theater and dance
Emilie Autumn @ The Complex 12.05
Emilie Autumn typically has no opening act or live band, therefore her show is mainly focused on an overarching storyline of her time being locked within the walls of an asylum. She utilizes heavy satire and Victorian flair while confronting the issues of sanity and sexism within the world today. She has built an entire world that encompasses a novel, several album releases, and a soon-to-be major theatrical production. If you are expecting to see a traditional concert, you will more than likely question what it is you are experiencing; this is much more of an interactive performance piece. … read more
Green Day’s American Idiot @ Kingsbury Hall 12.03
Alright, I know what you’re thinking. Punk rock? On Broadway? Are you fuckin’ serious? Set aside your thoughts on whether or not Green Day is “punk.” Instead, let’s talk about the awesome spectacle that is American Idiot. … read more
Multitudes: University of Utah’s Dance Graduate Students Perform
Bucking the pattern of previous years, this December is shaping up to be a busy month for dance here in Zion. This coming weekend (Dec. 5–7) the University of Utah’s graduate students in dance will mount Multitudes, celebrating the culmination of three years’ research in new choreography. … read more
Ballet West’s The Firebird @ Kingsbury Hall 11.09
Ballet West’s current season, which runs two and a half hours, is an ambitious bill, uniting the music of Stravinsky, Mozart and Gershwin. … read more
Plan B Theatre’s Nothing Personal Review
Plan-B Theatre’s new show, “Nothing Personal,” plays out like a nightmare––it’s only logic is poetic, it feels at turns both sudden and prolonged, and it reminds you of things you’re really afraid of. … read more
salt 8: Shigeyuki Kihara
Shigeyuki Kihara’s exhibition at the UMFA explores various facets of her identity: the nexus of her Samoan ethnicity, status as transgendered, and the more universal self-reflexivity of being an artist. Her tight, majestic solo performance this Wednesday, as a part of the “salt” series, was the centerpiece of show. … read more
People Productions: David Mamet’s Race
I walked out of last Sunday’s performance of David Mamet’s “Race” at the Leonardo with two conclusions. People Productions, which I’d never heard of before, is one of those groups that is capable of leaving me with a knot it my stomach and something real to think about. And, Mamet’s script, while problematic and manipulative, is also worth discussing, mounting and writing about. … read more
Earth, Skin and Fire: The Playful Sensuality of Samba Fogo’s...
The show opened with a staging of an indigenous Brazilian creation narrative describing the descent of the gods of the air to the watery Earth. This event was staged in the form of a death-defying and gasp-inducing silk acrobatics routine, performed beautifully and (to my relief) expertly by Samantha and Lance Nielsen. To say this overture set a very high standard for the rest of the show to maintain is an understatement. … read more
Dancing Like It’s 1931 with the Repertory Dance Theater
The story of modern dance in the United States is inherently underground. Like any subculture that lasts through several generations, modern dance history—when well told––can be a vehicle for encountering forgotten but necessary parts of the grand American narrative. … read more
True Horror: Thirteen Years of the Working Dog
Working Dog is an unofficial fixture of the University of Utah’s highly ranked graduate creative writing program. Named after the phrase “working like a dog,” the premise is simple: a once-monthly evening of art, wine and students reading material from their portfolios. … read more