Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Never been to Utah Shakes? Read this, then gas up the tank

Utah Shakespeare Festival

Karl Hugh

To drive or not to drive to Cedar City. Is it even a question?

It’s time for another round of deceit, jealousy, murder, rape and raucousness in Southern Utah, where mirth, revenge and all-around Elizabethan-era pranksterism take over Cedar City each summer. The Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival is a popular draw for Las Vegas Valley residents, but there are plenty who’ve never made the 170-mile trek. We offer a list of reasons, aside from the cooler temperatures, to check it out.

The Details

Utah Shakespeare Festival
June 21-October 20, Cedar City Utah, bard.org

Drama: The acting, of course, is fantastic, as are the stage sets, costuming and play selections. This year’s lineup: The Merry Wives of Windsor, Mary Stuart, Titus Andronicus, Scapin (modern adaptation), To Kill a Mockingbird, Les Misérables and, later in the summer, Hamlet and Stones in His Pocket.

Brush with 16th century royalty: So there I was last summer, standing next to food vendors, when Queen Elizabeth I strolled into the crowd, pale-faced and dressed to the nines with a crisp white ruff topping her bodice and kirtle, both made of ornate fabric and adorned with a pearl necklace and gold pendant. Her red hair, braided around the brow and curly on the crown, was topped with a headpiece connecting to a long ivory veil flowing down her back. A-mazing.

Literary seminars: The lectures, seminars and group discussions on literary topics are always a gas. The festival offers an assortment to discuss the plays, with occasional directors and actors dropping in.

Fossilized shrimp: The small collection at the Garth and Jerri Frehner Museum of Natural History at Southern Nevada University is not to be overlooked—fossils, minerals, taxidermy (including a moose and Siamese calves) and archeology fill out the new space, which sadly is only open Monday through Friday, so you may have to opt for weekday Shakespeare productions.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy