Utah Shakespeare Festival Marks 65 Years of Storytelling and Connection

The Utah Shakespeare Festival celebrates its landmark 65th anniversary season this summer centering on the theme “Generations Gather Here.” The upcoming season honors more than six decades of artistic excellence while celebrating the Festival’s enduring role as a cornerstone of community, artistry, and cultural innovation in the American West.

Since its founding in 1961, the Festival has evolved from a small outdoor stage into a Tony Award-winning institution. This year’s anniversary also marks a decade since the opening of the Beverley Taylor Sorensen Center for the Arts, a transformative facility on the Southern Utah University campus that united the Festival’s theaters with the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA). This “magical oasis of story” continues to serve as a vital space for artistic excellence, community engagement, student opportunity, and professional mentorship.

“The Utah Shakespeare Festival has remained relevant for 65 years because of its attention to story––the importance of telling incredible stories that unite us,” said FestivalExecutive Managing Director Michael Bahr. “Our theaters are designed for intimacy, where the communication between actor and audience creates a shared energy you simply won’t find anywhere else. We are the antidote to the digital screen; we are about real human connection.”

The 65th anniversary season features a robust lineup that balances classical rigor with modern vibrancy, including Hamlet,Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida, Something Rotten!, See How They Run, She Loves Me, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and The Book Club Play. Beyond the stage, the Festival Experience includes the nightly Greenshow—a free gift of song and mirth to the community—and the long-running Seminar Grove, where patrons and scholars engage in candid dialogue about the plays’ themes and relevance.

To celebrate not only the opening of the Festival’s 65th season, but to celebrate the tenth year of the Beverley Center, the community is invited to attend a Beverley Center Anniversary Celebration on Friday, June 26. It is an all-day event featuring a street fair, live music, SUMA activities and exhibits, a special Seminar Grove presentation, plays, and more!

This season also aligns with the broader “Americana” celebration, highlighting stories of place, purpose, and community-building that mirror the history of Cedar City. From a new experience-based activity list called “Festival Quest" to historical exhibitions at the neighboring SUMA, this exciting anniversary year is designed to be an accessible, life-changing experience for long-time patrons and first-time visitors alike.

“We are grounded in the beautiful foundational work of the past, which catapults us into who we are aiming to be,” Bahr said. “We treat Shakespeare like a living, modern playwright informed by the present. This 65th year isn’t just a look back; it’s a launching pad for the next 65 years of humanity and discovery.”

For tickets and information, visitbard.org or call the Festival Ticket Office 800-PLAYTIX (752-9849).