Tyler Hinton - Page 7

BRIGHT STAR at Hale Center Theater Orem summons a spark of light, joy, and hope in devastating darkness. The entire production is like a warm hug both for those for whom “Bright Star” is a sentimental favorite and the many who are experiencing its delights and heartbreaks for the first time.

SOMETHING ROTTEN! has finally made its debut at Pioneer Theatre Company after two pandemic-induced postponements since the spring of 2020, and it brings pent-up energy, joy, laughter, and love of the theatre. 

After a nearly two-year delay due to the pandemic, the national tour of ANASTASIA has finally graced the Eccles Theater with its exquisite presence. A rare case in which both production and material are equally glorious, ANASTASIA is like a sublimely crafted music box--both beautiful to behold and filled with magnificent music.

Ken Ludwig's TREASURE ISLAND on the Hale Centre Theatre Centre Stage in Sandy is a wonderfully balanced blend of swashbuckling spectacle and intimate character development. An exhilarating use of water elements, including a colossal 39,000-gallon tank in which a ship floats and actors swim, enhances rather than overwhelms the tender emotional connections of the story.

The world premiere of the new play THE MESSENGER at Pioneer Theatre Company is an incredibly timely, elegantly written intellectual and emotional reflection of the state of our world.

ONE FOR THE POT on Hale Centre Theatre’s Jewel Box Stage defies description, but ultimately it is a madcap comedic romp filled with mistaken identities and pure effervescent entertainment.

1. LES MISERABLES at Hale Centre Theatre, www.hct.org 2. FROZEN at the Eccles Theater, www.broadway-at-the-eccles.com 3. THE MOUSETRAP at Hale Centre Theatre, www.hct.org 4. MEAN GIRLS at the Eccles Theater, www.broadway-at-the-eccles.com 5. DESCENDANTS: THE MUSICAL at Hale Center Theater Orem, www.haletheater.org  Honorable Mentions: HAMILTON at the Eccles Theater, www.broadway-at-the-eccles.com CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG at Hale Centre Theatre, www.hct.org

The national tour of the smash hit HAMILTON has triumphantly returned to the Eccles Theater and is safely performing with passion and resilience, creating a special, undeniable experience. 

Tony nominee and Disney Legend Jodi Benson joined the Utah Symphony at its Utah County home, the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts at Utah Valley University, for a festive, magical evening of holiday music.

​​​​​​​Pioneer Theatre Company’s ELF THE MUSICAL (returning in a new professional production after its 2013 bow) is a fun holiday outing.  Directed by Sesame Street’s Alan Muraoka, it brings out the inner child in the characters, actors, and audience alike. 

Originally scheduled to play at the Eccles Theater in August 2020, the national tour of MEAN GIRLS was absolutely worth the wait.  Stuffed to the brim with laugh out loud jokes, earwormy songs, and introspective moments, and boasting top notch performances and production values, it is yet another Broadway-caliber touring production gifted to the Utah theatre community by Broadway at the Eccles.  

Like the titular car, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG on the Hale Centre Theatre Centre Stage in Sandy is more than spectacular.  And like deliciously rousing Toot Sweets, the production is a musical morsel supreme.

The national tour of Disney’s FROZEN, which was originally scheduled to play at the Eccles Theater in April 2020, has finally made its bow more than a year and a half later.  And what a glorious way to welcome Broadway back to Salt Lake City! 

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME at Hale Center Theater Orem is a well-crafted production of a stunningly emotional and complex musical. 

Ellen Simon, who is the daughter of famed playwright Neil Simon, kindly opened up to BroadwayWorld about ASS, its delayed opening, her friend and collaborator PTC artistic director Karen Azenberg, and the impact of their fathers’ careers on their own.

Agatha Christie's THE MOUSETRAP on Hale Centre Theatre's Jewel Box Stage is a thoroughly engrossing mystery that is well produced, directed, and performed.

Pioneer Theatre Company’s professional production of AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ is billed as a joyous, feel-good celebration of live theatre, and it doesn’t disappoint. As Equity actors solemnly return to PTC’s stage after an 18-month absence, they elicit tender emotions that eventually explode in elation.

THE SECRET GARDEN on the Hale Centre Theatre Centre Stage in Sandy is a special mounting of a special musical--a feast for the eyes, ears, and soul.

1820 THE MUSICAL at the Covey Center for the Arts is the world premiere of a moving, modern new musical about Joseph and Emma Smith. With a HAMILTON-inspired physical production and strong musical score mirroring THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (both also recent musicals about 19th-century visionaries), and book reminiscent of the Temple Square visitors center film JOSEPH SMITH: PROPHET OF THE RESTORATION, it tells the oft-repeated story with contemporary sensibilities.

One of the hallmarks of the Golden Age Technicolor musical films was the extended dream or song sequence, full of bold primary colors, stylized sets, and big movement. GUYS AND DOLLS, playing on the Hale Centre Theatre Centre Stage is an uncanny reproduction of that look and feeling, from the costumes to the scenic design to the performances.