Officials of the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City have announced the cancellation of the musical ‘West Side Story,’ to be replaced by “Romeo and Juliet’ directed by festival veteran Betsy Mugavero.
CEDAR CITY – Officials of Southern Utah University here have announced a change in their offerings at the Utah Shakespeare Festival (USF) in summer of 2023.
Due to recent water damage at the outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre, the USF will not be able to present the blockbuster musical West Side Story this summer.
Instead, the USF will present the Shakespeare classic upon which the 1957 racially charged musical is based, Romeo and Juliet, according to Derek Charles Livingston, the festival’s interim artistic director.
“The addition of Romeo and Juliet,” he explains, “supports the entertaining, educational and enriching experience that typifies why our patrons return year after year to celebrate Shakespeare’s works at the festival.”
Over the holidays, a water pipe burst in the outdoor Engelstad Theatre, causing considerable flooding. Sound equipment necessary to produce musicals in the theater was damaged beyond repair.
Supply chain issues, USF officials add, make it impossible to repair or replace that equipment before the beginning festival season on June 21.
Because producing musicals requires more sophisticated sound, microphones and mixing equipment, festival organizers were forced to cancel West Side Story, which had been scheduled for June 21 to Sept. 8.
But the festival can still produce non-musical plays in the Engelstad Theatre.
“It is poetic that this production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is the brilliant solution to this challenge,” says Michael Bahr, the festival’s interim managing director. “We are thrilled with the opportunity this provides to tell this timeless tale in this beautiful space for our audiences.”
West Side Story is set in the upper west side of Manhattan in New York City, which in the 1950s was a multi-racial, blue-collar neighborhood.
Against the rivalry of two street gangs, the familiar romance between Tony and Maria plays out to its tragic conclusion.
West Side Story marked a turning point in musical theatre due to its dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes and its focus on social problems.
At the festival, Romeo and Juliet will be directed by USF veteran Betsy Mugavero.
Mugavero is well-known to festival audiences. She played to the title role of Juliet in 2017; performed in Peter and the Starcatcher in 2013, Shakespeare in Love in 2017, The Book of Will in 2019; and directed the festival’s touring show of Much Ado About Nothing in 2022.
Bahr calls Romeo and Juliet the “perfect match with the rest of our season and we know that guests will be captivated by the contrast this production will provide.”
The reminder of the USF season will be unaffected by the water damage to the Engelstad Theatre.
The season will include Emma, a musical based on the Jane Austin story; the classic A Raisin in the Sun; The Play that Goes Wrong, a comedy; and three of Shakespeare’s works: A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream, Timon of Athens and Coriolanus.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival will run from June 21 to Oct. 7.