Midsummer Magazine 2007 - Utah Shakespearean Festival

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Home of theUtah Shakespearean FstivalCedar City:A World ofContrast andBeautyBy Howard WatersNESTLED IN THE VALLEY ATthe foot of southwesternUtah’s juniper-studded mountains,Cedar City (home of the UtahShakespearean Festival) is a world ofcontrast. There are the seasons, of course.Wintertime tourists have been coming herefor years to sample nearby Brian Head’s“greatest snow on earth.” During the warmsummer months the international touristshave joined in, looking for a jumping offplace from which to be awed by the grandeurof Cedar Breaks, Zion Canyon, BryceCanyon, and more natural beauty than thesenses can take in, but Cedar City is muchmore than that.If you were to walk into one of the localCedar City eateries during any of the summermonths, you would probably notice aCedar Breaks National Monument, just a short driveeast of Cedar City
couple of the local ranchers sipping theircoffee and talking about the weather, theprice of hay, or the condition of the livestockmarket. That hasn’t changed overthe years. Genuine cowboys and ranchersare still a basic part of the area’s rich pioneerculture and heritage. Across the aisle,however, things might be very differentfrom what you might expect. You might,for example, see a table with six or sevenpeople seated around it, engaged in an animateddiscussion. They might be speakingGerman, French, or Sheffield English. Thetopic of discussion? Who is Shakespeare’smost complete, utter villain, Iago or RichardIII? Don’t be too surprised if one of theranchers leans over and says, “Iago, handsdown, no contest.” Oh yes, Cedar City is aworld of contrast.Established in the 1850s by Mormonpioneers who referred to the juniper treesthat surround the area as cedars, CedarCity is currently ranked the eleventh fastestgrowing city in the United States, accordingto the visitors guide published by thelocal chamber of commerce. The pure air,mountain retreats, and general, all-aroundcongeniality of the local folks all serve tomake Cedar City a very attractive locale forsettling down. The landscape that greetedthose early settlers, however, provided anoften bitter taste of contrast of a differentkind. First, there was the weather, oftenharsh and unpredictable. Growing crops wasdifficult, to say the least. Then there was thechallenge of mining the rich lodes of ironand coal that laced the western mountains.The logical thing to do in order to havesome relief from the daily grind of survivalseemed to be to build a Social Hall. So, in1862, a building was erected that served asa school, church, and theatre. These hardysettlers were largely European immigrantswho had brought their culture along withthem. Their days were filled with sweat andtoil, but in the evenings there was music,dance, and their beloved Shakespeare.One hundred years after the last performanceof Shakespeare on that SocialHall stage, a young actor and teacher by thename of Fred C. Adams, born and raised inDelta, Utah, moved from New York Cityto Cedar City to take on the job of theatreinstructor at the College of Southern Utah,now Southern Utah University. It seemedto him that the thousands of tourists whocame to see the local national parks mightstay around a bit longer if there were somethingelse to entertain them. Why notorganize a dramatic production or two onthe local college campus? In fact, why notShakespeare?Those early productions by Adams andhis students were well received, but whatAdams had in mind, was a Shakespeareanfestival. Why not? The descendents of thoseearly pioneers were people who loved thetheatre, and especially their Shakespeare.Cedar City continues to grow. TheUtah Summer Games are held here now,and attract hundreds of athletes from allover the country. Southern Utah Universitywas recently ranked among the ten bestin the nation by Consumers Digest for thequality and value of education to be hadthere and provides a variety of activities andevents that help to enrich the community.And what of Fred C Adams’s dream?Now in its forty-fifth season, the UtahShakespearean Festival attracts over 150,000patrons annually to its two beautiful theatres,and its annual budget tops $6 million.The Festival has an extensive educationaloutreach program, taking the magic of livetheatre into small communities that otherwisemight never be able to afford suchcultural riches. What about internationalrecognition? In 2000, the Festival wonthe coveted Tony Award for outstandingregional theatre.Breakin' WindWind DesignsUnique GiftsKitesHome Decor50 West Center StreetCedar City, Utah 84720435-586-8851866-383-8851www.breakinwindonline.comMidsummer Magazine 2007 • 41
Page 1: Summer/Fall 2006 • Your Complimen
Page 6 and 7: Espresso, Loose Leaf Tea,Chai, Frui
Page 8 and 9: June 21 to October 27Cedar City, Ut
Page 10 and 11: June 21-September 1Adams Shakespear
Page 12 and 13: Prestige RealtyReal EstateIs OurPas
Page 14 and 15: June 22-August 31Adams Shakespearea
Page 16 and 17: a continuous series to the beginnin
Page 18 and 19: Kent, Lear thinks he is merely exer
Page 20 and 21: June 25-September 1Randall L. Jones
Page 22 and 23: Share the Experiencethe Design,the
Page 24 and 25: Shaw claims in Candida tohave turne
Page 26 and 27: June 27-September 1Randall L. Jones
Page 28 and 29: September 15-October 27Randall L. J
Page 30 and 31: September 15-October 26Randall L. J
Page 32 and 33: Explore our galleries.Discover uniq
Page 34 and 35: The Complete Signet Classic Shakesp
Page 36 and 37: June 21 toOctober 27MONDAYTUESDAYTh
Page 38 and 39: PTTP ad 7x10 11/19/03 4:08 PM Page
Page 42 and 43: Contrast? Just travel three hours s
Page 44 and 45: sixty miles of back-country trails,
Page 46 and 47: What’s A VacationWithout Golf?Aft
Page 48: Discover the charms of Henley Manor

Midsummer Magazine 2007 - Utah Shakespearean Festival

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