With all the Mormon money spent to aid the passage of California's Proposition 8 banning gay marriage in 2008, it's no wonder that many human rights activists have called for travel boycotts of Utah. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( as the Mormons officially want to be called ) is headquartered in Salt Lake City , and its overwhelming influence on state politics have caused many to joke that Utah operates as a theocracy.
But Utah is also home to stunning natural scenery and great performing arts companies. A recent two-day jaunt to visit a good friend who recently relocated to s outhern Utah confirmed this.
The Grand Canyon may be the most famous natural land formation in the Southwest. But just up from Arizona near Interstate-15 are two of Utah 's awe-inspiring natural wonders: Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park .
Southern Utah is also home to two prominent non-profit performing arts organizations. The Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespearean Festival has been presenting Shakespeare and other world classics for 49 seasons on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City, while the Tuacahn Amphitheatre performs Broadway musicals against a stunning natural red rock backdrop in Ivins near St. George.
With only two days to spare, my friend and I opted to spend some time in Springdale near the mouth of Zion National Park , and then catch two shows at the Utah Shakespearean Festival the next day.
Located just a mile from the south entrance of Zion National Park , Springdale is a small artsy town that is known for its tolerance. At least that's according to Joe Pitti and Mark Chambers, the couple who own and operate the town's oldest bed and breakfast Under the Eaves Inn ( one of their competitors is the lesbian-owned Red Rock Inn just next door ) .
The interplay of light and shadow on the surrounding red rock canyon was breathtaking, and I'm sure a dream for hikers and other outdoor recreation enthusiasts. But as more of a city boy and certified theater fan, I was more excited about visiting the Utah Shakespearean Festival.
Of the six shows running in repertory this summer, we took in a Monday matinee of the world premiere musical adaptation of Great Expectations in the indoor Randall L. Jones Theatre. Later that evening we saw an evening performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth performed in the outdoor Tudor-styled Adams Shakespearean Theatre.
We did have an option of seeing an indoor matinee of Much Ado About Nothing directed by Northlight Theatre artistic director B.J. Jones. But since the festival successfully debuted a world premiere musical adaptation of Ken Ludwig's farce Lend Me a Tenor in 2007 ( which is now headed to London ) , we thought we'd see Great Expectations, instead.
Alas, the musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel didn't live up to the title. The score by composer Richard Winzeler and lyricist Steve Lane didn't fit the dark Dickensian tone of the novel, nor was it helped by the tinny and largely synthesized orchestrations. The fact that Winzeler and Lane wrote a title song that sounded like it came out of Hello, Dolly! shows how wrong-headed their approach was to the material.
The flashback script by Margaret A. Hoorneman, Steve Lozier and Brian VanDerWilt also tried to cram in too many characters and situations ( I can see why composer Dominick Argento chose to mostly focus on the novel's most interesting character in his far superior opera adaptation Miss Havisham's Fire ) .
At least the acting company had very strong voices, particularly the Pip of Broadway veteran Jack Noseworthy. Unfortunately director Jules Aaron didn't reign in the odd deployment of good and poor British accents delivered by the cast.
If Great Expectations was a textbook example of how not to musically adapt a great work of literature, then director Joseph Hanreddy ( formerly artistic director of Milwaukee Repertory Theater ) offered up a great example of how a largely spare staging can be a very effective and chilling approach to Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Instead of filling the stage with oversize cauldrons and Crayola-colored witches like in the festival's gimmicky 1996 staging of Macbeth, Hanreddy wisely opted for simplicity to allow the audience's imagination fill in the terror. Hence the witches' steaming cauldron was just an open trap door spewing smoke, and Macbeth's banquet vision of his slaughtered friend Banquo was initially just thin air ( until later when Don Burrows' zombified Banquo reappeared after intermission ) .
Hanreddy also smartly cast the title character and his scheming wife on the younger side, adding a logical impatience to Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth's zealous ambition to attain the throne of Scotland at all costs.
Watching the blond and handsome Macbeth of Grand Goodman devolve from a loyal war hero to ruthless king killer was a treat, as was watching Kymberly Mellen go from cold and calculating to mentally unhinged as Lady Macbeth ( both Goodman and Mellen have shined on Chicago-area stages in the past ) .
Other memorable performances include the earthy and seen-it-all Porter of Tony Amendola ( who also plays Shylock in the festival's production of The Merchant of Venice ) and Michael Brusasco's upstanding Macduff.
Though many gay activists would frown on a trip to Utah thanks to its rabid right-wing politics and religious leanings, there can be plenty of soul-enriching outdoor beauty and art to be found in this Rocky Mountain state. Particularly in Southern Utah where there is great culture to be found among the colorful canyon lands.
The Utah Shakespearean Festival's 2010 summer repertory season featuring Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, The 39 Steps, Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations: The Musical continues until Sept. 4. The fall repertory season of The Diary of Anne Frank, Greater Tuna and Pericles runs from Sept. 16 through Oct. 23. Call 800-752-9849 or visit bard.org
Tarzan and Crazy for You continue in repertory until Oct. 16 at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre. Call 800-746-9882 or visit tuacahn.org .
More information on Under The Eaves Inn and Red Rock Inn in Springdale can respectively be found at undertheeaves.com and redrockinn.com .