Golda

Last night I went to the Broadway to see Golda because I have always been fascinated by the history of the Middle East.  It is incredibly powerful with another brilliant performance from Helen Mirren.  The narrative surrounds the Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Syria and Egypt in 1973 with the framing device of the Agranat Comission during which Prime Minister Golda Meir (Mirren) is called upon to explain her controversial decision not to launch a preemptive strike despite receiving intelligence suggesting a coming attack.  While there are strategy meetings with her ministers and generals and some incredibly tense sequences listening to the audio from battle, much of the focus is on how a chain-smoking and stoop-shouldered woman undergoing treatments for lymphoma responds to the crisis.  The constraints imposed on her by her diplomatic position are shown through her complicated relationship with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Liev Schreiber), her continuing heath problems are shown through her relationship with her personal assistant Lou Kaddar (Camille Cottin), and her despair over the deaths of so many soldiers is shown through her relationship with her secretary Shir Shapiro (Ellie Piercy) and I think this is very effective at showing the real woman behind the politician.  Mirren is absolutely phenomenal and disappears completely into the role.  I was particularly moved by the scene where she keeps replaying the audio from the devastating battle in her mind and when she must inform her secretary of the death of her son in battle.  I also enjoyed some recurring visual motifs throughout, such as the appearance of birds and the use of the ever present cigarette smoke to represent battle, as well as the dramatic sound design and score.  I really liked this historical drama and highly recommend it.

The Hill

Last night I went to see The Hill because I am a sucker for a good underdog sports story (it was the second one in two days).  Unfortunately, this one is not good.  Rickey Hill, the son of a poverty-stricken itinerant pastor, has a degenerative spinal disease that requires him to wear leg braces as a child (played by Jesse Berry) but he is a phenom at hitting a baseball and dreams of playing in the major league.  His father James Hill (Dennis Quaid) believes that it is God's will that he follow in his footsteps and become a preacher but Rickey believes that it is God's will that he play baseball and he (played as a teen by Colin Ford) eventually becomes a star on his high school team.  However, he must overcome a debilitating injury that requires surgery and the disapproval of his father for a chance to try out for an MLB scout.  Hill's story is compelling and inspirational and I actually enjoyed the messages about faith (it isn't as heavy-handed as I expected it to be) and perseverance so I really wish that the telling of it was better.  It uses a linear timeline with all of the predictable beats of a traditional biopic (which doesn't always bother me if there is some other element to keep my attention) so the pacing becomes very sluggish at times.  I also found the climactic reconciliation between father and son that I had been waiting for throughout the whole movie to be incredibly disappointing because Pastor Hill confesses the error of his ways to his congregation rather than to Rickey.  Most of the supporting characters are one-dimensional, the dialogue is hackneyed, and the score is emotionally manipulative.  The performances range from bland at best to cringe-worthy at worst and Quaid, who I usually really like, is almost laughably bad with a permanent scowl on his face (a school yard bully with a comical grimace as he tries to strike Rickey out in a pick-up game is almost as bad).  The only dynamic presence on the screen is Scott Glenn in a cameo as the curmudgeonly scout Red Murff.  I really wanted to love this but, alas, I didn't and I can't really recommend it.

Gran Turismo

Last night I finally had the chance to see Gran Turismo and, as fan of inspirational underdog sports stories, I absolutely loved it!  I may or may not have cheered out loud during a climactic moment in a race.  Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom), a marketing executive for Nissan, pitches the idea to find the best players of the PlayStation game Gran Turismo and have them compete for a chance to race on Team Nissan for the publicity.  He recruits Jack Salter (David Harbour), a former driver turned mechanic, to train the gamers but Salter doesn't think they have the stamina or intuition to succeed and only accepts Team Nissan's offer because his current driver, Nicholas Capa (Josha Stradowski), is too arrogant for his own good. Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) spends all of his free time playing the game and, despite the disapproval of his father Steven (Djimon Hounsou), he is selected to train at the GT Academy and ultimately wins the respect of Salter and a contract with Team Nissan.  However, after struggling in a few qualifying races, he succeeds in placing and earning a F1 Super License but faces growing backlash from the racing community and must prove himself at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race.  This is somewhat predictable (there is the ubiquitous training montage, the obvious competition between Mardenborough and the driver that Salter abandoned to train him, a convenient love interest, a devastating crash as an emotional arc, and a touching reconciliation between Mardenborough and his father before Le Mans) but it is a really inspiring story about an outsider who overcomes the odds and the visuals are spectacular!  The racing sequences are incredibly immersive and it really seems as if Mardenborough is actually driving when he is playing the game and like he is playing the game when he is driving.   I especially loved the Le Mans race because I was on the edge of my seat during the final lap even though I basically knew what was going to happen (see above comment about cheering out loud).  Madekwe is very appealing but Harbour is the standout for me because, in my opinion, his moving performance as a reluctant mentor is what makes you care about Mardenborough.  The soundtrack is also a lot of fun (I loved the Enya and Kenny G needle drops).  This is much better than I was expecting and I highly recommend it!

Utah Shakespeare Festival 2023

Marilyn and I spent Friday and Saturday at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City.  We both look forward to this annual trip all year (we brought our tickets last November) and we had so much fun!

Our first show on Friday afternoon was The Play That Goes Wrong in the Randall Jones Theatre.  Marilyn had never seen it before and she was laughing out loud before it even started because the stage crew was looking in the audience for a missing dog!  The titular play that goes wrong is the Cornley Drama Society's production of The Murder at Haversham Manor by Susie H. K. Bridewell.  The cast includes Max (Jim Poulos) as Cecil Haversham/ Arthur the Gardner, Chris (Rhett Guter) as Inspector Carter, Jonathan (Jeffrey Marc Alkins) as Charles Haversham, Robert (Blake Henri) as Thomas Colleymore, Dennis (Chris Mixon) as Perkins the Butler, and Sandra (Nazlah Black) as Florence Colleymore with Annie (Melinda Parrett) as the put upon Stage Manager and Trevor (Cameron Vargas) as the Sound and Lighting Director.  The set is slowly falling apart, the props malfunction or go missing, Trevor accidentally plays Duran Duran instead of the sound cues, the aforementioned missing dog is never found, one actor cannot stay still while playing the murder victim, one actor cannot remember his lines, one actor continually breaks the fourth wall to milk the audience for applause, and the leading lady is injured halfway through the show and is replaced by Annie and then Trevor (with scripts in hand) but the show must go on!  My favorite aspect of this production is the physical comedy, especially when Cecil and Thomas have to answer the phone with their hands full, when Sandra and Annie have a long and drawn out fight to play Florence, and when Thomas and Inspector Carter are trapped in the second floor study.  The cast is superb and everyone has amazing comedic timing, particularly Henri and Poulos.  The set is fantastic because it falls apart so spectacularly!  Both Marilyn and I loved it!

On Friday night we saw Romeo and Juliet in the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre.  As I've mentioned, this is my least favorite Shakespeare play but this rendition was more faithful to the text than the version I saw recently and I always appreciate that (even though I loved that production).  This play tells the well known story of woe about the star-crossed lovers from rival houses, Juliet (Naiya Vanessa McCalla) and her Romeo (Aamar-Malik Culbreth).  I really loved McCalla's interpretation of Juliet because she is really sassy in her interactions with Romeo (especially when she interrupts him during the balcony scene) and bossy towards her Nurse (Alex Keiper) in Act I and almost defiant in her interactions with Lord Capulet (Tim Fullerton) when forced to marry Paris (Marco Antonio Vega) in Act II.  I also really enjoyed Culbreth's performance because his Romeo is incredibly impulsive and I was quite shocked by a scene between him and Tybalt (Gilberto Saenz).  Speaking of which, the fight choreography is really dynamic and exciting to watch.  I loved the period costumes and, while the set is very minimal, the colorful ribbons hanging from the rafters during the ball make a very dramatic impression.  My biggest complaint, which kept me from loving this production, is the portrayal of Mercutio (Ryan Ruckman).  He is supposed to be Romeo's friend and contemporary (Ruckman is quite a bit older than Culbreth) and he is also meant to be witty with a way with words but Ruckman portrays him as a drunken and dissolute rogue which makes his rebuke of both the Montagues and Capulets as he is dying less powerful.  Both Marilyn and I enjoyed this performance but we didn't love it.

Saturday afternoon we went back to the Randall Jones Theatre for a production of Emma: The Musical and it was lovely.  Emma Woodhouse (Allie Babich) meets her match when she tries her matchmaking skills with her protegee Harriet Smith (Laura Brennan) and Mr. Elton (Jim Poulos), Mr. Churchill (Gilberto Saenz), then Mr. Knightley (Rhett Guter).  This is one of my favorite novels by Jane Austen and, even though the songs are not particularly memorable (they mainly consist of large chunks of exposition that are sung), I really loved this adaptation.  The cast is outstanding and I especially enjoyed Babich because she has a beautiful voice and her characterization of the conniving but likable Emma is hysterical (especially during "The Recital") but Brennan steals the show as Harriet (especially when she controls Emma like a marionette in the reprise of "Humiliation" which mimics how Emma treats her and Mr. Elton in "A Gentleman's Daughter").  Guter is an appealing Mr. Knightley (Marilyn really liked him) and I loved Saenz as the preening Mr. Churchill, particularly all of his poses during "Should We Ever Meet" (I also liked him as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet the night before).  Melinda Parrett as Miss Bates and Chris Mixon as the hypochondriac Mr. Woodhouse are also standouts in the cast.  The set, featuring rose covered arches and wisteria laden columns, is absolutely gorgeous and the regency period costumes (I loved all of the empire waists) are beautiful.  Marilyn and I loved this!

Out final show on Saturday night was A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre.  This was my most anticipated show of the festival because I taught this play for so many years and it did not disappoint!  In fact, it was my favorite show!  The course of true love does not run smooth when Oberon (Corey Jones), the King of the Fairies, has Puck (Max Gallagher) play a trick on Titania (Cassandra Bissell), the Queen of the Fairies, which inadvertently involves four lovers from Athens, Hermia (Naiya Vanessa McCall), Lysander (Aamar-Malik Culbreth), Helena (Kayland Jordan), and Demetrius (Jimmy Nguyen), and Nick Bottom (Topher Embrey) the weaver.  I loved so many things about this production!  The set for Athens is very classical with large columns and fabric covered walls but, once the characters go into the woods, the columns become trees (which are moved around and light up) and the fabric is removed to reveal intricate panels of flowers and a moon made of twigs and lights.  It is really cool, especially when the columns are moved to show that the characters are lost in the woods.  Since the woods are in juxtaposition with Athens, I loved seeing the actors who play Oberon, Titania, and Puck also portray Theseus, Hippolyta, and Philostrate (they are all really good).  I loved the entire cast but my favorites are Jordan as Helena, because her interactions with the the other lovers are so over the top, and Embrey, because his antics had me laughing throughout the entire show (but especially during the performance of Pyramus and Thisbe for the Duke).  The costumes are some of the best I've seen at the festival (especially for all of the fairies) and I loved that the four lovers gradually come undressed as they come undone!  This was such a fun play to end our time at the festival with because we loved it so much!

I enjoyed all four plays this year and I am happy to report that the tarts are as delicious as in years past (I had several).  I am already looking forward to next year!

[title of show] at the Grand Theatre

Last night I went to see [title of show] at the Grand Theatre and, once again, I was really happy to have the chance to see a show with which I was unfamiliar!  This musical about the writing of a musical is clever and funny (especially if you are a fan of Broadway) and I really enjoyed it.  Jeff (Jacob Barnes) and Hunter (Brian Cota) are two struggling writers living and working temp jobs in New York.  They hear about a new musical theatre festival and, even though the deadline for submissions is only three weeks away, they decide to enter with the help of their friends Susan (Ashley Coombs) and Heidi (Michelle Lynn Thompson) and a pianist named Larry (Jonathan McDonald).  As they struggle to write material for an entirely original musical, they realize that their conversations about writing the musical are more interesting than what they are writing and that becomes the show.  Once it is accepted by the festival, the show's subject becomes the process of mounting a show Off-Broadway and then transferring it to Broadway (including videos on YouTube called The [title of show] Show that you can actually find on YouTube).  It is so meta because Jeff Bowen (music and lyrics) and Hunter Bell (book) really wrote the show about their experiences with their friends Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickenstaff and the four of them actually starred in productions both on and off Broadway with Larry Pressgrove as musical director!  It is so fun!  My favorite songs are "An Original Musical," about how hard it is to come up with an original idea (I loved the lyric that makes fun of turning movies into musicals), "Die, Vampire, Die," about refusing to listen to the doubts inside your head about your art, "Change It/Don't Change It," about refusing to abandon your original idea to make it more commercial, and "Nine People's Favorite Thing," about being proud of your work no matter what.  The song "Secondary Characters" also made me laugh (this show explores a lot of the tropes found in Broadway musicals).  All of the actors do a great job with the material and give energetic performances but I was especially impressed with McDonald because he plays the piano on stage.  Speaking of which, the audience is also located on the stage (it is a so-called Backstage Production) so it really feels like you are observing the writing process inside Jeff's loft apartment.  I was very pleasantly surprised by this show and I would definitely recommend it, especially to fans of musical theatre.  It runs at the Grand Theatre through September 9 with shows Thursday - Saturday (go here for tickets).

Note:  This show does contain a lot of profanity (in fact, there is a running bit about the need to clean up the language for families, tourists, and the ladies who see matinees).

Clue at HCTO

The hilarious slapstick comedy Clue was my favorite show at the Utah Shakespeare Festival last year (my sister, who is very reserved, laughed out loud multiple times) so I was really excited to see it again at HCTO last night. I wondered how they would be able to manage all of the complicated hi-jinks in the their small and intimate space but what they did is so clever it just might be my favorite staging of this show!  Six guests, including Colonel Mustard (David Knight), Mrs. Peacock (Lizzy Bean), Professor Plum (Spencer Bean), Mrs. White (Bonnie Wilson Whitlock), Mr. Green (Bryson Smellie), and Miss Scarlet (Laurel Asay Lowe), are invited by Mr. Boddy (Langi Tuifua) to his manor on a dark and stormy night under unusual circumstances.  Mr. Boddy has been blackmailing each of them and, after providing them with weapons, he informs them that he will return the evidence he has against them if they kill his butler Mr. Wadsworth (Blake Barlow).  Murder and mayhem ensue!  As I mentioned, the staging of this show is so clever!  The entire space has been transformed into Boddy Manor with parquet floors, mahogany wainscoting, and gold leaf wallpaper all around and a large chandelier in the center.  The actors use elaborate (and highly amusing) choreography to move from room to room as minimal set pieces are seamlessly configured on stage to become the hall, the lounge, the dining room, the study, the kitchen, the billiards room, and the conservatory.  I particularly enjoyed the use of a set of moving doors as the characters search the manor and a revolving bookcase.  This show is so funny because it is filled with witty dialogue (although the joke about Republicans didn't get the same response in Utah county as it has in other productions I've seen), sight gags, and physical comedy and it all happens at lightning speed!  The entire cast is outstanding with brilliant comedic timing but the standouts for me are Whitlock (one of my favorites at HCT and HCTO), because her facial expressions are priceless, Smellie, because his physicality throughout the entire show is commendable (particularly when he is trapped under two different bodies), and Barlow, because his high energy performance (especially when Wadsworth reenacts every murder in detail) is definitely the highlight of the show.  The costumes are a lot of fun (I liked that each character's costume features just a bit of their signature color) and the lighting is very effective at creating a mood.  I loved this production so much and, if you are looking for some laughs, I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).  It runs at HCTO through September 23 but tickets are going fast!

Passages

I am a big fan of Franz Rogowski (he gives a haunting performance in Transit that I still think about) so I was really excited to see his latest movie, Passages, last night at the Broadway.  Even though he plays a thoroughly unlikable character, Rogowski is absolutely captivating as a man who initiates an emotionally damaging love triangle.  Tomas (Rogowski) is a demanding and controlling director living in Paris with his husband Martin (Ben Whishaw).  At the wrap party for his latest film Tomas has a sexual encounter with Agathe (Adele Exarchopoulos) but immediately confesses to Martin who is upset but excuses his behavior.  Tomas continues the affair with Agathe because he finds it exciting to be with a woman but soon falls in love with her and leaves Martin.  However, Tomas becomes irrationally jealous when Martin begins a relationship with an author named Ahmad (Erwan Kepoa Fale) and tries to win him back.  Complications ensue when Tomas attempts to keep both Martin and Agathe in his life only to lose them both.  Rogowski's performance is brilliant because, even though his character does so many reprehensible things, you are still drawn to him and I did feel a tiny bit of sympathy for him in a devastating final close-up shot of his eyes filled with tears (despite the fact that I silently cheered when he is forced to face the consequences of his actions).  Whishaw and Exarchopoulos also give outstanding, but highly restrained, performances as smart and successful people who make terrible decisions when it comes to the heart (we've all been there), especially in a powerful scene between Martin and Agathe that serves as a major turning point.  It is fascinating to watch the shifting power dynamics between the three characters.  There are lots of explicit sex scenes (it certainly earns its NC-17 rating) so this might not be for everyone but I found it riveting.

Note:  This also includes one of the funniest scenes I've seen in a long time.  Tomas meets Agathe's parents wearing a fishnet crop top and the look her mother (Caroline Chaniolleau) gives her father (Olivier Rabourdin) had everyone in my theater laughing out loud!

Blue Beetle

My nephew Sean and I went to see Blue Beetle last night (it was one of his most anticipated movies of the year) and we both loved it!  Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena) is a recent college graduate who has returned to his hometown looking for a job.  He ends up at Kord Industries, run by the ruthless Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon) who wants to use an alien artifact known as the Scarab to create cyborg assassins known as One Man Army Corps (OMACs).  Her niece Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine) objects to this and steals the Scarab but she ends up giving it to an unsuspecting Jaime.  When the Scarab chooses Jaime to be its host and fuses with him to create a powerful armored suit, he reaches out to Jenny to learn about its origins.  However, Victoria wants it back and sends her bodyguard Ignacio Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo), an OMAC prototype, to attack his family, including his father Alberto (Damian Alcazar), mother Rocio (Elpidia Carrillo), sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo), uncle Rudy (George Lopez), and grandmother Nana (Adriana Barraza), forcing an epic confrontation.  There have been a lot of superhero origin stories over the years so it is inevitable that tropes have developed and, while this movie does employ many of them, I think the story is a lot of fun.  The emphasis on the importance of family provides a lot of comedy (Nana is my favorite) but also a lot of heart with several incredibly poignant moments that brought tears to my eyes.  The action sequences, which involve mostly practical effects and real-life locations, look fantastic, particularly the final battle between Blue Beetle and Carapax, and I especially loved the design of the suit. Mariduena is incredibly appealing and charismatic in the title role and, even though I was not very familiar with the character, my nephew (who is a huge fan) tells me that his portrayal is very true to the comics.  I ended up really liking the character, especially his humanity, and I am happy that Blue Beetle will be a part of the new DCU under James Gunn (a mid-credits scene sets up the second movie in a possible trilogy).  This has had a disappointing opening weekend at the box office so I highly encourage everyone to go see it because, in my opinion, it is one of the better CBMs in recent memory and both Sean and I had so much fun watching it!

None of This Is True

My August Book of the Month selection was None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell (the other options were Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo, The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin, Happiness Falls by Angie Kim, Shark Heart by Emily Habeck, and Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas). I am a big fan of Jewell so I was already anticipating her latest release and it did not disappoint! Josie Fair is celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at a popular pub with her husband Walter, a rare outing for the two of them, when she notices that another woman is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday with her husband and a large group of friends. Josie is captivated, maybe even obsessed, by her so-called "birthday twin" and learns that she is Alix Summers and that she has a popular podcast about women who have overcome tremendous odds to create new lives for themselves. She contrives to meet Alix again and convinces her that she would be a good subject for her podcast because she says that she is on the verge of making big changes in her life. At first Alix is wary but she is soon drawn in to the story of Josie's complicated life with her much older husband and her troubled daughters. As Josie insinuates herself into her life, Alix begins to suspect that she is hiding some incredibly dark secrets about her family and that her own family might be in danger. The narrative alternates between the POVs of Alix and Josie and also includes transcripts of the interviews conducted with other characters for Alix's podcast and scenes from a Netflix documentary filmed after the events described (which is extremely effective at creating suspense because it implies that something terrible has happened and I wanted to keep reading to find out what it was). What I loved most about this novel is that Josie is an incredibly unreliable narrator and I kept changing my mind about her as snippets of her past are revealed little by little. As with most of Jewell's other psychological thrillers, there are lots of twists and turns, including a final one that absolutely blew my mind and made me rethink everything I thought I knew about Josie. I still haven't made up my mind about her and I love it when a book does that to me. I also really enjoyed the character of Alix, especially in juxtaposition with Josie, because, even though it appears that she has a perfect life that Josie envies, there are also secrets about her family hiding under the surface. As I previously mentioned I could not put this book down because there is an atmosphere of foreboding on every page and I had to know what happened. Fans of the author are sure to love this but I recommend it to everyone who loves a good domestic thriller!

Romeo and Juliet at Parker Theatre

My least favorite Shakespeare play is Romeo and Juliet but I decided to see a production at Parker Theatre last night because my friend Karen highly recommended it and I have really come to love this theatre. They did some interesting things with it and I actually liked it! The Montagues and Capulets are two noble families of Verona who have an ancient grudge against one another that escalates when Tybalt (Zachary Ballard), a Capulet, and Benvolio (Brendan Hanks), a Montague, get into a fight on the street. They are warned by the Prince (Lucas Charon) to stop disrupting the peace with their feud or face severe consequences. Soon Romeo (Dallin Suman), a Montague, and Juliet (Isabelle Purdie), a Capulet, fall in love and secretly wed despite the fact that their families are enemies. However, they find themselves in a hopeless situation after Romeo kills Tybalt to avenge the death of his friend Mercutio (Spencer Hohl). Romeo is banished and Juliet's family forces her to marry Paris (Michael Kelly) so Friar Lawrence (Palmer Scott) devises a plan for them to be together but it ends in tragedy which ultimately leads to peace between Montague (Bryson Dumas) and Capulet (Joseph Kyle Rogan). Some creative liberties are taken with the original text and, while I am usually not a fan of doing that, I think the changes make the play more accessible. My audience responded with lots of laughter to many of the anachronistic ad-libs and to the updated character of the Nurse (Madeline Thatcher) who seems more like a sympathetic friend to Juliet rather than a caregiver. I also really liked the update to Tybalt's character because he seems incredibly volatile and irrationally angry at all of the Montagues and this serves to emphasize that the division between the two families is groundless and unreasonable. There is also an interesting twist involving Lady Montague (Missy Stebbing) that adds to the devastation in the final act. I was quite impressed with many members of the cast. Purdie, especially, gives a highly nuanced performance (a highlight of the show for me) that brilliantly showcases Juliet's arc. She is a young and naive girl when the audience first meets her but she visibly matures over the course of the play and her performance in the scenes where she mourns the death of Tybalt and discovers Romeo's dead body in the tomb is truly heartbreaking. As previously mentioned, Thatcher provides a lot of comic relief with her interactions with Juliet but her discovery of Juliet's lifeless body is incredibly affecting. I always think of Romeo as feckless (which is why I find the play to be so problematic) but Suman really leans into his immaturity, especially in the scene where the Nurse demands that a sniveling Romeo go to Juliet after the death of Tybalt (it is so powerful), and this interpretation worked for me. I also liked Hohl's Mercutio because he gives the character a swagger to match his wit. The beautiful set is another highlight of this production and I especially loved the symmetry of the balconies, arches, columns, and staircases on either side of the stage to represent the two houses. The fight choreography uses the various levels very effectively to add visual interest. Speaking of which, I was particularly struck by the lighting design in this show, which is unusual for me, because it creates so many beautiful vignettes (the wedding scene is gorgeous). Even if you are not a fan of this particular play I definitely recommend getting a ticket to this imaginative retelling (go here). It runs through September 2 with performances on Friday and Saturday evenings and Saturday matinees.

Foreigner at USANA

I have always really loved Foreigner!  I played my vinyl copy of 4 so much I scratched it in several places (now whenever I hear "Urgent" it sounds strange without the skip at the beginning).  They were one of the first bands I saw in concert when I was in high school (the University of Utah a cappella choir backed them on "I Want to Know What Love Is") and I drove to Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver just to to see them in a double bill with Journey.  I was really excited to see them again last night at USANA Amphitheatre during a stop on what has been billed the Farewell Tour.  Mick Jones is the last remaining original member of the group and, because he has had some health problems recently, the band has decided to quit touring.  He has performed very sporadically on this tour because of these ongoing health problems and he was not with the band last night.  They were, essentially, a cover band without any original members but it didn't seem to matter because there was a huge crowd who sang along with every song!  They performed all of the hits starting with "Double Vision," "Head Games," and "Cold As Ice."  Then came "Waiting for a Girl Like You," which is my favorite song by the band, and it was amazing.  After such a beautiful ballad, Kelly Hansen joked that it was time for something a bit nasty so they sang "Dirty White Boy" which got the crowd cheering.  Next came an acoustic set featuring several lesser known songs including "When It Comes To Love," "Girl on the Moon," which I actually really love (see above comment about the album 4), and "Say You Will."  They continued with "Urgent," another favorite of mine, and "Feels Like the First Time" followed by extended keyboard and drum solos and then an epic rendition of "Juke Box Hero" to finish the main set.  For the encore, they performed "I Want to Know What Love Is" with everyone holding up their phones (I always love it when the crowd does this because it looks so cool) and "Hot Blooded" with some awesome pyrotechnics!  Hansen doesn't sound exactly like Lou Gramm but I thought he did justice to the songs and I liked his banter with the crowd.  He was funny at times but was also quite poignant about the legacy of the band.  I really enjoyed this concert because these songs are filled with a lot of nostalgia for me (a recurring theme this summer) and I'm glad I made the effort to go even though I was tired from my camping trip!

Note:  The opening band was Loverboy (another band from my youth).  I had never seen them before and I enjoyed their set, especially "Lovin' Every Minute Of It," "Turn Me Loose," and "Working for the Weekend."

Moon Lake Camping Trip

My family has property in Duchesne county and whenever we are there we like to take day trips to the surrounding area.  On one of our trips we discovered Moon Lake on the back end of the High Uintas and I liked it so much I booked a trip at the resort for this past week.

I stayed in a "rustic" cabin which means that it does not have a bathroom (a really nice bathroom with a shower is just steps away).  It has a kitchen, with a sink, stove, and refrigerator, a table and four chairs, and two double beds.  You have to provide your own dishes and bed linen but they can be rented for a small fee.  It rained every day I was there in the late afternoon and I really enjoyed staying inside under a blanket and reading.  It was so relaxing.

I spent every morning at the lake.  You can rent motorboats, kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, and life jackets from the resort but the water was absolutely freezing (some kids still went swimming) so I stayed mostly on the beach.  It wasn't very crowded so it was really nice.

Every cabin has its own fire pit and seating area (you can also rent grills and picnic tables) and I spent every evening sitting by the fire.  It is my favorite part of camping!  Most of the cabins were occupied but they were far enough apart that I didn't really interact with anyone and it was very quiet.  The staff was very friendly and helpful (there are lots of other amenities available such as mountains bikes for rent and horseback riding).  I had a wonderful time (even without Wi-Fi) and I would highly recommend staying at the Moon Lake Resort (go here for more information and reservations).

Beauty and the Beast at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

I now have a new favorite production at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse! Last night I saw Beauty and the Beast and words cannot express how much I loved this show! I loved everything about it starting with the stellar cast. Everyone is very well suited to their particular role and I enjoyed every single performance. Olivia Lusk-Garibay is an absolutely beautiful Belle and she has a beautiful voice to match. Her versions of "Home" and "A Change In Me" are incredibly moving (the latter gave me goosebumps). Daniel Sessions is a gruff but sympathetic Beast and his rendition of "If I Can't Love Her" is a highlight of the show (I loved the staging of this because all of the enchanted objects comfort him throughout). Stefan Kurzius brings a lot of physicality to the role of Gaston and I laughed out loud every time he manhandled Belle in "Me." Quacee Dorby is hilarious as LeFou and I loved the energy he brings to "Gaston." David J. Madsen is so endearing as Maurice and the Silly Girls (Ginny Waldron, Janelle Wiser, and Maura Gardner) are a lot of fun to watch because of their facial expressions. The actors portraying the enchanted objects, including Cody Eisenbarth as Cogsworth, Jacob Draper as Lumiere, Kellie Chapman as Babette, Kim Tolman as Mrs. Potts, Parker Tolman as Chip, and Lorinda Griffiths as Madame de la Grande Bouche, each perfectly embody their object's characteristics. Another highlight of this production is the choreography because the big song and dance numbers are spectacular and integrate a large cast into the intimate space very effectively, particularly all of the townspeople in "Belle," "Gaston," and "The Mob Song," the dancing dishes in "Be Our Guest" (I loved the tap dancing plates), and all of the enchanted objects in "Human Again." The waltz during "Beauty and the Beast" is so romantic! All of the costumes are simply amazing, the best I've seen at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse! The attention to detail in the costumes for the enchanted objects is incredible and I loved that Lumiere's candles light up, Mrs. Pott's spout has steam coming out of it, and Madeame de la Grande Bouche's doors open. Belle's iconic yellow dress is lovely (I loved the roses sewn on the top skirt) and the cape worn by the Enchantress is dazzling. Finally, I was so impressed with the set! It features four large, beautifully painted, three-sided panels on casters that are turned to become the village, the castle, the hunting lodge, and the library and there are set pieces on either side of the stage for the west wing of the castle (watch the rose petals carefully) and Belle's chamber. I have seen much bigger and more elaborate versions of this musical (including the Broadway touring production and one at Tuacahn) but I was absolutely charmed by what the Terrace Plaza Playhouse did with it and I think everyone should go see it!  Go here for tickets.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

I usually taught Frankenstein to my senior British literature students but every once in a while I would opt for Dracula so I have been looking forward The Last Voyage of the Demeter because it is an adaptation of "The Captain's Log" chapter from Bram Stoker's novel.  I went to see it at a late screening last night (why do I do this to myself?) and I really liked it!  The Demeter, under the command of Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) and First Mate Wojchek (David Dastmalchain), makes port in Bulgaria to pick up cargo bound for London.  Clemens (Corey Hawkins) is a Cambridge-educated doctor looking to get back to England and is asked to join the crew after saving the captain's grandson Toby (Woody Norman) from being crushed.  Soon after setting sail one of the crates breaks open revealing a young woman, who is near death, buried in the dirt inside.  Clemens begins giving her blood transfusions in order to save her life but after several mysterious events, including the slaughter of all the livestock and the disappearance of crew members, the remaining crew is superstitious about having a woman on board and distrustful of Clemens.  However, when the stowaway Anna (Aisling Franciosi) wakes up, she warns that they should abandon ship because a monster from her village known as Dracula is aboard.  However, Wojchek wants the significant bonus promised if the Demeter reaches London ahead of schedule and they continue on with tragic results.  This is incredibly atmospheric with eerie visuals and an escalating sense of dread created through dramatic sound design (especially when crew members knock on the ship's hull to request assistance) and lighting design (the use of shadows creates so much tension).  There are some really effective jump scares and I almost screamed during a particularly harrowing scene where Dracula stalks Toby.  The attacks are really gruesome (it definitely earns its R rating) and Dracula's creature design is more monstrous than I was expecting but that adds to the terror.  The cast is solid and Hawkins and Dastmalchian, especially, give emotional weight to their roles while Javier Botet is suitably creepy as the creature.  This does suffer from some pacing issues because a few scenes go on too long and the ending is a foregone conclusion but this is a strong entry in the horror genre and I recommend it.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella at the Empress

I was able to see the final performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella at the Empress last night and I was absolutely enchanted by it.  Not only is this one of my favorite productions at the Empress it is one of my favorite productions of this show (and I've seen quite a few of them, including one last month).  This is a more contemporary version of the classic fairy tale and, while I didn't like the first production I saw, it is definitely growing on me.  Cinderella (Joy Austin) rescues Prince Topher (Aaron Allred) from the Lord Protector Sebastian (Brandon Walton) who is deceiving him about the conditions of his kingdom.  Her Fairy Godmother is a crazy beggar woman named Marie (Cassie Hurt-McLarty) who shows her that she has the power to make her own dreams come true and her stepsister Gabrielle (Chelsea West) becomes a sympathetic co-conspirator against the machinations of her stepmother Madame (Jenn George) and her stepsister Charlotte (Bridges Eatchel) as she pursues her own romance with the revolutionary Jean-Michel (Robert Campbell).  She eventually brings about a happily ever after for everyone by convincing Topher to form a constitutional monarchy.  This features a really strong cast and I was particularly impressed with Austin and Allred because they have lovely voices and I loved their romantic renditions of "Ten Minutes Ago" and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?"  I also loved George (a regular at the Empress and one of my favorites) because her Madame is so imperious and Eatchel because her rendition of "Stepsister's Lament" made me laugh out loud!  However, my favorite was Hurt-McLarty because I loved her vocal performances of "Impossible/ It's Possible" and "There Is Music In You" and her characterization is hilarious (she is always in character with crazy facial expressions and bits of business whenever she is on stage even when the focus is not on her).  The choreography is a lot of fun, especially in "The Prince Is Giving a Ball/ Now Is The Time" and "Ten Minutes Ago" (it is so magical).  I really liked the staging of "Me, Who Am I?" because it involves a child's rocking horse (every production I've seen has portrayed Prince Topher's horse Buttercup differently) and the "Transformation" because the mice who become the horses for Cinderella's coach are portrayed by four adorable little girls.  The costumes are beautiful, particularly the sparkling white gown Cinderella wears to the ball and the elaborate gold frogging on Prince Topher's many uniforms, and I loved the giant clock overlooking the stage and Cinderella's coach.  As I mentioned, last night was the final performance of the run but tickets are available for the upcoming shows Bright Star and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (go here) and you don't want to miss them.

Afire

Yesterday afternoon I went back to the Broadway (it is my second home) to see Afire, a movie I have been looking forward to ever since it won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival this year.  I really loved it because, unfortunately, I relate to the main character a little too well.  Leon (Thomas Schubert) and Felix (Langston Uibel) travel to a vacation house on an island in the Baltic Sea owned by Felix's mother so Leon can finish his second novel before showing it to his editor Helmut (Matthias Brandt) and Felix can work on his photography portfolio.  When they get there Felix is surprised and Leon is dismayed to learn that a woman named Nadja (Paula Beer) is also staying there.  She has a seasonal job selling ice cream at a nearby hotel and is conducting an affair with a lifeguard named Devid (Enno Trebbs).  Leon is attracted to her but he is also judgmental about her personal behavior and looks down on her because of her job.  He is also peevish and pretentious whenever he is around her.  She asks to read his manuscript and is critical of it but he dismisses her opinion because he feels superior to her even though he knows it is not good.  It takes a devastating tragedy, in the form of wildfires slowly enclosing the island, for Leon to find inspiration and to realize that he was wrong about Nadja.  This is a brilliant character study of an incredibly unlikable and self-absorbed man who is also somewhat sympathetic because he knows that he is antisocial but seems unable to help it.  I really liked the juxtaposition between Leon and Felix because Leon is so uptight and struggles to form relationships and to finish his book while Felix is carefree and bonds with both Nadja and Devid and takes stunning photographs of the sea.  Schubert gives a highly nuanced performance filled with subtle glimpses of Leon's vulnerability and insecurity and Beer is luminous as Nadja (she is fantastic in Frantz and Transit), especially in a scene where she recites a poem by Heinrich Heine. Because I have a tendency to be very antisocial and dismissive, I definitely saw myself in Leon (especially when he refuses to participate in activities with others) so I really appreciated the ambiguous but optimistic ending.  The action unfolds very slowly but it is so multilayered that my attention never wavered and I loved it.  I highly recommend seeking it out.

Note:  Leon also wears black almost exclusively so...

Singin' in the Rain at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre

Last night I had a great time at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre watching a really fun production of Singin' in the Rain (my second one of the summer).  It tells the well-known story of how a silent film star of the 1920s dubs the voice of his obnoxious partner with that of an aspiring actress with whom he is in love after the studio transitions to talking movies. What I love most about this show is all of the big song and dance numbers and they are absolutely spectacular in SCERA's version.  I especially enjoyed the choreography in "Moses Supposes" and "Broadway Melody" because they feature fantastic tapping and that always impresses me. "Make 'Em Laugh" and "Good Mornin'" are also a lot of fun because they integrate set pieces and props into the dancing and I was enchanted by "You Were Meant for Me" because it is so romantic with some cool lighting and special effects. However, the highlight of the show is, of course, the iconic number "Singin' in the Rain" because it actually rains on stage! It was thrilling to watch all of the exuberant high energy dancing and splashing in the puddles! Both TJ Thomas, as Don Lockwood, and Heidi Hughes, as Kathy Seldon, are great singers and dancers and have tremendous chemistry, particularly in "You Were Meant for Me" and "You Are My Lucky Star."  Tia Trimble, as Lina Lamont, is an absolute hoot and I laughed out loud during her rendition of "What's Wrong With Me?"  I also really enjoyed Tanner Frederickson's brilliant comedic timing and physicality as Don's sidekick Cosmo Brown. The set is amazing (one of the major highlights of the show) with the logo for Monumental Pictures above a red curtain, that opens and closes to reveal a giant screen, and stairs that light up.  This becomes a sound stage where the movies are filmed and a theater where they are viewed (the movie footage is incredibly well done) with the addition of a few props (which are cleverly brought on and off stage by members of the ensemble acting as the crew for a large film production). On one side of the stage there is an elaborate entrance to the theater and on the other is a street corner including the famous lamp post! Finally, the 1920s period costumes are impressive with lots of sequined flapper dresses and argyle sweaters! This is the perfect show to see outside on a summer evening and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets). It runs through August 22 with performances every night but Wednesday and Sunday.

Jules

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the Broadway seeing the movie Jules.  It is utterly delightful and put a big smile on my face.  Lonely septuagenarian Milton (Ben Kingsley) is beginning to exhibit signs of dementia which causes his frazzled daughter Denise (Zoe Winters) to consider putting him in an assisted living facility when a space ship carrying an alien crash lands in his backyard (and ruins his azaleas!).  No one believes him because of his declining mental abilities (and because he regularly makes a nuisance of himself at the local town council meetings).   He befriends the alien, who comes to be known as Jules (Jade Quon), and he finds him to be a sympathetic listener.  Eventually two other lonely septuagenarians (and regulars at the town council meetings), Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris) and Joyce (Jane Curtin), learn Milton's secret and also begin confiding in Jules.  They become friends as they protect Jules from discovery and help him return home (this movie is like E.T. for the senior citizen set) which then gives them the courage to face their own challenges.  This exploration of loneliness, loss, and growing older is surprisingly funny (I laughed out loud several times) as well as poignant and I was particularly struck by the realistic portrayal of caring for an aging parent (I had a tear in my eye at one point).  Kingsley, Harris, and Curtin give wonderful performances and their characters have very relatable arcs.  Quon is also noteworthy because she is riveting in a completely physical performance.  The story is simplistic and it takes a while to get going but it is a heartwarming way to spend an afternoon and I recommend it.

Beetlejuice at the Eccles

Believe it or not I have never seen the movie Beetlejuice (the people I sit by at the Eccles Theater were incredulous when I mentioned this) so I didn't really know what to expect when I saw the musical adaptation last night.  It ended up being a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Beetlejuice (Andrew Kober) is a lonely demon who is tired of being invisible but in order to be seen he needs someone who is alive to say his name three times.  He enlists the help of Barbara and Adam Maitland (Britney Coleman and Will Burton, respectively), a recently deceased but very mild-mannered couple, and convinces them to haunt their former house which is now owned by Charles Deetz (Jesse Sharp) and his daughter Lydia (Isabella Esler).  She is obsessed with death because she is still mourning the loss of her mother and this enables her to see the Maitlands and Beetlejuice.  Chaos ensues as Lydia uses Beetlejuice and the Maitlands to stop her father from replacing her mother with her life coach Delia (Kate Marilly) and to find her mother in the Netherworld while Beetlejuice uses her to bring him to life.  As with many musicals that are adapted from popular movies, most of the songs (except for"Dead Mom" and "Home" which are my favorites from the show) are not particularly memorable but the performances more than make up for this.  Kober acts as a sort of Master of Ceremonies and breaks the fourth wall with lots of off-color but humorous asides to the audience.  His renditions of "The Whole 'Being Dead' Thing," and its many reprises, "Fright of Their Lives," "Say My Name," and "That Beautiful Sound" are incredibly frenetic and highly entertaining with an ensemble backing him up as a marching band and cheerleaders, a gospel choir, cloned versions of himself, and large skeleton puppets.  Marilly brings a lot of comedy and physicality to "No Reason" and both Coleman and Burton are the perfect foils to Kober's mania in "Fright of Their Lives" and "Say My Name."  However, the star of the show, in my opinion, is Esler.  Her version of "Dead Mom" is incredibly moving as Lydia asks her mother to help her through her grief.  I think this show loses a bit of focus and momentum in the second act but the song "Home" is such a beautiful turning point because Lydia realizes that her mother is dead but that there are people in her life who love her and Esler just about blows the roof off the Eccles Theater singing it.  I loved all of the special effects, especially how falling into the Netherworld is depicted, the amazing set featuring a house that is transformed multiple times, and the iconic Beetlejuice striped suit (which I saw many people in the audience wearing).  I enjoyed this so much more than I expected and I am sure fans of the movie will love it (although the people around me told me that it differed quite a bit from the source material but in a good way).  It runs at the Eccles Theater through Sunday August 13 (go here for tickets).

Meg 2: The Trench

I went to see The Meg on a whim and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it despite the negative reviews.  Even though the sequel, Meg 2: The Trench, also received negative reviews I thought it would still be a lot of fun so I went to see it last night.  Unfortunately, it has too much intrigue and not enough megalodons.  Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) exposes environmental crimes part time and, since Suyin Zhang has apparently died, he works with her brother Juiming Zhang (Wu Jing) on the Mana One research station while caring for her teenage daughter Meiying (Shuya Sophia Cai).  Jonas and Juiming lead another expedition to the Mariana Trench along with Meiying (who stows away) and a few other expendable crew members and, once again, they are trapped and, once again, their escape allows several megalodons to reach the surface as well.  However, this time the megalodons are not the only threat.  Our heroes must also contend with a villainous financier (Sienna Guillory) who wants to use Juiming's technology for deep sea mining, an eco-terrorist (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) with a grudge against Jonas, and other prehistoric creatures that have escaped from the trench.  What made the first movie so much fun is all of the silly and campy action set pieces but, other than some dark and messy CGI sequences set on the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the first two acts of this one are incredibly dull and boring with way too much exposition.  It does get a bit better in the final act when Jonas and crew must save the tourists on Fun Island (the best scene involves Jonas fighting a group of megalodons with harpoons while on a jet ski because it is just so ridiculous) but it is too little and too late.  I was a bit disappointed with this and recommend giving it a miss.

Note:  Pippin makes another appearance and, honestly, that was the high point for me.

Catch Me If You Can at HCT

It is always really refreshing when I have the chance to see a play or musical with which I am not familiar (all of the theaters around me tend to cycle through the same popular shows) so I was excited for Catch Me If You Can at HCT last night. This is not the musical adaptation of the movie starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio but a cat and mouse mystery that kept me guessing until the very end! An advertising executive named Daniel Corban (Dallin Bradford) is honeymooning in the Catskills Mountains at a cabin owned by his boss. When his new wife Elizabeth goes missing after an argument, he coerces the bumbling local detective Inspector Levine (Jason Hackney), who is also investigating the theft of an expensive bracelet at a nearby hotel, into looking for her. Eventually the local priest, Father Kelleher (David Weekes), brings Elizabeth (Meg Flinders) back to the cabin but this woman is not his wife and this sets off a series of mysterious events, including murder, after Daniel is unable to convince Levine that she is an impostor. I really enjoyed this because it is filled with lots of twists and turns and red herrings but, when the mystery is finally solved, you realize that all of the clues have been there all along. It is so clever! Bradford gives an incredibly compelling performance because Daniel becomes more and more confused as the play goes on and you never really know if he is losing his mind or not and this provides a lot of tension. Hackney provides a bit of comic relief as a wise-cracking inspector who pits Daniel and Elizabeth against each other. Flinders also gives a brilliant performance because her portrayal of such an unlikable character is highly exaggerated and I loved the hostile interactions between her and Bradford as they attempt to outwit each other. The set, featuring a multi-level luxury cabin in the mountains, is really impressive with lots of 1960s period verisimilitude and I especially loved the wall of windows upstage through which projections of the woods are shown, the working fire pit, and the curved sofa. It was also fun to see the attention to detail with all of the props (so many ashtrays) and costumes. This is a well-crafted and entertaining murder mystery that might surprise you as much as it did me and I definitely recommend it (go here for tickets). It runs on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through November 11.

Note:  Do not miss the fantastic production of Newsies on the Young Living Stage through August 26 (go here for tickets).