News From the Festival
Festival Guests Donate over Two Tons of Food
Utah Shakespeare Festival guests made life a little better for those in need this fall, by donating over two tons of food to the Iron County Care and Share. The food was donated as part of the Festival’s fifteenth annual Fall Food Drive from September 13 to October 22. Residents of southern Utah and eastern Nevada were able to donate six items of nonperishable food and receive a half-price ticket to a Festival production.
In total 4,276 pounds of food was donated for the less fortunate in our community. Residents of Iron, Washington, Kane, Garfield, Sevier, Piute, and Beaver counties in Utah took part in the drive, as well as guests from Lincoln County, Nevada.
“We are so grateful for the support of our community in this effort,” said Joshua Stavros, media and public relations manager. “Since 2003 the Festival has provided a program allowing generous and caring playgoers to see great theatre and support those less fortunate through our annual fall food drive. And over the years, our guests have demonstrated time and time again their generosity and support of those in need by supplying food as part of a ticket purchase.”
The Iron County Care and Share was founded in 1984 by a group of local churches of different denominations to address the issue of hunger in our community. Working with partners in the community, neighboring counties, and in the state, the Iron County Care and Share is able to help homeless and low-income individuals and families work toward self-sufficiency. The Iron County Care and Share is located at 900 North 222 West Cedar City, Utah.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts at Southern Utah University, which also includes the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA).
The History Cycle Continues
Kathleen McCall as Joan la Pucelle in The War of the Roses, 2000.
It sounds like the characters of a sweeping English soap opera: King John who signed the Magna Carta in 1215, then died of dysentery a year later. Richard II, a weak king whose throne was taken from him by his cousin. Henry IV whose right to the throne was always suspect. Prince Hal, who rose from his riotous youth to become the beloved but short-lived Henry V. His son, who became King Henry VI while an infant and suffered from debilitating mental illness his entire life. The murderous hunchback, Richard III. And, finally, King Henry VIII, the father of Queen Elizabeth, who ruled during much of Shakespeare’s life.
Shakespeare traces the lives of these seven kings (and a few others) through his ten history plays. Although the plays aren’t strictly historical, they do make a fascinating chronical, compared by many to the popular television series Game of Thrones, with power struggles and political infighting reflective of our world today. And that is part of the reason the Utah Shakespeare Festival has chosen to produce these ten plays in chronological order: their resonance with today’s headlines.
The Festival started the initiative in 2013 by producing King John in the summer and Richard II in the fall, then continued through Henry IV Part One in 2014, and Henry IV Part Two in 2015, reaching the halfway point with Henry V in 2016.
In 2018, the Festival begins the second half of the History Cycle with Henry VI Part One, a seldom-produced play with a huge cast of characters (including Joan of Arc) and which chronicles the beginning of the end of the Hundred Years War between England and France and sets the stage for the start of the bloody English civil war, the Wars of the Roses.
“Performing the history plays in chronological order gives a clarity to the arc of the story,” said Artistic Director Brian Vaughn. “They tell a time of complicated English history, of a line of kings and the transference of power. Performing them in order helps you connect the dots a little easier, and makes the action more applicable to today’s world.”
Vaughn also noted that the ten plays all stand up well on their own, but that they are even better together as part of this immerse story which spans over 300 years and ends with the baptism of the baby Elizabeth who will eventually reign as queen over a peaceful and prosperous England for forty-five years, including most of Shakespeare’s life.
“These are plays about people and families,” he said. “They are giant soap operas, English soap operas that tell the story of intrigue, infighting, love, and hate between these families, all of them related.”
“It is soap opera in verse,” added Executive Producer Frank Mack. “The history can be complicated, but the story is ultimately fascinating and personal.”
Vaughn is proud of the work presented on the Festival stages for the first half of the cycle. He is also aware that the next three plays, the three parts of Henry VI, will be a challenge. The plays are seldom produced separately. Instead the three are usually combined into one or two, making it easier to tell the complicated story of the Wars of the Roses. “We are going to do all three,” he said. “We don’t know many details yet, but our plan is to follow Henry VI Part One in 2018 with Henry VI Part Two and Henry VI Part Three sometime after that.”
Henry VI Part One begins at the funeral of Henry V. The heir to the throne is an infant, and the world is changing. The Hundred Years War with the French begins to wind down by the end of the play, but the houses of Lancaster and York in England are beginning to scheme and argue over the throne, paving the way for several decades of vicious civil war which would become known as the Wars of the Roses.
“During the Wars of the Roses, the idea of chivalry begins to decay,” said Vaughn. “War becomes more aggressive, as chivalry becomes less important.” Joan of Arc becomes a symbol of this new warfare. She is vicious and deceptive, all the while claiming to be led by heavenly visions.
The second half of the History Cycle, the wild ride of British royal history and soap opera, will begin on June 29, 2018 with a preview performance of Henry VI Part One. The Wooden O of the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre will once again be filled with the sights and sounds of humanity and life.
Tickets are now on sale for the Festival’s 57th season, which will run from June 28 to October 20. Besides Henry VI Part One, this year’s plays are The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, Big River, The Foreigner, The Liar, and Pearl’s in the House. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts at Southern Utah University, which also includes the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA).
2018 Season Offers Eclectic Mix
A. Bryan Humphrey (left) as Froggy LeSueur and Chris Mixon as Charlie Baker in the The Foreigner, 2005.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2018 season offers an eclectic mix of eight plays in three theatres, exploring a number of themes relevant in today’s world. The fifty-seventh season will run from June 28 to October 13, 2018.
“Among other themes, our 2018 season provides a unique examination of intolerance and the adverse impact it can have on our collective humanity,” said Artistic Director Brian Vaughn. “With four diverse Shakespeare offerings (including the next in our History Cycle), two delightful classic and contemporary comedies, and a Tony Award-winning musical based on one of the most controversial novels of our time, this season promises to resonate on all levels.”
Tickets for the fifty-seventh annual Festival season are now on sale. To purchase tickets or for more information visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
The Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre
The Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre will feature three plays by the Bard, including Henry VI Part One which continues the Festival’s History Cycle of producing all ten of Shakespeare’s history plays in chronological order. In addition, The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Merchant of Venice will give Festival guests the chance to check off two more plays in the Festival’s Complete the Canon Project, an ongoing initiative to produce the entire Shakespeare canon of thirty-eight plays between 2012 and 2023.
Henry VI Part One
By William Shakespeare
Henry V has died, and his young son is soon crowned Henry VI. In France, war is raging. At home, various factions are claiming the right to the throne, choosing between the symbolic red and white roses. In this seldom produced history, Shakespeare gathers these threads together and combines them into a powerful tapestry of a country soon to be racked by civil war.
The Merry Wives of Windsor
By William Shakespeare
Falstaff in love? Hardly! But the loveable old renegade does have his lusty eye on a couple of middle-class housewives. Trouble is feminine wit and wisdom triumph once again as the amused and annoyed wives teach Sir John a lesson in this bubbling, popular comedy sure to please everyone in the family.
The Merchant of Venice
By William Shakespeare
Whether you consider this thought-provoking masterpiece a story of love and humor or one of racism and greed, Shakespeare’s controversial tragicomedy will touch your soul. Its modern and relevant themes and memorable characters could have been drawn from today’s headlines, and will certainly cause you to pause and think about justice and mercy, the complexity of humankind, and the nature of forgiveness and love.
The Randall L. Jones Theatre
Plays next year in the Randall L. Jones Theatre will include a popular musical based on classic American literature (Big River), a hilarious French farce newly translated into English (The Liar), and the return to the Festival of one of America’s most popular comedies (The Foreigner).
Big River
Book by William Hauptman with Music and Lyrics by Roger Miller
Mark Twain’s timeless classic sweeps us down the mighty Mississippi as the irrepressible Huck Finn helps his friend Jim, a slave, escape to freedom. Their adventures along the way are hilarious, suspenseful, and heart-warming, bringing to life your favorite characters from the novel, and leaving you humming tunes such as “River in the Rain,” “Worlds Apart,” and the rousing anthem “Free at Last.”
The Liar
By David Ives
Adapted from Le Menteur by Pierre Corneille
The charming Dorante cannot tell the truth, and his manservant Clinton cannot tell a lie. From this simple premise springs one of the western world’s greatest comedies, a sparkling seventeenth century French farce brilliantly adapted for today, complete with mistaken lovers, suspicious fathers, sparkling romance, frothy comedy, and an abundance of breathtakingly intricate “alternative facts.”
The Foreigner
By Larry Shue
Charlie, shy and seeking solitude, is on vacation at a Georgia hunting lodge. Avoiding the other guests, he pretends he is a foreigner, understanding no English. However, he soon witnesses bizarre schemes by people who think he can’t understand a word they say, leading to confusion and non-stop hilarity that set up one of the funniest endings in all of theatre.
The Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre
The plays in the Anes Studio Theatre will offer a combination of the old and the new, with Othello (another play in the Festival’s Complete the Canon Project) and the world premiere of Pearl’s in the House, which is being workshopped at the Festival in 2017 as part of the Words Cubed new play program.
Othello
By William Shakespeare
Brimming with incredible passion and anguish, as well as very human tenderness, this tragic story will lure you into a powerful world of jealousy and betrayal. Fast moving and devastating, Othello is one of Shakespeare’s most haunting plays, exploring how fear and jealousy can destroy the most intelligent minds and the purest of loves.
“With four fantastic Shakespeare classics, not to mention four other iconic works of theatre, we could not be more excited to share these productions with our audiences,” said Joshua Stavros, media and public relations director. “We hope you will join us.”
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts at Southern Utah University, which also includes the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA).
Shakespearean Spooks
By Kathryn Neves
Chelsea Steverson (left), Lillian Castillo, and Monica Lopez as Weyward Sisters in the Utah Shakespearean Festival’s 2010 production of Macbeth.
It’s Halloween once again. Here at the Utah Shakespeare Festival we love scary stories and are enjoying the spookiness of the season. Think about it: classic literature, including theatre, has brought about the scariest monsters in horror history; there’s just no better time for literature lovers than Halloween. So many great writers wrote horror, and I would say that the best horror writer of all time was Shakespeare!
Were you expecting Bram Stoker? Dracula was pretty spooky. Or Frankenstein! Mary Shelley was the queen of scary stories! And Stephen King? Am I really saying that Shakespeare was better at horror than Stephen King? Yes, yes, and—well, maybe. I mean, Stephen King is scary. But Shakespeare was the Stephen King of his own day! There are so many spooks within his pages that you lose count. Some of the accounts of his monsters are positively bone-chilling.
Why don’t we start with ghosts? After all, they’re pretty common, both in Halloween and in Shakespeare’s plays. Perhaps the most famous Shakespearean ghost is Old King Hamlet, come to seek revenge for his murder: “I am thy father’s spirit,/ Doom’d for a certain term to walk the night,/ And for the day confined to fast in fires,/ Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature/ Are burnt and purged away”(Hamlet 1.5.745–49).
It’s the Ghost that causes all of the turmoil to begin in this complex play. In a story otherwise devoid of supernatural beings, the presence of a ghost here causes the confusion that will come to characterize the plot of Hamlet. The Ghost creates far more questions than he answers, throwing the audience into a feeling of mystery and terror.
Popular legend holds that Shakespeare himself originally played the role of the Ghost. Around a century after Shakespeare’s death, Nicholas Rowe, another playwright, wrote that he had heard a story about the Bard playing the Ghost (Nicholas Rowe, editor, “Some Account of the Life &c. Of Mr. William Shakespear,” The Works of Mr. William Shakespear, [1709]). And Shakespeare as a ghost certainly makes for a terrifying image.
Hamlet’s ghost isn’t the only apparition in the canon. Another famous one is Banquo’s spirit, coming to haunt Macbeth and make him pay for his murderous deeds. Macbeth is scared witless by the presence of his departed adversary:“Avaunt! And quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee!/ Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;/ Thou hast no speculation in those eyes/ Which thou dost glare with!”(Macbeth 3.4.1388–91).
There are even more ghosts in Shakespeare’s canon— Julius Caesar appears as a ghost, Richard III is visited by a veritable army of ghosts, Juliet reports seeing the spirit of her dead cousin Tybalt, and no less than three ghosts appear in Cymbeline. Why are there so many? Where did this fascination with ghosts come from?
Though Elizabethan and Jacobean England was mostly Protestant, there were still traces of Catholicism. One belief of Catholicism was that souls who were sent to Purgatory ended up walking the earth until their sins were removed. Catholics believed in ghosts as people who were merely trying to get into heaven, very similar to the ghost in Hamlet. However, Banquo’s ghost and several others seem to act differently. The Protestants largely believed that ghosts were not the souls of men, but demons sent from Hell to torment people on earth (Thomas Browne, Religio Medici [1643]). This seems to fit Banquo’s eerie ghost a lot better. Ghosts were an accepted part of life for most Elizabethan people. It’s no wonder, then, that Shakespeare created so many of them.
There are other supernatural beings in Shakespeare, too. Some examples are sprites and monstrous creatures, like Ariel and Caliban in The Tempest, or the (make-believe) Herne the Hunter in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is perhaps the most famous of these mischievous sprites. Although he is generally a benevolent creature, he plays cruel tricks and games upon the mortals of Athens, and references his own spookiness: “Now it is the time of night/ That the graves all gaping wide,/ Every one lets forth his sprite,/ In the church-way paths to glide” ( 5.1.2228–31).
There’s no question, though, that the witches of Macbeth are the scariest spooks of Shakespeare’s canon. The specters make their first appearance in the opening lines of Macbeth. But it isn’t until Act IV that they get really chilling. Imagine it— three hags, ugly as can be (Banquo tells us earlier that they have choppy fingers, skinny lips, and beards) dancing around a bubbling cauldron in the dead of night, throwing in all sorts of macabre ingredients to enact their evil spell:“Double, double toil and trouble;/ Fire burn, and cauldron bubble . . . / By the pricking of my thumbs, / Something wicked this way comes”(Macbeth 4.1.1582–95).
These wraiths are called the Weird Sisters. At least, we think they are. In the First Folio, Shakespeare called them the ‘wayward’ sisters. But Shakespeare stole the witches from another source— Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, a book he used as source material for a number of his plays. Macbeth was one of the stories he found there, and Holinshed refers to the witches as the Weird Sisters. It’s a name much spookier than the ‘Wayward Sisters.’
And then there’s one more witch in Macbeth that you may not have heard of. You know Hecate? That goddess from Greek mythology? Yeah, I didn’t think so. She appears as the queen of the witches in Macbeth— a figure so scary that even the Weird Sisters cower before her. Yikes! That’s a witch I wouldn’t want to see! Most scholars agree that Shakespeare didn’t write the Hecate scene; another Jacobean playwright, Thomas Middleton, probably added it to the play after Shakespeare’s death in 1616 (Amanda Mabillard, “Macbeth Glossary, Hecate Passage,” Shakespeare Online). Most directors just cut out Hecate’s scene entirely—so perhaps we shouldn’t count Hecate as a real Shakespearean spook.
But why would someone add another witch to Macbeth? Doesn’t it have enough? Not according to King James, apparently. A popular theory is that he requested another witch. James Charles Stuart was king of both Scotland and England, after Elizabeth I had died. Shakespeare, always a shrewd businessman, tried to write plays that would appeal to the monarchy. After all, he’d written The Merry Wives of Windsor for Queen Elizabeth because she loved Falstaff so much (according to a popular anecdote). Shakespeare knew how to pander to his audience. So when the time came to write a play for King James, there was one topic that could spark his interest more than any other— witchcraft.
James was infamous for his fascination with witchcraft. In 1597, the king wrote Daemonologie, a book dedicated to understanding witches and black magic. Shakespeare definitely read it; his description of the rituals in Macbeth matched James’s theories very closely (“King James IV and I’s Demonology, 1597,” The British Library [The British Library] 22 Sept. 2015). But it wasn’t only Daemonologie that proved James was obsessed with witchcraft. He conducted trials and hunted witches down, and even penned the Witchcraft Act of 1604— effectively making witchcraft a capital offense. So of course Shakespeare had to write a play about witches. A performance of Macbeth would definitely spark the king’s interests!
Amazingly enough, the history of witchcraft and Macbeth doesn’t stop there. A lot of theatre folk believe the play itself was cursed by real witches living in England at the time. Perhaps Shakespeare used real incantations in his play, or perhaps a coven was offended at their rituals being used on the stage. Either way, there’s definitely something spooky about the play. Ask most actors, and they’ll tell you that they would rather do almost anything than say the word “Macbeth” in a theatre. The very name might bring a curse down on the place, causing all sorts of mayhem in the production! There are even rituals you can perform to negate the Macbeth curse— various versions include running around the theatre three times, spitting over your left shoulder, and uttering words of either profanity or quoting lines from Shakespeare’s luckier plays (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, perhaps). Shakespeare wasn’t kidding around about witchcraft!
You could say that Shakespeare was a master of the supernatural genre. So this Halloween, instead of watching the new It movie or breaking out old copies of Psycho, dust off your copy of Hamlet or Macbeth and enjoy the spookiness that Shakespeare has to offer.
Students Honored at Shakespeare Competition
Cedar City, UT – This weekend the 41st annual Shakespeare Competition, hosted by the Utah Shakespeare Festival and Southern Utah University, gave out dozens of awards and scholarships to drama, dance and music students. The competition is the largest scholastic Shakespeare competition in the country, and this was a record-breaking year with nearly 3,400 students from 109 schools in five states.
From September 28 to 30, students competed before numerous adjudicators on the Festival’s stages and at several other venues on the SUU campus. Judges consisted of arts professionals with strong literary and performance backgrounds. The judges came to Cedar City from across the country, including New York and Los Angeles, and not only judged the competition, but provided critiques of performances and gave feedback to the young artists. Judges also offered numerous workshops on topics such as stage combat, improvisation, movement, modern dance techniques, and choral performance.
“There really is nothing like the Shakespeare Competition,” said Michael Bahr, education director for the Festival. “For forty years the competition has provided young people an outlet to share their passion and excitement for the arts, while also cultivating the future generation of arts professionals.”
Providing wonderful opportunities, the competition recognizes and educates students in four areas: acting, dance/choreography, music, and technical theatre. At the conclusion of the competition selected students received trophies and scholarships to study with professionals at Southern Utah University and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.
As part of the total experience, students were able to attend the Festival’s productions of The Tavern, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged), and How to Fight Loneliness, as well as an SUU production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
The competition was divided into six divisions: Buckingham (for schools with enrollment of 2,001 or more), Oxford (enrollment of 1,701 to 2,000), Cambridge (enrollment of 801 to 1,700), Westminster (enrollment of 800 or fewer), Stratford (junior high and middle schools of any size) and Essex (schools or groups which are not members of state high school associations).
Acting Competition
For the acting portion of the competition, students were able to compete in monlogues, duo/trio scenes, and ensembles. Monologue competitors presented for the judges a two- to four-minute monologue from a Shakespeare play or sonnet. In the duo/trio scenes competition, two or three actors presented a three- to five-minute scene from a Shakespeare play or sonnet. In the ensemble competition, a group of students from a school presented a six- to ten-minute Shakespearean scene.
In addition, first, second, and third place overall sweepstake prizes were awarded to the school in each division with the most total points from all categories.
Also, several scholarships were presented in the acting competition:
The first place winners in the duo/trio scene and monologue categories are awarded scholarships to either Southern Utah University or the Utah Shakespeare Festival summer classes, depending on the grade of the student.
Ray Jones Award: Given to seniors, this award is a $1000 scholarship to Southern Utah University.
Barbara Barrett Award: Given to juniors and under, this award is a $500 scholarship tothe Festival’s summer acting intensive Actor Training, or a tuition scholarship to Shakespeare for Junior Actors.
Larry Lott Acting Award: In conjunction with the ensemble competition, judges annually recognize the best actor in an ensemble scene in each division. The recipient of this award received a trophy for his or her accomplishments and, if a senior, a $1,000 scholarship to SUU.
ACTING WINNERS
Buckingham Division
Sweepstakes First Place: Hillcrest High School; Midvale, Utah
Sweepstakes Second Place: American Fork High School; American Fork, Utah
Sweepstakes Third Place: Lone Peak High School; Highland, Utah
Ensemble First Place: American Fork High School; American Fork, Utah
Ensemble Second Place: Bingham High School; South Jordan, Utah
Ensemble Third Place: Hillcrest High School; Midvale, Utah
Ray Jones Award and Duo/Trio Scenes First Place (tie): Gabriel Aina, Annee Burton, and Collin Voeller; Hillcrest High School; Midvale, Utah; and Scott Abbott, Dakota Heugly, and Luke Morley; Hillcrest High School; Midvale, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Third Place: Ariana Bagley and Mikey Rowe; Riverton High School; Riverton, Utah
Ray Jones Award and Monologue First Place (tie): Maddie Elledge; Hillcrest High School; Midvale, Utah; and Sasha Fazulyanov; American Fork High School; American Fork, Utah; and Jessica Sannar; American Fork High School; American Fork, Utah
Larry Lott Acting Award: Jessica Sannar; American Fork High School; American Fork, Utah
Oxford Division
Sweepstakes First Place: Provo High School; Provo, Utah
Sweepstakes Second Place: Alta High School; Sandy, Utah
Sweepstakes Third Place: Highland High School; Salt Lake City, Utah
Ensemble First Place: Alta High School; Sandy, Utah
Ensemble Second Place: Salem Hills High School; Salem, Utah
Ensemble Third Place: Corner Canyon High School; Draper, Utah
Ray Jones Award and Duo/Trio Scenes First Place: Haylee McKinnon and Hope Weaver; Corner Canyon High School; Draper, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Second Place: Juliana Haroldsen and Krystina Sorensen; Provo High School; Provo, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Third Place: Savanna Cox, Kaleb Maher, and Sam Schino; Corner Canyon High School; Draper, Utah
Ray Jones Award and Monologue First Place: Rachel Stark; Layton High School; Layton, Utah
Monologue Second Place: Jacob Ith; Salem Hills High School; Salem, Utah
Monologue Third Place: Annaliese Eddington; Salem Hills High School; Salem, Utah
Larry Lott Acting Award: Brianna Irvine; Highland High School; Salt Lake City, Utah
Cambridge Division
Sweepstakes First Place (tie): Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts; Salt Lake City, Utah
Sweepstakes Second Place: Spanish Fork High School; Spanish Fork, Utah
Sweepstakes Third Place: Pioneer High School for the Performing Arts; American Fork, Utah
Ensemble First Place: Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts; Salt Lake City, Utah
Ensemble Second Place: Spanish Fork High School; Spanish Fork, Utah
Ensemble Third Place: Desert Hills High School; St. George, Utah
Ray Jones Award and Duo/Trio Scenes First Place: Harrison Clark, Jordan Evans, and Benjamin Stanford; Murray High School; Murray, Utah
Duo/Trio Second Place: Anna Nadjafinia, Anna Trick, and Caylee White; Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts; Salt Lake City, Utah
Duo/Trio Third Place: Tia Lee and Mitchell Young; Spanish Fork High School; Spanish Fork, Utah
Ray Jones Award and Monologue First Place: Mikala Gonzales; Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts; Salt Lake City, Utah
Monologue Second Place: Brenden Anderson; Spanish Fork High School; Spanish Fork, Utah
Monologue Third Place: Zoe Clair; Pioneer High School for the Performing Arts; American Fork, Utah
Larry Lott Acting Award: Kaybri Wolf; Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts; Salt Lake City, Utah
Westminster Division
Sweepstakes First Place: Liahona Senior Preparatory Academy; Pleasant Grove, Utah
Sweepstakes Second Place (tie): Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy; Lindon, Utah; and North Sanpete High School; Mount Pleasant, Utah
Ensemble First Place: Rockwell Charter High School; Eagle Mountain, Utah
Ensemble Second Place: Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy; Lindon, Utah
Ensemble Third Place: Liahona Senior Preparatory Academy; Pleasant Grove, Utah
Ray Jones/Barbara Barrett Award and Duo/Trio Scenes First Place: Stephen Hender and Andrew Heugly; Providence Hall High School; Herriman, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Second Place: Kaitlyn Sciortino and Connor Vardakis; American Preparatory Academy; West Valley, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Third Place: Brooklyn Henderson and Raelynn McLaughlin; American Leadership Academy; Spanish Fork, Utah
Barbara Barrett Award and Monologue First Place: Eden Halverson; Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy; Lindon, Utah
Monologue Second Place: Kaylee Cassutt; American Leadership Academy; Spanish Fork, Utah
Monologue Third Place: Katie Rowley; Liahona Senior Preparatory Academy; Pleasant Grove, Utah
Larry Lott Acting Award: Aurianna Luker; Summit Academy High School; Bluffdale, Utah
Stratford Division
Sweepstakes First Place: American Fork Junior High School; American Fork, Utah
Sweepstakes Second Place (tie): Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy; Lindon, Utah; Liahona Junior Preparatory Academy; Pleasant Grove, Utah
Ensemble First Place: American Fork Junior High School; American Fork, Utah
Ensemble Second Place: Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy; Lindon, Utah
Ensemble Third Place: Rockwell Charter Junior High School; Eagle Mountain, Utah
Barbara Barrett Award and Duo/Trio Scenes First Place: Eli Bennion, Bo Jacuelyn Chester, and Amara Davis; Liahona Junior Preparatory Academy; Pleasant Grove, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Second Place: Laura Randall and Sydney Van Woerkom; American Fork Junior High School; American Fork, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Third Place: Brian Bigler and Lillian Gibb; American Fork Junior High School; American Fork, Utah
Barbara Barrett Award and Monologue First Place: Hannah Bibler; Payson Junior High School; Payson, Utah
Monologue Second Place: Kaelynn Bybee; Liahona Junior Preparatory Academy; Pleasant Grove, Utah
Monologue Third Place (tie): Katherine Connors; Walden School of Liberal Arts; Provo, Utah; and Ciara Johnson; Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy; Lindon, Utah
Larry Lott Acting Award: Kaelynn Bybee; Liahona Junior Preparatory Academy; Pleasant Grove, Utah
Essex Division
Sweepstakes First Place: First Stage Theatre Academy; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Sweepstakes Second Place: Logan Youth Shakespeare; Logan, Utah
Sweepstakes Third Place: The Meadows School; Las Vegas, Nevada
Ensemble First Place: First Stage Theatre Academy; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Ensemble Second Place: Logan Youth Shakespeare; Logan, Utah
Ensemble Third Place: Youth Theatre-University of Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah
Ray Jones Award and Duo/Trio Scenes First Place: Maddie Mainwood and Megan Watson; First Stage Theatre Academy; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Duo/Trio Scenes Second Place: Jake Badovski, Madeline McNichols, and Gabriela Musickant; First Stage Theatre Academy; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Duo/Trio Scenes Third Place: Gaby Bernal and Ian Ferguson; Logan Youth Shakespeare; Logan, Utah
Ray Jones Award and Monologue First Place: Simran Deokule; The Bishop School; La Jolla, California
Monologue Second Place (tie): Nina Gray; Walden School of Liberal Arts; Provo, Utah; and Ellie Thayn; Monticello High School; Monticello, Utah
Larry Lott Acting Award: Eva Glenn Thimmes; Logan Youth Shakespeare; Logan, Utah
Dance/Choreography Competition
For the dance portion, students were able to compete in duo/trio or ensemble groups. In the duo/trio competition, two or three dancers presented a three- to six-minute interpretation of a Shakespeare play or sonnet. In the ensemble competition, a group of dancers from a school interpreted a three- to four-minute Shakespeare play or sonnet.
DANCE WINNERS
The Dance scholarships to Southern Utah University were awarded to Jaime Elen Tandiman of Riverton High School, Riverton, Utah; and Lauren Cheree Wightman of Salt Lake School of Performing Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Buckingham Division
Ensemble First Place: Westlake High School; Saratoga Springs, Utah
Ensemble Second Place: Lone Peak High School; Highland, Utah
Ensemble Third Place: Jordan High School; Sandy, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes First Place: Rebecca Hawkes, Olivia Worten, and Elena Wright; Lone Peak High School; Highland, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Second Place: Maysen Birkes, Tyree Newkirk, and Zach Parkinson; Westlake High School; Saratoga Springs, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Third Place: Lily Shepherd and Caler Tregeagle; Orem High School; Orem, Utah
Oxford Division
Ensemble First Place: Alta High School; Sandy, Utah
Ensemble Second Place: Salem Hills High School; Salem, Utah
Ensemble Third Place: Provo High School; Provo, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes First Place: Britney Belcher, Malia Hansen, and Madison Park; Taylorsville High School; Taylorsville, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Second Place: Makayla Christiansen and Tawna Shaw; Provo High School; Provo, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Third Place: Dominique Cordon and Whitney Williams; Viewmont High School; Bountiful, Utah
Cambridge Division
Ensemble First Place: Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts; Salt Lake City, Utah
Ensemble Second Place: Lehi High School; Lehi, Utah
Ensemble Third Place: Spanish Fork High School; Spanish Fork, Utah
Duo/Trio First Place: Akeyla Carter, Brynlee Fordham, and Hannah Justvig; Desert Hills High School; St. George, Utah
Duo/Trio Second Place: Kalli Peers and Alexa Wilcox; Park City High School, Park City, Utah
Duo/Trio Third Place: Christin Dennis, Emma Hansen, and Alana Stuffs; Salt Lake School of Performing Arts; Salt Lake City, Utah
Westminster Division
Ensemble First Place: Richfield High School; Richfield, Utah
Ensemble Second Place: American International School of Utah; Murray, Utah
Ensemble Third Place: Paradigm High School; South Jordan, Utah
Duo/Trio First Place: Abby Bassaragh, Moriya Nelson, Abbie Simpson; American International School of Utah; Murray, Utah
Duo/Trio Second Place: Shay Helm and Katherine Smith; Paradigm High School; South Jordan, Utah
Duo/Trio Third Place: Jordan Gulledge and Cassidy Wiersdorf; Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy; Lindon, Utah
Stratford Division
Ensemble First Place: Vista Heights Middle School; Saratoga Springs, Utah
Ensemble Second Place: Timberline Middle School; Alpine, Utah
Ensemble Third Place: Vista School of Performing Arts; Ivins, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes First Place: Carolina Siddoway, Amanda Taylor, and Kelsey Tippets; Vista Heights Middle School, Saratoga Springs, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Second Place: Broc Bennett, Emma Martin, and Gavin Skaggs; Spanish Fork Junior High School; Spanish Fork, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes Third Place: Sam Cecil, Georgia Johnson, and Katelyn Lawnson; Karl G. Maeser Preperatory Academy; Lindon, Utah
Essex Division
Ensemble First Place: Youth Theatre-University of Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah
Duo/Trio Scenes First Place: Katherine Connors and Curtis Hammon; Walden School of Liberal Arts; Provo, Utah
Music Competition
The music competition encouraged students to explore and develop a relationship with the music of the Renaissance (music prior to 1650). Students were encouraged to utilize creative combinations of instruments, however no instrumentation was required. For the music competition, students were able to compete in Madrigals and Minstrels. Madrigals (a minimum of five people) presented six- to ten-minutes of Renaissance music. Minstrels (one to four people) presented three- to seven-minutes of Renaissance music.
MUSIC WINNERS
Madrigal Competition
First Place: Pine View High School; St. George, Utah
Second Place: Pleasant Grove High School; Pleasant Grove, Utah
Third Place: Canyon View High School; Canyon View, Utah
Minstrel Competition
First Place: Youth Theatre–University of Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah
Second Place: Davis High School; Kaysville, Utah
Third Place: Venture High School; Marriott-Slaterville, Utah
Technical Theatre Competition
The final competition was in the technical theatre area for students who work behind the scenes creating sound, lighting, props, scenery, and costumes. In the portfolio area, students were given the chance to have their technical and/or design portfolios evaluated by professionals in technical theatre. Technical theatre students were able to compete in Tech Olympics, with winners named in rigging, props, lighting, audio, costumes, set construction, stage management, and hair and makeup. Overall school winners were also named. The best portfolio and runner-up were also recognized.
TECH OLYMPICS WINNERS
Fastest Overall Times
Rigging First Place: Kate Zander; Riverton High School; Riverton, Utah
Props First Place: Andrew Nasson; Maple Mountain High School; Spanish Fork, Utah
Lighting First Place: TJ Bettolo; Davis High School; Kaysville, Utah
Sound First Place: Kade Bennett; American Leadership Academy; Spanish Fork, Utah
Costumes First Place: Brenna Dessormeau; Hurricane High School; Hurricane, Utah
Set Construction First Place: Kaulin Allin; Herriman High School; Herriman, Utah
Stage Management First Place: London Lucus; Venture High School; Marriott-Slaterville, Utah
Hair and Makeup First Place: Kaylee Kunzman; Corner Canyon High School; Draper, Utah
Overall School Winners
First Place: Pleasant Grove High School; Pleasant Grove, Utah
Second Place: Davis High School; Kaysville, Utah
Third Place: Maple Mountain High School; Spanish Fork, Utah
Tech Portfolio Winners
Overall Winner and Recipient of a Scholarship from GTS: Chloe Cook; American Fork High School; American Fork, Utah
Runner up and Recipient of an SUU Scholarship: Arianna Fiandala; Perry High School; Gilbert, Arizona
Festival Announces Directors for 2018 Season
Melissa Rain Anderson
Paul Barnes
Kate Buckley
Vincent J. Cardinal
Brad Carroll
Melinda Pfundstein
Henry Woronicz
CEDAR CITY, Utah — Utah Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Brian Vaughn recently announced a slate of eight highly-creative, talented, and experienced directors for the Festival’s 2018 season. Many have directed at the Festival before, but some will be new to Festival audiences.
“I have such profound admiration and respect for these directors,” said Vaughn in making the announcement. “They each bring a unique blend of insight, passion and commitment to the work that will electrify these plays with tremendous clarity and immediacy. I’m excited to have them here.”
The 2018 season directors are:
Melissa Rain Anderson returns to the Festival after directing The Cocoanuts here in 2016. She will be directing the musical Big River, based on Mark Twain’s classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Since her time at the Festival in 2016 she has directed at Geva Theater Center where she is an affiliate artist, the Denver Center Theater Company, the Repertory Theater of St. Louis, and others.
“Big River examines a disturbing time in our history as seen through the eyes of Huck Finn, a practical, socially naive and pragmatic young man,” she said. “Our hero, Huck, searches for something to fight off loneliness; he is looking to connect to a true friend as he struggles with rules he doesn’t believe in. It is a journey of ‘considerable trouble and considerable joy’ as we follow Huck and Jim on an incredible adventure to find freedom.”
Paul Barnes is returning to the Festival after an absence of several years to direct Shakespeare’s warm and funny The Merry Wives of Windsor. He last directed at the Festival in 2005 when he helmed The Foreigner. For the Festival, he has also directed Blithe Spirit (2004), Little Shop of Horrors (2003), Hay Fever (2002), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (2001), Troilus and Cressida (1999), Henry V (1997), and many others. He has also directed at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Clarence Brown Theatre, Great River Shakespeare Festival, and many others.
“I’m delighted to return to the Festival after an absence of several seasons,” said Barnes. “It has been a touchstone in my career, and I feel that much of the artist I am today was shaped and nurtured through the thirteen productions and many seasons I directed in Cedar City. It’s thrilling to return to the company as it heads into its next phase of development.”
Kate Buckley will direct the Festival’s Othello, one of Shakespeare’s most tragic and haunting plays. She has directed five other plays in past seasons at the Festival: Mary Stuart in 2012, Julius Caesar in 2008, The Merry Wives of Windsor in 2006, Romeo and Juliet in 2005, and Much Ado about Nothing in 2003. In addition, she was a founding member of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and served as artistic director of The Next Theatre in Evanston, Illinois. She has directed across the country, as well as internationally at the National Theatre of Slovakia and the Colla Marionette Company in Milan, Italy.
“I am thrilled to direct this production in the Anes Studio Theatre,” said Buckley. “This venue allows an opportunity for focusing on the clarity of Shakespeare’s poetry and the depth of tragic emotions from our fine actors and gives the audience the opportunity to experience this particular play in an intimate setting. I can’t wait to get back!”
Vincent J. Cardinal, who is directing The Foreigner, is new at the Festival this season, but certainly not new in the world of theatre. He has been the artistic director of Connecticut Repertory Theatre where CBS-WFSB TV honored him as one of the top five directors in Connecticut. He has served in numerous educational positions, including associate dean of performing arts at Adelphi University and chair of theatre at the University of Miami.
“I am excited to direct The Foreigner by Larry Shue because it is one of the top five funniest plays of the twentieth century. Shue has created a theatrical event that’s only intention is to make an audience laugh and then laugh more,” said Cardinal. “In a world filled with chaos, I am honored and grateful to lead the extraordinarily talented Festival company in delivering delight and hilarity to the Festival audience.”
Brad Carroll is returning to the Festival this year to direct The Liar. He has directed numerous productions at the Festival over the past fifteen years, including Murder for Two (2016), South Pacific (2015), The Comedy of Errors (2014), Anything Goes (2013), and Les Misérables (2012). He also co-wrote with Peter Sham Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical which premiered at the Festival in 2007. Recently he has directed at PCPA Theaterfest and the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre as well as composing “A” Train for the United Solo Festival in New York City.
“The opportunity to work on a very new adaptation of a very old play with Festival actors and designers is something I’m really looking forward to,” said Carroll. “The Liar is a smart, funny, fast-paced, and roisterous romp. . . . Mix in romance, revenge and mistaken identities and it’s the perfect formula for fun!”
Melinda Pfundstein, an audience favorite actor at the Festival for many years, is directing The Merchant of Venice; but she is not new to directing at the Festival, having helmed the Shakespeare-in-the-Schools tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2012. At Southern Utah University, she has directed Dancing at Lughnasa, The Spitfire Grill, and Rent. She is also an assistant professor of theatre at Southern Utah University and co-founder and executive director of Statera Foundation, a national advocacy nonprofit serving women in theatre.
“I am delighted to return to the Festival and my artistic family to direct The Merchant of Venice for the 2018 season,” she said. “After enjoying the work in the Engelstad Theatre as an audience member for the past couple of years, I am just itching to roll up my sleeves to create and collaborate in that glorious new space.”
Henry Woronicz, who is directing Henry VI Part One, has been a director and actor at the Festival for over thirty years, starting in 1983 when he played the title role in Henry V. For the Festival, he has directed Titus Andronicus (2012), Coriolanus (2007), The Taming of the Shrew (2004), and As You Like It (2002). He has also worked at many of the nation’s leading theatre companies, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (actor, director, and artistic director), as well as working on Broadway, in film, and in numerous television series.
“The Henry VI plays are some of the few Shakespearean scripts that I have yet to work on in any capacity,” he said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity with a great Festival, and I look forward to working on this challenging and exciting project.”
“The collection of great theatre artists that make up the directors for the Festival’s 2018 season is amazing,” said Executive Producer Frank Mack. “These impressive artists are among the best in their field and will have tremendous influence not only on the interpretation of the plays, but in assisting Artistic Director Brian Vaughn in leading the entire company in creating the vibrant, beautiful and insightful productions that will define the 2018 season.”
Tickets for both the 2017 and 2018 seasons are now on sale: visit the Festival website at www.bard.org, call 800-PLAYTIX, or visit the Ticket Office at the Beverley Center for the Arts.
What's the Big Deal with the Shakespeare Competition?
“There really is nothing like the Shakespeare Competition,” said Michael Bahr, education director for the Festival. “For forty years the competition has provided young people an outlet to share their passion and excitement for the arts, while also cultivating the future generation of arts professionals.”
Who sponsors the competition?
It is jointly sponsored by the Utah Shakespeare Festival and Southern Utah University.
How many years has it been in operation?
This is the forty-second year of the competition.
What are the dates this year?
September 27–20, 2018.
How many students are participating this year?
Almost 3,400 students from 109 schools in five states will compete.
Are there different divisions or classes for different sized schools?
Yes. The competition is divided into six divisions, determined by enrollment: Buckingham (for the largest third of registered schools), Oxford (for the next third), and Cambridge (for the smallest third), Westminster (for charter schools), Stratford (junior high and middle schools of any size), and Essex (schools or groups which are not members of state high school associations).
Are there different categories of competition?
Yes. Students can compete in acting (ensembles, duos/trios, and monos), dance (ensembles and duos/trios), music, and technical theatre.
How many trophies do you award?
The competition awards approximately fifty trophies divided among all competition categories and divisions.
Is there more at stake than trophies?
Yes. Besides bragging rights, students can earn one of about twenty-four different scholarships to Southern Utah University or Festival summer classes.
Do the students participate in workshops, or other learning experiences?
Absolutely. The competition includes over thirty different workshops on various subjects. Students also may attend most of the Festival’s current plays—The Foreigner, An Iliad, and The Liar—at a discounted price. Tickets to Othello may be available, but not at discounted prices.
Who judges the competition?
The judges are theatre professionals from across the country, including Los Angeles and New York City.
Renowned Broadway Actor Adds Second Festival Performance
Patrick Page on Broadway: As The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (left) and as Scar in The Lion King.
Patrick Page at the Festival: In the title role in Macbeth (left) as as Ben Jonson in Nothing Like the Sun, both in 1989.
CEDAR CITY, UT—Patrick Page, known for his Broadway roles such as Scar in The Lion King, The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Green Goblin in Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark has added a second performance of his one-man show at the Utah Shakespeare Festival on September 29.
Originally scheduled to perform just once at 2 p.m. in the Anes Studio Theatre, Page will now also perform at 10 a.m. in the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. This additional show time was added because response has been so positive to the original announcement. General admission tickets for both performances are $25 and can be purchased at the Festival Ticket Office in the Beverley Center for the Arts, by calling 800-PLAYTIX, or online at www.bard.org. Advance reservations are strongly recommended.
All the Devils Are Here is a one-man show written by Page which explores the evil depicted in Shakespeare’s plays. It will be performed in a workshop setting with no sets or costumes, spotlighting the amazing voice and talent of this classical actor.
In addition to his Broadway work, Page was also a popular performer at the Festival from 1984 to 1989, playing such roles as Ben Jonson in Nothing Like the Sun, Iago in Othello, Jaques in As You Like It, Marcus Brutus in Julius Caesar, and the title roles in Macbeth and Richard III. He has since acted across the country and been hailed as “one of America’s leading classical actors” by the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.
On Broadway, he originated the role of the The Green Goblin in Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark and The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Other New York credits include Scar in The Lion King on Broadway, the title role in Cymbeline for the New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park, Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons, Max in The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall, and Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden.
Tickets are still on sale for the Festival’s 56th season which continues through October 21 with performances of How to Fight Loneliness, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tavern, and William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged). For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts at Southern Utah University, which also includes the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA).
Two Senior Staff Members Leaving the Festival Stage
Jyl Shuler
Zachary Murray
CEDAR CITY — Two senior staff members will be taking their bows and exiting the Utah Shakespeare Festival stage this fall. Jyl Shuler, long-time development director, has announced her retirement effective October 31; and Zachary Murray, general manager and recently interim executive director, is taking a new job in the Southern Utah University Budget Office beginning October 1.
“These two individuals have been key players at the Festival,” said Executive Producer Frank Mack. “I will personally miss their professionalism, and the Festival as a whole will need to work hard to fill their shoes.”
Shuler started at the Festival twenty-eight years ago and has led the development efforts through periods of enormous growth and financial challenge, including the raising of millions of dollars for building the Beverley Center for the Performing Arts which opened in 2016. She will be retiring from her work at the Festival, but will continue her volunteer work in her adopted home of Cedar City.
“I have had amazing opportunities to get to know and work alongside some of the most dedicated and enthusiastic people on the planet. The Festival staff, board, and volunteers are hard-working, creative, and talented individuals,” Shuler said. “With all the great people I have met, my time at the Festival wasn’t really work; it was ‘getting to know you’ every day. What could be better than that?”
“As development director, Jyl filled the vital role of raising contributed income over her long tenure,” said Mack. “While she will be missed, it is wonderful to see her enter this next phase of her life, and I wish her much happiness.”
Murray started as general manager at the Festival in 2014, and for much of 2017 also filled the role of interim executive director when R. Scott Phillips retired in March. It was only recently that he was able to transition back into the sole job of general manger when Frank Mack was hired to lead the Tony Award-winning organization.
“This is a bittersweet transition for me. I am excited for this opportunity to work in higher education again, but will miss working at the Festival with so many talented and dedicated individuals,” said Murray. “The theatre is important to our community and allows people to connect to art and storytelling in a unique way; and, when it comes to storytelling, the Utah Shakespeare Festival is second to none.”
Mack also complimented Murray on his tenure at the Festival, noting his acumen in behind-the-scenes accounting, budgeting, and financial management. “This is exactly the kind of critical work few people know about but makes a huge, difference in the success of the organization,” he said. “His extraordinary skills will be missed at the Festival, but will continue to serve Southern Utah University in his new role.”
The search to fill both positions are now underway at the Festival, with the hope to find the right people and fill the roles as soon as possible.
Tickets are now on sale for the Festival’s 56th season, which will run from June 29 to October 21.
The Festival’s 2017 season continues through October 21 with performances of How to Fight Loneliness, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tavern, and William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged). For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts at Southern Utah University, which also includes the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA)
Don't Ya Dare Miss It!
By Kelli Allred, Ph.D.
A scene from The Tavern.
I first attended the Utah Shakespeare Festival in 1973, as an undergraduate in theatre education. Since then I have enjoyed every trip to Southern Utah and found every season of Shakespeare in Cedar City to be full of wonderful productions. The first decades of the Festival—the ’60s through the ’80s—were filled with thrilling productions of Shakespeare’s plays. By the ’90s when the Festival leaders decided to produce plays by other masterful playwrights, the Festival welcomed a new kind of audience that would know no borders or age limits. This summer my grandchildren will attend the plays with me for the first time. I can hardly wait! The Tavern will delight families, so I’m bringing the kids along for this one. Although it was not written with children in mind, it is family-friendly and promises to entertain audiences of all ages, from all places.
Nearly one hundred years ago, The Tavern opened in Atlantic City, with George M. Cohan playing the main character, which he would continue to play for the next twenty years. George M. Cohan was an American icon who may be best remembered for his patriotic compositions “Over There,” “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy” for which he was presented a Congressional Gold Medal in 1936. But Cohan wrote more than fifty plays, including The Tavern—an adaptation of Cora Dick Gantt’s first play The Choice of a Super-Man.
The Tavern was Cohan’s favorite play, and he revived it many times, often portraying the Vagabond himself. “I can write better plays than any living dancer and dance better than any living playwright,” said Cohan. He was adept at taking old-fashioned melodramas, burlesquing them, and transforming them into hilarious comedies, as he did with The Tavern. In 1940 he wrote a sequel, The Return of the Vagabond, extending the theatrical popularity of the Vagabond character and Cohan himself.
The play is set in a tavern, which is merely a farmhouse with rudimentary quarters for paying guests and a barn that shelters livestock and indigents. On a stormy night, a mysterious wanderer insinuates himself into a small group of tavern guests. Over the course of the evening, violence ensues and each of the characters takes a turn at being suspected by the others. The play takes place at night, when The Tavern is dimly lit and the main character, known only as the Vagabond, casts ominous shadows with the help of a lone fireplace, a single lantern, and a persistent lightning storm. The absence of light in the opening scene may represent the ignorance and uncertainty of the townspeople.
The cast of characters includes four roles for women (which allowed Cohan to cast his wife, his sister, and eventually his daughter and take them on the road for extended runs of the play!) and a dozen men.
Other important “characters” are represented by The Elements: thunder, lightning, wind, and rain. Their ubiquitous disturbances (a.k.a. “the storm”) serve to editorialize and underscore the dialogue, not unlike a Greek chorus. The Elements also serve to remind viewers that life in the untamed West was perilous and no respecter of persons.
Adaptor and director Joseph Hanreddy’s stage directions push the story forward, demanding that the behind-the-scenes stage crew be on point every second: “A sudden sharp lightning flash and split of thunder, followed by a rumble that reverberates for a while. The Elements rage a bit. . . . The Cat heard from earlier is blown into the window. It SCREECHES and CLAWS at the window before being blown off into oblivion…The Women scream, and the Vagabond enters onto the upper landing. . . . The intensity of the fire is reflected off Violet, making her gestures look like shadow puppets.”
While this play might be a hybrid of television’s Bonanza and The Wild, Wild West, the Vagabond himself is a mixture of the charmingly handsome “Little Joe” Cartwright and the suave, debonair James West. The Vagabond brings adventure, romance, and artistic perspective to act 1. The innkeeper calls him “a man ’a mystery” and a “smooth talkin’ brandy-beggar.” Others refer to him as “a cheat, a con artist, a fake.” He is certainly a practiced flatterer and a hopeless romantic who loves to sing. The Vagabond breaks the fourth wall to confide in the audience that he has always wanted to be the hero in a play. He begins that quest by schmoozing Sally, the hired help. “You’re a good judge of character, Sally. Beneath this shabby exterior can you see a trace of something unmistakably refined and genteel?” to which the unrefined Sally replies, “I don’t give a skunk’s fart how genteel ya are!”
In act 2, the mysterious Vagabond becomes a sort of surrogate director/playwright/theatre critic. “I occupy a most unique position—that of not having been cast for a part in the great world drama of life.” He also refers to himself as “a lonely, solitary spectator, sitting back, looking on and laughing.” The Vagabond is a character who brings to the play a delightful and subtle burlesque romanticism. As act 2 draws to its close, the play reaches its climax. Poor Wile Ed Coats implores the others to stop screaming, stop shooting, and stop making so much noise. “Please God, make it quiet ag’in.” Some sound-sensitive audience members may be praying silently for the same! But the audience’s laughter will fill the few, albeit intentional, silences during the production.
Joseph Hanreddy adapted this production of The Tavern from the highly successful play by George M. Cohan (1920). Hanreddy is known for his adaptations of time-tested plays, including Pride and Prejudice. He served as artistic director of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater (1993–2010), spearheading over fifty new American plays, translations, and adaptations. He has worked closely with the major Shakespeare festivals in Oregon, Idaho, Great Lakes, and Utah. There will be no shortage of highs and lows, stops and starts, or surprises from this production —Hanreddy has made sure of that! His adaptation includes setting the story in southern Utah, referencing Fort Harmony and Panguitch on the geographic trail to Salt Lake City.
“I first adapted and directed The Tavern, at the Milwaukee Rep, and the production was as much pure fun as I’ve had in the theatre,” said Hanreddy. “We [originally] set the adaptation of George M. Cohan’s melodrama/farce in rural Wisconsin and Cohan’s characters and dialogue were adjusted to fit the sound . . . that our audience embraced and identified with. I’ve set the new script in the early days of the Utah Territory and found some new inspirations” for the Festival 2017 production: an Old West pulp fiction novel; the physical antics of a Buster Keaton or Keystone Cops film; and a hefty peppering of Shakespeare’s language, spoken by the main character. Hanreddy’s chief goal in adapting The Tavern was “to create a joyous comic romp that audiences will find inventive, visually exciting, and uproariously funny!”
So, purchase tickets early and bring the entire family to see this classic of Americana that is guaranteed to please audiences!