The Utah Shakespeare Festival is back for its 64th season with fresh stories to tell, including a Tony Award-winning musical, a Shakespearean drama that hasn’t been performed on the festival’s stage for almost 20 years, and a tearjerking play that’s also been made into a movie starring Julia Roberts and Dolly Parton.
We made the drive to Cedar City to see all six plays (though a seventh, “Dear Jack, Dear Louise,” will premiere later this summer), plus three “Greenshow” performances, during the festival’s opening week. Here’s what you should know about every show at the Utah Shakespeare Festival this year.
'The Greenshow'
Let’s start with “The Greenshow,” since this fast-paced, outdoor show acts as a prelude to the festival’s evening performances.
This year, there are three shows that rotate each night: “Highland Games Greenshow” (which is performed on the same nights as “Macbeth”), “Mariner Greenshow” (on the same nights as “Antony and Cleopatra”) and “Mountain Wilderness Greenshow” (on the same nights as “As You Like It”).
“The Greenshow” is a family-friendly event, with music, dancing and games that are suitable for everyone from young children to grandparents. The shows are very interactive — children are often invited onstage to participate in some of the games, and the entire audience is frequently invited to sing, dance or clap along to the music.
It’s also free to the public, no tickets required: You can bring the whole family, pull up a spot on the grass and enjoy the show. But if you’re planning on attending one of the festival’s performances later that evening, “The Greenshow” is a high-energy way to get in the mood for some live theater.
“The Greenshow” will run at the Ashton Family Greenshow Commons through Sept. 6. On July 18 and Aug. 2, there will be special performances by the Paiute Tribe of Utah.
‘Macbeth’
“Macbeth” may be one of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, but the festival’s production this year certainly isn’t afraid of putting its own creative spin on the classic tragedy.
And it pays off — the result is a fresh, sometimes dark, but always intriguing take on “the Scottish play.”
That unique spin is on display from the very first scene, which isn’t found in Shakespeare’s script. Though wordless, the extra scene gives some emotional heft to everything that follows, especially the choices of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth through the rest of the play.
The production leans heavily into the supernatural, going beyond the three Weird Sisters to include an expanded role for Hecate, an otherworldly character that sometimes gets cut from performances of “Macbeth.” Hecate lends an even darker — and somewhat mysterious — tone to the play, thanks to an impressively sinister performance by Caitlin Wise.
Chauncy Thomas also gives a chilling performance as Banquo’s ghost, which has been haunting me (no pun intended) ever since I saw it and is particularly powerful when contrasted with the warmth he displays in his earlier portrayal of Banquo.
But though the supernatural looms large in this production, the natural world does, too. The costuming and set design help to weave the two worlds together: The costumes of the witches are particularly striking, with earthy details like leaves and branches, while an enormous tree onstage, bent to one side, rises ominously over the action.
You may think you know “Macbeth,” but this version is worth the watch — and may even leave you with a few questions at the end.
Content advisory from the festival’s website: “This dark tragedy explores profound and disturbing themes, including violence and murder, moral corruption, the supernatural, death of children and families, and mental health struggles. And there are witches, too.”
“Macbeth” will run at the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre through Sept. 4.
‘Antony and Cleopatra’
If you’ve never seen “Antony and Cleopatra” before, you can be forgiven — it’s not performed nearly as often as some of Shakespeare’s other tragedies, like “Macbeth,” and it’s been nearly 20 years since the play was last performed at the festival.
The play is sometimes considered difficult to pull off: In its unabridged form, it has a lengthy run time and a sprawling cast of characters (not to mention a sea battle). But this year’s pared-down production is high-energy, with vibrantly colored costumes and set, as well as upbeat music and even dancing. It also leans into the tragic play’s unexpected humor, to lively — though somewhat mixed — results.
The play’s lighter moments are welcome, but the tone occasionally feels uneven as it attempts to balance humor with tragedy. However, the humor does help make the play feel more accessible to a modern audience, and brings the larger-than-life characters of Antony and Cleopatra down to a more human, relatable level.
Kathryn Tkel as Cleopatra, in particular, was a compelling presence on stage. Cleopatra is a complex character, with “infinite variety,” and Tkel captured all the highs and lows — from humor to rage to grief — of the Egyptian queen.
Content advisory: The play “includes sexual puns and innuendos” and “explores themes of violence and warfare, suicide, mature romantic relationships, and colonialism.”
“Antony and Cleopatra” will run at the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre through Sept. 5.
‘As You Like It’
Though “As You Like It” may not be the most popular of Shakespeare’s many plays, it is the source of one of his most famous lines: “All the world’s a stage.”
And from the get-go, the festival’s production fully embraces that idea, with a subtly meta take on the story that’s as funny as it is thought-provoking.
The play’s plot (like many of Shakespeare’s comedies) can get a little complicated, involving exiled dukes, gender-swapped disguises and mistaken identities. But the production’s storytelling is top-notch, with wordless scenes interspersed through the action that help guide the viewer seamlessly along through the story. The set design also helps with this, featuring trees that change color as the play progresses, a simple yet effective way of showing the passage of time.
Part of the fun of repertory theater is seeing the same actors performing in multiple plays — sometimes in wildly different roles.
For instance, Walter Kmiec, who plays the title role in “Macbeth” this year, also plays the fool (literally), Touchstone, in “As You Like It.” Although his dramatic chops are on full display in “Macbeth,” Kmiec has excellent comedic timing as Touchstone, and his dry line deliveries are one of the highlights of the play.
With an overall energetic cast, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and a thoughtful approach, “As You Like It” is one of the high points of the festival this year.
Content advisory: “It is suitable for all audiences, although some sexual puns and innuendo are present, along with ... the display of some mild violence.”
“As You Like It” will run at the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre through Sept. 6.
‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’
This Tony Award-winning musical is not Shakespeare, but it feels Shakespearean in some of its major themes (which are also explored in many of the festivals other plays this year): identity and disguise, ambition and power, family disputes and, of course, murder.
The light-hearted musical is the story of a young man who discovers he’s eighth in line to inherit an earldom — and decides to murder his way to the front of the line.
In a very Shakespearean twist, Graham Ward plays every member of the family, allowing him to perform an impressive array of death scenes over the course of the production. His range is central to the play, and he carries it off.
The rest of the cast keeps up with his energy, including through many spirited musical numbers. The numbers are all performed well, though the songs themselves are a little forgettable.
Although the story is sometimes light enough that it could veer into being overly silly, the cast keeps things on track to make “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” one of the most fun performances at this year’s festival.
Content advisory: “Includes mild sexual innuendo and double entendres” and “multiple murders” that are “presented in a zany comedic and stylized manner.”
“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” will run at the Randall L. Jones Theatre through Oct. 3.
‘The Importance of Being Earnest’
In some ways, “The Importance of Being Earnest” appears to be the lightest offering at this year’s festival. In fact, the play’s subtitle is “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People.”
This classic Oscar Wilde comedy deals with themes of disguise and mistaken identity that are similar to “As You Like It” and “The Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” but with slightly lower stakes — no one is exiled or murdered, and the thornier plot points are resolved with enough time for tea and cucumber sandwiches.
But don’t be fooled by the lighter tone — it’s a smart production that highlights the play’s witty, rapid-fire dialogue and sharp social satire.
And the cast is more than up to the task. Rob Riordan and Valerie Martire, in the roles of Algernon and Celia, are charming leads, remaining perfectly likable while each displaying their own particular brands of naivete and self-absorption throughout the play.
Visually, the play is lovely to watch. It has not one, but two beautiful and intricately detailed sets, which are switched out during intermission.
Although it’s a period piece, it feels startlingly contemporary with some of its observations on wealth and class. The festival’s production shows why “The Importance of Being Earnest” still deserves to be considered a classic.
Content advisory: “This play is suitable for all audiences, and explores the themes of class, deception of double lives, and romantic relationships.”
“The Importance of Being Earnest will run at the Randall L. Jones Theatre through Oct. 4.
‘Steel Magnolias’
If you’ve never seen the movie version of “Steel Magnolias,” then be warned: The story is a tearjerker.
By the end of the preview performance, the theater was filled with sniffles and people wiping their eyes. And deservedly so: The festival’s production is by turns heartwarming, funny and, yes, deeply emotional.
Set in the South in the 1980s (in case the characters’ poofy hairstyles and thick accents aren’t enough to give it away), the story follows six women as they support each other through the highs and lows of their lives — all within the confines of a beauty salon.
Much of the story is dependent on the chemistry of the cast, and they all deliver. The connection between the characters is palpable, and the actors play off each other well in both the comedic as well as the more emotional moments.
In particular, Olivia D. Dawson gives a complex, layered performance in the role of M’Lynn, and she’s spellbinding in the final scene of the play.
“Steel Magnolias” is definitely worth the watch — just don’t forget your tissues.
Content advisory: The play explores “themes of grief and loss, medical conditions, and the loss of a child. It is suitable for all audiences.”
“Steel Magnolias” will run at the Randall L. Jones Theatre through Oct. 4.