Thursday, June 19, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Theater: Bard times

Utah Shakespearean Festival bounces back for 2003 season

By Barbara Scherzer

Local Shakespeare aficionados soon will be hitting the road as the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City gears up for its 42nd season. Held on the grounds of Southern Utah University, the festival presents full-length versions of the Bard's plays as well as other theatrical works that complement thematically the selected Shakespearean productions.

Despite the playwright's growing popularity, last year the festival experienced a 3 percent decrease in attendance. The reason: 9/11.

"People are nervous about the economy," festival founder and executive producer Fred C. Adams explains. "People are afraid to travel. They are not going to drop a bomb in Cedar City. You come up from Las Vegas and be safe.

"The theme of this season is discover," Adams says. "One night we write the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the next night we try to destroy it (Born Yesterday)."

The summer season opens tonight and features three of the Bard's best:

¥ Richard III is the ambitious son of York who has won his way to the English throne by murdering or extricating all those who stood in his path. Now this villain faces his destiny in the battle at Bosworth, where evil is ultimately defeated. A potential parable for our times, this haunting and bloody tale underscores the achievements and failures of the monarchy.

¥ Much Ado About Nothing is a comical celebration of romance. For Beatrice and Benedick, who would rather lock horns than lips, love is a game of wits. But for Hero and Claudio, the tribulations of young love are solely a means to gain social status. Be there as these two couples unexpectedly uncover the true meaning of life and love.

¥ Measure for Measure is a seldom-seen dark comedy that pushes the buttons of integrity and decency. Can chaste Isabella remain virtuous and yet triumph over the evil machinations that surround her? Through this thesis-style play Shakespeare illustrates that although morality cannot be legislated, people can be educated to become better and truer selves.

Adams recommends the Sherman Edwards musical 1776 for schoolchildren. It was selected three years ago, and puts patriotism on the front burner. "It's time we went back and discovered our roots," Adams says. "Wow, this resonates! These are flesh and blood men who almost died to give us the freedoms we have. It's the history lesson we never got in school."

The summer season wraps with the Garson Kanin comedy Born Yesterday and the comic frenzy of Carlo Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters in which a servant has a brainstorm that guarantees him twice the pay but at unusual price--double the work.

The fall productions kick off Sept. 18 with the dark musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors in which customers to Mushnik's Flower Shop are delighted to view the singing and dancing of an exotic plant named Audrey II. The problem is this horticultural wonder has a prodigious appetite--for people. The show schedule closes out with Shakespeare's farcical take on mistaken identities in The Comedy of Errors, and a corollary themed comedy by Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest.

For an extra fee, you can check out the Royal Feaste, a Renaissance-themed multi-course supper. During dinner, jugglers and musicians interact with the audience. Other opportunities to be entertained and educated include backstage tours, play orientations, discussion groups and free Greenshows, which precede each evening performance in the summer.

The Utah Shakespearean Festival runs June 19-Oct. 18. Tickets range from $12 for a single admission to $188 for a premium six-show pack. The minimum admission age is 6 years old. Child care is available. Senior discounts. Info: visit their website at www.bard.org or call 800-PLAYTIX.