City Weekly November 3, 2022

Curtain Call

The deep roots of Salt Lake’s theater scene.

By Wes Long

“Jon Jr. Making Noise,” Oct. 28 Online

I’ve read City Weekly and John Saltas’ Private Eye columns for years. I gener ally agree with him, but this time … I am all in!

I used to have respect for our former governor, Jon Huntsman, Jr. No lon ger. He is just another cheap shill for the GOP, and I’m glad you have called him out. Sen. Mitt Romney politely told Mike Lee “No, thanks” on an endorse ment. Former Gov. Gary Herbert also said, “No, thanks.” Now Huntsman, the only viable, local GOP name, backs Mike Lee?

You will note the only thing Hunts man says, though, is that Lee is a firm constitutionalist. Huntsman does not praise him from any other angle other than perhaps “integrity.” Really? This guy has taken millions from big phar ma while screwing those who need pharmaceutical supplements.

Huntsman’s narrow endorsement is telling in two ways. First, it is a total cop-out; and secondly, Lee is not that good of a constitutionalist. That, how ever, is a discussion for another time.

Lee must be running scared to dig so deep and accept such a shadowy en dorsement. Thanks for your viewpoint.

KENT OVERLY Draper

I was shaken when I saw the Huntsman commercial for Sen. Mike Lee. I view myself as an independent, but I voted for and loved Jon Huntsman Jr., think ing he was more of an independent thinker as well.

Knowing what we went through as a country—almost losing our democracy due to the lies spread by Donald Trump and Mike Lee—and now to see Hunts man support such lies and behavior. He has lost a forever fan.

BRANDI_GORDON Via Instagram

I saw this commercial the other day, and my jaw hit the floor. Jon Huntsman Jr., you are on the wrong side of history with this one.

EMMYCLU

Via Instagram

I was gobsmacked when I saw that commer cial for the first time last night. I feel like I have supported a fraud all these years. I am a Democrat but Huntsman seemed a rea sonable, moderate voice for all Utahns.

Of course, he did leave us with former Gov. Gary Herbert, and that was a mess. I was one of thousands who switched par ties to try and help get Huntsman back into the governor’s office. I felt icky doing it and switched back immediately and now I feel like I was duped.

IDOBIDDO Via Instagram

Dang, I used to think he was one of the rea sonable GOPers. Now, he’s a wing-nut.

JENNIFERKSLC Via Instagram

Something about being Republican seems to turn decent people into trash.

AUTHALIC

Via Instagram

My respect for Jon Huntsman just nose-dived. Shame on him.

RHONDA WOODWARD Via Facebook

John Huntsman lost any positive thoughts I had for him after this political commercial. Can’t stand to watch it.

GERALD COLE Via Facebook

So you don’t like Mike Lee and lean left. We get that. But comparing Mike Lee to Ted Bundy? You all are sick at City Weekly.

MORGAN HUNTSMAN

Via Instagram

Care to sound off on a feature in our pages or about a local concern? Write to comments@cityweekly.net or post your thoughts on our social media. We want to hear from you!

THE BOX

What movies have you watched more than 50 times?

Scott Renshaw

I have too many movies I need to see 1 time for me to spend time watching any thing 50 times.

Pete Saltas

If anybody says any movie besides Shaw shank Redemption, they are lying.

Emilee Atkinson

The 1995 cinematic masterpiece Tommy Boy

Katharine Biele

I don’t usually like to watch a movie more than once, but I will say that during these depressing times I turn to Disney and great “films” like Hotel Translylvania.

Jackie Briggs

Wet Hot American Summer, Top Gun, A Christmas Carol (1984 Version).

Kelly Boyce

Space Jam, Braveheart and Gladiator. Classics to fall asleep to.

Bill Frost

Dr. Strangelove. It is a fantastic docu mentary.

Benjamin Wood

The original Star Wars trilogy for sure, and the Back to the Future trilogy as well. And I ain’t 50 yet but I make a point to watch “V For Vendetta” every year. (Re member, remember...)

Paula Saltas

Les Miserables. The Greatest Showman. Ok, anything with Hugh Jackman.

USIC

CINEMA

PRIVATE EY

Pour ’Em, Jon

Aweek from today, voters across Utah will saunter over to their local precinct, cast their vote and then begin the annual squawk about the damned bars and liquor stores being closed on Election Day. On the one day a year when a fellow very much needs a drink, he can not purchase one. Not to mention that it occurs on the very same day that all those sober people go to vote and have nothing to fall back on.

We drunks have every excuse for voting the way we do, given that we had a tequila sunrise for breakfast, a bloody mary with brunch and a dirty martini with dinner—“dinner” being a stale bag of potato chips and a pickled egg. It’s from our bar stool perches that we mock those sober people every Election Day, silly as they are to believe that voting while so ber actually makes for a better election outcome. We’re just a bunch of hopeless dummies at the bar stool, anyway.

Oops—oh, wait. What’s that? We can drink on Election Day, and the liquor stores are open? Since when? A long time ago, you say? Really, now—what did we miss?

Well, for starters, this was a good and pleasant state to live in—a good country, too—back before 2008 when you couldn’t buy booze on Election Day. But once drunk people began voting in large numbers, Trump came along, Mike Lee came along, oil prices went up, fish quit biting, reservoirs were drained, COVID came.

You name it—all the major plagues of the modern Utah era can be traced to the event of allowing drinkers to vote on Election Day. It’s a traceable fact. We’ve had nothing but trouble since being welcomed to dine with Utah’s elite— thank you very much, Jon Huntsman Jr.

Yep. He did it. No sooner did Huntsman become Utah’s governor than he proclaimed that he would reach across the aisle to disenfranchised Democrats and independents to make them feel at home in his embracing style of leadership.

He was elected as Utah’s governor in 2005, partially—so goes the urban myth—due to this newspaper’s fair treat ment of him and of our portrayal of him as a good guy. My self, our editors and writers—indeed our readership—were enamored and thankful for a governor willing to cross the aisle.

Our election coverage that year featured Huntsman on the cover, drinking a tall one at Burt’s Tiki Lounge—a tall glass of milk, that is. Inside that issue, candidates were given equal space to let our readership know where they stood on the issues of the day.

Huntsman good-naturedly allowed his photo to be taken. His opponent, Democrat Scott Matheson Jr., did not. Nor did Matheson even bother to answer any questions for that issue. His press aide at the time figured City Weekly wasn’t worthy.

So, we did what we do. Not only did Huntsman get the cov er—his words were printed uncontested. We left white space where Matheson’s answers were intended to appear. Hunts man was seen as the cool guy, and Matheson as the grump.

Huntsman called after the election and asked to meet me. He came to the office shortly after in Levi’s and vest—no jack et—sat in my office and said it was due to our coverage of him that he won his seat as governor.

I knew we had impact—a person working in the Matheson camp had already told us the worst mistake Matheson made in the campaign was ignoring City Weekly. Still, an acco lade is an accolade. Huntsman told me he wanted to reform Utah liquor laws and asked my opinion of where to start and where to go.

Before he left office early to become ambassador to Chi na, he had finally derailed Utah’s archaic system of private

clubs. He signed the bill at the New Yorker Club with myself and Tom Barberi present, thanking both of us for the prod ding that led to Utah leaving the liquor law dark ages.

Those moves helped set the pace for what is now a boom ing economy in every Utah region—from increased tourism and increased liquor profits and liquor taxes to Salt Lake City (not Park City) having the most vibrant downtown in Utah. Other changes born of those first steps included the stage being set for additional beer breweries and the new li censing category of liquor distillers.

In the end, it was all for naught, however. Jon Huntsman Jr. gave hope to the many disenfranchised Utahns that we wouldn’t be forever bone crushed by the supermajority of Utah’s hypocritical Republicans. “If he can get the big boys to bend on liquor, he can do anything,” was the former man tra.

Instead, he soon helped send Mike Lee to the U.S. Sen ate, where he doesn’t belong. Lee is a pathetic senator, and Huntsman knows it. But he still went all-in with a recent, polarizing TV endorsement when he didn’t need to. A simple statement—“I am voting for Mike Lee”—would have done the trick and not disgusted half of Utah.

Huntsman calculated that it was politically worth it to shuck his good name for Lee with a disingenuous intona tion of Lee’s alleged attributes that has enough holes in it to cause anyone prone to tropophobia to fall over dead. His math might include that he wants to stay in Donald Trump’s good graces. That wouldn’t surprise me.

Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to one of our clever beer brewers borrowing Huntsman’s own words to mix up a batch of Unshakable Integrity Lager or a few barrels of Fidelity Sour Beer and, of course, some Principled Leadership IPA. If so, maybe Huntsman will join in for another photo-op. We’ve been his bar stool prop before, so why not? CW

Send comments to john@cityweekly.net.

HITS&MISSES

BY KATHARINE BIELE @kathybiele

HIT: Judge Not

If you’ve looked at your ballot, you’ve probably seen a lot of judges up for re tention and yes, most of them will win with 80-plus percent of the vote. Once in a while, a judge isn’t retained, but it’s typically after a public, contentious is sue. Mostly, the electorate has no idea how to evaluate a judge. Blair Hodson of the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission gave his insider opinion to the Deseret News. “In 2008, the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission was created to provide unbiased, in dependent, data-driven recommenda tions to voters. The data comes from surveys returned by lawyers, court staff, jurors, public comment and anonymous courtroom observers who assess a judge’s legal ability, judicial integrity, administrative abilities and procedural fairness.” If you want to research them, go to judges.utah.gov. Otherwise vote yes, and know it’s bet ter than the alternatives—contested, partisan and costly elections.

MISS: Blurry Boundaries

Sometimes, though, you have to won der what the Legislature was thinking. Take the case of justice court judges. Do you know what they are? They work in counties or municipalities dealing with misdemeanors, ordinances, small claims and such. While their jurisdic tions depend on their boundaries, leg islators thought it would be good to let people beyond those boundaries vote for the judges working in little cities of the fourth or fifth classes—like Bluff dale. Millcreek resident Jeff Salt asked sponsor Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, why the whole county would weigh in on a judge who doesn’t serve the whole county. “Because for a small town, there was an interest to widen the voter base. Salt lives in Millcreek but he could still appear in Bluffdale court for a speeding ticket or a contract dispute,” Weiler said. Salt says he’d like the precedent to go further, allow ing him to vote against Congressman Burgess Owens, because he lives in Salt Lake County but not the piece gerry mandered into Owens’ district.

MISS: Echo Chamber

Federalism. It’s the clarion call of the Utah Legislature, if not our congres sional delegation. The idea of state su premacy emanates from the Federalist Papers. Suffice it to say there’s still an ar gument between federalists and those who insisted on adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution. You need only read the Legislature’s interim highlights to see federalism is alive and well—and maybe dangerous. The Salt Lake Tri bune reported on a committee hearing featuring a “scientist” who detailed the costs of renewable energy. Never mind the threat of climate change—revenues are most important. Meanwhile, leg islators also heared from the Phoenix Correspondence Commission, angling for an Article V convention to rewrite the U.S. Constitution. If two-thirds of states agree, anything goes—and your rights could be among them.

ON THE STREET WITH BRYANT HEATH @slsees

Unseen Alleys

Alleyways are one of the most over looked parts of a city. Despite very extensive mapping by Salt Lake City’s transportation departmen of the 700-plus miles of street and 8,400 street segments in SLC, our alley network seldom registers a mention. But there is roughly 50 miles of alleys scattered through the city.

And I get it—to many, alleyways are just a means to get to some back-end parking for multi-family housing or, at worst, as sociated with petty criminal behavior. It’s easy for them to be out of sight and out of mind. At least, it was until last year, when the city launched a $200,000 pilot program to rejuvenate a select number of alleys, starting with one between Browning and Kensington Avenues, west of 300 East, in the Liberty Wells neighborhood.

Independent of the city’s efforts, there are several spots around town where resi dents have taken it upon themselves to spruce up these neglected access roads and provide a little bit of beautification on their own. Oftentimes, this takes the form of painting murals, such as the planetary piece in the above photo, located off of 7th East Alley, just south of Simpson Avenue (and one of the few alleyways that Google Maps has actually indexed).

But the best example of an alleyway transformation I’ve come across is on a small stretch between Whitlock and Warnock avenues , just west of Highland Drive. Tucked away from public view in this relatively nondescript Sugar House neigh borhood is a public art exhibition that I’d imagine few have seen. A half dozen or so murals—all of which were painted by an artist who goes by Mr. Fancy Fancy—don the exteriors of an assortment of sheds and garages (below).

Although I’ve been on every street in the city, I was unaware this beautiful stretch of asphalt even existed until someone ser endipitously messaged me about it. It just goes to show that when you think you’ve seen it all, there is always something new out there, waiting to be discovered.

CW

USIC

theESSENTIALS

Plan-B Theatre Co.: My Brother Was a Vampire

Halloween 2022 may already be in the rearview mirror, but that doesn’t mean the appeal of cer tain spooky supernatural-themed stories ends when the calendar turns to November. One par ticular spooky story—the 2008 Swedish horror film Let the Right One—proved to be particularly inspirational for playwright Morag Shepherd, who took the tale of a complicated friendship involving a vampire and made it the foundation of Plan-B Theatre Company’s latest world premiere produc tion, My Brother Was a Vampire

“I describe My Brother Was a Vampire as a horror comedy, because I really wanted to try my hand at writing something scary and sus penseful,” Shepherd says via email. “I wanted to write something that evoked the presence of someone, or something, lurking just out of sight, to represent a paranoia, or an unknown. The comedy part of the equation shows up by a fairly heavy dose of dead-pan sarcasm in the relationship between siblings Callum and Skye. “I guess I mainly wanted to combine these two things to see how quickly and smoothly I could toggle from fear and suspense to laughter and relief. The closeness

of the relationship makes it so I didn’t have to set anything up; it’s easily recognizable, and I could concentrate more fully on the different tensions at play.”

My Brother Was a Vampire runs Nov. 3 – 13 at the Rose Wagner Center Studio Theatre (138 W. 300 South), with performances

Thursday – Saturday at 8 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday matinees. Masks will be required for all attendees. Visit planbtheatre.org for tickets and additional information. (Scott Renshaw)

CINEMA

SHARAH MESERVY

David Spade

Look up the word “snarky,” and you may see David Spade’s picture. He’s earned that reputa tion courtesy of the characters he portrayed on Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1996, most of which were known for sharing sarcasm and cynicism in equal measure. Consider the putdown pundit who loved to zing celebrities with merciless one liners during his “Hollywood Minute,” Dick Clark’s obnoxious gatekeeper who unnerved his visitors by asking “And you are…?,” the impatient flight attendant who hur ried passengers off the plane with his conde scending “Buh-bye!,” or the gregarious Gap girl totally taken with her own sense of self. He furthered his comedic imprint with roles in popular sitcoms: Just Shoot Me, where he again played the role of an intolerable recep tionist (while garnering an Emmy nomination and a pair of Golden Globe nominations in the process); and Rules of Engagement, that featured him playing an obnoxious neighbor to a pair of committed couples. Later he made his mark in film, courtesy of two buddy mov ies with his pal and fellow SNL alumnus, the late Chris Farley, and various comedy vehicles such as Joe Dirt and Dickie

Roberts: Former Child Star. A late-night talk show Lights Out With David Spade had a limit ed run on Comedy Central, but voiceover work for video games fills out his resume. That’s what it means to call a Spade a Spade. David Spade’s “Catch Me Inside” tour comes to Delta Performance Hall at Eccles Theater (131 S Main Street) at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5. Tickets cost $40 - $70. Visit arttix.org or phone 801-355-2787. (Lee Zimmerman)

TK

theESSENTIALS

Information is correct at press time; visit event websites

on possible COVID-related

Shred Fest

The summer of 2022 felt … eternal. Heat and drought had us all long ing for a shift in the seasons, and even the unseasonably delightful 75-degree days of the early fall began to seem like a threat, like winter might never come. But all it took was one welcome storm to get that crispness into the air, and get us all hyped for a few months of snow and all the uniquely-Utah recreational opportunities it brings with it.

Shred Fest once again brings an all-ages winter kick-off experience to Salt Lake City, full of spectator and participation events for the whole family. At the center is a twoday real snow ski and snowboard jam, with a rail jam build provided by Woodward Park City, featuring 50 talented athletes competing for cash prizes. Those who want to flex their muscles can get involved in the lumber jack expo, or topple a pyramid of beer recep tacles while keg bowling. The brand village, games and food trucks will provide plenty to see, do and taste. And both evenings feature a wide range of music performances, with scheduled acts including Hayden James, Chet Porter, Sebastian Paul,

SALT Contemporary Dance: Fall ’22

A 10-year anniversary is typically a chance for some celebration, but there’s even more to celebrate for companies that just a couple of years ago—at the height of the COVID pan demic—weren’t sure if they’d still be around today. That’s part of what SALT Contemporary Dance co-founder Michelle Nielsen is thinking about as the company launches its anniversary season with an additional sense of apprecia tion for having survived.

“We had a very bleak board meeting about all these tours we’d set up that we had to just cancel and cancel and cancel,” Nielsen recalls. “At the end of our seventh season, I thought, ‘Maybe this is it.’ … In some ways, I’m shocked and amazed and beside-myself-grateful that we’re where we are. … We need to understand that things that make our society beautiful need to be supported as much as the things we call ‘necessary.’”

The program that makes up the Fall ’22 season kick-off production—itself following a gala fundraiser on Nov. 3—is one that Nielsen believes represents the full arc of the compa ny’s history thus far. Work by award-winning choreographer Garrett Smith hearkens back to his involvement with SALT’s opening sea son; a piece by current artistic director Joni McDonald represents the present; and

The 2022 Shred Fest comes to Liberty Park (589 E. 1300 South) on Nov. 5 – 6, with doors opening at 1 p.m. daily. Tickets run $48 - $105 for single-day tickets, and $68 - $110 for full weekend passes. Visit shredfestival.com for tickets and additional event information. (SR)

rising star Micaela Taylor’s creation empha sizes a look towards the future, and the com pany’s commitment to supporting diversity in the field of dance.

SALT Contemporary Dance’s Fall ’22 runs Nov. 4-5 at the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center (2525 Taylorsville Blvd., Taylorsville), with performances at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $35, visit arttix.org for tickets and additional event information. (SR)

Bombargo, Future Mystic, Leah Woods, Native Leaves, Simba Sax, Dj Matty Mo, Dj Fleege, Jai Wolf (DJ Set) and Audeamaus

COURTESY PHOTO SAMANTHA LITTLE

|

MUSIC | CINEMA | DINING | A&E | NEWS

THEATER A Shot in the Spotlight

Broadway on the Side lets performers of all kinds live their Broadway showtune dreams.

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

Maybe you’re one of those people who belt out showtunes in their shower, but are sure that you’ll never get a chance to sing those songs on a stage. Megan Worthen Nelson is here to tell you there might be a place for you … somewhere a place for you.

Nelson is the founder, president and ex ecutive director of Broadway on the Side, an Ogden-based arts organization with both educational and performance com ponents. But one of its guiding principles is the idea that people who might not be full-time theater professionals should have a chance to live some of their performance dreams, singing some of the most beloved theatrical songs.

Nelson herself connects strongly with that idea. A Utah native, Nelson was at one time in the Music & Dance Theatre pro gram at BYU, but found herself working in finance in other cities, including New York and Seattle. “And as my soul died, little by little, I decided I needed to get back into the arts,” she says.

In Washington state, that took the form of getting involved in teaching and working in local theater. Then she and some friends

in the area thought about a concept that would be focused on performing theatrical songs, cabaret-style. “There are shows that have great songs, and great scenes,” Nel son says, “but are terrible shows.”

There was, however, another reason for considering this “à la carte” approach: broadening the definition of what kind of performer could sing a particular song, written for a particular role. Broadway on the Side was created with the idea in mind that someone who might not typically be cast in a theatrical role—for reasons of race, gender, body type, etc.—could finally get their shot to sing that character’s songs in front of an audience.

“I have this fantastic friend out in Washington. She’s 5 feet tall, 250 pounds,” Nel son says. “She’s a wonderful performer, but she’d never be cast as Eliza Doolittle [in My Fair Lady]. This allows her to do ‘Wouldn’t it Be Lover-ly.’ We have a performer in an up coming show doing Miss Hannigan [from Annie]; she said, ‘I never see her performed as African-American or biracial.’”

After getting the Broadway on the Side ball rolling in Washington for several years, Nelson was ready to bring the con cept to Utah when she and her husband moved back here in 2019. Unfortunately, a little thing called COVID-19 got in the way of those plans. After one Christmas caba ret produced in conjunction with Brigham City Fine Arts, this fall’s Heroes & Villains production marks the real local debut of Broadway on the Side, featuring songs from beloved shows like Hamilton and Wicked

Beyond the ability to celebrate diverse performers, the organization’s song-fo cused format has plenty of pragmatic ben efits for a small arts organization. While the performers do wear thematicallyappropriate costumes, there’s no need to build full sets or hire the extensive casts required for full musical productions. Per forming individual songs also means that the permissions come through ASCAP li

censing rather than getting permission to do a full show, allowing for flexibility if a performer has a specific song in mind. And there’s the simple reality that playing the “greatest hits” can be just what an audi ence is looking for. “In full-fledged musi cals … when you get to the dialogue, de pending on who’s directing, it can either be super-engaging, or super-boring,” Nelson says. “It’s like, ‘When is the next song com ing?’”

That doesn’t mean, Nelson clarifies, that the songs are performed without a theatri cal sensibility. There is an effort, through introductory remarks by an emcee in some cases, to provide the context for the song within its show of origin, so that the emo tional underpinnings of the song are clear to the audience. “As we develop, I do want to include monologues and things, because the acting part is important,” she says. “If you just stand there and sing, that’s not enough. That’s what people go to the the ater for—to feel something.”

Broadway on the Side has some bigger mission-focused ideas, including grow ing its education programming to teach the technical side of theater production,

and being able to produce their shows with live musicians rather than pre-recorded backing tracks. There’s also a goal of being part of bringing a full-fledged community arts center to Weber County, something Nelson believes is much-needed.

On the individual, personal side, howev er, there remains that attention to making Broadway on the Side productions a “safe place” for those getting to live their dream of belting out a show-stopper. “There are other theaters around here,” Nelson says, “and some of them even have youth pro grams. “But they don’t focus on people get ting to do what they otherwise don’t get a chance to do.” CW

COURTESY

CITYWEEKLY.NET | |

MUSIC | CINEMA | DINING | A&E | NEWS |

CITY

Curtain Call

BY WES LONG comments@cityweekly.net

Act I: Seeds of Tradition

At the rise of our curtain, we see Jack sonian America at odds with itself about the theater. While it had long attracted an audience, live theater of that day carried a stigma of moral degeneracy, particularly within religious circles.

But bucking this trend was a denomina tion of recent vintage: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“The Latter-day Saints were, in 1844, the very first English-speaking religious body in North America to sanction theatre as an activity appropriate for its parishioners to both attend and produce,” wrote Lee Krähenbühl in a 2020 article for the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal , “Other American faith traditions would not follow suit for another 40 years.”

Krähenbühl, a professor of communica tion at Stevenson University in Maryland, cited one person as particularly influential in the development of theater within the LDS community. Thomas A. Lyne (18061890)—a noted tragedian of the day— toured the burned-over district of New York during the religious revivals of the Second Great Awakening and joined the Latter-day Saint movement, primarily because of its acceptance of his craft.

During his stay among the Mormons, Lyne acted as theatrical director and elocu tionist for a company of players in Nauvoo, Illinois. He parted ways with the Mormons, but his lessons had taken root.

Jesse Nepivoda is feeling as pleased as Punch. A professional actor and play wright, he has been working around Utah since 2016 in modern stage produc tions by such theater groups as Pygmalion Productions, Sackerson and the Utah Repertory Theater Co.

“I think the [theatrical] opportunities in Salt Lake are preposterously amazing,” Nepivoda remarked. “You have companies [that] are doing seasons of wholly origi nal work. For a city population of Salt Lake’s size, that’s practically unheard of, in my experience.”

Nepivoda is eager to allay the impression that Utah theater only amounts to tour ing Broadway musicals and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

“Anybody who thinks that is not informed of what’s really out there,” he stressed, “There’s really interesting [theatrical] work out in the city—you just have to know it exists and then try to track it down.”

Having been involved with theater since high school, Nepivoda has neither shak en the initial terror of being on stage nor the thrill he feels when the endeavor has been successful.

“The art form really breeds empathy in people,” he contended, for in a pervasively alienating modern culture, any degree to which performers and audiences can feel human connection is important.

“It absolutely matters when you get it right,” he said.

As important as this craft is to the community and as deeply as our theatrical roots extend, City Weekly presents to you a story—in three acts, of course—about where these roots came from. With so much to enjoy on our local stages, we would be remiss if we neglected to appreciate how we got to this point.

There is an endless cast of characters awaiting their cue in this playhouse of memories, and only some can be singled out due to the limitations of our perfor mance space. We hope you enjoy the presentation.

Early Backdrops

We transition our scene now to the Territory of Utah, where Lat ter-day Saints have relocated in successive waves beginning in 1846.

Live theater for this community formally began in the early 1850s, when a group of men and women called the Deseret Mu sical and Dramatic Association produced the melodrama Rob ert Macaire and the farce Dead Shot under the sylvan roof of the Old Bowery on Temple Square. Participants like Mercy Tuckett (1833-1863) were even called on a formal two-year “mission” to perform on the stage.

Mail orders were slow, and paper was scarce, observed Ila Fisher Maughan in the book Pioneer Theatre in the Desert , so producing plays in those days was an ordeal in itself.

“Stage settings, properties and costuming were of necessity improvised,” Maughan wrote, “and at times so much so they required imagination to make them at all adequate, yet … the atrical offerings in the Bowery were enjoyable even though the stage was nothing more than a platform.”

Before too long, it became apparent to Salt Lake’s Latter-day Saints that a more permanent location would be needed for their theatricals. By the start of 1853, they completed an adobe Social Hall at 41 S. State.

With a stage size of 20 feet by 40 feet and a seating capacity of 300 people, the Social Hall—while small in size—served as the community center for theater, banquets, dances and even sessions of the Territorial Legislature. The house orchestra was directed by Italian immigrant Domenico Ballo (1805-1861), a former bandmaster at West Point.

The Utah War of 1857 signaled a diminishment of Social Hall activities, but even with the alarms and incursions of incom ing soldiers, Utah theater continued apace. [Editor’s note: Rem nants of the Social Hall are preserved in the underground breeze way between Harmons City Creek and City Creek Center]

Among the soldiers at the newly established Army post of Camp Floyd (in present-day Fairfield), the Military Dramatic Association was established and operated out of the Camp Floyd Theatre. A German singing group called the Germania Singing Club also formed at the camp and performed on its stage.

The deep roots of Salt Lake’s theater scene.

Jesse Nepivoda

The Old Bowery on Temple Square

UT.GOV

Social Hall on State Street, an early LDS performance space.

Bowring’s Theatre

The Utah War ends, and a different scene now unfolds before our eyes.

A new company of local actors called the Mechanics’ Dramatic Association began staging plays in the ground floor of Henry Bowring’s (1822-1906) house on 100 South be tween 300 East and 400 East. Operating with an intimate seating arrangement, “Bowring’s Theatre”—as it came to be known—produced farces and melodramas, the works of Shake speare as well as those of John Tobin.

“It was too small to take care of the in creasing number of patrons seeking admis sion,” wrote George D. Pyper in his book The Romance of an Old Playhouse, “but it filled its niche in the early theatrical history of Utah.”

Brigham Young reportedly caught a per formance at Bowring’s Theatre, and it was there that he declared his intention to have a first-rate theatrical venue erected for the city. Construction began for the new building on the corner of 100 South and State Street in July of 1861; by March of the following year, it was ready for public use.

The Salt Lake Theatre

Because of its historical impact, we will now direct some accent lighting on the Salt Lake Theatre for a moment. It was designed by ar chitect William Folsom with a seating capac ity of 1,500 and an interior patterned after London’s Drury Lane Theatre. Opening with James Planche’s comic drama The Pride of the Market and the farcical State Secrets, the Salt Lake Theatre’s debut season featured a new playbill almost every week.

“Dubbed the ‘Cathedral in the Desert,’” wrote Ann Engar for the Utah History Encyclo pedia , “the theater became a neutral ground for Mormons and non-Mormons, although it was controlled by the Mormons.”

Upon its opening, admission prices to the Salt Lake Theatre were 75 cents—roughly $22 today—for seating on the parquet and the first two tiers, while third-tier seating was 50 cents, approximately $15 in 2022. Ten dollars extra—amounting to considerably more in today’s currency—were charged for bringing children in arms to a performance, and guns were to be left with attendants at the door.

The Salt Lake Theatre dominated the theat rical landscape of Utah for decades, attract ing every major American star of the stage through the end of the 19th century including Julia Dean Hayne, Minnie Maddern Fiske, Sarah Bernhardt and Edwin Booth. The Hyers Sisters, pioneers of African American theater, danced on its stage and people like Oscar Wilde and Victoria Woodhull lectured there.

On one notable occasion, London actor George Pauncefort headed a production of Macbeth that featured a hundred singers from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the role of the Witches Chorus.

When the transcontinental railroad was completed, “stars a-plenty arrived,” wrote George Pyper. And once Utah was firmly placed upon the national theater circuit, the very latest plays and companies came to town from the East, superseding the local theatrical company that the theater had em ployed for years.

To public protest, the building was sold off and demolished in 1928.

Act II: The Landscape Broadens

While the Salt Lake Theatre was indeed a major presence, one would be sitting in a blind seat if they assumed that this land mark occupied the stage of our tale alone. There were many other players active on the scene as the years went on, from local groups and venues to multicultural com munities and educational institutions.

Opera flourished in Salt Lake during the 1880s and 1890s, and supplying additional venues for it was a major purpose of the Walker Opera House (1882-1891). Condensed operas and plays were offered through the Chautauqua traveling circuits to smaller Utah communities through the 1910s and 1920s.

Vaudeville also grew in popularity by the start of the 20th century and many theaters specialized in it, such as the Or pheum theatres, located at 132 S. State (1905, later the Lyric Theatre) and 50 W. 200 South (1913, later the Capitol Theatre).

These two buildings still exist today to some degree. The Lyric Theatre was later remodeled into Promised Valley Play house in 1972 and now only its façade sur vives. The Capitol Theatre has been more fortunate, still functioning as a popular center for ballet, opera and stage plays.

The Empress Theatre (9104 W. 2700 South, Magna) opened in 1916 for the min

ers of Kennecott and presented burlesque. With the rise of Hollywood films in the 1910s and 1920s, many live theaters failed; others like the Empress converted into movie houses. It still stands today, a hun dred years later, featuring productions by the Oquirrh Hills Performing Arts Alliance.

Special Billing

Specialty theater groups in Salt Lake’s di verse ethnic communities also account for the sizeable tableau upon our historical stage, such as the 19th century Swedish drama society Thalia and the dramatic/ musical group tours offered to Salt Lake’s Slavic community in local lodges and in surance organizations.

Church basements and rented halls were the scenes of Greek theatrical offer ings in the 1920s and 1930s, often built around themes of the Greek Revolution and the immigrant experience. Most of these plays were by Haralambos “Harry” Kambouris (1891-1964) and presented by the Hellenic Star Theatrical Co.

Paul Maritsas (1932-2018) was a notable figure in more recent years, serving as choir director for over 60 years between Holy Trinity Cathedral and Prophet Elias Church. He wrote a three-act musical called A New Beginning in 1980 to mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of Greek immigrants to Utah.

Actor/painter Siegfried Guertler (19161985) and his wife Lotte (1924-2016) were important figures for German theater

in the Salt Lake region, operating the Deutsches Theater out of their home for decades. In its day, it was the longest con tinually operating German-language the ater outside of Germany.

An Aside for the U

Another set of prominent players in Salt Lake’s theatrical history now take a bow, specifically those of the local university.

By the 20th century, Salt Lake’s theater scene had found fertile ground at such places as the University of Utah. With the tutelage of Maud May Babcock (1867-1954) and her formation of the University Club, the University of Utah became the first in the country to produce a stage play.

The university got its first auditorium with Kingsbury Hall in the 1930s, and it was there that such institutions as Ballet West and the Utah Symphony had their or igins. Under the guidance of Robert Hyde Wilson (1914-2001) and Robert E. Freed (1919-1974), experimental theater found a home with the Playbox Theater in the 1930s. In 1962—to much fanfare—the uni versity completed a replica of the original Salt Lake Theatre on campus with their Pioneer Memorial Theatre.

Between the theatrical offerings at the university, Salt Lake Community College’s Grand Theatre, and the productions at Westminster College, our local institu tions of higher learning have been essen tial catalysts for theatrical development in Salt Lake’s history.

The Salt Lake Theatre, designed by William Folsom.

Walker Opera House, constructed in 1882.

The interior of the Salt Lake Theatre was modeled after the Drury Lane Theatre of London.

Promised Valley Playhouse, originally the Orpheum—then Lyric—Theatre.

UT.GOV

UT.GOV

CITYWEEKLY.NET | |

MUSIC | CINEMA | DINING

A&E

NEWS

Entr’acte: Making Room

While the preceding acts burst with much to admire and applaud, there are also some performance choices that leave us with a bit ter taste in our mouths. Local venues such as the Salt Lake Theatre, the Walker Opera House and others imposed segregated seat ing for their African American patrons, if they allowed them into the venue at all.

On top of this, these theaters often fea tured blackface minstrel acts between their play productions. The popularity of minstrel sy diminished by the early 20th century, but exclusion has taken much longer to remove from Salt Lake’s public institutions, delaying appreciation for African American theater in this city. That’s where two important figures appear to cleanse our palates.

Beginning in 2000, Edward Lewis (19442009) and Richard Scharine began produc ing plays for Black theater under the aegis of People Productions. Lewis started the com pany in California in the early 1970s to bring Black theater to underserved youth, but by 1998, he had relocated to Salt Lake City.

He got in touch with Scharine—now a pro fessor emeritus of theater with the University of Utah—to revive People Productions. Be tween them, they produced numerous plays in churches, restaurants and other rented spaces, featuring works by James Baldwin, Lonne Elder and Ntozake Shange.

With Lewis’ passing, Scharine collabo rated with Jerry Rapier—artistic director for Salt Lake’s Plan-B Theatre Co.—and began an annual event in Lewis’s honor called the Ed ward Lewis Festival. Running each February, the event gives local companies the opportu nity to contribute short plays or scenes with a special showcase for artists of color.

“I think it would be even better,” re marked Scharine, “if we not only had Black actors taking part in white productions, not only young Black writers who are writ ing material about their own lives, but there should also be a middle ground of people who are being trained in all of the Black plays of the past because it will make every thing richer.”

Scharine asserts that Black theater should be studied and enjoyed by everyone, but be cause it is not implemented into curricula (like Shakespeare or the Greek tragedies), few people get the understanding they need to produce them as artists or appreciate them as audiences.

“It’s a big world,” he stated, “and we can all get something out of it.”

Act III: Today’s Stage

Our story continues as the lights go up on many new and growing companies in the valley. Through the end of the 20th century, popular tastes favored large-scale musicals and drawing room comedies. That being said, other theatrical groups and styles have gained traction since that time as well.

The Salt Lake Acting Co. started in 1970 with a production of Viet Rock at First Unitar ian Church’s Eliot Hall. Since 1982, the com pany has been operating out of the 19th Ward Meetinghouse (168 W. 500 North) in the Mar malade District.

Utah’s Hale family found success stag ing theater-in-the-round, growing through multiple venues and now housed at Hale Centre Theatre (9900 S. Monroe St., Sandy).

The Rose Wagner Performing Arts Cen ter (138 W. 300 South)—home to such arts groups as Repertory Dance Theatre and Pygmalion Productions—celebrated its 25th anniversary this August.

“You can look around and see how many smaller companies have launched in the 25 years the Rose has existed,” Jerry Rapi er told The Salt Lake Tribune. “People just needed the opportunity to have access to something they could actually afford.”

Changing Tastes

Recent decades have revealed a remark able change in what is available on stage and what audiences are willing to try, in the estimation of Karen Azenberg, artistic director of Pioneer Theatre Co.

“Salt Lake City has changed and grown and evolved so much,” she said, “I think theater as a whole has responded to that.” While family-friendly content remains a prominent theatrical focus in Utah, there has been a significant interest in other works that are more topical or edgy.

“That’s what happens in a theatrical landscape,” Azenberg added, “It changes. It morphs, it evolves, I think, as the world changes and morphs and evolves.”

This vast mixture of influences and de velopments has produced an area of unique theatrical qualities, as City Weekly Arts and Entertainment editor Scott Renshaw has seen throughout his time on the beat.

“There’s just a wealth of talent here,” he said of those onstage and those behind the scenes. “There are so many opportunities for discovery and that is something that keeps me going after 20-plus years.”

Curtain Call

The COVID-19 pandemic strained the ac tivities of many theaters in recent years. Some venues adopted streaming perfor mances online; others are readying their return to live shows. But however long the current health crisis lasts, we can be sure the show will go on in some form.

“I feel that the culture of theater as a part of life is more prevalent in this state than in other places,” Azenberg remarked. She credits such funding measures as the Zoo, Arts and Parks (ZAP) Program as es sential to the continuance of that culture for the years to come.

This roadshow of remembrance will go on, and new voices will be added to the ensemble, but we hope you have enjoyed this story and all that it means to our past, present, and future. Exeunt. CW

Cameo Appearances

Notable performers who appeared on Salt Lake stages

Marian Anderson: The noted contralto came to town in the 1940s to sing at Kingsbury Hall and the Tabernacle.

Ethel Barrymore: Headlined a production of W. Somerset Maugham’s comedy The Constant Wife at the Salt Lake Theatre in 1928.

Vincent Price: Starred in a production of T.S. Eliot’s The Cocktail Party at Kingsbury Hall in 1952.

Will Rogers: The commentator/comedian performed on Orpheum vaudeville stages prior to his rise in New York and on the silver screen.

Orson Welles: Directed and starred in a production of Macbeth for the University of Utah in 1947.

Edward Lewis and Richard Scharine, through People Productions, showcased the work of Black playwrights.

“[Theater] changes. It morphs, it evolves, I think, as the world changes and morphs and evolves.”—Karen Azenberg

Salt Lake Acting Co. operates out of the historic 19th Ward Meetinghouse.

The Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center on 300 South.

COURTESY PHOTO WIKICOMMONS

ALEX WEISMAN WIKICOMMONS

CITYWEEKLY.NET | |

MUSIC | CINEMA | DINING

A&E

NEWS

Autumnal Enchantment

Chef Patrick LeBeau takes the reins at Bambara.

BY ALEX SPRINGER comments@cityweekly.net @captainspringer

I’ve been a regular at Bambara (202 S. Main Street, 801-363-5454, bambara-slc. com) ever since it was the site of the first dinner my wife and I had as a married cou ple. The wedding reception was amazing, but the two of us were exhausted and were dying for a decent meal—which was exactly what Bambara delivered.

Since then, Bambara has been one of my favorite upscale restaurants because it’s consistently delicious, the space is gor geous and it sits on one of the most inter esting corners of Downtown Salt Lake City. I found Bambara once again in my sights as I heard the news of Chef Patrick LeBeau taking on the role of executive chef at this downtown establishment, and I was eager to see what he had planned.

Before coming to Utah, Chef LeBeau served as chef de cuisine at the Loews Hotel in Kansas City; before his time in Kansas City, he was chef de cuisine at NoMI Kitchen at the Park Hyatt in Chicago. I had a chance to meet LeBeau not long after his move to Utah, and it’s easy to tell that his previous experiences have made him into the type of chef who lets his ingredients speak for themselves. “I went to the farmers’ market the first Saturday I was here,” he says. “I couldn’t wait to let our menu showcase the local farms and ingredients in Utah.”

LeBeau’s first crack at updating Bam bara’s menu took place only recently—he was particularly excited about using a fall menu to make some waves. “I really wanted to make a splash,” he says. “I want to make it known that this is the identity of the res taurant going forward.” My wife and I visit ed Bambara soon after Chef LeBeau’s menu changes were implemented, and were im pressed with the direction it’s taken. There are some ballsy moves here to be sure, but I also think Chef LeBeau’s decisions are very true to the spirit of Bambara and what Utah diners have come to expect from the estab lishment.

It was a tough call, but we ended up start ing with the whipped goat cheese ($15) and the Kurobuta pork shoulder adobo ($30), both of which were highly recommended by the chef. Both dishes can be found on the shared appetizers section as they are perfect to split among the table.

The whipped goat cheese is topped with apple butter and candied pecans and served with local Crumb Brothers sour dough bread. While its components seem straightforward, your first bite of that creamy, tangy goat cheese as it mixes with the sweet apple butter and crunchy pecans

is nothing short of autumnal perfection. It serves as an overture to Chef LeBeau’s knack for selecting primo ingredients and dressing them up just enough to really showcase their talent.

Moving on to the pork shoulder adobo delivered another knockout that absolutely screamed autumn harvest. Chef LeBeau’s take on adobo sees this lovely Kurobuta pork stewed in a magical and savory broth until it’s barely keeping itself together. It positively melts in your mouth and leaves a smoky, spicy ghost of flavor in its wake. It’s served on top of a creamy sweet potato pu ree and then topped with roasted pumpkin seeds and a sprinkling of cotija cheese, all of which creates an excellent ebb and flow of muted and intense flavors.

For entrees, we ordered the Scallops a la Plancha ($48) and the grilled venison loin ($54), which were dressed almost too beautifully to eat. The scallops are served with some nutty quinoa, cubed butternut squash, pomegranate seeds and a slather of mint yogurt. The scallops of course are the star of the show here—plump, per fectly seared and an absolute pleasure to have in your mouth. The heartiness of the quinoa and squash balanced the lightness of the scallops, and that sweet punch of pomegranate was welcome whenever it ap peared. If you’re planning on going heavy on the appetizers and want something beautiful and breezy, the scallops are the way to go.

On the other hand, if you want to simply double down on rich, stick-to-your-bones flavors, then the grilled venison loin would

be happy to oblige. It’s a primo cut of veni son with a coriander and fennel crust that wakes up your tastebuds enough to appreci ate the flavor of the venison. It’s served with a sprinkle of fried sunchoke chips and some breaded oyster mushrooms to complete the arboreal flavor profile. I can’t really say enough good things about this dish—it’s ev erything you’d want in a fall dinner.

For dessert, you can rest assured that Pastry Chef Rebecca Moore will have some thing to finish your meal off right. The res taurant has partnered with Hollow Tree Honey, a Sandy-based wildflower honey vendor. For a true celebration of this bee hive bounty, check out the spiced honey rum cake ($13) served with Hollow Tree Honey ice cream and a poached apple.

While it will be exciting to see what else Chef LeBeau and his team have planned for Bambara, I’m hoping that most of this fall menu will stick around. This is the kind of food that you enter a semi-committed re lationship with, and I don’t know what I’d do if all of it vanished until next year. All the same, it’ll be fun to see what Bambara serves up next. CW

AT A GLANCE

Open: Mon.-Tues., 7:30 a.m.-11 a.m., 5:30 p.m.9:30 p.m., Wed.-Sat., 7 a.m.-10:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m., Sun., 7 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

onTAPonTAP

2 Row Brewing 6856 S. 300 West, Midvale 2RowBrewing.com

Avenues Proper 376 8th Ave, SLC avenuesproper.com On Tap: Less- West Coast IPA

Bewilder Brewing 445 S. 400 West, SLC BewilderBrewing.com On Tap: Gluten Reduced Kolsch

Bohemian Brewery 94 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale BohemianBrewery.com

Bonneville Brewery 1641 N. Main, Tooele BonnevilleBrewery.com

On Tap: Peaches and Cream Ale

Craft by Proper 1053 E. 2100 So., SLC craftbyproper.com On Tap: Do Less - West Coast IPA

Desert Edge Brewery 273 Trolley Square, SLC DesertEdgeBrewery.com On Tap: Pomegranate Sour

Epic Brewing Co. 825 S. State, SLC EpicBrewing.com On Tap: Toasted Coconut Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout

Fisher Brewing Co. 320 W. 800 South, SLC FisherBeer.com

On Tap: Fisher Beer

Grid City Beer Works 333 W. 2100 South, SLC GridCityBeerWorks.com

On Tap: Extra Pale Ale

Hopkins Brewing Co. 1048 E. 2100 South, SLC HopkinsBrewingCompany.com

On Tap: Dunkelweizen

Kiitos Brewing 608 W. 700 South, SLC KiitosBrewing.com

Level Crossing Brewing Co. 2496 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake LevelCrossingBrewing.com On Tap: Wet El Do-Rye-Do Pale Ale Ales & Allies Game Night Tues at 6pm!

Moab Brewing 686 S. Main, Moab TheMoabBrewery.com

On Tap: Squeaky Bike Nut Brown

Mountain West Cider 425 N. 400 West, SLC MountainWestCider.com On Tap: Wet Hopped Cider

Offset Bier Co 1755 Bonanza Dr Unit C, Park City offsetbier.com/ On Tap: DOPO IPA

Ogden River Brewing 358 Park Blvd, Ogden OgdenRiverBrewing.com On Tap: Injector Hazy IPA

Policy Kings Brewery 223 N. 100 West, Cedar City PolicyKingsBrewery.com

Prodigy Brewing 25 W Center St. Logan prodigy-brewing.com/

Proper Brewing 857 S. Main, SLC ProperBrewingCo.com On Tap: East Side Paradise - Rice Lager

Red Rock Brewing 254 So. 200 West RedRockBrewing.com On Tap: Gypsy Scratch

Red Rock Fashion Place 6227 So. State Redrockbrewing.com On Tap: Munich Dunkel

Red Rock Kimball Junction Redrockbrewing.com 1640 Redstone Center

On Tap: Bamberg Rauch Bier

RoHa Brewing Project 30 Kensington Ave, SLC RoHaBrewing.com On Tap: FRESHIES IPA

Roosters Brewing Multiple Locations RoostersBrewingCo.com On Tap: Cosmic Autumn Rebellion

SaltFire Brewing 2199 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake SaltFireBrewing.com On Tap: A Series of Singularities single hop IPA with Mosaic

Salt Flats Brewing 2020 Industrial Circle, SLC SaltFlatsBeer.com On Tap: Top Gear Imperial Pilsner

Scion Cider Bar 916 Jefferson St W, SLC Scionciderbar.com On Tap: Reverend Nat’s Providence 10.2% ABV

A list of what local craft breweries and cider houses have on tap this week

Shades Brewing 154 W. Utopia Ave, South Salt Lake ShadesBrewing.beer On Tap: Prickly Pear Sour Ale

Silver Reef 4391 S. Enterprise Drive, St. George StGeorgeBev.com

Squatters 147 W. Broadway, SLC Squatters.com

Strap Tank Brewery Multiple Locations StrapTankBrewery.com Springville On Tap: PB Rider, Peanut Butter Stout / Lehi On Tap: 2-Stroke, Vanilla Mocha Porter

Stratford Proper 1588 Stratford Ave., SLC stratfordproper.com On Tap: Lake Effect Gose

TF Brewing 936 S. 300 West, SLC TFBrewing.com On Tap: Edel Pils

Talisman Brewing Co. 1258 Gibson Ave, Ogden TalismanBrewingCo.com On Tap: Kingslayer- Pilsner

Uinta Brewing 1722 S. Fremont Drive, SLC UintaBrewing.com On Tap: Was Angeles Craft Beer

UTOG 2331 Grant Ave, Ogden UTOGBrewing.com On Tap: Trail Rye’d - Amber Rye Ale 5% abv

Vernal Brewing 55 S. 500 East, Vernal VernalBrewing.com

Wasatch 2110 S. Highland Drive, SLC WasatchBeers.com

Zion Brewery 95 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale ZionBrewery.com

Zolupez 205 W. 29th Street #2, Ogden Zolupez.com

OPENING SOON!

Helper Beer 159 N Main Street Helper, UT 84526

Apex Brewing 2285 S Main Street Salt Lake City, UT 84115

Body of Evidence

Beers that are heavy in the mouth, not in the tummy.

BY MIKE RIEDEL comments@cityweekly.net @utahbeer

Bewilder - Ahhhroma SMASH: You may have seen the term SMASH as sociated with beers in your favor ite brewpubs. Single malt and single hop (SMASH) beers are simple recipes, just as described. This ale features a new hop va riety called Ahhhroma, along with a new malt from Solstice Malts called Buzz. Don’t look at me—I’m not naming this stuff.

I’ve never crushed fresh Ahhhroma hops in my hands and then inhaled the residue, but it must smell something like this pale ale. Actually, that isn’t strictly true. The beer also has a sweet pale maltiness that gives depth and breadth to the hop resins. I hadn’t noticed it before, but this hop’s muskiness reminds me, in some respects, of Cascade and Hallertau.

The thing that makes this insanely deli cious beer, though, is that it isn’t only about the hops. Somewhere, way down deep, lives a sugar cookie-like pale maltiness that just does manage to take the intensely serrated edges off the alpha acids. Aging this ale should be a crime punishable by death; as fresh as possible is the only way to go.

I never knew that Ahhhroma hops were this fruity. I’m getting tons of peach and apricot, along with tidal waves of sticky or ange marmalade and shards of bitter lem on. Each mouthful is an explosion of hop flavor that lasts and lasts and lasts. I better slow down, or there won’t be anything left to assess the mouthfeel.

Verdict : While it’s not a perfect beer, this elixir is pure pleasure in the mouth.

It’s at least medium-full, and is as plush as one could ever hope for. It seems that the Bewilder team have struck the perfect balance between luxuriousness and ease of drinkability.

Kiitos/Grid City - Deconstructed Rye: This is quite an anomaly in the beer world, as it features an unheard-of 80 percent rye malt. Why is that so unusual? Well, rye is a very sticky and oily malt, where is near ly impossible to extract its wort in high amounts. Only Kiitos’ brew system can squeeze all of the rye goodness from the grain. The result is a spicier malt with a very round mouthfeel.

This beer pours a lighter copper color with a two-finger thick, creamy white head. The aroma is a mix of rye and a bit of almost wheat-breadiness. There are some other lighter aromas of a caramel sweetness and some light pine and grassy aromas, which produce a rather pleasant and balanced, sweetly malty and bready hopped smell.

The taste begins with a big bready flavor mixed with some strong rye flavors. Up front there is also a good level of caramel sweetness that fades ever so slightly as the flavor advances to the end. The bready fla vor remains ever-constant throughout the taste, with the rye growing slightly stron ger as the taste advances to the end. Ulti mately, the malty flavors are met by some piney and citrusy hops, producing a rather smooth rye bread flavor with a light bit of bitterness to linger on the tongue. The body for this 5.0 percent brew is thick, full and creamy, with a carbonation level that is on the lower side of average.

Verdict : This is a smooth rye beer accen tuating a malty body instead of more hoppy flavor, like many rye brews seem to focus on. While a tiny bit more hop flavor would have enhanced the flavors a bit, overall it was rather enjoyable to drink and quite tasty.

As a special treat, Deconstructed Rye is also available on the nitro tap at Grid City only, making it extra-extra-creamy. Ahhhroma SMASH is exclusive to Bewil der, and is also at 5.0 percent. As always, cheers! CW

MIKE

BY ALEX SPRINGER @captainspringer

Utah Cheese Awards Reception

Those who want to be among the first to hear about which local cheese is best in show will want to check out the Utah Cheese Awards Reception this weekend. In addition to having your finger on the pulse of our local cheese community, attendees will also be able to attend a buffet featuring goods from all the contenders— which come from the world of cured meats, salsas and sauces. The spread will be complemented by a roster of craft beer from Shades Brewing to help tickle the taste buds even more. The event takes place on Nov. 5 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Shades on State (366 S. State Street), and tickets can be purchased at the door.

Slow Food Mingle at Log Haven

Slow Food Utah (slowfoodutah.org) will be hosting a dinner party at Log Haven (6451 Mill Creek Canyon Road, 801-272-8255, log-haven.com) to honor the work of the restaurant’s Chef Dave Jones. The local culi nary and community action group has recognized Jones with their Snail of Approval Award, a prestigious acco lade that reflects his dedication to sustainability and equity in the restaurant industry. It also means dining on some seriously good food in the middle of Millcreek Canyon, which is in full grandeur-of-nature mode as the leaves don their autumnal hues. Tickets can be purchased via Slow Food Utah’s website; proceeds will also benefit Slow Food community projects.

Noemi’s Café Opens

From its origins as a Chilean catering company and food truck, Noemi’s Café (777 E. Fort Union Boulevard, 801-979-7888) has opened the doors of a brick-andmortar location. The new location looks to expand the existing menu of Chilean empanadas with all kinds of tasty favorites like lomo saltado and hearty stews like porotos granados on weekends. I’m also happy to see that they’ve kept their bakery menu up to date— alfa jores and not tres but cinco leches cake will abound. The team at Noemi’s has set up a lovely spot for their storefront, so if you’re after a wide variety of Chilean favorites, now’s a good time to check them out.

Week: “Give me a

sharp knife

a happy man.” –George R. R. Martin

GOODEATS

Auntie Rae’s Dessert Island

When BuzzFeed conducted a Yelp survey to determine the best place for soft serve ice cream in every state, the internet aggregates declared Auntie Rae’s Dole Whip Vanilla Twist the finest soft serve in the Beehive State. Dole Whip soft serve is catnip to anyone who has visited the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland, and to get it locally for a buck? It practically sells itself. Auntie Rae’s also offers several des sert delivery systems—like the cookie sundae—for your Dole Whip, which gives the eccentric little Holladay shop tremendous repeat value. 4704 S. Holladay Blvd., 801-679-3925, auntieraesdessertisland.com

The Beehive Grill

As much as beer-brewing has proliferated in Utah, it’s still sometimes hard to wrap your head around Utah as a place for such activity. Root beer brewing? Now that sounds about right. Logan’s Beehive Grill is a great dining location for burgers, steaks and sandwiches, but it’s also home to daily on-site creation of craft root beer, made the old-fashioned way with cane sugar (no corn syrup) and water before the addition of the flavoring extract. The result is a refreshingly distinctive flavor, representing an all-ages-appropriate brand of craft brewing. 255 S. Main, Logan, 435-753-2600, thebeehivegrill.com

Mahider Ethiopian

There’s nary a fork to be found at Mahider, and that’s a really, really good thing. Ethiopian food eschews the

use of utensils in favor of large portions of injera, a porous, pancake-like sourdough flatbread. Since the food is designed to be combined, pinched and dipped by hand, most offerings consist of several varieties of meat, veggies and legumes stewed or puréed with a distinct blend of spices. The plates are completely enveloped by a pizza-sized slab of injera, upon which the different offer ings—like doro wot (a marinated chicken leg in a spicy stew) or siga wot (beef simmered in pungent berbere sauce)—are arranged like paints on an artist’s palette. Both the chicken and beef wot are smoky, spicy and comforting. 1465 S. State, Ste. 7, 801-975-1111, mahiderethiopian.com

Chedda Burger

Followers of Chef Nick Watts’ Chedda Truck, which he took to the streets of Salt Lake City in 2012, should be thrilled to know he’s expanded to full-blown restau rants. Watts’ fresh-ground, 100-percent natural Angus beef burgers are intended for the adventurous, with options like the Silly Round Eye (beef, pastrami, Swiss cheese, kimchi and fry sauce) or the Kill Me Softly (beef patty with blue cheese, bacon, arugula and cranberry sauce served on a Krispy Kreme doughnut). Those with more cautious palates will like the Old Faithful: a justgreasy-enough beef patty with classic cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, ripe tomato slices, green leaf lettuce and fry sauce. 26 E. 600 South, 801-906-8779; 1314 Foothill Drive, 385-227-8845, chedda burger.co

Featuring dining destinations from buffets and rooms with a view to mom-and-pop joints, chic cuisine and some of our dining critic’s faves.

listings at cityweekly.net

Cold as Nice

The Banshees of Inisherin’s darkly hilarious morality play wonders at the virtues of niceness.

BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

The word “nice” generally feels flabby and ineffectual, but it’s hard to over state the thematic weight it carries in Martin McDonagh’s hilarious, bleak, contemplative The Banshees of Inisherin . It’s used to describe Pádraic (Colin Far rell), a simple farmer on the Irish island of Inisherin, and for some of his neighbors it’s a compliment. But for Colm (Brendan Gleeson), who had been Pádraic’s best friend and drinking buddy, it has become a problem. Without warning, Colm decides that Pádraic’s simple niceness is a waste of whatever time Colm has left in this world, perhaps better spent composing music. In short, Colm is breaking up with Pádraic as a friend, beginning a spiral of physical and emotional destruction—all because “nice,” for Colm, was no longer enough.

In both his theatrical and film work, Mc Donagh has spent 25 years tucking fascinat ing ideas into darkly comic tales, like fortune cookies spiked with arsenic. The Banshees of Inisherin might be the funniest comedy of the year, but it’s also one of the most profoundly melancholy dramas, and a thoughtful moral ity play. With a risky connection of this story to the conflicts of its times, McDonagh takes a chance on asking if we ever understand the right things to value.

Much of that idea is built on the detail Mc Donagh crafts for Inisherin circa 1923. Every supporting character is distinctive—from the shopkeeper obsessed with knowing all the latest gossip, to the barfly whose entire dialogue consists of echoing the publican,

to the mysterious widow Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton) with a propensity for omi nous prophecies—in this isolated commu nity, but as parochial as it seems, it’s also removed from the “Troubles” on the island of Ireland proper, which exist largely as dis tant cracks of gunfire and puffs of smoke. Yet for Pádraic’s unmarried, educated sister Siobhán (Kerry Condon), it’s still worth con sidering a job away from Inisherin, rather than accepting a marriage proposal Pádra ic’s young even-simpler pal Dominic (Barry Keoghan). Her rejection inspires not only one of the most brilliantly all-purpose es cape-from-an-awkward-situation phrases ever uttered, but inspires further contem plation of what Colm and Siobhán are seek ing when dull niceness feels insufficient. It is astonishing, however, how much complexity Farrell manages to inject into Pádraic’s particular brand of dull niceness. So much of the character is constructed on Pádraic’s inability to wrap his head around the possibility that Colm actually means what he is saying, that he wants nothing further to do with Pádraic, ever; that kind of cruelty feels utterly alien. One of the most heartbreaking movie moments of the year involves Pádraic’s facial expression

when Colm finally comes clean about why he has been avoiding Pádraic, as Farrell captures a kind of crumpling of his selfworth. Gleeson is typically terrific himself in a role that calls for making extreme be havior seem logical, but Farrell does the kind of work that acting classes should be made of—not centered around some showy speech, but entirely inward-looking while playing a man who himself isn’t particu larly familiar with looking inward.

That disintegrating friendship at the core of The Banshees of Inisherin navigates through multiple metaphorical notions, and it’s understandable if it feels like Mc Donagh has bitten off more subtext than he can chew. It’s a portrait of how depression can be almost contagious, as the “despair” Colm’s confessor asks about affects those close to him; it investigates how emotional pain can turn outward when you lack the skills to process it. And it’s a meditation on people divided for reasons that pri oritize an abstract philosophy over simple kindness, and all the damage that can do. Sectarian violence in Ireland is of course a thorny thicket, but McDonagh has nev er seemed timid about wading into them while wondering how hard it can be to find

happiness in a cruel world.

The Banshees of Inisherin would prob ably be one of the year’s best films even if it were nothing more than a showcase for McDonagh’s way with words, and the indel ible characters he creates in partnership with his actors. The real depth emerges, though, in moments like the response by Mrs. McCormick to a suggestion that one of her comments wasn’t nice: “I wasn’t try ing to be nice; I was trying to be accurate.”

At a time when we’re constantly being torn apart over whose concept of living in the world is accurate, it’s startling to wonder about what it would mean to focus on a con cept of living in the world that’s nice. CW

Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin

| CITYWEEKLY.NET | |

MUSIC | CINEMA | DINING | A&E | NEWS | | CITY

Escaping Hardship With a Pickle

Singer/songwriter 26fix releases debut singles as a solo artist

BY EMILEE ATKINSON eatkinson@cityweekly.net @emileelovesvinyl

Music provides the perfect escape. Whether you’re a musician or an avid listener, there’s something for everyone to fall into when times are hard. Trauma and difficult life events can drive us to begin creating, in order to off set those negative feelings. For singer/ songwriter Erica Goodwin, diving into creating new music helped her out of some tough times.

Goodwin—also known as 26fix—be gan creating music as a solo artist after playing guitar in the band Brother for ap proximately the last six years, she said; “We were based in Provo for a long time, and then during COVID, we all spread out throughout Utah.”

Before this, Goodwin dabbled in solo work in high school, but it wasn’t her best work. “It was garbage, but my family and friends would come. That was about it,” she said. “And then I went to school, and I met my band mates from Brother and started playing music with them, and put my own writing on the back burner, and just fo cused on playing in that band and just hav ing a good time.”

It’s a common story these days, but CO VID forced Goodwin to focus on other en deavors during lockdown. “After so many years playing [in the band], and then es pecially during COVID, I didn’t feel the

same excitement or reward, and I just felt something was missing,” she said. “I went through a lot of stuff, and then I remem bered how much happiness and joy came from writing music, and I thought, ‘I just need to start writing music again.’ That’s when I started my project, 26fix.”

Although it’s a short title, 26fix holds a lot of meaning. The number 26 signifies Goodwin’s lucky number, and also repre sents big changes in her life. On her golden birthday a few years ago, pivotal events triggered her to begin writing music again. She began writing her singles that are out currently: “A Pickle,” “Peggy Paradise” and “She Hit Me First.” These tracks are bass-y, psychedelic and distinctive. Good win wanted the bass to stand out because her favorite music tends to be bass-heavy.

“I notice that a lot of my favorite songs have really prominent baselines, whether they’re groovy or just punchy,” she said. “It’s always bass that makes me love a song. I think that’s what really carries music, too. As well as the percussion, all of that is the bones of a song.”

These singles are building up to a con cept EP, following a girl who chokes on a pickle and ultimately dies. “I’m just get ting started and it’s a lot of fun. I definitely write about my experiences and what I’m going through in life, but I kind of like to hide it and twist it into a story,” she said. “It helps with the creative process and helps me feel like I’m not being too vulnerable.”

Each track is a different perspective from a character in the story. “A Pickle” is from the point of view of the devious veg etable, while “She Hit Me First” is from the perspective of the girl’s awful boyfriend, and “Peggy Paradise” depicts the imagery after the girl in the story has died.

These singles are just scratching the sur face for Goodwin, who has big plans for her music in the coming months. “I’m working with different producers, and getting ev erything ready,” she said. “I’ve got a whole bunch of songs ready. It’s just figuring out the right time. I definitely plan to release the EP next year.” With 2022 rapidly coming to a close, knowing more music from 26fix is coming in the future is a treat for listeners.

Goodwin has been very active in the lo cal music scene, playing tons of shows and drawing crowds ready to hear bits from this inventive story. Being a frontman is a different experience, so Goodwin has faced a learning curve, but she’s embraced the challenge. “I do love performing live, but what I really love is making the mu sic and creating,” she said. “Playing as a frontman is scary. It’s a whole other thing; I wanted to make sure I had my sound right, and who I was as a musician and get that together. I feel like I finally figured that out fully as I’ve had this year to kind of gather who I am.”

Goodwin wants people listening to her music to know that it means the world to

her; “Creating this music gives me so much joy, and if they get joy out of listening to it, that makes me happy as well,” she said.

“And there’s more to come. Lots more to come. I’ve been a little slow to start just because when I first started, it was to heal and to recover, and then all of a sudden it turned, more songs and more songs came.

I’ve got a bunch more coming, and all the support means a lot.”

The best way to keep up with 26fix is on her Instagram, @26fix.26fix.26fix. Her next show will be Friday, Nov. 4 at Metro Music Hall where she’s playing in support of local group Cop Kid and their latest re lease. Tickets for the 21+ show are $10 and can be found at metromusichall.com. CW

IAN

MUSIC PICKS

Sammy Rae and The Friends are stopping in SLC as they release their new jazzy retro pop single, “If It All Goes South.” This track fea tures a classical string quartet, bass clarinet and flute, painting a heartwarming picture of a dreamy and lovestruck relationship. A new music video for the track was also released, following two lonely young-at-hearts and their pursuit for love and connection. “The quirky, omnipresent narrator (played by me!) follows them along and encourages their bumping into each other, until they finally collide at a bowling alley,” said lead vocal ist/songwriter Sammy Rae. “It’s a timeless and whimsical love story starring two of the most beautiful retirees in the state of Florida. Moral of this story: It takes cour age, patience and luck to find love, but it can happen to anyone. Anywhere.” Sammy Rae and The Friends are a diverse collective of musicians, a seven-piece band hailing from Brooklyn. Their sound is a mélange of Sammy’s influences, rooted in classic rock, folk, and funk and sprinkled with soul and jazz. Complete with a rhythm section, two saxophones, keyboards and plenty of percussion, Sammy Rae & The Friends have delivered their high-energy, spirited and unrestrained shows to sold-out audiences all over. Catch this eclectic group on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the 21+ show are $31-$53 and can be found at thestateroom presents.com. (Emilee Atkinson)

Gearing up for a new EP this coming January, 21-year-old Genevieve Stokes has released two new singles ahead of an extensive fall tour. Her track “Habits” has gained a lot of traction from platforms like TikTok, and on streaming services. “I wrote ‘Habits’ in my parents’ garage last spring— my favorite time of year to make music. The lyrics are my stream of consciousness, flowing from feel ings of self-pity and boredom to my worries about an emotionally turbulent relationship. It’s about longing for change after a dark winter,” said Stokes. The singer has also taken inspiration and imagery from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and the eerie hor ror movie Midsommar. Her other latest single, “Can I,” has similar dark tones. “‘Can I’ is an outpouring of emotions and fragmented memories, always coming back to the present moment and a sense of deep appreciation for the relationships in my life— no matter how fleeting,” she said. Supporting the young pop artist is singer-songwriter Charlie Burg, who’s promoting his latest album Infinitely Tall, a newer sound for the young artist. His tone is ever-growing and evolving, with earlier works focusing on an R&B sound. This new work incorporates saxophones and trumpets, and infuses different genres in addition to the R&B he’s known for. These two alluring artists will be at Kilby Court on Friday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $15 and can be found at kilbycourt.com. (EA)

Sammy Rae and The Friends @ The Commonwealth Room 11/3

Genevieve Stokes, Charlie Burg @ Kilby Court 11/4

Genevieve Stokes PRESS PHOTO

By Emilee Atkinson

MUSIC PICKS

By Emilee Atkinson

Super American, Young Culture, Arm’s Length, Drusky @ The Beehive 11/5

For fans of pop punk, indie and alternative rock, this packed show at The Beehive won’t be one to miss, as Buffalo natives Super American are one of the headlining acts, promoting their second full-length album SUP. Released in October 2021, SUP is a celebration of fear, and the tongue-in-cheek inversion of it, according to their Bandcamp profile. “Its seams burst with breakneck indie rock, well-caffeinated pop punk, and breezy emo that, at their heart, all prop up a central tension: life is a goddamn incredible miracle, so why do we have to feel so scared and shitty all the time?” Young Culture also have a new EP out this year entitled Whiskey, featuring songs that range from catchy surges of unabashed emotion, to happy-go-lucky lovestruck tunes. Their track “Tattoo” tackles the realities of a relationship gone wrong. “It’s a song about anybody that scarred you in a permanent way,” said vocalist Alex Magnan. “People can make impressions on your life and it can be permanent, whether that’s someone you’re in love with or a friend or something. We wrote it in the studio, and I think it really showcases our roots—and it’s so Young Culture!” Supporting act Arm’s Length are follow ing suit with a new release, Never Before Seen, Never Found Again. Rounding out the show is SLC natives Drusky, with their engaging bubblegrunge sound. This packed bill of artists will be at The Beehive on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $15 before the show, and $18 the day of. Find tickets at 24tix.com. (EA)

British rock band Foals are touring amid the release of their seventh studio album Life is Yours. This new work is a breath of fresh air for the group after their last project, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, which was released in two parts. The previ ous albums were about crumbling political systems and climate catastrophes, but Life is Yours focuses on embracing joy in life, especially after the pandemic and quarantine. “Looking High” is a track on the album that’s drenched in nostalgia, looking back at the band’s early days. “I like to write when I’m traveling, or when I’m out and about in pubs, in direct contact with the world,” said vocalist/guitarist Yannis Philippakis. “Obviously, when every thing went quiet, I wasn’t getting any of that, but I didn’t want to write a dark, introverted pandemic record,” he told BBC News. “So what was left for me was to try and access places in the past and use the songs as a kind of transporter—looking back to our early 20s and random nights out and the start of the band.” Supporting the British band are L.A. natives Inner Wave, which released their latest album Apoptosis in September 2021. Vocalist/guitarist Pablo Sotelo broke down the emotional origins of the album on their Bandcamp: “This album has a lot of recur ring themes about rebirth, longing for others, nature and love,” he said. “[It] was recorded onto tape, which is a first for us. Half the album was played live in a room with the band, the other half was recorded alone by me during quarantine when I had COVID.” Foals and Inner Wave play The Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $35 and can be found at thecomplexslc.com. (EA)

Well known for their multi-platinum hit “Cool Kids,” Echosmith are out on tour promoting their latest single, “Gelato,” which ushers in a new sound for the trio of siblings. “This whole new era is based on being completely open about who we are, as opposed to presenting a surface-level version of that,” said lead singer Sydney. “We gave ourselves permission to explore and be creative in a way that we’d never been before, and to write without worrying about being the most perfect, clean versions of ourselves.” Along with this new single, the group has also released an updated version of their popular 2013 release, entitled “Cool Kids (Our Version).” A decade later, the song’s message of self-acceptance and self-love is just as important as when it was first released, especially as issues like bullying, the pressure to fit in and the impact of social media on young minds continue to be at the forefront of our culture. “Cool Kids (Our Version)” follows the release of the single “Hang Around,” which kicked off a new musical era for Echosmith. Their new creative period is both a sonic shift and a return to their roots as they stripped back the pop polish, embraced their true indie spirit and took an alt-pop direction that best represents the original musical heart of the band. Joining Echosmith are pop artist Lostboycrow and indie-rockers Band of Silver. Catch these acts at Soundwell on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $25, Echosmith are also offering VIP packages for $80. Find tickets at soundwellslc.com. (EA)

EDWARD COOKE

Foals, Inner Wave, Gustaf @ The Complex 11/8

Echosmith, Lostboycrow, Band of Silver @ Soundwell 11/9

COURTESY PHOTO

Foals

Echosmith

Trickier Treats

By Cole Fullmer

We’ve all been there. There’s nothing scarier than walking into a Utah dispensary for the first time and being greeted by so many strange and alien products, packages, buzzwords, and metric units you didn’t pay attention to in school. That’s why our team of top-flight cannaseurs sought out the finest Utah cannabis products so you can enjoy your next visit to the pharmacy without the pressure.

No one knows cannabis like Salt Baked City and we recommend you try all of these dank offerings below.

Sundae Driver flower from Dragonfly Wellness

*These

Moxie Cherry Edibles

Pure Plan Pain Cream

Dragonfly Wellness Sleep Dragonbites

Moxie Lemon Skunk Badder

True North Seltzer

Zion Cultivars Pumpkin Pie Cartridge

BY ROB BREZSNY

Gotorealastrology.comforRobBrezsny’sexpandedweeklyaudiohoroscopesanddailytext-messagehoroscopes.

Audiohoroscopesalsoavailablebyphoneat877-873-4888or900-950-7700.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

In the coming weeks, I encourage you to work as hard as you have ever worked. Work smart, too. Work with flair and aplomb and relish. You now have a surprisingly fertile opportunity to rein vent how you do your work and how you feel about your work. To take maximum advantage of this potential breakthrough, you should inspire yourself to give more of your heart and soul to your work than you have previously imagined possible. (PS: By “work,” I mean your job and any crucial activity that is both challenging and rewarding.)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Here’s my weird suggestion, Taurus. Just for now, only for a week or two, experiment with dreaming about what you want but can’t have. And just for now, only for a week or two, go in pursuit of what you want but can’t have. I predict that these exercises in quixotic futility will generate an unexpected benefit. They will motivate you to dream true and strong and deep about what you do want and can have. They will intensify and focus you to pursue what you do want and can have.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

Your most successful times in life usually come when all your various selves are involved. During these interludes, none of them is neglected or shunted. In my astrological opinion, you will be wise to ensure this scenario is in full play during the coming weeks. In fact, I recommend you throw a big Unity Party and invite all your various sub-personalities to come as they are. Have outrageous fun acting out the festivities. Set out a place mat and nametag on a table for each participant. Move around from seat to seat and speak from the heart on behalf of each one. Later, discuss a project you could all participate in creating.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

A Cancerian reader named Joost Joring explained to me how he cultivates the art of being the best Cancerian he can be. He said, “I shape my psyche into a fortress, and I make people feel privileged when they are allowed inside. If I must sometimes instruct my allies to stay outside for a while, to camp out by the drawbridge as I work out my problems, I make sure they know they can still love me—and that I still love them.” I appreciate Joost’s perspective. As a Cancerian myself, I can attest to its value. But I will also note that in the coming weeks, you will reap some nice benefits from having less of a fortress mentality. In my astrological opinion, it’s party time!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Leo poet Antonio Machado wrote, “I thought my fire was out, and I stirred the ashes. I burnt my fingers.” I’m telling you this so you won’t make the same mistake, Leo. Your energy may be a bit less radiant and fervent than usual right now, but that’s only because you’re in a recharging phase. Your deep reserves of fertility and power are regenerating. That’s a good thing! Don’t make the error of thinking it’s a sign of reduced vitality. Don’t overreact with a flurry of worry.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Virgo author Siegfried Sassoon became renowned for the poetry he wrote about being a soldier in World War I. Having witnessed carnage firsthand, he became adept at focusing on what was truly important. “As long as I can go on living a rich inner life,” he wrote, “I have no cause for complaint, and I wel come anything which helps me to simplify my life, which seems to be more and more a process of eliminating inessentials!” I suggest we make Sassoon your role model for the next three weeks. What inessentials can you eliminate? What could you do appreciate all the everyday miracles that life offers you?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

You Libras have a talent that I consider a superpower: You can remove yourself from the heart of the chaos and deliver astute

insights about how to tame the chaos. I like that about you. I have personally benefited from it on numerous occasions. But for the next few weeks, I will ask you to try something different.

I’ll encourage you to put an emphasis on practical action, how ever imperfect it might be, more than on in-depth analysis. This moment in the history of your universe requires a commitment to getting things done, even if they’re untidy and incomplete.

Here’s your motto: “I improvise compromises in the midst of the interesting mess.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

“Fear is the raw material from which courage is manufactured,” said author Martha Beck. “Without it, we wouldn’t even know what it means to be brave.” I love that quote—and I especially love it as a guiding meditation for you Scorpios right now. We usually think of fear as an unambiguously bad thing, a drain of our precious life force. But I suspect that for you, it will turn out to be useful in the coming days. You’re going to find a way to transmute fear into boldness, bravery and even badassery.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

For decades, the Canadian city of Sudbury hosted a robust mining industry. Deposits of nickel sulphide ore spawned a booming business. But these riches also brought terrible pollu tion. Sudbury’s native vegetation was devastated. The land was stained with foul air produced by the smelting process. An effort to re-green the area began in the 1970s. Today, the air is among the cleanest in the province of Ontario. In the spirit of this trans formation, I invite you to embark on a personal reclamation project. Now is a favorable time to detoxify and purify any parts of your life that have been spoiled or sullied.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

The literal meaning of the ancient Greek word aigílips is “devoid of goats.” It refers to a place on the earth that is so high and steep that not even sure-footed goats can climb it. There aren’t many of those places. Similarly, there are very few metaphorical peaks that a determined Capricorn can’t reach. One of your specialties is the power to master seemingly improbable and impassable heights. But here’s an unexpected twist in your des tiny: In the coming months, your forte will be a talent for going very far down and in. Your agility at ascending, for a change, will be useful in descending—for exploring the depths. Now is a good time to get started!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Evolved Aquarians are often blessed with unprecedented friendships and free-spirited intimacy and innovative alliances. People who align themselves with you may enjoy experimental collaborations they never imagined before engaging with you. They might be surprised at the creative potentials unleashed in them because of their synergy with you. In the coming weeks and months, you will have even more power than usual to generate such liaisons and connections. You might want to make a copy of this horoscope and use it as your calling card or business card.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

I surveyed the history of literature to identify authors I consider highly intuitive. Piscean-born Anais Nin was my top choice. She used language with fluidity and lyricism. She lived a colorful, unpredictable life. No one better deserves the title of Intuition Champion. And yet she also had a discerning view of this faculty. She wrote, “I began to understand that there were times when I must question my intuition and separate it from my anxieties or fears. I must think, observe, question, seek facts and not trust blindly to my intuition.” I admire her caution. And I suspect it was one reason her intuition was so potent. Your assignment, Pisces, is to apply her approach to your relationship with your intuition. The coming months will be a time when you can super charge this key aspect of your intelligence and make it work for you better than it ever has before.

DIGITAL AND PRINT SALES

CITY WEEKLY is seeking an energetic and self-motivated individual looking for a career in media sales.

As part of the City Weekly team, you can build a career in an exciting industry, make money, have fun, and be a part of a company that makes a difference in our community. Responsibilities include selling print, digital, and sponsorships to local and some national businesses. Prior print and digital advertising sales experience preferred, but not required. This is a full time position. Applicants must have a valid driver’s license and reliable vehicle.

EMAIL RESUME TO: Pete Saltas at pete@cityweekly.net

YOU READY TO MAKE IT RAIN SOME DOLLA DOLLA BILLZ?

Stats for the 3rd Quarter

quarter real estate stats are out for Salt Lake County, and frankly, they

a bit odd. The median home price sold in Q3 was $600,000, which is down al most 6% over the second quarter of this year.

if we look at stats from 2021, we see a growth pattern in the statewide median sales price—it’s up 9%. Interest rates on 30year mortgages are now up to 7% or more, and fewer buyers are coming into the market right now, so predictions for this final quar ter aren’t looking too great.

The Federal Reserve is definitely going to keep raising interest rates until inflation cools, and we’re seeing massive price reduc tions of homes on the market. Nationally, new listings in September fell 22% over the previous month, and 17% of listings that were under contract/sale pending failed to close.

Sales are down 20% over 2021. In Salt Lake County, Q3 sales were down 18.8% compared to Q2 and down 30% compared to the same time in 2021.

“Run, don’t walk, to the nearest exit” is starting to be the war cry for some sellers, as “days on market” in Q3 moved to 22 days, vs. 6 days on the market until recently. If you love house porn, you’ll notice on many list ings that sellers are willing to “help” pay buyers’ closing costs or are offering incen tives like new carpeting.

This is the time of year when people begin to seriously nest—cold weather, holidays, etc. And given those vibes, it’s when the mar ket generally slows down. Although we’ve seen only smoking statistics for the last few years here, we will experience a slowdown as predictors are saying that the housing mar ket needs this kind of correction to balance out housing supply and demand.

If you can qualify for a loan, there are still options to get better rates. The “two-one” buydown is a great product, wherein if rates are at 7%, your loan starts at 5% for a year, then 6% for another year, and then it fixes at 7% for the rest of the loan. You can refinance if rates go down, and the initial discount will allow for you hopefully to get raises at work to afford the 7% rate later. Plus, as the market softens, buyers will get great deals.

There’s no better time in Utah to shop for homes than during the colder months. Why? It’s nice to know how that potential house fares in winter! When you walk into an empty house, does it feel drafty although the heat is on? How’s the insulation in the attic, around the doors and windows, and under the floors? Does the furnace growl like your stomach in the morning?

Since it’s cool to cold here about half of the year, a well-built home with good insulation is a must. And if sellers are willing to chip in to the deal to make you more comfortable by giving you a credit toward closing costs or added insulation … well, it doesn’t cost a dime to make an offer!

What Burn Ban?

Things got a little heated—which is to say 73 vehicles were utterly consumed by rag ing flames—at the annual fall festival at the Robinson Family Farm in Temple, Texas on Oct. 15, an event that features a pumpkin patch, hayrides, live music, kids’ games and more. The Bell County Fire Marshall’s Office is seeking information about an attendee who, according to witnesses who posted on social media, flicked a cigarette butt in the grassy parking lot, which, combined with the gusty winds and dry conditions that had already prompted the county to issue a burn ban, most likely started the blaze. “I have to say that is the most exciting and expensive pumpkin patch we’ve been to,” one attendee posted on Facebook after the disaster claimed their van.

Unsportsmanlike

of the WEIRD

to the residence of Alton King, the home owner being served an eviction notice. While wearing a protective beekeeping suit, Woods shook the beehives, unleash ing a swarm of angry bees on the officers, three of whom were allergic to bee stings.

Sheriff Nick Cocchi said Ross’ actions could have gotten someone killed: “We had one staff member go to the hospital and luckily, he was all right, or she would be facing manslaughter charges.”

But Is It Art?

The city of Cheadle, Alberta, Canada, is the temporary home of a newly revealed shrine to snacking. A 17-foot-tall statue com missioned by Frito-Lay was unveiled in early October. The work memorializes the signature Cheetos experience: three fingers holding up one of the crunchy snacks, their tips covered in the powdery orange residue the brand has christened “Cheetle.”

David Alan Taylor, 41, of Pensacola, Florida, did not follow the guidelines for safe tackling recommended by the various youth, college and professional football organizations when he charged onto the practice field on Sept. 20, donned a helmet, got into a football stance and charged his target, burying his helmet in said target’s chest before grabbing him by the arms and pushing him to the ground. But it wasn’t Taylor’s form that got him in trouble; it was the fact that his victim was 9 years old. The Pensacola News Journal reported that shortly before demonstrating his rusty football skills, Taylor had become enraged upon seeing his son being overpowered by the victim during a one-on-one tackling drill. The tackled youth was not seriously hurt, and Taylor was booked to the Escambia County jail on a first-degree felony count of aggravated child abuse and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

Awesome!

When your horse runs off with a herd of wild mustangs, let him go, because he’s gone. That’s the reality Shane Adams of Fielding, Utah, had to accept when his 10-year-old horse, Mongo, joined a passing herd in the middle of the night during a camping trip 8 years ago. Adams reported his horse missing and searched the area regularly, to no avail. But Yahoo Insider reported that the Bureau of Land Management recently con tacted Adams with news: Mongo had been found. The horse is seriously underweight due to the scarcity of food in the region where he and the herd were roaming, but Adams said Mongo is in good health and has not forgotten his training. Adams said his life had taken a downward turn in the years since Mongo disap peared; he and his wife divorced, and an auto accident in 2021 left him disabled. However, he now feels things are looking up: “My life is like down in the dumps, like the car accident. I lost my house, I lost everything. I got my horse back, though.”

Rare Vintage

A pair of Levi’s jeans found in an abandoned mine in the American West sold for a staggering $87,400 at a New Mexico auction on Oct. 1, reported CNN.com. What was so special about the jeans? They dated back to the 1880s, and while it’s not uncommon for “denim archaeologists” to find jeans from that period of history, it’s incredibly rare to find them so well-preserved. “There’s a couple of soft spots on the jeans that could use a bit of reinforce ment, but otherwise they’re super-duper solid jeans,” said Zip Stevenson, who runs a denim repair shop in Los Angeles and placed the winning bid with a partner. Though Stevenson would prefer the jeans were purchased and put on display in a museum, he said he would consider selling them to a private buyer. “I could easily imagine Johnny Depp or Jason Momoa wearing them,” Stevenson said.

People With Issues

Rorie Susan Woods, 55, of Hadley, Massachusetts, is facing multiple assault and battery charges after she took extreme measures in an attempt to prevent what she and other protestors believed was a wrongful eviction being carried out by sheriff’s deputies in Longmeadow on Oct. 12. WWLP-22 reported that Woods drove an SUV hauling a trailer loaded with beehives

“We’re excited to be celebrating Cheetle and Canadians’ cheesy, Cheetle-dusted fingertips on such a grand scale and in such a uniquely mischievous way,” said Lisa Allie, senior marketing director at PepsiCo Foods Canada. CNN reports that the Cheetle Hand Statue will be on display in Cheadle until Nov. 4, when it embarks on a tour of Canada.

Court Jester

A municipal judge in Cleveland, Ohio, was ordered to be removed from the bench on indefinite suspension on Oct. 18 and will undergo evaluations for her physical and mental health after a long series of bizarre incidents and behavior, the Columbus Dispatch reported. The Ohio Supreme Court took action after Judge Pinkey S. Carr wore sneakers, spandex shorts, T-shirts and even tank tops while sitting the bench—a bench that had become littered with so many cups, dolls and novelty items that Carr’s own attorney described it as “resembling a flea market.”

The 58-page complaint filed by the Ohio Supreme Court states that, among many other incidents, Carr repeatedly discussed the television show P-Valley and joked about giving lenient sentences and accepting kickbacks with attorneys and defendants while court was in session. When a prosecuting attorney had not yet arrived for a hearing, Carr is quoted as having stated, “The prosecutor’s not here. Let’s see how much we can get away with.”

A temporary replacement for Carr will be appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine and will sit on the bench until voters elect a new judge in a future election.

Ewwwww

WRGB in Albany reported the arrests of Chrystal Thomas, 33, on Oct. 4, and Austin Smith, 20, on Oct. 15, for the duo’s part in the illegal tattooing of a 10-year-old boy. Thomas, the boy’s mother, claimed she was not in the room when Smith permanently inked the child’s name on his arm “in full-size block letters.” Authorities were made aware of the situation when the boy asked a school nurse for Vaseline to apply to the tattoo. Both Thomas and Smith were charged with endangering the welfare of a child, and Smith was additionally charged with seconddegree unlawfully dealing with a child.

Mood Killer

On Oct. 5, the Shizuoka (Japan) prefectural police were alerted to the presence of an unattended attache case, partially hidden among some roadside bushes in the Shimomata neighborhood of Kakegawa. Sora News 24 reported that the bomb squad was dispatched, traffic in the area was shut down, and an onsite command post was set up to assess the case and safeguard against an explosion, but when investigators finally opened the case, they were greeted not with a bomb, but with a collection of sex toys. No one was injured, and the site was cleared after about three and a half hours, but online commentors seized the opportunity to get off some zingers, including “Not a bomb, but still discharge-related,” and “I’m sure whoever forgot their attache case there is really hard up right now.”

Send your weird news items to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com