Mary Poppins at Tuacahn Amphitheatre

One of my very favorite things to do in the summer is see a live music or theatre performance outdoors!  Last summer I had a wonderful time visiting all of my favorite venues after a year of missing out and this year I am planning on adding a few new ones.  I got started yesterday by taking a quick road trip to St. George to see a preview of Mary Poppins at Tuacahn.  I love this show so much and Tuacahn's production is absolutely magical.  Mary Poppins (Gail Bennett) comes to Cherry Tree Lane to look after Jane and Michael Banks (Lilly Pearson and Charlie Stover, respectively) but, after a few adventures with Bert the chimney sweep (Neil Starkenberg), she ends up saving their father, George Banks (James Taylor Odom).  Bennett is practically perfect in every way as Mary.  She has a beautiful voice, especially in the songs "Spoonful of Sugar" and "Feed the Birds," and she is an outstanding dancer in "Jolly Holiday," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," and "Step in Time."  She has a lot of chemistry with Pearson and Stover, who are adorable and have lovely voices, particularly when she is being stern with them.  Starkenberg is an amazing dancer and I really enjoyed an effect that had him dancing on the wall in "Step in Time."  Speaking of which, the choreography in the whole show is absolutely brilliant.  I thought "Supercalifragilistiexpialidocious" would be the highlight of the show because it is incredibly high-energy and so much fun to watch (I don't know how they formed the letters so fast) but the tap dancing on the rooftops of London in "Step in Time," including an epic dance-off between Mary and Bert, is spectacular!  The show features large LED panels, which display row houses on Cherry Tree Lane, the park, the London skyline, and the bank, along with elaborate moving sets for the living room, nursery, and kitchen of the Banks' house, as well as the bank.  Sometimes I found the screens to be a bit distracting but I did enjoy seeing the perspective of the row houses change to correspond with the different levels of the living room, nursery, and roof.  The costumes are elaborate and colorful (my favorites were for "Jolly Holiday") and the lighting is very dramatic (I loved the red in "Brimstone and Treacle").  Because it is Tuacahn, there are always a lot of special effects.  Mary makes some very exciting entrances and exits with her umbrella (the young woman sitting next to me squealed with delight and pointed to her flying in the air), the Admiral (Randal Keith) uses a real cannon at sunrise and sunset (I jumped every time it went off), and real horses are used in "Jolly Holiday."  This is one of my favorite shows and this production did not disappoint!  It was definitely worth the four hour drive!  Tuacahn is performing Mary Poppins, Wonderland, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in repertory through the end of October (go here for information and tickets).

Cats in Las Vegas

For Christmas two years ago I was given a season subscription to Broadway Las Vegas.  It was pretty much the best gift ever because I love live theatre and I love road trips!  Unfortunately, I only got to see one show before Covid shut everything down.  The good news is that I was able to apply my remaining tickets to the new 2021-2022 season and I saw the first show, Cats, last night.  I am not a big fan of the musical Cats because I saw it for the first time in London the night after I saw Les Miserables, which was a dream come true, and it suffered unfairly in comparison (and who can forget the trauma of watching the movie adaptation?).  I have since learned to appreciate the show and I was really happy to be back at the Smith Center for the first time since the pandemic started!  The story, such as it is, is based on a collection of poems called Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot and features music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Once a year the Jellicle Cats meet for the Jellicle Ball where Old Deuteronomy chooses one of them to ascend (in a giant tire) to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn.  Each cat explains why he or she should be the one chosen in big song and dance numbers.  My favorites are "The Rum Tum Tugger," "Bustopher Jones:  The Cat About Town," "Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer," "Macavity, The Mystery Cat," "Magical Mister Mistoffelees," and, of course, the showstopper "Memory."  The entire cast in this production is insanely talented but my favorite dancers were Hyla Mayrose Perillo as Victoria, Zach Bravo as Rum Tum Tugger, and Paul Giarratano as Mistoffelees.  Tayler Harris, as Grizabella, just about brought the house down with her powerful, yet vulnerable, rendition of "Memory" and I really liked Indalecio De Jesus Valentin's voice as Old Deuteronomy.  The choreography in this show is absolutely brilliant, especially in "Song of the Jellicles and the Jellicle Ball," "Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat" (I loved the way they created the train), and "Magical Mister Mistoffelees," and I really like how it incorporates the mannerisms of real cats. This show will never be my favorite but I have to admit that I got caught up in the excitement of the people around me and I really enjoyed it.  It has been a fun trip!

Note:  After watching the stage version again I was reminded that the movie was such a missed opportunity.

Summer of Outdoor Performances

In my opinion there is nothing better than sitting outside under the stars on a warm summer evening listening to music or watching a performance.  It is my favorite thing to do in the summer and I really missed having the opportunity last summer.  This year I was determined to visit all of my favorite outdoor performing arts venues and I even made a list!  I can happily report that I officially crossed off all but one venue on my list (I had planned on going to a concert at the Gallivan Plaza, the final venue on my list, last night but it was cold and raining so I decided not to).  Now that it is officially fall, I thought it would be fun to recap all of my summer adventures.

Murray Park Amphitheater

My sister Marilyn and I took our Mom to see The Little Mermaid at the Murray Park Amphitheater and all three of us really enjoyed this fun and quirky production.  My Mom had a smile on her face the entire time!  I loved all of the costumes for the sea creatures (especially the jelly fish) and Ursula was an absolute hoot because she was characterized as an over-the-top drag queen!

Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre

My first road trip of 2021 was a weekend in Cedar City for the Utah Shakespeare Festival and it was such a great experience.  I was able to see two plays in the outdoor Engelstad Theatre (I also saw a marvelous production of Ragtime in the indoor Randall L. Jones Theatre) and I thoroughly enjoyed them both but I think Richard III is the highlight of the summer!  It is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays and the lead actor was brilliant in the role!

Waterfall Amphitheatre at Thanksgiving Point

The Utah Symphony performs in various outdoor venues during the summer and the annual Concert at the Waterfall is always a good time!  The concert this year featured lots of patriotic favorites and culminated in a spectacular version of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, which is incredibly stirring, and fireworks!

Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater at Deer Valley

 

This year I was able to attend two concerts at Deer Valley!  I love being in the mountains (where it is usually much cooler than in the valley) and eating a picnic while waiting for the show to start.  My first concert was Kristin Chenoweth and it was so much fun because she is such a dynamic performer!  The highlights were "Popular" from Wicked and one of the best performances of "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables that I have ever heard.

My second concert at Deer Valley featured the Utah Symphony and guest conductor Enrico Lopez-Yanez (he is so charming and engaging) performing music from the Harry Potter movies.  I really enjoy these movies so it was a lot of fun to hear selections from the different scores performed live.  My favorite pieces were "Double Trouble" from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (with vocalists from each house) and "Courtyard Apocalypse" from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.

Eccles Outdoor Stage at Sundance

This year the Summer Theatre production at the Sundance Mountain Resort (in conjunction with the UVU Theatre Department) was Footloose.  This is not my favorite musical but I enjoyed many aspects of the show and I definitely loved being up in the mountains because of the fresh air, the cooler temperature, and the smell of pine!

Sandy Amphitheater

I am a huge fan of Queen so I was really excited to see The Magic of Queen (a great tribute band) at the Sandy Amphitheater.  Lead singer Brady Dolyniuk sounded a lot like Freddie Mercury (but he didn't try to imitate him) so it was a lot of fun to hear all of Queen's biggest hits performed live.  Of course, my favorite was an epic rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Tuacahn Amphitheatre

I was able to go on another quick road trip to Southern Utah to see Beauty and the Beast at Tuachan.  I used to see at least one show at Tuacahn every summer but I hadn't been for a long time.  It felt good to be back seeing a show with the beautiful red rock as a backdrop.  This was an absolutely magical production of Beauty and the Beast (with lots of unexpected special effects) and it made me feel like I was seeing it for the first time!

Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre

I always love attending concerts at Red Butte Garden because it is such a beautiful venue!  This year I was really lucky because Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, one of my favorite bands, was part of the Outdoor Concert Series and somehow I was able to get a ticket (it sold out very quickly).  I thoroughly enjoyed this show because they played so many songs from their new album (which I love) as well as many of my favorites.

USANA Amphitheatre

Another highlight of the summer is seeing Alanis Morissette at USANA with my sister Kristine.  We are both huge fans of Morissette and we both love the album Jagged Little Pill, which she performed in its entirety to commemorate 25 years since its release.  It was so fun to be back at USANA for the first time in over two years for such an amazing concert!

It has been a great summer!

Capitol Reef 2021

While I was staying at the KOA in Fillmore I took a little side trip to Capitol Reef National Park (about a two hour drive).  I was really surprised by how crowded it was (there were more people than I've ever seen before) so I didn't actually stay very long.  I just went on the scenic drive for a few photos (I was going to stop and pick some apples but even the orchards were really crowded) and then drove back to Fillmore.  Even though I didn't stay very long it was a beautiful drive to the park and through the park.

I am really hoping that I can get to Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park before the end of the year to complete the Mighty Five!

Weekend at My Favorite KOA

I knew that anywhere I wanted to go would be really crowded over the Labor Day weekend so, since I am retired and have the luxury of a flexible schedule, I decided to plan a little getaway for this weekend.  I booked a cabin at my very favorite KOA in Fillmore (which is about a two hour drive from my house) and drove down Saturday morning.  I know people might find it a bit strange but I love this campground.  It is close enough that it doesn't take forever to get to but it is far enough away that you feel like you have gone somewhere.  It is rustic enough that you feel like you are camping but there are enough conveniences (such as electricity, air conditioning, heating, a mini-fridge, and bathroom facilities nearby in the main lodge) to feel really comfortable.  Also, the hosts of this campground are some of the nicest people you will ever meet!  I spent Saturday afternoon out on the porch reading for hours and it felt wonderful because there was a cool breeze blowing through the trees.  I actually brought enough reading material this time!  My sister makes fun of me because I am notorious for finishing a book in the middle of a trip and then not having anything else to read for the rest of the time (I am like a junkie in need of a fix when I don't have a book) but she sent me a text telling me to take another book before I left and I, uncharacteristically, heeded her advice (I actually discovered that this KOA has a small library when I ran out of reading material on a camping trip several years ago but, luckily, I did not need to avail myself of it on this trip).  In the evening it started raining so I went inside, crawled under a bunch of blankets, and watched movies on my laptop.  It was incredibly cozy to listen to the rain hit the roof of the cabin as I fell asleep.  Sunday morning I got up early for a quick day trip and then spent the afternoon reading on the porch again.  I will be driving home later this morning and I am so happy that I had the chance to take this quick weekend trip because it was so fun and relaxing (and the campground wasn't very crowded).

Note:  I think I subconsciously selected this shirt because of the concert that I attended Friday night!

Bryce Canyon 2021

After I drove through Zion on Sunday I decided to stay on Highway 89, as I often do, and visit Bryce Canyon.  It adds a lot more time to the drive home but, once again, the views are worth it and the drive to the park is also very scenic.  Bryce was a bit more crowded than Zion but I was still able to park at all of the viewpoints.  Here is another overload of pictures!

I really enjoyed the drive through the park because it was much cooler than in St. George and Zion and, of course, the rock formations are pretty spectacular!

Zion 2021

Ever since I visited it for the first time when I was a little girl I have been drawn to Zion National Park.  Every time I come to St. George I have a really hard time resisting the urge to drive home through the park.  It adds quite a bit of time to the drive (it doesn't cost anything because I have an America the Beautiful pass which paid for itself the first weekend I got it) but it is so worth it because the views are incredible.  I got up early yesterday morning and drove straight there.  I basically had the park to myself (which is very unusual).  Here is an overload of pictures!

I had such a great time in the park yesterday!  There is something almost mystical about the red rocks!