Barbara M. Bannon, an arts patron and critic who reviewed theatrical productions in Utah for four decades, died Thursday at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. She was 79.
Bannon was a theater critic for a number of Utah publications over the decades and began writing reviews for The Salt Lake Tribune in 2004. She also was a film aficionado and edited the Sundance Film Festival’s program guide for 26 years.
Bannon’s last review for The Tribune was in February when she gave compliments to a comedy at Salt Lake Acting Company titled “HIR.” Over the decades she gave her opinion on everything from elegant productions at the Utah Shakespeare Festival to modern classics performed by acting companies in Salt Lake City to community theater musicals.