Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie

Last night my nephew and I went to see Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie at the Broadway and it is a hoot!  Canadians Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol play fictionalized versions of themselves in this mockumentary based on the web series and, later, the television show Nirvanna the Band the Show (you don't need to be familiar with either because the movie definitely works on its own).  Matt and Jay are musicians who form Nirvanna the Band in 2008 and create a series of elaborate plans, always detailed on a white board, to get a gig playing at the Rivoli in Toronto.  When their latest plan to get publicity for their band by skydiving from the CN Tower into the SkyDome goes horribly wrong seventeen years later, Jay is exasperated when Matt comes up with yet another plan.  This one involves converting an RV into a time machine inspired by Back to the Future in order to travel back to 2008 for reasons but, when it actually works after Matt's last bottle of Orbitz is spilled in the flux capacitor, Jay takes steps to change the future by interacting with his younger self.  However, once they return to 2025, Jay regrets his actions so he convinces Matt to go to 2008 again to change things back. Complications ensue when they cannot find another bottle of the discontinued Orbitz and have to execute another plan involving the CN Tower.  The physical comedy is absolutely hilarious because it is filmed as a documentary with cameras following all of their stunts (the scenes at the CN Tower were filmed without permits and they used a GoPro positioned on a tour guide without his knowledge) and the reactions from the crowds they interact with are genuine (and so quintessentially Canadian).  It is also extremely amusing when they periodically break the fourth wall, especially when they talk about the potential copyright issues for all of the movies they reference.  This is one of the funniest comedies I've seen in a long time (I saw it with a big crowd and heard people laughing out loud the entire time) but it also has a surprisingly touching message about friendship.  Definitely seek this one out because you will have so much fun watching it!

Note:  I grew up about an hour south of Toronto and have returned several times since moving to the United States to see Blue Jays and Maple Leafs games so I enjoyed all of the inside jokes about the city.  I laughed out loud every time they referred to the baseball stadium as the SkyDome.  The name changed to the Rogers Centre in 2005 but the locals still call it the SkyDome!

Wuthering Heights

Last night I finally had the chance to see Wuthering Heights at the Broadway and, even though they may take away my English degree, I liked it.  The volatile Mr. Earnshaw (Martin Clunes) returns to Wuthering Heights, his Gothic estate, with a young boy (Owen Cooper) he rescued off the streets.  His daughter Catherine (Charlotte Mellington) adopts him as her pet, names him Heathcliff, and the two become inseparable, much to the dismay of Catherine's paid companion Nelly (Vy Nguyen), the illegitimate daughter of a lord.  Cathy (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) develop intense but unrequited feelings for each other as the years pass but Mr. Earnshaw lets Wuthering Heights fall into disrepair through his drinking and gambling so she contemplates marrying Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), a wealthy textile merchant who lives in neighboring Thrushcross Grange, to escape her circumstances.  She encourages his attentions and accepts his proposal but confesses to Nelly (Hong Chau) that she loves Heathcliff and is having second thoughts.  However, Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights unaware that Cathy loves him so she reluctantly marries Linton.  Her life at Thrushcross Grange is luxurious but empty so when Heathcliff returns as a gentleman with a mysterious fortune she begins a passionate affair with him.  Cathy is overcome with guilt and ends the affair so Heathcliff marries Linton's ward Isabella (Alison Oliver) to make her jealous which leads to tragedy.  Emerald Fennell takes many liberties with the novel by Emily Bronte to emphasize the tragic love story between Cathy and Heathcliff but what this version retains, in my opinion, is the scathing criticism of the rigid class system with the character of Nelly.  Much like Farleigh in Saltburn, Nelly is not a member of the aristocracy as represented by the Earnshaws (or even the wealthy merchant class represented by the Lintons) but neither is she a servant like Heathcliff.  She has no agency but she considers herself above all of these characters and manipulates their self-indulgent and self-destructive behavior to emerge as a survivor.  In addition to this intriguing social commentary, I absolutely loved the bold visuals.  The juxtaposition between Wuthering Heights, which is dark and foreboding and dominated by the intrusion of nature, and Thrushcross Grange, which is unnaturally bright and colorful and full of artifice (even in the costumes), is very striking and symbolic.  I also enjoyed the gorgeous cinematography on the moors and the atmospheric score.  Robbie and Elordi have tremendous chemistry (although I was expecting their scenes to be a lot more provocative) and I liked that their characterizations are appropriately unsympathetic but I was much more intrigued by the performances from Clunes, Oliver, and Hau.  I definitely enjoyed this more when I viewed it as inspired by, rather than adapted from, the novel and I recommend it as such.

Singin' in the Rain at Hopebox Theatre

I had the best time seeing Singin' in the Rain at Hopebox Theatre last night because the show is a favorite of mine and they did a great job with it! Don Lockwood (Braden Charles Hull) and Lina Lamont (Caitlin Olsen) are popular silent film stars in the 1920s.  They are working on their latest collaboration but, when Monumental Pictures is forced to transition to "talkies," Lina's obnoxious voice and terrible acting threaten to ruin the picture. Don's best friend Cosmo Brown (Garrett Stephenson)  suggests that they dub Lina's voice with that of Kathy Seldon (Jordyn Tracy), an aspiring actress with whom Don has fallen in love. Complications ensue when Lina finds out and wants Kathy to keep singing for her. I love this show so much because it features so many big song and dance numbers (you know I love to see tapping) and the choreography in this production is so much fun. The female ensemble really shines in "All I Do Is Dream of You," "Beautiful Girls," and "Broadway Melody" and I also enjoyed "You Were Meant for Me" because it features some fun effects and Hull and Tracy have a lot of romantic chemistry in this number, "Good Morning" because Hull, Tracy, and Stephenson perform it with so much energy, and "Make 'Em Laugh" because Stephenson steals the show with his physicality and comedic timing. However, the highlight of the show is the iconic number "Singin' in the Rain" because, not only does Hull tap dance beautifully around a lamp post, he does it in the rain! I am so impressed that a small community theatre actually made it rain on stage because it was very impressive (it rained once again when the cast came out in raincoats for the bows). All of the leads have beautiful voices but shoutouts go to Matty Boyd for his lovely rendition of "Beautiful Girls" and Olsen who is an absolute hoot in "What's Wrong With Me?" (she is also really funny in the scene where Lina struggles to use a microphone). The set is also noteworthy because the stage is configured as a large Art Deco Theatre with panels that open to become a screen (the movie footage from The Dueling Cavalier is hilarious, especially when the sound is out of sync with the images) and various set pieces are brought on and off by the ensemble to become other locations (my favorite was the large cake hiding Kathy). The 1920s costumes include some gorgeous flapper dresses and headdresses as well as some dapper suits and sweater vests. Finally, the mission of the Hopebox Theatre is to provide support for someone in the community battling cancer and Heidi Green is the recipient for this production (go here to learn more about her). I had a smile on my face during the entire show and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through March 14.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die

Late last night I went to see Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die and it is absolutely bonkers!  An unnamed man (Sam Rockwell) from a dystopian future arrives in the present day and takes all of the patrons of a popular Los Angeles diner hostage.  He is looking for a specific combination of people to help him save the fate of humanity but tells them that, since this is his 117th attempt, he is not very optimistic about their chances for survival.  He eventually coerces Bob (Daniel Barnett), Marie (Georgia Goodman), Scott (Asim Chaudhry), and the couple Mark (Michael Pena) and Janet (Zazie Beetz) to join him and then Susan (Juno Temple) and Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson) volunteer for reasons.  He explains that people in the future have become obsessed with virtual reality to the exclusion of their own reality and, as a result, the natural resources in the real world have run out causing a catastrophic number of deaths.  The only hope for the future is to find the nine-year-old boy responsible for creating the AI that is about to take over the world and install a safety protocol into the program (he doesn't want to destroy the program because he believes that AI is inevitable). However, there are forces working against him and mayhem ensues. I enjoyed the surreal tone and the satirical humor made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion but there is also a powerful message about the dangers of technology that really resonated with me, especially the scene showing students enslaved to their phones.  I also enjoyed Rockwell's performance because he commits fully to the insanity.  His physicality is almost manic and it is fun to watch, particularly when he is trying to convince the customers at the diner that the world is about to end.  I sometimes found the pacing to be a bit off because the action is periodically interrupted by flashbacks to the backstories of some of the characters and, while these are interesting and inform what is happening, the transitions back to the present are jarring.  I also think the third act is unwieldy and goes on far too long (the drawn out explanations of several twists become very tedious).  This was a mixed bag for me but it is entertaining and I recommend it to those who appreciate a bold, if not always effective, swing for the fences.

Emma at West Valley Arts

Last night I went with both of my sisters to see Emma at the West Valley Performing Arts Center. What could be better than spending Valentine's Day with the ultimate matchmaker? After Emma Woodhouse (Morgan Fenner) successfully matches her former governess Miss Taylor (April Fossen) with Mr. Weston (Alvaro Cortez), she decides to make a match for Harriet Smith (Sofia Paredes-Kenrick) next. Despite Harriet's budding relationship with the farmer Robert Martin (TJ Horton), Emma encourages her to pursue the vicar Mr. Elton (Garrett Rushforth) instead. When this plot fails, she selects Frank Churchill (Seth Johnson) as Harriet's next suitor but Mr. Weston is trying to match him with her even though he is more interested in Jane Fairfax (Emily Henwood). Finally, Harriet chooses Mr. Knightley (Clayton Barney) but this makes Emma realize that she has been in love with him all along! Chaos ensues until Mrs. Weston plays matchmaker! This is a very loose adaptation of Jane Austen's novel because there are changes to the narrative that give Emma a powerful pretext for her meddling, Harriet some agency independent of Emma, and Knightley a well-deserved comeuppance for his superiority (many of these scenes received spontaneous applause from the crowd). This adaptation also features a more contemporary sensibility and I particularly loved the use of music from the Bridgerton soundtrack because pop songs, such as "Material Girl" as Emma dresses Harriet for the ball and "Love Story" when Emma and Knightley realize their feelings for each other, are instantly recognizable but the orchestrations are still appropriate for the Regency period. Almost none of the original dialogue from the source material is retained in favor of more modern language. In fact, I think William Shakespeare is quoted (by Mr. Elton) more than Jane Austen (although the most romantic line is still included but it is said by Emma rather than Knightley). I am generally a purist when it comes to adaptations of classic literature but I think this particular version makes Austen's novel more accessible to audiences who may not be familiar with the text, especially when Emma breaks the fourth wall to give the audience her commentary on the goings-on. I also think this adaptation is absolutely hilarious because it is more like a farce than a romantic comedy and this is emphasized by the over the top performances. I loved Fenner in the title role because she has so much chemistry with Barney when they continually bicker and roughhouse (I laughed so hard when they started flicking tea at each other) and with Paredes-Kenrick when she tries to instruct Harriet (the repeated use of biscuits as a reward provide many other laugh out loud moments). I also loved Rushforth's physicality in his interactions with Emma and Mrs. Elton (Bryn Campbell) and Brooklyn Pulver Kohler's facial expressions as Miss Bates. The set, which features panels around the stage that are flipped by the cast to become different locations, as well as the period costumes, which are embellished by different pieces to change the look, are simple but effective. Finally, I was really impressed with the lighting design because it is so striking, especially the red lights that are used whenever Emma mentions her rival Jane Fairfax (my sister Kristine thought that there should have been a similar effect for whenever Knightley mentions Frank Churchill). I had so much fun seeing this show with both of my sisters (we are all big fans of Jane Austen) and I don't think we stopped laughing all night (even my sister Marilyn who is very reserved). This is perfect for date night or a girl's night out and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets). There are performances on Fridays and Saturdays through February 28.

Note: Local Jane Austen fans can also see Sense and Sensibility at Parker Theatre through March 7 (go here for tickets).

Clue at the Eccles

By now I have seen Clue many times (my favorite version was at the Utah Shakespeare Festival and my least favorite was at HCT) so I was really interested in how the staging for the Broadway touring production would compare. I went to the matinee yesterday and it was so much fun! Six guests using aliases arrive at an isolated manor on a dark and stormy night, including the blustering Colonel Mustard (Nate Curlott), the flustered Mrs. Peacock (Madeline Raube), the womanizing Professor Plum (Kyle Yampiro), the dramatic Mrs. White (Sarah Mackenzie Baron), the accident-prone Mr. Green (TJ Lamando), and the glamorous Miss Scarlet (Camille Capers), at the invitation of the mysterious Mr. Boddy (Joseph Dalfonso). It is soon revealed that he has been blackmailing each of them and, after providing them with weapons, he offers to return the evidence he has against them if they kill his butler Wadsworth (Adam Brett). However, Mr. Boddy, the Cook (AT Sanders), a Motorist (Kebron Woodfin), a Cop (Kebron Woodfin), Yvette the Maid (Zoie Tannous), and a Singing Telegram Girl (AT Sanders) are murdered instead and mayhem ensues as the guests try to determine the killer, the weapon, and the location of each murder. The set is one of the best I've seen for this show and includes a mahogany paneled main entry with backdrops for a hallway and dining room that come down from the rafters and doors that open from the wings and rotate on stage to reveal the lounge, the study, the library, the kitchen, the conservatory, and the billiards room. The elaborate choreography as the characters move from room to room while the set is reconfigured is both extremely clever and hilarious to watch, especially when the characters dance as they separate into pairs to search the entire manor. The lighting and sound cues also add to the hi-jinks. The dialogue is incredibly witty and delivered at lightning speed (the joke about the Republican party got lots of laughs and applause), the sight gags are amusing (my favorite was the use of the board game as a map to the manor), and the physical comedy is the highlight of the show (everyone in the cast has brilliant comedic timing). Mr. Green is my favorite character because he is always so hilariously overwrought and I loved Lamando's physicality as he is trapped under two different bodies and a chandelier but Brett steals the show as Mr. Boddy because he is completely over the top in the scene where he reenacts all of the murders (his imitations of all of the other characters are so spot-on that the audience was hooting with laughter). I probably didn’t need to see this again but I really enjoyed it. I recommend attending one of the two remaining performances (go here for tickets) if you are in need of a laugh.

Note: I still prefer the production at the Utah Shakespeare Festival but this is a close second!

Dumbed Down at Plan-B Theatre

During my last few years teaching at Hunter High School I was lucky enough to have Darryl Stamp in the classroom across the hall from mine. He was an exceptional teacher and a wonderful colleague (he talked me down from the roof on more than one occasion). We retired at about the same time and, while I channeled my energies into a rigorous schedule of reading and napping, Darryl used his experiences at Hunter and other schools to write the play Dumbed Down which is currently having its world premiere with the Plan-B Theatre Company. I had the opportunity to see this play last night with my friend Angela, another former colleague in the English department at Hunter, and we both could definitely relate to the material (we were often the only ones in the audience laughing out loud). Kevin Simon (Danor Gerald) is an English teacher in a tough urban high school who is about to retire. Even though he must deal with endless interruptions from the office and counseling center and students who fall asleep, are on their phones, and request the hall pass multiple times, his lessons are engaging and he is able to get the students thinking about the material because he makes it relevant to them, especially Malcolm Thomas (Jacob Barnes) and Craig Wilson (Alex Smith). Isaiah Rogers (Chad Brown), one of Mr. Simon's former students, doesn't see the point of school because he has been labeled as learning disabled (despite an encyclopedic knowledge of movies) and is always in trouble (as a Black male he often makes his current English teacher feel unsafe and is therefore punished for minor infractions which usually involves picking up trash after school). Mr. Simon eventually retires but finds it difficult to stay away so he takes a job teaching in the prison system where he encounters both Isaiah and Craig who are happy for the opportunity to learn from him again. This is the most realistic portrayal of the teaching profession that I have seen on stage or film and I was particularly struck by a scene where Mr. Simon is praised for being engaging but is also reminded to work harder to prepare the students for an upcoming standardized test during his evaluation by the administrator (Jacob Barnes). This perfectly represents how education as an institution fails so many students by refusing to see them as individuals. I also loved a powerful monologue in which Mr. Simon compares teaching to Tylenol because it is time-released. This is an incredible reminder of the impact that one good teacher can have on the future lives of their students if given the proper support. I loved Gerald's performance because he absolutely nails all of the highs (it is thrilling when a student makes a connection) and lows (it is absolutely exhausting to find ways to facilitate those connections) of teaching. I also loved Brown's performance because he reminded me of so many of my students. Finally, I found it ironic that the minimal set works for both a school and a prison because I often referred to Hunter High as a prison because it is so sterile! This is authentic, thought-provoking, and surprisingly funny, especially if you are an educator or former educator, and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs at the Studio Theatre at the Rose on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through March 1.

Note:  The line that got the biggest laugh from both me and Angela was when Mr. Simon referred to teaching high school as teen daycare because that was a signature line from Mr. Stamp!

Crime 101

Yesterday my nephew and I were able to catch a matinee of Crime 101 and we both really liked it.  Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth) is a jewel thief who uses inside information to plan heists along Highway 101 that involve stealing from couriers without the use of violence.  Det. Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) suspects that all of these robberies are the work of one man but no one, including his exasperated partner Det. Tillman (Corey Hawkins), agrees with him.  When Mike refuses to do a job, his fence Money (Nick Nolte) gives it to an incredibly unstable and violent biker named Ormon (Barry Keoghan) and, when the job goes wrong, Mike is angry about the casualties.  He decides to do one final job on his own after beginning a romantic relationship with Maya (Monica Barbaro) and enlists the help of Sharon Combs (Halle Berry), a disgruntled insurance broker, to get information about one of her wealthy clients (Tate Donovan).  Money doesn't want to miss out on Mike's job so he has Ormon follow him to steal back what he steals.  Complications ensue when all of these characters become involved with the execution of the heist.  This is an incredibly stylish neo-noir crime thriller but it is also much more character-driven than I was expecting.  I especially enjoyed the arcs for Mike, Lou, and Sharon because all three of them are easy to root for despite their questionable behavior (the resolution is perfect).  I loved the requisite car chases with the equally requisite synth score as well as the dynamic camera angles and use of reflections (I've seen a lot of comparisons to Michael Mann's Heat but, in my opinion, this is not a negative).  Finally, the entire cast is great (Hemsworth is very well suited to his role and Keoghan adds another little freak to his collection) but Berry steals the show with her tough, yet vulnerable, performance as a woman who is fed up with broken promises.  This is highly entertaining and I definitely recommend it.

Up in Concert

I am a big fan of the movie Up so I was really excited to see it on the big screen last night while the Utah Symphony performed the Academy Award-winning score by Michael Giacchino live.  I loved this concert because the music made me laugh and cry during all of my favorite scenes!  Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner) is a curmudgeonly widower who is filled with regret that he didn't fulfill the promise he made to his wife Ellie to take her on an adventure to Paradise Falls in South America before she died.  When he is on the verge of being evicted, he decides to keep his promise and attaches thousands of helium balloons to his house in order to fly it to South America.  However, he discovers midair that a Wilderness Explorer named Russell (voiced by Jordan Nagai) is on his porch attempting to earn his final merit badge for helping the elderly.  A storm blows them off course so Carl reluctantly enlists Russell's help to tow the house across a mesa to get it to Paradise Falls.  Along the way they encounter a large flightless bird that Russell names Kevin, a dog named Dug with a collar that allows it to talk, and the adventurer Charles Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer) who is not the hero Carl remembers from childhood.  Chaos ensues until Carl eventually learns that friendship is the true adventure.  I think the music really adds to the emotional impact of the story.  The theme "Married Life" during the opening montage showing Carl and Ellie's life together is absolutely brilliant because it uses changes in tempo and intensity with a solo trumpet, then a solo violin and harp, then the brass, and then just the piano to convey the mood without any dialogue (it always makes me cry) and then this same theme is repeated throughout the rest of the movie with different variations to show that everything is motivated by Carl's memories of Ellie.  The variation used in "Stuff We Did" as Carl looks through Ellie's scrapbook and realizes that their life together was adventure enough is especially poignant because the piano is so haunting.  I also love the more joyful and triumphant iteration used in "Carl Goes Up" when the piano is joined by the strings, woodwinds, and brass because it shows Carl's thrill at finally fulfilling his promise and the daring one in "Escape From Muntz Mountain" because the addition of percussion to the strings, piano, and brass emphasizes the excitement of the chase.  Because it is so immersive to have the orchestra playing live while watching the movie, I noticed every time I heard the theme repeated and I was really struck by how well each variation fit the action on the screen.  It is one of the best scores for not only a Disney-Pixar movie but for any movie and I highly recommend getting a ticket to one of the two remaining performances this weekend (go here).

Ten Brave Seconds at PTC

Last night I went to see the world premiere of the new musical Ten Brave Seconds at PTC. It is always thrilling to be among the first to see a brand new show (I was also able to see the world premieres of Cagney and Shucked at PTC) but I didn't love it as much as I expected to given all of the rave reviews it has been receiving. The narrative depicts one day in the life of a suburban teen named Mike (Carson Stewart) as he comes out to his father Carl (Will Blum), his sister Becky (Heidi Farber), his best friend Gabby (Jessica Money), and his new friend Tim (Luke Kolbe Mannikus). He turns to his sympathetic history teacher Mr. G (John Cariani) to help him deal with his grief over the recent death of his mother Sally (Amber Iman) and to navigate the complicated responses from his friends and family to his sudden announcement. I think this show is garnering so much praise because it has an important message about daring to live authentically and I really love that the emphasis is not necessarily on being brave enough to tell people who you are but rather being brave enough to have the difficult conversations moving forward. In fact, the moment when Mike tells his father that he is gay is almost anticlimactic and that is an incredibly interesting, but effective, choice because it subverts the traditional coming out trope. The reactions from Mike's family and friends feel very honest and authentic, especially Carl's because parents do not always have all of the answers and Gabby's because it is heartbreaking when a relationship is revealed to be one-sided. I liked the recurring motif of counting from one to ten (this really resonated with me because I suffer from anxiety and use this as a coping mechanism) and the use of an astronaut as a metaphor for isolation (although I wish that this had been emphasized more). I also liked how the main set, which features the outline of a house made from intersecting metal beams, and the costumes, particularly a large purple hoodie worn and then eventually discarded by Mike, highlight the fact that you cannot hide who you really are. The performances are excellent all around but the standout for me was Money because she has an energy that is very compelling. However, the songs are not very memorable because, in my opinion, they are merely long monologues set to music without a hook to keep the audience's attention. I struggled to remember any of the songs once I left the theater. The choreography and staging are also surprisingly bland because most of the big musical numbers involve the ensemble walking back and forth across the stage and end with the main characters downstage in a line under spotlights (I get that this is meant to represent the disconnect than many feel in high school but it is not very interesting to watch, especially when it happens multiple times). One of the biggest turning points in the show happens with Carl, Mike, and Becky sitting at a table listening to a song played through a phone but, despite a beautiful performance from Iman, it did not make much of an impression because it is so static. I do think this is worth seeing for the powerful message (go here for tickets) but I found it a bit underwhelming. It runs at PTC through February 14.

Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

It was an all Russian program at last night's Utah Symphony concert and I loved every minute!  When I was very young I lived on a farm in southern Ontario next door to an elderly couple who had emigrated from Russia to Canada.  I loved them dearly.  My parents always told me not to bother them but I think they enjoyed it when I followed them around their farm.  They taught me several phrases in Russian and served me tea from an exquisite samovar that had pride of place in their living room and pryanik (a type of Russian cookie).  I think this early influence is why I have always been fascinated by Russia (I've been there twice), especially Russian history, literature, and music.  I usually try to get a ticket to any Utah Symphony concert featuring a Russian composer and, luckily, there are several this season (the woman who took my order over the phone joked that she was sensing a theme with my selections).  The orchestra began with the Polonaise from The Golden Slippers by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  This little known opera features the traditional Polish dance at a Christmas celebration for the tsaritsa in Act III and the music is very festive and energetic.  I loved all of the lush melodies played by the strings and the triumphant fanfares played by the brass as I imagined a grand and stately group promenading through an opulent St. Petersburg ballroom in my mind.  Next, the orchestra was joined by Sir Stephen Hough, who is a very popular soloist with Utah Symphony audiences, for Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff.  This is one of my favorite pieces and I love all of the Variations because they are sometimes fiery and passionate, sometimes grand and stirring, and sometimes wild and tempestuous.  If I had to pick a favorite it would be the 18th because it is incredibly beautiful and almost unbearably romantic (it is featured in many movies, including Somewhere in Time).  Hough played it with so much emotion (I loved watching his fingers fly up and down the keyboard) and I was practically swooning by the time the swelling strings joined the melody.  The near-capacity crowd leapt to their feet in thunderous applause after the performance and Hough gave a lovely encore featuring his own virtuosic arrangement of "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins.  After the intermission, the concert concluded with Symphony No. 5 by Dmitri Shostakovitch.  The first movement is bold with militaristic marches played by the brass and the second is very stirring (I loved the opening theme played by the cellos and basses).  However, my favorite was the third movement because it is very affecting, particularly a theme played by the harp and flute.  At the premiere, this movement provided a way for the public to express their grief over Stalin's purges and it brought tears to my eyes, as well.  The final movement becomes celebratory once again and I loved the epic conclusion by the timpani!  This was an incredible evening of music and, if this program appeals to you, get tickets (go here) for tonight's concert sooner rather than later because, as I mentioned, there were very few empty seats in Abravanel Hall last night (for good reason).

Fiddler on the Roof at The Ruth

I don't think there is a better way to spend an evening than sitting in the audience eagerly anticipating every song in a favorite classic musical!  I had the opportunity to do that last night with The Ruth's wonderful production of Fiddler on the Roof and it made me so happy.  I have seen this well-known story of how a poor Jewish dairyman named Tevye (Ben Henderson) and his wife Golde (Claire Kenney) cling to their traditions in the small village of Anatevka in Tsarist Russia until their daughters, Tzeitel (Susannah Castelton), Hodel (Sydney Dameron), and Chava (Maria Stephens), push against them when it is time to find a match many times but this production features a few new touches to keep it feeling fresh without abandoning the *ahem* traditions that audiences love to see.  This is especially true of the choreography because there are definitely recognizable elements from the original choreography by Jerome Robbins but Ben Roeling adds his own touch.  I loved all of the subtle changes in the patterns formed by the different groups in "Tradition," when the villagers and soldiers integrate their separate dances into one joyful celebration in "To Life," and the exuberant leaps and spins after the bottle dance in "The Wedding Dance."  I also loved the ballet sequence performed by Stephens in "Chavaleh (Little Bird)."  There are many nuances in the performances that made me laugh, especially when Timothy Quesenberry (as Motel) has several spontaneous outbursts during "Miracle of Miracles" and then when Bronson Dameron (as Perchik) mimics him in "Now I Have Everything," and that made me cry, such as when Henderson can't hide his emotions before turning his back on Chava and when a sobbing Stephens tries to hold on to Tevye's cart as he walks away (this gave me goosebumps).  I was also struck by the highly charged interaction between Parley Lambert (as Fyedka) and Stephens after the soldiers disrupt the wedding and by Kenney lying prostrate on the ground after learning about Chava.  The set is one of the most striking I've seen for this show and features wooden slats that allow the dramatic lighting to spill through with balconies on either side of the stage accessed by staircases and ladders.  These balconies allow for some distinctive staging choices and I loved seeing groups above Tevye and his family during "Sabbath Prayer," Perchik looking down on Hodel during "Sunrise, Sunset," Hodel looking up at Perchik on one balcony and her family on the other in "Far From the Home I Love," and the Constable (Jacob Garrison) and soldiers looking down on the villagers as they leave Anatevka.  This is such a special show to me because I have so many memories of watching the movie at my Grandma Anderson's house, seeing various productions over the years, and even performing the role of Fruma-Sarah and this version made me feel so nostalgic!  It will definitely put a smile on your face so get a ticket (go here) before they are gone!  It runs in the Smith Grand Theater through March 21.

A Private Life

I was really exited to see Jodie Foster in a role that is almost entirely in French (she swears in English) so I went to see A Private Life at the Broadway last night.  Her performance is even more captivating than I was expecting.  Dr. Lillian Steiner (Foster) is an American psychiatrist living in Paris.  When Paula (Virginie Efira), one of her long-term patients, commits suicide, her husband Simon (Mathieu Amalric) and daughter Valerie (Luana Bajrami) hold Lillian responsible because she used pills that Lillian prescribed to kill herself.  However, when Lillian discovers that the prescription was altered, she suspects that Paula was murdered by one of them and enlists her ex-husband Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil) to help her find the truth.  At first I found the narrative to be incredibly messy, with subplots involving a disgruntled former patient (Noem Morgensztern), a son (Vincent Lacoste) with whom she has a distant relationship, and a hypnotist (Sophie Guillemin) who reveals the possibility of childhood trauma and a past life that informs the present, but there is a moment when everything comes together and what I thought was just a murder mystery becomes a psychological character study about a woman in the midst of a breakdown.  Even though some of the ideas are underdeveloped and the tone is a bit inconsistent (some of the humor is very jarring), it is definitely a lot more complex and thought-provoking than some might suggest.  What everyone can agree on is that Foster is outstanding (her French is flawless) and gives a highly nuanced performance in which she is cold and detached but slowly becomes more and more vulnerable as Lillian investigates a suspicious death and her own psyche.  The rest of the cast is great as well, especially Auteuil who has a surprisingly sexy and playful chemistry with Foster.  I also loved the stylish interiors (especially all of the spiral staircases) and the rainy autumnal exteriors around Paris.  This is the kind of movie that really appeals to me (but might not appeal to others) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sundance Film Festival 2026

I wasn't very interested in the lineup but, since this was the final year that Utah would be hosting the Sundance Film Festival, I knew that I had to attend at least one screening to bid farewell to something that has been a part of my life for well over a decade.  I ended up seeing The Weight last night at the Rose Wagner with my nephew and I think it is incredibly appropriate that I ended with a film starring Ethan Hawke because I have seen so many of his films at Sundance over the years!  Both my nephew and I liked it because it feels like an old school Western but it is set in the Pacific Northwest during the Great Depression.  Samuel Murphy (Hawke) is a widower arrested for fighting and sent to a convict labor camp run by Clancy (Russell Crowe).  He is separated from his young daughter Penny (Avy Berry) and he is desperate to get back to her before she becomes a ward of the state and eligible for adoption.  Clancy is impressed by Murphy's ingenuity and offers him an early release if he smuggles gold from a mine run by his associate Taggert (Alec Newman) and transports it through a dangerous forest to a safe location before the federal government can confiscate it.  Murphy agrees and sets off with three other convicts, Rankin (Austin Amelio), Singh (Avi Nash), and Olson (Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen), two armed guards from the mine, Amis (Sam Hazeldine) and Big (Jeffrey Lee Hallman), and Anna (Julia Jones), an indigenous woman on the run who joins them, on a perilous journey with higher stakes than he imagines.  It is incredibly tense (at one point everyone in the theater gasped out loud) because they face dangers from nature, from a miner (Cameron Brady) who happens upon them and suspects what they are doing, and shifting dynamics within the group.  It does sometimes get bogged down in between the action sequences but they are great, especially one on a suspension bridge and one during a thunder storm.  Hawke gives a riveting performance that hearkens back to classic Westerns as a rugged and resourceful loner on a mission and the locations are gorgeous.  It was really fun to experience this with a Sundance crowd and I will really miss the festival.

I have so many to choose from but here are some of my favorite memories from the festival:

Whenever I saw a screening at the Rose Wagner, I always tried to sit in the same seat and at one screening I got chatting with a volunteer about my preference.  During the next screening, I noticed that this seat had a reserved sign on it.  The volunteer had put the sign on "my" seat so that I would be sure to get it!

I saw Hereditary at the old Tower Theater which is incredibly atmospheric (and probably haunted) and therefore a great place to see a horror film.  I jumped out of my seat and screamed out loud during an especially tense scene and so did everyone sitting around me.  It is one of the most memorable movie viewing experiences I have had!

When I was teaching, I was able to take my students to the free screenings offered by the Sundance Institute.  One year I had a group who really enjoyed reading Hamlet so I was beyond excited when we were able to see Ophelia.  They loved the film and all of their discussions on the bus ride home comparing it to the play made my teacher heart want to burst!

I am a big fan of the musical Hamilton so I had a fangirl moment when Daveed Diggs, who originated the role of Lafayette/ Thomas Jefferson, showed up for the Q&A after the screening for Blindspotting. I may or may not have screamed when he came to the stage.

I loved being able to talk to people who also have a passion for film while standing in line and I eventually became friends with several people who came to the festival year after year.  I always looked forward to seeing them and I am so glad that I got to connect with a few of them last night!

My favorite films seen at Sundance are Manchester by the Sea, A Ghost Story, Nine Days, Past Lives, and Sorry, Baby.

Sense and Sensibility at Parker Theatre

Last night I spent a delightful evening in Regency England with Parker Theatre's original adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. The death of their father leaves Elinor and Marianne Dashwood (Jasmine Hohl and Isabelle Purdie, respectively) in reduced circumstances so they have no other option but to seek advantageous marriages. The sensible and reserved Elinor silently pines for Edward Ferrars (Truman Schipper), who is expected to marry well by his mother, while the passionate Marianne is swept up, literally, in a romance with the dashing John Willoughby (Spencer Hohl), who needs a wealthy wife after he is cut off by his family for his indiscretions. Both sisters ultimately find happiness when they balance reason with emotion. Elinor finally reveals her feelings to Edward when he is free to propose and Marianne finds the value in real love, rather than impetuous infatuation, with Colonel Brandon (Jordan Palmer). I didn't especially like the adaptation I saw at the Utah Shakespeare Festival several years ago because it made too many changes to the source material but, even though this version also takes a few liberties, I think it remains true to the spirit of the novel and I really enjoyed it. I especially loved the addition of several scenes that show the juxtaposition between Colonel Brandon and Willoughby more fully. I was impressed with the entire cast but the standout for me was Hohl because her Elinor has a very dramatic transformation and the scene where she finally reveals her heartbreak over Edward's engagement to Lucy Steele (Maryn Tueller) is incredibly charged and gave me goosebumps. A lot of the performances are informed by the characterizations in 1995 movie and I laughed out loud at Brian Douros as the overly exuberant Sir John Middleton, Rowena Greenwood as the busybody Mrs. Jennings, Nick Mathews as the disdainful Mr. Palmer, Daniel Summerstay as the clueless John Dashwood (the way the servants continually ignore him is a funny running bit), and Josh Augenstein as the obnoxious Robert Ferrars (his dancing at the ball is absolutely hilarious). I love the way this show is staged with large moving panels that are configured and reconfigured to become various locations and set pieces that are brought on and off stage very efficiently by the ensemble who are costumed as servants. The projections are atmospheric and immersive but they are very muted and I wish that they had been more vibrant. Finally, the period costumes are beautiful (I love the Regency silhouette) with lots of opulent and embellished fabrics (my favorite costume was a gown worn by Elinor with with a row of embroidered flowers down the front of the skirt). Jane Austen is always a good idea so I highly recommend getting a ticket to this show (go here). It runs on Fridays and Saturdays through March 7.

H is for Hawk

Yesterday I went to a matinee of H is for Hawk, an adaptation of the best-selling memoir of the same name by Helen Macdonald, and I found it to be incredibly moving.  Macdonald (Claire Foy) is a fellow at Cambridge University who is grief-stricken over the sudden death of her beloved father Alistair (Brendan Gleeson).  She is assaulted by memories of her father, especially their bird watching excursions together, so she decides to get an Eurasian goshawk, a particularly aggressive bird of prey, in order to keep these memories alive.  She subsumes her grief into bonding with and training the bird she names Mabel which causes her to abandon her research and teaching responsibilities and avoid her worried family and friends.  However, it is when she observes Mabel hunting that she begins to understand the necessity of life and death in nature which leads to acceptance and healing.  This is a very powerful portrayal of grief and I was particularly struck by how the memories of her father would randomly overwhelm Helen when she least expected them because that is my own experience with grief over the death of my father.  Her interactions with Alistair, shown through flashbacks, are so poignant that I had tears in my eyes on more than one occasion (Gleeson gives a lovely performance).  I also loved the strangely compelling interactions between Helen and Mabel (I wonder how long some of these sequences took to film and how much training Foy received because they appear so authentic) and the beautiful cinematography as Mabel flies through the sky hunting for prey.  Foy gives an amazing performance, in my opinion, because, even though it is incredibly restrained, you understand everything that Helen is feeling just by her body language and facial expressions.  This is a very slow and introspective movie so it might not be for everyone but its themes resonated very deeply with me and I loved it.

Shelter

If there is an action movie starring Jason Statham released in January I will be seated so my nephew and I went to see Shelter last night.  It is exactly what I expected and I liked it!  Michael Mason (Statham) is living in self-imposed exile on an isolated island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland for reasons.  His only contact with the outside world is a former Royal Marine with whom he served and his teenage niece Jessie (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) who deliver supplies to him every week.  When their boat capsizes during a turbulent storm, Mason is able to rescue Jessie but she sustains an injury that necessitates a trip to the mainland where he is caught on surveillance cameras.  This triggers a response from MI6, including an agent named Roberta Frost (Naomi Ackie) who believes that he is a priority-one terrorist and dispatches an attack force to the island, and Steven Manafort (Bill Nighy), the former director of MI6, who knows who he really is and sends a covert operative named Workman (Bryan Vigier) to kill him.  Mason takes Jessie on the run, calling on contacts from his past to help him, but will he be able to elude MI6 to get her to safety?  The story is both convoluted, with a nefarious plot involving a shady surveillance program called T.H.E.A. authorized by the prime minister (Harriet Walter) and a black-ops organization run by Manafort, and frustratingly vague, with hints about Jessie's identity that go nowhere, but it hardly matters because that is not why audiences see these movies!  The non-stop action sequences are a lot of fun, even if they are not particularly groundbreaking, and I especially enjoyed a sequence on the island involving booby traps, a car chase over rugged terrain, a stylish shoot-out in a nightclub, and two fights involving hand-to-hand combat (and the use of several ordinary objects close to hand).  Statham is his usual taciturn self but I liked the relationship that develops between Mason and Jessie (Breathnach is very appealing) and I always love seeing Nighy.  This is a decent entry in Statham's action filmography (I liked it more than last year's A Working Man but not as much as The Beekeeper) and I recommend it to fans of the actor.

Beetlejuice Jr. at the Empress Theatre

I went to see Beetlejuice Jr. at the Empress Theatre last night and I was so impressed by this clever and energetic production. Beetlejuice (Brittain Heywood) 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 (Mary Layton and Donnie Hankammer), a recently deceased but very mild-mannered couple, and convinces them to haunt their former house which is now owned by Charles Deetz (Carson Hardle) and his daughter Lydia (Gweny Adams). However, Lydia, who is still mourning the recent loss of her mother, is herself quite strange and unusual so she is able to see the Maitlands and Beetlejuice. Chaos ensues when Lydia uses the Maitlands to stop her father from replacing her mother with her life coach Delia (Alice Lopez), when she tricks Beetlejuice in order to get to the Netherworld to find her mother, and when Beetlejuice uses her to bring him back to life. What I loved most about seeing the Broadway touring production of this show is the dazzling special effects and the elaborate sets. I was not expecting the same over-the-top production design at a small community theatre but I was very pleasantly surprised by how well the staging, choreography, costumes, and lighting design enhance the minimal set and immerse the audience is this quirky world. The lighting is particularly effective in the Netherworld scenes and all of the iconic costumes are fantastic. There are even a few fun effects used in the show (I loved the appearance of a sandworm and a shrinker). The talented young cast is also a highlight. The leads are all incredibly confident with tremendous stage presence and this really sells all of their performances, especially Heywood's spirited and entertaining renditions of "The Whole 'Being Dead' Thing," "Say My Name," and "That Beautiful Sound" as well as Adams's emotional versions of "Dead Mom" and "Home" (my favorite songs in the show). The members of the large ensemble do a great job with the dynamic choreography and they are so much fun to watch because they all have wide smiles on their faces and are clearly having a great time performing! Their energy is infectious and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the big musical numbers! This is a great show for the whole family with a surprisingly poignant message about self-acceptance and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs at the Empress Theatre on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through February 7.

Note:  The Empress Theatre very graciously provided me with tickets so I was once again able to bring my sister to this show. She loved it and is becoming more and more impressed with this theatre!

The Testament of Ann Lee

I have been looking forward to The Testament of Ann Lee ever since it premiered at the Venice Film Festival last fall so I was really excited to see it at the Broadway with my nephew last night.  A musical about a historical figure seems like something I would love but I did not love this.  It documents the life of Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried), the founder of the Shaker movement, beginning with her childhood in Manchester yearning for God with her brother William (Lewis Pullman), her affiliation with a sect of Quakers who use boisterous song and dance to worship, her marriage to a believer named Abraham (Christopher Abbott), the loss of four children who die in infancy, her imprisonment for disturbing the peace during which she has a vision about the Garden of Eden and original sin, her subsequent edict that believers should practice celibacy, her proclamation as the female Messiah, the persecution that leads her to take her followers to New England, the establishment of a utopian settlement, conflicts with the Continental Army for her group's pacifism and skirmishes with angry mobs who suspect her of witchcraft, and her death amidst a thriving community.  The story is told through rapturous music and dynamic choreography inspired by the spastic movements made during worship and, at first I found this to be very compelling, but it soon grows monotonous as the same words and steps are repeated over and over.  My favorite musical scene was "All Is Summer" because, even though the lyrics and choreography are repetitive, it takes place on the ship coming to America and shows the followers dancing in all kinds of weather (the editing in this scene is amazing).  The narrative often feels like a mere recitation of facts about Lee, complete with endless narration by Sister Mary (Thomasin McKenzie), and it moves quickly from event to event without a lot of in depth exploration.  I did not learn anything of substance about Lee or her movement.  Despite a tremendous performance from Seyfried, Lee is portrayed as a charismatic leader of a cult rather than a religious figure of importance and so much of what is perceived as miraculous about her ministry is debunked (her vision is shown as a hallucination after days without food or water and her divinely inspired message about celibacy is just a response to years of sexual trauma). I did love the cinematography (particularly the overhead shots), the production design (the scenes of woodworking and furniture making, which also go on for too long, are very authentic), and the beautiful visuals that look like period paintings but I definitely didn't enjoy this as much as I was expecting.

See How They Run at CPT

I played Miss Skillon in See How They Run when I was in high school so I always love seeing a performance of this hilarious play. I went to a production at CPT last night with my sisters and it was so much fun and incredibly nostalgic. The action takes place in the vicarage of a village called Merton-cum-Middlewick during World War II. Clive (Dylan Padilla), an American soldier stationed in England, visits his old friend Penelope (Jordan Clark) who is now married to the Rev. Lionel Toop (Scott Butler). Ida (Jenni Cooper), her cockney maid who loves American movies, is flustered by his arrival but Miss Skillon (Holly Reid), a meddling spinster who is in love with Rev. Toop, is convinced that Penelope is having an affair with him.  Penelope suggests that Clive wear the Rev. Toop's second best suit and clerical collar so that they can dodge army regulations and see a play together.  Mayhem ensues when Miss Skillon sees something that she shouldn't and imbibes too much cooking sherry, when Penelope's sedate uncle the Bishop of Lax (Randon Jensen) arrives unexpectedly, when the mild-mannered Rev. Arthur Humphries  (David Johnson) arrives early for the service on Sunday, and when an escaped German POW (Blake London) attacks Rev. Toop in order to steal his clothes. The action is incredibly fast-paced and you almost can't catch your breath in between fits of laughter at the absurd goings-on! At one point, there are five men in clerical garb chasing each other through the garden and into the house and it is so funny when they jump over a prostrate Miss Skillon but it is even funnier when they continue to jump over her even when she is no longer there (I was always afraid that they wouldn't jump in time when I was the one laying on the floor). There are also some amusing scenes involving several characters who hide in a cupboard, including an inebriated Miss Skillon (these were my favorite scenes to play because I always tried to come up with funny poses to get the other actors to break character), multiple cases of mistaken identity, a misplaced uniform, and a bumbling inspector (Zar Hayes) who accidentally apprehends the German POW. The entire cast is outstanding and they do a great job with all of the madcap physical comedy.  Butler, Jensen, and Reid are especially fun to watch as their characters become more and more exasperated, outraged, and outrageous, respectively. I loved the elaborate set, especially the doors leading out to the garden with views of the church and the aforementioned cupboard, as well as the period costumes.  Seeing this show brought back so many wonderful memories (I am surprised by how many of Miss Skillon's lines I remembered) and I loved every minute! I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) to a performance on the Mountain America Main Stage through February 26.

Send Help

Last night my nephew and I were able to see an early access screening of Send Help and I thought it was a lot of fun.  After Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien) takes over as CEO from his father, he gives the promotion meant for the socially awkward Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) to his less qualified fraternity brother Donovan (Xavier Samuel).  He treats her in a very demeaning and sexist way but takes her on an important trip to Thailand because he knows that she will do all of the work.  When their plane crashes in the middle of the ocean, they are the only survivors and are stranded on a seemingly deserted island.  Linda uses her superior survival skills to care for an injured Bradley and find food, water, and shelter but, when he becomes angry about the reversal in their roles and criticizes her for not finding a way off the island, she leaves him to fend for himself.  He suffers from exposure, hunger, and dehydration before he eventually apologizes for his behavior, both on the island and in the office, but this makes him even more determined to take control.  Who will survive?  This definitely features some gory horror elements, especially a scene involving a wild boar, but I loved all of the dark humor as two completely unhinged characters keep shifting the power dynamic between them.  I found it very riveting and I eagerly anticipated every increasingly sadistic thing that Bradley and Linda do to each other.  I couldn't wait to see who would ultimately survive (and I kept going back and forth about who I wanted to survive because of all the surprising twists and turns).  Both McAdams and O'Brien are fantastic because they fully commit to the madness but also have moments of vulnerability that give their characters added dimension and they have great chemistry.  I thoroughly enjoyed this wildly entertaining mix of the horror, comedy, and psychological thriller genres and recommend it to fans of Sam Raimi.

Mercy

Last night my nephew and I went to see Mercy and, while it is not a great movie, it is definitely not as bad as I thought it would be based on the reviews.  In a dystopian future where Los Angeles is overridden with violent crime, LAPD Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) is instrumental in creating the Mercy Capital Court where AI is used as judge, jury, and executioner for the worst offenders.  However, he is soon *ahem* at the mercy of his own creation when he is accused of killing his wife Nicole (Annabelle Wallis) and put on trial by AI Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson).  He is restrained and given 90 minutes to prove his innocence below a 92% guilt probability threshold or he will be executed on the spot.  He has access to the Ministry Cloud, which includes surveillance footage from all over the city and the social media accounts of every citizen, in order to prove his innocence.  He also has the opportunity to communicate with anyone able to provide evidence, including his daughter Britt (Kylie Rogers), his AA sponsor Rob Nelson (Chris Sullivan), and his partner Jacqueline "Jaq" Diallo (Kali Reis).  Will he be able to solve the mystery of his wife's death before time runs out?  I initially wanted to see this because it seemed like a cautionary tale about the dangers of giving AI too much power, which it is to a certain extent, but then this message becomes muddled in the third act and it really weakens the narrative.  Both Pratt and Ferguson give incredibly bland performances because they are both stuck in a static location and all we see are close-ups of their faces for most of the runtime (Pratt can be good but, in my opinion, his best performances involve physical comedy so this is beyond his abilities).  Having said that, I did enjoy the use of the screenlife genre in the storytelling (I am a fan of Missing, Profile, and Searching) because this footage adds immediacy and tension, especially the clock counting down in real time.  I found the mystery to be compelling, even though the investigation is extremely convenient in order to happen during the time limit imposed by the narrative, and I was fully engaged until the action becomes a bit unwieldy in the final moments.  I didn't hate this but it probably should have gone straight to streaming.

A Beautiful Noise at the Eccles

Last night I went to the Broadway touring production of A Beautiful Noise at the Eccles Theatre and, even though I am only a casual fan of Neil Diamond, I really loved it! This is a jukebox musical based on the life and music of Neil Diamond and it uses the framing device of having the present day Neil (Robert Westenberg), who has retired from performing, attend a therapy session at the behest of his wife. He struggles to talk about himself so his doctor (Lisa Renee Pitts) brings out her second-hand copy of The Complete Lyrics of Neil Diamond and has him react to some of his lyrics in order to get him to open up ("A Beautiful Noise"). His songs prompt him to relive key moments from his life as the younger Neil (Nick Fradiani) performs them, including his work as a songwriter for other artists ("I'm a Believer"), his early days as a performer ("Solitary Man" and "Cracklin' Rosie"), his battle with depression ("Song Sung Blue"), his guilt over an affair ("Cherry, Cherry" and "September Morn'"), the end of his first marriage ("Love on the Rocks"), the pressure for him to continue writing hits ("Hello" and "Sweet Caroline"), his life on the road ("Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show"), the price of fame on his relationships ("Play Me" and "Forever in Blue Jeans"), and the end of his second marriage ("You Don't Bring Me Flowers"). He is forced to reconcile the trauma of a lonely childhood as the son of immigrants ("Brooklyn Roads," "America," and "Shilo") and accept that his diagnosis with Parkinson's disease has ended his career ("I am...I  Said") before he is able to express gratitude for his extraordinary life ("Holly Holy"). I really enjoyed the structure because, just like with The Four Seasons in Jersey Boys, Diamond's music was informed by what was happening in his life at the time (both musicals were produced by Bob Gaudio) so it is very effective in driving the narrative forward. The music is amazing and elicited a lot of audience participation, particularly during "Sweet Caroline."  I love the songs "Love on the Rocks" and "Holly Holy" but I was surprised by how many other songs I remembered and I had to try really hard not to sing along. The staging is very clever because the ensemble performs as a group called The Noise who appear as background singers and dancers for the young Neil and as the noise inside the present day Neil's head. The way that both of the Neils interact with each other is very powerful, especially during a highly emotional performance of "I Am... I Said," and so is the interaction between Jaye (Tiffany Tatreau) and Marcia (Mary Page Nance) during "Forever in Blue Jeans" because it is as if the first wife is warning the second one about what will eventually happen. Fradiani is amazing in the lead role because, even though he sounds so much like Neil Diamond that it is almost uncanny, he is still able to differentiate his performance enough that it is not merely a rote impersonation. He has tremendous charisma as a performer and you cannot take your eyes off him during the big production numbers in Act II (the sequins may also have something to do with it) but I think his simple acoustic version of "Solitary Man" with just him on the guitar is even more compelling. This is a thoroughly entertaining show and a must-see for fans of Neil Diamond! There are five more performances at the Eccles Theatre (go here for tickets) and I highly recommend it.

Forever Plaid at The Ruth

Last night I went to see Forever Plaid at The Ruth and it is both heartwarming and incredibly entertaining.  On February 9, 1961, Smudge (Chase Petersen), Jinx (Andrew Walker), Sparky (Isaac Moss), and Frankie (Carter McEwan), the members of a four-part harmony group called Forever Plaid, are killed on their way to their very first paying gig at the Airport Hilton cocktail lounge.  However, they are given the opportunity to come back and perform the show they never got to do in life.  Their setlist is incredibly nostalgic (the older gentleman sitting next to me knew the words to every single song) and includes "Three Coins in the Fountain," "Gotta Be This or That," "Moments to Remember," "Crazy 'Bout Ya Baby," "No, Not Much," "Perfidia," "Cry," "Catch a Falling Star," "Heart and Soul," "Scotland the Brave," "Shangri-La," "Rags to Riches," and "Love is a Many Splendored Thing."  My favorite numbers were "Sixteen Tons" which is hilarious and "Lady of Spain" because they recreate all of the famous acts from the Ed Sullivan Show in three minutes (I laughed out loud when one of them pretends to be a seal balancing a ball on his nose).  I also really loved a medley of songs highlighting what they are able to perform at your private function (they even handed out business cards to members of the audience).  The four of them harmonize beautifully and their vocal performance is definitely the highlight of the show but, in between the musical numbers, there is a lot of funny banter about meeting in their high school's audio-visual club, practicing in the back room of a plumbing supply store, and dealing with their individual idiosyncrasies (the show is interrupted by a nose bleed at one point). The elaborate, and often amusing, choreography is a lot of fun to watch and I especially loved the use of plungers in "Crazy 'Bout Ya Baby" and Sparky's flamboyant kicks in "Perfidia."  The minimal set is dominated by light panels, in a checkerboard pattern on the floor and in circles of different sizes on the backdrop, which change color throughout the show (I loved the plaid pattern on the floor during "Scotland the Brave").  There is also a large platform for the piano (played by Anne Puzey) and bass (played by Mathieu Foley) as well as smaller ones used for solo performances.  The costumes include white dinner jackets during Act I and then they are ceremonially awarded the plaid tuxedos that they were to have worn during their original concert in Act II.  This is a feel-good show that is sure to put a smile on your face and I recommend getting a ticket (go here) to one of the performances in the Lindsay Legacy Theatre through March 28.

Note:  Forever Plaid was the first show I saw at the brand new Hale Theatre.

Peter Pan Goes Wrong at HCT

Last night I had my first theatre trip of 2026 to see Peter Pan Goes Wrong at HCT and I definitely picked a good show to start the year with because it is absolutely hilarious! The Cornley Drama Society is back and, this time, Chris (Roger Dunbar) is directing the family classic Peter Pan with a significantly larger budget due to a generous donation. He is also playing Mr. Darling and Captain Hook with Robert (Taylor Seth Hall) as Nana, the Shadow, and a Pirate, Max (Doug Wadley) as Michael Darling and the Crocodile, Sandra (Corinne Adair) as Wendy Darling, Dennis (Ethan Freestone) as John Darling, Annie (Jillian Joy) as Mrs. Darling, Liza the Maid, and Tinkerbell, Jonathan (Davey Morrison) as Peter Pan, Lucy (Ali Bennett) as the Lost Boy Tootles, and Francis (Alex B. King) as the Narrator. Trevor (Langi Tuifua) is back as a Stagehand and he is assisted by Gill (Chad Brown). Mayhem ensues because Chris gets flustered whenever Captain Hook is booed by the audience, Sandra and Jonathan are dating but Max (who was only cast because his uncle made the large donation) has a crush on her and wants to play Peter Pan so he can kiss her, Annie must play two characters in the same scene and doesn't have enough time to change costumes, Dennis can't remember his lines so he has them read to him through large headphones that beep when used, Lucy suffers from stage fright and must be forced on stage, and Trevor must go on as Peter Pan (with script in hand) when Jonathan is injured in a flying mishap. However, after everyone else is incapacitated, it is up to Lucy to finish the show! The entire cast is fantastic and they are brilliant with the physical comedy, especially when Peter Pan spins upside down while flying, when Wendy, John, and Michael have to pretend to fly, when the Shadow's costume catches fire and Gill has to extinguish it, when Nana gets stuck in the doggy door, when Tinkerbell is electrocuted by her light-up costume (which requires an extension cord), when Lucy is injured by a falling tree, and when the Narrator's chair malfunctions. My favorite performances were from Wadley because his facial expressions are so fun to watch, especially when Max's crush on Sandra is accidentally revealed by a hot mic backstage, and from Freestone because his monotone delivery is a hoot when he repeats all of the stage directions (and other miscellaneous comments said by his prompter backstage) along with his lines. The set is so good because it falls apart so spectacularly, most notably the bunk beds that collapse while the children are in them, the pirate ship that rocks back and forth, and the turntable that spins out of control while the cast holds on for dear life! I don't think I stopped laughing all night and I can't think of a better show to see to get rid of the winter blues (go here for tickets). It runs on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through May 9.

Note:  I would also highly recommend Frozen which continues on the Young Living Centre Stage through February 14 (go here for tickets).

Utah Opera's Fidelio

Last night I went to Utah Opera's production of Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven at Capitol Theatre.  I always get a bit apprehensive when I see that a classic opera has been "reimagined" but the changes are absolutely brilliant and I really loved it.  Florestan (Thomas Kinch) is an innocent man unjustly held in a dungeon by the tyrannical prison commandant Don Pizarro (Zachary Nelson) as revenge for speaking out against him.  Florestan's wife Leonore (Wendy Bryn Harmer) is determined to save him and disguises herself as a man named Fidelio in order to gain the trust of the warden Rocco (Raymond Aceto) and thereby gain access to the prison.  Pizarro orders Rocco to kill Florestan but he refuses and, when he is forced to do it himself, Fidelio intervenes and denounces him to Don Fernando (Rodney Sharp II), a government minister who arrives to investigate allegations of abuse.  Fidelio reveals her true identity and Fernando has her remove Florestan's chains to show that love and courage overcome tyranny and oppression.  This powerful theme, which is incredibly relevant today, is further enhanced by the addition of a new character, the Oracle (Sharlene Wells), who periodically appears on stage in white billowing robes to recite quotes by 20th century authors and activists, such as Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Lao Tzu, John Steinbeck, Martin Niemoller, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, J.R.R. Tolkien, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Viktor Frankl, in order to inspire the characters.  I loved all of these quotes (and so did the audience because most of them elicited applause) but I had goosebumps when the Oracle recites "Dirge Without Music" by Edna St. Vincent Millay (my new rallying cry is, "But I do not approve.  And I am not resigned.").  Beethoven's music is beautiful and the performances are incredibly moving.  I especially loved Harmer's rich and emotive soprano voice and her performances of the famous arias "Komm, Hoffnung, lass den letzten Stern" (Come, Hope, let the last star) and "Abscheulicher! Wo ist nur der Gatte?" (Abhorred! Where is my husband?) are full of resolve and determination as Leonore searches for Florestan.  My favorite moment came at the beginning of Act II when Kinch, who has beautiful tenor voice full of pathos, sings the aria "Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!" (God! What darkness here!) contrasting the darkness of the dungeon where he is imprisoned with a vision of Leonore which gives him hope.  The opening note begins hesitantly then grows in strength and it put a tear in my eye!  I also loved "O welche Lust!" (O what delight!) sung by a chorus of prisoners after Leonore (Fidelio) convinces Rocco to let them outside to see the sun and they dream of freedom.  The set is minimalistic and the costumes are drab but I loved the dramatic projections, especially a sinister symbol that is projected on the prison walls (and repeated on the guard uniforms) and the recurring motif of roses as a representation of love.  I honestly cannot say enough about this production (it is now one of my favorites) and I highly encourage you to get a ticket (go here).  There are three more performances (January 21, 23 and 25) at Capitol Theatre.