Ben-Hur

There are just some movies that demand to be seen on the big screen and, in my opinion, Ben-Hur is one of them (I also put Lawrence of Arabia in this category because I always fall asleep when I watch it at home but when I see it on the big screen I am riveted). I was able to see this epic movie as it was meant to be seen yesterday afternoon as part of the Fathom's Big Screen Classics series and it was absolutely exhilarating!  Messala (Stephen Boyd) returns home to Jerusalem as the new Roman tribune and has a joyous reunion with his childhood friend Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), a wealthy and influential prince.  Messala asks Judah to help quell the rebellion that is brewing in Jerusalem but they soon quarrel when Judah refuses to spy on his people.  During a military parade, a tile falls from Judah's house injuring the new governor and Judah, his mother Miriam (Martha Scott), and his sister Tirzah (Cathy Donnell) are arrested. Wanting to curry favor with the governor, Messala condemns him as a galley slave and imprisons his family so Judah vows to return and exact vengeance.  After several years, a Roman consul named Quitus Arrius (Jack Hawkins) is assigned to Judah's ship and notices his will to live.  Arrius has Judah's chains unlocked just before a battle which allows him to escape from the sinking ship as well as rescue him.  In gratitude, Arrius takes Judah to Rome where he learns to drive a chariot and soon becomes a champion.  Eventually, Judah returns to Jerusalem and challenges Messala to an epic chariot race.  A parallel story involves the birth, ministry, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ and two brief but meaningful encounters between them allow Judah to forgive the Romans for what they have done to him and his family.  This movie is a spectacle in every sense of the word with a scope and grandeur that makes seeing it on the big screen an incredible experience!  It had the biggest budget of any movie up to that point with thousands of extras, horses, and costumes and a crew of 200 who built over 300 sets.  It was the highest grossing movie of 1959 and won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for William Wyler, and Best Actor for Charlton Heston.  I think the message is a bit heavy-handed and the final 30 minutes are strangely anticlimactic, despite the subject matter, after the build-up to the chariot race.  However, the runtime is worth it for this race alone because it is one of the most intense action sequences ever filmed (and it definitely holds up after more than 60 years).  I also really enjoyed the naval battle and Judah's subsequent escape from the sinking ship as well as the battle of wills between Judah and Arrius when the latter orders the slaves to row faster and faster.  I had a lot of fun seeing this with a big crowd of cinephiles and I highly recommend getting a ticket while it is back in theaters (go here for the remaining dates and times).

Father of the Bride at Parker Theatre

I love the 1950 movie Father of the Bride starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor (I also love the 1991 remake with Steve Martin and Kimberly Williams) so I was really looking forward to Caroline Francke's stage adaptation of Edward Streeter's novel (which inspired the movie) at Parker Theatre last night. It is incredibly funny and heartwarming! Kay Banks (Emma Widfeldt) turns her household upside down when she casually announces to her family, including her father Stanley (Michael Hohl), her mother Ellie (Hillary McChesney), and her brothers Ben (Truman Schipper) and Tommy (Jago Parker), that she is engaged to Buckley Dunstan (Brock Harris). Kay says that she wants a small wedding but it soon spirals out of control and Buckley is plagued with nerves and Stanley is stressed by the cost (and by the thought of losing his daughter). Mayhem ensues until Kay is able to calm Buckley down and convince her father that she is no longer a child and is ready to leave the nest. I was laughing out loud through the whole show, especially in a scene in which Stanley's secretary Miss Bellamy (Catherine Bohman) dramatically resigns in frustration when every member of the family secretly adds to the guest list and a scene in which the eccentric and flamboyant caterer Mr. Missoula (Lorin Bruns) tries to get Stanley to pick a wedding cake. I also loved the physical comedy as the caterers (Bruns and Brian Douros), florist (Nathan Chelf), dressmaker (Juliet Wendels), and furniture movers (Mitchell Wardell and Tara Berrett) cause pandemonium in the Banks house as the maid Delilah (Luana Parkes) tries to clean and the family tries to get ready one hour before the wedding. The entire cast does a great job but Hohl really carries the show! He is hilariously overwrought as the size and cost of the wedding keep increasing but he is also gives an emotional performance as an overprotective father struggling to adapt to his daughter's transition to adulthood (the scene before they leave for the wedding is especially poignant). All of the action takes place in one location, the Banks's living and dining room, and I was really impressed by the attention to detail with glimpses of other rooms as characters exit to the wings. I also loved the addition of props as the house becomes inundated by wedding preparations and presents. The period costumes are gorgeous (I really like the 1950s silhouette), particularly the tuxedos and dresses for the wedding, and there is a fun detail involving Kay's shoes so pay attention! This is a delightful show and fans of the movies are sure to love it (go here for tickets). Performances are on Fridays and Saturdays through May 2.

Hadestown at the Eccles

I love the musical Hadestown so, even though I just saw the Teen Edition two weeks ago, I was thrilled to be able to see the Broadway touring production again last night at the Eccles. I really enjoyed some of the subtle changes in characterization from the original. Orpheus (Jose Contreras) is a poor boy with the gift of music who dreams of the world as it could be. Eurydice (Hawa Kamara) is a hungry girl who has only experienced the world as it is. She falls in love with Orpheus when he promises her a song that will bring back spring after Hades (Nickolaus Colon) calls Persephone (Namisa Mdlalose Bizana) back to him early. But times are hard and Eurydice is lured to the underworld by Hades in exchange for food. Orpheus travels there to rescue her when she is trapped in a cycle of endless work and desperation and Hades allows him to leave with her after hearing his song but the Fates (Gia Keddy, Miriam Navarrette, and Jayna Westcoatt) intervene and Orpheus is ultimately plagued by doubt. However, Hermes (Rudy Foster) reminds us that, even though the song is a sad one, we must keep singing it if we want to change the outcome. The music in this show is amazing and the performances from this cast definitely do it justice! Foster is quite the character as Hermes and I laughed out loud every time he milked the crowd in "Road to Hell" and "Way Down Hadestown." Bizana is a hoot as Persephone and she really leans into the physical comedy in "Livin' It Up On Top" and "Our Lady of the Underground" but she can really sing the blues and I loved her emotional performance of "How Long?" with Colon. He has an amazing baritone voice and that, combined with an imposing physicality, makes his Hades very menacing. His phrasing is a little bit different and he uses a reverb in "Why We Build the Wall" that makes it even more intimidating (I always get goosebumps in this song). Keddy, Navarrette, and Wescoatt reminded me of a gospel choir because their vocals are so powerful in "When the Chips Are Down," "Nothing Changes," and "Word to the Wise." The way they harmonize in "Doubt Comes In" gave me chills! Contreras has a beautiful voice and I actually liked it more than Reeve Carney's (he originated the role on Broadway). His renditions of "If It's True" and "Epic III" brought tears to my eyes! I loved every performance but Kamara's was my favorite. Her Eurydice is incredibly defiant in "Any Way the Wind Blows" (this is my favorite song in the show and I loved this interpretation) and guarded in "Come Home With Me" and "Wedding Song" so when she shows vulnerability in "Flowers" (another favorite song) it is absolutely devastating. The choreography and staging are iconic, especially for "Chant," because the way the Workers Chorus (Jonice Bernard, Bryan Chan, Ryaan Farhadi, Erin McMillen, and Joe Rumi) is incorporated mimics a factory assembly line, and "Wait For Me (Reprise)," because the journey through the underworld is conveyed through dramatic lighting (I have seen this performed with large ensembles lately and I was surprised by how moving I found the simpler choreography). This musical is up there with Hamilton and Les Miserables for me so it was an incredible experience to see it again and I highly recommend it! There are five performance left in the run at the Eccles Theatre (go here for tickets).

Mammoth vs. Oilers

When I was a teenager I loved the Edmonton Oilers (I was a huge fan of Wayne Gretzky) and I used to watch every game with my dad.  I still enjoy following them because Connor McDavid is such a great player so I specifically chose to see the Utah Mammoth play them last night with my sister.  I was very excited for this game and it was so much fun when Alex Kerfoot scored in the middle of the first period on a really pretty drop pass from Sean Durzi!  The Oilers tied it up with a goal from Jack Roslovic to end the period 1-1.  Then the second period was absolutely wild!  Zach Hyman took a high sticking penalty to put the Mammoth on the power play.  Matthew Savoie scored a short-handed goal for Edmonton but then 35 seconds later Lawson Crouse scored a power play goal to tie it up.  It was so exciting and I loved seeing our new player MacKenzie Weegar get the assist.  Before the crowd had even taken their seats again after the celebration, Connor McDavid scored eight seconds later and I have to admit that it was a pretty goal (it was his 400th career goal).  Roslovic got his second goal of the game to end the second period up 4-2. Karel Vejmelka was replaced by Vitek Vanecek in goal to start the third period and he stopped all ten shots from the Oilers but it was really frustrating to watch the Mammoth because they lost all momentum.  I thought they had some good chances but they were not aggressive enough on offense and were often very sloppy in the neutral zone.  Utah pulled Vanecek in the final minutes and McDavid got the empty-netter to give Edmonton the 5-2 win.  It was a disappointing loss because we are in the hunt for a playoff spot (Utah is currently three points ahead of Nashville) but I had a lot of fun with my sister.  I still can hardly believe that SLC has an NHL team!

Finding Neverland at CPT

I love the musical Finding Neverland (both the Broadway and Broadway touring productions rendered me a sobbing mess) so, after being a bit underwhelmed by the version I saw at HCT, I was really eager to see what CPT would do with it. I went last night with both of my sisters and my brother-in-law (his niece plays Mary) and I absolutely loved it! JM Barrie (Ben Lowell) is caught between a world inhabited by his social climbing wife Mary (Jaycee Harris) who wants him to behave like a gentleman and his exasperated producer Charles Frohman (Blaine Hickman) who wants him to write another hit play and the world of his imagination. When he meets Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Madeleine Pew) and her sons George (Xander Wardle), Jack (Daniel Bush), Peter (Hunter Jones), and Michael (Will Hickman) in Kensington Garden, he is able to indulge his imagination. He eventually writes the play Peter Pan as a way to help the boys deal with their grief over the death of their father. I love the music in this show and both Lowell and Pew perform my favorite songs, "My Imagination," "All That Matters," "Neverland," and "What You Mean to Me," so beautifully that I had goosebumps during all of them. I had tears in my eyes when Lowell and Jones sing "When Your Feet Don't Touch the Ground" because it is so touching and Jones has such a lovely voice (I was impressed by all four of the boys, especially in the song "We're All Made of Stars"). Even though this show is extremely emotional, there is quite a bit of comic relief and the choreography for "We Own the Night," "The World Is Upside Down," and "Play" is a lot of fun (I love the performers in the acting troupe because they are all over the top, especially Andrew Stone when he is left dangling in the air and Justin Lee when he learns that he is playing a dog). The staging is incredible in "Circus of Your Mind" as Barrie is trapped going through rotating doors belonging to Mary, Frohman, and Sylvia's mother Mrs. DuMaurier (Kassie Winkler) and in "Stronger" because the pirate ship in Barrie's imagination (shown with projections) is actually brought to life on stage but I was most impressed by the penultimate scene with Sylvia in the nursery because it is magical (it replicates the stage craft from the Broadway production and it gave me chills). The period costumes are beautiful and I love that the set is swathed in white curtains upon which projections appear because it emphasizes using the imagination. I loved everything about this production (it is now one of my favorites from CPT) and I highly encourage getting a ticket (go here). It runs on the Mountain America Main Stage through April 23.

Note:  It is always fun to see Trent's niece Jaycee on stage!  I was especially impressed by her dog wrangling skills when Mary takes Porthos (Indie Blue, making her stage debut) for a walk in Kensington Garden.