Salt Lake City theater stages are presenting a dark autumn of productions involving themes of witchcraft, grief, and environmental collapse. According to a notice from Artists of Utah, several local companies are staging works that explore isolation, identity, and the disappearance of the Great Salt Lake.
Pygmalion Productions is presenting Jen Silverman's Witch at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center's Leona Wagner Black Box through Oct. 17, 2026. Directed by Morag Shepherd, the play is a contemporary reworking of the 1621 Jacobean drama The Witch of Edmonton. The story follows a devil searching for souls in an English village where Elizabeth, an outcast labeled a witch, proves difficult to buy.
At the Fellowship Theater in the Gateway, MadKing Productions is staging Carrie: The Musical from Oct. 15 through Oct. 25, 2026. Directed by Chad Henwood, the production focuses on the human story of isolation and the need to belong for Carrie White. The musical is based on the novel by Stephen King with music by Michael Gore and lyrics by Dean Pitchford.
Plan-B Theatre is performing a revival of Carol Lynn Pearson's Facing East in the Rose Wagner's Studio Theatre from Oct. 22 through Nov. 8, 2026. The play explores the collision between Mormon family life and a gay son's identity. The production is currently sold out, though a waitlist is available. Jay Perry, who originated the role of Marcus, returns for this revival as the character Alex.
Salt Lake Acting Company, in collaboration with Flying Bobcat Theatrical Laboratory, is presenting Troy Deutsch's Very Like a Whale through Oct. 25, 2026. Directed by Alexandra Harbold, this co-world premiere with Cadence Theatre Company is a farcical comedy about grief and a planet in crisis, featuring the disappearing Great Salt Lake as a central element.
The theatrical season includes several notable collaborations and tributes. Plan-B Theatre's production is dedicated to Carol Lynn Pearson, who died earlier this year, as well as LGBTQ advocate Bruce Bastian and Charles Lynn Frost. Additionally, Very Like a Whale reunites Deutsch and Robert Scott Smith following their previous collaboration on Climbing With Tigers.
