’Lightning, legacy and the things we carry’: Plan-B Theatre, Utah Presents set for premiere of Aaron Asano Swenson’s KILO-WAT

’Lightning, legacy and the things we carry’: Plan-B Theatre, Utah Presents set for premiere of Aaron Asano Swenson’s KILO-WAT

ByLes RokaFeb 4, 2025

In the opening of Aaron Asano Swenson’s new play KILO-WAT, Ken Kushida, a Japanese-American podcaster, sets the stage for telling the story about Wat ‘Kilo-Wat’ Misaka, a Utah native of Japanese descent who played point guard to lead the University of Utah basketball team to an NCAA championship in 1944 and the NIT championship in 1947. Ken’s podcast intro contextualizes the ideas of “lightning, legacy, and the things we carry.”…

Sundance 2025: With magnificent visuals and music score, Justin Lin’s Last Days is interesting narrative take on tragic death of evangelical missionary

Sundance 2025: With magnificent visuals and music score, Justin Lin’s Last Days is interesting narrative take on tragic death of evangelical missionary

ByLes RokaFeb 3, 20256 min read

The 2023 National Geographic documentary The Mission, directed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, captured the story of…

New sets, costumes for Ballet West’s third staging of historical masterpiece, Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, set for Feb. 7-16

New sets, costumes for Ballet West’s third staging of historical masterpiece, Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, set for Feb. 7-16

ByLes RokaFeb 3, 20256 min read

Few stories have been so versatile for adaptation than Cinderella. There have been versions for children’s theater, pantomime,…

Sundance 2025: Twelve short films that stood out for The Utah Review this year: comedy, horror, documentary, drama, animation

Sundance 2025: Twelve short films that stood out for The Utah Review this year: comedy, horror, documentary, drama, animation

ByLes RokaFeb 2, 202517 min read

This year’s Sundance slate included short film programs, including focused tracks in animation, documentary and midnight-appropriate stories. The…

Sundance 2025: All That’s Left of You is profound, deeply emotional Palestinian version of a multigenerational family saga

Sundance 2025: All That’s Left of You is profound, deeply emotional Palestinian version of a multigenerational family saga

ByLes RokaJan 31, 202510 min read

One of the Sundance Film Festival’s greatest impacts has been as a prominent venue in the Western world…