She Loves Me at HCT

Last night (after a little nap) I saw Hale Theatre's production of the musical She Loves Me.  This Broadway show was the inspiration for the films Little Shop Around the Corner and, more recently, You've Got Mail.  The setting is Maraczek's Perfumery, a little shop with an eccentric group of clerks, in the 1940s.  We learn that one of the clerks, Georg Nowack (Derek Smith), has been corresponding with an unknown woman whom he calls "Friend."  Amalia Balash (Amy Shreeve Keeler) is soon hired as a new clerk and Georg takes an immediate dislike to her. The feeling is mutual and, soon, they are bickering constantly. Amalia has an unknown correspondent as well and, of course, it is Georg! Can this couple realize that they really do love each other? I will admit that I wasn't immediately drawn into the musical numbers but, as the show progressed, I found them to be more and more charming!  I thought Georg's song "Tonight at Eight" was incredibly endearing. I never imagine that a man gets nervous before meeting a woman for a date!  Amalia's song "Will He Like Me?" perfectly expresses what a woman feels like before a date and Keeler sings it with such vulnerability.  The choreography is quite innovative and intricate.  I loved the scene where the clerks decorate the shop for Christmas and Ilona and Steve dance with a garland!  So fun!  Both of the leads are great in their roles but, in my opinion, Megan Lynn Heaps (a frequent performer with HCT) and Harrison Young steal the show as Ilona and Arpad, respectively.  I loved watching Heaps' facial expressions and Young is as irrepressible as a puppy!  The set is absolutely incredible! Kacey Udy, as usual, has outdone himself with the amazing perfume counter in the center of the stage.  Michelle Jensen is to be commended for all of the beautiful props used on the perfume counter.  Finding all of those vintage perfume bottles and assorted baubles must have been a Herculean task!  This little gem of a show was a lovely interlude in the middle of a busy week getting ready for the new school year!  I recommend it, especially for people who are nostalgic for a simpler time! She Loves Me runs through September 27 but shows are selling out quickly.  Go here for more information.

Mary Poppins at HCT

I had so much fun last night seeing Hale Centre Theatre's production of Mary Poppins.  It is such an entertaining show and it brought back so many memories of my childhood.  It is the first movie I actually remember seeing with my Aunt Sharon and my cousins at the old Villa Theatre in Salt Lake. The musical tells the well-known story of how a nanny comes to Cherry Tree Lane to save the Banks children and ends up saving their father.  This is a big show and I am in awe of what director John Sweeney and choreographer Jenny Barlow were able to do on such a small stage!  The choreography is simply amazing, especially in "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "Step in Time."  Kacey Udy, once again, outdid himself with the set design.  The Banks' drawing room rises from the floor and the nursery comes down from the ceiling.  The carousel the children ride during "Jolly Holiday" is fabulous!  Kimberly Olson Bunker is practically perfect in every way as Mary Poppins and I especially enjoyed her performance in "A Spoonful of Sugar." David Smith is totally endearing as Bert and I was very impressed with his singing and dancing in "Jolly Holiday" and "Step in Time." Abigail Edwards and Anson Bagley are adorable as the children and JaNae Gibbs Cottam (a frequent performer at HCT) is hilarious as Miss Andrew.  The entire cast does a wonderful job and the dancing is simply spectacular!  I highly recommend seeing this show with your children.  The kids in the audience last night seemed spell-bound and a little girl in my row gasped out loud when she saw Mary Poppins flying through the air (there was a slight glitch in Mary's flying apparatus but she informed us that it was because she had a new umbrella). The show runs through August 9 but, as usual, many shows are sold out.  Go here for more information and to purchase tickets.

Arsenic and Old Lace at HCT

Last night I was able to see Arsenic and Old Lace at Hale Centre Theatre. Despite the fact that I consider myself to be quite the theatre aficionado, I have never seen this long-running play (or the popular movie starring Cary Grant) before.  Now I understand why it had 1,444 performances on Broadway;  it is absolutely hilarious!  Mortimer Brewster visits his aunts Abby and Martha only to discover a dead body in the window seat.  He learns that several old and lonely men have visited, answering an advertisement for a room to rent, and that the Brewster sisters have done their Christian duty by ending their misery with a glass of elderberry wine (with the addition of arsenic). Their nephew (and Mortimer's brother) Teddy, who just happens to think that he is Teddy Roosevelt, buries these men in the cellar because he thinks he is digging locks for the Panama Canal. Chaos ensues when Mortimer's brother Jonathan, a homicidal maniac, returns to the house needing to dispose of his own dead body which ends up, you guessed it, in the window seat.  Throw in an unwilling accomplice, a bumbling policeman who really wants to be a playwright, and a curious fiance and you have a thoroughly entertaining dark comedy that will keep you laughing all evening.  All of the performances are great.  One of my former colleagues, Claire Spencer, plays Martha and it was really fun for me to see her on stage and visit with her after the show. Brandon Green is absolutely hysterical, and a little bit creepy, as Jonathan Brewster.  I have seen him in previous productions at HCT and the physical comedy he brings to each role is second to none!  As always, I absolutely loved the set!  Kacey Udy, the set designer, created the perfect drawing room full of red velvet arm chairs, lamps with stained glass shades, and lace antimacassars.  I also loved the costumes worn by the Brewster sisters, especially the black bombazine dresses they wear for the funeral services of the men they kill.  I thoroughly enjoyed this production, but I recommend it for adults.  The show runs until May 31 and tickets range from $27.00-$16.00.  You can purchase tickets here but shows are selling out quickly.