News From the Festival
Multi-Part Project to Enhance Guest Experience
Looking north across the new outdoor gathering area to Ellen’s Sweet Shoppe and the Gardner Family Clock Tower.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA) recently broke ground on a multi-part project meant to enhance the guest experience at the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts on the campus of Southern Utah University.
The project includes a new gift store, a concessions stand, a clock tower, an outdoor gathering area, and landscaping and seating upgrades at SUMA.
“Festival guests are in for a wonderful surprise when they visit this summer,” said Frank Mack, executive producer. “We are adding a new gift shop in the Engelstad Theatre, a new concessions stand, and beautiful new lawns and gardens that include a colonnade of trees with new outdoor seating to form a new gathering place for guests to visit, relax, sip refreshments and enjoy the serenity of the Beverly Center for the Arts.”
“Generous donations from the Gardner and Adelman families have made these improvements possible, and I’m grateful for their support,” he concluded.
Construction is continuing apace with the projects scheduled to be complete by the first week of June.
In addition to private donors, Iron County has awarded the overall undertaking a grant from the Iron County restaurant tax. Southern Utah University also contributed significantly to enable the construction of the new gift shop.
The biggest four projects are meant to enhance the Festival experience by providing shopping, concessions, and gathering space to the area east of the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre.
The new Festival Gift Shop will be built into the east lobby of the Engelstad Theatre. The 1,200 square foot shop will be filled with souvenirs, clothing, books, programs, and more and will be operated by the Southern Utah University Bookstore. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. the days of plays. The current Randall Gift Shop will still be open, but its footprint will be slightly smaller.
Ellen’s Sweet Shoppe will be open from 8:30 a.m. until intermission of the evening play.
The outdoor gathering space, or “outdoor living room,” is just to the east of the new gift shop and will provide an inviting and comfortable space for guests to meet and mingle, relax, have a snack or lunch, and enjoy their time at the Festival. For guests attending morning discussions in the seminar grove, Ellen’s Sweet Shoppe will be serving coffee and light breakfast items. Much of the concrete will be removed and replaced by lawn areas, Victorian gardens, a colonnade of shade trees, and seating and tables.
Between the Engelstad Theatre and the Ticket Office will be the new Ellen’s Sweet Shoppe and the Gardner Family Clock Tower. The sweet shop will be open from 8:30 a.m. until intermission of the evening play and will sell candy, ice cream, prepared food, snacks, and drinks. For guests attending morning discussions in the seminar grove, Ellen’s Sweet Shoppe will be serving coffee and light breakfast items. It is named for Ellen Adelman whose family and friends provided the funding. The new clock tower is named for Ella Gardner who generously provided the funding for it.
In addition, two projects will be completed around SUMA.
Pathways, landscaping, and seating will be added to the Stillman Sculpture Court on the east side of SUMA adjacent to the Ashton Family Greenshow Commons. This will enhance the ambiance and comfort of guests as they wander through this outdoor collection of sculpture. In addition, seating will be added to the Stewart Family Foundation Plaza which serves as SUMA’s front door.
Construction is scheduled to be finished by the first week of June, before the first Festival production on June 27. Concurrent with the Festival’s opening is a related exhibit in SUMA, Karl Momen, Homage to William Shakespeare, running through October 5.
The 2019 lineup of plays at the Festival include four by Shakespeare: Macbeth, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and the Festival’s four and one-half hour finale of the King Henry VI plays dubbed The Conclusion of Henry VI: Parts Two and Three. In addition, the season will include The Book of Will by Lauren Gunderson, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Price by Arthur Miller, and Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe.
Tickets for the season are now on sale: visit the Festival website at bard.org, call 800-PLAYTIX, or visit the Ticket Office next to the Anes Studio Theatre.
Festival Announces First 2019 Casting
Quinn Mattfeld
Betsy Mugavero
Wayne T. Carr
Jacqueline Antaramian
Michael Doherty
Katie Cunningham
Russ Benton
Michael Elich
Dan Kremer
Stephanie Lambourn
Jim Poulos
Samae Allred
After sorting through the resumes, photos, and auditions of nearly 1,200 actors, Artistic Director Brian Vaughn has recently announced the first group of what will be about sixty actors that will be appearing at the Utah Shakespeare Festival this summer. Included in this number are twelve actors who have appeared at the Festival in the past.
“With a company of nearly sixty actors chosen from a pool of applicants from all major markets, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, this season’s acting company is comprised of fresh new talent and returning Festival favorites,” said Vaughn. “I am proud of the company I’ve assembled and eager for them to share their work with our dedicated audience.”
The twelve actors below are a backbone of sorts for the season; however, to see all the company members (including bios and photos) as they are announced, visit the Festival website at www.bard.org.
Quinn Mattfeld will be returning this year to play the title role in Hamlet, as well as Lennox in Macbeth. A long-time actor at the Festival, he has played such roles as Will Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Black Stache in Peter and the Starcatcher, Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night, and Gary in Noises Off!
“This year will mark a decade since my first summer at the Festival,” he said. “Getting to play Hamlet, directed by Brian Vaughn, in the Randall L. Jones Theatre, the same space where we’ve done Guys and Dolls, A Winter’s Tale, and Peter and the Starcatcher together, is the kind of magic you dream of as an actor. Utah Shakes has meant so much to my wife Betsy and me over the years, and I couldn’t be more thrilled and humbled to be asked back again to play the title role in what is arguably the greatest play ever written.”
Betsy Mugavero is returning for her eighth season at the Festival to play Olivia in Twelfth Night, Witch in Macbeth, and Alice Heminges and Susannah Shakespeare in The Book of Will. Last year she played Desdemona in Othello, Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice, and Clarice in The Liar. She has also played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Viola in Shakespeare in Love, Julia in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and many more.
“Studying, performing, and producing Shakespeare plays for our modern audience is my life’s work,” she said. “I attribute the utmost gratitude for making my passion for performing this ageless material and my growth as an actor to the Utah Shakespeare Festival. This will be my first time in a production of Twelfth Night and I cannot wait to surrender myself to this lovely play and live in Olivia’s affected world.”
Wayne T. Carr will be returning to the Festival this year after a stellar performance in 2018 in the title role of Othello, as well as Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice and Alcippe in The Liar. This season he will be playing the title role of Macbeth and several characters in The Conclusion of Henry VI: Parts Two and Three. He has also appeared off-Broadway and regionally, as well as in television and film.
“In my second year at the Festival, I’m eager to tell some amazing stories with a stellar group of artists,” he said.
Jacqueline Antaramian will be playing Gertrude in Hamlet and Esther Franz in The Price this season at the Festival. In the past, she has played Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra, Tamora in Titus Andronicus, and the title role in Mary Stuart. She has also appeared on Broadway (including with Denzel Washington in Julius Caesar), at the Metropolitan Opera, and at theatres across the country.
“I am thrilled to be back to the Festival this year to do Hamlet and The Price,” she said. “Playing Gertrude in my favorite Shakespeare play, with the most talented Brian Vaughn directing, is an artistic collaborative dream come true.”
Anyone who saw last year’s The Foreigner will remember Michael Doherty as the shy but hilarious Charlie in The Foreigner and as Tom Sawyer in Big River. Audiences may also remember him in the comic roles of Fanny Babbs in Charley’s Aunt, Tranio in The Taming of the Shrew, and Speed in The Two Gentlemen of Verona in 2015. This season he will be portraying a softer, realistic humor as the Narrator in the one-man show Every Brilliant Thing.
“I have the profound privilege of performing Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe’s funny, moving, and uniquely theatrical Every Brilliant Thing,” he said. “I’ve seen this piece a few times, and, in addition to being sixty minutes of immersive and intimate theatre magic, it also feels like a public service. This is a story that really needs to be told, and I’m incredibly honored that I get to tell it.”
Katie Cunningham will be portraying a variety of strong women this year: Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Maria in Twelfth Night, and Rebecca Heminges and Anne Hathaway Shakespeare in The Book of Will. Last season she played Emilia in Othello and the delightful “twins” Isabelle and Sabine in The Liar.
“I never dreamed I’d get to tackle Lady Macbeth at all, much less at such a prestigious and storied institution,” she said. “It’s an honor to play four interesting and exciting characters with such wide-ranging experiences, and I look forward to interacting and engaging with the wonderful Festival audiences this summer.”
Russ Benton played Owen Musser in the Festival production of The Foreigner last year, but will also be remembered by long-time Festival fans as Pharoah in the 1998 production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a role he will be reprising this season. He will also be playing several roles in The Book of Will.
“I am very excited to come back to the Festival this summer and work with so many dear friends and returning colleagues,” he said. “Playing the Pharaoh once again, after playing it here twenty-one years ago, will be fun and intriguing to see what new things we can find and play with.”
Michael Elich is returning for his third season at the Festival, playing Macduff in Macbeth and Richard Plantagenet and Lord Hastings in The Conclusion of Henry VI: Parts Two and Three. Last season he also played Plantagenet, in Henry VI Part One, and will be seeing his character through the War of the Roses this year. Other roles at the Festival include Dr. Caius in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Balthazar in The Merchant of Venice, Long John Silver in Treasure Island, Jaques in As You Like It, and Burbage in Shakespeare in Love.
“I am very much looking forward to a third season at the Festival,” he said. “In particular, I look forward to continuing in the role of Richard Plantagenet while teaming up once again with director Henry Woronicz and the gifted Festival design team as we conclude this very rarely produced history cycle.”
Dan Kremer is returning to continue his role as Duke of Gloucester, as well as Jack Cade, in the Conclusion of Henry VI: Parts Two and Three. Last season he began the role of Gloucester in the first part of the Henry VI trilogy, as well as playing Robert Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Other roles at the Festival include Titus in Titus Andronicus, Lear in King Lear, Vandergelder in The Matchmaker, and several others.
“I look forward to exploring the political intrigues in the conclusion of the Henry VI trilogy, continuing in the role of the royal advisor, Gloucester,” he said. “As ever, it is an honor to contribute to the tradition of illuminating our common humanity in poetry and prose.”
Stephanie Lambourn will be continuing her role as Queen Margaret in The Conclusion of Henry VI: Parts Two and Three, after starting the role in Henry VI Part One last season. She will also be playing Lady Macduff in Macbeth. Last season she played Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Miss Watson and Sally Phelps in Big River.
“I am thrilled to return to the Festival and continue the character of Margaret in the Henry VI series,” she said. “Originally from Australia, I am looking forward to another summer in Utah.”
Jim Poulos is also returning to the Festival this year to continue his role of King Henry VI in The Conclusion of Henry VI: Parts Two and Three. He will also be playing Ross in Macbeth. In past years he has played such roles as The Duke in Big River, Chico in The Cocoanuts, and Robertson Aye in Mary Poppins.
“Playing King Henry VI in any production is rare,” he said. “And now, to return to the Festival and complete King Henry’s journey, I’m feeling ready to dig in. To top it off, I’ll be playing Ross in Macbeth, helmed by Melissa Rain Anderson. It’s going to be a fantastic season with an extraordinary group of people.”
Samae Allred is a Southern Utah University graduate and a familiar face to the Festival and SUU theatre audiences. At the Festival last year she played Mary Janes Wilkes in Big River. This season she will be highlighted as the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
“Playing the Narrator is a dream I’ve had since I was a child,” she said. “I remember sitting my parents down in our living room and performing every single character from the play for two hours straight. So from my childhood living room to the Festival stage, it is truly an honor to bring to fruition my dream!”
The 2019 lineup of plays at the Festival include four by Shakespeare: Macbeth, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and the Festival’s four and one-half hour finale of the King Henry VI plays dubbed The Conclusion of Henry VI: Parts Two and Three. In addition, the season will include The Book of Will by Lauren Gunderson, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Price by Arthur Miller, and Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe.
Tickets for the season are now on sale: visit the Festival website at bard.org, call 800-PLAYTIX, or visit the Ticket Office next to the Anes Studio Theatre.
Speaking the Speech: The Greatest Hamlets
Richard Burbage
Edwin Booth
Sarah Bernhardt
John Barrymore
Lawrence Olivier
Kenneth Branagh
Mel Gibson
By Kathryn Neves
Of all the great characters out there, there’s no role so highly coveted as Hamlet, Shakespeare’s Prince of Denmark. His complex psyche and his beautiful language make him the Holy Grail of acting careers. And from the time Shakespeare set down his pen all the way to today, some of the world’s finest men and women have stepped into Hamlet’s shoes.
Richard Burbage was the first man to play Hamlet. In fact, most people speculate that the role was written for him. He was described as one of the best actors of the era, appearing in Shakespeare’s plays, as well as Ben Jonson’s, John Webster’s, and others. We don’t know a lot about his portrayal of Hamlet, but we do know that it was enough to spur him on to huge popularity—so much so that when he died, the outpouring of grief threatened to overshadow the official mourning for Anne, queen consort to King James I, who died ten days earlier! Burbage is a character in this season’s Utah Shakespeare Festival production of The Book of Will.
Hamlet was very popular when it finally came to America. The first recorded American Hamlet was played by Lewis Hallam, Jr., in 1759 in Philadelphia. In later years, Hamlet would be performed by countless American actors, but perhaps the most famous of all of them was Edwin Booth. Some historians called Edwin Booth the greatest Hamlet in the nineteenth century. Beginning in 1864, he starred in a production of Hamlet that came to be known as the “Hundred Nights Hamlet”; it was the world record for a Hamlet run until 1922. In fact, Hamlet became his signature role. However, most of his achievements have been overshadowed over the years; just after the Civil War ended, his brother, John Wilkes Booth, assassinated Abraham Lincoln. Still, even today, many people consider Edwin Booth to be the Great American Hamlet.
Hamlet was not only popular in England and America. The play was fairly popular in France in the late 1800s; one of the most prominent actors on the Continent performed an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet to great acclaim in 1899: her name was Sarah Bernhardt. Surprisingly enough, Bernhardt was not the first woman to play Hamlet. That honor belongs to Sarah Siddons in 1778. Still, Bernhardt’s Hamlet was very influential. She became incredibly famous for it, to the point that when films were invented, she became the first Hamlet to ever appear on film; it was a five-minute silent film of the fencing scene between Hamlet and Laertes.
John Barrymore was another famous Hamlet. He was the man who broke Edwin Booth’s record of the longest running Hamlet; Barrymore’s ran for 101 performances. His role as Hamlet cemented him as “the greatest living American tragedian,” as expressed by a reviewer in Brooklyn Life. The performance was a huge success; of his role, Barrymore said that Hamlet was “a normal, healthy, lusty young fellow who simply got into a mess that was too thick for him.” He played Hamlet as an ordinary man, which appealed to audiences everywhere, while at the same time bringing psychological complexity to the character. The New York Herald even said that it was a performance “that will be memorable in the history of the American theater.” He played Hamlet again later on, and even performed the role in a radio version.
And of course, you can’t speak of Hamlet without mentioning Laurence Olivier. He played Hamlet both onstage and on film. One of his stage productions onstage was actually at a castle in Elsinore, reminiscent of the play’s setting. This became a tradition in later years, even as recently as 2009 with Jude Law in the lead role. In 1948, Olivier decided to do a film version of Hamlet, which he both directed and starred in. It was a huge success, and even won the Oscar for Best Picture—and Olivier himself took home the Best Actor Award for the role.
There have been modern actors, too, who have taken up the mantle of the Prince of Denmark. Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in a film version of the play in 1996. He didn’t cut a single word from the play, which meant that the film runs over four hours. Don’t let that scare you away, though; the film is considered one of the greatest Hamlets ever recorded on camera. Before that, of course, was Mel Gibson’s Hamlet, which is one of the more popular screen adaptations of the play. And even more recently we saw David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Scott perform the role.
We’ve had some great Hamlets here at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, too: Howard Jensen, Peter Webster, Scott Glasser, Sam Tsoutsouvas, T. Scott Cunningham, Martin Kildare, Brian Vaughn, and Danforth Collins all brought unique and brilliant things to their incarnation of the Dane.
Shakespeare’s amazingly complex characterization of Hamlet has enthralled audiences for centuries, and will for many years so come. So make sure to see Hamlet in our 2019 season. It’s a play—and it’s a character—and you won’t want to miss it.
Is This Noble Mind O’erthrown?
Danforth Comins as Hamlet at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in 2012.
By Kathryn Neves
There’s a reason Hamlet has been so popular throughout the last four centuries. There’s a reason it has been performed countless times, a reason it’s been studied and analyzed so much, and a reason we peruse its pages again and again. Because no matter how many times we hear those words, there’s always more. Hamlet is fascinating and complex enough that we’ll probably never get to the bottom of it. Sometimes we find something new in these pages— and sometimes we return to old questions and try to find new answers.
One of the questions that audiences have been asking themselves since the play premiered in 1609 is about the Prince of Denmark himself. Thousands of scholars have answered the question, and thousands of others have disagreed. There’s a lot of evidence for both sides of the debate, and in my opinion it’s one of the most intriguing questions in all of Shakespeare’s canon. It’s a simple question, really, without a simple answer: Is Hamlet playacting, or is he actually insane?
It would be easy to say that Hamlet is acting mad on purpose throughout the play. After all, he says so in Act 1 Scene 5 after seeing his father’s ghost for the first time: “I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on” (lines 191–92). And it’s hard to call him insane for seeing the ghost in the first place, since he is not the only one to see the apparition. Barnardo, Marcellus, and Horatio all see the ghost in the very first scene of the play. It seems, then, that if Hamlet is mad, he must be in some sort of shared delusion with Horatio and the others.
Some people argue that Hamlet may have started out sane, but through the very act of pretending to be insane, became insane himself. It does seem possible; after all, Hamlet’s behavior is increasingly erratic as the play goes on, as though something definitely is wrong with him. At the beginning, he ponders and worries, but as the play moves forward he does some very irrational things; he kills Polonius without thought or remorse and he recklessly sends his own childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to their deaths. It would be hard to argue that those are the actions of a sane man.
Even so, there’s still a lot of evidence to say that it’s all playacting—or at least, most of it is. Hamlet acts strange, even absurd; for instance, in Act 2 Scene 2 he speaks to Polonius as though unaware of who he is, and what he says is practically all nonsense, even while he spends all his time hurling insults and slander. He speaks of graves, satirical rogues, and fishmongers until Polonius is positive that Hamlet is far gone. But if you read elsewhere in the play, you can see that when Hamlet is alone, he is completely lucid. His soliloquies are full of keen and intelligent observations that would be improbable coming from the mouth of an insane person. While Ophelia believes that his “noble mind is here o’erthrown,” (3.1.163) Hamlet’s mind is clearly just as sharp as anyone else’s.
Now, that’s not to say that Hamlet is always entirely sane. There are moments in the play— powerful moments— that show Hamlet enraged and possibly insane. One example is his killing of Polonius: just before this, Hamlet is in the middle of an emotional and angry confrontation with his mother, and he doesn’t seem to be in his right mind when he kills the hidden man. He does it without pausing to think, something that is very different from previous moments with him. Usually Hamlet takes (arguably) too long to make decisions because he thinks about them too much; here, though, he stabs the old man without any hesitation. Not only that, but he doesn’t seem to feel any remorse about it. This could easily be an indication that Hamlet’s insanity might not be entirely faked.
Then, of course, there’s the moment where Hamlet, upon learning of Ophelia’s death, picks a fight with her brother Laertes and says “Be buried quick with her, and so will I. And if thou prate of mountains, let them throw millions of acres on us” (5.1.296–98). Some people might consider it a stretch to call this moment “insanity,” but it’s definitely not the words of a healthy, balanced man.
So is Hamlet mad, or is he only acting? We may never know. Each actor portrays it differently— so sometimes he is, and sometimes he isn’t. Whatever Shakespeare intended, it’s definitely kept us all talking about it for centuries. Whether or not Hamlet is mad, we can safely say one thing: he definitely makes for a great show.
Stop the Presses! Playmakers to Perform Newsies
CEDAR CITY, Utah — Stop the presses! The Utah Shakespeare Festival Playmakers performing company is making headlines by presenting the high-energy musical Newsies! Public performances are on March 15 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and March 16 at 2 p.m. in the Randall L. Jones Theatre.
Inspired by the true story of the 1899 New York City newsboy strike, Newsies! The Musical is a rousing tale of a courageous group of newsboys who become unlikely heroes when they team up to fight an unscrupulous newspaper tycoon. Tickets are available for $5 at bard.org/playmakers or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.
“This is a fun, exciting, high-energy (and inspiring) musical,” said Michael Bahr, Festival education director. “It is a perfect vehicle for our Playmakers program, which trains young actors and then gives them a chance to perform on the Festival stages.”
The Playmakers program provides young actors a chance to rehearse, learn, and then perform. The program trains youth in theatre fundamentals, including how to sing and dance with a live piano, rehearsal and performance etiquette, and how to work, share, give, and play with others.
Britannia Howe is directing and teaching this program. She created a similar program for young performers in Ashland, Oregon, and is thrilled to provide this training for young artists here in Cedar City.
“It’s thrilling to know that the youth of Cedar City will be telling a story about adolescents their very age who lived one hundred years ago,” she said. “Newsies has many themes, but my favorite is that children do, indeed, have power. It’s for that reason I’m excited that Playmakers is producing this delightful play.”
For more information, call the Ticket Office at 800-PLAYTIX or visit the webpage at www.bard.org/playmakers.
In Memoriam: Ace G. Pilkington
Ace G. Pilkington
Ace G. Pilkington, teacher, playwright, prolific writer, and literary seminar director at the Utah Shakespeare Festival for over thirty years, passed away on February 20, 2019.
Ace was a fixture in the Seminar Grove as he led interesting and lively discussions of the Festival’s plays. He was admired and loved by many who made it a priority to be at the seminars early in the morning. “The conversational moments that Ace shared with patrons in the Seminar Grove were an important part for the Festival patrons’ experience,” said Michael Bahr, education director. “He cultivated stimulating conversation and was the catalyst for epiphanies and discovery and the impetus for the seminars we have today.”
“How exciting the Festival Literary Seminars became when Ace joined forces with Jerry Crawford, Nancy Melich, and other seminar directors,” said Fred C. Adams, Festival founder. “Ace brought his vast knowledge of the Bard to thousands of Festival playgoers, and we will all miss him.”
Ace was born on December 20, 1951, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Acel Amos and RoseMae Jensen Pilkington, but he spent his childhood in Hyrum, Utah. He earned his MA in modern drama from Utah State University, his MLitt in English Renaissance drama from Middlebury College, and his DPhil in Shakespeare, history, and film at Oxford University. At his passing he was a professor of English and history at Dixie State University.
He has published over 100 poems, articles, and short stories in over sixty publications in five countries, including Science and Futurism: Their Terms and Ideas (2017); Our Lady Guenevere: A Play (2017); The Fantastic Made Visible (co-editor, 2015); Screening Shakespeare from Richard II to Henry V (1991). He was also a regular contributor to Midsummer Magazine and the Festival’s Insights study guides.
Ace and his wife, Olga, were married on September 11, 2003, and together they wrote the filmography for Michael Flachmann’s 2007 Shakespeare from Page to Stage, edited and translated the stories in Fairy Tales of the Russians and Other Slavs, and lectured together on International Shakespeare and The End of the Soviet Union and the Rise of the New Russia.
He was an active member of the Science Fiction Writers of America and received numerous awards for his essays and poetry, including the Readers’ Choice Award for best poem of the year (“The Robots’ Farewell to the Master”) in Asimov’s Science Fiction, 1992.
“I am very saddened by the passing of Ace. He was such a devoted advocate of the Festival, and his passion for Shakespeare was infectious,” concluded Brian Vaughn, artistic director. “He was a stalwart in the grove, and the impact he made on our audiences over the years is immeasurable.”
So, with heavy hearts we bid farewell and many thanks to our old friend. We will miss him in the Grove.
Updated February 25, 2019
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m., February 28 at the Tonaquint Cemetery, 1777 South Dixie Drive, St. George, Utah. It will be followed by a memorial service at 3 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Gardner Center at Dixie State University. Services are under the direction of McMillan Mortuary.
The Amazing Story of an Amazing Dreamcoat
Joseph Heninger-Potter (left) as Joseph, René Thornton Jr. as Reuben, and Matt Bomer as Isaacher in the Festival’s 1998 production.
By Kathryn Neves
In the decades since it was written, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has quickly become a classic. Kids everywhere sing along to “Any Dream Will Do” while their parents rock out to the classic Elvis sound of “Song of the King.” There are filmed versions, community theatre productions, high school showcases, and numerous professional productions of the musical Bible story. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone—especially in Utah and Nevada—who hasn’t seen the show, or at least come in contact with it in some way. But even with all this mania over the musical, most people don’t know the fascinating story of how it came to be.
This show was written, as many shows are, by a musical duo: Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the music, and Tim Rice, who wrote the music. Their partnership was eventually very successful, landing them in the ranks of such teams as Gilbert and Sullivan and Rodgers and Hammerstein. They first began working together, even before Joseph, at a very young age; Webber was seventeen, and Rice was twenty when they wrote their first musical together. Only a few short years later, in 1968, they were asked to write a Biblical “pop cantata” for the choir at a local school, the Colet Court School in London choir.
The goal was to write something poppy and fun; something short that would easily captivate children and teach them the Bible story of Joseph in Egypt. So, the duo got together and wrote a fifteen-minute show. It was filled with zany characters and lots of fun musical styles— pop, rock, country, calypso, you name it.
But Rice and Webber didn’t just stop there. They kept working at it, adding bits and pieces here and there, until it was around twenty minutes long. At this point, the project started getting attention. Positive feedback and review led to more expansion, until the show was thirty-five minutes long. It was at this point that the show was first published in 1969. The company Novello picked it up and ran it alongside other Biblical pieces in their catalogue. Decca Records recorded the production with Tim Rice himself as Pharaoh!
And for a while, Joseph stayed as it was. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber went on to write yet another Biblical musical: Jesus Christ Superstar. This show was immensely popular, and Rice and Webber realized that there was still quite a market for this sort of thing. So they went back to Joseph, promoting it and revising it, adding more and more. Theatre companies began to pick it up, putting on performances that continued to evolve the piece. Then, in 1973, the show had its first West End run.
This Joseph was a little different than the one we know and love today. Today’s Joseph has practically no dialogue; instead, the show features a “sung-through” score in between the big musical numbers. But in the 1973 production, all of that was actually part of a separate piece that ran before the show, known as Jacob’s Journey. People loved it. They got hooked by the varied music and the universal story of families. So, Webber and Rice kept working. They combined Jacob’s Journey with Joseph, and finally—after almost a decade of work—the first performance of the what we know today as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was born.
Even though the musical has been around for about half a century, its popularity hasn’t faded. Schools, theatre companies, and communities around the world have embraced the story of Joseph, his flawed-but-funny brothers, and of course that beautiful coat. What’s not to love? After all, this is the Festival’s second time putting it on! (The Festival’s first production was in 1998, with the now-famous Matt Bomer playing Isaacher.)
So whether you’ve seen Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat one time or one hundred, be sure to make your way to Cedar City this summer to enjoy one of the most fun pieces of theatre you’ll ever see. With the brilliant Brad Carroll at its helm and the awesome talent of Utah Shakespeare Festival actors and technicians, it’s sure to be a performance you won’t forget.” Close your eyes, [we’ll] pull back the curtain,” and you’ll see for certain just how great this show really is.
Something Terrific Happened at the Gala
J. Stuart Adams (left), speaker of the House of Representatives, and Spencer J. Cox, lieutenant governor, perform.
“Something terrific’s happened!” gushed Hildy, “Wait till I tell you!”
Hildy is the heroine of the hilarious play, The Front Page, presented at the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s recent Make a Scene Gala, a gala with a twist. A newspaper reporter, Hildy was excited about a big story she was working on; but she could just as easily have been talking about the Festival’s new and exciting event which took place on February 8 at Harman Hall Theatre in West Valley City.
The Make a Scene event to raise funds for the Festival education programs was not just another gala and dinner. It was a fun night of theatre starring some of Utah’s most notable luminaries: Lieutenant Governor Spencer J. Cox in the role of The Mayor; his wife Abby as Mrs. Schlosser; President of the Utah State Senate J. Stuart Adams as Pincus; Utah State Representative Patrice M. Arent as Earl Williams; radio host Doug Fabrizio as McCue #1; Salt Lake Tribune columnist Ann Cannon as McCue #2; KTVX news anchor Don Hudson as Bruce Grant #2; Deseret News Head Digital Officer Burke Olsen as Kruger #1; business leaders Craig C. Wagstaff (Bruce Grant #1) and Jeffery R. Nelson (Kruger #2); as well as many more. It was directed by Festival Founder Fred C. Adams and popular actor Quinn Mattfeld.
“This is the first of its kind for a Festival fundraiser, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results,” said Donn Jersey, director of development. “It was an evening filled with good spirit, entertaining improvisation, and tremendous laughs.”
This madcap comedy by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur is set in a 1920s Chicago newsroom and definitely tickled everyone’s funny bones. The play was preceded by recognition of the evening’s honorees, former President of the Utah State Senate Wayne L. Niederhauser and Dominion Energy, and was followed by a party with gourmet food stations and socializing.
“We’re very excited and pleased with the results,” said Executive Producer Frank Mack. “I want to thank all of our sponsors, West Valley City and its staff, the staff of the Festival, and everyone who performed and attended. Together they helped us make a fun and memorable event that will be a great financial benefit to the Festival’s education programs.”
The generous sponsors of the Make a Scene Gala were Zions Bank, the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Embassy Suites, Big-D Construction, Dominion Energy, Rocky Mountain Power, the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation, and West Valley City.
As the Mayor said near the end of the play: “I personally am tickled to death!”
Announcing Four New Staff Members
Four new year-round employees have recently been hired at the Utah Shakespeare Festival and are already in their offices, or soon will be, working toward the 2019 season and beyond. The four are Brandon Burk, development associate; Emily Duncan, development associate; Gabrielle Piazza, company manager; and Danielle Davis, assistant electrics director.
“The Utah Shakespeare Festival is fortunate to have identified four terrific professionals to fill key roles on the staff,” said Executive Producer Frank Mack. “All four were hired after national searches, and it’s always rewarding to see high quality theatre professionals eager to work here.”
Brandon Burk
Brandon Burk is well known to Festival audiences as an actor, but is now working year-round at the Festival as a development associate, helping to bolster the Festival fundraising efforts. He has played various roles the past four years, including Cliton in The Liar and Roderigo in Othello in 2018. He holds an MFA from the University of Nevada–Las Vegas’s Professional Actor Training Program and a B.A. in theatre from Indiana University Pennsylvania. He has worked as an instructor and coach of acting, dialects/speech, and stage combat and as a guest artist and adjunct faculty member at High Point University and UNLV. He is also the former artistic director of The Onyx Theatre and Off Strip Productions in Las Vegas.
“From the moment I arrived in Cedar City for the first time as a patron in 2005, I’ve been in love with the Festival and southern Utah,” he said as he started work on February 4. “My hope is to connect even more with this community in the coming years and inspire others to fall in love as much as I did. I want to spread my passion for the Festival to everyone I meet and help my new Festival family push this amazing company even further.”
Emily Duncan
Emily Duncan will be joining Burk on March 4 as another development associate. She comes to the Festival from Jacksonville, Alabama, and said she gets very invested and involved in the community. “I look forward to collaborating with everyone to advance the vision and mission of the Festival,” she said. “Furthermore, I’m an avid outdoor enthusiast, so from mountain biking and hiking to theatre and the arts, I am excited about the opportunities and adventures in store. I look forward to meeting everyone and working in an environment where there is such a treasured legacy for the arts.”
Most recently, Duncan has worked as the public relations coordinator and tourism and marketing director at the Calhoun County Area Chamber and Visitors Center in Anniston, Alabama. She caught the theatre bug in high school and has worked in various positions in the field. Most notably she served on the Community Actors’ Studio Theatre board of directors in Anniston and, alongside Southern Utah University alum Carrie Colton, co-founded the Shakespeare Project which provides free professional productions of Shakespeare’s works to schools and the community.
“Brandon and Emily both have a love and passion for the Festival that our patrons and donors will truly appreciate. We look forward to seeing the impact they will have in the development department where we are coming off one of our best years in the Festival’s history,” said Development Director Donn Jersey. “Their contributions will certainly take us to new heights in the contributed revenue arena, and the future looks very bright with these new significant additions to the team.”
Gabrielle Piazza
Gabrielle Piazza joined the Festival February 1 as company manager. “The Festival has restored the key position of company manager which had been eliminated several years ago, and we are excited to welcome Gabrielle to this critical role,” said Executive Producer Frank Mack. “With approximately 300 seasonal staff to care for, this year-round position is essential, and we are fortunate to have Gabrielle join us.”
Piazza is completing her MFA degree in arts leadership this spring at Virginia Tech. She also received a BA in mathematics and musical theatre, with a minor in Spanish studies, from Adrian College and studied with the Young Americans College of the Performing Arts. She has worked at various theatres, including as company manager for the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, as patron services team member at Interlochen Center for the Arts, and as company manager, resident assistant, and tour cast member for the Young Americans.
“As the Festival’s company manager, I hope to encourage a culture of support and welcome for the individuals that call the Utah Shakespeare Festival their home for any length of time,” she said. “As an artist, I have relied on the hospitality of others and understand the importance of sincerity and empathy in creating space, and I aim to replicate that in this role.”
Danielle Davis
Danielle Davis worked for the Festival the last three seasons as a master electrician, assistant master electrician, and programmer, but joined the Festival as part of the year-round staff on February 5 as assistant electrics director.
Since graduating from Millikin University with a BFA in theatrical production and design, Davis has been splitting her time between various summer stock theatres and freelancing as a lighting and video technician in and around Chicago. Most recently, she has been working as a fabricator and lead technician for RGB Lights, Inc., creating custom LED arrays and video panels for architectural installs, festivals, and street art pieces. When not at RGB, she worked with the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts as a master electrician coordinating lighting and video needs for tours, concerts, and various theatre performances.
“I hope to help the electrics department continue to grow and better cater to the needs of our wonderful designers,” she said. “This will be an exciting opportunity to be a part of a community that is committed to creating high caliber art. I am excited to get back into an environment that allows me to be a mentor to others while continuing to grow my own knowledge.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Danielle as assistant electrics director,” concluded Mack. “She has worked several years at the Festival and brings a wealth of technical and artistic skill to our electrics and sound department.”
The 2019 lineup of plays includes four by Shakespeare: Macbeth, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and the Festival’s four and one-half hour finale of the King Henry VI plays dubbed The Conclusion of Henry VI: Parts Two and Three. In addition, the season will include The Book of Will by Lauren Gunderson, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Price by Arthur Miller, and Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe.
Tickets for the season are now on sale: visit the Festival website at bard.org, call 800-PLAYTIX, or visit the Ticket Office at the Beverley Center for the Arts.
Community Leaders to Star at "Make a Scene"
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is inviting everyone to Make a Scene and join them in their annual fundraising event in Salt Lake City February 8, 2019 at 7 p.m. in Harman Hall Theatre—with a twist that is sure to make this the best time you’ve ever had at a fundraising event.
The evening will feature a staged reading of the hilarious play The Front Page, with several local and state politicians, business leaders, and media personalities starring in various roles. A reception with gourmet food stations will follow the performance. Harman Hall Theatre is located at 3333 Decker Lake Drive in West Valley City.
This madcap comedy by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur is set in a 1920s Chicago newsroom and will definitely tickle your funny bone—especially when such local celebrities as Lieutenant Governor Spencer J. Cox, media personalities Don Hudson and Doug Fabrizio, and various senators, representatives, and business leaders take the stage. The show will be directed by Festival Founder Fred. C. Adams and popular Festival actor Quinn Mattfeld.
“This event will be unlike anything the Utah Shakespeare Festival has ever done in its 57-year history,” said Adams. “You will have the time of your life as you laugh along with many cultural and political leaders and celebrities throughout Utah. Please, come laugh with us and support the many important education programs at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.”
The ticket price is $275 and is all inclusive; no additional fundraising will be part of the event. Honorees for the evening will be former President of the Utah Senate Wayne L. Niederhauser and Dominion Energy.
For information, the latest casting, and to order tickets, visit bard.org/make-a-scene, call Director of Development Donn Jersey at 435-586-7880, or email info@bard.org.