Some familiar faces, five classic plays, a delightfully "new" 400-year-old comedy and the usual array of peripheral activities. That's what theatergoers can expect later this month as this mecca for Shakespeare fans gears up for yet another summer of world-class theater in southern Utah.
The 1994 season marks the 33rd year for the Utah Shakespearean Festival, an event that has evolved into one of most acclaimed such festivals in North America, ranking alongside the equally acclaimed programs in Ashland, Ore.; Stratford, Ontario, Canada, and New York City.In less than three weeks, the festival will start its "preview" performances, with the entire festival in full swing by July 5 and continuing through Labor Day weekend with six plays, colorful Greenshow entertainment, intriguing backstage tours, authentic Elizabethan feasts, seminars, workshops and other activities.
Despite the full slate of activities (enough to keep patrons busy from dawn to dusk), one comment I've heard from dozens of out-of-state visitors during the past several seasons is that Cedar City's friendliness and just-the-right-size atmosphere makes the Utah festival far more relaxed and enjoyable than much larger events elsewhere.
Longtime festivalgoers will recognize several performers returning to Cedar City from past seasons.
Randy Moore, who had the title role of "Cyrano de Bergerac" and appeared as Master Ford in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" in 1992, is back this year in "A Flea in Her Ear" and "The Shoemaker's Holiday."
Laurie Birmingham, whose past roles at the USF have included Mistress Page in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" in 1985 and Mistress Quickly in the 1992 reprise and Madame Arcati in "Blithe Spirit" (also 1992) will be appearing as Margery in "The Shoemaker's Holiday" and Queen Margaret in "Richard III." (Birmingham's husband is P.J. Rockwell, who was recently hired as the USF's full-time box office/group sales manager.)
Sheridan Crist, who received critical and audience acclaim last year for his title role in "Timon of Athens" and as Oberon/Theseus in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," has been cast as Don Adriano de Armado in "Love's Labour's Lost" and Jaques in "As You Like It."
Another audience favorite, George Judy (seen in last year as Bottom in "Midsummer" and as Dr. Gibbs in "Our Town" and in 1992 as Kent in "King Lear" and Antonio in "The Merchant of Venice"), will be back this season, as will Leslie Brott (probably best-remembered for her portrayal of Titania/Hippolyta in "Midsummer" and Ruth in "Blithe Spirit" last year and Mistress Page in "Merry Wives" the year before).
Being cast as Stanley in "A Streetcar Named Desire," is Marco Baricelli, who last appeared here in 1979 as Cornwall in "King Lear," the Duke of Florence in "All's Well That Ends Well" and John in "Merry Wives." He'll also portray Berowne in "Love's Labour's Lost."
What newcomers will find in Cedar City is the enchanting Adams Shakespearean Theatre, an outdoor facility that Britain's own BBC television network once lauded as being the finest replication of a Tudor style theater in the world. Just a stroll away is the six-year-old Randall L. Jones Theatre, a state-of-the-art indoor auditorium designed for repertory productions.
In the outdoor theater, works by Shakespeare and his contemporaries are staged as authentically as possible - pretty much as they might have been in Shakespeare's time. But in the newer Randall Jones Theatre, audiences will find more elaborate scenery, lighting and sound effects.
Each of the six productions has one discounted "preview" performance between June 23 and June 29. The festival officially opens with "As You Like It" on Monday, June 27.
The other openings are spread out during the week of June 27-July 2 and the regular week-to-week schedule (except for the July 4 performance of "A Streetcar Named Desire") gets under way the first week of July.
Here's the general lineup of performances for the 1994 festival:
- As You Like It, Shakespeare's rollicking romantic comedy, directed by Eberle Thomas: Mondays and Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. in the Adams, with matinees at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the adjacent Auditorium theater (also used in case of rain).
- A Flea in Her Ear, Georges Feydeau's turn-of-the-century Parisian farce, directed by Mark Rucker: Tuesdays and Fridays at 2 p.m. and Wednesdays and Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. in the Randall Jones Theatre.
- Love's Labour's Lost, Shakespeare's lyrical comedy and one of his most important early works, directed by Kathleen F. Conlin: Mondays and Thursdays at 2 p.m. and Tuesdays and Fridays at 8:30 p.m. in the Jones Theatre.
- Richard III, one of Shakespeare's greatest history plays, centered around one of his most sinister and driven characters, King Richard III, directed by D. Scott Glasser (who acted at the festival in 1972 and '74): Wednesdays and Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. in the Adams Theatre.
- The Shoemaker's Holiday, a Cinderella-like comedy written by Thomas Dekker, one of Shakespeare's contemporaries. Adams believes it will be the "sleeper hit" of the 1994 season. It's being directed by Norman Ayrton, a director and drama instructor from London. Performances: Tuesdays and Fridays at 8:30 p.m. in the Adams Theatre.
Note: the 1994 USF brochure simply lists "holiday" in the time slots for this production - which some patrons are mistaking for a real holiday. But the festival is not closed those two days!
- A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams' potent drama of wilting youth and pent-up passions, directed by Cynthia White, associate director for play development at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Mondays and Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. and Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m. in the Jones Theatre.