THE ESSENTIAL A&E PICKS FOR OCT 28 - NOV 3 

• Greg Baird

Wasatch Contemporary Dance: Curioser
Familiar stories can often feel completely new when artist takes a different way of looking at them. That's the way that Wasatch Contemporary Dance approaches the source material of Lewis Carroll's beloved stories about Alice and her adventures in Wonderland, as part of the new dance presentation Curioser.

As told by WCD and choreographer Jaclyn Brown, Curioser "is a work that investigates mental health issues and their physical manifestations in the body, as well as their impact on social interactions in both isolation and a group setting," Brown says in an artist statement. "Based on the Mad Hatter's question 'Have I gone mad?'... , we navigate this sensitive issue with respect to the community that it affects, and an aim to destigmatize discussion of its related topics."

"During the process of creation, it has been difficult to ... embody the various forms of mental illness in a way that deals with the elements of dance, rather than adopting a characterization we do not have experience with ourselves. ... We have made an immense effort to abstract these concepts into a piece that displays a less-than-literal interpretation."

You can catch Curioser at the Covey Center for the Arts (425 W. Center St., Provo) Oct. 28-29 at 7:30 p.m. nightly. On Oct. 29, 4-6:30 p.m., the company will offer a workshop for dancers 14-18 years old in conjunction with the production. Tickets are $17-$30; face coverings are recommended, but not required. Visit wasatchcontemporary.com for tickets and additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)

• Courtesy Photo

Plan-B Radio Hour: Sleepy Hollow
You might think that an all-audio dramatic presentation would be easier to stage in the COVID era than an in-person show—but that's not necessarily the case, according to Plan-B Theatre Company's artistic director Jerry Rapier. Sleepy Hollow, the 15th installment of the company's Radio Hour presentations on KUER, was originally planned for last year, but the limitations of the studio's recording space made it impossible.

"At that point [in 2020], no one felt safe, so we just shelved it," Rapier recalls. "There's barely enough room to socially-distance the actors in the Radio West studio proper; we have to put them at funny angles. A soundproof room is great for quality radio, but not great for COVID spacing."

Still, though a hybrid of in-person and virtual rehearsals and a lot of that creative arrangement of the team, Plan-B will get to present Matthew Ivan Bennett's original adaptation of the familiar Washington Irving story about mild-mannered Ichabod Crane (Radio Hour stalwart Jay Perry) and his encounter with the terrifying Headless Horseman. The story choice this time came from Radio West's Doug Fabrizio; "The minute he suggested it," Rapier says, "it was like, 'Yeah, let's do a real spooky Halloween show.'"

Radio Hour: Sleepy Hollow will be performed and broadcast live on Friday, Oct. 29 at 11 a.m. on KUER 90.1, with an encore broadcast at 7 p.m. The show will subsequently be available via the Radio West podcast, via the Plan-B Theatre Company app, and on the KUER website page that houses the history of the Radio Hour collaboration. (SR)

• Wikimedia Commons

Day of the Dead Celebration @ Cultural Celebration Center
Though Halloween dominates popular culture as a fall event, recent years have seen growing interest in the traditional Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead celebration, in part owing to representation in popular culture like the Pixar feature Coco. Locally, one of the biggest such celebrations annually takes place at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center (3333 S. Decker Lake Dr., West Valley City), and it returns to a live presentation in 2021 with plentiful activities marking the occasion.

The event is scheduled to include traditional Mexican dance and music performances, food and beer garden offerings, community altars and several hands-on craft activities for all ages. Attendees are also invited to participate in the La Catrina/El Catrín costume contest, evoking the figure of the well-dressed, smiling-skull-faced figure from Mexican Día de los Muertos iconography, part of a tradition dating back to artists of the early 1900s reminding people that even the wealthy landowners could not escape mortality. Gallery exhibits (running through Nov. 4) including ofrendas (pictured), traditional Mexican dresses and photography of previous Day of the Dead celebrations are also available for viewing included with admission, along with a local artists' market.

The Day of the Dead events take place Saturday, Oct. 30, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., with tickets $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under. Face masks will be required for all attendees over the age of 4, and entry will be through timed-ticket reservations. Visit culturalcelebration.org for tickets and additional information. (SR)

Jurassic Quest
In the nearly 30 years since Jurassic Park became a cinematic blockbuster, dinosaurs have only continued to grow more compelling in the public imagination. They seem like things from another world, even though they were once part of ours. And thanks to an exciting touring attraction, it can feel like that again.

Jurassic Quest is a large-scale event that feels like a touring dinosaur-themed amusement park, with walk-through exhibits showcasing the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic eras. But the real stars of the interactive event are more than 100 life-size recreations of those eras' giant historical occupants, all of them painstakingly designed and brought to moving, sound-making life. Guests get a chance to dig up fossils, experience a dinosaur play area, participate in science and art activities, get their faces painted, take rides on their favorite life-size dinosaurs and even have close-up encounters with puppeteered baby dinosaurs. There really isn't anything like it in terms of the chance for youngsters—and perhaps also their young-at-heart caretakers—to get up close and personal with the mammoth beasts that ruled the earth 60 million years ago.

Jurassic Quest makes its local stop at the Salt Palace Convention Center (100 S. West Temple) Oct. 29-31, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $18-$36, varying by basic admission vs. unlimited ride options; some premium activities will require additional charge on-site. Masks are recommended but not required; visit jurassicquest.com to purchase tickets and for additional health & safety and event information. (SR)