Out on the lawn at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, a group in Elizabethan dress sings “Greensleeves” to a rapt audience of all ages. In the crowd during the festival’s Greenshow performance, several small children dance along on the grass to the traditional English folk song.
This isn’t an unusual sight at the festival, where a family-friendly approach to Shakespeare is the norm. And as the Utah Shakespeare Festival celebrates its 65th year, it’s carrying on this tradition with a variety of shows that have something for everyone.
This year, you can see not just one of the Bard’s most well-known plays, “Hamlet,” but also one of his least-known, “Troilus and Cressida.” The lineup also includes the Tony-winning Broadway musical “Something Rotten!” as well as a production of “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” that will open next week.
Deseret News spent a few days in Cedar City attending the six shows that have already opened at this year’s festival. Here’s what you need to know about the 2026 Utah Shakespeare Festival.
Shakespeare plays at Utah Shakespeare Festival
‘Hamlet’
From “to be or not to be” to “good night, sweet prince,” “Hamlet” may be Shakespeare’s most recognizable play. This can make it a challenge to perform, as audiences often come with their own preconceived ideas of the Danish prince’s story.
But Utah Shakespeare Festival brings new twists and turns to the classic tale in this year’s production.
Without giving too much away, the opening scene may very well be the most dramatic beginning to “Hamlet” that I’ve seen. And as the play progresses, the drama only heightens, creating a performance that’s not only thrilling but deeply thought-provoking.
The production is lifted by powerful performances from Walter Kmiec as Hamlet and Kathryn Tkel as Ophelia. Kmiec, who played the title role in “Macbeth” last year, captures the complexity of Hamlet as a character, from the highs of humor to the emotional depths. And Tkel’s portrayal of Ophelia’s complicated relationship with Hamlet brings a unique take to the story. In the role of Horatio, meanwhile, Kayland Jordan brings an unexpected sweetness to her friendship with Hamlet.
No matter how well you may think you know “Hamlet,” this year’s production is a can’t-miss.
Content advisory from the festival’s website: “‘Hamlet’ explores themes of revenge and suicide, and contains violence and depictions of death.”
“Hamlet” will run at the Englestad Shakespeare Theatre through Sept. 4.
‘Troilus and Cressida’
While “Hamlet” lies at one end of the spectrum of well-known Shakespeare plays, “Troilus and Cressida” is firmly at the other end. It’s rarely performed, but the festival’s production takes the obscure play about the Trojan War and makes it not only interesting but relevant to a 21st-century audience.
The play follows the characters of Troilus, a minor Trojan prince who is briefly mentioned in Homer’s “Iliad,” and Cressida, the Trojan daughter of a seer who later defects to the Greek side during the war. They fall in love, but their relationship is tested when Cressida is traded to the Greek camp and forced into a relationship with a Greek general.
The set and costumes immediately bring the story into a more modern setting: The walls of the set are covered in newspaper headlines and propaganda posters about the war, and the characters’ costumes are influenced by various wars of the 20th century. The audience’s guide through the story is Thersites, who in this production is transformed into the role of a journalist covering the events of the Trojan War, played in a standout performance by Blake Henri.
The play questions the purpose of war, how war affects the honor of different heroes, from Achilles to Hector to Ulysses, and how women in particular are affected by acts of war. It’s a unique, thoughtful production of an often forgotten play with a message that’s worth thinking about today.
Content advisory from the festival’s website: “‘Troilus and Cressida’ explores themes of war and betrayal, and contains violence and innuendo.”
“Troilus and Cressida” will run at the Englestad Shakespeare Theatre through Sept. 3.
‘Twelfth Night’
“If music be the food of love, play on” is traditionally the first line spoken in “Twelfth Night,” and this year’s production certainly leans into that theme. Music is everywhere, from piano to lute to dancing, and definitely feeds the story.
From the get-go, this production of “Twelfth Night” plunges its audience straight into the action — with a dramatic shipwreck that draws the crowd into the scene. Viola (played by Caitlin Wise), one-half of a set of twins separated in the shipwreck, is tossed into the waves in an impressive scene that almost feels like a dance.
Wise plays Viola, who ends up washed ashore in a strange land after the shipwreck and disguises herself as a boy in order to get a job serving Duke Orsino, with a winning combination of plucky confidence and sweetness as she begins to fall in love the duke. Unfortunately for Viola, the duke is already in love with Olivia, who then falls in love with Viola in her disguise as Cesario.
If that’s not already complicated enough, there’s also a subplot involving Olivia’s uncle, one of her other suitors, and her servants who, in some ways, steal the show. Blake Henri as Sir Toby, Kathryn Tkel as Maria and John Harrell as Sir Andrew are a compelling combination, and Rodney Lizcano as Malvolio manages to be funny, unlikeable and sympathetic all at once.
The energetic cast, madcap humor and sweet resolution of the story all make “Twelfth Night” well worth seeing this year.
Content advisory from the festival’s website: “‘Twelfth Night’ features themes of mistaken identity, gender disguise, deception, and innuendo.”
“Twelfth Night” will run at the Englestad Shakespeare Theatre through Sept. 5.
Musicals at Utah Shakespeare Festival
‘She Loves Me’
If the story of “She Loves Me” sounds familiar, it may be because the musical has inspired not one, but two movies: the 1940 Jimmy Stewart classic “The Shop Around the Corner” and the Meg Ryan-Tom Hanks rom-com “You’ve Got Mail.”
But “She Loves Me” more than stands on its own, with a funny, sweet story and upbeat musical numbers that — while you may not feel compelled to sing along to them — are performed with pizzazz in the festival’s production.
The story follows two feuding co-workers in a perfume shop in 1930s Budapest, who are each writing to — and falling in love with — an anonymous pen pal. Ali Ewoldt (who previously appeared on Broadway as Christine in “Phantom of the Opera” and Cosette in “Les Miserables”) brings a naive sort of charm to the role of Amalia, and her voice soars in each of her musical numbers.
Meanwhile, festival veteran Chris Mixon brings an effective mix of both humor and heart as the shop owner, Mr. Maraczek.
If you’re looking for a sweet, feel-good show that will also leave you with something to think about, then “She Loves Me” is the one to see.
Content advisory from the festival’s website: “‘She Loves Me’ is a lighthearted romantic comedy but does include an off-stage suicide attempt with a gunshot sound effect.”
“She Loves Me” will run at the Randall L. Jones Theatre through Oct. 3.
‘Something Rotten!’
It might seem like a bold choice to perform a song that repeats the line “I hate Shakespeare” at a Shakespeare festival, but in this high-energy satire of musical theater, it quickly becomes clear that nothing is sacred.
The Tony-winning Broadway musical follows two playwright brothers in Elizabethan England, Nick and Nigel Bottom, who — in their attempt to become more popular than William Shakespeare — write the world’s first musical.
What follows is a fun and zany romp through musical theater tropes, including blink-and-you’ll-miss-them nods to everything from “Les Miserables” to “Cats,” plus a sweet message about staying true to yourself.
The festival’s production is clearly a crowd-pleaser: The audience at my Saturday matinee performance was continually bursting into applause and cheers throughout the show. And the cast more than earned it — the ensemble performers in particular brought enormous energy to every song and dance routine.
“Something Rotten!” will leave you singing and dancing along long after you’ve left the theater — whether you love Shakespeare or hate him.
Content advisory from the festival’s website: “‘Something Rotten!’ contains innuendo, bawdy wordplay, mild language, suggestive themes, and comedic depictions of historical figures.”
“Something Rotten!” will run at the Randall L. Jones Theatre through Oct. 3.
Comedy at Utah Shakespeare Festival
‘See How They Run’
Like “Twelfth Night,” the British farce “See How They Run” hinges on cases of mistaken identity. And, also like “Twelfth Night,” everything is set right in the end — but not before chaos unfolds.
Set in an English village during World War II, the vicar’s wife (a former actress) is struggling with the scrutiny she faces from the villagers. Her old friend (an American soldier) comes to visit, and they decide to attend the theater together. But, in order to avoid gossip from the townspeople, he disguises himself in one of her husband’s suits — but things don’t exactly go to plan.
The play starts out a little slow, but the comedy builds and builds, picking up along the way three more “vicars,” an escaped Russian prisoner of war, and a village busybody who spends most of her time being hidden away in a broom closet. As the misunderstandings heighten, so does the comedy, leading to a satisfying, and hilarious, resolution.
This production leans heavily into physical comedy, to great effect (attend one of the play seminars to learn more about how the set’s furniture and doors had to be reinforced because of the amount of force they have to withstand).
In particular, Caitlin Wise (who, coincidentally, also plays the lead role in “Twelfth Night” this year) in the role of Miss Skillon appears to give her all to the physical moments and gets laughs every time she’s on stage. And Clara Hevia, in the role of the increasingly overwhelmed maid Ida, is another standout.
In all, “See How They Run” is breakneck fun and will keep you laughing to the very end.
Content advisory from the festival’s website: “‘See How They Run’ features mistaken identities, physical comedy, and light-hearted depictions of deception and chaos.”
“See How They Run” will run at the Randall L. Jones Theatre through Sept. 4.
The Greenshow
The Greenshow is a free, family-friendly tradition at the festival each year, with singing, dancing and more held on the “green” outside the Englestad Shakespeare Theatre.
This year’s Greenshow themes include “Stratford Night,” featuring more kid-friendly reenactments of “Hamlet” and “Troilus and Cressida”; “Americana Night,” where the audience is encouraged to sing along to classics like “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver; and “Celtic Night,” which includes plenty of fiddling and dancing.
The Greenshow is always a fun time for festivalgoers of all ages.
The Greenshow will run Monday through Saturday through Sept. 5.
What’s opening next at Utah Shakespeare Festival?
Two more plays will be opening next week in the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre.
“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” will open July 13 and “The Book Club Play” will open July 14, and they will both run through Oct. 3.
Utah Shakespeare Festival 2027 season
If you’re already looking ahead to next year, here’s what you can expect from the festival’s 2027 season:
- “The Crucible”
- “Henry V”
- “The Merry Wives of Windsor”
- “The Drowsy Chaperone”
- “Arsenic and Old Lace”
- “William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead”
- “The Two Noble Kinsmen”
- “Into the Breeches!”
