Utah Shakespeare festival celebrates its golden anniversary

Fiftieth anniversaries aren't all that common in this rapidly changing world and, in the world of nonprofit theater, they are extremely rare. Thus, it is with a great deal of pride and anticipation that the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah, is planning a host of festivities for its golden anniversary in 2011.

The anniversary celebration will include numerous community and festival events, eight exciting and compelling plays, a new calendar and price structure, new artistic leadership and a slightly updated logo for the venerable theater company.

"We are very excited about plans for our 50th anniversary," said R. Scott Phillips, festival executive director. "We will, of course, continue to provide world-class productions on our stages, but we also plan on celebrating this landmark year throughout the region with many different events and parties."

Plans are still being finalized for many of the anniversary events, but they include a reunion of cast members from the first season in 1962, a communitywide party commemorating Shakespeare's birthday, a traveling exhibit of photos depicting the history of the festival, special post-play entertainment throughout opening week, a vintage car show and a coffee-table book of the festival's first 50 years.

The eight plays being presented from June 23 to Oct. 29 will have something to please every taste and will offer the perfect celebration for long-term patrons of the festival and for those who will be attending for the first time.

Plays in the Adams Shakespearean Theatre include three crowd favorites by William Shakespeare. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will kick off the season. This magical comedy was directed in 1964 by festival founder Fred C. Adams, who will return to direct this season's production.

"Richard III," the second play in the Adams Theatre, has long been one of Shakespeare's most in-demand histories. This haunting play will be overseen by long-time festival director Kathleen F. Conlin.

The final play in the Adams Theatre will be the timeless love story of "Romeo and Juliet," directed by one of two newly appointed festival artistic directors, David Ivers. Plays in the Adams Theatre will run from June 23 to Sept. 3.

Plays in the Randall L. Jones Theatre will kick off with the family musical Meredith Willson's "The Music Man," which will be directed by Brad Carroll, the composer for "Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical" that premiered at the festival and recently opened in England. Next will be "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams. This classic American drama was featured in the first season of the Randall L. Jones Theatre in 1989 and returns this year, directed by another long-time festival director, J. R. Sullivan. These two plays will run from June 23 to Sept. 3.

The third play opening in the Randall Theatre the first week of the festival will enjoy an extended run through Oct. 29. "Noises Off!," written by Michael Frayn and directed by Jeff Steitzer, is a hilarious send-up of all things theatrical. The longer run for this play is the first step in the festival's plan for its future calendar.

"As we continue to grow, we envision a season with a number of plays opening and closing at various times through the summer and fall, and into the winter," said Phillips. "This is the first step in that direction. During our 50th season, we will not have a 'summer' and 'fall' season, but one continuous season, with no breaks from June through October."

The final two plays of the 2011 season will run from Sept. 23 to Oct. 29. First will be the Shakespearean romance "The Winter's Tale," directed by Laura Gordon, who will be making her first festival appearance. Rounding out the celebration will be the murder mystery "Dial M for Murder" by Frederick Knott. This whodunit will be directed by Brian Vaughn, also recently announced as festival artistic director.

In addition to changing its calendar, the festival is also making one important change to its pricing structure: the elimination of service fees. In the past, the festival (like most theaters) has charged a per-order service fee; however, in the future, there will be no such fee.

"This is something our patrons have requested, and we feel like it is the right thing to do," said Bruce C. Lee, festival communications director. "Now, when you order a ticket, the published price is all you pay, no fees, no postage charges, no additions of any kind."

"This is all part of our commitment to our patrons," Phillips said. "As we have been examining the past 50 years (and the next 50), we wanted to make the patron experience as easy and enjoyable as possible, from purchasing tickets, to learning about our plays, to finding our theaters. We are definitely looking forward to an exceptional 50th anniversary."

Tickets for the festival are available now. To purchase tickets, or for more information, call the festival ticket office at: 435-586-7878, or 1-800-PLAYTIX. You can also purchase your tickets (as well as access a wealth of Shakespeare and festival-related information) by visiting the festival website at www.bard.org.