Cyrano

I always enjoy seeing the play Cyrano De Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (I have been fortunate enough to see both Patrick Page and Brian Vaughn in the title role in productions at PTC and the Utah Shakespeare Festival, respectively) and I am a huge fan of director Joe Wright (especially for Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, and Anna Karenina) so I was beyond excited when I found out about his latest movie, Cyrano, especially since it is a musical.  Having it be delayed again and again was extremely frustrating for me because I wanted to see it so badly but I finally had the chance last night.  As predicted, I absolutely loved it!  Roxanne (Haley Bennett) is a penniless young woman who is being encouraged to marry the wealthy Count de Guiche (Ben Mendelsohn) by her maid Marie (Monica Dolan) but she wants more.  Her childhood friend Cyrano de Bergerac (Peter Dinklage), a poet and cadet in the French army, is in love with her but does not reveal his feelings because he believes that his physical appearance will keep her from loving him in return.  She falls in love at first sight with Christian de Neuvillette (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), a new recruit in Cyrano's regiment.  Because he loves her, Cyrano agrees to take him under his wing and tells him of Roxanne's wish that he write to her.  Christian is also in love with Roxanne but he lacks the wit and intelligence to woo her the way she wants so Cyrano offers to write the letters himself but they express his feelings rather than Christian's.  Roxanne loves Cyrano's words but can she love him?  Despite the theme of unrequited love, I think the story is incredibly romantic and Dinklage gives a brilliant performance, one of his best, as a man afraid to take a risk for love.  It is heartbreaking to watch!  Bennett and Harrison are also very good and I was quite impressed by their singing voices.  I really enjoyed the songs, especially "Someone to Say," "Every Letter," and "I Need More," and the choreography is so organic that you can almost imagine it happening in real life.  I particularly loved the staging of "Someone to Say" when the soldiers parry and thrust in perfect syncopation with the music, of "Every Letter" when letters flutter all around Roxanne and Cyrano as they read and write them, and of "Overcome" when Cyrano is finally able to speak of his love to Roxanne because he is hidden from view as she stands on her balcony.  The images on the screen are beautiful with sumptuous costumes and lavish production design and I loved the use of light and shadow.  This movie is so good that it was almost worth the wait and I highly recommend it.

Note:  I have already pre-ordered the blu-ray even though there is not a release date yet!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in Concert

Last night the Utah Symphony performed Nicholas Hooper's score for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince while showing the movie as part of its Films in Concert Series and it was so much fun!  It was such an immersive experience with lots of audience participation.  There was a house roll call (three cheers for Ravenclaw) before the show and then boisterous applause when every main character appeared on the screen (the loudest was, rather unexpectedly, for Professor McGonagall).  This particular movie is one of my favorites in the franchise because the tone is much darker and the stakes are higher for every character.  As Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) begin year six at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) convinces a former potions professor named Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) to return to the school.  He enlists Harry's help to get Slughorn to reveal a secret about Tom Riddle which could help them stop Voldemort's reign of terror. Meanwhile, Draco (Tom Felton) is also given a dangerous assignment which eventually brings tragedy to Hogwarts and suspicion upon Snape (Alan Rickman).  The ominous score reflects this darker tone, particularly in "Snape & the Unbreakable Vow," "Into the Pensieve," "Malfoy's Mission," "The Drink of Despair," and "Inferi in the Firestorm."  There are also some some really fun and exuberant themes, such as "Wizard Wheezes" and "Ron's Victory," which provide some comic relief.  I really loved the harp in "Harry & Hermione" because it is such a poignant moment in the movie since, even though the relationship woes are meant to be lighthearted, this is when the characters admit that they have feelings for Ginny and Ron, respectively.  I also loved the cello in "Dumbledore's Farewell" because it is so mournful as the students raise their wands in tribute (this scene always gives me goosebumps).  The music really provides so much of the tension and emotion in this movie so hearing it performed live added much to the experience of watching it.  If you have never attended one of these concerts, I highly recommend doing so!  Conductor Conner Covington teased that the final two movies in the franchise might be coming next season!  I can't wait until the 2022-2023 season announcement to see what the films will be!

Big Fish at the Empress

I enjoyed the Empress Theatre's production of Daddy Long Legs so much I decided to see their latest show, Big Fish, last night.  It didn't quite live up to Daddy Long Legs (which set the bar really high) but I thoroughly enjoyed it!  Will Bloom (Austin Payne) has always been exasperated by all of the wild stories that his father Edward (Jeff Pashley) tells him.  These include hearing his fortune told by a witch (Mya Sanchez) in a swamp, learning how to swim from a mermaid (Audrey Kocherans), befriending a giant (Owen Pashley), running away to the circus, wooing a young woman (Amber Ellington) with daffodils, and stopping the assassination attempt of a general during the war.  As he is about to become a father himself, he learns that his father is dying of cancer and returns home to attempt a reconciliation with him.  After a Wild West confrontation between the two of them, Will discovers that the truth about his father is even more extraordinary than the stories.  The songs in this show are a lot of fun because they bring all of Edward's fantastical stories to life and I was really impressed with how well they are staged in such a small space with a very minimalistic set.  My favorite numbers were "Be the Hero," "Ashton's Favorite Son," "Daffodils," and "Red, White, and True."  This is a very complicated show technically with many different costume changes and multiple props moving on and off stage and I thought the transitions went very smoothly, especially so early in the run.  The majority of the cast members are much better singers than actors but they are very earnest and give it their all so you can't help but be enchanted by their performances.  It is a little bit quirky (all community theatre is a bit quirky) but the heartwarming story of a son trying to understand his father and a father trying to make his son proud is sure to please everyone.  It runs through March 12 and tickets, which are very reasonable, can be purchased here. 

The Worst Person in the World

One of my very favorite films at the Sundance Film Festival this year was The Worst Person in the World so I was really happy to be able to see it again at my favorite art house theater last night.  I think I loved it even more upon a second viewing!  Julie (Renate Reinsve) changes majors, boyfriends, and, rather amusingly, hairstyles several times before deciding to leave school to pursue photography.  She takes a temporary job in a bookstore and moves in with Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), a comic book artist who is several years her senior, after meeting him at a party.  She is ambivalent when Aksel presses her about starting a family and, even though she loves him, her dissatisfaction with the direction of her life causes her to question their relationship and whether she is ready to make a commitment.  She becomes infatuated with Eivind (Herbert Nordrum), a man she meets when she crashes a wedding, and eventually leaves Aksel to move in with him but he also proves to be a disappointment.  She continually wonders when life will begin but it takes a tragedy for her to realize that she has been living all along.  I love the character of Julie so much because, even though I am a bit (ahem) older than she is, I can really relate to feeling like you should have life figured out by a certain age and I definitely appreciate the message that there is not necessarily a timeline for doing so.  Reinsve give an absolutely captivating and moving performance (I think she deserved a Best Actress Oscar nomination), particularly in an emotionally charged but incredibly honest scene in which she breaks up with Aksel.  Danielsen Lie is also outstanding, giving a powerful monologue in the third act about the things we hold on to in life.  Trier uses the time of day (and the city of Oslo) very effectively in three brilliant scenes depicting Julie's state of mind.  First, she walks home wistfully at dusk feeling disillusioned with life until she is distracted by a party.  Next, she is giddy as she runs through the streets during the day, while time stops for every one else, to follow a sudden impulse.  Finally, she is heartbroken as she wanders the city in tears all night before she finds some peace at sunrise.  I love the imagery of these scenes because they are all so evocative and the time of day is a great metaphor for the ebb and flow of life.  I laughed out loud multiple times and I shed a tear or two!  This is one of the best romantic comedies that I've seen, mostly because it subverts the genre, and I highly recommend it!

Daniel Lozakovich Plays Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto

Last night's Utah Symphony concert featured the music of Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev so you can be sure that I really enjoyed it (I love the Russian composers).  The first piece, however, was not composed by a Russian but by a Brazilian!  The orchestra began with the U.S. premiere of Oji - Cheganca e impeto by Paulo Costa Lima.  The composer wanted to explore Afro-Brazilian folk traditions and this piece is meant to represent a trans-Atlantic journey from Africa to Brazil.  It features many different percussion instruments, including some rather unusual ones, and I was particularly struck by how well these instruments, along with the strings, mimic the sound of rolling waves in a storm.  I kept seeing a ship being tossed about in a thunder storm.  I could also really hear the relief that comes from reaching a destination safely as interpreted by the diminishing sound of a wind machine.  I thought it was really cool (you are pretty much guaranteed something cool when you see six percussionists on the stage).  Next, the orchestra performed the Violin Concerto by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and they were joined by Daniel Lozakovich on violin.  In my opinion, Tchaikovsky's music is incredibly emotional (which is why I love it) and the Violin Concerto is especially so.  The theme played by the soloist, which is repeated often throughout the three movements, is absolutely beautiful and I particularly enjoyed it when it was repeated by the flute.  Lazakovich was required to play faster and faster in the first movement (the violinist for whom this piece was composed declared it unplayable) and it was thrilling to watch, to say the least!  My favorite movement was the second because it is slower and just a bit melancholy with a beautiful introduction by the woodwinds.  The third movement includes variations of Russian folk music before it returns to the passionate main theme in a triumphant conclusion!  Lazakovich was absolutely brilliant and, in response to the standing ovation from the large crowd at Abravanel Hall, he played a dramatic rendition of Sonata No. 5, Danse Rustique, by Eugene Ysaye as an encore.  After the intermission, the orchestra concluded with selections from the ballet Cinderella by Sergei Prokofiev.  I saw Ballet West's production of Romeo and Juliet, which also features the music of Prokofiev, just last weekend so I was really excited for this!  I have also seen this ballet performed by Ballet West so I had many images in my head as I listened to the orchestra.  I especially enjoyed Cinderella Goes to the Ball, because it includes incredibly romantic themes played by the woodwinds, strings, and horns, and Midnight, because the percussion mimics the dramatic chiming of the clock (I could still see the giant clock used in Ballet West's production) as Cinderella leaves the ball.  I enjoyed every minute of this concert and would definitely recommend getting a ticket for tonight's performance (go here) of the same program.

Anastasia at the Eccles

I have always been fascinated by Russia and the rumor that the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov may have survived the slaughter of her family during the Russian Revolution is incredibly compelling (even though it has been debunked by DNA evidence).  The musical adaptation of this story has been at the top of my list for a long time and I finally had the chance to see Anastasia last night at the Eccles Theater.  I really loved it!  Young Anastasia (Marley Sophia) is given a music box by her grandmother the Dowager Empress (Gerri Weagraff) before she leaves to live in Paris.  Several years later the Imperial family is arrested and executed by Bolsheviks but there is a rumor in St. Petersburg that Anastasia somehow survived.  Two conmen named Dmitry (Sam McLellan) and Vlad (Bryan Seastrom) want to find someone to impersonate her in order to demand money from the Dowager Empress.  They find an old music box once owned by the Romanovs and eventually encounter a young woman named Anya (Kyla Stone) who is suffering from amnesia.  As they try to teach her about the Grand Duchess, she recognizes the music box and starts remembering the Imperial family.  They escape the clutches of a Bolshevik general named Gleb (Brandon Delgado), who vows to finish the job of executing the Romanovs begun by his father, and eventually arrive in Paris.  With the help of Countess Lily (Madeline Raube), a lady in waiting, they introduce Anya to the Dowager Empress but is she really Anasatsia and does she want the life of a Grand Duchess?  I was really impressed by Stone as Anastasia and I loved her songs "In My Dreams," "Once Upon a December," and "Journey to the Past."  I also really enjoyed her facial expressions as she moves from saying the lines given to her by Dmitry and Vlad to remembering the events they describe.  I was absolutely blown away by the set, which consists of a series of columns, and the use of projections to bring the cities of St. Petersburg and Paris to life.  St. Petersburg is one of my favorite cities so it was really fun for me to recognize the Winter Palace, the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Nevsky Prospect, the Neva River, and the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.  Several of the musical numbers are staged so brilliantly!  The use of red lighting in "The Last Dance of the Romanovs," which shows the transition from the Romanov family waltzing inside the Winter Palace to their eventual overthrow by the Bolsheviks, is incredibly powerful, the ghosts of the Romanov family dancing around Anya in "Once Upon a December" and "A Nightmare" is absolutely otherworldly, and the staging of Swan Lake is quite impressive because it includes the actual ballet (with Lauren Teyke as Odette, Taylor Stanger as Prince Siegfried, and Dakota Hoar as Von Rothbert) while Anya, Dmitry, Gleb, and the Dowager Empress sing "Quartet at the Ballet" in gold box seats on each side of the stage.  So many moments took my breath away and I am really happy that I was finally able to check this show off my list!  It runs at the Eccles Theater through February 20 but every performance is sold out!

Death on the Nile

I enjoyed Kenneth Branagh's version of Murder on the Orient Express so I was excited when I found out he was adapting Death on the Nile next.  It seems like I have been waiting forever to see it and I finally had the chance last night.  Like the first movie, it is stylish and entertaining with a bit of added poignancy.  Heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) is on her honeymoon with her new husband Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer) in Egypt but Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey), her former friend and Simon's former fiancee, pursues them wherever they go.  To escape her, they spontaneously decide to take the wedding party on a river cruise of the Nile.  Hercule Poirot (Branagh) is also vacationing in Egypt when he runs into his old friend Bouc (Tom Bateman) and his mother Euphemia (Annette Bening), who are part of the wedding party, and they invite him along.  When Jackie boards the cruise during a stopover at Abu Simbel, Linnet confesses to Poirot that she fears for her safety.  However, it seems that everyone on board has a grudge against Linnet: her longtime maid Louise Bourget (Rose Leslie), her former fiance Linus Windlesham (Russell Brand), her cousin and lawyer Andrew Katchadourian (Ali Fazal), her godmother Marie Van Schuyler (Jennifer Saunders), Van Schuyler's nurse and companion Mrs. Bowers (Dawn French), her former classmate Rosalie Otterbourne (Letitia Wright), and Rosalie's aunt Salome Otterbourne (Sophie Okenedo).  When Linnet is found dead with a gunshot wound to the head, it is up to Poirot to solve the murder.  As with the previous movie I really enjoyed the all-star cast, particularly Mackey, who all have a moment to shine as they are interrogated one by one.  I also enjoyed Branagh's portrayal of the famous Belgian sleuth because he expands on Poirot's backstory in a compelling prequel about a doomed relationship with a woman named Katherine (Susannah Fielding), a theme hinted at in the first movie, as motivation for his actions.  I think his performance in this movie is more nuanced and less affected.  However, while I loved the glamorous costumes and opulent production design, the sub-par visual effects are very distracting because it is glaringly obvious that this was filmed on a set with green screens.  There are also some pacing issues because it takes much too long to establish all of the characters and relationships before the murder happens and the resolution feels rushed as a result.  Finally, I found the suggestive dance sequence between Simon and Jackie to be very uncomfortable in light of what we know about Hammer's personal life.  This movie is not without its faults but I had a great time watching it as a bit of escapist fun and I recommend it to those who enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express.

Note:  My family had VHS copies of Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Death on the Nile (1978), and Evil Under the Sun (1982).  I often binge-watched them together when I was a teenager so I am hoping that Branagh adapts Evil Under the Sun next so that I can recreate that experience!

Ballet West's Romeo and Juliet

When I subscribed to Ballet West's 2021-2022 season, Romeo and Juliet was the ballet I was most excited to see and it certainly lived up to my expectations last night!  It was absolutely beautiful!  This ballet tells the well-known story of star-crossed lovers by William Shakespeare with music composed by Sergei Prokofiev and choreography by Michael Smuin.  I loved everything about it starting with the music.  The themes played during the Capulet's ball are incredibly dramatic and the variation played when Romeo and Juliet first see each other is haunting.  The choreography is absolutely riveting, especially the ensemble scenes on the streets of Verona because they are so playful and fun to watch, the sword fights between the Montagues and Capulets because they are tense and passionate, and the pas de deux between Romeo and Juliet because, not only are they incredibly romantic, they are also quite acrobatic (she leaps into his arms multiple times and at one point he lifts her effortlessly above his head).  The performances are simply brilliant!  I was particularly struck by the death of Tybalt (Rex Tilton) because Lady Capulet (Emily Adams) is filled with palpable despair and climbs on to his funeral bier as it is taken away.  It is a powerful scene.  I also enjoyed Hadriel Diniz as Mercutio because he is so charismatic, especially when he kisses a girl as he is dying.  Chase O'Connell, as Romeo, and Beckanne Sisk, as Juliet, dance their roles beautifully and their chemistry is off the charts (they are a real-life couple).  The balcony scene is beautiful and I loved it when he would fall at her feet and clutch her skirt to his face.  So romantic!  The sets and costumes really add to the drama.  I let out an audible gasp when the Capulet's crypt was revealed because it is so dramatic with gray marble, an iron gate, and black robed dancers carrying lanterns all around Juliet's bier.  I also liked the chapel where Romeo and Juliet are married because it looks like a Renaissance painting.  The Capulets are all dressed in various shades of red while the Montagues are in blue and this is especially impressive when the two families collide with each other.  This is a stunning production that kept me captivated from beginning to end and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets).

Bravo Broadway: A Rodgers & Hammerstein Celebration

I could hardly contain my excitement all day yesterday in anticipation of the Utah Symphony concert last night!  I always really enjoy the Bravo Broadway series but last night's program featured the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein (and a few of their close collaborators) so it was especially good!  The orchestra was joined by conductor Jerry Steichen (I love it whenever he returns to SLC because he is so charming and charismatic), Broadway stars William Michals, Hugh Panaro, and Scarlett Strallen, as well as the Utah Opera Chorus.  The orchestra began with the Overture to The King and I and then they were joined by all three vocalists and the chorus for, rather appropriately, "It's a Grand Night for Singing" from State Fair. Panaro, who I have seen perform before, sang a beautiful version of "Where or When" from Babes in Arms (a collaboration between Rodgers and Hart) and this was definitely a highlight for me.  Sigh!  Strallen performed "The Sound of Music," the first of several songs from The Sound of Music, and then was joined by Michals and Panaro for a really fun version of "The Lonely Goatherd."  This was followed by "Edelweiss" performed by Michals.  He had the audience join him for the last few verses which reminded me of when the same thing happened at the Salzburg Festival in the movie.  All three performed an incredibly powerful version of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" to conclude the first set.  After the intermission, the orchestra performed the Waltz from Carousel followed by a rousing rendition of "A Wonderful Guy" from South Pacific by Strallen.  Another highlight for me was "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific by Michals.  I think this is an incredibly romantic song and Michal's rendition is one of the best I've ever heard performed live (he played Emile De Becque in the revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center).  Strallen returned for a lovely performance of "Send in the Clowns" from A Little Night Music with Steichen accompanying her on piano (Hammerstein was an influential mentor to Sondheim).  This gave me goosebumps!  Panaro joined her for "Shall We Dance?" from The King and I and this included some fabulous choreography!  Next Michals performed "Soliloquy" from Carousel and this was quite dramatic.  The concert concluded with several selections from Oklahoma including "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'," "People Will Say We're In Love," and "Oklahoma."  For the encore, the three of them, along with the chorus, performed an incredible version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel.  I love all of the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals so I enjoyed every minute of this concert (and was even a little bit sad when it was over).  If you are also a fan, I highly recommend getting a ticket to tonight's performance of the same program (go here).

Daddy Long Legs at the Empress

I fell in love with the musical Daddy Long Legs when I saw it at HCT last year so, when I learned that it was being performed at the Empress Theatre, I immediately bought a ticket!  I saw the show last night and it was absolutely delightful!  At the turn of the century, Jerusha Abbott (Maura Monson) is the oldest orphan at the John Grier Home but a young and wealthy Trustee named Jervis Pendleton (Bryan Buhler), impressed by one of her essays about living at the orphanage, decides to send her to college so she can become a writer.  He will pay her tuition and all of her living expenses on the condition that he remain anonymous and that she writes him a letter each month to inform him of her progress.  Not knowing his name, she decides to call him Daddy Long Legs in reference to the tall shadow she saw as he left the orphanage.  Her letters are enchanting to Jervis so, against his better judgment, he meets her without revealing that he is her benefactor and falls in love with her.  Jerusha also falls in love with Jervis but, when she pours her heart out about him to Daddy Long Legs in her letters, it creates much confusion as he struggles to decide whether to reveal himself to her.  I really love the character of Jerusha because I identify with her so much.  She has such a thirst for knowledge and new experiences and I really enjoyed Monson's characterization because she imbues her with such a sense of wide-eyed wonder.  I also enjoyed Buhler's portrayal of Jervis because he visibly comes undone over Jerusha's letters, especially whenever she mentions the brother of one of her classmates.  They both have incredible voices and I was so impressed by their performances because the two of them literally carry the show entirely by themselves and do not miss a beat with the demanding songs, rapid-fire dialogue, and imaginative blocking.  The set is really clever and highly effective because it consists of an elaborate study for Jervis, to show how set in his ways he is, and a minimal space full of movable boxes filled with props which become multiple settings for Jerusha, to show her transformation throughout the show.  A live band, featuring Martha Haddock on piano, Risa Bean on cello, and Spence Kellog on guitar, performs on a platform above the stage and they are fantastic.  I love all of the music in this show but my favorite songs are "Like Other Girls," "Things I Didn't Know," "I'm a Beast," and "The Secret of Happiness."  I had a huge smile on my face from beginning to end and, even if you don't know anything about this show, I highly recommend getting a ticket because it might just become one of your favorites.  This is a limited engagement with only a few shows left so act quickly (go here for tickets).

Note:  I first discovered the Empress Theatre several years ago when they produced See How They Run.  I played Miss Skillon in high school so I just had to see it and it was so much fun!

Don't Look Up

The Academy Award nominations were announced on Tuesday and I have seen all of the nominees for Best Picture (click on the titles for my commentaries on Belfast, CODA, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog, and West Side Story) except for one.  I am not really a fan of Adam McKay (I liked The Big Short well enough but I despised Vice) so I didn't watch Don't Look Up when it was first released but, since I have a tradition of watching all the nominees, I decided to watch it on Netflix last night.  Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University, discovers a new comet but her professor, Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio), determines that it is on a collision course with Earth and will cause mass extinction.  They contact Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), the head of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA, who confirms their results and arranges for them to meet with President Janie Orlean (Meryl Streep).  She and her son Jason (Jonah Hill), the Chief of Staff, don't want to release the information to the public because it will make her look bad right before the mid-term elections.  Dibiasky and Mindy then decide to publicize the news themselves on a popular morning show hosted by Jack Bremmer (Tyler Perry) and Brie Evantee (Cate Blanchett) but Dibiasky's volatile outburst becomes a meme and the news about the imminent destruction of the Earth is overshadowed by the engagement of pop stars Riley Bina (Ariana Grande) and DJ Chello (Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi).  When President Orlean becomes embroiled in a sex scandal with her Supreme Court nominee, she decides to deflect attention by sending nuclear weapons into space to destroy the comet.  However, the CEO of the tech company BASH, Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance), believes that the comet contains trillions of dollars worth of resources so President Orlean decides to use untested BASH technology to break apart the comet and recover the pieces for the lucrative mining opportunities.  Will humanity survive?  This is a dark comedy that satirizes global warming along with political nepotism, celebrity culture, social media, abuse of power, and corporate greed but I found the message to be very heavy-handed (even though I agree with most of what McKay is saying) and the scope too large to be effective.  While there are some really funny elements (I especially loved the star-studded concert to save Earth and I laughed out loud at the mid-credits scene involving dinosaur-like creatures) and a few great performances (Hill and DiCaprio are my favorites), the uneven tone really bothered me.  The end of the world just isn't that funny, in my opinion, because the stakes are so high.  I found the juxtaposition between the touching dinner scene with Mindy, his wife (Melanie Lynskey), Oglethorpe, Dibiasky, and her boyfriend (Timothee Chalamet) and the amusing attempts by politicians and military personnel to flee the Earth in spaceships to be especially jarring.  I also found the stock images of nature interspersed with the comedy to be off-putting.  I didn't hate it as much as Vice but it is definitely my least favorite Best Picture nominee.

Sundown

Last night I saw the movie Sundown and I am still thinking about this intriguing character study.  An obviously wealthy British family, consisting of Neil (Tim Roth), Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and teens Colin (Samuel Bottomley) and Alexa (Albertine Kotting McMillan), is vacationing at a luxurious resort in Acapulco.  Their holiday is cut short when Alice receives a distressing phone call informing her that her mother has been rushed to the hospital and she insists that they return home immediately.  However, when the family is at the airport ready to check-in (with full concierge service), Neil realizes that he has left his passport back at the hotel and must stay behind.  Instead of returning to the resort, he takes a taxi to a seedy hotel and proceeds to spend the next few days drinking and sitting on the beach while ignoring the frantic phone calls from Alice.  He meets a local woman (Iazua Larios) and begins an affair with her as the days turn into weeks.  Finally, Alice returns to Mexico to confront him is a scene filled with restrained fury.  This is a slow burn with lots of up-close shots of Neil's inscrutable face staring into the ocean but it is somehow incredibly compelling because you never know how you are supposed to feel about him.  Who is he?  Why has he seemingly abandoned his family in their time of need?  What is he doing in Mexico?  Why does he seem so ambivalent about his situation (including a violent murder that happens literally at his feet)?  The answers, which are revealed very slowly, may surprise audiences.  I was also really intrigued by the subtle commentary on class structure.  Many of the locals are portrayed as incredibly subservient to the wealthy tourists, bringing unsolicited drinks and waiting around for hours in taxis, but then their attention becomes more sinister in the third act.  Roth gives a highly nuanced performance because, even though he is incredibly still most of the time, there is so much going on behind his eyes.  Ultimately, I think this movie is not quite as profound as it thinks it is (the ambiguous ending made several people in the audience groan out loud) but I found it very interesting.

The Golden Couple

My February Book of the Month selection was The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (the other options were Don't Cry for Me by Daniel Black, A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross, Vladimir by Julia May Jonas, and Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu). I discovered these authors during the lockdown and eagerly devoured all of their books (often in one sitting) so I was very excited to read their latest! Avery Chambers is an unorthodox therapist who guarantees that she can treat people in only ten sessions. She requires absolute honesty and investigates every aspect of her clients' lives in order to uncover the root of their problems. Matthew and Marissa Bishop seem like the perfect couple but Marissa turns to Avery because she has a secret that could threaten the happiness of her marriage. However, as Avery investigates the Bishops, she discovers that they are both hiding much more than they are willing to disclose during their sessions and it soon becomes clear that Avery herself is keeping secrets. The narrative alternates between the POVs of Marissa and Avery and I found both characters to be incredibly compelling even if they are flawed. I particularly enjoyed the idea of a therapist who has gone rogue because so much of what Avery does can be construed as unethical and it makes for a provocative narrative. All of the secondary characters are also very intriguing and I never knew from one minute to the next who to believe or trust as more and more information is slowly revealed. This kept me reading well into the night in order to unravel all of the mysteries (and there are so many of them along with quite a few red herrings). Hendricks and Pekkanen are known for their dramatic plot twists but I found the big reveal in this story to be somewhat underwhelming because I predicted it early on (I thought it was fairly unoriginal and obvious). The resolution is rushed and, in my opinion, it is all a bit too neat considering the high stakes involved. I liked this novel well enough but I definitely think that The Anonymous Girl, The Wife Between Us, and You Are Not Alone by these authors are better and would recommend them over this.

Moonfall

To be honest, after all of the heavy content that I watched all alone in my living room during the Sundance Film Festival this year I was really looking forward to a ridiculous disaster movie on an IMAX screen in a crowded theater with a big tub of popcorn.  I certainly got all of that with Moonfall last night!  The moon has been knocked out of its orbit for reasons and is now on a collision course with Earth.  Also for reasons, the only way to save the Earth from certain doom is to send NASA Deputy Director Jocinda "Jo" Fowler (Halle Berry), disgraced astronaut Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson), and conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) into space on a decommissioned space shuttle retrieved from a museum in order to detonate an EMP device in the center of the moon.  Finally, for reasons, Harper's estranged son Sonny (Charlie Plummer) must race against time to get Jo's son Jimmy and his caregiver Michelle (Kelly Yu) to safety while Jo's ex-husband General Doug Davidson (Eme Ikwuakor) must take drastic measures to stop the military from launching nuclear weapons at the moon.  Let's just say that none of the reasons involve actual science, logic, or common sense!  The entire premise is completely preposterous, with an absolutely bonkers third act, and most of the dialogue is cringe worthy but there are some great visual effects and I would be lying if I said I didn't have a lot of fun watching this.  If you are a fan of Roland Emmerich's other disaster movies you will probably enjoy it, too.  I recommend seeing it on the biggest screen possible with as many people as possible with the biggest tub of popcorn possible.

Thierry Fischer Conducts Ravel, Liszt & John Adams

Last night, like most Friday nights, I was at Abravanel Hall for a Utah Symphony concert and I loved every minute of it!  The orchestra, once again under the baton of Music Director Thierry Fischer, began with Slonimsky's Earbox by John Adams.  I was unfamiliar with this piece but I enjoyed it immensely because it is incredibly dynamic with non-stop energy coming from every section.  I especially loved all of the percussion and the almost strident blasts from the brass.  Next, the orchestra was joined by Joyce Yang for Piano Concerto No. 1 by Franz Liszt and this was pretty spectacular!  The first movement is incredibly dramatic and I loved watching Yang's fingers fly up and down the keyboard.  The second movement is very romantic with beautiful passages by the solo piano while the third movement is playful with a theme played by the triangle and duets between the piano and several woodwind instruments.  The final movement returns to the dramatic themes introduced at the beginning with a powerful march played by the brass.  I have seen Yang perform at Abravanel Hall before and she was simply brilliant last night.  She received a thunderous standing ovation and performed a beautiful rendition of Prelude in G Minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff as an encore.  After the intermission, the orchestra played several pieces by Maurice Ravel.  The first was Une barque sur l'ocean and, as I listened, I could see a violent storm, suggested by a theme played by the timpani, at sea with a boat being tossed about on turbulent waves.  Next came Valses nobles et sentimentales which are a series of light and airy waltzes.  The concert concluded with La Valse and during this piece I imagined a large group of waltzing couples dancing in a ballroom in Vienna and I especially loved the theme played by the harps.  It was a lovely evening of music and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  The same program will be performed again tonight and, since all the cool kids spend their weekends at Abravanel Hall, I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).

Over the River and Through the Woods at HCTO

Even though it is a bit of a drive to get there from my house, I am so glad that I discovered Hale Center Theater Orem last year.  Every show that I have seen there has been outstanding including their current production, Over the River and Through the Woods, which I saw last night.  This delightful play is full of laughter and heart and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Nick Cristano (Will Ingram) is offered a big promotion at work but this means that he will have to relocate from New York to Seattle.  His overprotective Italian grandparents (Mark Pulham, Karen Baird, Larson Holyoak, and Melany Wilkins) don't want him to leave so they plot to find a reason for him to stay.  They decide that he needs a girlfriend which involves a painfully awkward set-up with Caitlin O'Hare (Kelly Cook), the attractive and single niece of his grandmother's canasta partner.  Hilarity ensues!  In addition to the humor, of which there is plenty (I was laughing out loud all night), there are some really tender moments involving generational differences. The main theme of the play is that people, especially immigrants, work hard their whole lives in order to give their children and grandchildren a better life but, in so doing, they pave the way for them to leave them behind for lives that are incomprehensible to them.  An especially poignant scene involves Nick's grandfather telling him about coming to America for a better life and then realizing that Nick wants to move to Seattle for the exact same reason and that he needs to let him go.  I was lucky enough to have all four of my grandparents (and my great-grandfather) in my life until my mid-twenties and I recognized many of the situations portrayed in this play, especially when Nick's grandmother tries to feed him all of the time (my grandmother also tried to send me home with food whenever I visited).  The entire cast is fantastic, but I particularly enjoyed Ingram's overwrought portrayal of Nick (I also enjoyed him in The 39 Steps).  His facial expressions are absolutely hilarious, especially as he gets more and more exasperated with his grandparents during the blind date with Caitlin and during their game of Trivial Pursuit!  I am, once again, really impressed with what HCTO is able to do with such a small space because the stage looks just like the fussy living and dining room of an older couple.  I particularly loved all of the little details such as the plastic fruit in a bowl on the table (both of my grandmothers had plastic fruit on their tables).  This is a show that old and young alike are sure to enjoy and I highly recommend it.  It runs through Ferbruary 12 so get your tickets (go here) soon!

Treasure Island at HCT

Last night I saw Treasure Island, a thrilling adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of swashbuckling pirates and buried treasure, at Hale Theatre. I had heard that it was pretty spectacular, which made me very eager to see it, but I have to admit that all of the rumored special effects gave me pause because Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the last show I saw on the Young Living Stage, had so many technical issues that it was stopped twice for long periods of time and I feared the same thing would happen last night. I needn't have worried because this show is, indeed, spectacular. Billy Bones (Rob Fernandez) suddenly appears at the Admiral Benbow Inn and meets the proprietor's son Jim Hawkins (Matthew Sanguine). He confesses to Jim that he has a map that once belonged to the pirate Flint (Bradley Moss), which leads to buried treasure, but that Flint's crew will soon be coming after it. Jim takes the map, eludes the pirates, enlists the help of Dr. Livesey (Roger Dunbar) and Squire Trelawney (Bradley Moss), and hires the Hispaniola to travel the sea in search of the treasure. Jim meets Long John Silver (BJ Whimpey), who befriends him and offers to find a crew for the Hispaniola, much to the displeasure of Captain Smollett (Mark Knowles). However, Jim learns that the crew is made up of pirates and that Long John Silver has more sinister plans just as the Hispaniola anchors off the coast of Skeleton Island. He is helped by Ben Gunn (Ben Parkes), a half-crazed man marooned on the island, to once again elude the pirates, find the treasure, and save the ship and his companions. Director Dave Tinney added a score by J Bateman (with musicians on stage, including Nathan Kremin on guitar, Caleb Hafen on drums, and Julie Beistline on fiddle) and several songs with vocal arrangements by Rob Moffat and this is very effective in enhancing the atmosphere of adventure. The sets by Kacey Udey are some of the best I have ever seen at HCT (and the bar is set really high), especially the set for the Hispaniola and the gallons of water (39,000 to be precise) that surround it and the island. As I previously mentioned, this is an incredibly complicated show, with large set pieces coming down from the rafters, characters being thrown overboard into the water, and special effects such as fog, rain, and fire! Everything was executed flawlessly! The fight choreography is epic, particularly the duel high up in the crow's nest of the ship during a rain storm, and I loved it when characters would climb the ropes on the ship. I was absolutely dazzled by everything that was happening on stage and I don't think I have ever seen a show that was so immersive (I was even splashed by water when a character was thrown overboard). The entire cast is fantastic but I especially enjoyed Sanguine's earnestness as Hawkins and Moss nearly steals the show as Trelawney (he is hilarious). This production is so much fun and I had a huge smile on my face from beginning to end. In my opinion, it is the must-see show of the season but you should definitely get tickets soon (go here) because they are going fast (with good reason). It runs on the Young Living Stage through March 19.

Note:  Don't forget about the hilarious show, One for the Pot, now playing on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through April 2.  Go here for tickets.

Parallel Mothers

Another movie now playing at the Broadway that I have been anticipating for a long time is Parallel Mothers.  I had the chance to see it last night and I was completely drawn in by this story which, on the surface, is about two mothers but, if you dig a little deeper, is a fascinating exploration of what it means to know who you are and where you come from.  Janis Martinez (Penelope Cruz) is a photographer who becomes pregnant as the result of a casual relationship with Arturo (Israel Elejalde), a married man who doesn't want to be a part of the baby's life.  Ana Manso (Milena Smit) is a frightened teenager essentially estranged from her family who is also pregnant and ends up sharing a hospital room with Janis as they both go into labor.  They bond over their similar status as single mothers and their concern for their babies who have been put under observation.  Several months later Janis becomes uneasy about her baby's identity and this brings her in contact with Ana once again.  Janis is also obsessed with excavating the unmarked grave in the village where she grew up in order to find the remains of her great-grandfather who was killed during the Spanish Civil War.  She reaches out to Arturo, a forensic archaeologist, and members of her extended family to help her confirm her great-grandfather's identity.  The narrative is incredibly thought-provoking and I was particularly struck by the fact that both Janis and Ana were raised by someone other than their mothers and struggle to find a connection with them.  I was also impressed by how well Pedro Almodovar was able to weave a personal tragedy with a national one (it reminded me a bit of Roma in that respect).  Cruz gives an incredibly powerful and emotional performance but I was blown away by Smit, especially during a climactic scene between Janis and Ana.  I also really enjoyed the melodramatic score and the bold primary colors used in the production design, all hallmarks of an Almodovar film.  I do tend to over analyze a bit but I haven't been able to stop thinking about this movie and I may need to see it again!  I highly recommend it to fans of Almodovar!