Always...Patsy Cline at HCT

Last night I went to see Always...Patsy Cline which is currently being performed on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage at Hale Centre Theatre. I must say at the outset that I am not much of a country music fan (it is probably my least favorite genre of music) but the portrayal of an improbable friendship is quite poignant and I certainly appreciated the talented musicians who performed live on stage! The show is basically a series of performances by Patsy Cline (Cori Cable Kidder) of all of her hits at various venues, including the Grand Ole Opry, interspersed with commentary from a real-life fan named Louise Seger (Adrien Swenson) who met Cline at a performance in Houston and then corresponded with her until her untimely death. I found the story to be a bit contrived but the music is outstanding! Kidder is fantastic in the role, looking and sounding enough like the iconic singer to be believable without seeming like a campy impersonation, and I especially enjoyed her renditions of "Walking After Midnight," "I Fall to Pieces," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Sweet Dreams," "Crazy," and "True Love."  The band, consisting of Kelly DeHaan (director and music director) on piano, Bryan Hague on guitar, Mark Maxson on lap steel guitar, Mark Robinette on bass, Aaron Ashton on fiddle, and James Densley on drums, is also fantastic and I really liked their spontaneous interactions with Kidder. Swenson is enthusiastic and fully committed to Louise's over-the-top persona but, in my opinion, the role itself is a little bit problematic because, in reality, there's not a lot for her to do. The shtick gets tedious after a while and sometimes detracts from the music. I was, as always, impressed with the set design, which features fun projections on cowboy boots and hats, and the many different costumes worn by Cline during her performances. This was not really my cup of tea (I don't think I will ever see it again) but it is an outstanding production with amazing performances and I'm sure that fans of country music and of Patsy Cline will appreciate it much more than I did.  It runs on the Jewel Box stage until August 28 and tickets may be purchased here.

Utah Shakespeare Festival 2021

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is another activity that I really missed last summer.  I was especially sad when the 2020 season had to be canceled due to Covid because one of the plays was going to be Richard III, which is a favorite of mine, and I had been looking forward to it ever since it was announced in 2019.  Luckily, it is being performed this season and I was so excited to see it that I got a ticket for opening weekend!

I drove down to Cedar City in the afternoon on Friday, checked into my hotel, and then caught the Greenshow before seeing Richard III in the Engelstad Theatre.  Richard III is one of Shakespeare's darkest plays but I love it and, even though Richard is a villain who kills everyone in his path to take the throne of England, I find the character to be incredibly compelling (I almost always prefer the villains to the heroes).  This production is outstanding and Aidan O'Reilly is absolutely brilliant as Richard.  He gives an incredibly riveting physical performance and I couldn't take my eyes off him (he is diminutive in stature but he somehow fills the stage).  There were many moments when the staging of a scene took my breath away including Richard wooing Anne (Sarah Suzuki) over the coffin of her father-in law, the murder of the young princes (Jessica Sannar and Finley Caciola) in the Tower, the condemnation of Richard by his mother (Sarah Shippobotham) and the former queens (Desiree Mee Jung and Melinda Pfundstein), the ghosts of Richard's victims tormenting him and then encouraging Richmond (Cordell Cole) on the eve of battle, and Richard's dramatic death.  If you are planning a visit to the festival this summer, this show is not to be missed!

Saturday afternoon I saw Ragtime (which is one of my favorite musicals) in the Randall L. Jones Theatre.  The stories of a wealthy white family living in New Rochelle, a Black piano player in Harlem, and an Eastern European immigrant looking for a better life for his daughter in America converge with ragtime music as a metaphor for the dramatic changes happening in society at the turn of the century.  The narrative is incredibly poignant and the music is amazing!  My favorite song has always been "Sarah Brown Eyes" and Ezekial Andrew, as Coalhouse Walker Jr., and Daria Pilar Redus, as Sarah, sing it beautifully!  In this production I also really loved "Back to Before" by Melinda Pfundstein, as Mother, and "Make Them Hear You" by Andrew because their performances are so powerful.  This show is technically very complicated with a large ensemble and lots of different settings so the use of simple metal staircases, which are configured and reconfigured very quickly, is highly effective.  I loved this show and would highly recommend it!

My final show at the festival was a production of The Comedy of Errors in the Engelstad Theatre Saturday night and it was as funny as Richard III was intense the night before!  This play is about two sets of identical twins separated at birth who, unbeknownst to them, are all in the same place at the same time and are constantly mistaken for each other with hilarious consequences (an exorcism is required at one point).  The four actors playing the twins (Mauricio Miranda, Michael Doherty, Marco Antonio Vega, and Andrew Plinio) have brilliant comedic timing and all of the physical comedy had the audience (myself included) rolling with laughter!  I am usually not a big fan of changing the source material but this production is set during the 1970s on a Greek island (it features some pretty wild costumes and disco music) and it really worked for me.  Ironically, the last time this play was performed it was set in the Wild West and I loved it, too!  Bring the kids to this show because the ones around me were laughing the most!

I had a wonderful time at the festival this year and not just because I loved all three shows but also because I appreciated the experience so much more having missed out last year.  I highly recommend taking a trip to Cedar City for what might be the most memorable season in the festival's sixty year history (go here for more information).

The Little Mermaid at Murray Park Amphitheater

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is see a live performance outside under the stars and this was one of the things I missed most last summer when everything was shut down in response to Covid-19.  I am very happy to report that things are starting to open back up and the Murray Arts Council is sponsoring the Arts in the Park series once again this summer!  Marilyn and I took our Mom to see The Little Mermaid at the Murray Park Amphitheater last night and it was so much fun!  It has been incredibly hot in the Salt Lake Valley the past few weeks (we have even broken quite a few heat records) but it was actually quite pleasant to sit outside and the show was delightful.  Community theatre is always a little bit quirky but so many aspects of this production made me smile!  Kat Hawley Cook and Thomas Sant were wonderful as Ariel and Prince Eric, respectively, and they both had beautiful voices and great chemistry together but my favorites from the cast were Quentin Hedges as Sebastian and Alan LaFleur as Ursula.  Hodges was incredibly charismatic and his renditions of "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl" were definitely highlights for me.  LaFleur, who also co-directed and choreographed the show, was absolutely hilarious in his characterization of Ursula as a sea witch in drag and I loved his over-the-top costume with black and purple sequins on tentacles that could be manipulated with his arms!  There were also some really fun effects, such as Ariel and her sisters (Olympia Pead, Alice Maphey, Chelsea West, Gretchen Divine, Camille Jensen, and Anna Roelofs) gliding around the stage on heelys (shoes with wheels) and thousands of bubbles blowing in the audience during "Under the Sea."  The costumes for the various sea creatures, especially the jelly fish made out of clear umbrellas, were quite innovative and the sets, particularly Prince Eric's ship and Ursula's reef, were very impressive.  We all definitely enjoyed this production (every time I looked at my Mom she had a huge grin on her face) and I hope it is the first of many outdoor performances this summer!

Note:  Unfortunately, last night was the final performance of The Little Mermaid but there are lots of other shows scheduled at the amphitheater this summer (go here for more information).

Newsies at CPT

At one point Newsies was at the top of the list of musicals that I most wanted to see. I was finally able to see it at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles several years ago and I have seen it multiple times since but it still gives me a thrill so I was really excited to see Centerpoint Theatre's version last night. It is a fantastic production and I really enjoyed it! A group of newspaper delivery boys, or "newsies," led by Jack Kelly (Matt Taylor), decide to go on strike when publisher Joseph Pulitzer (Rick Murdock) raises the price of newspapers. With a little help from a fledgling reporter named Katherine Plumber (Jordan Petersen), the newsies get the attention of Governor Theodore Roosevelt (Rob Severinsen) and score a victory for all of the working children in New York. The cast is really strong and I especially liked Taylor's version of "Santa Fe" because he sings it with such longing and Petersen's version of "Watch What Happens" because she is so determined to succeed but also shows a bit of vulnerability. Soren Ray is absolutely adorable as Les and steals every scene he is in and Brandon Smith, as Crutchie, is incredibly affecting in the song "Letter from the Refuge." I was also impressed with the ensemble because they shine in the big numbers "Carrying the Banner," "The World Will Know" (it is my favorite song in the show and I still get goosebumps every time I hear it), "Seize the Day," "King of New York," and "Once and For All." The choreography in this show is quite challenging, with athletic leaps and spins in unison and intricate footwork (sometimes involving newspapers), but the cast does an outstanding job, particularly Nick Crapo (Davey) who tap dances on top of a table in "King of New York." I think the appreciative audience applauded for every single leap and all of the kids eagerly collected the newspapers thrown into the crowd during "Seize the Day" at intermission! The set, which consists of metal towers with multiple levels that are seamlessly moved in and out and reconfigured multiple times, is simple but effective and I liked the use of large screens on either side of the stage to show the headlines as they are written as well as Jack's drawings. Everything about this production is very well done and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs on the Barlow Main Stage through July 19.

The Sparks Brothers

The main reason that I wanted to see The Sparks Brothers, the documentary by Edgar Wright about the rock and pop duo Sparks, is because Ron and Russell Mael wrote the music for the upcoming movie Annette.  I have been anticipating this movie, a rock opera starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, since I first heard about it several years ago and I have become obsessed with the first single,"So May We Start," because it is absolutely brilliant.  I didn't really know anything else about the band.  However, while watching the documentary last night, I was quite surprised to recognize so many songs, particularly "Angst in My Pants," "Cool Places," and "Music That You Can Dance To," because I had no idea that they were by Sparks.  I found it fascinating that I pretty much conform to Wright's thesis that Sparks is one of the most influential and innovative bands in the business that nobody knows about!  The film chronicles Ron and Russell's youth in southern California (everyone thinks they are British), their college days at UCLA, their early influences (including the bands from the 1960s British invasion and the films of the French new wave), their early collaboration with Todd Rundgren (who was their first producer), and the making of each of their 25 albums (for which they reinvented themselves and their sound without regard to sales or critical response).  There are interviews with Ron and Russell (whose deadpan wit and back and forth banter had me laughing out loud) as well as what seems like hundreds of musicians, actors, directors, and comedians who all profess their love of and devotion to the band.  I especially loved it when members of Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, and Erasure talked about how much they were inspired by Sparks.  Interspersed between the interviews (which are in black and white) is archival footage (in color) spanning 50 years of creative and dynamic performances.  Wright also employs several different quirky animation techniques to highlight key moments in their career and this is incredibly effective at portraying Sparks' unique visual style.  I really enjoyed this documentary and I have now become a huge fan of the band (I love people who are unapologetically themselves without regard to public opinion).  I highly recommend it even if you don't know anything about Sparks!

Note:  My friend didn't know anything about Sparks either and only wanted to see this because he loves Edgar Wright!  I suspect that he has also become a fan of the band because he kept getting out his phone to download songs throughout the whole film (I downloaded "When Do I Get To Sing My Way," "The Number One Song in Heaven," and "My Baby's Taking Me Home").