Urinetown The Musical at Hopebox Theatre

I went to the national tour of Urinetown The Musical when it came through SLC in 2004 but I haven't seen it since so I was very excited for a production at the Hopebox Theatre last night. I loved it and I think it is my new favorite show at this theatre. In a dystopian future in which a 20-year drought has caused a severe water shortage, consumption is controlled by a ban on private toilets. The Urine Good Company, under the control of the megalomaniac Caldwell B. Cladwell (Jim Dale), owns all public toilets and charges an exorbitant fee to use them. Anyone who breaks the law by peeing for free is sent by Officer Lockstock (Dylan Watson) and Officer Barrel (Kaltin Kirby) to the mysterious "Urinetown" from which no one ever returns. After Cladwell bribes Senator Fipp (Jen Morgan) to vote for an increase in fees, Bobby Strong (Sean Bishop), the assistant custodian of Amenity #9 in the poorest part of town, decides to take control from the warden Penelope Pennywise (Elizabeth Rossander) and eventually stages a rebellion. Bobby takes Cladwell's daughter Hope (Allison Hogge) hostage and, when this results in tragedy, she leads the people to victory and sends her father to "Urinetown" with unexpected consequences. This is a hilariously self-aware spoof of musical theatre and I especially loved it every time Officer Lockstock and Little Sally (Morgan Richards) break the fourth wall to describe all of the tropes that are being used in the show. My favorites were the use of stock characters (the omniscient narrator, the innocent ingenue, the plucky hero, the melodramatic villain, etc.) as well as the amusing names (I laughed out loud every time I heard lock, stock, and barrel). However, in addition to the humor, this show is also uncomfortably thought-provoking with themes of diminishing resources, corporate greed, late stage capitalism, corruption, and social inequality. These themes are particularly compelling in a state facing a severe drought with leaders who seem to be more concerned with their own greed than the public good. As uneasy as the message made me feel about the current state of the world, I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this production. The cast is one of the best I have seen at this theatre. The leads, Bishop and Hogge, have beautiful voices and give lovely performances that balance the satire but I think Watson steals the show with his over-the-top facial expressions and campy delivery. The ensemble is also very strong and the standout for me was Jack Dwyer because of his exaggerated physicality. The choreography is incredibly dynamic (my favorite numbers were "Too Much Exposition," "Cop Song," "Why Did I Listen to That Man," and "We're Not Sorry" because they feature the entire cast and utilize the small space very well), the minimal sets evoke a bleak and dystopian world, and the costumes do a great job in differentiating the economic classes. As with every production at the Hopebox Theatre, the proceeds are going to help someone in the community battling cancer and the recipient for this show is Carla Avis (go here to learn about her). I highly recommend getting a ticket because, not only is this show outstanding, it is for a good cause (go here for tickets). Act quickly because there are only three performances left!

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass

Last night I went to my first Screen Unseen at AMC (this features a movie that hasn't been released yet with the title kept secret until showtime) and I was really excited when it was revealed to be Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass because it was on my short list of movies to see at Sundance this year (I eventually opted for The Weight because I thought my nephew would enjoy that more).  It is a hilariously over-the-top spoof of The Wizard of Oz and I had so much fun watching it with a big crowd.  Gail Daughtry (Zoey Deutch) is a mild-mannered hairdresser living in Kansas who is engaged to her high school sweetheart Tom (Michael Cassidy).  Their relationship is put in jeopardy when Tom sleeps with Jennifer Aniston (herself), his "celebrity sex pass," because Gail thought it was a joke when she agreed to their arrangement.  She decides the only way to save their relationship is to sleep with Jom Hamm (himself), her "celebrity sex pass."  Her loyal best friend Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) is going to Los Angeles for a hairdressing convention and she decides to go with him to find Hamm.  They are eventually joined by Caleb (Ben Wang), a low-level employee at Hamm's talent agency, Vincent (Ken Marino), a paparazzo obsessed with getting a photo of Hamm, and John Slattery (himself), a down and out actor who once worked with Hamm on Mad Men, as they search the city but they are pursued by the wicked mob boss Ludovica (Sabrina Impacciatore) and her henchmen Sergio (Joe Lo Truglio) and Niccolo (Mather Zickel) who want the briefcase, that was inadvertently switched with Gail's at the airport, back.  The group eventually defeats Ludovica but, when they finally find Hamm, Gail is disappointed to discover that he is just an ordinary man.  She convinces him to give everyone what they want but will she return to Kansas to marry Tom?  The many references to The Wizard of Oz are highly amusing (pay very close attention) and I especially loved the use of ruby slippers and a hot air balloon.  This also pokes fun at celebrity culture and there a quite a few satirical celebrity cameos (my favorites are Henry Winkler, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Elizabeth Perkins).  Finally, the entire cast commits fully to both the zany tone as well as the physical comedy (Slattery is a hoot) and my audience laughed out loud the whole time.  I thoroughly enjoyed this madcap comedy and I highly recommend it to fans of the genre.

Xanadu at West Valley Arts

I love the movie Xanadu! It is really cheesy when I watch it now but back in the day it was one of my favorites and I have seen it too many times to count (I'm sure it is an embarrassingly large number). I had no idea that a musical adaptation existed but, as soon as I found out that West Valley Arts was performing it, I got a ticket immediately! I went to see it last night and it was way too much fun! Sonny Malone (Zac Freeman) is a struggling artist dissatisfied with the chalk mural he is creating of the Nine Muses on a sidewalk in Venice Beach. When he wants to give up, the Muses come to life and Clio (Ariana Bagley) decides to give him some inspiration. She introduces herself as Kira and disguises herself with roller skates, leg warmers, and an Australian accent (it is a hilariously self-aware parody of the movie). Kira inspires Sonny to create a roller disco that incorporates all of the arts and they find an abandoned theater called Xanadu owned by Danny Maguire (Ricky Parkinson). He is planning to demolish the theater but changes his mind when he sees Kira and remembers Kitty, the woman who inspired him to build Xanadu in the 1940s (Kitty was Clio in disguise). Danny and Sonny form a partnership to restore Xanadu but mayhem ensues when two of Clio's sisters, Melpomene (McKenna Kay Jensen) and Calliope (Janessa Zech), become jealous of her success with Sonny and curse her to fall in love with him which is forbidden by Zeus. I love all of the music in this show (the music by ELO is why I love the movie so much) and I had to try really hard not to sing along with every song (my apologies to everyone sitting around me because I'm not sure that I was entirely successful). I especially loved the performances of "I'm Alive," "Magic," "Suddenly," "All Over the World," "The Fall," and, of course, "Xanadu." However, my favorite was "Evil Woman" (an ELO song that is not in the movie) as Melpomene and Calliope plot against Clio because Jensen and Zech not only have incredible voices but they also have perfect comedic timing. They are so entertaining to watch! My favorite scene in the movie is when Danny, who sees a big band with a trio of female vocalists, and Sonny, who envisions a rock band with synthesizers, describe what Xanadu could be and then their ideas merge to create something epic in the song "Dancin'." The staging of this is fantastic and I think I was giggling the whole time! I also liked the staging for "Whenever You're Away from Me" as Danny reminisces about his time with Kitty because she dances with a younger and older version of Danny. All of the choreography featuring roller skating is absolutely amazing, especially when everyone skates during "Xanadu," and I was so impressed with the entire cast. Freeman and Bagley give incredibly campy performances that had the audience laughing and cheering (I loved it whenever Bagley exaggerated the Australian accent) and the 1980s aesthetic used in the set and costumes (so much neon) is a lot of fun. I had the best time watching this show but, unfortunately, last night was the final performance. Go here for the rest of the season at West Valley Arts (I'm especially excited for Newsies).

Supergirl

I loved James Gunn's reboot of Superman so I was really looking forward to Supergirl, the next installment in the DC Universe.  I went to see it last night with my nephew and, unfortunately, I was really disappointed.  Zor-El (David Krumholtz) and his wife Alura (Emily Beecham) manage to create a force field around Argo City which separates it from the planet Krypton before the core explodes.  Their daughter Kara is born is born eight years later but, when they realize that everyone in Argo City is dying from radiation poisoning, they decide to send her to Earth to be with their nephew Kal-El (David Corenswet).  The teenage Kara (Molly Alcock) is incredibly traumatized by the death of her parents and everyone she knew in Argo City so she frequently leaves the yellow sun of Earth, which gives her power, for planets with a red sun like Krypton so she can get drunk enough to forget her past.  On one such planet she is approached by Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley) who wants her help to locate Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), the leader of the Brigands who killed her family, to exact revenge but she refuses.  However, Kara changes her mind after Krem shoots her dog Krypto with a poison dart and she agrees to help Ruthye in order to get the antidote.  They travel from planet to planet and interact with various creatures in their search until, with the help of the bounty hunter Lobo (Jason Momoa), they have an epic confrontation with Krem to free a group of women who have been trafficked by the Brigands but Kara ultimately convinces Ruthye that vengeance is not the answer.  The source material is incredibly dark and I really wish that the filmmakers had committed to the darker tone but there are lots of attempts to make the characters more humorous and quirky, especially Krem and Lobo (who does not really impact the plot much), and the humor didn't really land for me (I didn't hear anyone in my audience laughing).  The action sequences and the visual effects are surprisingly dull because all of the planets look the same with a dark and washed out color grading (I started to get really bored because the battles become so monotonous).  There are some emotional moments between Kara and Ruthye but they are not as moving as they could have been because Ridley gives such a stilted performance (I found her annoying).  However, Alcock is great in the role (her performance is the best part of the movie) because she balances her character's strength and vulnerability very effectively.  I hope that she will be able to continue playing Kara in a better movie in the DCU but I don't recommend this one.

Leviticus

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was Leviticus and I absolutely loved it!  Arlene Reid (Mia Wasikowska) moves with her son Naim (Joe Bird) to an extremely conservative Christian community in Victoria, Australia.  She finds comfort but he struggles with the repressive environment until he begins a secret relationship with Ryan Whelan (Stacy Clausen).  However, Naim sees Ryan kissing the pastor's son Hunter (Jeremy Blewitt) and, because he is jealous, he outs them to the pastor.  A deliverance healer is called in to perform a ritual on the two of them to cleanse them of their homosexual desires but this summons an invisible entity that stalks them in the form of the one they love.  A malevolent being that looks Naim attacks Ryan and another one that looks Ryan kills Hunter.  When Arlene learns about Naim's feelings for Ryan, she takes him to the deliverance healer to perform the same ritual on him and a spirit that looks like Ryan attacks him.  Naim and Ryan eventually discover that the entity appears whenever they are alone and it becomes difficult for them to distinguish between perception and reality.  In addition to the physical threat, this is a psychological nightmare for both Naim and Ryan because the one person who makes them feel less alone is now the person they fear the most when they are alone.  Bird and Clausen have tremendous chemistry and I love the way they portray the romance that develops between their characters because this makes what happens to them absolutely heartbreaking as well as terrifying.  Bird, especially, is devastating during the scenes in which he wants so desperately to believe that the person in front of him is actually Ryan.  There is a tension whenever Naim and Ryan are on screen together that is palpable as a result.  This has a lot to say about the damage caused by homophobia, religious extremism, and conversion therapy but I was really struck by the theme of fear and how it is weaponized.  The shapeshifter wants Naim and Ryan to fear each other so that they will repress who they really are but both of them eventually realize that love is more powerful than fear.  I was incredibly moved by this and highly recommend it!