Utah Arts

From settlement days forward, Utahns have actively supported the performing arts as opportunities for entertainment, education, and enlightenment. Nearly every city and community has amateur performing companies, or access to performances through the state's colleges and universities. Though based in Salt Lake City, Ballet West and Utah Symphony and Opera perform throughout the state. Elsewhere, the popular Utah Shakespearean Festival has put Cedar City on the "cultural map."

PERFORMING ARTS LOCATIONS

Northern Utah

Logan and Vicinity

Catch a glimpse of the Old West at the American West Heritage Center, located 7 miles south of Logan just off Hwy 89-91 in Wellsville. Various educational and entertainment productions are staged throughout the year.

Utah Festival Opera season runs annually from early July to early August. It is held in Ellen Eccles Theatre in Logan, in a setting of spectacular mountain scenery. It includes four productions of grand opera, operetta, light opera, and/or seldom-seen Broadway-style musical theater. Productions are performed in revolving repertory so visitors can enjoy all four shows during a two- or three-day stay. The season also includes orchestral and vocal concerts and a full schedule of audience enrichment activities such as production seminars, literary seminars, pre-performance discussions, and backstage tours.

Each June, the annual Summerfest Art Faire in Logan attracts many artisans, musicians and performers to the lawns of the historic LDS Tabernacle.

The Ellen Eccles Theatre has been the center of artistic activity in Cache Valley since 1923, bringing unique performances and cultural enrichment to the community. The Utah Festival Opera is in residence each summer. The Theatre and the surrounding cultural arts complex are home to art galleries and hands-on arts activities, and serves as a gathering place for community tradition.

Utah State University and Logan City jointly sponsor a Music in the Parks series throughout the summer. Logan also has its own Cache Valley Civic Ballet and Chamber Music Society.

In addition to plays staged at Utah State University, the Lyric Repertory Theatre, also sponsored by the University, has summer productions.

Pickleville Playhouse Summer Theater and Western Cookout: Come enjoy a night of entertainment in beautiful Bear Lake! Start the evening off at the famous western cook-out, where you'll enjoy a huge western meal with your choice of rib-eye steak, lemon herb chicken, or BBQ roast beef. With your belly full, enjoy a live stage production in Pickleville's historic log theater. It'll be a night of family entertainment you'll never forget! Available late June through Labor Day

Sherwood Hills Resort in Wellsville Canyon has a Wild West Revue on summer evenings.

Performed in an amphitheater in Clarkston, the Martin Harris Pageant highlights the history of one of the most colorful Mormon Pioneer leaders. This pageant runs two weeks in the middle of August.

Ogden / Weber State University

Weber State University offers live theater, music and dance, on campus and in Peery's Egyptian Theater.

Ballet West and the Utah Symphony often perform in Ogden on the Weber State campus, or in the historic Egyptian Theatre. Ogden is also home to fine local symphony and ballet companies.

Imagine Ballet Theater makes it home and is in residence at Peery's Egyptian Theater in Ogden, Utah. The young dancers that comprise the company work with guest instructors, dance and perform with professional guest artists, develop and dance story themed roles, and create a family-oriented cultural activity for the greater Ogden community. Imagine Ballet has created 2 full-length ballets: Secret Garden with musical score by Kurt Bestor and The Nutcracker with Clara as the ballerina. The company has also performed with guest artists from San Francisco Ballet, Repertory Dance Theater, Ballet West, Miami City Ballet, English National Ballet and Broadway Stars.

Park City

Artstravaganza, held every August, features everything from world-renowned arts and music to Sundance Institute film screenings, plays and outdoor symphony concerts.

Eccles Center features an array of nationally and internationally renowned performers from September through May at this 1,300-seat theater. Expect Grammy award-winning music and critically acclaimed dance, comedy and family entertainment.

Egyptian Theatre Company is located in the heart of historic Main Street in Park City. This is professional live theater at its best offering musicals, comedies, dramas and special events year-round.

The Park City International Music Festival is a year-round series that showcases chamber and cinema concerts, featuring outstanding national and international soloists.

The Sundance Film Festival is Robert Redford's annual gathering of the best and brightest new film talents, featuring the independent film competition for the best dramatic and documentary films of the year. Theaters in Park City show films from 8 am to midnight daily during the festival.

The Utah Music Festival is in its eleventh year of chamber, orchestral & jazz performances with internationally acclaimed chamber musicians. The faculty coaches and performs with gifted students in a variety of venues.

The Kimball Art Center has been treating art lovers to exhibits and activities for 30 years. Featured events include the Last Fridays Arts and Eats Gallery Stroll and the Park City Kimball Arts Festival.

Mountain Town Stages presents a wide range of live music events throughout Park City. Enjoy internationally renowned musicians in intimate settings against our pristine mountain backdrop.

The Park City Performing Arts Foundation presents the finest music, dance, theater, comedy, film and family entertainment at The George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Center.

The Fidelity Investments Park City Jazz Festival is an annual showcase of national and international performances in a variety of genres, including Latin, blues and smooth jazz.

Provo / Brigham Young University

The world-renowned Brigham Young University International Folk Dancers and Ballroom Dancers frequently give concerts throughout the Provo area.

A wide variety of productions are featured through the Brigham Young University's Theatre Department.

Salt Lake City

The public is invited to the Tabernacle Choir's weekly Sunday television and radio broadcast in the Tabernacle at 9:30 a.m. (audience must be seated by 9:15). The Choir's rehearsal every Thursday at 8 p.m. is also open and free to the public. Organ recitals are held in the Tabernacle at noon Mon.-Sat. and at 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Salt Lake City is home to three world-class dance companies. Ballet West is one of the nation's finest ballet companies. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company and Repertory Dance Theatre, both highly respected modern dance companies, also call Salt Lake City home.

The Utah Symphony & Opera offers year-round symphonic concerts in Abravanel Hall under the direction of Thierry Fischer, and four world-class opera productions in Capitol Theatre each season. The Utah Symphony & Opera also visits the Park City mountain community for its month-long Deer Valley Music Festival each summer.

Every Friday and Saturday evening the LDS-sponsored Temple Square Concert Series, invites musicians to present free concerts in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square.

Each June, top pianists from around the world compete in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in Salt Lake City.

Built in 1852, Salt Lake City had the first professional playhouse theater built west of the Mississippi. Today, the city has several professional theater companies. These include Pioneer Theatre Company at the University of Utah; Desert Star Playhouse; Hale Center Theater; Salt Lake Acting Company; Salt Lake Repertory Theatre; and the Grand Theatre at Salt Lake Community College.

The Off Broadway Theatre is home to Utah's longest-running improv comedy troupe, Laughing Stock. Throughout the year, OBT presents comedies and parodies for a family-friendly audience.

D.R. Puppets' Theatre is a non-profit organization that performs live puppet shows for children of all ages. It is operated by Dmitry Rashkin, an acclaimed puppeteer with years of experience performing in both Russia and the U.S. It is estimated that nearly a million children world-wide have seen Dmitry perform.

Sundance Resort offers an extensive summer arts program featuring performances by the Utah Symphony and Opera and other groups, along with theatre and outdoor cinema.

Central Utah

Snow College in Ephraim offers concerts, theater, and other performances by students and touring performers during most of the year.

The Gunnison Valley Arts Council offers quarterly concerts. The West Millard Cultural Council in Delta presents a summer musical and a variety of professional performers annually.

Eastern Utah

Vernal's Outlaw Trail Theater, June & July, presents original musical productions based on the area's colorful past and "Broadway" musicals outdoors under the stars. The Outlaw Trail Festival also encompasses a Juried Art Show in June and a Juried Photography Show in September each year.

Touring performers and local music and theater productions are frequently staged at eastern Utah venues through the auspices of the Uintah Arts Council in Vernal.

Southwestern Utah

Cedar City

Utah's premier theatrical event each year is the nationally-acclaimed Utah Shakespearean Festival at Southern Utah University. Each summer thousands of people converge on Cedar City to participate in the many renaissance festivities and see three Shakespearean productions rotating nightly. Modern plays are also presented during the festival. The Festival's free "Green Shows" include puppet shows, strolling vendors, musicians and dancers every summer night, preceding the evening play performances. The Festival has recently added a fall season to their offerings

Thunderbird International Film Festival draws filmmakers and film lovers to Cedar City every year during the first weekend of June. Thunderbird is an authentic film festival showcasing student and independent films in a personal "down-home" atmosphere. The festival facilitates interaction between students and professionals, as well as between filmmakers and festival-goers. Thunderbird emphasizes family friendly films with allowances for cultural differences.

The Neil Simon Festival is the world's first professional theatre company dedicated to honoring and preserving the works of America's preeminent comic playwright, Neil Simon. The festival is housed in the beautiful Heritage Center Theatre in downtown Cedar City. The growing theatre company, with its slogan "Come Laugh With Us!" has already gained a reputation for excellence. The festival runs from mid-July to mid-August every year.

Kanab

The Variety Arts Council features professional touring artists and companies.

St. George

Theatrical and musical performances are staged outdoors against the red rock at the Tuacahn complex, 10 miles north of St. George.

St. George Musical Theater presents high quality, low cost, family-centered entertainment in the intimate 265 seat theater-in-the-round.

The Southwest Symphony has a season of concerts Oct-May.

Springdale

The O.C. Tanner Amphitheater just outside Zion National Park has a summer concert series ranging from symphony to ethnic dancing. "The Grand Circle: A National Park Odyssey", a media presentation highlighting the history and beauty of several national parks is presented here nightly June through September.

Bumbleberry Inn Playhouse. Adjacent to the Bumbleberry Restaurant and one mile short of the entrance to Zion National Park.

Southeastern Utah

Moab and Vicinity

Music in Concert with the Landscape... it's a natural. Music from around the world amidst the spectacular red rock canyonlands around Moab. Each year musicians and music lovers from around the world travel to the Moab Music Festival to perform and to listen to musical masterpieces, old and new, set among some of nature's most spectacular landscape masterpieces. Known for its distinctive programming, the award-winning Moab Music Festival offers concerts of classical chamber music, traditional music, vocal music, works of living composers and jazz performed by acclaimed artists. Performances take place in September, in indoor and outdoor venues ranging from historic Star Hall in Moab to the banks of the Colorado River.

Each fall the Moab Arts Center hosts the Canyonlands Arts and Performance Festival. The Moab Community Theater and Moab Community Chorus also perform.

Blanding/Monticello

The Kagilia Fine Arts Center in Blanding stages live performances throughout the year. "Edge of the Seaters", a theater company performs melodramas during Blanding's 4th of July Celebration. Blue Mountain Entertainment in Monticello presents five concerts per year.

Movie-making in Utah's Canyonlands has been ongoing since 1949. A variety of films from John Wayne classics to 1994's City Slickers II, have taken advantage of Monument Valley and Canyonlands scenery.