Some of the most interesting items in the 1993 Utah Arts Festival program - a big, glossy, magazine-style publication - are the advertisements.
Two in particular caught my eye when a stack of advance copies of the 64-page booklet were dropped on my desk.(The festival is this week, Wednesday through Saturday, straddling the 300 block of West South Temple between the Triad Center and the Delta Center.)
- WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY has a bright, full-color ad on page 29 touting its 1993-94 "Bravo!" season of visiting artists and cultural events.
Next April 11-13, WSU will host Lynn Redgrave, who will be on campus for three days. She'll be doing her Tony Award-nominated, one-woman performance of "Shakespeare for My Father: The Life and Times of an Actor's Daughter," and conducting master classes and lectures.
Maybe the folks who missed her wonderful performance at Abravanel Hall in March will make the trek to Ogden. It's more than worth the drive.
Another interesting event on WSU's docket is the national touring company of Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers," on Jan. 20-21 in the Austad Auditorium of the Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts. These bus-and-truck tours frequently make other stops in Utah, too - we'll keep you posted.
- EVEN MORE COLORFUL, despite the display itself being in glorious black-and-white, is the clever half-page promotion on page 40 for the 1993 Utah Shakespearean Festival, which opens for preview performances this week (see story on this page).
It looks like a bloc of "personals" in the classified ads, with such intriguing come-ons as:
"SINGLE WHITE FEMALE looking for man willing to make an ass of himself. Call 801-586-7878. Ask for Titania."
Or: "GENEROUS MAN willing to give the shirt off his back looking for sincere friendships. Call 801-586-7878. Ask for Timon."
And: "FUN-LOVING monarch looking for new home and gainful employment . . . Ask for Richard."
These ads, if you haven't guessed, are for "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Timon of Athens" and "Richard II."
Now I'm just a little worried about what publications Fred Adams and his staff were reading to get the inspiration for the promotion. Hmmm . . .