Wasatch Theatre Company: Art and Class
In 2017, Mateo Rueda—an art teacher at Lincoln Elementary School in Cache County—showed his students prints from the school library, which included images of classical art works that featured nudity. Depressingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, outraged parents accused Rueda of exposing their children to pornography, and Rueda was subsequently fired in early 2018 (though the district issued a statement clearing him of any wrongdoing, and permitting him to reapply to positions in the district). Local playwright Matthew Ivan Bennett saw the story as one that explored the fraught intersection in a conservative state of religion, culture, gender and race, and the result is the play Art and Class.

After receiving workshops at multiple companies in 2019 and 2020, Art and Class received its first production as a radio presentation by Plan-B Theatre Company in spring 2021, when many theater companies still were not offering in-person productions. As a result, Wasatch Theatre Company's presentation—as part of its Page-to-Stage Festival—marks the first in-person production of the play by the popular Utah playwright. "Art and Class is more than a play about censorship," Wasatch Theatre Company shared in a press release. "It provides a complicated look into relationships as they strain against the culture of an area [and] themes of the ways we honor our true selves in the midst of societal and professional expectations."

Wasatch Theatre Company's production of Art and Class runs Sept. 7 – 11 at the Regent Street Black Box at the Eccles Theater (144 Regent St.). Tickets are $12 - $15; visit arttix.org for tickets and additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)

Utah State Fair
For lack of a better word, there's something pure about the idea of a fair. It evokes images of family fun, midways full of flashing lights and the smell of fried food, competitions involving animals and baked goods, and more simple pleasures. It all comes back to you when you hit the fairgrounds for the Utah State Fair.

General admission brings you a chance to experience entertainment like barnyard animal races, a rainforest adventure by Minotaur Mazes, Mobile Dairy Classroom, Sunflower Pedal Ranch, the Unicycling Unicorn and more. Entertainment stages include magician Adam the Great, comedy hypnotist Tyzen, plus dozens of local bands on the South Plaza Stage. Competitive exhibits showcase Utah's finest home arts, photography, flower arranging and fine arts, plus all the barns with animal competitions including hogs, goats, sheep and cattle. Those looking to add a little extra to their fair experience can grab tickets to the evening concerts featuring national music headliners: classic-rock legends The Steve Miller Band; '80s Rock Invasion including bands like Great White, Quiet Riot and Vixen; rap artist Yung Gravy; and country singer-songwriter Lee Brice.

The 2023 Utah State Fair runs Sept. 7 – 17 at the Utah State Fairpark (155 N. 1000 West), with operating hours varying by day. Single-day general admission tickets run $8 - $12, with all-you-can-ride wristbands adding another $25 per ticket, good opening until close on day of redemption; headliner concerts are also in addition to regular admission. Visit utahstatefair.com for tickets, schedule and additional event information. (SR)

Utah Symphony: Marvel's Black Panther in Concert
After a summer in the hills, entertaining guests of the annual Deer Valley Music Festival, the Utah Symphony returns to the acoustical wonder that is Abravenel Hall for its season opener. In this case, the series of "symphony on screen" movies offers up a blockbuster spectacle that was also one of the most critically- (and awards-) successful releases of 2018: Marvel Studios' Black Panther.

Fans had waited a long time for the introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe of T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), ruler of the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda. The story—which follows T'Challa's clash with his cousin, Eric Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), over how Wakanda should interact with other countries in a complicated world—became a phenomenon, currently ranking sixth in all-time North American box-office earnings. Yet unlike many such hits, it was also respected by critics and awards groups, including receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and winning three other Oscars, among them Best Original Score for Ludwig Göransson's music; Göransson also won a Grammy Award that same year for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. It is that score that the Utah Symphony will be playing live while you get a chance to watch the movie, and get a fresh reminder of the talent we lost upon Boseman's death from cancer in 2020.

Utah Symphony plays Marvel's Black Panther in concert at Abravanel Hall (123 W. South Temple) on Friday, Sept. 8 and Saturday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $14.50 - $98; visit utahsymphony.org for tickets and additional event information, including purchasing 2023-2024 Symphony season tickets. (SR)

Salt Lake City Greek Festival
In case you've been asleep or not part of our little City Weekly family, this publication's founder, John Saltas, is a proud member of the Utah Greek-American community. But if you think that's the only reason that we make sure to give some love and attention to the annual Salt Lake City Greek Festival, you'd be much mistaken. For nearly 50 years, local folks of Greek descent open up their doors, their hearts and their gifts for wonderful food and entertainment for one of the state's most enduring cultural-festival traditions, celebrating everything that Greeks have contributed to the state since the first immigrant arrivals ca. 1900.

If you've never visited the largest Greek festival west of the Mississippi River previously, you can expect festival grounds full of food offerings representing some of the community's most talented purveyors of dolmathes, kefethes, gyro, souvlaki, baklava and more. Entertainment stages will feature several local groups like Dionysios, Minotavros and Goya Dancers showcasing traditional Greek dances, plus music from Detroit-based traditional Greek music quartet Oneiro. You can even get a chance to learn more about Greeks in Utah by visiting the Hellenic Cultural Museum on the Cathedral's lower level, full of vintage photos and exhibits.

The Salt Lake City Greek Festival runs Sept. 8, 9, and 10 at Holy Trinity Cathedral (279 S. 300 West). Operating hours are 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5, free for children 5 and under. Visit saltlakecitygreekfestival.com to purchase tickets and for additional event information. (SR)