By Jason and Alisha Hagey
Utah Opera brings the notorious Overlook Hotel to Salt Lake City in Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s adaptation of Stephen King’s (Novelist) novel The Shining. At its heart, The Shining is a family’s slow requiem for love. Jack, Wendy, and young Danny arrive at the Overlook Hotel seeking renewal, but what they find is enclosure: a silence so complete it becomes a tomb. The snow seals them in; the hotel begins to listen, then makes its own noise. Madness is ever-present and growing with hunger.
Paul Moravec (Composer) and Mark Campbell (Librettist) resist the comfort of caricature. Their Jack is not a monster but a man straining toward decency, undone by the very forces that make him human. He possesses longing, failure, and the ache to matter. Moravec’s score renders that collapse with beautiful empathy. He provides lush harmonies decaying into dissonance, beauty splintering into dread.
As Campbell’s libretto gradually ratchets up the creepy factor, Brian Staufenbiel (Stage Director & Concept Designer) drives the story with growing tension and suspense. It helps that Moravec and Campbell chose to follow the book rather than be intimidated by Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film adaptation. Following the book means that much of the story feels fresh, and the key scenes keep the suspense, even if you are familiar with the film. Staufenbiel’s direction makes the hotel as much a living creature as its occupants. He frames every scene to slowly heighten the anticipation of what new malevolence is around the corner. Likewise, the looming threat is ubiquitous while we watch Jack teeter, toss, and finally tumble headlong into insanity.
Craig Irvin (Jack Torrance) delivers a compelling and emotionally resonant performance. Irvin manages to connect with emotional nuance and sincerity with his fellow actors. He adds a layer of realism that is both touching and believable. His vocal delivery is confident, but it is his phrasing and expression that bring the character of Jack to life. With vulnerability, Irvin interacts with the characters of Wendy and Danny, which makes his tormented fall into madness more compelling.
With a gorgeously clear soprano, Kearstin Piper Brown (Wendy Torrance) creates a loving and very likable Wendy. Her vocal control is evident in the delicate passages as she is singing Danny. Then, with remarkable steadiness and clarity, never wavering in pitch or tone, she sings through the fear, longing, and determination her character must inhabit, giving her Wendy more to do than just be scared.
Bella Grace Smith (Danny Torrance) is captivating; she is an apparition of innocence. Her glassy stillness transforms Danny’s psychic gift from a gift to a burden. Patrick Blackwell (Dick Hallorann) responds to the gloom with radiant serenity. Blackwell’s baritone – with its warm, steady, and vibrant tone – cuts through the cold. A light that flickers defiantly against the encroaching darkness is what Smith and Blackwell bring together..
Christian Sanders (Stuart Ullman / Delbert Grady) delivers a performance of exquisite menace. As Ullman, he exudes the polished civility of corporate grace. When he reemerges as Grady, that composure congeals into something far colder. His tenor, pure and glacial, cuts. In Sanders’s hands, the living and the dead share a single, immaculate mask. He embodies the Overlook itself. His transformations blur the line between host and haunting, revealing the politeness of evil in its most beguiling form. The result is chillingly elegant.
An army of architects crafts every design to enhance the psychological intensity of the story. The use of layered scrims and ghostly overlays blurs the line between reality and hallucination, drawing the audience deeper into Jack Torrance’s unraveling mind.
Jacquelyn Scott (Scenic Designer) summons the Overlook Hotel with spectral precision, as if the building itself is alive and conspiring. Walls glide and collapse, corridors unfurl, and scrims shimmer between revelation and deceit. Her layered scrims are ghostly membranes of perception that imbue the stage with an uncanny liquidity. With that in mind, Scott’s design merges skillfully with Lighting and Projections.
Through the shifting veils, Marcella Barbeau (Lighting Designer) offers glimpses into the metaphoric terror of The Shining: that the borders between sanity and madness, past and present, are perilously thin. David Murakami (Projection Designer) embellishes the narrative with the aid of these same scrims. What starts as the lobby of the hotel, or the caretaker’s quarters, quickly becomes the boiler room, or the ballroom. Murakami does some amazing heavy lifting, bringing the rich history of the Overlook Hotel to life through these immersive designs. Scott, Barbeau, and Murakami evoke eerie supernatural isolation and tension.
Alina Bokovikova (Costume Designer) has a great time. She has a playground that features historical party wear, 70’s fashions, and nods to design references from the book, movie, and television show. There is this wonderfully long, knitted vest that Wendy wears in the opening scenes. It is a delicious Easter Egg on the iconic carpet.
C. Andrew Mayer (Soundscape Designer) is instrumental in shaping the opera’s shivery atmosphere. His work envelopes the audience in a haunting sound world that blurs the line between reality and psychological terror. From subtle, unsettling hums to sudden bursts of sonic intensity, Mayer’s soundscape added a visceral layer to the production, amplifying the tension and dread that permeate the Overlook.
Utah Opera’s The Shining is an operatic triumph, a terrifying race, and a triumphant descent into madness. It claims its own hypnotic soul while paying homage to King’s haunted vision. The Overlook Hotel transforms into a sentient, predatory creature through the efforts of the actors and creative team. The end effect is a symphony of fear, love, and ruin. It serves as a reminder that the past merely waits patiently behind the next unlocked door and never really goes away. The Shining is a must-see for the Halloween season.
Performed in English with Supertitles
The performance run time is approximately 2 hours with one intermission
For Mature Audiences Only
Utah Opera Premiere
Utah Opera presents Paul Moravec & Mark Campbell’s The Shining
Based on the novel by Stephen King. Composed by Paul Moravec, and Libretto by Mark Campbell
Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre
50 W 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
10/11/2025 – 10/19/2025
Mon-Oct-13-2025: 7:00 PM
Wed-Oct-15-2025: 7:00 PM
Fri-Oct-17-2025: 7:30 PM
Sun-Oct-19-2025: 2:00 PM
$14.50-$117, discounts for students
Box Office: Monday through Friday: 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM, with extended hours for showtime
Or Call: Monday through Friday: 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
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