I spent this last weekend with my sister Marilyn at the Utah Shakespeare Festival and we had so much fun! We had been looking forward to this trip all year (we bought our tickets on Black Friday) and it was the perfect way to end the summer (we definitely enjoyed the cooler temperatures).
Our first show on Friday afternoon was She Loves Me in the Randall Jones Theatre. This delightful musical features two bickering clerks in a Budapest perfumery during the 1930s who unknowingly fall in love with each other as anonymous pen pals. I really loved the elaborate set! The exterior of Maraczek's Parfumerie sits in front of a beautiful projection showing the city of Budapest and revolves to reveal the interior of the shop which is filled with large display cabinets. Several backdrops are cleverly used to transform the shop into the Cafe Imperiale and Amalia's apartment. The choreography for "Sounds While Selling," "A Romantic Atmosphere," and "Twelve Days to Christmas" is so fun and chaotic (Marilyn is very reserved and she laughed out loud during these scenes). Finally, the entire cast is outstanding but I was especially impressed by the leads Ali Ewoldt and Matt Koenig because they both have beautiful voices and tremendous chemistry. Her rendition of "Will He Like Me?" is a highlight for me because she is so vulnerable and his exuberant performance of "She Loves Me" brought the house down!
Friday night we saw Hamlet in the Englestad Theatre and it was incredible! This is my favorite Shakespeare play (it was also my favorite piece of literature to teach) and it tells the tragic story of a Danish prince who is urged to avenge the death of his father. I loved so many things about this particular interpretation. The play begins with the ghost of Hamlet's father dramatically emerging from the grave and he is omnipresent throughout. We also see the ghosts of Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius, and Ophelia at various times before they appear with the ghosts of Gertrude, Claudius, Leartes, and Hamlet to surround Horatio. This is incredibly powerful because it makes the consequences of the King's murder very visible and I especially loved that they implore Horatio to swear to remember their story because it echoes the first scene between the ghost and Hamlet (I got goosebumps during this final moment). I loved the choice to move Hamlet's soliloquy to after he kills Polonius because it gives more emotional weight to his words (he even cries afterwards). I loved the way that Ophelia is portrayed because she is stronger than I've ever seen her, especially in an added encounter with Hamlet after her father's death, and Kathryn Tkel is brilliant in the role. Walter Kmiec's performance is also amazing and I loved his interpretation of Hamlet as a young man overwhelmed by circumstances, particularly in a scene where the entire court circles around him. Finally, I loved the dramatic set with large windows that are skewed and lose panes as the play progresses (it is intriguing to me that there is something rotten in Denmark before the action even begins). I was blown away by the festival's production of Hamlet in 2019 and this one is very different but equally brilliant!
The next show on Saturday afternoon was Something Rotten in the Randall Jones Theatre. This follows two struggling playwrights during the Renaissance who try to outshine William Shakespeare by writing the first musical. I absolutely love all of the references to musical theatre in "A Musical" and "Make an Omelette" and I love that every production adds something new. This version includes highly amusing visual references to Dear Evan Hansen and Newsies but I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed that these two numbers didn't feature more pizzazz with the choreography and costumes. I also have to admit that I didn't care for Brian Gonzales as Nostradamus or Jason Rexx as Nigel Bottom. However, Pascal Pastrana is hilarious as the rock star Shakespeare (his codpiece is spectacular) and I loved his over the top performances of "Will Power" and "Hard to Be the Bard," especially his interactions with his groupies. I also really enjoyed Matt Koenig as Nick Bottom because he has a beautiful voice and his versions of "Man, I Hate Shakespeare" and "Bottom's Gonna Be on Top" are a lot of fun. Finally, I liked the clever but simple set because it features an Elizabethan theatre that is transformed into to other locations by rotating panels and flashing LED lights. I enjoyed this but it was underwhelming compared to other productions I've seen (it didn't help that there were many students in the audience who screamed at the top of their lungs at the end of every number).
Our final show was Twelfth Night in the Engelstad Theatre Saturday night. When twins are separated during a shipwreck, chaos ensues when they become involved in a love triangle and are mistaken for each other. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the physical comedy in this show, especially when Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Maria hide to observe the officious steward Malvolio read a letter they have forged to get back at him for spoiling their fun, when Malvolio appears smiling with yellow stockings and cross garters (I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe during this scene), and when Sir Andrew challenges Cesario to a duel. I also loved all of the scenes involving the jester Feste, especially when he improvises a song for a member of the audience. The staging of the shipwreck is quite spectacular and I was very impressed with Caitlin Wise's aerial performance on silks. I loved Kayland Jordan's performance as Olivia because her facial expressions are so funny, especially when Sebastian and Viola appear together for the first time, and, of course, I loved Rodney Lizcano because he really hams it up as Malvolio. Finally, the period costumes are very beautiful as are the projections used for Illyria.
I always love coming to the Utah Shakespeare Festival, especially with my sister, and this trip was wonderful. The festival continues with Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida, and See How They Run through September 5 and Something Rotten, She Loves Me, The Book Club Play, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein though October 3 (go here for tickets).
Note: The month of August began and ended with theatre road trips with my sisters!
