For 63 years patrons have enjoyed their yearly dose of Shakespeare and live theatre under the stars at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. Prior to 2016 they thronged to the outdoor Adams Memorial Theatre, a beloved but retired performance space. Since then, performers and patrons alike have delighted in Festival performances in the open-air Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre, where the majority of productions presented are written by the Bard. Both the Adams and Engelstad Theatres were inspired by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.
There is something so unique and special about seeing live theatre in an outdoor space where night falls, stars come out, and temperatures cool off while you sit and revel in the incredible performances on the stage. This season, already off to a great start, patrons can experience this very memorable opportunity by seeing Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, The Winter’s Tale, and The Taming of the Shrew in the Engelstad.
(Karl Hugh for Utah Shakespeare Festival) | A Scene From "A Winter's Tale"
Make sure not to miss Henry VIII this season. Besides being done outdoors, another reason to catch this play is that it is rarely performed. The last time the Festival produced this regal history was nearly 30 years ago! It is also a part of the Festival’s “Complete the Canon” initiative as well as the final piece to the “Shakespeare’s History Cycle” initiative, both started over a decade ago.
Artistic Director John DiAntonio says, “Audiences won’t want to miss this rare opportunity. The production is filled with grand pageantry, including the coronation of Anne Boleyn and the christening of Princess Elizabeth. But none of that will take away from the gripping human drama at the story’s center.”
Another brilliant production in the Engelstad this season is The Winter’s Tale. Though originally grouped with Shakespeare’s comedies, it is now considered a romance (Elizabethan romance contains both tragedy and comedy, a melancholy tone, and the remedy of a past injustice). Centering around the actions in two dynamically different European kingdoms, Utah Theatre Bloggers call this production “highly entertaining and accessible…[with] tremendous professional acting and impressive staging…[it] deserves to be seen and appreciated.”
(Karl Hugh for Utah Shakespeare Festival) | "A Scene From Taming of the Shrew"
The third show in the outdoor theatre this season is the hilarious and touching The Taming of the Shrew. Often considered a problematic story for modern audiences, the Festival’s production is considerate of such plot points and is “packed with zany comedy and ingenious comedic performances,” says Utah Theatre Bloggers.
Presented as a play-within-a-play (not often done with this show), the fiery Katherine and the braggart Petruchio discover ways to meet on common ground and as Front Row Reviews say, “We are left pondering the definition of selfless love and what it means to truly care for each other.”
Get your tickets now for these outstanding outdoor performances. They are experiences you don’t want to miss. Visit bard.org or call 800-PLAYTIX for more information.