Hello my theatre loving friends! Believe it or not it is June and so that means it is time for me to do my mid-year retrospective on what I have had the privilege of watching on stage so far this year and what have been some of my favorites. I saw 58 live shows in this time with 16 of them being straight plays and 42 musicals at 40 different venues some for the first time such as the Egyptian in Park City or Sugar Factory Theater Company. I even got to attend 2 shows while in Austin, Texas and visit the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. 

Obviously I did not see every show in my area nor did I see every cast of a particular show so my ‘awards’ are by no means comprehensive. It’s just what I enjoyed and want to give a mid-year shout-out to. 

BEST PROFESSIONAL MUSICAL-

This one has to go to either tick, tick… Boom at the Kennedy Center which blew me away on every level or to Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet at Pioneer Theatre Company which I enjoyed enough to see it a second time in the nosebleed seats! Both had incredible lead performances (Brandon Uranowitz and Kevin Earley respectively) with Great Comet having the more elaborate visual elements but tick tick having the more impactful story. If you ever get the chance to see either I highly recommend it.

BEST PROFESSIONAL PLAY

I have seen some terrific professional plays this year so far but my favorite has to be Bald Sisters from SLAC. This is a funny, heartfelt story of sisters trying to bond after their mother’s passing. It deals with the immigrant experience and how sometimes we love our family members more than we actually like them. Wendy Dang was the highlight as the older more responsibility burdened of the two sisters. I also really enjoyed The Lehman Trilogy at Pioneer Theatre Company (aside from Bonnie and Clyde what a season they had at PTC!)

BEST SEMI-PROFESSIONAL MUSICAL

For best semi-professional production (not an official term but what I think of as the step just below equity priced shows around $30) but my favorite were definitely Spring Awakening at Hart Theatre Company which was one of the most striking uses of a blackbox space I’ve seen. With live music and an extremely well-directed cast this was an incredible introduction to this daring musical. My other prize would go to Catch Me if You Can by the always unbelievable Music Theatre West. If you are in Logan I can’t recommend one of their productions more highly. Everything about this production was outstanding from the period accurate costumes to the lively choreography to the chemistry amongst the whole cast. I think Catch Me is a very underrated show and MTW did it right!

BEST LOCAL PLAY-

The best non-professional play that I saw has to be either Shakespeare in Love at WVPAC or Pride and Prejudice at Parker Theatre. Both were near-flawlessly executed love stories so of course they will be right up my alley. I particularly was blown away by the chemistry between Josh Egbert and Jillian Joy in Shakespeare in Love. It was masterfully done. As WVPAC is fighting for their life I know I will make sure to see as much there as I can. Save WVPAC!! Pride and Prejudice at Parker is the kind of show I wish had a permanent residency because I could just keep seeing it over and over again. So good.

REST OF THE GREAT MUSICALS

The best of the best of the other musicals I saw include Legally Blonde at Draper Historic (both casts), My Fair Lady at Heritage (leads had such good chemistry they even sold the ending!), Starlight Express from Liahona Academy (dazzled by the skating and fresh energy), all 4 casts of Daddy Long Legs I saw but especially Sydney and Bronson Dameron as Jervis and Jerusha at Lehi Arts Council, and finally The Little Mermaid at Bluffdale Arts with a cast of over 200 people I’ll never forget being part of such a community event.

So there you have it! Thanks to everyone who put on such amazing theatre!

Most of the logged shows I pay for out of pocket. If you would like me to be able to see and write about more shows please consider checking out patreon which has some really fun perks. More information here. Thank you