Utah Shakespearean Festival adds a few twists

A "My Fair Lady" that's about half an hour shorter than most other versions . . . a middle-aged Katherina being wooed by an over-the-hill Petruchio . . . a storyteller in contemporary attire on the outdoor Adams Theatre stage . . . valet parking . . . and grounds bursting with colorful, flower-filled baskets.

These are some of the new aspects theatergoers will encounter later this week when the Utah Shakespearean Festival opens its 2004 season in Cedar City.

The summer season runs from Thursday through Sept. 4, with six plays rotating on three stages.

Founder and executive producer Fred C. Adams is excited about some of the different approaches being taken by his company's six directors this year — and about the festival (and the northeast corner of the Southern Utah University campus) site being spruced up by a Vernal-based horticulturist.

On tap this year are three Shakespearean works — "Henry IV, Part One," "The Taming of the Shrew" and "The Winter's Tale" — on the Adams stage. Across the street, in the Randall L. Jones Theatre, there will be rotating performances of three more contemporary shows: "Forever Plaid," "My Fair Lady" and Paul Osborn's recently revived classic drama, "Morning's at Seven."

As usual, there's a mix of familiar and "newcomer" directors, who've been busy juggling a mind-boggling arrangement of rehearsal schedules. (No other theater company in the country opens six new shows in six successive days — and with some performers in as many as three productions, it takes some fine-tuned logistics to make them all come together at the same time.)

During a recent visit to Salt Lake City, Adams commented on several of the productions.

First-time festival director Marc Robbins, whom Adams describes as "one of the hottest directors now in the United States," has managed to trim 25 minutes out of "My Fair Lady" — a production which can often run nearly three hours.

"He's taking a cinematic approach, cutting out the musical interludes between the scene changes," said Adams. "He hates to have the orchestra playing what he calls 'Muzak for stagehands,' just waiting for the furniture to be moved around."

Adams noted that the fluid staging will allow scenes to segue quickly from one to another.

The cast includes Melinda Pfundstein as Eliza and Kurt Ziskie (seen last year in "1776") as Professor Henry Higgins.