Tarzan at CPT

Last night I went to see Tarzan on the Second Stage at CPT. I was really excited for this show because I had heard rave reviews for the production and I was definitely not disappointed! This musical is based on the popular story by Edgar Rice Burroughs and features fantastic music by Phil Collins. Kerchak (Ben Fonoimoana Tutor), the leader of a tribe of gorillas, is unhappy when his wife Kala (Janzell Luika Kim Tutor) adopts a baby whose parents have been killed because he doesn't think a human belongs with their family. Young Tarzan (Levi W. Johnson) struggles to keep up with the rest of the tribe until he is befriended by Terk (Braden Hull) who shows him how to be a gorilla. When Tarzan makes a spear for picking fruit, Kerchak is afraid that he will hurt the other gorillas so he forces him into exile. Tarzan is distraught and wonders where he belongs so Kala decides to stay with him. Years later, Tarzan (Levi Larsen) is welcomed back into the tribe after he kills a leopard that has been terrorizing them. However, when Professor Porter (Nathan Jones) and his daughter Jane (Summer Sloan Alvey) bring an expedition to the jungle, Kerchak worries that Taran's interactions with the humans, especially Jane, will bring harm to the tribe. When Clayton (Hayden Henderson), a member of the expedition, threatens the gorillas, Tarzan must decide whether he belongs with Jane and the humans or with his adopted family. What makes this production so dazzling is the incredibly immersive set with dynamic projections on the LED screens that surround the stage and the audience (I loved watching the subtle movements of the leaves) and hanging vines from the rafters because these elements, along with the sound design, make you feel like you are actually in the middle of the jungle. I especially loved the staging of the shipwreck at the beginning of the show because it features the sound of waves and a projection of a ship on a scrim in the middle of the stage. It is incredibly realistic! The set also features a large tree that opens up to become Professor Porter's camp and a balcony that is transformed into the tree house built by Tarzan's parents. This stage is so intimate that Tarzan actually flies through the audience when he swings on the vines (he was literally a few inches from me)! Larsen is an incredibly athletic Tarzan who is really fun to watch (the three young girls sitting next to me were very enamored with him). I loved his performance of "Strangers Like Me," my favorite song in the show, but his version of "Everything That I Am" gave me goosebumps. Alvey has a wide-eyed wonder in the songs "Waiting For This Moment" and "For The First Time" (for both the flora and fauna and for Tarzan) and I loved all of her interactions with Larsen because she tries to hide the fact that she finds him attractive. Other standouts are Hull because he has a boisterous energy that is palpable and Johnson because he is adorable and his rendition of "I Need to Know" is so affecting. The choreography is thrilling and I especially enjoyed the rambunctious leaps and jumps in "Trashin' The Camp" and the aerialists in "Waiting For This Moment." The costumes are very vibrant and I also loved the puppets (the elephant made me giggle out loud). This production is outstanding and I highly recommend it for the whole family (all of the kids in the audience seemed to be having a lot of fun). It runs on the Second Stage through August 8 and tickets may be purchased here.

Note:  As I mentioned, the three girls sitting next to me were very vocal in their appreciation for Tarzan so Larsen high-fived them during the bows. I think it was the highlight of their lives!

The Odyssey

Last night I finally had the chance to see The Odyssey, one of my most anticipated movies of 2026, and I was absolutely blown away by both the spectacle and the storytelling.  Odysseus (Matt Damon), the king of Ithaca, leaves his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) to aid Agamemnon (Benny Safdie) on his quest to rescue Helen (Lupita Nyong'o), the wife of his brother Menelaus (Jon Bernthal), from Troy.  After successfully infiltrating the city by deception inside a large wooden horse, he sails home with his soldiers and Eurylochus (Himesh Patel), his increasingly distrustful second-in-command, by a slower route than Agamemnon because he is tormented by visions of Athena (Zendaya).  His journey is interrupted by battles with mythical creatures and angry gods until he takes solace with Calypso (Charlize Theron) who makes him forget his family and the loss of his crew for many years.  In Ithaca, Penelope is besieged by suitors wanting her to marry again, most notably Antinous (Robert Pattinson) and Polybus (Corey Hawkins), and is surrounded by duplicitous servants, including Melantho (Mia Goth) and her brother Melanthius (Logan Marshall-Green), while Telemachus is determined to find the truth about his father with the help of his loyal swineherd Eumaeus (John Leguizamo).  When Odysseus is finally able to return to Ithaca, he must confront the consequences of the choices he was forced to make in war.  What I loved most about this is that the immense scope and scale of Odysseus's physical journey, including some of the best action sequences I've seen, is balanced by the intimacy of his existential journey of discovery.  The set pieces are big, loud, immersive, and sometimes terrifying, especially the scenes in which Polyphemus (a cyclops) and Scylla (a multi-headed monster) attack, with incredible visuals and sound design.  The third act, in particular, grabs you and doesn't let go with escalating tension that culminated in applause from my audience.  Damon gives the best performance of his career because his impressive physicality is coupled with some highly emotional scenes that brought tears to my eyes, particularly one with Calypso when he finally realizes who he is and what he has done and one with Penelope and Athena when he asks them for forgiveness.  I could also say the same for the entire cast but the standouts for me are Holland as Telemachus (after watching him as Spider-Man for so many years I was truly not familiar with his game), because his restrained transformation from an overwhelmed boy to a man worthy to take the throne of Ithaca is very powerful, Samantha Morton as Circe, because her delivery of a monologue about the violence of men gave me goosebumps, Pattinson as Antinous, because he is just so sleazy and I loved his final confrontation with Damon, and Leguizamo as Eumaeus, because he steals every scene he is in.  Finally, my attention never wavered during the almost three hour runtime and I almost got a ticket to see it again as soon as it ended (I will see it again very soon).  This is a masterpiece and I cannot recommend it enough but definitely see it in IMAX with Dolby Atmos sound (you'll thank me later).

Note:  The only movie that even has a chance of dethroning this as my favorite of 2026 is Dune: Part Three.  Nolan has thrown down the gauntlet, Villeneuve!

The Invite

Last night my nephew and I went to the Broadway to see The Invite.  This movie got a lot of buzz at Sundance this year so I was really excited and it definitely lived up to the hype!  Joe (Seth Rogen) is a former musician who now teaches at a third-rate music academy and Angela (Olivia Wilde) is a bored stay-at-home mom who fills her days by endlessly remodeling and decorating their apartment.  They bicker back and forth until their upstairs neighbors, Pina (Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), arrive for dinner.  Angela tries way too hard to impress them and Joe resents their intrusion but, after several extremely awkward encounters, they eventually become titillated by Pina and Hawk's unconventional sex life.  When Pina and Hawk invite them to participate in one of their orgies, everything that is wrong with Joe and Angela's relationship is revealed and they must decide whether they want to separate or make the changes needed to remain married.  This is absolutely hilarious (I don't think there was an empty seat in the theater and the audience laughed out loud through the entire runtime) and I especially loved a scene that cuts back and forth between Joe asking Pina how she knew when a relationship was over and Angela asking Hawk to help her make an important decision because it subverts expectations in a highly amusing way!  This is also an insightful and thought-provoking exploration of how couples lose connection and intimacy within a marriage when they become complacent (the ambiguous ending is quietly devastating).  This reminded me of a play performed live on stage because it takes place in one location in real time with an emphasis on dialogue rather than action.  However, this structure is surprisingly compelling because the scenes are framed in an incredibly dynamic way, particularly one in which the couples are placed opposite each other against the large cased opening to the dining room to highlight the distance between them, and the dialogue is very witty with brilliant performances that feature perfect timing (Rogen is outstanding).  I really enjoyed this and I am sure that it will be among my favorites this year.

The Scarlet Pimpernel at The Ruth

I was absolutely obsessed with Baroness Orczy's novel The Scarlet Pimpernel when I was a teenager (I also really loved the movie adaptation starring Anthony Edwards and Jane Seymour) so I always try to see the stage adaptation whenever it is playing near me.  I went to The Ruth's production last night and I had so much fun anticipating all of my favorite numbers.  Sir Percy Blakeney (Scott Hendrickson) disguises himself as the Scarlet Pimpernel and recruits a league of followers (Elijah Wolford, Maxx Teuscher, Kegan Bjornn, Charlie Flint, Tanner Garner, and Joshua Jones) from his fellow aristocrats in order to save the people of Paris from the sinister Chauvelin (Bronson Dameron) and the guillotine during the French Revolution.  He keeps his identity secret from his wife Marguerite St. Just (Malia Morley), a Parisian actress, because he believes that she is helping Chauvelin, her former lover.  He also keeps his identity secret from the Prince of Wales (Daniel Clegg) by pretending to be a foppish nincompoop!  However, he must make his most daring rescue yet when Marguerite and her brother Armand (Cole Hixson) are arrested.  When I entered the theater, I was really struck by the dramatic set, featuring large stone arches that become the Comedie-Francaise, Blakeney Manor, the prison at the Conciergerie, the square at the Place de la Concorde, and the Fisherman's Rest with just the addition of a few backdrops and set pieces (the most notable is the guillotine), as well as the bold red lighting which is extremely effective at creating a mood immediately.  I was also very impressed by the gorgeous costumes, particularly the flamboyantly frou frou outfits worn in "The Creation of Man" and the stylized wigs worn in "Storybook."  The staging of some of the most memorable scenes is simple but incredibly clever and I loved the transition from Percy's study to the ship as the league travels to France during "Into the Fire," the way they save people from the guillotine in "The Rescue," and the way Percy fools Chauvelin in "The Duel." I also really enjoyed the choreography during the intricate "Ouilles Gavotte" as Marguerite questions the men to learn the identity of the Pimpernel and the dramatic way that Percy, Marguerite, and Chauvelin circle each other during "The Riddle."  The three leads are outstanding but Hendrickson, especially, does an amazing job portraying Percy's strength as the Pimpernel, his vulnerability as a man who loves but can't trust his wife (his performances of "Prayer" and "She Was There" gave me chills), and his silliness as a man trying to hide his identity.  His interactions with Dameron are hilarious because the latter becomes visibly exasperated whenever he conspicuously mispronounces his name.  This show is a favorite with Utah audiences and The Ruth's production is one of the best I've seen so I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) before they are gone.  It runs in the Smith Grand Theater through August 22.

Hell's Kitchen at the Eccles

As a big fan of Alicia Keys, I have been looking forward to Hell's Kitchen ever since the 2025-2026 Broadway at the Eccles season was announced. I finally had the chance to see it last night and I loved it because the music, the choreography, and the performances are amazing! This features songs by Alicia Keys with a semi-autobiographical story about her experiences growing up in Manhattan in the 1990s. Seventeen-year-old Ali (Maya Drake) is trying to find her voice and place in the world with her overprotective mother Jersey (Kennedy Caughell), who is afraid that her daughter will make the same mistakes she did, and her absent father Davis (Desmond Sean Ellington), who prioritizes his music career over his responsibilities, while pursuing an ill-advised relationship with an older man named Knuck (JonAvery Worrell), who becomes a victim of discrimination and overpolicing. She finds refuge when Miss Liza Jane (Roz White), a resident of the subsidized artist housing where she lives, begins teaching her how to play the piano and she ultimately channels her anger, pain, and passion into her music. In my opinion, the weakest element is the story because there are a quite a few themes that are only explored on a superficial level as well as several underdeveloped characters who disappear in the second act after they are no longer needed to advance the plot but I did really enjoy the way the mother-daughter relationship is portrayed and the resolution between Ali and Jersey is very satisfying. The highlight is the music (I had to stop myself multiple times from singing along). I loved hearing several of my favorite Alicia Keys songs reinterpreted to fit within the narrative, such as "Girl on Fire" which Ali's friends Tiny (Gigi Lewis) and Jessica (Marley Soleil) sing as both an anthem to female empowerment but also as a cautionary tale, "Fallin'" as duet between Jersey and Davis as she criticizes him for his abandonment but still feels a romantic pull when he flirts with her, "If I Ain't Got You" as a duet between Davis and Ali as they sing the song he wrote for her to show he loves her even if he is not there for her, "No One" as a duet between Jersey and Ali as they reflect on their mother-daughter bond, and, of course, "Empire State of Mind" (my favorite Alicia Keys song) as a triumphant ode to the neighborhood that formed her. There are a few new songs included and my favorite was "Kaleidoscope" because it is such a pivotal moment when Ali's world expands after she meets Miss Liza Jane and plays the piano for the first time. I also really loved the dynamic choreography because the high-energy steps performed by the ensemble are a reflection of Ali's environment, especially in "The Gospel," "You Don't Know My Name," "Kaleidoscope" (this was my favorite because the ensemble seems to dance with the grand piano), "Girl on Fire," and "Empire State of Mind," and the more soulful movements performed by smaller groups embody Ali's internal journey, particularly in "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" and "Hallelujah." The performances blew me away! I was especially impressed by newcomer Drake (who is a recent high school graduate making her professional stage debut) because she effortlessly carries the show with her powerful vocals and electric stage presence. I also enjoyed Caughell because she brings the house down with her rendition of "Pawn It All" and White because her performance of "Perfect Way to Die" is absolutely devastating. Finally, towering metal structures and projections bring the high-rise building where Ali lives and the surrounding neighborhood to life very vividly (I loved the projections used for the elevator) and the costumes effectively transport the audience back to the 1990s. This show is on fire and I highly recommend it! There are five more performances at the Eccles through July 12 (go here for tickets).