Fred C. Adams, Utah Shakespeare Festival founder, dies at age 89

Southern Nevadans might not have known Fred C. Adams by name, but they certainly knew of his legacy with every trip they took to Cedar City, Utah, to catch a Utah Shakespeare Festival production.

Adams, the festival’s founder, died early Thursday in Cedar City, the festival announced. He was 89.

He founded the festival in 1961 with his wife, Barbara Gaddie Adams. During its 1962 inaugural season, the festival had a budget of $1,000, with 3,000 paid admissions. Today it has a budget of more than $8 million and annual attendance of about 100,000. Its honors include a Regional Theatre Tony Award and an Emmy Award.

For many Southern Nevadans, a trip to Cedar City to catch a production or two long has been an annual event. Among that audience of road-tripping theater fans are members of Vegas PBS, which each year organizes bus trips to the festival.

Tom Axtell, the station’s general manager, said the trips are a natural fit, “because the people who watch our programs enjoy going to live performances, whether at The Smith Center or Utah.”

Axtell also served on the festival’s board for a few years. “Although Utah by far has the most people attending, the second-biggest percentage is from Las Vegas,” he said. “And it’s a very loyal group of people who enjoy going up there.”

Adams “had a unique creative flair, but he also had remarkable business acumen,” Axtell said, creating a theater festival “in a town that doesn’t have a big population center around it. It’s really an accomplishment and a lifetime achievement.”

Under Adams’ leadership, “they created a real jewel in the middle of Utah that has received national recognition for the quality of their work,” Axtell said.

“It’s a sad day,” said Myron Martin, president and CEO of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

Though 170 miles away, the festival “created a demand for theater in our region,” Martin said. “By that, I mean that not only do we Las Vegans travel to Utah, but a number of Smith Center regulars are people who drive down from St. George and Cedar City to see plays and musicals at The Smith Center. I think it’s fair to attribute that to the Utah Shakespeare Festival.”

“The Smith Center has gotten credit for being the rising tide that lifts all boats,” Martin said, “but I think the same could be said of the Utah Shakespeare Festival.”

Adams “had a great heart,” said Lew Haslam, manager of the performing arts center at the College of Southern Nevada, who for 17 years was the festival’s director of facilities and technology.

Adams’ vision was to “share Shakespeare with the world,” Haslam said. “He wanted to share well-done entertainment and education with people, and he just absolutely succeeded.”

“He was a great friend and a great mentor.”

Adams retired from his leadership role in the festival in 2005, but he continued to direct, act and fundraise for the organization, the festival said. He also worked at Southern Utah University as a professor of theater from 1959 to 1997 and was named professor emeritus when he retired from teaching.

A veteran of the U.S. Army, he was stationed in Washington, D.C., from 1952 to 1954 during the Korean War.

The festival did not provide further details about Adams’ death. His family has not announced funeral plans, but the festival said Adams wished that, in lieu of flowers, people make donations to the festival.

Contact John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280. Follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter. Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.