Blair Howell's career is in the professional publishing arena (for more years than he cares to remember), with a longstanding interest in theater. He found it to be great fun to live in New Canaan, Connecticut, with easy access to the Great White Way. But now, Blair lives in Salt Lake City (a long, not interesting story). The much-lamented move has allowed him to be more active in regional theater. He now covers theater and the arts for the Deseret News, Utah's oldest, continuously-published metro daily newspaper, and has written for various theater-related national magazines and websites.
 BWW Reviews: You're in Good Company with URINETOWN at Hale Center Theater Orem
May 17, 2013
Hale Center Theater Orem's hysterical Urinetown is a privilege ... to see.
 WHAT THE BELLHOP SAW to Be Staged by Utah Repertory Theater, 5/31-6/15
May 11, 2013
Utah Repertory Theater Company announces its production of the hysterical farce WHAT THE BELLHOP SAW -- the funniest show you've never seen.
 Utah Rep Announces Auditions for CAROUSEL and WHAT THE BELLHOP SAW, 3/18 & 20
March 12, 2013
Utah Repertory Theater Company has announced an open audition for its productions of "Carousel" and "What the Bellhop Saw." Actors may audition for a single or both shows at two locations.
 Utah Rep Announces Cast for I LOVE YOU BECAUSE
February 13, 2013
Utah Repertory Theater Company has announced final casting for the Utah premiere of the musical 'I Love You Because.' 'This cast is going to blow the roof of the theater with the talent they have,' said director Ashley Ramsey.
 Utah Musical Theatre Company Presents Utah Premiere of SIDE SHOW, Now thru 2/2
January 18, 2013
Utah Musical Theatre Company will present the Broadway musical SIDE SHOW tonight, Jan. 18 - Feb. 2, 2013 at Echo Theatre in Provo, Utah.
 BWW Interviews: Playing Conjoined Twins in Utah Premiere of SIDE SHOW Challenging Yet Rewarding for Lead Actresses
January 7, 2013
The lead roles of conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton in the musical 'Side Show' are certainly among the most challenging in Broadway history. Along with performing the rewarding score, the two actresses must simulate their unfortunate 'Siamese twins' connection without gimmicks, because the show includes dream sequences in which they separate. They are literally joined at the hip but must rely solely upon practice-makes-perfect closeness.
Utah Musical Theatre Company Presents Utah Premiere of SIDE SHOW, 1/18
December 24, 2012
Utah Musical Theatre Company will present the Broadway musical SIDE SHOW on Jan. 18 - Feb. 2, 2013 at Echo Theatre in Provo, Utah.
 BWW Reviews: 'TIS PITY SHE'S A WHORE Shocks, Challenges, Delights
November 18, 2012
With director Sarah Shippobotham at the helm and the well-rehearsed cast of the University of Utah's Department of Theatre, 'TIS PITY SHE'S A WHORE is a helluva good evening of theater.
 BWW Reviews: SWEENEY TODD - A Deliciously Macabre Nightmare
November 4, 2012
At the University of Utah production, director David Schmidt eschews the celebrated operatic-scale production of Hal Prince's original for Doyle's insane asylum framework storytelling. And "Sweeney Todd" becomes a deliciously macabre nightmare.
 BWW Reviews: SOUTH PACIFIC Lovingly Staged at Hale Center Theater Orem
October 5, 2012
It's a genuine pleasure to be reminded that each Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is a masterpiece, at a 305-seat theater in Orem, Utah. At the Hale Center Theater Orem staging, "South Pacific" is an enchanting evening.
 BWW Reviews: Far From Boring, GEOGRAPHY CLUB Entertains
October 5, 2012
In this typical American high school, there's a student organization "so boring that nobody in their right mind would ever in a million years join it." But the play "Geography Club" is an illuminating view of the effects of bullying the outcast.
 Utah Premiere of SIDE SHOW Sets Auditions for 10/20
October 2, 2012
Utah Musical Theatre Company has announced auditions for the Utah premiere of the inspirational musical SIDE SHOW.
 BWW Reviews: Adventuresome Cast Makes VERNON GOD LITTLE Loopy Fun
September 24, 2012
Vernon God Little is howlingly funny at Salt Lake's Babcock Theatre with a cast of University of Utah Department of Theatre students.
 BWW Reviews: Mandy Patinkin Wows Capacity Audiences in Provo, Utah
September 4, 2012
As part of the Brigham Young University Performing Arts Series, Mandy Patinkin performed 'Dress Casual' to capacity audiences Aug. 31-Sept. 1 in Provo, Utah. And concertgoers roared their delight at his performance.
 BWW Interviews: Plan-B Theatre’s Producing Director Jerry Rapier Knows Good Theater
August 4, 2012
Founded in 1991, the Salt Lake City-based Plan-B Theatre Company develops and produces unique and socially conscious theater, with a particular emphasis on new plays by Utah playwrights. Broadway World caught up with the company's producing director, Jerry Rapier.
 BWW Reviews: Hale Center Theater Orem’s Exuberant CRAZY FOR YOU Makes Hearts Go Bango-Bingo
June 24, 2012
CRAZY FOR YOU quite gloriously translates to the Hale Center Theater Orem's small stage with Wunderkind director-choreographer Dave Tinney at the helm and an exuberant all-singing, all-tapping cast.
BWW Interviews: Plan-B Theatre’s Producing Director Jerry Rapier Knows Good Theater
June 18, 2012
Founded in 1991, the Salt Lake City-based Plan-B Theatre Company develops and produces unique and socially conscious theater, with a particular emphasis on new plays by Utah playwrights. Broadway World caught up with the company's producing director, Jerry Rapier.
 BWW Reviews: Emotionally Raw HEDWIG Plays Plan-B Theatre
June 9, 2012
Plan-B Theatre has mounted an arousing, emotionally raw "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Audiences enter the theater anticipating a rollicking cabaret, which is delivered, but are then surprised by their muddy Maybelline tears after Hedwig's tragic-comic quest for defiant acceptance is poignantly related.
 Hale Center Theater Orem Holds Auditions for DISNEY’S SLEEPING BEAUTY Today, 5/4
May 4, 2012
Hale Center Theater Orem announces auditions for the youth workshop production of "Disney's Sleeping Beauty Kids." Thr classic fairytale is told Disney style and has many feature and ensemble parts, from King Stefan and Queen Stefanie's loyal subjects to Maleficent's slimy goons.
 Fantasmagorical CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG Regional Premiere in Hale Centre Theatre's 2013 Season
May 1, 2012
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" joins "The 39 Steps," "No Time for Sergeants," "Ragtime," and "Tarzan: The Musical" to the Hale Centre Theatre 2013 season. The West Valley, Utah, company is the highest attended theater in the 7,000-member American Association of Community Theatre.
Hale Center Theater Orem Schedules Auditions for DISNEY’S SLEEPING BEAUTY
April 30, 2012
Hale Center Theater Orem announces auditions for the youth workshop production of "Disney's Sleeping Beauty Kids." Thr classic fairytale is told Disney style and has many feature and ensemble parts, from King Stefan and Queen Stefanie's loyal subjects to Maleficent's slimy goons.
 BWW Reviews: HCTO’s THE SECRET GARDEN Richly Rewarding with Superb Talent
April 26, 2012
The Hale Center Theater Orem staging of "The Secret Garden" is a rewarding experience for theatergoers. All of the magnificence and charm of the 1991 Tony-winning adaptation of the beloved novel is fully displayed. Seated in the intimate, in-the-round theater, the emotional involvement of fellow audience members surrounding you is clearly seen.
 'PHANTOM,' 'SALESMAN,' and More Highlight Utah Theater Companies' 2012-2013 Seasons
April 21, 2012
Anticipation is at a fever pitch among avid Utah theatergoers as local theater companies announce their new seasons. The musicals will include "The Will Rogers Follies," "The Phantom of the Opera," and "In the Heights." Dramas include "Death of a Salesman," "The Servant of Two Masters," and "'Tis Pity She's a Whore."
 Dallyn Vail Bayles Leads THE SECRET GARDEN Cast at Hale Center Theater Orem thru 6/2
April 21, 2012
Leading the cast of "The Secret Garden" at Hale Center Theater Orem is Dallyn Vail Bayles as Archibald Craven. Bayles, an Equity member who has performed the masked lead role in a national tour of "The Phantom of the Opera," Enjolras in a "Les Miserables" national tour, and with Colm Wilkinson at the China premiere of "Les Miserables," a popular recording artist and treasured stage and film actor locally.
 BWW Reviews: Midvale Main Street Stages Adventuresome NEXT TO NORMAL
March 27, 2012
Midvale Main Street prides itself in staging unique-to-Utah musicals, and "Next to Normal" should not be missed.
 BWW Interviews: New York Actor Revisits Role in Pioneer Theatre Company’s LAUGHING STOCK
March 22, 2012
When Pioneer Theatre Company premiered Charles Morey's "Laughing Stock" in 2001, New York actor Craig Bockhorn was cast as one of the leads. And now Bockhorn revisits the same role with Charles Morey, the play's director and author, for the Pioneer Theatre Company's second staging, which will open Friday, March 23.
 Utah Star of Broadway Dies at 86
March 17, 2012
Melva Niles Barborka, a Broadway leading lady, passed away on March 12 in South Jordan, Utah. She succumbed to chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, a neurological disease, at age 86. As Melva Niles, she stared in the Broadway runs "Song of Norway" and "Magdalena," creating the role of Solis.
 BWW Reviews: Plan-B Theatre Stages Entertaining World Premiere of THE THIRD CROSSING
March 13, 2012
Was the slave Sally Hemings the common-law second wife of Thomas Jefferson who bore six of his children?
 BWW Reviews: Volcanic Heat at a Face-Melting ROCK OF AGES in Salt Lake City
March 5, 2012
Salt Lake City feels the "noize" of a jet-fueled ROCK OF AGES. The Broadway Across America cast is more Broadway-ready than nonEquity tour.
 University of Utah to Stage World Premiere of RARE BIRD in March
February 27, 2012
The University of Utah Department of Theatre will stage the world premiere of internationally renowned playwright and poet Brighde Mullins's new play, RARE BIRD. The special event will raise funds for undergraduate student scholarships and awards.
 BWW Interviews: Matt Nolan—ROCK OF AGES' Stacee Jaxx
February 27, 2012
The national tour of the hit Broadway musical ROCK of AGES rolls into Salt Lake City's Kingsbury Hall on March 2-3. Broadway World interviews the tour's Stacee Jaxx, played by Matt Nolan.
 No Thunderbolt of Talent in XANADU
February 26, 2012
At the Hale Center Theater Orem in-the-round production of XANADU, the gods of the theater are not fully withdrawn yet they are stingy with divine blessings of inspiration.
 BWW Interviews: Creating Luisa for U.S. Premiere of Broadway-Bound ZORRO The Musical
February 23, 2012
Exclusive Broadway World interview with Jacquelyne Jones, the actor playing Zorro's love interest in the U.S. premiere of ZORRO The Musical at the Hale Centre Theatre, in West Valley, Utah.
 BWW Interviews: Creating Zorro for U.S. Premiere of Broadway-Bound ZORRO The Musical
February 22, 2012
Exclusive Broadway World interview with Derek Smith, the actor playing the lead role in the U.S. premiere of ZORRO The Musical at the Hale Centre Theatre, in West Valley, Utah. Next year, a national tour and Broadway debut is planned.
 Jason Alexander to Present Acting Workshops at Utah Valley University, 2/27 - 2/29
February 21, 2012
Jason Alexander will present a series of acting workshops to Utah Valley University students and faculty on Feb. 27-29.
 BWW Reviews: Salt Lake Acting Company’s RED illuminates and intrigues, through March 4
February 20, 2012
The highly regarded Salt Lake Acting Company stages an expert production of RED, with bravura performances of Morgan Lund painter Mark Rothko and Ted Powell as his assistant.
 Glitter Extravaganza Promised at HCTO’s XANADU Feb. 23-April 7
February 20, 2012
XANADU, the deliriously giddy musical based on the deliriously awful '80s movie of the same name, celebrates all things roller disco. At the Hale Orem production, XANADU will get the full-tilt glamour-glitter, discomania treatment-mirrored disco balls, glitter eyeshadow and, of course, leg warmers.
 Audra McDonald and Will Swenson Line Utah Theater with Rows of New Seats
February 18, 2012
Following a benefit performances of 110 IN THE SHADE, refurbishments began the Hale Center Theater Orem, including the purchase of industry-standard, burgundy-upholstered, mahogany-framed seats.
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