Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre
While the Salt Lake City theater scene largely takes a hiatus during the summer months, locations northward and southward pick up the slack with their summer repertory offerings. And while Utah Shakespeare Festival (see p. 22), the Neil Simon Festival and Tuacahn deliver the goods down Dixie way, Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre brings its annual showcase of tuneful classics to Logan for the 23rd season. Once again, the Ellen Eccles Theatre hosts a rotating quartet of main-stage productions, including some of the most beloved works in the entire canon of musical theater and opera. Founder and artistic director Michael Ballam takes the title role of Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha (pictured), including its signature song, "The Impossible Dream." Rodgers and Hammerstein's enduring love story Carousel and the charming tale of a corporate go-getter in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying fill out the slate of more contemporary works, while Puccini's tale of struggling artists, La Bohéme, offers its powerful arias. Yet part of what makes UFOMT so engaging is the lineup of offerings beyond those four principal productions. Enjoy breakfast with the artists, or come early to a show for a talkback session to learn more about the history of the shows. Catch one of the chamber-music concerts or a special offering like Bon Appétit!, a one-woman tribute to Julia Child, or a celebration of the music of Richard Rodgers. It's more than great theatrical offerings. It's truly a festival. (Scott Renshaw) Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre @ Ellen Eccles Theatre, 43 S. Main, Logan, 435-750-0300, July 8-Aug. 8, $11-$77. UtahFestival.org

THURSDAY JULY 9

Trent Call: One of One
Shon Taylor opened the God Hates Robots gallery space for May's Gallery Stroll and followed up the space's phenomenal opening with one-of-a-kind prints by a one-of-a-kind artist: Trent Call (pictured). During studies for his BFA in painting and drawing at the University of Utah more than 10 years ago, he also found himself drawn to the art department's print shop, experimenting with the print medium. Now, he has returned to collaborate with printmaking students and professor Justin Diggle. The 45 single-edition screenprints were divvied up, one per student, with the rest halved between Call and the U of U print department. The results became the One of One exhibit. Call began the works in this series without a preconceived design for the final images. Using variables of color and composition, he found his own spontaneous reactions in the midst of the printing process becoming the wildcard in this deck. You might remember Call and Camilla Taylor's Happy Accidents take on Bob Ross paintings at the same space several years ago; Call re-worked a few to improve several problematic pieces here. Some of these pieces include more than a dozen colors, and even transparent inks. Screen printing is fascinating in its seemingly endless variations in subtleties and nuances of color and texture. This collection is a look at what can happen in the hands of an innovative artist who dares to follow the immediacy of the moment. But don't delay. The show closes Friday, July 11. (Brian Staker) Trent Call: One of One @ God Hates Robots, 350 W. 300 South No. 150, 801-596-3370, through July 10, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. GodHatesRobots.com

FRIDAY JULY 10

Damn! These Heels LGBT Film Festival
June's monumental Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage has the LGBT community and allies looking for every reason to celebrate. Up next, an entire weekend of independent, documentary and foreign gay-themed films is a damned good one. Yes, please. Utah Film Center presents the 12th annual Damn! These Heels Film Festival, with the biggest, most diverse and impressive lineup yet, including Robin Williams' (pictured) final role in Boulevard as the closing-night film. Patrick Hubley, artistic director for the film center, is excited about the 22 films this year, each one representing the ever-improving quality and thematic scope of LGBT-inspired films. Although the struggle to come out is still real, especially for teens living in the Bible Belt—as portrayed in the documentary Misfits—Hubley sees the films expanding beyond themes focused solely on sexual identity. Portrait of a Serial Monogamist, for one, is an ingenious romantic comedy about a woman with hilarious relationship patterns we can all relate to—and who just happens to be a lesbian. Gender roles, another all-encompassing theme, are portrayed in the highly anticipated Sundance hit Tangerine. Sexual fluidity is examined in a beautifully shot Chilean film In the Grayscale, about a man struggling to "do right" in his marriage to a woman. And the festival opener, The New Girlfriend, is a promising French comedy that playfully explores transgender issues. Filmgoers are likely to walk away from these films with an enlightened perspective, and not just on LGBT people and culture; these unifying films bring to light the humanity in us all. (Deann Armes) Damn! These Heels Film Festival @ Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. 300 South, 385-468-1010, July 10-12, passes $50 or single tickets $7. UtahFilmCenter.org

FRIDAY JULY 10

Ririe-Woodbury Dance Co.: Invisible Gaze
In this modern age of constant digital monitoring, the concept of "gaze" is complex. Sites like YouTube raise the question of what is individual and private, and what is communal and public. If you post a video of yourself and only one other person watches it, is it still private? Or does the platform itself make it public? Utah Museum of Contemporary Art has curated the exhibit Panopticon—a metaphor designed to encapsulate the numerous forms of personal, private, social and governmental surveillance used to not only capture social behaviors but to help normalize them. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Co. has teamed up with UMOCA to develop the one-time performance Invisible Gaze, a durational piece based on Panopticon that will be performed throughout the main gallery. The dance, created by RWDC artistic director Daniel Charon, uses the show as a backdrop to explore similar issues of how the act of simply watching something can influence it, both publicly and privately. Charon likes to talk about how actually seeing dancers up close and personal—hearing exhalations, witnessing sweat glistening on their moving bodies—helps an audience to unplug from the modern digital standard. Such proximity to the dancers, as well as varying vantage points to view the movement, helps to transform a work into a far more individual experience for the viewer—once again helping to foster a conversation about how the individual gaze may differ from a communal one, ultimately affecting social norms. (Jacob Stringer) Ririe-Woodbury Dance Co.: Invisible Gaze @ Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, 20 S. West Temple, 801-328-4201, July 10, 7-9 p.m., free. UtahMOCA.org

Salt Lake Bubble Run
Every time I take my trusty car through an automated carwash and see that sudsy magnificence splattering across my windshield, I can't help but wonder what it would be like to get out of the vehicle and run around in it. For the good of car washes everywhere, this experience will be made available to participants of the Bubble Run that will be happening at the Utah State Fair Park on July 11. Starting at 8 a.m., the Bubble Run is a 5K that isn't designed so much as a race, but more as an excuse to get some exercise while getting blasted with multicolored soap suds. While runners are welcome to attempt to beat their own record times, racing is not required. Attendees are encouraged to wear white as a canvas for the colorful bubbles. The soap solution is all-natural, and the colors are washable. All ages and athletic abilities are invited to attend. (Alex Springer) Salt Lake Bubble Run @ Utah State Fair Park, 155 N. 1000 West, July 11, 8 a.m.-noon, $50. BubbleRun.com