Review: The Utah Shakespeare Festival season launches, almost, with ‘Sound of Music’ and ‘Clue’

Scenes from the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2022 production of "Clue." | Photo by Karl Hugh/Utah Shakespeare Festival 2022, St. George News / Cedar City News

REVIEW — The Utah Shakespeare Festival, now in its 61st year, has had an impact on our state that’s impossible to overstate.

I’ve attended the festival religiously for 26 years, in that time seeing nearly every non-Shakespeare show (both musical and straight) and written about most of them. For those keeping score, that’s nearly 50 productions. It’s important to understand my adoration of the Festival, while understanding the obligation of a critic to be honest when evaluating a show.

After watching early performances of “The Sound of Music” and “Clue,” it’s clear that several major changes made by the festival’s leadership may be negatively impacting the Tony Award-winning festival’s productions that have historically achieved the highest form of artistic standard.

Iconic founder Fred Adams passed away in 2020, a few years after long-time Executive Director Scott Phillips retired. Now, beloved performer Brian Vaughn, a staple on Utah Shakespeare Festival stages for decades and who had served in the critical role of Artistic Director, has left the Festival under publicly uncertain circumstances.

On top of these changes, the Festival continues to deal with pandemic-related issues. Not so much involving the virus itself, but the stringent (bordering on repressive) policies set forth by the Actors’ Equity Association, the respected labor union of which a majority of the festival’s actors are members.

So, in short, the question begs to be asked: Is the Utah Shakespeare Festival off its game?

Exhibit A is this season’s “The Sound of Music,” an iconic musical penned by Rodgers and Hammerstein about Maria (Daria Pilar Redus), a postulant who becomes the governess of widower Captain von Trapp (Michael Sharon) and his rambunctious seven children living in Austria during the height of the Nazi campaign in the late 1930s.

Scenes from the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2022 production of “The Sound of Music.” | Photo by Karl Hugh/Utah Shakespeare Festival 2022, St. George News / Cedar City News

Talent abounds in this years’ cast, and it’s made obvious from the opening strains of the nuns’ beautiful choral strains of “Preludium” in the Nonnberg Abbey, led by Mother Abbess (Lisa Strum). But the challenge with performing an iconic show is that a production must take well-known material and not only do it justice but provide new and nuanced embellishments that surprise and inspire. Unfortunately, this production does neither.

It’s difficult to see why the Captain (Michael Sharon) would be enthralled by Maria’s handling of the children (who are all as darling you might expect), and the show misses opportunities to display the necessary chemistry between the two. Classic numbers like “Do-Re-Mi-,” “Lonely Goatherd,” and “So Long, Farewell,” are performed perfunctorily with little flair or charm.

At the key dramatic moment in the show when the von Trapp family flees the music festival to escape the Nazi soldiers, instead of the fear-inducing sound of shouting SS soldiers, intimidating barking dogs, ominous flashlights from all directions, or even frightening swastikas, all we see is young Rolf suddenly enter, by himself, to point his gun at the Captain. This is hardly the menace that would drive a family to pack up everything and escape to the Alps. It’s also important to mention here that the sound issues that plagued the Festival last year are still pervasive, with consistent missed mic cues.

This is not to say that many in the audience didn’t enjoy the show. It’s a tribute to the “Sound of Music” that even in the case of a flawed production, it’s a crowd-pleaser.

And speaking of crowd pleasers, the must-see show of the Festival this year very well could be “Clue,” an energetic, fun and funny murder mystery-comedy based on the vintage board game.

“Clue,” thanks in large part to the hilarious performances of festival veterans Michael Doherty (as the easily panicked Mr. Green) and Aaron Galligan-Stierle (as the bombastic Wadsworth) is a sharp, intermission-free 90-minute romp. Special kudos to Jo Winiarski for the brilliant scenic design.

There was one major faux pas: the review performance featured Mrs. Peacock’s understudy performing not on stage, but off to the side in street clothes reading from a script. While I was told that an email was sent to all patrons regarding this decision, it was nonetheless a constant distraction, despite the efforts of a plucky cast. Obviously, this will not likely be an issue in future performances, and these situations are quite challenging. But to see the Festival allow this – in front of a paying audience, no less – is surprising. Thankfully, a forgiving audience on the night I attended enjoyed the show, and “Clue” seems destined for a successful run.

Event details

  • Where: Randall L. Jones Theatre at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, 299 W. Center St., Cedar City.
  • When: Runs through Oct. 9, in revolving repertory with other shows.
  • Tickets: $29 to $84, with discounts for groups, students, locals and seniors; (800) PLAYTIX (800-752-9849) or www.bard.org.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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