Prospero through the Years

By Liz Armstrong 

This season marks the ninth time the Utah Shakespeare Festival has produced The Tempest. That is probably true because of the love Festival audiences have for the magical and spell-binding elements of the play—the wild storms, unknown islands, and ethereal spirits. But it is also probably true because of the fascinating character of Prospero. 

Over the years, the Festival has attracted a talented group of actors to play this sometimes perplexing character. Let’s take a closer look at those actors:

1967—James Sims 

The Tempest was first produced at the Festival in 1967, over 55 years ago! Sims had previously played (in 1966) roles in Julius Caesar, Baptista Minola in The Taming of the Shrew, and Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. During the 1967 season (which was his last at the Festival), he also had roles in The Comedy of Errors and Hamlet. 

1971—Paul Cravath 

In 1969, Cravath played Marcade in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Iago in Othello. In 1970, he returned to the Festival, taking on the title role in Richard III, as well as Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor. While playing Prospero, he also balanced his last season at the Festival as Earl of Westmoreland in Henry I: Part One and Gremio in The Taming of the Shrew. 

1976—Len Alexander 

Alexander only acted in one season at the Festival, playing Prospero, as well as Decius Brutus and Luculius in Julius Caesar and an attendant in Love’s Labour’s Lost. 

1984—David Knight

Knight also appeared at the Festival for only one season, playing Prospero as well as Priam in Troilus and Cressida. He also, however, directed The Tempest. Knight studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1952. He also developed the Illinois Repertory Theater and professional acting program there, where he also worked as the artistic director.  

1989—Barry Kraft 

In his only season at the Festival, Kraft played Prospero in The Tempest, as well as Leontes in The Winter’s Tale. He has been a dramaturg of nearly 50 Shakespeare productions and has acted in 86 productions of Shakespeare’s 38 plays. His publications include After-Dinner Shakespeare and Shakespeare Insult Generator.

1995—Harold Gould 

When Gould first appeared at the Festival in 1992 to play King Lear, many audience members recognized him for his work in film and television—as the con man Kid Twist in the movie The Sting, Valerie Harper’s father on television’s Rhoda, and Betty White’s boyfriend on The Golden Girls. In 1995, he returned to the Festival to play Prospero, marking his second a last appearance here.

2007—John Pribyl

Pribyl played the role of Prospero in 2007, but worked at the Festival nearly three decades before, appearing in 1980 as Elbow in Measure for Measure, Duncan in Macbeth, and Pinch in The Comedy of Errors. He returned in 2006, cast as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and Montgomery Hawkes in Peg o’ My Heart. While filling the role of Prospero, he was also Marc in ‘Art.’ Eight seasons later, he returned to the Festival to play in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Amadeus, and Charley’s Aunt.  

2013—Henry Woronicz

Woronicz started out at the Festival in 1983, as Antonio in The Merchant of Venice and King Henry V in Henry V. Years later (in 2002), he returned to direct As You Like It. Since then, he has worked at the Festival several seasons. As an actor he has played such roles as Richard in Richard III (2003), Macbeth in Macbeth (2004), Prospero in The Tempest (2013), and Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV Part One (2018). He also directed As You Like It (2002), The Taming of the Shrew (2004), Coriolanus (2007), Titus Andronicus (2012), Richard II (2013), Henry VI Part One (2018), and The Conclusion of Henry VI: Parts Two and Three (2019).

2022—Jasmine Bracey

This season the Festival has cast a woman as Prospero: Jasmine Bracey is bringing new depth and humanity to this timeless role. She first came to the Festival in 2021 to play Belarius in Cymbeline and Mrs. Dickson in Intimate Apparel. 

“I love Jasmine’s interpretation,” said Sophia K. Metcalf who is playing Ariel. “Prospero talks for almost 30 percent of the show, more than any other Shakespearean lead. It takes a lot to keep the audience engaged, and Jasmine is always finding little new ways to keep the story fresh and alive.” 

For more information about Prospero, you may want to check out the Festival’s study guide “Prospero’s Many Roles,” at https://www.bard.org/study-guides/prosperos-many-roles/.

The Creative Process of Costume Design

Take a look into the creative process of costume designer and artist Raquel Adorno by viewing her costume designs for The Tempest which is now showing at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. (View a larger image by clicking on the thumbnails above.) How do you take a beloved Shakespeare play set it in 1990s? How do you show the magic and humanity that abounds in this show through the clothing the characters are wearing? These early design sketches may give you a bit of insight.

Paiute Youth Take Center Stage at The Greenshow

Similar to last year, the Paiute Tribal Youth Performers from the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah will be taking center stage each evening before The Greenshow. Beginning at 7 p.m., the performances consist of dancing and flute playing by the young members of this talented group. Later in the season, a youth hand drum group will be added.

“The evening performer will tell a little about themselves and do the performance, whether that is dance or flute,” said Native Youth Coordinator Roger Clark. “The dancers start dancing at a [young age], usually around three years old. One of the dancers, Sully, won Best-in-Class at this year’s annual Pow Wow for Youth Men’s Fancy Dancer.” 

The flute players range in age from twelve to eighteen years old and most have been playing since 2017. Clark explained that because the flute songs are quite short, the audience can expect each flute player to play two different songs on two different flutes. 

Executive Producer Frank Mack is excited that the tribal youth are returning this year, and that some changes are being implemented. 

“It’s a more integrated show, with a smoother transition,” Mack said. 

The Greenshow Director Cassie Abate explained those changes, saying that the handoff is more of an “exchange of energy that continues into The Greenshow” so that the two performances feel like one unified piece.  

“I love that the Paiute performers are becoming a part of the fabric of The Greenshow,” Abate said. “We are visitors on this land, and so to be able to acknowledge and honor that feels so vital to the show.” 

Three different versions of The Greenshow rotate throughout the week, including “The Last Time I Saw Paris,” “British Music Hall,” and “Coronation Day.” The Greenshow is open and free to the public and begins at 7:10 p.m. Monday-Saturday on the Ashton Family Greenshow Commons just north of the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. 

The 2022 season of the Utah Shakespeare Festival runs from June 20 to October 8 and the main stage shows are All’s Well That Ends Well, Sweeney Todd, King Lear, The Sound of Music, Trouble in Mind, Clue, The Tempest, and Thurgood. Tickets and information are available by calling 800-PLAYTIX or going online to bard.org.

RADA Is Coming to the Festival

The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to Perform Much Ado about Nothing

By Liz Armstrong 

As part of a strategic partnership with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London is bringing a group of recent graduates’ touring production of Much Ado about Nothing to Festival audiences. This annual touring production has been performed in London and at European arts festivals for years, but this is the first time it will be seen in the United States.

The ninety-minute version of the play will be presented at 9:30 a.m. each day from July 26 to 30 in the Anes Studio Theatre, where audience members will have the opportunity to watch ten graduates from this prestigious London training program perform. The RADA training program boasts a number of exceptional alumni that have seen success as actors, including Alan Rickman, Allison Janney, Anthony Hopkins, Glenda Jackson, Roger Moore, Joan Collins, and Richard Attenborough. And the next RADA “star” just may be on the Festival stage this summer.

Tickets and further information are available by calling the ticket office or visiting bard.org/plays/much-ado-about-nothing/.

“I have long thought that the American approach to Shakespeare—full of gusto and verve—and the British classical elegance are companion acting styles that show why Shakespeare is beloved on both sides of the pond and throughout the English-speaking world,” said Derek Charles Livingston, interim artistic director. “Our RADA guests will provide the Festival audience a chance to witness these beautiful performing contrasts with their morning presentations of Much Ado about Nothing and our afternoon and evening offerings of King Lear, All’s Well that Ends Well, and The Tempest.  It is a rare opportunity, and I’m excited for our audiences to be part of it.”

Announced more than two years ago, the partnership between the Festival and RADA is being fully realized after a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnership includes a commitment to present the annual RADA play at the Festival and to hire at least one RADA student or graduate in the Festival acting company each season. (This year the Festival hired two: Aidan O’Reilly and Michael Sharon.) The five-year agreement is funded by an anonymous donor.

Frank Mack, Festival executive producer, said the artistic exchange program idea began with a simple discussion of the play Hamlet, which the Festival was producing in 2019. “A friend of the Festival mentioned he had seen an exceptional production of Hamlet at RADA, and so we wanted to talk to them about that,” Mack said. That conversation soon expanded into a strategic partnership between the two theatre companies.

Mack noted that this is an exciting partnership because it gives RADA actors the opportunity to come to the U.S. and possibly build a career here while also giving our audiences the opportunity to see magnificent artists from a European training academy. 

“The opportunity for the Festival to expand its artistic horizons beyond our shows and collaborate with one of the most prestigious training academies in the world provides access for our audience to another dimension of theatre performance that we wouldn’t otherwise see,” Mack concluded.

Niamh Dowling, the principal at RADA, added: “I am delighted that we have this excellent partnership with the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Our Shakespeare for Young Audiences program performs specially adapted Shakespeare plays to children all over London, including on occasion in the garden of Number 10 Downing Street. We are thrilled to be visiting for the first time and to share Much Ado about Nothing with you. Huge and sincere thanks to the Utah Shakespeare Festival for your partnership, support, and friendship.”

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Festival Education Director Michael Bahr Announces Retirement

By Liz Armstrong 

After more than twenty-three years with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Education Director Michael Bahr has announced his retirement, effective July 31. Beginning July 1, Bahr started the next act in his life as the director/principal at Gateway Preparatory Academy in Enoch, Utah.

“I am so happy to see Michael step into this exciting new chapter of his life after his amazing and transformative years at the Festival,” said Executive Producer Frank Mack. “Michael has led the education department brilliantly. His innovative curricula and devoted teaching has changed the lives of countless students, while the insights he has shared with our audience members in the Seminar Grove has deepened their experience at the Festival.” 

For the next few weeks, Bahr will stay tied to the Festival, continuing his work until July 31 as he assists the education department during this transitional period. He will also be visible at the Festival in the future conducting seminars and orientations, while his wife, Kris Bahr, assistant guest services manager and volunteer coordinator, continues as a full-time member of the Festival staff.

Called “Peter Pan, the Pied Piper and the Energizer Bunny, all rolled into one,” Bahr has served as the education director for over two decades.

In making the announcement, Bahr made it clear that, although he wasn’t looking for a new position, he is “excited for the challenge that waits at Gateway.”

“I am filled with a sentimental, melancholic sadness upon leaving this position,” Bahr said. “But I am also filled with joy because of what lies ahead for the Festival.” 

Bahr was hired in December 1998 as the education director when he joked he was “dragged kicking and screaming out of the classroom.” He noted that “when Festival Founder Fred C. Adams first made the job offer to me back then, Adams said ‘I need someone who speaks the language of teachers, professional theatre and actors, and students.’”

Bahr spoke those three languages and was hired, but his journey with the Festival began years before this.

“In 1982, I acted in the Shakespeare Competition and was awarded a scholarship to Southern Utah University, which was then Southern Utah State College,” Bahr said. During his time as an undergraduate, Bahr worked at the box office in the Festival. After graduating, he took a job as a teacher in Bakersfield, California, and brought his students back to Cedar City to participate in the Shakespeare Competition. He then moved to northern Utah for another teaching job and continued to bring his students to the competition. 

As Education Director, Bahr was able to spend time teaching at Cedar City and Canyon View High Schools and as an adjunct professor for theater methods at SUU beginning in 2001. 

He has built an incredible legacy in his time at the Festival, implementing monumental changes that have made theatre more accessible to students and teachers. During this time, he solidified summer programs and dramatically amplified the Shakespeare Competition which grew from 45 to over 120 schools. 

Bahr collaboratively created Bard’s Birthday Bash, Playmakers, the Wooden O Symposium, and Shakespeare-in-the-Schools—which consists of an annual touring production for over 20,000 students across the Intermountain West.

“The play—that is central to everything we do. I hope to have left a legacy of access and engagement to plays,” Bahr said. “My legacy is the acknowledgment of the power of the dream and the power in the play to cultivate civil discourse and education.”

Announcing the 2023 Season

Tickets Go On Sale July 7

Cedar City, UT—The Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced its 2023 season, featuring seven plays from June 21 to October 7. In an effort to make it easy for loyal Festival guests to order their tickets well in advance, tickets go on sale beginning July 7: online at www.bard.org, by phone at 800-PLAYTIX, or at the Ticket Office near the Anes Studio Theatre.

“Our 2023 season is full of beloved classics and bold stories—most of them new to Festival audiences,” said Derek Charles Livingston, interim artistic director. “It is a line-up perfect for theatre lovers, a must-see collection of great work.”

Here’s the 2023 lineup:

In the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
By William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be performed at the Festival for the eleventh time next year, a testament to its enduring popularity. This luxurious tale of fairies, dreams, and moonlight features some of Shakespeare’s most famous and enchanting characters: Oberon and Titania, Puck, the four young lovers, and, of course, the hilarious and loveable Bottom. It will play June 22 to September 9.

West Side Story
Based on a Conception of Jerome Robbins
Book by Arthur Laurents
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
The story of Tony and Maria (and the Jets and the Sharks) is known around the world, and is now being brought to the Festival’s outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. Featuring iconic song and dance, this musical masterpiece is just as relevant and provocative now as when it premiered in 1957 and changed American musical theatre forever. Dates for West Side Story are June 21 to September 8.

In the Randall L. Jones Theatre

Jane Austen’s Emma
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Paul Gordon
Orchestrations by Brad Haak, Paul Gordon, and Brian Allan Hobbs
Based on the Novel by Jane AustenJane Austen’s romance is given new life as a flirtatious musical. Emma, one of Austen’s most adored heroines, is a bungling matchmaker who ignores her own desires for love while setting out to find a suitor for her friend Harriet. Sweet, intelligent, and buoyant, this musical will make you fall in love all over again. Jane Austen’s Emma will run from June 22 to October 7.

A Raisin in the Sun
By Lorraine Hansberry 
In 1959 playwright Lorraine Hansberry created a theatrical masterpiece that broke down racial barriers both on and off the stage. A Raisin in the Sun follows the proud Younger family members as they grapple with different definitions of the American dream and how to achieve it, all the while battling racial discrimination and financial pitfalls that threaten to pull the family apart and dash their dreams. It will play June 23 to September 8.

The Play That Goes Wrong
By Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields
In this play-within-a-play, the Cornley Drama Society’s newest production quickly goes from bad to utterly disastrous. Everything seems to go wrong—the leading lady is unconscious, a corpse won’t play dead, and actors trip over everything (including their lines). But, somehow, the intrepid thespians persevere to their final curtain call. The play premiered in 2012 in London and quickly earned numerous awards, including Best New Comedy at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards. It will run from June 30 to October 7.

In the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre

Timon of Athens
By William Shakespeare
Timon of Athens has only been produced one other time at the Festival, in 1993. But the rarely-performed play has seen a bit of a resurgence of late because of its exploration of modern themes. Certainly a play for our times, it is hilarious, satiric, and deeply moving as it explores friendship, wealth, and the foibles of a materialistic society. It will play from July 14 to October 7.

Coriolanus
By William Shakespeare
One of Shakespeare’s last tragedies, Coriolanus is a full-throttled war play based on the life a legendary Roman leader, Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Arrogant, proud, and hot-headed, Coriolanus disdains the commoners around him who soon drive him from Rome and into allegiance with a sworn enemy, forcing him and those around him to closely examine the forces of ambition, love, family, and power. It will run from July 15 to October 7.  

“The 2023 season is an exciting mix of Shakespeare, musical theatre, farce, and an American classic,” said Frank Mack, executive producer. “With these works by authors and composers such as William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, and Lorraine Hansberry; 2023 will provide laughter, emotion, meaning, and big laughs for Festival audiences, all within the extraordinary beauty of southern Utah.”

People in Our Neighborhood: Mayor Garth O. Green

By Liz Armstrong 

This article is the first in a new series the Festival is starting which will feature people in our neighborhoods who share their experiences with the Festival. Some will be new patrons of the Festival, and some like Cedar City Mayor Garth O. Green are life-long fans. We hope you enjoy getting to know your neighbors.

Festival Founder Fred C. Adams used to tell the story of a group of young neighborhood kids who would ride their bicycles to the Festival in its very early years and watch play rehearsals. Among those bicycle-riding, play-watching youngsters was a boy who would go on to become Cedar City’s mayor, Garth O. Green. 

“I was at the Festival the very first season,” Green recalled. “Fred Adams was even my neighbor for a time.”

Born and raised in Cedar City and a Southern Utah University alumnus, Green estimated that he has gone to over forty-five seasons of the Utah Shakespeare Festival, not being able to recall many years he hasn’t attended. “I don’t understand a lot of Shakespeare, but there’s something that draws me to it year after year,” Green said. “I just sit there and enjoy the acting.”

A regular attendee, Green enjoys going to the plays with his wife, his five children, and his grandchildren and noted that he’s definitely a “theatre buff.” 

Having lived in England for about three and a-half years, Green is especially drawn to plays that address English history, like last season’s Richard III.

“I love to sit in the very front row, and I remember one time they handed me a towel,” Green laughed. “Some of the actors threw water on me, and we were soaked. Now I know that if they hand me a towel, something is going to happen.” 

In addition to being a theatre lover and devoted fan of the plays, Green holds a special place in his heart for the unity and community the Festival helps build.

“There’s nothing else that ties people together like the Festival. The Festival is Cedar City. It’s us,” Green said.  “The idea that you come to a little town in the desert of southern Utah and can sit in a theatre and enjoy [Broadway-quality] performances is amazing.” 

Green recalled that there was a time he and his wife would go all the way to New York to see a play. “Now we go halfway across town,” Green said. “I remember I was in New York at a play and I turned to my wife and said, ‘They do it better in Cedar City.’” 

Green will once again be attending this season and would like to welcome those traveling to see the plays: “Welcome friends from [out of town], I hope you have a wonderful experience and enjoy the mountains, food, theatre, and Cedar City hospitality,” Green said. 

Tickets are now on sale for the Festival’s 2022 season which runs now through October 8. In addition, to The Sound of Music, the season will feature All’s Well That Ends Well, Sweeney Todd, King Lear, Trouble in Mind, Clue, The Tempest, and Thurgood. Tickets can be purchased at bard.org or by calling the ticket office at 800-PLAYTIX.

Popular Actor Returns to Play Maria

By Liz Armstrong 

The vibrant and talented Daria Pilar Redus has returned this season to the Utah Shakespeare Festival to take on the role of Maria in The Sound of Music. This is her third season at the Festival, having played Sarah in Ragtime and Kate in The Pirates of Penzance last season as well as performing in Big River in 2018. 

For Redus, playing Maria is an opportunity to play “the most fun and classic role” she could imagine. 

“After last summer playing Sarah in Ragtime, I didn’t think anything could top that overall experience,” Redus said. “The character, how fulfilling it was as an actor, how much it meant to me, I didn’t think that that could be topped—and then they announced The Sound of Music.”

Redus received a bachelor of fine arts degree in acting from Otterbein University in 2018. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, the actress now calls New York City home. Redus recently played Sandy Cheeks in the national tour of The Spongebob Musical.

And now she has returned to the Festival! Redus is thrilled to be back in Cedar City, surrounded by the red rock and mountains she adores so much. “To be in a production where I am celebrating the magic of the mountains, and the freedom and beauty is so incredible—it feels so full circle,” Redus said. “Because I have been talking about these gosh-darn mountains since I got here!”

Redus loves southern Utah, but being back at the Festival feels even more fitting for her because of the love she has for the character of Maria. Redus fondly recalls nights as a child, a bowl of popcorn in her lap on the floor, watching The Sound of Music with her family.

“It’s exciting to play a famous role . . . because [the audience already] knows and loves the show and character,” Redus said. “So now all I have to do is stay true to it and bring myself.” 

Some might find playing such a famous role, one that most associate with Julie Andrews, as intimidating. But for Redus, it’s simply inspiring. 

“I’ve always loved the way [Julie Andrews] plays Maria, so I’m not going to fully abandon it,” Redus said. “But there are so many things about me that I think will make me interesting to watch.”

Redus pointed out that every great role had to be originated by someone. Andrews may have made the role of Maria famous, but there is a reason The Sound of Music continues to be performed. “It takes one person to make a role famous, but it takes so many different, dynamic actors to keep a show around,” Redus said. “Yes, we know and we love Julie Andrews, but that’s not the only way to play Maria.”

As an individual, Redus describes herself as goofy, funny, and silly, and although these are parts of her she sometimes feels the need to “tame,” Redus plans to bring these aspects of her into the role of Maria with full force. 

“Something I love about Maria is that she is apologetic—because she’s human—but also unapologetically herself,” Redus said. “I feel like playing this role, I’ll be able to be unapologetically myself onstage, with humor, with personality, with sensitivity.”

Redus believes there is a reason people are drawn to Maria. She is “authentically human, and loving, and caring and flawed.”

“It’s beautiful how Maria is navigating through life. She is truly in the pursuit of happiness,” Redus said. 

Last season, Redus’ goal was to bring humanity into Sarah in Ragtime. Although the roles of Sarah and Maria are extremely different, especially in how “emotionally demanding” they are, Redus still draws similarities between the two. “It’s similar with Maria. I don’t want anyone to leave that theatre thinking that there was anything wrong with her or that she was a problem that needed solving—or question the captain’s choice in choosing her,” Redus said. “It’s important to bring humanity and truth to these characters.” 

The Sound of Music is a beloved and well-known musical, and Redus encourages audience members—even though they’ve probably already seen it—to come to this production and be refreshed. 

“The power of music is so strong. It’s unifying, and life altering,” Redus points out. “It’s music that brings happiness and joy and childhood back into the von Trapp children and into the captain. It’s music that gives Maria the freedom to explore what she wants to do with her life.”

To Redus, the musical reminds us of the importance of family, love, friends, and of going after what you want, while acknowledging the beauty in our differences and ideas. “There’s this layer to the show of, ‘Why does Captain von Trapp want Maria? She’s a [governess],’” Redus said. “And there’s also this layer in our production that I’m a black woman, and that’s something we don’t shy away from.”

Ultimately, the actress hopes audience members watch the show and take a step back to celebrate the fact that “we are all individuals in the pursuit of happiness.” 

“And if we find that happiness we should be given full permission to chase that, especially if it’s out of joy and love,” Redus said. “I hope people leave the show with compassion in their hearts.”

To purchase tickets to The Sound of Music and see Redus onstage as the spectacular and spirited Maria, visit https://www.bard.org/plays/the-sound-of-music/.

Keep Your Eyes Open for These Surprises

By Liz Armstrong 

Clue, which is playing four times a week this summer at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, is a dynamic, colorful, and hilarious production with an enormous number of props. Afterall, the set must include a grand hallway, the various rooms in the mansion, secret passageways, and a dizzying number of doors and tricks. Properties Director Benjamin Hohman has given us a sneak peek into some of the fun props used in the show and what to keep our eyes open for.

The Chandelier

First keep your eye out for three-and-a-half foot square crystal chandelier. Originally purchased for The Royal Family which the Festival produced in 1993, the chandelier has been in storage for nearly thirty years. Hohman and his team have dusted it off, painted it black, and hung it with glittering black crystals. It is now the perfect chandelier for this gloomy and menacing Victorian house.

The Library

The library features a very-hard-to-miss large bookshelf that moves in and out. The books lining the shelves are real, with over 400 donated by the Ye Olde Catholic Thrift Shop in Cedar City. However, because this bookshelf has to move easily, the props team cut them down to less than three inches deep and glued them together. What’s that old saying? “Don’t judge a book by its cover, or lack thereof." 

The Portraits

One section of the stage includes portraits as if it were a wall. If you look closely, these portraits are actually of —scary animals? That’s right! Hairless cats, piranhas, you name it. Scenic designer Jo Winiarski hand-sketched, inked, and Photoshopped these unique portraits for the gallery wall. 

In honor of our founder, the late Fred C. Adams, there is also a glimpse of him that can be seen onstage. In the hallway, there are four portraits of Fred, depicting him in various roles he played at the Festival. There’s Fred as the Major General in The Pirates of Penzance and Fred as Adam in As You Like It. Can you figure out what the other two roles are?

The Rooms

Because there are so many different rooms in Clue, Winiarski had to be creative with the set design. Traveling panels and spinning walls were the solution! For example, there’s a kitchen with pots and pans on one wall, and on the other side is the billiard room with pool cues and a dart board. 

Each room is color-coordinated too! The lounge is in cool tones, with blues, green, and golds, while the study is old-mansion style, with a gold and red theme. Watch carefully to see all the different designs and details! 

The Dining Room Table

The chairs for the dining room scene were originally purchased for A Winter’s Tale. They were also in Hamlet, and have now been reupholstered for their third time onstage. These chairs are much more complicated than they may appear. Because the table and chairs are on a platform, the back legs are actually longer than the front so that they can reach the stage floor. 

Even more interesting, there is a seventh place setting for Mr. Boddy. But because there’s not enough room for seven chairs onstage, the props team screwed the back of a chair onto the table to make it look like an entire chair is there. Shhhh, it’ll be our little secret. 

The Weapons

When each character is given their weapon, they’re given very large, easy-to-recognize game pieces at the beginning. However, at the end of the show, they pull their weapons out of their pockets. Because they don’t have room in their costumes for the original weapons, there are actually duplicates of each weapon. The original dagger is sixteen inches long, but the dagger at the end is only five inches. It’s practically magic! 

The Game Pieces

Real Clue game pieces are used during the play. The map the characters use in one scene is actually a vintage game board! Oh, and there are actual Clue check-off cards from various versions of the game. The characters carry notebooks, which contain the late ’70s version of the check-off sheets from the board game. 

Other Fun Facts

There’s a bar in pretty much each room. Murder calls for drinking? There’s even a globe bar, in which the globe spins and contains a full bar set up inside.

Keep your eye out for a full length suit of armor in the study, as well as synthetic red-alligator skin in the library. It’s all in the details!

The refrigerator in the play was built from scratch, with the fridge door the only “real part.” Over 200 pounds of additional weight had to be added to the back to keep it from tipping over. Yikes! 

Of course, we can’t give away all of our secrets, but we hope you’ve enjoyed some of the ones we’ve shared. To see Clue and appreciate the intricate set design and props, get your tickets by calling 800-PLAYTIX or visit https://www.bard.org/plays/clue/.

SUU Alumna Lives Out Childhood Dream

By Liz Armstrong 

For actor Anatasha Blakely, dreams really can—and do—come true. 

Blakely is in this year’s acting company at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and for her it’s not just a dream come true, but a full-circle moment (and a homecoming) in her life. 

Blakely grew up in Orem, Utah, before attending Southern Utah University to study classical theatre. While here she fell in love with, not just acting, but with Shakespeare and the Festival. Twelve years later, she is back in her college town, and she said it feels like her teenage dreams have come true. 

“When I was sixteen, I fell in love with Shakespeare at the Festival,” Blakely said. “I was obsessed with Education Director Michael Bahr and thought he was the coolest person—I still do.”

Blakely went on to play Helen in the Festival’s educational touring production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (directed by Bahr) after she graduated from SUU in 2010. 

As a college student, she performed with Off the Cuff, a comedy improvisation company in Cedar City and met some improv actors from Los Angeles. 

“I was drawn to go do improv,” Blakely said. “I went to iO West and Second City in Los Angeles and tried to get the equivalent of a master’s degree in comedy, which I think really changed how I look at Shakespeare and how I approach acting.”

Living and acting in L.A for ten years allowed Blakely to go out and find herself artistically away from home. “I’m trained in classical theatre, and that’s really structured; and if I wanted to be the artist I thought I could, I needed to do the opposite of that, which was jumping on stage and doing improv,” Blakely said.

In addition to changing her perspective as an actor, leaving her home state has made coming back that much more special. Blakely is extremely excited to have landed the role of E. Dumaine in All’s Well That Ends Well because she has worked with director Melinda Pfundstein before. 

“I think she’s a genius, so being able to be in the room with her again is a privilege that I don’t take lightly,” Blakely said.

She also finds parallels between the two roles she’s playing, although E. Dumaine, friend of Bertram, in All’s Well That Ends Well, and Stephano’s drunken character in The Tempest are very different. “Both of the plays are about grace which is beautiful at a time like this, and there’s a mischievousness in both of my characters that’ll be fun,” she said. 

From falling in love with Shakespeare for the first time as a teenager, to becoming a member of the Utah Shakespeare Festival acting company in the very same place, Blakely’s story is the epitome of a happy ending—and a full-circle journey.

Tickets are now on sale for the Festival’s 2022 season which runs now through October 8. In addition, to The Sound of Music, the season will feature All’s Well That Ends Well, Sweeney Todd, King Lear, Trouble in Mind, Clue, The Tempest, and Thurgood. Tickets can be purchased at bard.org or by calling the ticket office at 800-PLAYTIX.