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CEDAR CITY — If William Shakespeare could see what’s happened in popular entertainment over the last 400 years, his first response might be, “Where’s my paycheck?” according to Paul Prescott of the University of Warwick in England.
Why do so many Americans love Shakespeare? That's the question a group from Great Britain has been asking across the country.
“Shakespeare Across America” is a 60-day tour of 14 Shakespeare festivals. The group of scholars and experts will travel 10,000 miles to capture how Americans feel about the bard. And they had great things to say about what's going on in Cedar City.
"It's not only one of North America’s greatest festivals, it's one of the world's greatest festivals," Prescott said.
Presenting a plaque, carved from a cedar tree in Shakespeare's garden, British scholars stopped in Cedar City to find out why the Utah Shakespeare Festival attracts 150,000 visitors every year.
We've been to a lot of festivals already, we know we're going to more and they all have a uniqueness, but they said, 'You know, we can't put our finger on it, but there is something special about this place.'
–R. Scott Phillips, executive director of the Utah Shakespeare Festival
Celebrating its 53rd season, the Utah Shakespeare Festival gets high marks for its acting, directing and design talents. And rave reviews for its open-air theater.
“This space behind me is a wonderful playing area. It’s magical for all sorts of reasons," Prescott said.
Rev. Dr. Paul Edmonson of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust says the group is gaining insight into the “pulse beat of Shakespeare across North America” for this year’s 450th anniversary of his birth.
“We've been to a lot of festivals already, we know we're going to more and they all have a uniqueness, but they said, 'You know, we can't put our finger on it, but there is something special about this place,' " said R. Scott Phillips, executive director of the Utah Shakespeare Festival.
Research from the “Shakespeare Across America” tour will eventually become a book. The Utah Shakespeare festival performances continue in Cedar City through Oct. 18.
