THE WINTER’S TALE
by
William Shakespeare
Directed by Javen Tanner
September 14th – 29th, 2012
Leona Wagner Black Box
Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center
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King Leontes loses everything to his jealousy and pride, and redemption will not come until that which was lost has been found. Heartbreaking, hilarious, and heart-healing, The Winter’s Tale is Shakespeare’s most beautiful story of pride, loss, miracles, and redemption.
CAST
Hermione: Deena Marie Manzanares
Paulina / Time: Kathryn Atwood
Paulina: Laura D’Agostini
Perdita / Dion: Heidi Klein
Cleomenes / Mopsa / Time: Amanda Mahoney
Emilia / Dorcas: Marissa Morton
Polixenes: Bijan Hosseini
Antigonus / Autolycus: Roger Dunbar
Camillo: Stephen Williams
Archidamus / Shepherd’s Son: Daniel Anderson
Sicilian Lord / Florizel: Danny Egan
Mamillius: River Knight
Leontes / Shepherd: Javen Tanner
Ensemble: Ashley Hassell, Isabelle Rosett, Samantha Kofford, Madi Slack, David Fishman, Robby Boyer, River Tanner, Jacob Fishman, Rain Tanner
WHAT THE CRITICS SAID
Please excuse the gushing: Sting & Honey’s latest production is absolutely magical, at times painfully tragic, at others hilariously absurd and, in the end, a simply beautiful and poetic interpretation of the Bard. -Brandon Burt, City Weekly (read review)
The [Sting & Honey] company’s The Winter’s Tale is an inviting, beautifully told production of the sweeping epic. –Blair Howell, The Deseret News (read review)
With such a fabulous cast, this is a production that ought not to be missed. And one is already looking forward to Sting & Honey’s next production. -Ed Reichel, Reichel Recommends (read review)
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THIS BIRD OF DAWNING SINGETH ALL NIGHT LONG
The Nativity Story told through Poetry and Mask
Created and Directed by Javen Tanner
Performed Annually
Leona Wagner Black Box
Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center
This beautiful telling of the Christmas Story has become a Salt Lake City favorite. Join us for an evening of astonishing imagery and music, including Nativity poetry written by a variety of poets from Shakespeare to W.B. Yeats to Li-Young Lee.
CAST
Estie Pyper, Kat Christensen, Zel Bromley, Rachel Brunner, Sarah Reichel, Meghan Bernstein, David Fishman, Clark Alexander, Robby Boyer, Jacob Fishman, River Tanner, Lilly Vargyas, Madi Slack, Ashley Hassell, Kristin Carroll, Samantha Kofford, Kathy Reynolds, Merodean Huntsman, Kelly Reynolds, Abbie St. Vaughan, Kylee Reynolds, Taylor Tewell, Samantha Mcfarlane, Katina Tatum, Marissa Morton, Jake Lindeman, Annie Woller, McKade Huntsman, Topher Rasmussen, Sam Eckersley, Andre Galhardo, Austin Jensen, Isabelle Rosett, Danny Egan, Lorna Balfour, Mckenzie Ross, Dominique Simon, Sadie Stockham, Lilly Vargyas, Alex Wilkins, Aimee Young, Alex Orvis, Zephanie Huang.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAID
I often felt like the compositions created were those of a master painter and that I was watching a living painting–which may have some truth to it. If it isn’t clear already, you should know that I really enjoyed this show, and wholeheartedly recommend that you go see it. –Alex Ungerman, Utah Theater Bloggers Association (read review)
Utterly singular. –Scott Renshaw, City Weekly (read review)
It’s a stunningly beautiful, deeply moving, and utterly unique production, boldly setting itself apart from the many holiday-themed productions going on in Utah even as it retells the oldest Christmas story of all, and This Bird of Dawning resonates powerfully with reverent familiarity even as it fills its ancient story with a sense of newness, discovery, wonder, and awe. –Davey Morrison, Utah Theater Bloggers Association (read review)
*This Bird was also recognized by the Utah Theater Bloggers Association for excellence in 2012:
Sting & Honey’s production of This Bird of Dawning Singeth All Night Longwas an incredible and utterly unique night of theater and a very meaningful part of my Christmas celebration this year. The sounds and images Javen Tanner and his company assembled to tell the story of the nativity were transfixing, and, like the best religious stories, it felt both familiar and stunningly, electrifyingly new. One reason I love theater is because of its ritualistic qualities—bringing people together in the same space to collectively participate in a cathartic event. More than any other production I saw this year, This Bird of Dawning reminded me of how theater can be a religious experience. –Davey Morrison, Utah Theater Bloggers Association
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WAITING FOR GODOT
by
Samuel Beckett
Directed by Javen Tanner
September 15th – 24th, 2011
Leona Wagner Black Box
Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center
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Hilarious, tragic and beautiful, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot has been stunning audiences the world over for nearly sixty years. Two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, faithfully await the arrival of Godot. They fill their time with clownish antics and comic bickering. They entertain passers-by. They struggle alongside the rest of us to keep the flame of hope burning.
CAST
Vladimir: David D’Agostini
Estragon: Javen Tanner
Pozzo: Roger Dunbar
Lucky: Cameron Deaver
The Boy: Cavin Huntsman
WHAT THE CRITICS SAID
Sting & Honey’s Waiting for Godot is simply beautiful. …This really is a show that Utah audiences should flock to. –Dave Mortensen, Utah Theater Bloggers Association Founder (read review)
Waiting for Godot has been taken by the theater professionals in the new Sting and Honey Company to a new level of interpretation that deserves every two hours and 15 minutes of your time. –Ben Fulton, The Salt Lake Tribune (read review)
The Sting & Honey Company’s first-ever production invites us to experience the show as a show, and to enjoy its characters qua characters. …well worth seeing. –Brandon Burt, City Weekly (read review)
The acting on all counts is superb. –Rosemarie Howard, The Deseret News (read review)
*Waiting for Godot was also recognized by the Utah Theatre Bloggers Association for excellence in 2011:
I thoroughly enjoyed Sting & Honey’s production of Waiting for Godot. –Melissa Leilani Larson
There are two shows that I could not recommend enough to other patrons: Sting & Honey’s Waiting for Godot and Pygmalion’s production of Well. –Dave Mortensen (read post)