Shakespeare’s Romances: What Are They?

Tim Casto as Pericles in 2010.

By Kathryn Neves

 When most of us hear the word romance, we think of—well, romance. We think of love, couples, Valentine’s Day, chocolate hearts, long walks on the beach, Jack and Rose, Rhett and Scarlett, Elizabeth and Darcy. But when we talk about Shakespearean romances, we’re talking about something else altogether. Surprising as it may be, we’re not talking about Romeo and Juliet here. Shakespearean Romances are a separate genre, and they’re not about romantic love at all.

This year at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, we get the chance to see not one, but two of Shakespeare’s romances: Cymbeline and Pericles. These two often-overlooked plays are some of the Bard’s most beautiful works, and some of the most puzzling. These plays are not tragedies, but they’re not comedies—and they’re certainly not histories either. What are they? Actually, they are in their own separate category, along with The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, and (depending on who you ask) The Two Noble Kinsmen. The romances are Shakespeare’s smallest genre, the often-forgotten fourth category. But what exactly is a Shakespearean romance?

For centuries, people have had trouble putting these plays into the right category. In Shakespeare’s First Folio, Cymbeline was listed as a tragedy, The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale were listed as comedies, and Pericles wasn’t included at all. However, these labels didn’t really fit. Cymbeline has a fairly happy ending; can it really be called a tragedy? And The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale don’t fit well with the rest of the comedies; they deal with a lot of serious themes and issues, and it’s really only their happy endings that make them at all “comedic.”

It wasn’t until 1875 that someone first used the label “romance” for Shakespeare’s works. In his book Shakespeare: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art, Edward Dowden says (speaking about Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest) that “the ties of deepest kinship between them are spiritual. There is a certain romantic element in each.” And, in the footnote to this page, he says that “the same remark applies to Shakespeare’s part of Pericles.” Dowden’s “romantic” label stuck, and Shakespeare lovers and scholars have accepted the romances as a new genre, a category beyond his tragedies and comedies.

It’s pretty clear that Shakespeare wrote these plays around the same time. These are some of the last plays he ever wrote. He was older, and perhaps more mature when he wrote these plays than when he wrote his other works. They all have similar themes. Long-lost relatives, families reuniting, strange locations, redemption, and magic are all important parts of these plays. Each play takes place over long periods of time; each play involves magic and pre-Christian gods, like Jupiter; they involve amazing onstage effects, like thunderstorms and shipwrecks and magical events.

Many of the characters in these romances are older. This is probably because Shakespeare himself was growing older; he began to understand more what age meant, and how it affects people; he was able to delve into the complicated emotions that come with age and parenthood a lot better during this stage of his life than he ever had before.

And, from a more practical point of view, Shakespeare’s actors were growing older too. It had to be a lot easier to write characters who fit the ages of his actors than to try to make his men look younger onstage.

The romances involve both tragedy and comedy, and sometimes even a sprinkling of history. Deaths of relatives, long-lost children and siblings, great misfortune and terrible villains all make for some pretty tragic plays. But in Shakespeare’s romances, the tragedy is reversed; families come together again, the long-dead seem to miraculously come back to life, couples get married, and fairy-tale happy endings prove that these plays are no tragedies. It makes sense that the romances are often called “tragi-comedies.”

For many people, Shakespeare’s romances are his best works. Whether or not that’s true, they are definitely masterpieces. They are so different from Shakespeare’s tragedies and comedies—and yet, they’re very similar, too. The romances do what all of Shakespeare’s works do: they teach, they inspire and they show us what it is to be human. And best of all, they entertain.

Pericles and the Universal Odyssey Story

By Kathryn Neves 

Warning: This article reveals part of the ending and other “surprises” inPericles*. If you don’t want to know this information before seeing the play, you may want to reconsider reading more.*

If there’s one thing that William Shakespeare was good at, it was telling universal stories. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, *Othello—*they’re all stories that dive deep into themes and messages that we all understand. And this season’s Periclesis no different. Though it’s one of the Bard’s lesser-known works, at its heart, the story of the prince of Tyre is one of the most universal stories there is. Pericles is an odyssey story.

Obviously, the most famous odyssey story is—well—The Odyssey. The poet Homer in ancient Greece told the tale of a war hero who travelled from place to place, encountering monsters and damsels and kings on his way home. This is the classic quest story, and it spawned millions of others: the Arthurian Legend, Lord of the Rings, and even The Wizard of Oz just to name a few. The quest story is so universal that it can be found in every culture from every time period. It’s one of the things that humanity has in common: we all love quest narratives. And Periclesis perhaps Shakespeare’s best example.

From the very beginning, our hero Pericles is on a quest: he wants to find a wife. He travels from country to country, encountering deadly secrets and dangerous contests until he wins the hand of Thaisa, a princess of Pentapolis. Together they have a daughter, Marina, born during a storm at sea. All three are separated during the storm, believing each other dead. Marina is raised by a jealous queen, and is sent from a palace to a brothel and finally back to her mother and father; all three reunited by the help of the gods.

The gods themselves are a key part of odyssey stories. The Odysseywas written in the time of ancient Greece, when everyone believed in a pantheon of gods. There was a god for everything: for the ocean, for wisdom, for death, for beauty, for purity. The gods directly intervene in Odysseus’s journey, helping—and sometimes hindering—him on his path. Periclesis no different. Though it was written more than two thousand years later, it’s set loosely in ancient Greece—based on the story of an ancient hero. So the gods are a huge part of the story of Pericles, too. In fact, Diana appears directly to Pericles and tells him where to find his long-lost wife. Pericles is one of the few Shakespeare plays to feature a god or goddess as a character. 

Pericles is, at its core, a journey story. LikeThe Odyssey, Pericles goes on a treacherous journey, defying the odds and risking his life in order to fulfill his quest. He faces an evil king with a murderous secret; he saves a kingdom from starvation; he competes against a band of knights to win Thaisa’s hand in marriage; he encounters shipwrecks and storms and great losses. Marina, too, goes on a journey—nearly as odyssey-like as her father’s! She’s born during a terrible storm and given to an evil, jealous queen; she survives a murder and pirates and a brothel before being reunited with her long-lost parents. In many ways, Marina is as much the hero of the story as Pericles himself.

LikeThe Odyssey, Pericles is about a long journey. But also like The Odyssey, Pericles is about an inner journey. This is a common theme in quest stories: we like to hear about the travels of a hero, because they are exciting and entertaining. But hidden within the hero’s quest is a journey of discovery and growth. Through his travels, Pericles learns how valuable his loved ones are; he learns the importance of virtue and morality; he discovers the significance of hope and faith in the long years of separation from his wife and daughter. Marina, too, goes on a hidden inner journey. Through her years of disaster and hardship, she learns to protect herself, she relies on her inner convictions and strength, she learns the power of the gods in shaping her life, and she understands the value of enduring her many disasters. And at the end, both Pericles and Marina discover the power of love and family when they are reunited with each other and with Thaisa.

 Odyssey tales have been passed down for centuries. We can all connect with these stories. Whether or not we’ve been on a perilous journey like Pericles or Marina (or Odysseus, for that matter), we can all relate to their adventures. Their journeys are more than just travels; they’re universal stories of discovery and endurance. It’s no wonder, then, that Periclesis such a beautiful play. As a quest story, it’s a part of one of humanity’s oldest—and best—traditions.

Questions and Answers with Director Vincent J. Cardinal

Vincent J. Cardinal is returning to the Utah Shakespeare Festival in 2021 to direct The Comedy of Errors, after directing Every Brilliant Thing in 2019 and The Foreigner in 2018. He has also worked as an artistic director, playwright, or director in theatres across the United States. The following question-and-answer session was conducted via email and offers some interesting insights into one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies.

The Utah Shakespeare Festival: You are planning to shift the location and time of this production of The Comedy of Errors. Would you tell us the location and time period we can look forward to and give us some insight as to why you made this decision?

Vincent J. Cardinal: Shakespeare’s Ephesus would have been a tantalizing place.

“They say this town is full of cozenage:
As nimble jugglers that deceive the eye,
Dark-working sorcerers that change the mind,
Soul-killing witches that deform the body,
Disguised cheaters, prating mountebanks,
And many such-like liberties of sin” (The Comedy of Errors, Act 1, Scene 2).

Ephesus must be a place that can be the setting of a romance which reunites a refugee family; the setting of a rough and tumble farce for the groundlings; an environment full of surprises and delight; and a place where cultures and traditions can clash. In thinking about all of those needs, it was clear to me that contemporary audiences wouldn’t make those associations with Turkey, where Ephesus is actually located, but they might see these qualities in a Greek island paradise in 1979. A sort of Mamma Mia meets Shakespeare with the sound of waves, seagulls, and ABBA-inspired music.

The Festival: It is not uncommon to update Shakespeare’s plays in various ways (especially to adjust the time and location of the action). Why do you think theatre companies and directors do this, even when they seldom do it with other playwrights? Is there something unique about Shakespeare’s plays?

Cardinal: Many of Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed with “contemporary” costumes, props, and references. These familiar elements would give the audience significant information about the play’s characters, context, humor, and social assumptions.  By updating the time and location, we provide these clues to our contemporary audience and offer the experience that Shakespeare’s audience might have enjoyed in their time.

The Festival: Several of the plays at the Festival this year deal with immigrants or “outsiders” (Ragtime, Intimate Apparel, Pericles, and perhaps others). Do you see some of those themes in The Comedy of Errors?

Cardinal: The plot of The Comedy of Errors turns on the arrest of a refugee who must find a family member in this strange land in one day or face execution.  Like so many of Shakespeare’s comedies, this story sits on the foundation of heartbreak but grows in zaniness and hilarity as the plot unfolds and finally leads us to the touching and surprising reunion of a long divided refugee family.

The Festival: Comedies are not always considered among Shakespeare’s masterpieces, but they are some of his most popular plays. What is the value of theatres producing comedies as part of their seasons?

Cardinal: As George Bernard Shaw reminded us, “Life does not cease to be funny when someone dies any more than it ceases to be serious when someone laughs.” It is not an original observation that comedy and tragedy are the two sides of one coin. Tragedy accepts life’s darkness and leads the audience towards greater compassion and empathy, while comedy defies the darkness and prods the audience into laughter to survive the miseries of existence.

Especially in the face of a global pandemic, a challenging societal reckoning, rampant wildfires, and political unrest, the call today to survive through laughter and humor seems particularly vital. Comedy offers an emotional catharsis that leads to strength, resilience, and hopefulness. 

The Festival: The Comedy of Errors was one of Shakespeare’s early plays, perhaps his first comedy. How do you think it compares with later comedies such as All’s Well That Ends Well and The Tempest?

Cardinal: I love the youthful and chaotic energy of The Comedy of Errors. One can feel young Shakespeare’s audacity and delight in taking Plautus’ Menaechmi and doubling its twins, contemporizing its plot, and over stuffing every turn with well-worn comic bits. Where The Tempest is sublime, even in its low humor, and transcendent in its final unfolding, The Comedy of Errors relishes the plot mechanics of comic momentum and celebrates high-spirited merriment over an organic, emotional denouement.

The Festival: As playgoers, what should we watch for in this production that may help us enjoy it and/or understand it more?

Cardinal: Keep an eye on out for ways to distinguish which twin is which so you can anticipate and enjoy their reactions to the surprising plot twists.

The Festival: This is your third season in a row directing at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. What attracted you here and why do you keep returning?

Cardinal: Under the leadership of Brian Vaughn and Frank Mack, the Utah Shakespeare Festival is one of the great theatre festivals. Its extraordinary artisans help realize the visons of some of the best creative teams I have ever seen assembled.  The Festival attracts an acting company made up of the nation’s most seasoned stage veterans and most exciting new talent.  When I was invited to join the Festival, it was an honor that I couldn’t pass up. Although very different, The Foreigner and Every Brilliant Thing were special, creative experiences and highlights of my theatre career. With The Comedy of Errors, I’ll be directing in the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre for the first time.  I am excited by the challenge and eager to spend the summer in Shakespeare’s laughter-filled comedy.

The Festival: Besides theatre business, what is the one thing you plan on doing while in Cedar City?

Cardinal: Only one? Returning to Cedar City means catching up with friends, and some of that catching up happens in the areas restaurants: conversations over pizza at Centro or over coffee at The Grind. To burn off those calories, I love hiking in the area’s breathtaking parks including Zion National Park, Spring Creek Canyon, and Cedar Breaks. Cedar City and the Southern Utah University campus are also a walker’s delight.

The Festival: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Cardinal: The pandemic has darkened theatres all over the world.  It seems right that The Comedy of Errors will be among the first plays back on the boards at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.  Its premiere by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men at Gray’s Inn marked one of the first productions offered after England’s plague quarantine of 1592–1594.

The Comedy of Errors: A Groovy Greek Island Paradise

By Parker Bowring 

Greek islands, sparkling waters, and costumes that ooze the groove of 1979 are all part of the Utah Shakespeare Festival 2021 production of The Comedy of Errors as its director and design team move the popular Shakespeare comedy to a colorful Greek island paradise in 1979, á la the the fun and lively movie Mamma Mia.

Set by Shakespeare in Ephesus, which would be present-day Turkey, The Comedy of Errors is “both a rollicking farce and classic romance, a story of hysterical mistaken identity and a tale of a family, torn apart by misfortune, in search of each other,” said director Vincent J. Cardinal,who isreturning to Cedar City this coming season after directing the Festival’s popular plays The Foreigner in 2018 and Every Brilliant Thing in 2019. 

One of the things that will make this play stand out from others this year is that the non-traditional setting. The plot, themes, and language of The Comedy of Errors will remain the same, while the setting will resemble a Greek island in the late seventies.

 “Shakespeare’s audience would have associated the port town of Ephesus with danger, romance, mysticism, the meeting of cultures, unfamiliar laws, and the intersection of the old and the new,” said Cardinal about his decision to reimagine the location and time of the popular comedy. “A contemporary American audience isn’t likely to make those associations with Turkey, but they do have a sense of the Greek Islands as romantic, fun, a bit touristy from cruise ship traffic, ‘foreign’ in culture and, perhaps, religion, mysterious, socially liberal but legally conservative.”

“The Comedy of Errors plays with the clash of rules and human needs as the family from Syracuse unwittingly falls afoul of Ephesus’s immigration laws,” he continued. “So too do American tourists find themselves misstepping in countries where the laws aren’t entirely what they expect.”

With the setting and vibe of the performance set to reflect a carefree and vibrant Greek island, the addition of Mamma Mia-type music is sure to bring the audience right into the heart of the play. “What inspires me about Mamma Mia the movie is that it is apologetically entertaining. Like The Comedy of Errors, it offers actors opportunities to indulge their theatrical virtuosity while sharing an evening of robust laughter and surprise with the audience. Both works lead with joy and fun,” said Cardinal. 

“The sunny, funny setting of the Greek Isles is the perfect match for a laugh filled summer night at the Festival,” he concluded. 

The Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2021 season is scheduled for June 21 to October 10. Plays are The Comedy of Errors, Pericles, Richard III, The Pirates of Penzance, Ragtime, Cymbeline, Intimate Apparel, and The Comedy of Terrors. Information and tickets are available at www.bard.org or by calling the Ticket Office at 800-PLAYTIX.

Shakespeare: The Original Comedian

By Kathryn Neves 

Everyone loves a good comedy. The Marx Brothers, Jim Carrey, Charlie Chaplin, Goofy—these are clowns that we all know and love. Their zany humor and wild slapstick keep us laughing and coming back for more. But there’s another name to add to this list: the king of comedy, the original jester—the one and only William Shakespeare. As evidence, we present The Comedy of Errors which will leave you in stitches, and show you just how funny the Bard really is.

The Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays. Likely written in the mid-1590s, it’s an early example of the Bard’s brilliance and humor. Puns and wordplay, misunderstandings, mistaken identities and wild slapstick—this play has it all. Shakespeare poured everything he had into the comedy of this play— and it paid off. The Comedy of Errors is widely regarded as Shakespeare’s funniest play.

If Shakespeare loved any literary device, it was clowns. Nearly every play he ever wrote has a clown or two. Even the tragedies have clowns: the gravedigger in Hamlet, the Porter in Macbeth, and Lear’s fool all spark moments of comedy into otherwise bleak plays. The clowns in The Comedy of Errors makes the play exponentially funnier. The two Dromios, both of Syracuse and Ephesus, regale us with their jokes and their exaggerated mishaps.

Throughout Shakespeare’s plays, the clowns have several things in common: they are commoners or peasants, they are exceptionally witty, and they have intelligence and insight that goes far beyond their station in life. This certainly holds true in The Comedy of Errors. Each Dromio, slave to his respective Antipholus master, is witty enough to keep even the most intelligent playgoer rolling in the aisle. One example is in the description that Dromio of Syracuse delivers about his supposed wife: “she is spherical, like a globe,” he says. In his banter with Antipholus of Syracuse, he cleverly compares each part of her body to a country: the Americas “upon her nose all o’er embellished with rubies, carbuncles, sapphires;” Ireland, “in her buttocks: I found it out by the bogs.” Lines that would have had Shakespeare’s audiences in stitches—and keep us laughing even four centuries later.

Shakespeare goes beyond just clowns. The Comedy of Errors is a play famous for its slapstick. With chase scenes, exaggerated comedic violence, and wild physical mishaps, this play could sit right alongside Woody Woodpecker and the Three Stooges. Slapstick goes all the way back to the 1500s. This style of comedy was very popular in Italian commedia dell’arte; in fact, the style is even named for an Italian special effect device—two sticks you would slap together to make an exaggerated, comical slapping noise. Slapstick is funny enough that it’s lasted for centuries; there are plenty of comedians today who use slapstick in their routines. Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors was actually one of the earliest examples of the art form. All the smacking and chasing and wild physical nonsense may seem pretty ordinary for those of us who have grown up with Mr. Bean and Goofy, but Shakespeare’s slapstick was original—it was innovative, exciting, and pretty dang funny. Antipholus—both of Syracuse and Ephesus— spends the entire play whacking and pummeling poor Dromio; and like any clown worth his salt, Dromio takes it all with the most exaggerated and hilarious of reactions. Shakespeare’s slapstick definitely still holds up.

William Shakespeare is known for his complexity and his gravitas; his tragedies and his histories are full of universal human themes and emotionally moving moments that have given him his status as the Bard. But we shouldn’t overlook his comedies. He truly was a Renaissance man, master of every genre. With his slapstick, clowns, and wit, Shakespeare was the original king of comedy. Even 400 years later, Shakespeare far outshines every other comedian. The Comedy of Errors is a master comedy— and we can’t wait for you to see it!

Waltonland and A Midsummer Night’s Dream

David Everette as Puck

Mary Walton as Egeus

Nick Walton as Titania

Michael Walton as Oberon

By Parker Bowring

 CEDAR CITY, Utah — “Friends, patriots, countrymen! Lend me your ears because obviously the rest of your bodies will not be in Cedar City this year. To go or not to go, that was the question for a while. But then we learned we Shakespeare lovers would have to entertain ourselves this summer” (Prologue of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Waltonland, read by Julie Humes).

The 2020 Utah Shakespeare Festival was not what any of us planned; but some people just need their Shakespeare hit! And the Walton family decided if they couldn’t go to the Festival, they would bring the Festival to them—into their own backyards.

To fill the void of a summer without theatre, Mary Walton, a faithful patron of the Festival, took matters into her own hands and with the help of her family created their own production of Shakespeare’s beloved A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In order to complete such a project, the play was split into seven parts and given to seven households to complete. Rose-Marie Walton, daughter of Mary Walton, took the script and cut it down to an hour.

“That turned out to be a lot harder than I thought! The plots are such a tangled web, woven together by the master, of course. And I had forgotten just how many wonderful lines are from this play” said Rose-Marie. Each family then began to bring A Midsummer Night’s Dream to life. In order to create the music for the play, James, Rose-Marie’s brother, did not act and instead dedicated his expertise to creating the perfect soundtrack.

Through family members (and dogs) acting skills, puppets, dolls and other toys, and clever drawings, then cutting and piecing it back together, the Waltons created a masterpiece that showcased their love of theatre and Shakespeare. The production turned out to be an hour long, full of laughs and bards. The Walton’s production stands as a testament to their love of theatre and how, even through uncertainty, there is joy.

In talking about feedback the Festival as received in this summer without plays, Donn Jersey, director of development and communications, said, “There is a common theme to all of the outreach we receive from our wonderful patrons: they miss us. The Waltons weren’t going to go a summer without Shakespeare, so they created their own production.  It’s just wonderful, a really beautiful way to fill the hole caused by the current health crisis.”

  What is incredible about this story is how people came together in a time of uncertainty and created something really special. In the process of creating their production, the Waltons discovered that even though they could not physically be at the Festival, they still were taking part in the age-old tradition of storytelling.

“Producing their very own production to stay connected to the art and the Festival just touches our hearts; what a beautiful way to let us know they miss us,” added Jersey. “We can’t wait to welcome the Waltons and so many other friends back to the Festival in 2021 to join in the fun of our sixtieth anniversary celebration.”

“The Festival is a tradition for our family. It is a wonderful chance to get away and be totally immersed in theatre,” said Rose-Marie. “We’re either at a seminar, at The Greenshow, at a play, or talking about the plays with each other. It is so fun to discuss the shows together, hear from the actors and directors, and watch actors perform multiple roles.”

“Being part of this family production was a lot of fun, especially seeing how ‘hammy’ everyone was,” she added. “I think it was a great outlet for creativity and silliness with all the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic. It also reminded me just how much work, time, and talent goes into even an amateur production. I think we will all appreciate next season’s productions even more because of our little midsummer adventure.”

You can view the full one-hour production on YouTube here or a short preview here.

For more information on plays or the Festival in general, and to order tickets for the 2021 season, visit the Festival’s website at bard.org or call 800-PLAYTIX

The Randall Theatre Gets a Facelift

By Kathryn R. Neves

CEDAR CITY, Utah — The Randall L. Jones Theatre is a beloved Cedar City and Utah Shakespeare Festival icon. It was the Festival’s first indoor theatre, opening in 1989; and for over three decades has been the showcase of numerous plays from around the world. It has welcomed a generation of theatre-lovers, and has been a gracious host to millions of patrons. Yet, even with the best of buildings, the effects of years of weather and use take a toll. So this past summer and fall, the Randall Theatre has been getting some tender loving care.

“The Randall L. Jones Theater is thirty years old, and getting some much-needed enhancements,” said Donn Jersey, director of development and communications. “It’s been a beloved part of the Utah Shakespeare Festival for such a long time; it’s about time it gets a facelift! This year, the first year in the history of the Festival without a season—is the perfect year to spruce up the space and give it the care and restoration it deserves.

As King Lear might explain it, “the winds have blown and cracked their cheeks, the hurricanoes have spouted and drenched” this theatre. In short, the elements have finally taken their toll. The wooden trim outside has expanded and contracted with the elements, leading to leaks and gaps. But not to worry! Crews from Southern Utah University have added extra material to the building’s exterior to repair the damage and to prevent any further wear and tear.

In the process, extra care has been taken to restore the aesthetic of the building. When you visit this summer, you’ll notice the shining new trim; it’s a beautiful pine that’s been hardened and sealed to let the natural wood color show through. And the rest of the building has been polished up to match. “We have brand new doors and bright brass hardware to go along with the new trim,” said Facilities Director Kevin Davis. “I am so proud to see the Randall’s facelift take place. A big thanks to SUU, and the contractors involved.”

An especially important renovation is the replacement of the theatre’s rigging system, a process which is starting this month. The rigging system, a complex set of mechanics that suspend and move scenes and sets, lighting, and sound equipment above the stage. “Imagine moving materials with a crane or hoisting sails on a tall ship,” said Richard Girtain, production manager. “These activities are directly related to the principles used in theatrical rigging.” After years of extensive use, it’s time to replace them so that they can be operated safely by our amazing stage crews. The entire system will be removed and replaced with an updated version that will allow for smoother, safer theatre operation.

You’ll also find next season that we have improved Wi-Fi throughout the Randall, as well as the rest of the Beverley Center. Our goal is to keep this space as updated and comfortable as possible, all to help make our patrons’ experience even more enjoyable—and part of that is giving everybody better access to email, social media, and the internet in general.

All restorations will be completed by spring of 2021, so playgoers be able to enjoy the sixtieth anniversary season even more. “We can’t wait to share the new look of the Randall with our patrons in 2021,” concluded Jersey.

Shakespeare Competition Going Virtual

As numerous events around the world were being canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Utah Shakespeare Festival Education Director Michael Bahr knew that he could not let the annual Shakespeare Competition be called off, even for a year. He knew he had to find a way to pull off the forty-fourth annual event that draws thousands of students.

So, the Festival Education Department found a way: a virtual competition, complete with professional adjudication, workshops, and performances. The competition is October 9, with students and schools able to submit their video entries through September 26.

“We just knew we must do this. This event cultivates and encourages a fundamental love for the arts. Once a student has been challenged by performing Shakespeare, they can do anything,” said Bahr. “Teachers and students, despite the challenges of COVID, have been enthusiastically preparing to share their pieces in this virtual format. They are proving that the show must go on!” 

The Festival is expecting submissions from over 2,000 students from 106 schools in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Kansas, California, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Rather than meeting in person at Southern Utah University, schools and students will submit all of their performances as a recorded file, including acting entries in monologues, duo/trio scenes, ensemble scenes; dance duo/trio scenes and ensemble performances; choral minstrel and madrigal pieces; technical portfolios; and Tech Olympics. 

Those recorded files are then sent to judges who are professional actors, dancers, and technicians from all over the United States. The judges will rate the entries on a uniform scoring rubric and provide an instructive critique. 

The competition is also offering the usual workshops in dance, acting, music, and theatre production, all online. Some of these will be pre-recorded and available for teachers to use at any time within their classrooms. Many will be offered live via Zoom for students to attend on October 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

In addition, students will be able to view online the Southern Utah University Dance Showcase; a choir concert, “Transformations”; and the Theatre Department production of Much Ado about Nothing.

And, of course, there will be a closing virtual get-together where awards will be announced in each category.

“We are looking forward to seeing the many ways that students have adapted to perform within the obstacles of social distance, Zoom rehearsals, and masks,” concluded Bahr.

More information is available by contacting the Education Department at education@bard.org or visiting the website at www.bard.org/competition.

Treasures of Every Kind—Don't Miss Our Sale!

How much stuff, how many bits and pieces, odds and ends, and treasures can a theatre company accumulate in sixty years? The answer, without being precise: a lot.

The Utah Shakespeare Festival has storage units packed to the ceiling with thousands of items, from prop furniture to children’s costumes, from event décor to seasonal décor. And they are cleaning out, organizing, and having a huge storage sale!

The public sale is scheduled for Saturday, September 26, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Shakespeare Lane between 200 and 300 West, just south of the Beverley Center for the Arts and the Festival complex.

“We are very excited about this sale,” said Donn Jersey, development and communication director. “The Festival has never had a sale of this size and scope; so it will be fun to see the variety and the amount of items available—and to offer an enjoyable and safe community event during this summer and fall of canceled theatre.”

The thousands of items on sale will include toys, children’s costumes, housewares, lawn décor, seasonal décor, interior decorations, jewelry, Festival memorabilia (posters, keychains, programs, books, CDs, etc.), baskets, glassware, journals, clothing, cards, artwork, prop furniture, tassels and fabric trims, baskets, china, event décor, and lots more.

“And everything will be priced very inexpensive, even cheap,” said Jersey. “Our goal is not to make a lot of money, but to clean out our storage and provide a fun community event at the same time.”

Because of COVID-19, health restrictions will be maintained: masks are required, and social distancing is encouraged. “We hope everyone will be aware of others at this event and will help us keep it safe,” said Jersey.

“Then, come and find the perfect item,” he concluded, “gifts, Halloween costumes, décor for your home, souvenirs, and so much more. We can’t wait to see you there.”

The Utah Shakespeare Festival just recently announced a full 2021 season, running from June 21 to October 9. Plays are Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, Richard III, Pericles, and Cymbeline, as well as two musicals (The Pirates of Penzance and Ragtime) and two additional plays: The Comedy of Terrors and Intimate Apparel. Tickets are now on sale by visiting www.bard.org or calling 800-PLAYTIX.

2021 Season "Will Be a Magnificent Experience"

View the 2021 Season Calendar • Purchase Tickets Now

CEDAR CITY, Utah — “The 2021 season at the Utah Shakespeare will be like no other in our history,” said Executive Producer Frank Mack in announcing the upcoming theatre season. “It is our sixtieth year, it is dedicated to our founder, Fred C. Adams, and it marks our return to producing after missing 2020. It will be a magnificent experience.”

The season will feature eight plays in three theatres, plus all the extra “Festival Experience” traditions and activities guests have come to love over the last six decades, The Greenshow, backstage tours, Repertory Magic, various seminars, orientations, and numerous classes. And, it will be even more exciting because it marks the return of professional theatre to Cedar City after the Festival canceled its 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to dedicating the season to him, the Festival is planning on a celebration in August of the life of Fred C. Adams, who founded the Festival in 1961 and passed away this past February.

The season will run from June 21 through October 9. The plays will be William Shakespeare’s Richard III, The Comedy of Errors, Pericles, and Cymbeline, as well as two great musicals: Ragtime by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty, and Lynn Ahrens, The Pirates of Penzance by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, Intimate Apparel by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, and The Comedy of Terrors by John Goodrum.

Tickets for the 2021 shows are $23 to $85 and go on sale August 17: go to the Festival website at bard.org or call 800-PLAYTIX.

“This upcoming season is a mixture of plays rolled over from the cancelled 2020 season, with the addition of three exciting and reflective plays that capture the heartbeat of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s enduring mission,” said Artistic Director Brian Vaughn. “All of these titles explore varying themes of identity and mortality; the debate of fate versus free will; and the examination of the human spirit’s ability to overcome injustice and oppression. Combined, they make up a rich tapestry of drama that magnifies the intricacies of our collective humanity.”

In the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre

The 2021 season will start June 21-23 with three Shakespearean shows running in rotating repertory in the Festival’s beautiful outdoor Engelstad Theatre.

Playgoers will have a chance to see the rarely performed Pericles from June 21 to September 9, a tale of high adventure presented for only the third time in the Festival’s history. Pericles is searching for thrills, treasure, and family. But his loves die, his friends deceive him, and the gods seem to be against him. In the end, he finds the most important treasure of all: himself.

Richard III is the next installment in the Festival’s History Cycle, completing the story of the War of the Roses told in Henry V, and the three parts of Henry VI. Playing from June 22 to September 10, Richard III features one of Shakespeare’s most charming and evil villains. Richard, the ambitious son of York, has taken the English throne by exploiting or murdering everyone in his path, but it isn’t clear that he can keep it in the twisted world he has created.

The Comedy of Errors, one of Shakespeare’s funniest plays, will open June 23 and play through September 11. Featuring not just one, but two sets of bewildered twins, it’s double the laughter and twice the fun as confusion reigns supreme. You will laugh from beginning to end as these bewildered twins try to unravel the lunatic events swirling around them.

In the Randall L. Jones Theatre

Two spectacular musicals and a hilarious two-actor farce will be featured in the indoor Randall Theatre.

First will be the ever-popular Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, The Pirates of Penzance, which plays from June 25 and runs to the end of the season, October 9. Spotlighting a ship full of zany pirates, a bevy of giggling maidens, and a band of bumbling policemen, the show is one of the most charmingly silly love stories ever to grace the stage. Alack! Alack! Will our hero, Frederic, ever be reunited with his love, Mabel?

Next will be Ragtime, the story of a wealthy white couple, a Jewish immigrant father and daughter, and an African-American ragtime musician whose lives intertwine and sometimes collide as they seek the American dream at the volatile turn of the twentieth century. This stirring musical epic captures the beats of a nation: the conflict, the hope and despair, the search for justice, and—of course—the ragtime. The show opens June 26 and plays through September 11.

Balancing out these two large musicals will be a play which is smaller in actor numbers, but features dizzying action and dialogue: The Comedy of Terrors features two twin sisters, two twin brothers, and a third brother thrown in just for kicks. It sounds like a familiar Shakespearean comedy, but this spooky and madcap farce revs up the action even further as two actors play all five characters: a police officer, a confused thespian, her twin sister-gone-bad, a conniving charity worker, and his bumbling twin brother. It plays July 29 through October 9.

In the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre

Another Shakespeare play and a lyrical and warm but powerful play by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage complete the 2021 season in the Anes Studio Theatre.

Cymbeline, William Shakespeare’s fantastical romance, will open on July 16 and run through October 9. A wicked stepmother, a banished soulmate, villains, ghosts, long-lost princes, and a lion-hearted heroine are all a part of this mythic tale based on the legends of ancient Celts and chock-full of deception, intrigue, innocence, and jealousy on the road to Happily Ever After.

Completing the season will be Intimate Apparel which runs from July 17 to October 9. Esther is a single African-American woman in early 1900s Manhattan who has sewn her way out of poverty stitch by stitch, creating fine lingerie for her wealthy clientele. But she is alone and cautiously exchanging love letters with a Panama Canal laborer on his way to New York, despite mutual tender affections with her Jewish cloth merchant. This warm, heart-rending play gently weaves an intricate tapestry of our need for intimacy while exploring social divisions of race, religion, equality, and class.

“The 2021 season marks sixty glorious years producing Shakespeare under the stars at the Utah Shakespeare Festival,” said Vaughn. “It will be a season filled with celebration and reflection, including honoring the legacy of Festival founder Fred C. Adams and the incredible achievements of his remarkable life.”

 “The confluence of many circumstances will combine to make 2021 an exciting season—celebrating sixty years of great professional theatre in beautiful Cedar City, honoring our visionary founder who made all this possible, and getting to produce shows for our wonderful audiences, by our amazing artists, after a year-long hiatus,” concluded Mack.

For more information on plays or the Festival in general, and to order tickets, visit the Festival’s website at bard.org or call 800-PLAYTIX.

View the 2021 Season Calendar • Purchase Tickets Now