Timpanogos Community Theater's The Pirates of Penzance

Last year I was so impressed by Timpanogos Community Theater's production of The Sound of Music that I immediately vowed to come back for another show. I finally made good on that promise by seeing The Pirates of Penzance last night and I'm sorry that I waited so long because I really enjoyed myself! It is one of the funniest versions of this comedic operetta that I have ever seen! Frederic (Adam Moore) has reached his 21st birthday and wishes to leave the band of pirates to whom he has been mistakenly apprenticed. After leaving the pirates, Frederic meets Major-General Stanley (Brett Hansen) and his daughters, falls in love with the youngest daughter Mabel (Kyra Fowler), and enlists the Sergeant of Police (Aaron Bone) and his constables to arrest the pirates. Chaos ensues when the Pirate King (Aaron Williams) and Ruth (Vivian Mathias), Frederic's former nursemaid, tell him that he was born during a leap year and, since he has only had five birthdays, he must continue to serve his apprenticeship. The set is quite simple, consisting of a ship, the seaside, and a graveyard (there is also an amusing miniature ship that is used several times), and the costumes are a lot more straightforward than in other productions of this show that I have seen (the Major-General does not even have any medals) but it matters not because the comedy comes from the brilliant staging, choreography, and performances without having to rely on sight gags. I was laughing from beginning to end at the physicality in all of the scenes but my favorites were Frederic and Ruth's interactions "Oh! false one, you have deceiv'd me" when he learns that she is not as beautiful as she has claimed to be, Frederic hiding in plain sight from the daughters in "Climbing over rocky mountains," when the daughters feign disinterest in Frederic during "Oh, is there not one maiden breast" (Ciara Hulet's facial expressions killed me), when the daughters keep moving closer to overhear Frederic and Mabel in "How beautifully blue the sky," when the pirates and daughters dramatically gasp for breath during "I am the very model of a modern Major-General," and when the constables and the pirates hide in plain sight from the Major General in "Hush, hush! not a word." The ensemble, who all sing and dance as pirates, daughters, and constables, is outstanding and so much fun to watch and I also loved Fowler's beautiful rendition of "Poor wand'ring one" and Williams' enthusiastic version of "Oh! better far to live and die." My favorite performance, however, was that of Moore because he is incredibly appealing as Frederic! He has a beautiful voice, especially when he sings "Stay, Fred'ric, stay," "Ah, leave me not to pine," and "Oh, here is love, and here is truth" with Fowler, but his comedic timing coupled with his earnest expression (and rosy cheeks) is enchanting! Hurrah for this production for putting a big smile on my face! It runs at the Valentine Theater on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through May 4 and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets).

Timpanogos Community Theater's The Sound of Music

Today is the first anniversary of my Mom's passing so my sisters and I decided to see a production of The Sound of Music with Timpanogos Community Theater last night. She suffered from dementia and during the last year of her life she loved the movie (she watched it every day and sometimes even watched it twice) so we thought it would be a great way to remember her. It was a bit emotional for me (I cried a few times just like I did when Marilyn and I saw a production at the Utah Shakespeare Festival last summer) but it was also so much fun to see it with both of my sisters because we would exchange knowing glances during particular scenes that my Mom loved. The production is delightful and we were really impressed with it! When a prospective nun named Maria (Maren Miller) is sent to be the governess to the seven children of Captain von Trapp (Nathaniel Brown), she brings music back to their household. Miller has a really beautiful voice and her version of "The Sound of Music" is incredibly stirring. I also really enjoyed her interactions with the von Trapp children, Liesl (Amalie Strongin), Friedrich (Benjamin Kland), Louisa (Summer Mitchell), Kurt (Lincoln Harper), Brigitta (Madison Hirschi), Marta (Chloe Hirschi), and Gretl (Story Harper), in "Do-Re-Mi" and "The Lonely Goatherd." I usually enjoy watching the young actress playing Gretl but in this production Lincoln Harper steals the show as Kurt! His facial expressions are hilarious! Strongin not only has a beautiful voice but she is also a great dancer and "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" with Trystyn Roberts as Rolf is a lot of fun. I especially liked the choreography in this number because Rolf tries to teach Liesl how to dance but she ends up doing her own steps. Other standouts in the cast are Charity Johansen as the Mother Abbess, because her rendition of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" just about blows the roof off of the theater, and Trevor Williams as Max Dettweiler, because his delivery is very flamboyant. There are some interesting variations in the staging of several numbers, including portraying the funeral of Captain von Trapp's first wife during "Preludium," having the Captain and the children upstage during "Maria" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" in order to foreshadow Maria's future, and having soldiers wearing Nazi armbands walking through the audience during "Edelweiss," but they are incredibly powerful. The sets are very elaborate for a community theatre production and I especially liked the arches in the Nonnberg Abbey set and the large staircase in the von Trapp Villa set. The costumes are what you would expect from this show but I did like the play clothes made out of Maria's drapes and I loved her wedding dress. My Mom would have loved this show! Tonight is the final performance but it is well worth seeking out (go here).

Note:  It is always disconcerting for me to see the stage version because it differs significantly from the movie (which I am very familiar with).