A rookie director creates a love letter to Louisa May Alcott, by making a 'Little Women' for the modern era

it takes some gumption, and a lot of heart, to dare to make a movie adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” and move the beloved story to the 21st century. That’s what first-time director Clare Niederpruem has done, and the resulting film (shot in summer 2017 in Utah) opens on some 600 screens nationwide this Friday.

I interviewed Niederpruem, and actors Sarah Davenport (who plays the heroine, Jo) and Lea Thompson (who plays Marmee), about updating Alcott and rediscovering the emotional core of a classic story 150 years after it was publshed.

Read my article on sltrib.com.

Pioneer Theatre starts a new season, after surviving 'Hamilton' mania at rival Eccles

After its 2016-17 season, Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Theatre Company reported an “all-time low” in ticket sales — prompted in part by the arrival of the shiny new Eccles Theater, home to touring Broadway musicals, and a new venue for the family-friendly Hale Center Theatre.

Last season, PTC bounced back, playing through the mania of “Hamilton” at the Eccles and scoring a hit with “Mamma Mia!” As the new season begins, with the Tony-winning play “Oslo,” PTC’s artistic director Karen Azenberg talks about the challenges of balancing crowd-pleasers with challenging fare.

Read the full story at sltrib.com.

Street performers add to Salt Lake City's 'urban environment'

What does it take to be a successful busker?

The ability to follow a crowd. A good "hat line," to cajole spectators into giving up their money. And for dancers on the sidewalk, comfortable shoes.

It also requires living in a city that welcomes street performance as part of the urban atmosphere. Organizers of the first SLC Busker Fest are trying to make Salt Lake City one of those cities.

Here's a look at Salt Lake City's street-performance scene, from sltrib.com.

Utah tech companies offer up some unusual perks

Would you want to work in an office that had a giant mural of Jon Snow, the tortured hero of "Game of Thrones," and George Costanza, the misanthropic nebbish from "Seinfeld," riding a tandem bike? Who knew that was even a thing?

Utah's up-and-coming tech and lifestyle companies are including perks like that in their offerings to recruit new employees. At Podium, which sells software products to help businesses improve their online presence, a newly opened office building in Lehi includes street art, a spacious cafeteria, soft-serve Dole Whip by the reception desk, and a pickleball court outside.

Read more about this trend at sltrib.com.

Robert Redford, movie icon and Utah's Sundance Kid, says he's done with acting

Robert Redford announced this week that he's going to retire from acting — with his final performance, as a career criminal in director David Lowery's "The Old Man and the Gun," arriving in theaters in late September.

Redford, who turns 82 on Aug. 18, will leave a powerful movie legacy, playing outlaws, journalists, athletes, strivers and outsiders in 46 movies. He also has directed nine films, winning an Oscar for his first directing effort, "Ordinary People." And as founder and guiding light of the Sundance Institute, he's had a hand in the revolution of independent filmmaking.

Read about Redford's announcement here, on sltrib.com. And check out this timeline of Redford's career, also on sltrib.com.