Utah Shakespeare Festival costume director Jeff Lieder retires after 41 years
He will stay in Cedar City and volunteer on costumes for a 2027 production.
CEDAR CITY - Jeff Lieder, costume director at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, is retiring after 41 years with the organization, according to a Festival news post published Oct. 26.
The post says he is leaving within the next month and does not name a successor. Lieder will remain in Cedar City and plans to return as a volunteer on costumes for the Festival's 2027 production of The Two Noble Kinsmen.
Soon after arriving, I kind of fell in love with the place. — Jeff Lieder, Festival costume director
Lieder was a professor of theatre for more than 30 years and plans to keep guest teaching. The United States Institute for Theatre Technology gave him its Distinguished Achievement Award for Costume Design and Technology in 2020 and named him a fellow the next year.
In 2024 he put into use the Festival's Custom Costume Inventory, created by Randy Handley, which barcodes, photographs and catalogs costume pieces in a searchable database.
For over four decades, Jeff's aesthetic and leadership set the standard for artistic excellence in the Costume department of the Festival. — Michael Bahr, Festival executive managing director