On several occasions during a performance this week of the Utah Pageant of the Arts in American Fork a patron near the front became so impressed with an art portrayal that he shouted, “Bravo, bravol” The man was more vocal than most, but the rounds of applause with each portrayal demonstrated solid, enthusiastic appreciation for the show, presented by the Utah Pageant of Arts Board and American Fork City. The current show, being staged nightly through July 13 (except Sundays and the Fourth of July) is the seventh annual. Skill and artistry seem to improve each year. And public support has swelled with 24,000 attending last year. That total possibly will be reached or surpassed this year. The pageant’s fame is spreading. Busloads of patrons have come thus far from such points as Salt Lake, Delta, Logan, Heber, and Brigham City. Since the first two or three years, the pageant has been “in the black” financially. Proceeds above expenses are used – in keeping with the primary goal of the board – to “promote, foster, and sustain the arts” through scholarships, drama workshops, and art exhibits, with plans afoot for broadening into dance, music, and literature next year. We will not attempt here to describe the striking beauty and accuracy in portrayal of masterworks with people costumed and cast in replica roles through a unique staging technique. You’ll have to see for yourselves – and we hope you will. Some of the best-received portrayals are “The Storm,” a painting by Pierre Auguste Cot; the Dresden Collection (porcelain); “Happy Days,” a painting by Eugene Iverd; the Avard Fairbanks sculpture; “Listen to the Stars” (bronze sculpture) by Mia Krantz; “Remembering Rockwell,” colorful replicas of Norman Rockwell’s Tom Sawyer (postage stamp) and his Barbershop Quartet and Doctor and Doll illustrations. An awe-inspiring reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” provides the climax. Withal, the 1979 pageant is another triumph in artistic excellence. Everyone involved – the sponsors, directors, triple cast, script writers, narrator, stage crew, costume producers, etc. rate a genuine salute.