On Saturday, Sept. 7, The Utah Shakespeare Festival closed the last of their summer shows in the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre and Ashton Family Greenshow Commons. Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” alongside the accompanying “Commedia” Greenshow, written and directed by SUU professor Britannia Howe, both set attendance records for the festival.
“Taming” sold out their closing performance, marking the Engelstad’s first total sellout since its opening in 2016. With over 900 people in attendance, the audience was excited and engaged through the entire performance.
“It was honestly one of the coolest things to know that myself and the cast, crew and artistic team were a part of USF history that night,” said company member Topher Embrey, who played Christopher Sly in “Taming” and appeared in both of the other Engelstad shows this season. “It was the first sold out show since that theatre opened and I was elated to be a part of that. We definitely had a lot of fun that night.”
The execution of the show with such a large audience was a collaboration between the cast, crew, administration and guest services.
“While on the surface supervising a sold out house can be intimidating, it was thrilling being able to manage such an excited audience,” said Beau Barrett, who was the House Manager Supervisor on duty that night. “Being part of such a huge moment for USF was truly incredible and made me proud to be a part of this wonderful community.”
In addition to the records broken by “Taming,” “Commedia” set a record for attendance. The free show that takes place before evening performances during the summer season saw 912 patrons singing and dancing along, surpassing the season’s previous record by 151 attendees.
“Working on the Greenshow all summer has been incredible because I can feel how important it has been to the community,” said Greenshow stage manager Mary Toth. “To have a house that was larger than the capacity of our largest theatre felt like the warmest send-off for the year.”
“Commedia,” as well as the season’s other two Greenshows, “Folk Festival,” and “Royals,” is very audience participation heavy, and having such a high number of people in attendance made those interactive moments even stronger.
“Doing the Greenshow has been a life-changing experience,” said SUU student and USF company member Gracelyn Erickson. “I love being a small part of a legacy that has lasted for over 60 years. It’s been so rewarding being able to inspire people and hopefully give them some joy.”
Author: Tessa Cheshire
Photos courtesy of The Utah Shakespeare Festival
arts@suunews.net
