• Simon and Schuster

Chasten Buttigieg: I Have Something to Tell You
Being the spouse of a politician is no easy task, requiring one to maintain an image of perfection and unwavering support, and dealing with the inevitable public criticisms of your partner. That job becomes even harder when you're the spouse of one of the first-ever high-profile gay politicians—including a campaign for President of the United States. But as Chasten Buttigieg—husband of former South Bend, Indiana mayor and current Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg—relates in his memoir I Have Something to Tell You, dealing with difficult situations and possible rejection was just part of growing up gay in small-town Michigan.

I Have Something to Tell You chronicles Chasten's childhood and youth trying to blend in and keep his homosexuality a secret. But it also relates his ultimate decision to come out, and the impact on his life and relationships of finally acknowledging his true self. This newly-released young adult edition of the original 2020 memoir has been entirely rewritten with new stories, along with special resources for adolescent readers, parents and teachers, as a way to help guide young people on their own challenging journeys.

Chasten Buttigieg visits the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (20 S. West Temple) on Friday, May 26 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., in conversation with Equality Utah executive director Troy Williams. This ticketed event, sponsored by The King's English Bookshop, costs $30, which includes admission for two to the event and a pre-signed hardcover copy of I Have Something to Tell You. Visit kingsenglish.com for the Eventbrite ticketing link and other event information (Scott Renshaw)

• Marco Borggreve

Utah Symphony: Mahler's Symphony No. 3
If it has seemed like a particularly long goodbye for outgoing Utah Symphony music director/conductor Thierry Fischer, that's only because—like everything related to the COVID pandemic—time got wonky over the past few years. When he originally announced in 2019 his plans to depart at the end of his contract, that target date was the end of the 2021-2022 season, but Fischer extended his tenure in light of the pandemic's impact on the search for the next music director (which is still ongoing).

This weekend marks a chance to bid farewell to Maestro Fischer with a program featuring the work of one of his favorite composers, Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 3, an evening-length, six-movement piece composed circa 1893 – 1896, and which selected in a survey of composers for BBC Music Magazine as one of the ten greatest symphonies of all time. Joining the Utah Symphony will the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, and students of the Madeleine Choir School, for a work that the program describes as "contemplating nature, humanity, spirituality and love."

Thierry Fischer conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 3 at Abravanel Hall (123 W. South Temple) on Friday, Sept. 26 and Saturday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.50 - $105. Ticket-holders are invited to attend a pre-concert chat with selected musicians and performers, held 45 minutes before performances times in the First Tier Room, and for a pre-performance lobby concert by members of the Symphony's Youth Guild. Visit utahsymphony.org to purchase tickets and for additional event information. (SR)

• Matthew Murphy

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical @ Eccles Theater
The compelling life story of music icon and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Tina Turner has been presented in multiple formats, including Turner's own 1986 autobiography I, Tina and its Oscar-nominated 1993 biopic film adaptation What's Love Got to Do With It. It took a surprisingly long time, however, for the Tina Turner story to find what intuitively feels like its natural genre: the stage musical. But at long last, in 2018, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical hit theaters first in London, then ultimately to Broadway in 2019.

It begins with the story of Tina's youth as Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee singing in the church choir. After moving to St. Louis to reunite with her mother and sister, Anna Mae first meets musician Ike Turner, eventually joining him on tour, where Ike gave her the stage name Tina Turner. Thus began a tumultuous relationship with Ike that involved physical abuse and Ike's drug addiction, and the split that ultimately led to Tina's successful 1980s solo career. Tina follows the full arc of that life, including a lineup of amazing songs including "Proud Mary," "Better Be Good to Me," "Private Dancer," "We Don't Need Another Hero," "What's Love Got to Do With It" and many more.

Broadway Across America's touring production of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical visits the Eccles Theater (131 S. Main St.) May 30 – June 4, with tickets $50 - $149. Performance dates and times vary; visit arttix.org for full calendar of performances, to purchase tickets, and for additional event information. (SR)