! We would love to hear what was most memorable for you. 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Where the Magic Begins

Photos from the 2021 Festival Holiday Lights.

By Liz Armstrong

As part of Cedar City’s “Where the Magic Begins” holiday kick-off, the Utah Shakespeare Festival is bringing back the dazzling holiday light display which it debuted last year. 

The lighting ceremony is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 27 on Main Street. Then at 6:00 the switch will be thrown, and the lights will blaze all along Main Street, down Center Street, and on the Festival grounds. The display will run until January 1.

“Cedar City’s historic downtown is already one-of-a-kind, but with the lights, it’s absolutely magical,” said Brad Abrams, Cedar City events director. “It’s a small-town Christmas experience and another good reason for people to come downtown during the holiday season.”

Festival Development and Communications Director Donn Jersey agreed, adding “the Festival is excited to once again be working with Cedar City and be a part of this celebration. The lights on our theatres, trees, and grounds are stunning.”

Abrams also noted that because downtown is a critical part of Cedar City’s vibrant community, he hopes the display will inspire residents to come and support the local businesses. 

“The Festival expands our reach, and their beautiful lights and decorations give Cedar City greater exposure beyond the local community, making Cedar City’s downtown into a must-see Christmas destination,” said Abrams.

The Festival display includes over 100,000 wreaths, icicles, and other decorations, designed by professional lighting designers Tom and Donna Ruzika and installed by the talented Festival production artists.

The Ruzikas’ vision for the Festival lights combines traditional Christmas lights and music with theatrical and architectural lighting. They hope that holiday revelers will be immersed in a festive, glittering environment as they stroll through the Festival grounds.

Due to their background they are envisioning this exciting project as if it were a Shakespeare play.  “We are approaching this project as if the Festival grounds are a performance, as if the lights are the actors,” said Donna.

“The end result is to hopefully have the community remember the Festival during the winter and enjoy an enchanted magical area to help everyone take a step away from their hectic lives. It will be something very special,” said Tom.

In addition to the lighting display, eight Christmas trees will be on display in front of City Hall on Main Street. These trees will be decorated by sponsors and will then be given to families in need in the Cedar City community. Proceeds raised by the sponsors will go to the Iron County Care and Share. 

At the conclusion of the lighting ceremony at 6 p.m., guests are invited to stroll up and down Main Street and to the Festival grounds, then to the Heritage Theater lobby for the Holiday Tree Jubilee, where there will be trees, kids’ activities, and photos with Santa.

2022 Is Just around the Corner

Cedar City, UT—Tickets for the 2022 season of the Utah Shakespeare Festival are on sale, and it’s not too early to be planning for the sixty-first year of the Tony Award-winning theatre company.

The 2022 season will feature eight plays from June 20 to October 8. In an effort to make it easy for loyal Festival guests to order their tickets well in advance, tickets are now on sale online at www.bard.org, by phone at 800-PLAYTIX, or at the Ticket Office near the Anes Studio Theatre.

“The lineup of shows for the 2022 season is an exciting mixture of Shakespeare, two beautiful musicals (including one outdoors for the first time ever), and magnificent contemporary plays,” said Executive Producer Frank Mack. “Festival audiences will be absolutely delighted with this combination of great shows.”

Here’s the lineup:

In the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre

All’s Well That Ends Well
By William ShakespeareAlthough the king forces the young Count Bertram to marry orphaned Helena, he cannot make him love her. Only by completing an impossible task can Helena win that affection. But Shakespeare, in one of his famous “dark” comedies, once again shows us that, impossible task or not, callow youth is no match for true love and a determined woman.

King Lear
By William ShakespeareDeluded by lies and flattery, old King Lear has sorely misjudged his daughters, placing himself into the cruel hands of his two ambitious daughters and spurning the youngest, the one who truly loves him. Only when alone and driven mad on the English heath, does he realize his epic mistakes in Shakespeare’s stormiest tragedy.

Sweeney Todd
By Stephen Sondheim and Hugh WheelerSweeney Todd, an unjustly imprisoned barber, escapes and returns to nineteenth-century London, seeking vengeance against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful proprietress of a failing pie shop, above which he opens a new barber practice. Mrs. Lovett’s luck sharply shifts when Todd’s thirst for blood inspires the integration of an ingredient into her meat pies that has of London lining up—and the carnage has only just begun in this dark and delicious musical!

In the Randall L. Jones Theatre

The Sound of Music
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel CrouseMaria, too exuberant to be a proper nun, is sent to the Von Trapp family as a governess for seven unruly children. There she teaches the children to sing and Captain Von Trapp to love, only to have the singing family hounded by the Nazis when they invade Austria. Known and loved the world over, The Sound of Music reminds us that with high-spirited hope, heartfelt compassion, and unwavering determination, life’s mountains can always be climbed.

Trouble in Mind
By Alice ChildressIt’s 1957 in New York City, and Wiletta May—an African American actor in rehearsal for a new Broadway play—doesn’t intend to cause trouble.  But this time, the writer has gone too far, and, well, Wiletta rebels against one more stereotypical role in a “well-meaning race play.”  Will the other African American actors join in her fight against the improbable play-within-a-play, or must she fight alone?  The stakes are high, but this satire of backstage drama and racial tropes will make you both laugh and stop to think.

Clue
Based on the Screenplay by Jonathan Lynn
Written by Sandy Rustin
Additional Material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price

It’s a dark and stormy night, and you’ve been invited to a very unusual dinner party. Each of the guests has an alias, the butler offers a variety of weapons, and the host is, well . . . dead. So whodunnit? Join the iconic oddballs known as Scarlet, Plum, White, Green, Peacock, and Mustard as they race to find the murderer in Boddy Manor before the body count stacks up. Based on the cult classic film and the popular board game, Clue is a madcap comedy that will keep you guessing until the final twist.

In the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre

The Tempest
By William ShakespeareTeeming with fairies, monsters, shipwrecks, and magic, The Tempest is Shakespeare’s last and most imaginative romance. The deposed Duke Prospero and his lovely daughter, Miranda, are shipwrecked on a small island where nothing is quite as it seems. But as they separate fantasy from authenticity, they eventually discover a “brave new world” of love, harmony, and redemption.

**Thurgood
By George Stevens Jr.**Meet Thurgood Marshall: Lawyer. Civil rights activist. The first African American Supreme Court justice. In this acclaimed play, you witness as Marshall tells stories from his life and his transformation from a young and spirited dissenter to a pensive justice full of wisdom. From his early days as the civil rights lawyer to his appointment to the highest court in the land, Thurgood Marshall stood for justice while lifting the standing of his race and all Americans.

“The 2022 season is a season centered on survival in the wake of cruelty. It exemplifies our enduring human spirit to move forward with strength, determination, and resolve,” said Artistic Director Brian Vaughn. “Three Shakespeare offerings, two musicals (indoor and outdoor), and three humorous and profound contemporary plays, combined with nightly Greenshows, play seminars, and orientations, make for an exciting 2022 that audiences won’t want to miss.”

Q&A with Scenic Designer Jo Winiarski

Gold Mountain,the musical being premiered by the Utah Shakespeare Festival this month, is a beautiful show by all accounts—in story and acting, but also visually. Scenic designer Jo Winiarski, who is responsible for some of that beauty, recently answered a few questions about the process of designing the show.

She has designed for off-Broadway theatres and regional theatres across the country. She has also designed more than forty shows at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, includingFiddler on the Roof, The Glass Menagerie, The Music Man, The Winter’s Tale, Les Misérables, Twelve Angry Men,andPeter and the Starcatcher.In 2009, she was nominated for an Emmy Award and also received the Broadway World Central New York Award in 2012. She was the art director forLate Night with Seth Meyers,the Emmy nominatedColbert Christmas Special, MTC Real World,andTurner Latin America Upfront*.*

Gold Mountainpreviews November 4 and opens November 5 at the West Valley Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available at wvcarts.org/gold-mountain.

The Utah Shakespeare Festival: Why are you excited for this play?

Jo Winiarski: It is thrilling to be involved in a world premiere production. I think the piece is unique in its storytelling and staging. 

The Festival: What has been the most difficult/rewarding part of working on Gold Mountain?

Winiarski: I think it is rewarding and challenging to work on multi-location musicals in a theatre designed in the round as the scenic design needs to fulfill many locations without the traditional scene changes that a proscenium theatre offers.

The Festival: What are you most excited for the audience to see?

Winiarski: This amazing cast.

The Festival: How long have you been involved in theatre?

Winiarski: I have been working professionally since 2003. I think my first theatre experience was playing Freda FastTalk in The Runaway Snowman in the second grade.

Q&A with the Gold Mountain Cast

Michael L. Ching

Kiet Tai Cao

Stephen Eng

Viet Vo

Robert Scott Smith

Emily Song Tyler

Part of the excitement surrounding the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s production of Gold Mountain is its amazing cast. We thought you may like to get to know some of the cast members better, so we asked them about themselves, their roles, and this beautiful play. Below are answers from Michael L. Ching who plays Guan Ming Chong (“Ba”), Kiet Tai Cao who plays Chu, Stephen Eng who plays Loong, Viet Vo who plays a Chinese Railroad Worker, Robert Scott Smith who plays Hagan, and Emily Song Tyler who is the understudy for Mei. The play previews November 4 and opens November 5 at the West Valley Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available at wvcarts.org/gold-mountain

The Festival:Let’s start by getting to know a little bit more about each of you. How long have you been acting, and how did you get started in theatre?

Ching: I would say seriously from 1989 to the present. I majored in dramatic arts and theater as well as music. But I took a U-turn and became a vocalist and guitarist in several rock bands in the70s and  80s. . . . My wife encouraged me to pursue an acting career. I told her that I hated auditioning, and she basically said, “get over it.”  [After being cast in a 1989 Super Bowl commercial] I was hooked and that started my acting career. 

**Cao:**I went to college for music with an emphasis on vocal performance, and I caught the theatre bug my last two years in college. Professionally, I’ve been acting for eight years now.

**Eng:**I started acting as a child in church and elementary school plays. I never left. So many, many years.

Vo: I’ve been acting professionally for about sixteen years (fourteen years in New York City). I got into acting because it was fun, as well as an outlet. Later I learned that I had a knack for this. To this day, I pinch myself because I never thought I’d be doing this professionally, and thus ruined my parent’s dreams of being a doctor, but surprised them that I could actually do this—and impress them.

Smith: I started in high school and I’ve been fortunate for these past twenty-five years as an actor. 

 Tyler: I got into theatre as a kid. A friend asked me on a whim if I wanted to do a community production. I fell in love and knew right away and knew that was what I wanted to do.

The Festival: Why are you excited to be cast in this play?

 **Ching:**Five years ago, I had auditioned for a new play for a SAG/AFTRA project; I didn’t know what the play was or about. When I was chosen, I was re-united with [playwright] Jason Ma. . . . The play was Gold Mountain. I was so impressed with the arc of the last five years and was so excited to audition and luckily I was cast as “Ba,” the father.

**Vo:**We are moving forward in this industry; being able to tell a story about people who have a significant stake in the history of this country is essential. I just want to be a part of that story-telling, alongside some of the most talented people I know. 

**Tyler:**So many reasons! It’s beyond special to be a part of a new work written for and by the Asian community. It’s such an important story that’s not often talked about. And the team and cast are so incredibly kind and talented.

The Festival: Do you relate to the role you’re playing; if so, how?

**Cao:**I love playing Chu. I feel that Chu is a people person. He connects worlds and is a huge ball of empathy. He reminds me a lot of my father. So I dedicate my performance to my dad!

**Eng:**Like my character (a Chinese opera teacher), I am also a teacher (of theatre) who cares deeply about an art form and its potential to change lives, as it has my own. Also, this story is about some of the first American immigrants, and as a child of immigrants, I embrace this story as my own in many ways.  

Vo: I am an immigrant, and the idea of coming to another country to create a life is something I can relate to. What these people did, I could not fathom doing. But when your life and your family are important, you will do what is necessary.

The Festival: Why do you think this play is important?

**Ching:**This is an American experience story—told through the eyes of the men who built the first transcontinental railroad under extreme circumstances for very little pay and almost certain injury and death. It’s the story of immigrants who ended up making a life for themselves here in America when they couldn’t afford to get back home and were not allowed to bring their families to America. 

**Eng:**This musical is unique and important in many ways. It presents a history of this country of which many Americans are unaware. It humanizes a population that has been often ignored, forgotten, vilified, or minimized, and presents them as people who were very human, despite their inhumane circumstances.

**Smith:**It’s a beautiful story about love, sacrifice, and reclaiming the truth about history. 

The Festival: What has been the hardest/most rewarding part of rehearsals so far?

**Cao:**This process is going by so fast! To be quite honest with you, I’m dreading the day that I have to say goodbye to these special people that I get to do this show with.

**Tyler:**I’ve come into the process a little later, so the biggest challenge for me has been learning the material on my own. It’s been a blast though, I adore singing this score, it soars and flows beautifully!

**Smith:**Working with this incredible company has been the highlight. I am humbled to be in the room with all these incredibly talented artists. 

A Hugely Successful Season

The Utah Shakespeare Festival has wrapped up an enormously successful 2021 season with large and appreciative audiences, eight shows brimming with artistic excellence and entertainment value, and a financial surplus.

The Festival was one of only a very few professional theatres in the country to produce a full season. Executive Producer Frank Mack noted that across the country very few theatres “accomplished a season like ours and for that I am grateful to everyone who came and to everyone who worked to make it possible.”

“It was a successful year on every front. Our attendance was similar to a normal year, which is incredible given all circumstances surrounding the season,” Mack said. “The productions were absolutely as great as ever—which is similarly amazing.”

“It was a phenomenal season and we are so grateful we were able to produce this year, safely and successfully,” added Dr. Bryan Watabe, chair of the Festival board of governors.

Approximately 86,000 tickets were sold to 300 performances from June 21 to Oct. 9. After a year off due to the pandemic, many patrons were delighted to return to the Festival, joining family and friends for the excitement of live theatre again.

“It was pure joy to be producing again after the darkness of 2020, while also celebrating our 60th anniversary and recognizing our founder, Fred C. Adams,” Mack said. “Seeing our wonderful audiences on our beautiful grounds again was so rewarding, and it gave meaning to the amazing, devoted work of our staff and seasonal company and volunteers.”

“It is always a pleasure to have friends and guests from near and far visit the beautiful campus of Southern Utah University and experience the magic of the Utah Shakespeare Festival,” concurred SUU President Mindy Benson. “This season was especially meaningful after a year without live theatre. There was no better way to celebrate the Festival’s 60th season and remember founder Fred C. Adams than by safely bringing audiences back to our community.”

From seeing toddlers chomping on tarts during The Greenshow to watching audiences erupt into spontaneous applause at the The Pirates of Penznace to seeing tears streaming down faces during Ragtime, the season was an amazing artistic success. 

“If gratitude were a currency, we are the richest theatre in the world. Every time I spoke with a patron entering one of our theatres or leaving a production, they communicated how grateful they were that a season was produced. In addition, the art coming from our stages this year was just incredible,” said Donn Jersey, director of development and communications.

“Thanks, thanks and ever thanks to the thousands of people who attended our 60th anniversary season,” added Artistic Director Brian Vaughn. “We are incredibly proud of the work that was on display and incredibly grateful to the hundreds of artists and volunteers who made it happen against such challenging odds. It is wonderful to be back.”

The season was also a financial success for the Festival which is projecting a surplus for 2021 and is positioned well to produce another fantastic season in 2022 featuring King Lear, The Sound of Musicand Sweeney Todd—the first musical presented in the outdoor Engelstad Theatre. The 2022 season also includesClue, All’s Well that Ends Well, The Tempest, Trouble in Mind,andThurgood, as well as three new, original versions of The Greenshow. Tickets are on sale now at www.bard.org or by calling 1-800-PLAYTIX.

Q&A with Playwright Jason Ma

Jason Ma wrote the book, lyrics, and music forGold Mountain,which the Utah Shakespeare Festival will be premiering at the West Valley Performing Arts Center on November 4. The son of an immigrant family, Ma wrote this play as an “attempt to reframe, refocus, and widen this particular shot” of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, which Asian Americans played a huge role in. For more information on Ma, visitgoldmountainthemusical.com/writer.

**The Utah Shakespeare Festival:**We see that this play is a tribute to your Chinese culture, and you talked about two specific stories (your mother looking forward to a glass of orange juice in the morning and your father and cousin being questioned at Angel Island as teenagers). Did you interview family members or dig more into your ancestor’s stories as you wrote this play? Are there any other stories that stick out to you? 

**Jason Ma:**Although my family’s names have been incorporated into Gold Mountain, the story itself came to me in an unexpected manner. The initial impulse came from who-knows-where in the middle of a show, while I was waiting between scenes, and I wasn’t actually looking to write anything at the time. A lyric/melody fragment started cycling in my head and then, the person singing this snippet began to let me know who he was. By the end of the next day, the first draft of what turned out to be a middle-of-the-show love duet “Your Eyes” was finished, and the world, the characters, the themes, and the plot that surrounded this song all fell in line in the next months after that initial encounter.

**The Festival:**What was the hardest part of writing this play/researching, etc.? 

**Ma:**Writing the first draft was fast. After that initial blast of inspiration, I spent the rest of that summer walking the streets of New York City, writing all day, and then going to the theatre to perform at night. Every spare moment was spent working on composing and writing the show. By fall, I had the first draft. The research was often done after the initial writing of a scene. I would finish something and then think, “Is that right? Could that happen?!” Luckily, I was usually on foot, so I’d head to the library, and do some fact checking. 

**The Festival:**This is your first full-length musical, but you said your experience as an actor prepared you for realizing that narratives like this are needed. How did your experience as an actor help you with writing the script? 

**Ma:**I’ve acted in Miss Saigon, Flower Drum Song, and The King and I, all very worthy/classic pieces of theatre writing, but each of them can be problematic for the Asian communities represented in them, and limiting for the actors performing in them. It’s important that we get to tell our own stories and act in pieces written by people from our own communities. My past decades as an actor have provided the fuel to write, because as much as I loved playing those roles and other roles that were not specifically Asian, or being cast in “colorblind” productions of classics, I still craved roles and representation that spoke to the specific kind of humanity and soulfulness of Asian human beings, something that Asian writers are uniquely suited to bring into light. It’s important that we add to the canon, and there are many AAPI [Asian American Pacific Islander] writers who are trying to do just that.

**The Festival:**You said because the Festival has one of the best reputations for producing theatre, you were excited to partner, but why else did you decide to partner with the Festival? How did that happen? 

**Ma:**Frank Mack came to one of our Spike150 concert performances in 2019. He reached out to the executive producer of that concert, Max Chang; and Max arranged for us to meet and talk. Next thing I knew, I was in Cedar City being warmly greeted by the wonderful [Festival Founder] Fred Adams and then, being given a tour of the facilities and theatres. To be honest, I was blown away. The Festival grounds feel like theatre Nirvana!

**The Festival:**You noted that Utah is family centered and has an appreciation for the arts, so it’s a great place for the world premiere of Gold Mountain. Is its close proximity to the Sierra Nevada also why you chose Utah? I saw the actor playing Chu attending UNR.  

**Ma:**We didn’t choose Utah. Utah chose us. It is interesting that this has come about twice. We did a big New York concert at The Times Center performance space in Times Square. Apparently, there were folks in the audience who spread the word about this Chinese railroad worker musical, because within weeks I had received an email from the beloved Judge Michael Kwan, who we lost unexpectedly last year. Mike was the president of the Chinese Railroad Workers Descendants Association and invited me to attend their conference in 2018. It was there that I first met Max Chang and where I found out that he wanted to bring Gold Mountain to Utah for the Spike150 celebration. Multiple trips to Salt Lake City and Ogden occurred over the next months, and, as I met more and more Utahns, I came to the realization that it was such a natural home for the show and its themes of family, sacrifice, and community. Combine that with music, storytelling, and history, and you’ve got a show that’s quintessentially Utah.

**The Festival:**Why did you include a love story? How do you think this contributes to the important message you are trying to convey? 

**Ma:**One of the things that storytelling can do for all of us is activate that beautiful empathetic response that is part of our intrinsic humanity. The love story and many other story elements in the show are there to create empathy and humanize. We all have so much in common; a good story is the best way to reconnect us to each other.

**The Festival:**Do you think plays like this can help us understand these differences and in today’s world solve some of these pervasive issues such as injustice and inequality?

**Ma:**I absolutely believe that plays and musicals have the potential to lift us up and help us bridge differences. They are, by their nature, perfect to stir hearts and start thought.

**The Festival:**As playgoers, what should we watch for in this production that may help us enjoy it and/or understand it more?

**Ma:**For our play, just let the story take you. This is not an intellectual piece, but one to be experienced with the heart. There will be plenty of time to think after the show.

**The Festival:**Ali Ewoldt [who is playing Mei] is a world-class talent, and the cast is almost entirely Asian-American. Is there anything special about the actors/cast we should know about? 

**Ma:**This cast and creative team bring decades of Broadway show experience with them. This is a very special gathering of talent, and it is flattering and mind blowing to think that they’ve all made room in their lives to do this show. For this particular production, the main challenge of casting the show has been who to choose from the many talented Asian actors who auditioned for us. 

**The Festival:**What is the lasting statement you hope this play gives the audience? 

**Ma:**What I hope for more than anything is for our audiences to think about the lives and humanity of these migrant laborers that helped build our country, and maybe think about all waves of immigration that have occurred in our history, all the way from the very beginning. Folks from all over, coming to America. That’s what defines us as a country and makes us great.

To purchase tickets to this play, visit wvcarts.org/gold-mountain.  

Festival to Present Twenty-Eighth Education Tour

The Utah Shakespeare Festival has been taking its Shakespeare-in-the-Schools tour on the road for twenty-eight years, bringing Shakespeare to schools and rural communities across the Intermountain West. This year, for the first time, the touring production will be Shakespeare’s much-loved Much Ado About Nothing. 

Seventy-five minutes in length, the play is followed by a talkback where actors directly interact with the audience. Afterwards, three workshops are available, and actors share what they know with students concerning stage combat, Shakespeare text, and improvisation and performance. 

Education Director Michael Bahr describes this play as a morality tale about the consequences of words, societal dictates, and our own pride when we use language as a weapon. 

“A ‘merry war’ of wits, this production will be a rapid-fire, comic, and consequential contest, drawing connections between marriage, masquerade, and military allusions and upending the facades of courtship and love,” Bahr said, “illustrating that love is wonderfully complicated, vulnerable, and at its essence, simple—once we throw our weapons and shields aside and allow people to be themselves.”

It’s a fun, light comedy that deals with very dark, consequential issues, and Bahr thinks that’s why “everyone likes it.”

 Eight professional actors will go on tour, journeying to Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming and putting on over sixty-five performances. “The actors are selected from a national search, and we look for high quality actors that are good with Shakespeare text that are also great teachers,” Bahr said. A stage manager, tour manager, company manager, technician, and director will also be traveling along. 

Betsy Mugavero, who has appeared in numerous Festival plays such as *Romeo and Juliet, The Book of Will,*and *Macbeth,*will be directing the play. 

The education tour began in 1995, with Artistic Director Brian Vaughn as a member of the very first touring company. Meant to inspire, teach, and entertain, the tour brings professional acting to middle and high schools throughout the west. 

“I love that we take Shakespeare performances to their schools,” Bahr said. “For many of these individuals it’s the first time they’re able to see Shakespeare or a professional performance. It’s a life changing event.”

Because these productions are designed to tour, the students and teachers at the schools can get ideas on how they can produce their plays. “We become examples of what they can do in their own schools,” Bahr said. “I had a teacher say, ‘I didn’t know how I was going to do Annie, and I just figured it out.’”

Bahr said he also loves that, because the actors come from a variety of different backgrounds, students will watch and identify with at least one of the cast members. “When students can see these actors and have a talkback with them, they say, ‘Wow I could do this,’” Bahr said. “I love when a student can see themselves on stage.”

To request the tour at your school, or for more information, visit the tour web page at bard.org/tour, call 435-865-8333, or email education@bard.org.

Fall Favorites: Fun in Cedar City

By Liz Armstrong

We can’t be*-leaf* it! This is the last week of the 60th season of the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Although the season is ending this Saturday, there are still plenty of fun fall festivities this time of year that we think you really autumn know about.

Take a Drive: Fall Color Loop

Orange you glad it’s fall? There is nothing quite like the vibrant yellow, orange, and reds the fall leaves bless us with during this time of year. 

Parowan became the first incorporated city in Iron County in 1851, and this little town is the start of the Fall Color Loop that follows Highway 143. Snuggle up in cozy clothes, hop in the car, and start in Parowan up to Brian Head Resort, and then head east toward Panguitch. 

Enjoy a Scenic Stroll: Cedar Breaks Rim Trail or Coal Creek Trail

At over 10,000 feet in elevation, Cedar Breaks will have the cool, crisp fall air you were wishing for in the heat of the summer. There may even be a skiff of snow at the top, so bring a jacket. Hiking around the rim will give you a whole new Cedar Breaks experience, bringing you up close and personal to the breathtaking orange and red rock formations. The view from the Ramparts overlook is really quite unbelieveable.

Not wanting to drive over 20 miles to the top? Enjoy the fall colors on the trail right at the entrance of Cedar Canyon. Running through three parks, this trail runs from Bicentennial Park east through the mouth of the canyon.  

What the Sheep? Cedar Livestock and Heritage Festival

The Sixteenth Annual Cedar Livestock and Heritage Festival will be October 29–30. Come enjoy the variety of activities, from rodeos to a dutch oven competition and everything in between, so saddle up and ride on over to the Cross Hollows Events Center located at 11 North Cross Hollows Drive. 

Don’t miss the sheep parade! You’ve never seen anything quite like this. Around 1,000 sheep (we’re baaaaaaffled too) will be herded down Main Street on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. Beginning at 200 South and ending at 400 North, there will also be sheep wagons, antique tractors and vintage cars. 

It’s like transporting back in time and enjoying a quick glimpse of the Old West—this is one of the most unique events Cedar City has to offer. 

Oh My Gourd! Visit a Pumpkin Patch

Here’s pumpkinto talk about. Way back in the 1800s, the Irish began carving vegetables to keep away “Stingy Jack,” who was cursed to eternally walk the earth according to legend. Although pumpkins didn’t grow well in Ireland, Irish immigrants quickly learned that the pumpkins in America were ideal for their carving tradition.

Now, it’s just pure fun, and for many, pumpkin-carving is the ideal fall activity, so gourdbig or go home!

Two favorites near Cedar City are:

The Robinson Family Pumpkin Patch is located at 1450 W. Industrial Road in Cedar City. Bring a date, family, or a friend and pick out your very own pumpkin and sweet corn! Open from Monday to Friday at 3 p.m. until sunset and Saturday at 9 a.m. until sunset, the event offers hayrides and petting the farm animals.

The Judd Pumpkin Patch is in picturesque Paragonah north of Cedar City at 314 E. 270 North and is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The pumpkins are thirty cents a pound, wagon rides are $2, and barrel train rides are $1. But you can roam the pumpkin patch and the petting zoo for free.

And So Much More!

You won’t watch to miss a thing this fall. For a complete listing of things to do and places to see in Cedar City and Iron County, go to visitcedarcity.com.