The Lightning Thief
The Percy Jackson Musical
Babcock Theatre
Sept. 29 – Oct. 8, 2023
Cabaret
Music by John Kander & Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten & Stories by Christopher Isherwood
April 7 - 16, 2023
In Pieces: a New Musical
Music & Lyrics by Joey Contreras
November 11 – 20, 2022
Denny Berry Retires from the U
With a combination of happiness for her and sadness for us, we announce that last month Associate Professor Denny Berry retired from the University of Utah Department of Theatre.
Denny has been an incredibly valuable member of this community since 2012, when she joined the department to head up our newly-established Musical Theatre Program. For ten years, Denny has worked tirelessly to advance the Musical Theatre Program and to prepare the next generation of performers. During her time at the U, she has created, delivered, and revised the Musical Theatre curriculum, recruited students from all over the country, and directed and choreographed many wonderful productions for the department. Meanwhile, she also continued to work as the Associate Choreographer for Phantom of the Opera on four continents.
We are deeply grateful to Denny for a decade of passionate service to the Department of Theatre, and we wish her well as she embarks on the next chapter of her life journey!
We are pleased to announce that Associate Professor David Schmidt, who started the Musical Theatre Program, has agreed to take the reins as Area Head of MTP once again. Thank you, David!
Student Spotlight: Kimi Brown
My name is Kimi Brown and I am from Sunnyvale, CA. I am a senior completing her BFA in Musical Theatre, Spring 2020.
Right now, I am the Assistant Director for Salt Lake Acting Company’s World Premiere of Charly Evon Simpson’s Form of a Girl Unknown. I am working with a fantastic cast and the most amazing artistic team. I work mostly with Melissa Crespo, a New York Based director who has worked on multiple readings and workshops of this show and countless other projects. This project has been incredible because it is the most diverse project I’ve worked on, with a majority of the cast being either people of color, women, or both. I’ve learned so much about working professionally as a member of the artistic team while still enriching my skills and knowledge as a performer. This show is incredible because it is such a specific story that touches on so many important and necessary topics that we as a society need to be talking about, and at the same time, making us laugh, and cry, and reflect on what it means to be a human in our world today.
I chose the U’s Department of Theatre because I wanted a conservatory style training while still maintaining the full college experience by continuing to challenge myself in other subjects.
There have been so many meaningful things I have learned throughout my time at the U. I have learned how to truly be myself and create art that I am passionate about. There are a million other artists in the world, and rather than condemning myself for not being like them, I need to value and celebrate the things that make me unique and learn how to make myself the most effective artist I can be. When we spend more time challenging ourselves in objective ways, rather than pining to be like someone else, that allows us to celebrate ourselves and other artists on their journey so we can focus on creating and collaborating. This concept encourages me to push myself, while also never forgetting why I do this in the first place. I love theater, and I want to do it always.
Also, be kind to yourself and to others. And let kindness evolve in different ways depending on what you need. Listen to your gut, and go towards what scares you and excites you.
