Season will be one of 'legends'

According to Fred C. Adams, "This is a season of legends."

As the Utah Shakespearean Festival prepares to begin its 44th season in Cedar City next week, the festival founder and executive director cited two examples — Doctor Faustus and King Arthur. Both, he said, were attempting the impossible and taking different approaches.

"Doctor Faustus" was written in about 1592-93 by Christopher Marlowe, whose dramatic blank verse was said to have inspired William Shakespeare to become a playwright. The show is this season's oldest play.

The newest is a highly acclaimed contemporary piece, "Stones in His Pockets," a two-person, 15-character comedy-drama by Irish playwright Marie Jones. A hit at the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, followed by successful runs in London, New York and around the world, the play will feature two of the Utah festival's longtime favorites — Brian Vaughn and David Ivers.

"I go into the rehearsals and I can't leave," said Adams. "During one rehearsal Vaughn changed characters four times in a page-and-a-half."

"Stones" is a "mature" show, he said, "But it's not a vulgar show, nor is it childproof. There are discussions about some of life's difficulties, which are not often talked about on stage. It's also a comedy, but in the end it's very wry and poignant. People will come out of the theater changed, and that is what theater is all about."

Adams said the festival received permission to replace some of the profanity and expletives that he knew would be offensive.

"Stones in His Pockets" focuses on the impact that a Hollywood film company has on a rural Irish village.

Here is a brief look (and some of Adams' comments) on the other five summer productions:

• "DOCTOR FAUSTUS," adapted and directed by Howard Jensen, "has such a huge moral lesson about selling your soul for all the wrong things. Faustus wants to know what the Gods know, then he wants to experience and feel even more.

"If the pyrotechnics work, this will be quite an experience."

• "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM," directed by Kathleen Conlin and presented in the Randall L. Jones Theatre, allows some more contemporary staging. "You have never seen a 'Midsummer' production like this," Adams promises. "We have a 1 1/2-ton mirror that moves around. There are also a couple of fun surprises and Kathleen has done some nice things with it."