SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns can travel to Spain, Paris, Egypt, Oklahoma and down the Mississippi this month without ever leaving the state — thanks to the plethora of shows opening in Utah theaters in July.
Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre
For 26 years, Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre in Logan has brought “people together to share ennobling artistic experiences” by taking them on a wide range of theatrical and operatic journeys. This year, UFOMT audiences can visit Seville, Spain, discover a secret garden, embark on a quest through multiple fairy tales and follow the life of an slave-trader-turned-abolitionist.
The festival opened June 23 with Charles Schulz’s beloved comic book character brought to life in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” which runs through Aug. 1 at the Utah Theatre, 18 W. Center, Logan, $16-$79 for adults, $8-$39 for children and youths ages 3-18.
The festival’s other offerings — "The Barber of Seville,” July 5-Aug. 3; “Amazing Grace,” July 7-Aug. 4; “The Secret Garden,” July 7-Aug. 4; and “Into the Woods,” July 6-Aug. 3 — are all performed at the Ellen Eccles Theatre in Logan, 43 S. Main, Logan, with tickets ranging from $16-$79. Per-show ticket prices decrease when purchasing a series package. Visit utahfestival.org or call 435-750-0300.
Tuacahn Amphitheatre
The last of Tuacahn Amphitheatre’s outdoor summer shows opens this month, along with a production in the venue’s newly renovated Hafen Theater.
“The Prince of Egypt” joins “Cinderella” and “Matilda” in repertory in Tuacahn’s outdoor amphitheater, bringing the familiar biblical story of Moses to the red rock stage. The show runs July 13-Oct. 21, Tuachan Amphitheatre, 1100 Tuacahn Drive, Ivins, prices vary (435-652-3300 or tuachan.org).
Tuacahn’s 328-seat indoor Hafen Theater — housed inside Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts — is set to offer “Million Dollar Quartet: The Musical.” According to tuacahn.org, the show brings to life “one of the greatest jam sessions ever”: the 1956 jam session in Memphis with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. Catch “Million Dollar Quartet” July 6-Aug. 11, 1100 Tuacahn Drive, Ivins, prices vary (435-652-3300 or tuachan.org).
‘Big River’
If traveling to Cedar City to see “Big River” at this year's Utah Shakespeare Festival is a bit too far of a drive, you can also see the musical performed along the Wasatch Front at Orem’s SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre. Based on Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “Big River,” tells of the travels of Huck Finn and his friend, Jim, a slave, as they travel down the Mississippi to help Jim find freedom. SCERA’s production runs July 6-21, SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre, 699 S. State, Orem, $12-$16 for adults, $10-$14 for children and seniors (801-225-2787 or scera.org)
Disney’s ‘My Son Pinocchio’
Next stop: Italy — specifically Geppetto’s workshop. Disney’s 1940 film “Pinocchio” gets a stage adaptation and a new spin in “My Son Pinocchio,” which tells the story of the wooden puppet and his growing nose from Geppetto’s perspective. The show will be at Hale Centre Theatre’s Jewel Box Stage, 9900 S. Monroe St., Sandy, July 7-Sept. 8, $36-$40 for adults, $18-$20 for youths (801-984-9000 or hct.org).
‘The Phantom of the Opera’
Eccles Theater in downtown Salt Lake City will transform into a 19th-century opera house in Paris with the national tour of “The Phantom of the Opera.” The musical from composer Andrew Lloyd Webber originally opened in London in 1986, where it has been running for almost 32 years, followed closely by its 30-years-and-counting stint on Broadway.
This traveling production, however, is unique as it is the “spectacular new production” produced by Cameron Mackintosh and a new creative team. So what makes this production different? “The production retains the beloved music, script, lyrics and the Tony Award-winning costume design by Maria Björnson” while also “utilizing advances in theatrical wizardry” that were not available when the show first opened more than 30 years ago, according to broadway-at-the-eccles.com.
See the new spin on a favorite show July 11-22, Eccles Theater, 131 S. Main, remaining tickets are limited, call for pricing (801-355-2787 or artsaltlake.org)
‘Oklahoma’
Audiences who attend Sundance Summer Theatre’s “Oklahoma!” may be singing “Oh, what a beautiful (evening)” after a night of outdoor theater surrounded by the mountain peaks at Sundance Resort. “Oklahoma!” by well-known writing duo Rodgers and Hammerstein will fill the air with familiar tunes such as “Many a New Day,” “People Will Say We’re In Love,” “Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’” and, of course, “Oklahoma” (“O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A”), July 19-Aug. 11, Sundance Mountain Resort, 8841 N. Alpine Loop Road, Sundance, $26-$38 (866-734-4428 or sundanceresort.com)