Cedar City, Utah, has become an epicenter for aficionados of the Shakespearean canon of theatrical works. Every summer, fans descend on the community for a number of world-class renditions of some of Shakespeare’s best-known dramas, tragedies and comedies.

Providing a special night for schools across the West, the Utah Shakespeare Festival announced it will tour schools to offer theater programs across the Southwest an opportunity to interact with the production cast in person.

One of their stops on this year’s tour – a Thursday, March 2, date at the Ralph Vavak Auditorium in Montezuma-Cortez High School for a production of Othello, one of Shakespeare’s best recognized tragedies. Along with the performance, which is slated to begin at 6 p.m., the performers will stay for a talk after the show to interact with students in the M-CHS theater program, as well as community members.

The Utah Shakespeare Festival, which has been running school-interactive performances and workshops for three decades, offers its “Shakespeare in the Schools” program to give students a chance to see firsthand some of the intricacies that go into producing Shakespeare’s work, including engaging with the language and onstage action.

This production of Othello will include a small cast of seven actors, traveling with technical and stage directors, and the 75-minute show aims to engage students in discussions about the play’s tragic themes.

The timing of the play sets up nicely as an introduction for theater season for both the Montezuma-Cortez Middle and High School spring performances. M-CMS Theater will present their production on March 3 and 4, while M-CHS Drama presents Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on March 10, 11, 17\, and 18.

Tickets for the Othello production, which are $10 for adults and $6 for students, are available online at mchsdrama.org.