Utah Shakespeare Festival announces 2020 season despite pandemic
To be or not to be was the question.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival chose to be.
The annual theatrical celebration in Cedar City is moving ahead with its 2020 season, albeit with fewer shows and a later start date.
“The changes to our season are necessary, but we are committed to providing creative, reimagined works of art that audiences can enjoy during this difficult time,” Brian Vaughn, the festival’s artistic director, said in a statement.
Performances are scheduled to begin July 9 with Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance” in the Randall L. Jones Theatre.
The outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre will host “Richard III” starting July 20, “Pericles” beginning July 21 and “The Comedy of Errors” starting July 22.
“Every Brilliant Thing,” by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe, opens July 21 in the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre.
Backstage tours, orientations and seminars will start July 9. The free Greenshow will begin July 20.
The five plays will be presented in rotation through Sept. 5.
Among the concessions to the coronavirus pandemic will be less time spent designing and making sets, props, lights and costumes. The festival touted increased disinfecting procedures and what it deemed “strategic audience seating.” Company members will self-quarantine for two weeks upon their arrival in Cedar City.
For more information, a complete schedule and tickets, see bard.org.
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.
