In Mountain Meadows, an immensely satisfying play receiving an excellent premiere in a Pygmalion Theatre Company production, playwright Debora Threedy frames Juanita Brooks, the Utah historian who wrote the first comprehensive book about the darkest event in the state’s Mormon pioneer history, as a moral superhero. But even Nita (as the character is known in the play) is
Pygmalion Theatre Company continues its 2022/23 season with the world premiere of “Mountain Meadows” by Utah playwright Debora Threedy, directed by Morag Shepherd, from Feb. 17 to March 4 at the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts located at 138 West Broadway in downtown Salt Lake City. The play braids together two stories, connected by and to the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Nita, granddaughter of a perpetrator, struggles to unearth the truth of the massacre in history. Miranda discovers she is a survivor and attempts to discover the truth of her family’s involvement. Together, their stories tally the cost of refusing to face the truth. The show features Stephanie Howell as Nita, David Hanson, Matthew Ivan Bennett, Carlie Young, Tiffani DiGregorio and Daisy Blake. Plays Feb. 17 to March 4, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Masks required for the following performances: Feb. 23 and March 2, 2023. Otherwise, masks recommended, but not required.
Baum’s performance provides the biggest jolt of energy in Mother, Mother, spanning decades from precociously dramatic adolescent to melancholy senior. It’s a terrific exploration of a woman facing the impediments of her era, and becomes the fulcrum in a compelling look at mother-daughter relationships—specifically, the way even a woman who felt limited by the expectations of
