Summer of Outdoor Performances

In my opinion there is nothing better than sitting outside under the stars on a warm summer evening listening to music or watching a performance.  It is my favorite thing to do in the summer and I really missed having the opportunity last summer.  This year I was determined to visit all of my favorite outdoor performing arts venues and I even made a list!  I can happily report that I officially crossed off all but one venue on my list (I had planned on going to a concert at the Gallivan Plaza, the final venue on my list, last night but it was cold and raining so I decided not to).  Now that it is officially fall, I thought it would be fun to recap all of my summer adventures.

Murray Park Amphitheater

My sister Marilyn and I took our Mom to see The Little Mermaid at the Murray Park Amphitheater and all three of us really enjoyed this fun and quirky production.  My Mom had a smile on her face the entire time!  I loved all of the costumes for the sea creatures (especially the jelly fish) and Ursula was an absolute hoot because she was characterized as an over-the-top drag queen!

Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre

My first road trip of 2021 was a weekend in Cedar City for the Utah Shakespeare Festival and it was such a great experience.  I was able to see two plays in the outdoor Engelstad Theatre (I also saw a marvelous production of Ragtime in the indoor Randall L. Jones Theatre) and I thoroughly enjoyed them both but I think Richard III is the highlight of the summer!  It is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays and the lead actor was brilliant in the role!

Waterfall Amphitheatre at Thanksgiving Point

The Utah Symphony performs in various outdoor venues during the summer and the annual Concert at the Waterfall is always a good time!  The concert this year featured lots of patriotic favorites and culminated in a spectacular version of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, which is incredibly stirring, and fireworks!

Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater at Deer Valley

 

This year I was able to attend two concerts at Deer Valley!  I love being in the mountains (where it is usually much cooler than in the valley) and eating a picnic while waiting for the show to start.  My first concert was Kristin Chenoweth and it was so much fun because she is such a dynamic performer!  The highlights were "Popular" from Wicked and one of the best performances of "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables that I have ever heard.

My second concert at Deer Valley featured the Utah Symphony and guest conductor Enrico Lopez-Yanez (he is so charming and engaging) performing music from the Harry Potter movies.  I really enjoy these movies so it was a lot of fun to hear selections from the different scores performed live.  My favorite pieces were "Double Trouble" from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (with vocalists from each house) and "Courtyard Apocalypse" from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.

Eccles Outdoor Stage at Sundance

This year the Summer Theatre production at the Sundance Mountain Resort (in conjunction with the UVU Theatre Department) was Footloose.  This is not my favorite musical but I enjoyed many aspects of the show and I definitely loved being up in the mountains because of the fresh air, the cooler temperature, and the smell of pine!

Sandy Amphitheater

I am a huge fan of Queen so I was really excited to see The Magic of Queen (a great tribute band) at the Sandy Amphitheater.  Lead singer Brady Dolyniuk sounded a lot like Freddie Mercury (but he didn't try to imitate him) so it was a lot of fun to hear all of Queen's biggest hits performed live.  Of course, my favorite was an epic rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Tuacahn Amphitheatre

I was able to go on another quick road trip to Southern Utah to see Beauty and the Beast at Tuachan.  I used to see at least one show at Tuacahn every summer but I hadn't been for a long time.  It felt good to be back seeing a show with the beautiful red rock as a backdrop.  This was an absolutely magical production of Beauty and the Beast (with lots of unexpected special effects) and it made me feel like I was seeing it for the first time!

Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre

I always love attending concerts at Red Butte Garden because it is such a beautiful venue!  This year I was really lucky because Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, one of my favorite bands, was part of the Outdoor Concert Series and somehow I was able to get a ticket (it sold out very quickly).  I thoroughly enjoyed this show because they played so many songs from their new album (which I love) as well as many of my favorites.

USANA Amphitheatre

Another highlight of the summer is seeing Alanis Morissette at USANA with my sister Kristine.  We are both huge fans of Morissette and we both love the album Jagged Little Pill, which she performed in its entirety to commemorate 25 years since its release.  It was so fun to be back at USANA for the first time in over two years for such an amazing concert!

It has been a great summer!

The Scarlet Pimpernel at CPT

I really love the musical The Scarlet Pimpernel because the story is so thrilling (I read the novel by Baroness Orczy at least 812 times when I was a teenager) and the music is incredibly powerful (I have the Original Broadway Cast recording and I listen to it often).  I always try to see it whenever it is playing (I have seen three different productions at HCT) so, as you can imagine, I have been anticipating CPT's version since they announced the 2021 season! I was able to see it last night and I had so much fun. Percy Blakeney (Ben Lowell) disguises himself as the Scarlet Pimpernel and recruits a band of followers (Benjamin Christian Plowman, Thad Weiland, Jared Daley, Ryan Zaugg, John Kenning, and Regan Whimpey) in order to save the people of Paris from Chauvelin (Jacob Omer) and his guillotine during the French Revolution. He keeps his identity a secret from his wife Marguerite St. Just (Anya Young Wilson), a Parisian actress, because he believes that she is helping Chauvelin, her former lover. He is also keeping his identity a secret from the Prince of Wales (Chris Kennedy) by pretending to be a foppish nincompoop. However, he must make his most daring rescue when Marguerite and her brother Armand (Derek Marsden) are arrested. Lowell and Wilson are outstanding as Percy and Marguerite, especially in the songs "You Are My Home" and "When I Look At You" which they sing together. Lowell is very powerful in "Into The Fire," absolutely hilarious in "The Creation of Man," and incredibly moving in "She Was There." I loved all of his interactions with Chauvelin, particularly when he mispronounces his name. Wilson is quite affecting in "I'll Forget You." Omer has an beautiful voice in the songs "Falcon In The Dive" and "Where's The Girl" but his acting is strangely without a lot of affect. I feel like he should be a bit more menacing in his interactions with Marguerite and more exasperated with Percy. I really enjoyed the choreography, especially the intricate "Ouilles Gavotte" where Marguerite questions the men to find out the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel at the ball and "The Duel" where both Percy and Marguerite engage in a sword fight with Chauvelin. The sets are very elaborate and I really liked the prison and guillotine, Percy's study, the ship used by the Pimpernel and his League to get to Paris, and the rose garden.  The moving of the various set pieces on and off the stage is a complicated process and, at times, it pulls focus from the action still happening on stage but it is very quick. Finally, the costumes are a definite highlight. I loved all of the embroidery on the fabric used for the women's costumes but, unusually, my favorites were those worn by the men.  The Pimpernel and his League take "frou frou" to a whole new level in "The Creation of Man." I am always so impressed by the quality of the productions at CenterPoint and this one is outstanding. I highly recommend it (go here for tickets).

Note: CPT recently announced their 2022 season which includes The Play That Goes Wrong, Cinderella, Big Fish, Bright Star, TBA, and Elf the Musical. I am looking forward to all of them and I've already renewed my subscription!

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

I distinctly remember watching the downfall of televangelist Jim Bakker on the nightly news (the footage of him being led away with a jacket over his handcuffs was used every time there was an update to the case) when I was a teenager and I had very strong feelings about the hypocrisy of religious leaders using their platform to profit personally from money donated by believers (I still do).  I was, therefore, very excited to see The Eyes of Tammy Faye and I finally had the chance last night.  I really enjoyed the performances, especially Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye, as well as the production design but I was ultimately quite disappointed by the shallow analysis of the title character.  The movie follows Tammy Faye as a child (played by Chandler Head) in a religious household who is viewed as a sinner because she is a product of a marriage that ended in divorce, as a student (now played by Chastain) at Bible college who becomes enamored with fellow student Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield) because of his belief in a prosperity gospel, as an itinerant preacher with her new husband delivering a message with puppets, as the host of a children's TV show for Pat Robertson (Gabriel Olds) and his Christian broadcasting network, as an antagonist to Jerry Fallwell (Vincent D'Onofrio) for her views on religious inclusion, as a host for the Bakker's own PTL (Praise The Lord) network which broadcast their ministry by satellite to millions of viewers 24 hours a day, as the benefactor of a lavish lifestyle with money funneled from the contributions of those viewers, and, finally, as the supposed victim of her husband's wrongdoing.  Chastain gives a brilliant performance which captures all of Tammy Faye's idiosyncratic mannerisms (her nervous giggle is absolutely spot-on) and I was especially impressed that she did her own singing.  I also enjoyed Garfield's performance as the embattled televangelist, particularly when he delivers Bakker's catchphrase, "God loves you. He really does."  This movie also does a fantastic job at recreating the ostentation of the 80s from the sumptuous interiors to the flamboyant costumes.  My biggest issue is with the overly sympathetic depiction of Tammy Faye.  I have a really difficult time believing that she was not complicit in, or at least aware of, the bilking of their viewers for personal gain.  We are meant to believe that she was assertive enough to force her way to Jerry Fallwell's table at a BBQ and to proclaim her views about the responsibilities Christians have to love everyone despite opposition from other powerful religious leaders but that she allowed herself to be a pawn in all of Jim's schemes and knew nothing about the day-to-day operations of PTL.  Also this movie does not shed much light on what actually happened to bring about their downfall.  To be sure, this is Tammy Faye's story and it is told completely from her perspective rather than Jim's but I wish we could have had more details about the scandal.  I did enjoy the movie, and would recommend it, but I didn't learn much about the protagonist beyond what I already knew.

Ludovic Morlot Conducts Stravinsky & Rachmaninoff

I love Rachmaninoff, especially Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, so last night's Utah Symphony concert will definitely be a highlight of the season for me because I got to hear it performed brilliantly by the orchestra and guest soloist Gerorge Li.  The concert began with The Fairy's Kiss by Igor Stravinsky.  This piece is a ballet based on the short story The Ice Maiden by Hans Christian Andersen and was written as an homage to Tchaikovsky to commemorate the 35th anniversary of his death.  It tells the story of a fairy who rescues an abandoned baby from a storm and then marks it with a kiss.  When the fairy encounters the baby again as a young man on the eve of his wedding, she kisses him again to claim him for herself.  Stravinsky blended several of Tchaikovsky's themes with his own for this ballet and I really enjoyed it.  I thought it was very lyrical and romantic, despite the somewhat tragic story, and I especially liked the themes played by the woodwinds and the brass.  After the intermission the orchestra played The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas.  It is based on a poem by Johann von Goethe about a young sorcerer who gets in over his head when attempting some of his master's magic but, when I heard the playful and whimsical music, all I could see was Mickey Mouse trying to control a broom in the movie Fantasia!  The concert concluded with the piece I had been waiting for all evening (I could hardly contain my excitement during the pieces that preceded it) and it definitely did not disappoint!  Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was inspired by Nicolo Paganini's Caprices for Solo Violin and includes 24 different variations.  I love all of them because they are all so beautiful and lush but my very favorite is the 18th variation because it is almost unbearably romantic and I was practically swooning during the whole thing (it is featured in the movie Somewhere in Time).  George Li gave an amazing performance (I loved watching his fingers fly up and down the keyboard) which garnered a boisterous standing ovation which was rewarded with an encore at its conclusion.  I loved this concert and I suggest that you stop what you are doing right now and get a ticket (go here) for the concert tonight which features the same program.  You will thank me later!

Alanis Morissette at USANA

My sister Kristine and I are huge fans of Alanis Morissette!  Both of us have seen in her in concert several times (including once together) so, when we heard the announcement that Morissette was launching a tour commemorating 25 years since the release of her ground-breaking album Jagged Little Pill and that she would be making a stop in SLC, we immediately bought tickets and started counting down the days.  Then, of course, Covid canceled everything and I have to admit that I was really disappointed about missing this show (among others).  I was absolutely delighted when I heard the news that Morissette was rescheduling the whole tour and it was so great to return to USANA Amphitheatre last night for the first time in over two years!  My sister and I loved this show so much because Morissette can still belt out a tune!  As expected, she played Jagged Little Pill in its entirety (although she pushed shuffle) and I especially enjoyed the hits "All I Really Want," "Hand in My Pocket," "You Learn," Head Over Feet," "Ironic," and "You Oughta Know."  There was a time when I played these songs incessantly but I haven't heard them in a long time.  Even so, I still knew every single word and sang them right along with the entire crowd!  I also really enjoyed it when Morissette performed a snippet of a song from a later album as an intro to a deeper cut from Jagged Little Pill (her songs work very well together thematically) such as "Hands Clean" before "Forgiven," "Everything" before "Mary Jane," "Nemesis" before "Perfect," and "Losing the Plot" before "Wake Up."  She also performed a few songs from her latest album Such Pretty Forks in the Road and I especially liked "Reasons I Drink" and "Smiling," a song Morissette wrote for the Broadway show Jagged Little Pill (which is near the top of my list of shows I want to see).  Whenever I attend a concert there is always a song that I hope to hear from a performer's back catalog.  It is usually pretty obscure so I am invariably disappointed but I was absolutely thrilled when Morissette played "Uninvited" during the encore!  She also performed "Your House" in a variety music genres (it was quite amusing) and "Thank U" as a way to thank the fans for coming out to support her.  This concert was so much fun because I got to see it with my sister and because I was transported back to my younger self (without the angst).

Note:  The opening band was Garbage and I think I was looking forward to seeing them just as much as Morissette.  When I was younger I thought Shirley Manson was the coolest girl ever with her Doc Martens, dark eyeliner, and sassy hands on her hips attitude!  They didn't play my favorite song, "Supervixen," but they did play "Stupid Girl," "#1 Crush," "I Think I'm Paranoid," "Special," and "Only Happy When It Rains" interspersed with some of their newer material.  I loved their set!

Ain't Misbehavin' at PTC

The joint was jumping (in more ways than one) last night as audiences returned to PTC after an absence of 18 months for the musical Ain't Misbehavin'.  When the 2021-2022 season was announced, I didn't know anything about this show but I discovered that it is a musical revue featuring the songs of Thomas "Fats" Waller, a well-known jazz pianist and composer who wrote over 400 songs from 1920 to 1940.  It was basically a concert featuring five incredibly talented and charismatic vocalists, including Tyla Collier (she was in Once on This Island, the last show I saw at PTC before the pandemic), Tyrick Wiltez Jones, Mariah Lyttle, Terita Redd, and DeMone Seraphin, and an equally talented band on stage, including Music Director William Knowles on piano, Michale Evans on trombone, Otis Gould on drums, Keith Parietti on tenor sax and clarinet, Hillary Fuller on bass, Scott Harris on alto sax and clarinet, and Jesdelson Vasquez on trumpet.  They performed close to 30 different songs during the 90 minute run time and, even though I wasn't very familiar with Waller, I recognized at least a third of the songs.  My favorites were "Mean to Me," a torch song delivered by Redd while leaning seductively against the piano, a sultry version of "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now" performed by Collier, a rousing rendition of "The Ladies Who Sing With The Band" by Jones and Seraphin, a hilarious performance of "Your Feet's Too Big" by Seraphin, the innuendo-filled "Squeeze Me" by Lyttle, and the heartbreaking "Black and Blue" performed by the whole company with beautiful harmonies and dramatic lighting.  There was almost no dialogue, beyond the occasional ad-libbing with audience members (some of which was highly amusing), and the choreography was simple but executed very well.  At the beginning of the show the set consisted of a backstage area in shadows with instruments covered in dust cloths and a ghost light prominently displayed.  The performers entered the stage from different areas, removed  their coats, and arranged their instruments and props before the first number began.  As the show progressed, the stage became more and more elaborate (I loved all of the chandeliers) until it was transformed into several different jazz clubs.  I don't know if the show is always staged in this manner but it was a highly effective way to represent the return to live performances after a lengthy break.  I really enjoyed this wildly entertaining show but, unfortunately, I did not get to see the last few numbers because the theater was evacuated when a fire alarm went off (this is the second time this has happened to me during a performance).  Even so, I highly recommend this show which runs through September 25 (go here for tickets).

The Drowsy Chaperone at the SCERA Center for the Performing Arts

The SCERA Center for the Performing Arts is another venue that I had never been to before, again because it is about a 45 minute drive from my house, but I learned that The Drowsy Chaperone was being performed there and, since it is one of the funniest shows that I have ever seen, I just had to get a ticket. I saw it last night and I was really impressed with the venue and the production! The Drowsy Chaperone is such a fun show because it is a hilarious parody of the genre with every musical theatre trope you can think of but it is also a poignant ode to the power of theatre to transport you away from the real world and all of your problems to a place where happy endings are possible for a few hours. Man in Chair (JD Ramey) is feeling a little bit blue so he decides to listen to the cast recording of The Drowsy Chaperone, a popular musical from 1928. As he listens to the record, the actors appear in his apartment and bring the show to life with frequent pauses for his wry explanations and commentaries. Mrs. Tottendale (Katie Warne) and her Underling (Dane Allred) are hosting the wedding of oil tycoon Robert Martin (Bryan Johnson) to a Broadway star named Janet Van De Graaff (Samantha Frisby), who is giving up her glamorous career for love. Robert is leaving the wedding details to George (Jared Wilkinson), his best friend and best man, while Janet's Chaperone (Tannah O'Banion), who gets drowsy when she drinks champagne, is charged with keeping the couple apart to avoid bad luck. Broadway producer Feldzieg (Robert Holcombe) is unhappy about losing his biggest star and sets out stop the wedding by hiring a Latin lover named Aldolpho (Devin Glenn) to seduce the bride. An investor in the Feldzieg Follies is also worried about losing its biggest star and hires two gangsters (Jarom Swanson and Erik Rytting), disguised as pastry chefs, to stop the wedding but a ditzy chorus girl named Kitty (Abby Bradshaw) is hoping to take Janet's place. Mayhem ensues but the happy ending comes eventually when Trix the Aviatrix (Abigail Crist) is enlisted to marry four couples on her plane while flying to Rio. This production is simply delightful and I especially enjoyed the choreography in the big song-and-dance numbers "Cold Feets," "Show Off," "Toledo Surprise," "Bride's Lament," "Love is Always Lovely in the End," and "I Do, I Do in the Sky." I particularly liked how the choreography incorporates the furniture and other items in the apartment. The use of the bookcase in "Show Off" is ingenious! It is absolutely hilarious when the actors freeze every time the Man in Chair stops the record and when they perform the same notes over and over when the record has a scratch. I also loved it when the Man in Chair puts the wrong record on at the beginning of Act 2 and the cast, as different characters, performs "Message From a Nightingale" from a different musical until he realizes his mistake. So funny! The entire cast is incredibly strong but I was really impressed with O'Banion because she is the ultimate diva in her rendition of "As We Stumble Along," Glenn because he is completely over-the-top in "I Am Aldolpho," and Ramey because he shows a lot of vulnerability as he compares the musical to his life. I laughed and laughed at the antics on stage (I was not alone) and I think this is a show that most everyone would enjoy.  It runs at the SCERA Center for the Performing Arts through October 9 (go here for tickets).

Note: The first time I saw The Drowsy Chaperone it was the Broadway touring production starring Jonathan Crombie (better known as Gilbert Blythe) as Man in Chair! Sigh!

The Mousetrap at HCT

Even though I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie (I made a goal of reading all of her novels when I was a teenager) and The Mousetrap, based on the short story Three Blind Mice by Christie, is the longest running play in history (it has been performed in London's West End since 1952) I had never seen it before! I was, therefore, really excited to see HCT's production of this murder mystery yesterday afternoon. Mollie Ralston (Kristi Curtis) and her husband Giles (BJ Whimpey) have converted their large estate, Monkswell Manor, into a guesthouse and are nervously getting ready to welcome their first paying customers during a severe snowstorm. News of a grisly murder with ties to a neighboring village reaches the manor just as the guests, including Christopher Wren (Colton Hattabaugh), Mrs. Boyle (Heidi Scott), Major Metcalf (Douglas Irey), and Miss Casewell (Taylor McKay Barnes), arrive one by one.  An unexpected guest, Mr. Paravacini (Chandler Bishop), arrives rather suspiciously a few hours later after his car is overturned in a snowdrift and Detective Sergeant Trotter (Adam Packard) skis his way to the snowbound manor to investigate a clue about the aforementioned murder. When one of the guests, who has a mysterious connection to the murder victim, is found dead it seems that everyone has a secret and it is up to Sergeant Trotter to solve the crime before another murder occurs. Information about each character's backstory is revealed very slowly and strict attention must be paid in order to discover the solution, including a major twist, so I found the plot to be quite riveting (I love British period dramas).  I didn't guess the ending because it is a clever subversion of traditional murder mystery tropes (there were audible gasps from the audience during a key moment). The ensemble cast is outstanding (I saw a mixture of the MWF and TTHS casts) but I especially enjoyed Hattabaugh as the eccentric Wren because he is so flamboyant and all of his facial expressions made me laugh. My favorite aspect of this production is the spectacular set (which is often the case at HCT). It is exactly what you would expect a British country manor house to look like with a large stone fireplace, wall sconces, intricate staircases, Victorian-era furniture, doilies, and landscape paintings. I was particularly struck by the attention to detail, especially the authentic women's magazines from the 1950s. I also loved seeing the snow falling outside through the window. I had a lot of fun watching this play and the traditional admonition to keep the ending a secret from future audience members put a smile on my face as I left the theatre. I highly recommend it with the proviso that younger audience members might not enjoy it (the teens sitting behind me seemed a bit bored).  The Mousetrap runs on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through November 20 (go here fore tickets).

Note:  Don't miss the beautiful production of The Secret Garden on the Young Living Centre Stage which runs through October 23 (go here for tickets).

Hilary Hahn Plays Brahms

It is opening weekend for the Utah Symphony 2021-2022 season and last night's concert was a wonderful beginning.  This year I decided to subscribe to the entire Masterworks series (because I couldn't narrow it down to just a few concerts) and I am really looking forward to all of them but I was especially excited for last night's concert because it featured Hilary Hahn, a popular and frequent guest soloist with the Utah Symphony.  The concert began with the Overture to Egmont by Ludwig van Beethoven.  This is the incidental music for a play by Johann van Goethe which tells the story of a man who sacrifices himself to take a stand against oppression.  The Overture became the unofficial anthem for the 1956 Hungarian revolution and I can see why because it is very powerful and stirring.  Next, the orchestra was joined by Hahn for the Violin Concerto by Johannes Brahms.  I really loved this piece, especially the second movement because the theme played by the solo violin is so beautiful and tender.  It was really fun to watch Hahn play because she is such a brilliant and dynamic performer.  The audience leapt to their feet to give her a well-deserved standing ovation and she rewarded us with an encore (I'm not sure what the piece she played was but it was lovely).  After the intermission, the orchestra played Symphony No. 1 by Jean Sibelius.  I was introduced to Sibelius on a memorable trip to Finland and I have been a fan ever since.  I think all of his music is so stately and grand and this piece is no exception.  I particularly loved all of the solos played by the woodwinds and string instruments which echo each other throughout and I also loved the powerful themes played by the brass and timpani.  It gave me chills!  It was thrilling to see the full orchestra on stage with a large crowd in the audience once again and I thoroughly enjoyed the program!  It will be repeated again tonight and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).

Note:  All patrons must show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours prior to entry.  Face masks are required for those not vaccinated and strongly encouraged for those who are.  Go here for more information.

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real at Red Butte Garden

In my quest to visit all of my favorite outdoor performing arts venues this summer I went to see Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real at the Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre last night and it made me so happy to listen to live music while sitting under the stars!  I was first introduced to Promise of the Real when they backed Neil Young on tour and then I saw them again at the Commonwealth Room a few years ago.  I really love their rock-country sound and they always put on a great show!  They played quite a few songs from their latest album A Few Stars Apart, which I absolutely love, including "Perennial Bloom (Back to You)," "Throwin' Away Your Love," "More Than We Can Handle," "Leave 'Em Behind," and "A Few Stars Apart."  They also played some of my favorite songs, including "Start To Go," "Four Letter Word," "Fool Me Once," "Just Outside of Austin," "Little Girl," "Die Alone" "Carolina," and "(Forget About) Georgia."  They ended their set with a rousing rendition of "Find Yourself" with lots of audience participation.  For the encore they played "Wildest Dream" and "Smile" from the new album and then "Entirely Different Stars," a cover of "Get Off Of My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones, an incredibly passionate performance of "The Awakening" (which was my favorite of the evening), and "Something Real."  I think Lukas Nelson has an amazing voice (he sounds a lot like like his father Willie Nelson but a bit sultrier) and I really enjoyed seeing him play the piano in addition to his usual guitar.  He was very charismatic last night and joked quite a bit with the crowd.  It was a fantastic concert, not just because Promise of the Real put on such a great show, but also because hearing music performed live still feels like such a novelty!  I had a smile on my face the whole time and I will probably be on a high from this show for at least a week!  Red Butte Garden is a great venue and there are still some shows in the summer concert series (go here for tickets).  I definitely recommend checking one of them out.

Capitol Reef 2021

While I was staying at the KOA in Fillmore I took a little side trip to Capitol Reef National Park (about a two hour drive).  I was really surprised by how crowded it was (there were more people than I've ever seen before) so I didn't actually stay very long.  I just went on the scenic drive for a few photos (I was going to stop and pick some apples but even the orchards were really crowded) and then drove back to Fillmore.  Even though I didn't stay very long it was a beautiful drive to the park and through the park.

I am really hoping that I can get to Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park before the end of the year to complete the Mighty Five!

Weekend at My Favorite KOA

I knew that anywhere I wanted to go would be really crowded over the Labor Day weekend so, since I am retired and have the luxury of a flexible schedule, I decided to plan a little getaway for this weekend.  I booked a cabin at my very favorite KOA in Fillmore (which is about a two hour drive from my house) and drove down Saturday morning.  I know people might find it a bit strange but I love this campground.  It is close enough that it doesn't take forever to get to but it is far enough away that you feel like you have gone somewhere.  It is rustic enough that you feel like you are camping but there are enough conveniences (such as electricity, air conditioning, heating, a mini-fridge, and bathroom facilities nearby in the main lodge) to feel really comfortable.  Also, the hosts of this campground are some of the nicest people you will ever meet!  I spent Saturday afternoon out on the porch reading for hours and it felt wonderful because there was a cool breeze blowing through the trees.  I actually brought enough reading material this time!  My sister makes fun of me because I am notorious for finishing a book in the middle of a trip and then not having anything else to read for the rest of the time (I am like a junkie in need of a fix when I don't have a book) but she sent me a text telling me to take another book before I left and I, uncharacteristically, heeded her advice (I actually discovered that this KOA has a small library when I ran out of reading material on a camping trip several years ago but, luckily, I did not need to avail myself of it on this trip).  In the evening it started raining so I went inside, crawled under a bunch of blankets, and watched movies on my laptop.  It was incredibly cozy to listen to the rain hit the roof of the cabin as I fell asleep.  Sunday morning I got up early for a quick day trip and then spent the afternoon reading on the porch again.  I will be driving home later this morning and I am so happy that I had the chance to take this quick weekend trip because it was so fun and relaxing (and the campground wasn't very crowded).

Note:  I think I subconsciously selected this shirt because of the concert that I attended Friday night!

Return of the Jedi in Concert

Last night I saw Star Wars: Return of the Jedi on the big screen while the Utah Symphony performed the iconic score by John Williams live (I also saw Star Wars: A New Hope and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in this format so it was fun to complete the original trilogy).  I really love the Utah Symphony's Films in Concert series (I subscribed this season) because hearing the music performed live while watching the movie is such an immersive experience!  In this installment, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 rescue Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hut before joining once again with the Rebel Alliance to stop the Emperor from rebuilding the Death Star.  There is an epic battle on Endor (with some adorable Ewoks) and a thrilling final confrontation between Luke and Darth Vader!  The music during these scenes, "The Forest Battle" and "The Return of the Jedi," is incredibly stirring filled with lots of brass and percussion and these were my favorite themes.  I also got goosebumps every time "The Imperial March" played because it reminded me of how scared I was of Darth Vader when I first saw these movies!  It was so fun to see this with a large and rowdy crowd (it was the biggest crowd I've seen at Abravanel Hall since the pandemic started).  There was a lot of enthusiastic audience participation and the applause was especially loud when the the "Main Theme" played during the opening crawl, when Princess Leia defeated Jabba the Hut, when Luke reunited with Yoda on Dagobah, when the Ewoks defeated all of the stormtroopers, when Han Solo told Leia that he loved her, when Darth Vader rescued Luke from the Emperor, and when Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda appeared as force ghosts at the celebration.  I really enjoyed this performance and I highly recommend seeing one of the films in concert coming up this season (Back to the Future, Home Alone, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince).

Rock Paper Scissors

My Book of the Month selection for September was Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney (the other options were The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo, Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang, The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, and The Neighbor's Secret by L. Alison Heller). I did not especially care for Sometimes I Lie, the only book I have read by this author, but I chose this one because it sounded really intriguing and I have been in the mood for thrillers lately. I couldn't put it down and, this time around, Feeney got me with several twists even though I was expecting one. Amelia and Adam Wright are having trouble in their marriage because they both feel that they don't know who the other is anymore. Amelia wins a weekend stay in the Scottish Highlands in a raffle at work and, in a last ditch attempt to save their marriage, she insists that they go and Adam begrudgingly agrees. However, it soon becomes apparent that they are each keeping secrets from each other and that they both have ulterior motives for agreeing to the weekend. After a difficult journey through a snowstorm they discover that their destination is an isolated chapel, with an ominous past, that has been converted into a living space. It appears to have been neglected for years. They attempt to settle in and make the best of the situation but soon there are strange goings-on that add to the already palpable tension between the two of them. As the storm intensifies, they are left without power and without cellular service but, even more frightening, a local inhabitant named Robin takes a disturbing interest in the couple and it seems that not everyone will survive this weekend. The narrative alternates between the perspectives of Amelia, Adam, and Robin, who are all very unsympathetic and unreliable, and interspersed between these are letters written to Adam by his wife on their anniversary (which he has never been allowed to read until this weekend) chronicling the deterioration of their relationship. The setting is incredibly atmospheric which creates a sense of impending peril on every page (there is even a hint of the paranormal thrown into the mix) and this kept me reading into the early hours. There are multiple layers (with several supporting characters) to the story and I was ever vigilant in trying to predict the twist that I was sure was coming. I had several theories but, when it inevitably came, I was absolutely blown away. I had to go back and read several sections again to pick up on any clues but they are there! Then, just when I thought the characters had reached the perfect resolution, there is another twist that made me question everything I thought I knew about them. I actually laughed out loud because the ending is so sinister. I may need to read more from this author (and I may need to read Sometimes I Lie again) because this is absolutely brilliant. I highly recommend it!

Note:  While I was reading I kept thinking that this would make a fantastic movie.  Apparently, the rights have been acquired by Netflix.

The 39 Steps at HCTO

I have had season tickets at Hale Centre Theatre for years and years but I had never been to HCT Orem (which is independently owned and operated), mostly because it is 45 minute drive to get there from my house.  I decided it was worth the drive when I found out that they were performing The 39 Steps which is one of the funniest plays I have ever seen.  I just had to see it again so I went last night and I am really glad that I did.  This hilarious show is a parody of the 1935 spy movie of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock and it features four actors (and a Foley Artist) performing all of the roles.  The action is lightning fast with scene changes and costume changes happening on stage (characters are sometimes denoted with just the change of a hat).  There are also many visual and auditory references to other Hitchcock movies, such as Psycho, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, North By Northwest, and The Birds (there may be more but these are the ones I picked up on).  Will Ingram plays Richard Hannay, a man at loose ends who becomes embroiled in a plot to stop a ring of spies from stealing military secrets when a mysterious woman named Annabella Schmidt is stabbed after taking refuge in his apartment.  Amber Dodge plays Annabella and several other women who become romantically involved with Hannay when he travels to Scotland to clear his name.  Andy Hansen and Brett Jamison play every other character, including actors, traveling salesmen, policemen, innkeepers, farmers, spies, and more.  Amanda Anne Dayton is the Foley Artist who produces various sound effects, such as footsteps, doors opening and closing, train whistles, and even, rather amusingly, the bleating of a sheep.  All four actors have brilliant comedic timing and I especially enjoyed it whenever the characters had to jump through windows and walk through doorways.  The stage is in the round (it doesn't have the state-of-the-art technology of HCT but it feels much more intimate) which is perfect for this show as characters run in and out multiple times.  The sets and props are very minimal and I was particularly impressed with how a chase sequence on top of a train is staged.  I laughed and laughed through the whole show, as did the entire audience, and I had a thoroughly wonderful time!  I enjoyed it so much I immediately bought a ticket to The Hunchback of Notre Dame in October.  The 39 Steps runs through Sept. 25 and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).

Flag Day

It is the long Labor Day weekend and I have no major plans (which is perfectly fine with me because every day is a holiday when you are retired and I have a little getaway planned for next weekend) so I spontaneously decided to see Flag Day last night.  It is based on a true story about how an investigative journalist named Jennifer Vogel (Dylan Penn) makes peace with her dysfunctional, yet charming, father John (Sean Penn).  The narrative begins in 1992 when Jennifer learns from a U.S. Marshall that her father is the head of a notorious counterfeiting operation and that he is now on the run from the FBI.  The action flashes back to Jennifer's childhood when her father makes everything seem like an adventure, her troubled adolescence when she tries to reform him, when she becomes disillusioned with him as a young adult, and when she triumphs over her chaotic upbringing to become a journalist as an adult.  The timeline returns to 1992 and Jennifer sees her father's capture on the news and must then reconcile her feelings for him.  Much of this is very episodic and unfocused (literally).  I suppose it is an attempt to mimic the transitory nature of memories and the sepia-colored home movies of the era but it doesn't really work because the relationship between Jennifer and John never feels fully fleshed out.  There were many moments when my attention wavered because the narrative is so disjointed.  I found both performances to be rather overwrought, although the elder Penn has a much more riveting screen presence than the younger, and there is a surprising lack of chemistry between the two despite the fact that they are father and daughter in real life.  There is not even a satisfying emotional reckoning between the two main characters at the end to make all of the melodrama that precedes it interesting.  The resolution falls really flat.  There are quite a few cameos, including Regina King, Josh Brolin, Dale Dickey, and Eddie Marsden, that seem a bit pointless because none of their characters add much to the story (these actors must have owed Penn a favor because I am not sure what compelled them to be in this movie).  I did like some of the original music by Eddie Vedder, particularly a song featuring his seventeen-year-old daughter Olivia on vocals, but, on the whole, this is a disappointing mess that should be avoided.

Note:  I can't believe this screened at Cannes.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

I was really happy to have the chance see Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings at a Thursday preview last night because it is so good!  Over a thousand years ago a man named Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) discovers ten rings, which grant the wearer immortality and the ability to wield incredible power, and he uses them to form a secret society of deadly assassins called the Ten Rings.  Many years later he learns of a village called Ta Lo, filled with magical creatures and inhabitants who practice a mystical form of martial arts, which he wants to control.  When he finds the entrance to the village he is beaten by Ying Li (Fala Chen), one of the guardians, and is stopped from entering.  They eventually fall in love so Wenwu gives up his power and Li leaves her village so they can marry.  They are happy with their two children, Xu Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing, for a time but eventually Wenwu's past catches up to him and a rival gang kills Li.  Wenwu returns to the Ten Rings and trains the young Shang-Chi to become an assassin to avenge his mother's death.  Shang-Chi becomes disillusioned and flees to the United States where he attempts to hide his identity.  In the present day, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), now known as Shaun, is working as a parking valet with his best friend Katy (Awkwafina) when he is attacked by members of the Ten Rings who are looking for a pendant given to him by his mother.  He fears for his estranged sister Xialing (Meng'er Zhang), now living in Macau, because she also has a pendant so he travels there to warn her with Katy.  The two siblings eventually reunite with Wenwu, who wants the pendants to locate Ta Lo once again.  Shang-Chi, Xialing, and Katy escape (with the help of a character from the MCU that is simply too good to spoil here) and learn the secret of Ta Lo from Li's sister Ying Nan (Michelle Yeoh).  Nan shows Shang-Chi that he must embrace the traits given to him by both parents in order to save the village in an epic showdown.  I loved this movie so much and I think it is one of the best in the MCU.  I am not a martial arts expert, by any stretch of the imagination, but I think the action sequences are absolutely exhilarating, particularly the fights on a bus and on a bamboo scaffolding, and I could definitely see the two very distinct types of fighting employed by Wenwu and the Ten Rings and by Li and the rest of the villagers, respectively.  I loved the message about the importance of family and knowing who you are and I also loved the meaningful character arcs for not only Shang-Chi but also for Xialing and Katy.  It has a lot more heart than I was expecting with an incredibly powerful scene in the third act (Leung is absolutely fantastic).  I enjoyed the chemistry between Liu and Awkwafina and all of the back and forth banter between their characters (I laughed out loud so many times, especially in a mid-credits scene) because they have such a fun relationship.  Marvel did so many things right with this movie and I think it is one that most people will enjoy.

The Secret Garden at HCT

I am not a big fan of the musical The Secret Garden but Director/Choreographer Dave Tinney made me love HCT's productions of Matilda and Cinderella (shows I don't usually enjoy) and I didn't hate their version of Seussical (a show I almost walked out of when the Broadway touring production came to town and then vowed to never see again) so I was hopeful when I walked into Hale Centre Theatre last night because he is also at the helm of this show. As predicted Tinney worked his magic once again because I absolutely loved it! Mary Lennox (Olivia Dietlein) is orphaned by a cholera outbreak in India and sent to live with her uncle Archibald Craven (Quinn Dietlein) at Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire. He has been grieving the death of his wife Lily (Lisa Zimmerman), who died in childbirth, for the past ten years and has closed off his heart, his house, and Lily's garden. Mary receives a cold welcome from the housekeeper Mrs. Medlock (Linda Jean Stephenson) and an indifferent one from her uncle. She is lonely and unhappy but is encouraged by a maid named Martha (McKelle Shaw) and her brother Dickon (Ben Butters) to play outside and she soon discovers Lily's abandoned garden. She also discovers her cousin Colin (Toby Worland) who has been kept an invalid by Archibald's brother Neville (Alex DeBirk). As Mary brings the garden back to life, she also brings Colin and Archibald back to life.  I always love the interactions between Mary, Colin, Dickon, and Martha but my biggest problem with this show is the emphasis on the adults because I find them, especially the ghosts of characters who have died, to be almost superfluous to the story (this is the biggest change from the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett). In this production, however, I really loved how the choreography involves the ghosts in almost every scene, particularly when Mary wanders the corridors of Misselthwaite Manor at night (with characters holding windows for her to run between), when Archibald remembers waltzing with Lily in the ballroom (with characters dancing between candelabras shrouded in dust cloths), when Mary and Dickon bring Colin to the garden for the first time (with characters summoning spirits to heal Colin), and when Archibald despairs at his loneliness without Lily (with characters holding mirrors to reflect the ghosts all around him). I don't remember seeing these characters so intimately involved in the action before and their inclusion made so much more sense to me. There are even ghosts behind windows at each entrance to the theatre which creates an eerie atmosphere. The set design, as is usually the case with HCT, is absolutely brilliant. I loved all of the dark and ponderous pieces of furniture because they emphasize how gloomy Misselthwaite Manor has become but each piece features painted flowers and vines to show that Lily's garden also haunts the inhabitants. Speaking of the garden, I loved it both when it is in its dormant state and when it is in bloom (the wisteria hanging down from the rafters was my favorite). Butters performs "Winter's on the Wing" and "Wick" (my favorite songs in the show) beautifully but I was absolutely enchanted by the animal puppets (including a dog, the all important robin who leads Mary to the garden, rabbits, a fox, and geese) used in these numbers and I may have even giggled out loud the first time the dog appeared. I also really enjoyed the songs "Come Spirit, Come Charm" by the children and the ghosts and a powerful rendition of "Hold On" by Shaw. I loved everything about this production, which I was not expecting, so I definitely recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs on the Young Living Centre Stage through October 23.