The Utah Shakespeare Festival:
To go or not to go, that is the question.
Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the three hour drive from Salt Lake City
Or to remember it’s a world-class theater event in our own backyard
And by attending, participating in a 65-year tradition.
Thanks to my 11th grade AP Lit teacher for the extra credit for every line of the Hamlet soliloquy we memorized. And I thought I’d never use that again …
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is in full-swing in Cedar City, at Southern Utah University. Over the course of the summer and fall, actors and crews from around the world will put on productions for over 100,000 people! Add in an elevation climb and you have the perfect outdoor (and indoor) theater weather, in the mid 70s and 80s.
What Is It?
Founder Fred C. Adams began the festival in 1961 after joining the faculty at SUU and seeing the number of tourists who came to the area for state and national parks. Why not capitalize on a semi-captive audience?
What if It's Sold Out?
Even if you don’t have tickets to a show, you can still participate in a free performance each night before the curtain rises. The Greenshow is a free, 30-minute outdoor performance presented before evening productions.
Conceived by Barbara Adams, Fred's wife, the Greenshow recreates the festive atmosphere of Elizabethan theater with live music, dancing, storytelling, comedy, and audience participation on the lawn outside the theaters. The Greenshow is open to everyone and has become one of the festival's most beloved traditions.
🎭 Currently On-Stage
"Hamlet"
