Jerry Rapier

Moral dilemma of collaboration, accommodation ignites upcoming Plan-B Theatre’s premiere of Eric Samuelsen’s The Ice Front

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In occupied France during World War II, writers and intellectuals did not approach the moral dilemma of collaboration and accommodation in a unifying response. A leading figure of the Resistance from the outset, Albert Camus edited an underground newspaper. But, Jean-Paul Sartre and André Malraux, while sympathetic to the Resistance efforts and contributing anti-Nazi content, … Read more

Authentic voices in the Utah Enlightenment: Plan-B Theatre, Torrey House Press, Repertory Dance Theatre

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While the bomb-throwers—both metaphorical and literal – invariably claim to speak for the locals, most of the locals I’ve met prefer to speak for themselves. They’re old-timers and newcomers, Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals. They’re scientists, tribal members, ranchers, and telecommuters, often more than one of the above. Some criticize the federal government, and … Read more

Overcoming the echo chamber emerges front and center in Plan-B Theatre’s (in)divisible

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Being a conservative in the arts has also been great for me because those in the arts give me a full environment to hear other perspectives. Being close to those with different viewpoints has opened my mind and sometimes changed it (and sometimes reinforced it), but either way it’s been an expanding experience. I sometimes … Read more

Leaps of faith highlight Plan-B Theatre’s forthcoming 27th season

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NOTE: This is Part Two of a series about Plan-B Theatre, which offers a glimpse of the four new productions for the 27th season. For Part One, see here. “We want a beginning of the story. And we go as far ahead in the future as we can. We want an end to the story. … Read more

Retrospective: Plan-B Theatre’s 26th season filled with original, rare, essential plays by Utah writers

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NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series about Plan-B Theatre, which just completed its 26th anniversary. Part 2 will preview the company’s 2017-2018 season. As audaciously experimental as Plan-B Theatre’s silver anniversary season was last year, the small theatre company in Salt Lake City set forth in its 26th season an original, rare, … Read more

Plan-B Theatre’s The Edible Complex slated for Utah schools fall tour

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The Edible Complex

A 2015 report by Common Sense, a nonprofit organization that researches the impact of media and technology for children, emphasized that body image is learned early in a child’s development and that while media play a powerful role in developing perceptions about that image, other factors including the cultural group and the communities in which … Read more

Plan-B Theatre’s 26th season features plenty of past, present enigmas and mysteries

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NOTE: This is Part Two of a series about Plan-B Theatre, which offers a glimpse of the four new productions for the 26th season. For Part One, see here. Enigmas and mysteries – two wrapped with music and a third with the perplexing question of whether a murder actually did happen – will comprise a … Read more

Plan-B’s 25th season gutsy, experimental but most artistically satisfying for audiences

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NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series about Plan-B Theatre, which just completed its 25th anniversary. Part 2 will preview the company’s 2016-2017 season. In 25 years, Plan-B Theatre has grown into one of the most ambitious performing arts companies in Utah, regardless of size or genre. The small theatre company – with … Read more

In song and dialogue, many joys from Plan-B Theatre’s Kingdom of Heaven

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One of the many joys in Kingdom of Heaven, Plan-B Theatre’s first take on an original musical, is the set of songs that lift Jenifer Nii’s already substantive story about a dutiful, faithful Mormon housewife who comes to terms with a newly emerged part of her identity as a drag king performer. The songs are … Read more

Plan-B Theatre set to premiere Kingdom of Heaven, its 1st original musical

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The genre of musicals in the 21st century is getting a flattering facelift. Hamilton, for example, with its tantalizing alchemy of stimulating passion for history through ingeniously accessible rap and hip hop stands out for how racial barriers in the making of art and culture can be dismantled. Fun Home, staged as theater in the … Read more