The Christophers

Last night my nephew and I saw The Christophers at the Broadway and I was quite surprised by its moving portrayal of an unlikely friendship.  Lori Butler (Michaela Coel), a struggling artist known more for her work in art restoration than her own paintings, is approached by Sallie Sklar (Jessica Gunning), a former classmate from art college, and her brother Barnaby (James Corden) about completing a series of unfinished paintings locked away by their estranged father Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) so that they can be "discovered" after his imminent death and then sold for a fortune.  They contrive to have her hired as their father's personal assistant, ostensibly for the purpose of cataloging his work, but with the real intention of accessing the paintings as well as his paints and supplies to aid in the eventual authentication process.  Sklar is initially reluctant to even speak about the paintings because the subject of the series is his former lover (the titular Christopher) and the memories they evoke are painful to him.  He even suggests that they be destroyed but, when Lori eventually reveals the truth, the two of them plot to sabotage their plan (it involves the use of glitter).  This is a very dialogue-heavy movie that emphasizes character development over action but every conversation between Lori and Julian slowly reveals information that recontextualizes their relationship and it is very compelling.  I especially enjoyed their philosophical discussions about art and perception and the notion that a painting's worth is not necessarily determined by its value.  McKellen gives a brilliant performance as the curmudgeonly painter because you can actually see the mischief in his eyes as Julian and Lori spar with each other and Coel more than holds her own with the veteran actor (the chemistry between them is electric).  Finally, this is often quite funny, more so than I was expecting, and I laughed out loud when Sallie's attempt to copy one of the paintings is revealed (it is obvious that she was admitted to art school because of nepotism).  This is one of the most delightful movies I have seen in recent memory and I higly recommend it.

Ballet West's West Side Story: Broadway and Beyond

Yesterday I was able to attend a matinee of Ballet West's repertory program West Side Story: Broadway and Beyond featuring two choreographers known for their success on the Great White Way.  I thoroughly enjoyed this performance (I usually prefer full-length ballets) and I was very impressed by how innovative and groundbreaking it was.  It began with Antique Epigraphs with choreography by Jerome Robbins and music by Claude Debussy (the piece was bookended by a solo flute performing Debussy's Syrinx with his Six Epigraphes Antiques played by the full orchestra in between and it was quite dramatic).  Eight female dancers, including Katlyn Addison, Lillian Casscells, Kye Cooley, Nicole Fanney, Victoria Vassos, Rylee Ann Rogers, Anisa Sinteral, and Claire Spainhour, wearing flowing gowns in earth tones created sculptural forms inspired by Greek mythology, both individually and as a group moving in unison, while gliding across the stage. I was struck by how elegant and fluid their movements were, particularly the graceful extension of their arms.  I was really happy to see Addison, my favorite dancer in the company, in a prominent role. This was followed by Carousel (A Dance) with choreography by Christopher Wheeldon and music by Richard Rodgers from the musical of the same name.  On a stage swathed in carnival lights, Amy Potter and Jordan Veit danced a lovely waltz emphasizing the push and pull of a possible romance after Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan first met each other.  The members of the ensemble acted as a carousel while jumping and spinning around the couple in a circle.  This included an especially fun effect featuring the women holding poles as they were lifted up and down by the men to replicate the movement of the horses on the carousel (the two young girls sitting in front of me loved this).  Next came the pas de deux from After the Rain with choreography by Christopher Wheeldon and music by Arvo Part.  Cellist Lauren Posey and Pianist Vedrana Subotic performed Spiegel im Spiegel on stage as Emily Adams and Hadriel Diniz performed an intricate duet that was slow, deliberate, and intimate.  This was absolutely stunning and I was blown away by the strength, concentration, and control required of the dancers.  The program concluded with West Side Story Suite, the piece that I was most interested to see, with the iconic choreography by Jerome Robbins, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.  This was incredible because the company, who were joined by guest artists and vocalists, performed the big ensemble numbers from the stage musical with dancing, singing, and acting.  I especially loved the "Prologue" because the choreography communicated the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks through movement brilliantly, "Dance at the Gym" because the contrast between the Jets and Sharks was so dramatic (the Jets were primarily costumed in blue, orange, and yellow with the Sharks in black, magenta, and purple) and seeing them interact was riveting, "Cool" because the choreography was thrilling with acrobatic leaps and spins (I was beyond impressed by David Huffmire's singing as Biff), and "Somewhere Ballet" because it was so haunting that I had tears in my eyes by the end.  I had to exchange my ticket in order to see this but I am so glad I made the effort because this was really unexpected and exceeded my expectations!  Unfortunately, last night was the final performance but you can go here to see the remaining productions this season.

The Drowsy Chaperone at Draper Historic Theatre

Last year I saw The Addams Family and Elf The Musical at Draper Historic Theatre. One of these productions was outstanding and the other one was not so, clearly, I had to see something else as a tie breaker and I chose The Drowsy Chaperone last night. I love this show so much because it is a love letter to musical theatre and its power to transport you to a place where happy endings are possible for a few hours. Man in Chair (Christopher Stockstager) decides to listen to his cast recording of The Drowsy Chaperone, a popular musical from 1928, because he is feeling a little blue. The show comes to life in the middle of his apartment as he listens but he frequently interrupts to provide commentary and occasionally participates in the big production numbers. Mrs. Tottendale (Pam Winrow) and her Underling (Kian Byington) are hosting the wedding between the oil tycoon Robert Martin (Wes Seiler) and Broadway star Janet Van De Graaf (Kellie Seiler), who is giving up her glamorous career for love. Robert is leaving all of the wedding details to his friend and best man George (Gabe Velez) while Janet is relying on her Chaperone (Keri Hughes), who gets drowsy when she drinks, to keep her and the groom apart to avoid bad luck. Broadway producer Feldzieg (Josh Rayburn) wants to prevent his biggest star from leaving his show so he hires a Latin lover named Aldolpho (Matthew Davids) to seduce her in order to stop the wedding, an investor in the Feldzieg Follies is also worried and hires two gangsters (Spencer Bushman and Isaac King), disguised as pastry chefs, to disrupt the proceedings, but a ditzy chorus girl named Kitty (Makayla Porter) takes every opportunity to prove to them that she can take Janet's place. Mayhem ensues until Trix the Aviatrix (Haley Oliphant) provides the happy ending by agreeing to marry four couples on her plane while flying to Rio. I loved the entire cast but the standouts for me were Hughes because she is the ultimate diva in "As We Stumble Along" (I loved how the veteran performer tries to outshine the ingenue in this number), Davids because he is completely over-the-top in "I Am Aldolpho" (I laughed out loud at all of his antics with a cane), Velez because he is hysterically overwrought in "Wedding Bells 1" and "Wedding Bells 2" (this was his same characterization for Buddy the Elf but it is more appropriate in this show), and Stockstager because his facial expressions and mannerisms make him the perfect Man in Chair (especially during his poignant monologue in response to "Love is Always Lovely in the End"). The choreography is fantastic, particularly in "Cold Feets" (I always love to see tap dancing), "Show Off" (it was clever to have Janet rise up from a trap door in the encore), "Toledo Surprise," "Bride's Lament," and "I Do, I Do in the Sky." It is hilarious every time the actors freeze (in some very elaborate poses) when Man in Chair stops the record and when they repeat the choreography over and over again when it has a scratch. The set of the apartment is ingenious and the cast utilizes the furniture very well for their entrances and exits (my favorites are when George emerges from one of the lower cabinets and when the Chaperone appears in a Murphy bed). The costumes are great because they include some fun details, such as the two cardigan sweaters worn by Man in Chair, the plaid plus fours with argyle socks and sweater vests worn by the gangsters, and the spats worn by the Underling. I loved everything about this production so you never know what you are going to get with community theatre! The show runs Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through May 16 and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).

Note: I loved Stockstager but my favorite Man in Chair is Jonathan Crombie (better known as Gilbert Blythe in Anne of Green Gables) when he appeared in the Broadway touring production. Sigh!

Mammoth vs. Blues

Last night I had a last minute opportunity to see the Utah Mammoth play the St. Louis Blues and I took it because it was the final game of the season.  I am really glad that I did because, even though they lost and even though Dylan Guenther wasn't in the line-up, I had a great time (at least until the last three minutes).  The Mammoth played a lot better than they have been recently and had a lot of good chances (they ended the night with 23 shots) in a back-and-forth game that was really fun to watch.  Pavel Buchnevich put St. Louis on the board first with a goal at the 3:45 mark in the first period and then Michael Carcone evened it up at 16:55 with a pretty wrist shot.  The second period was very exciting because Lawson Crouse scored within 45 seconds when he backhanded the deflected puck from MacKenzie Weeger's missed shot in traffic.  The crowd was on their feet again when Brandon Tanev scored a goal less than a minute later (his first of the season) to make it 3-1 but St. Louis challenged it for goaltender interference and it was overturned.  That took the wind out of Utah's sails a little bit and Robert Thomas scored twice in a row to put St. Louis up 3-2.  In the final minute of the period Kailer Yamamoto put a wrist shot past Joel Hofer from the slot to tie the game at 3-3.  Karel Vejmelka (who allowed three goals on 18 shots) was replaced by Vitek Vanecek to start the third period and it was a defensive battle until the 2:57 mark when Logan Mailloux scored the go-ahead goal.  The Mammoth did everything they could to score but they didn't have enough time and eventually pulled Vanecek which resulted in an empty-netter from Thomas (giving him his first NHL hat trick).  The Blues ended up winning 5-3 but it was a better game for the Mammoth than the score suggests and I liked that they were more aggressive in the offensive zone.  I was sitting next to three Blues fans who were really obnoxious and I wanted to remind them that the Mammoth were going to the playoffs (they play the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round) while the Blues were done for the season but, thankfully, reason prevailed!  After the game, team awards were given to Michael Carcone, Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, and Dylan Guenther and the whole team thanked the fans for supporting them this season.  I'm glad I rearranged my schedule for one last game (I probably won't get to a playoff game unless they make it to the second round).

Exit 8

Next up in my double feature last night was Exit 8, a Japanese psychological horror film based on the video game of the same name.  The central conceit becomes a bit tedious as it goes on but I found it very thought-provoking.  The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) is riding the subway on his way to work when his ex-girlfriend (Nana Komatsu) calls him to tell him that she is pregnant with his child and to ask him what she should do.  This news is very overwhelming to him and, as he tries to exit the subway station, he soon finds himself in an endlessly looping corridor underground.  He eventually learns that the way to reach Exit 8 is to turn back whenever he sees an anomaly in the corridor.  If he doesn't turn back when an anomaly appears, he returns to Exit 0 which resets his progress.  While on his seemingly interminable journey, he encounters The Walking Man (Yamato Kochi) and The Boy (Naru Asanuma), who are also trapped in the corridor for various reasons, but only one of them can help him reach Exit 8.  I found the allegory about what you should prioritize in life to be very powerful, if a bit on the nose, and I loved the juxtaposition between the life represented by The Walking Man versus the one represented by The Boy.  I also liked the exploration of how important it is to be present in the moment (symbolized by the anomalies).  As I previously mentioned, seeing the exact same location, a sterile white tiled hallway, for most of the runtime is sometimes mind-numbing (which is the point) but the unsettling sound design and some of the more elaborate anomalies (especially an homage to The Shining) definitely kept my attention.  Finally, the use of Maurice Ravel's Bolero during both the opening and end credits is absolutely brilliant because it features a single repeating melody that builds in intensity.  I liked this (it was fun to see it with a big crowd late at night) and would recommend it.