The Ultimate Utah Shakespeare Festival Experience

Our season is here and five of our seven main stage shows are now open. Don’t miss this season’s fantastic lineup of productions: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Jane Austen’s Emma The Musical, The Play That Goes Wrong, and A Raisin in the Sun. Timon of Athens and Coriolanus will open July 17 and 18, respectively. 

But we offer more than just world-class theatre. Attending just one of our productions can be a transformative and unforgettable experience in itself, but your ultimate Festival experience can be an entire day full of learning, enjoying, and believing in theatre, starting at 9:00 am and ending late at night when the final curtain closes. 

Allow us to walk you through an ideal day at the Festival:

Free Play Seminars, 9 am and 10 am:

The following day after every performance, a free seminar is held in the Seminar Grove to discuss the previous day’s matinee play at 9 am, while the 10 am seminar will center around the evening performances. Theater scholars, accompanied occasionally by directors and actors, will lead lively discussions, encouraging audience members to share their interpretations. 

Free Producer, Actor, Prop, or Costume Seminars at 11 am:

All of these seminars are the perfect opportunity to learn from Festival administration, actors, Properties Director Ben Hohman, and Costume Director Jeff Lieder. For more information and dates for these free events, visit bard.org/plays/#activities. 

Orientation at 1:15 pm:

This is a perfect––and free––opportunity to better understand the plays before experiencing them firsthand. Conducted by theater experts, expect a play introduction and question-and-answer session that will only accentuate your play experience. This orientation time is for matinee plays, and will be held throughout the season. 

Matinee play at 2 pm: 

After grabbing lunch at one of Cedar City’s many top notch restaurants, it’s time for a matinee play! Visit bard.org/plays for our play lineup. On your way out, take a stroll through the grounds and enjoy our statue garden and beautiful flowers. 

Visit the Southern Utah Museum of Art:

With time to spare before dinner and the next play orientation at 6:45 pm, we suggest stopping by SUMA, located directly north of the Randall L. Jones Theatre. 

In one of the exhibits, Artists Aïsha Lehmann and Vitus Shell have contributed works to an exhibit that reflect the themes of the Festival’s 2023 production of A Raisin in the Sun, on display now through September 23. The exhibit is titled: “A Dream Deferred: New Perspectives on Black Experience.” For more information visit suu.edu/suma.

Orientation at 6:45 pm 

This orientation will follow the same format as the matinee orientation, except that it will be centered around the evening performances. Shakespeare can be a bit intimidating, so whether you are a first-time play-goer or a loyal patron, we encourage you to stop by before The Greenshow. 

The Greenshow at 7:10 pm 

The Greenshow is a free, lively, and audience participatory experience. This year, we have three themed shows that will rotate throughout the season: The Hills of Appalachia, English Regency Garden Party, and Paiute Heritage and Celebration. During the performance, don’t forget to purchase one of our world-famous tarts––we promise you won’t regret it! 

Evening play at 8:00 pm 

Finally, it’s time to end the day with enchanting performances in the open-air Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre, the beautiful Randall L. Jones Theatre, or (in a couple of weeks) the intimate Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre. After a busy day, this is the perfect time to relax and enjoy the magic that live theater brings.

To purchase tickets for the 2023 season, visit bard.org, call 800-PLAYTIX, or visit the Ticket Office onsite.