Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Bard at work: 42nd annual Utah Shakespearean Festival mixes old and new

What possible connection does a Las Vegas showgirl and her gangster boyfriend going to Washington to buy Congress have to do with playwright William Shakespeare?

Plenty, for audiences attending the 42nd annual Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, Utah, festival founder Fred Adams says.

Shakespeare's plays and modern comedies and musicals offer a window into today's political world, Adams says, no matter what side of the Atlantic.

A look at this year's lineup:

'Born Yesterday'

"Born Yesterday" is the story of that Las Vegas showgirl.

"This is an eye-opener," Adams predicts. Everyone underestimates the showgirl, her sense of right over wrong, her wit, her intelligence, he says.

Kathleen F. Conlin, the festival's associate artistic director and casting director, returns for her 14th season in Utah directing "Born Yesterday" by Garson Kanin.

However, the night before gangster Harry Brock, played by Craig Spidle making his festival debut plans to go to Congress, the showgirl, Billie, portrayed by Anne Newhall, stands up to him.

"She proves that right is more powerful than might," Adams says. "I think it is powerful when this girl realizes the power of the Constitution and sees what Harry is about to do. She stands up to him because she was born yesterday."

'1776'

Then there is "1776," another night-before-something-big-happens story, directed by Brad Carroll, whose first festival assignment was last year's "Man of La Mancha." This play is about the founding fathers writing the U.S. Constitution, a document in some peril over the past two centuries or so.

"Every schoolchild in Nevada should see '1776,' for they are creating the future just as the founders did more than 200 years ago," Adams says.

The Tony Award-winning musical debuted in 1969 at New York's Forty-Sixth Street Theatre. Festival favorite Peter Sham will play the role of Benjamin Franklin in his fifth appearance at the festival.

"Somehow we have to get back to the whys of founding this country and I think '1776' is a step in the right direction," Adams says.

"You walk out in tears and then you begin to think about what we've done," Adams says.

Veterans and newcomers appear in "1776," and a Las Vegas academic portrays one of the founders.

Jason Heil returns to the festival as Thomas Jefferson. Heil last appeared at the festival in 1996 with roles in "Henry IV, Part I," "The Three Musketeers" and "The Winter's Tale." In addition to Shakespearean theater credits in California and Texas, he has appeared in films such as "Alfred Hitchcock's Gun," "I'm Not Cyrano," "Pocahontas 2" and "Rigel."

Kurt Ziskie makes his first appearance at the Cedar City festival, playing the role of John Adams.

In his fourth season with the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Phil Hubbard plays conservative Pennsylvania representative John Dickinson. He also heads the M.F.A. acting program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he teaches acting and speech for the stage.

Melinda Pfundsein, playing the newlywed Martha Jefferson, is a Southern Utah University graduate in her sixth season at the festival.

Another sixth-season veteran, Charles Metten, returns in the role of Delaware representative Caesar Rodney.

'Richard III'

Shakespeare's "Richard III" is a compelling play for the times, Adams says. Take the war in Iraq. Or the imposition of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles from Las Vegas, without the consent of Nevada's residents.

"Darn, there's a whole lot of 'Richard III' going on in Washington, D.C.," Adams says.

"When a man, a leader, can shove something down a state's throat, that is what Richard III was doing," he says. "I think it is compelling."

Directed by J.R. Sullivan, Richard III is a villain that audiences love to hate, Adams says.

Equally as compelling is Henry Woronicz, who directed last season's production of "As You Like It," as he returns to portray the titular character.

Twenty years ago Woronicz brought "Henry V" to life at the Utah festival. Today he has become one of the foremost actors in regional theater, Adams says.

"From young boy king to old King Richard," Adams says.

Leslie Brott returns this season to play Elizabeth. Brott is an assistant professor of voice and speech for the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign.

Elizabeth Adwin appeared for her first season at the festival in 2002. She plays Lady Anne Neville. Back for her second season as well, Anne Newhall plays the role of Margaret.

Craig Spidle plays the duke of Buckingham. Audiences may remember him as Jimmy, Paul Newman's bodyguard, in "The Road to Perdition."

Sullivan is marking his fourth season at the festival and has recently been named the Utah Shakespearean Festival's associate artistic director.

'Servant of Two Masters'

Truffaldino has guaranteed himself twice the pay, but double the work, as he tries to serve two masters, one disguised as a man and looking for her lost love.

Goldoni wrote 80 plays in the 1700s, allowing actors to put into the script ad-libbed lines and parts for comic relief, Adams notes.

"For comedy to have any impact, the audience must see themselves," Adams says. "In the Utah Shakespearean Festival's version there's unusual props like cell phones, Avon ladies and Mormon missionaries."

Russell Treyz will return to the festival to direct "The Servant of Two Masters."

Four of the festival's popular returning actors are appearing in Carlo Goldoni's Italian farce, directed by Russell Treyz.

David Ivers takes the comic lead in the role of Truffaldino. It's Ivers' ninth season at the Utah festival. Last year he portrayed Orsini in "Twelfth Night," and Gary Peter Lefkowitz in "I Hate Hamlet."

A. Bryan Humphrey takes the role of Pantalone. Humphrey first appeared at the festival in 1972 with roles in "A Comedy of Errors," "King Lear" and "The Winter's Tale." This is his eighth season at the festival.

Richard Kinter returns for a fifth season in the role of the pontificating Dr. Lombardi. Kinter first appeared at the festival in 1991 in the title role in "Volpone" and in "Misalliance."

Sara Kathryn Bakker plays Beatrice in this Italian comedy.

'Much Ado About Nothing'

Kate Buckley debuts at the festival this season when she directs Shakespeare's "Much Ado about Nothing." She is currently artistic director with The Next Theatre, resident director with Writer's Theatre, resident text coach in Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and adjunct faculty at Northwestern University.

Comedic favorite Brian Vaughn returns to the Utah stage this season as the witty Benedicke, locked in a battle of wits with Beatrice, played by Victoria Adams.

Vaughn has appeared in more than 20 productions at the festival, dating back to 1991 when he played Castrone in "Volpone."

Joe Cronin returns for his third festival season as Leonato, governor of Messina and Beatrice's uncle. Cronin will also play Pompey in "Measure for Measure" and Lord Stanley in "Richard III."

Michael David Edwards returns for the second time at the festival to play scheming Don John, brother of the Prince of Arragon.

Scott Coopwood debuts at the festival this year in the role of Dogberry, the comical town constable.

Charles Metten, who first came to the festival in 1966 as guest director for "Julius Caesar," returns this year for his sixth season to kick up his comedic heels as Verges, the region's bumbling headborough.

Metten is the dean of the College of Performing and Visual Arts at Southern Utah University and appears at the festival as an associate artist.

'Measure for Measure'

Known as a "dark" comedy, the play that Shakespeare wrote examines whether good can survive in a corrupt society. Although seldom produced, the Utah festival is staging a version directed by Elizabeth Huddle.

Huddle directed last fall's popular "Twelfth Night" along with the 2000 festival production of "The Merry Wives of Windsor."

Audiences can watch Isabella remain virtuous, proving truth stronger than swords and evil men.

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