9 Best Performing Arts in Southwestern Utah, Utah

At this magnificent outdoor amphitheater nestled in a natural red-sandstone cove, you can watch touring Broadway musicals and concerts by noted pop artists.

Since 1962, Cedar City has been Bard-crazy, staging productions of Shakespeare's plays from mid-June through mid-October in three Southern Utah University campus theaters, the largest of which is an open-air replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The Tony award–winning festival that has featured Jeremy Irons, Ty Burrell, and Bradley Whitford over the years also presents literary seminars, backstage tours, cabarets showcasing festival actors, and an outdoor pre-show with Elizabethan performers. Try to book well in advance, as many performances sell out.

With one of the most majestic settings of any outdoor performance space in the country, this 1,500-seat amphitheater set against the towering red and tan monoliths of Zion National Park is operated by Dixie State University and presents a quirky mix of shows and concerts, from the popular Zion Canyon Music Festival in late September to Polynesian-theme dinner-and-dance shows.

Since 1980, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah has hosted this event on the second weekend of June for two days of festivities, tribal dances, and contests.

Formerly known as the Neil Simon Theatre Festival, this showcase of Broadway-style comedies enjoys a three-week run from mid-July to early August. It continues to be a popular part of Cedar City's well-respected theater scene. Performances are held at downtown's 1,000-seat Heritage Theater Center, which hosts a variety of other performances and concerts throughout the year.

Artisan booths, food, children's activities, and entertainment (including cowboy poets) are all part of this Town Square festival held Friday and Saturday before Easter. Note that this is not a pet-friendly event.

One of the longest running renaissance fairs in the country takes place in mid-July in Main Street Park and offers a variety of entertainment, including fencing demonstrations, games, crafts, and lots of food vendors.

For three days in late August, Kanab hosts cowboy poets, musicians, and character actors from Old West TV series of yesteryear. A parade, tours to Western movie sites, a dutch-oven dinner, a quilt show, performances by Native American dancers, and a film festival draw visitors from all over.