Last Show of Semester, 'Pericles, Prince of Tyre,' Takes Stage

Pericles, Prince of Tyre by William Shakespeare runs at 7:30 p.m. November 22-23 and December 3-6 in the Morgan Theatre at Utah State University. There is an additional matinee December 7 at 2 p.m. 

Pericles is one of the suitors of the beautiful daughter of Antiochus, King of Antioch, who has told all suitors they must decipher a riddle to earn her hand in marriage. Pericles cleverly solves the riddle, but shortly thereafter realizes he knows too much. He sets off to sea where he encounters murder, famine, shipwrecks, pirates, fatherhood and everything in between. 

Leslie Brott, head of the actor training program in the Caine College of the Arts (CCA) and director of the show, proposed ‘Pericles’ for Utah State Theatre to produce because it’s a great ensemble piece and not often a part of seasons.  
    
“Everybody in the cast has a great role,” Brott said. “All of the actors have a great opportunity to work on their verse skills and most of them play multiple parts.” 

Brott says the show visits seven locations around the Mediterranean and is based on a classical Apollonian story. 

“There will be visual cues from projection elements in the show that let us know we’re leaving one scene and moving to the next,” Brott said. “This has been particularly satisfying because a student is taking this on as his first big projection project and the set has been designed specifically for this.”  

Brott says the show has students in many crucial production roles including a movement director, fight choreographer, intimacy director, sound designer, projection designer, scenic designer and props designer.

“This is expanding the professional training students are getting to make them more versatile when they go into the field,” Brott said. “In the current climate, you can’t be just an actor. You have to be an actor who has many additional skills.” 

No one will have trouble following this storyline, Brott said. 

“It’s very episodic, which we associate with today’s television shows,” Brott said. “This show is a hero’s journey and adventurer’s story. Pericles maintains his honor while he navigates a treacherous world.”  

During the intermission, concessions will be sold to raise money for the BFA student’s capstone project: the New York Showcase.  
    
Tickets for Pericles, Prince of Tyre are $13 adults, $10 seniors/youth, $8 USU faculty/staff and free for USU students with ID. The show is rated PG-13 for mature content. For more information or tickets, contact the CCA Box Office in room L101 of the Chase Fine Arts Center on USU’s campus, call 435-797-8022, or go online to cca.usu.edu.