WEST VALLEY CITY, May 8, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Vocal public support is growing for the West Valley City Performing Arts Center, which the city announced Monday will be permanently closed due the cost of structural repairs. West Valley City officials have estimated repair costs could top $7 million. On the other hand, the WVC Performing Arts Center is a beloved community resource, important to actors, designers and audience members. So a petition, “Save the West Valley Performing Arts Center,” was established Monday and drew more than 2,600 signatures in the first two days. Newly formed ..read more

May 8 (UPI & Gephardt Daily) — The Academy of Country Music has announced additional performers for the Academy of Country Music Awards. Post Malone will make his ACM Awards debut at the awards show next week, with Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani to also take the stage. Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan will also perform, along with Nate Smith and Avril Lavigne. Parker McCollum will give a special performance. The 59th annual ACM Awards will take place May 16 at The Star in Frisco, Texas, and will stream live at 8 p.m. EDT on Prime Video. A P ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 8, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — University of Utah alum Stefanie Londino has performed the role of Miss Hannigan in the current and previous North American tour of “Annie” some 430 times, she told Gephardt Daily over the phone from a tour stop in Michigan Monday. Londino has racked up quite the list of credits after graduating from the renowned U of U Actor Training Program BFA. This is her fourth national tour after playing Rosina in “A Bronx Tale” and Shaindel in “Fiddler on the Roof.” Her Off-Broadway credits include “Whiskeypants: The Mayor of Wil ..read more

May 7 (UPI) — The popular social media giant TikTok on Tuesday let it be known that the Chinese-owned company is now taking the U.S. government to federal court to stop enforcement of a recently signed law that effectively would ban the app unless it sells. “For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban,” TikTok says in court documents filed Tuesday in a federal court of appeals. They add how it will bar “every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billio ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 7, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Symphony, Smith Entertainment group and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson confirmed on Tuesday that the symphony will be included in plans for a proposed downtown sports, entertainment, culture and convention district. The statement comes after more than 19,000 people signed a change.org petition established Monday asking fans to “Save Abravanel Hall.” “With the recent announcement of a National Hockey League team coming to Utah, and the Utah State Legislature authorizing Salt Lake City to increase sales tax to help finance a hom ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 7, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Hogle Zoo is alerting its fans to a scam circulating on social media, which claims to sell discount tickets the scammers have no intention of delivering. “We have been notified that scammers are falsely advertising an anniversary discount promotion for tickets to Utah’s Hogle Zoo,” the Hogle Zoo news alert says. “The scam ad is circulating on social media and offers four zoo tickets at $9.95 to celebrate our 115-year anniversary. This offer is a scam and is not coming from Hogle Zoo.” The zoo asks fans who are uncertain about Hogle Zoo tick ..read more

May 5 (UPI) — “Lord of the Rings” and “Titanic” actor Bernard Hill has died at the age of 79. Hill’s agent Lou Coulson confirmed the sad news Sunday to the BBC and Deadline. No cause of death was disclosed. “Bernard Hill blazed a trail across the screen, and his long-lasting career filled with iconic and remarkable roles is a testament to his incredible talent,” Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, said in a statement. “From ‘Boys from the Blackstuff,’ to ‘Wolf Hall,’ ‘The Responder,’ and many more, we feel truly honoured to have worked with Bernard at the BBC. Our thoughts are with his loved ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 1, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Tickets go on sale this week for comic Jerry Seinfeld‘s August appearance in Salt Lake City. Seinfeld will present his new standup routine at 7 p.m. Aug. 8., a Thursday, at Abravanel Hall. General admission tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through ArtTix. Seinfeld, 70, is famous for his ability to turn everyday observations and minor inconveniences into accessible comedy. He played a fictionalized version of himself in the 1989-1998 ensemble comedy “Seinfeld,” which he created with Larry David. Besides his comedy tours and specials, he ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 30, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Audiences can enjoy another Utah premiere at Pioneer Theatre this spring as “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” lights up the stage. The show, written by Dave Molloy, plays from May 10-25 at the theater at 300 S. 1400 East. The 12-time Tony Award nominated musical is described as follows: “‘Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812’ is an electro-pop opera based on a scandalous slice of Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace.’ Young and impulsive, Natasha Rostova arrives in Moscow to await the return of her fiancé from ..read more

April 28 (UPI) — Zendaya‘s Challengers is the No. 1 movie in North America, earning $15 million in receipts this weekend, BoxOfficeMojo.com announced Sunday. Coming in at No. 2 is Unsung Hero with $7.8 million, followed by Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire at No. 3 with $7.2 million,   at No. 4 with $7 million and Abigail at No. 5 with $5.3 million. Rounding out the top tier are The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare at No. 6 with $3.9 million, Kung Fu Panda 4 at No. 7 with $3.6 million, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire&n ..read more