Mitch Davis is an American film director, writer, and producer noted for his 2001 film The Other Side of Heaven about the trials and adventures of a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, John H. Groberg. His movies range from intense dramas to lighthearted, family-friendly comedies. He has written seven films, directed five, and produced three. He is from Escondido, California. He attended Brigham Young University (BYU) and the University of Southern California.
Mormon cinema usually refers to films with themes relevant to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The term has also been used to refer to films that do not necessarily reflect Mormon themes but have been made by Mormon filmmakers. Films within the realm of Mormon cinema may be distinguished from institutional films produced by the LDS Church, such as Legacy and Testaments, which are made for instructional or proselyting purposes and are non-commercial. Mormon cinema is produced mainly for the purposes of entertainment and potential financial success.
Michael H. McLean is an American songwriter, playwright, author, and filmmaker based in Heber City, Utah.
Holly Knight is an American songwriter, musician, and singer. She was a member of the 1980s pop rock groups Spider and Device, and wrote or co-wrote several hit singles for other artists, such as "Rag Doll", "Obsession", "Love Is a Battlefield", "The Best", "Invincible", "Better Be Good to Me", "The Warrior", and "Change".
Music has had a long history in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from the days in Kirtland, Nauvoo, and the settlement of the West, to the present day. In the early days of the Church, stripped-down Latter-Day Saint folk music, which could be sung without accompaniment due to the lack of instruments in Utah, was popular. In the 19th century, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was created and began touring, while musicians began writing devotional and praise music with a Latter-Day Saint influence, paralleling the success of Christian Contemporary Music. Several organizations have existed and do exist to promote these artists, such as Deseret Book and the now-defunct Faith-centered Music Association. Starting in the late 20th century and to the present day, Latter-Day Saints have been increasingly involved in modern popular music in America and elsewhere in the World.
Alexis King de Azevedo is an American composer, songwriter, and pianist known primarily for his film scores and his work on The Swan Princess of which one of his songs was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. De Azevedo, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also produced the music for the LDS musical Saturday's Warrior.
Janice Kapp Perry is an American composer, songwriter, and author. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she has written over 3,000 songs, some of which appeared in the church's official hymnal, and in the Children's Songbook. Some of her most well-known songs include "I Love to See the Temple" and "A Child's Prayer."
LeConte Stewart was a Latter-day Saint artist primarily known for his landscapes of rural Utah. His media included oils, watercolors, pastel and charcoal, as well as etchings, linocuts, and lithographs. His home/studio in Kaysville, Utah is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The basic beliefs and traditions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a cultural impact that distinguishes church members, practices and activities. The culture is geographically concentrated in the Mormon Corridor in the United States, and is present to a lesser extent in many places of the world where Latter-day Saints live.
Jerome Eugene Lawson was an American singer, producer, musical arranger and performer, best known as the original lead singer of the Persuasions.
Julie May Wilson was an American singer and actress widely regarded as "the queen of cabaret". She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1989 for her performance in Legs Diamond.
My Turn on Earth is a Latter Day Saints musical written by Carol Lynn Pearson with music by Lex de Azevedo. The show premiered in 1977 and became widely popular, ranking with the other popular musical Saturday's Warrior. A VHS version of a recorded stage production was released in 1986 in memory of Fay. The first DVD version was distributed worldwide through the Deseret Book Company in June 2008.
Rachel Coleman is an American producer, singer, songwriter, and actress. With her sister Emilie de Azevedo Brown, she created the Signing Time! video series to teach children basic American Sign Language (ASL), which was broadcast on public television. She produces, directs, and stars in the series, and handles much of its operations as co-founder of Two Little Hands Productions.
Erik Orton is a New York-based writer and theatre producer. His father was an Air Force officer and his mother a Finnish immigrant. He was raised primarily in West Germany and the suburbs of Washington D.C. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1998 with a degree in Media Music. He and his wife, Emily Orton, have five children together.
Alex Boyé is a British-American singer, dancer, and actor. He was named the "2017 Rising Artist of the Year" in a contest sponsored by Pepsi and Hard Rock Cafe.
The Provo Tabernacle was a tabernacle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1898 to 2010 in downtown Provo, Utah, United States. It was a historic icon of Provo and had been home to many religious and cultural events. All but the outer walls of the building were destroyed by fire in December 2010. The LDS Church preserved the remaining outer walls and built a new foundation and interior as part of the Provo City Center Temple, completed in 2016.
The Last Smoker in America is a four-character, one-act musical comedy featuring book and lyrics by Bill Russell and music by Peter Melnick. The Last Smoker in America opened Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre in 2012, after developmental readings in 2005 at the Rubicon Theatre Company, a workshop production at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2009, and having its world premiere at Contemporary American Theatre Company (CATCO), Columbus, Ohio in 2010.
Soft Samba is a 1964 album by jazz arranger and vibraphonist Gary McFarland. A follow-up album, Soft Samba Strings, was released in 1966.
Transgender people and other gender minorities currently face membership restrictions in access to priesthood and temple rites in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints —Mormonism's largest denomination. Church leaders have taught gender roles as an important part of their doctrine since its founding. Only recently have they begun directly addressing gender diversity and the experiences of transgender, non-binary, intersex, and other gender minorities whose gender identity and expression differ from the cisgender majority.
Melissa Leilani Larson is an American writer and playwright based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mormon literature critic Michael Austin described her as "one of the true rising stars of Mormon literature." Producer Jeremy Long described her as the "best playwright in Utah." Her plays commonly feature women in leading roles, and some center around the faith of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
