Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

One of the "touristy" things I wanted to do while in New York City was to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  I chose a wet and muggy day for this excursion but the weather did not detract from the grandeur of this amazing monument known as "Liberty Enlightening the World."  It is certainly easy to see why immigrants coming to America viewed it as a beacon of hope.  It is quite stunning!
Since it was raining I didn't stay very long on Liberty Island but I did get the audio guide and listened to it while I walked around the boardwalk.  I learned a lot of interesting tidbits, such as it took 21 years to build and it is 151 feet and 1 inch tall.
After about an hour on Liberty Island, I took the ferry to Ellis Island and the historian in me was completely overwhelmed!
It is amazing to me to think that over 12 million people came through Ellis Island looking for a better life in America. I started my visit with the documentary Island of Hope, Island of Tears, which was very interesting, and then I wandered through the exhibits.  Many of the exhibits that I remembered from my last visit (many years ago) had been damaged by Hurricane Sandy but I was still quite awed by the Registry Room.
I found Ellis Island to be fascinating and I highly recommend a visit.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Love & Friendship

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen and when I first heard of the movie Love & Friendship, based on Austen's novella Lady Susan, it went near the top of my must see list at the Sundance Film Festival this year!  I thought it was absolutely hilarious so I was thrilled to be able to see it again in wide release.  The recently widowed, and penniless, Lady Susan (Kate Beckinsale) is forced to stay with her brother-in-law and his family after a scandalous affair with the husband of her friend and hostess.  She immediately sets her sights on her sister-in-law's brother, the handsome Reginald DeCourcy (Xavier Samuel), to the dismay of his family.  She also contrives a match for her daughter Frederica (Morfydd Clark) with the dimwitted Sir James Martin (Tom Bennett).  Despite all of her scheming and manipulations, Lady Susan's plans go awry much to the delight of everyone in the audience!  I loved James Fleet and Jemma Redgrave as Sir and Lady DeCourcy and there is a delightful scene where they attempt to read a letter from their daughter (the original novella is epistolary).  I also really enjoyed Chloe Sevigny as Alicia Johnson, Lady Susan's closest confidante, and Stephen Fry as Mr. Johnson, Alicia's disapproving husband ("He's too old to be governable but too young to die.")  However, it is Tom Bennett who steals the show as Sir James.  I laughed out loud at just about every scene he is in, particularly when he enthusiastically dances, when he discusses the Twelve Commandments, and when he eats peas at the dinner table.  So funny! I loved just about every aspect of this film, the stately country homes, the opulent costumes, and the charming score by Mark Suozzo, but perhaps my favorite device was introducing the dramatis personae with fish-eye close-ups with and amusing character descriptions (Lady Susan's companion is described as someone who packs and unpacks things and Sir James is described as a bit of a "rattle").  If you like a good comedy of manners, then do yourself a favor and see this delightful film as soon as possible.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Big River at HCT

Last night (on my birthday!) I had the chance to see Big River at Hale Centre Theatre.  Based on the classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, this wonderful musical tells the story of Huck Finn and his friendship with Jim, a runaway slave, as they travel down the Mississippi River. I loved it!  I have seen this show before (at Hale Theatre) but I forgot just how beautiful the music is!  I especially loved the songs "Muddy Waters," "River in the Rain," and "Worlds Apart" sung by Huck (Matthew Clark Richards) and Jim (Conlon Bonner).  Their voices harmonized so well together and their duets are definitely a highlight of the show.  I also really enjoyed Huck's rendition of "Waitin' For The Light To Shine" and Jim basically made me cry with "Free at Last."  Both Richards and and Bonner give incredible performances but I was especially touched by Bonner's heart-felt portrayal of Jim. This production has a large supporting cast, many of whom are new to HCT.  My favorites include John Lee Roring as The Duke because he has the best facial expressions and his rendition of "The Royal Nonesuch" is absolutely hilarious, Stephen Kerr as Pap Finn because his raucous rendition of "Guv'ment" had the entire audience laughing out loud, and Rachelle Elbert as Mary Jane Wilkes because her  performance in "You Oughta Be Here With Me" gave me goosebumps!  In addition to the beautiful songs and the great performances, I would recommend getting a ticket to this production because of the impressive set.  The stage literally becomes a river, complete with a 9,000 gallon tank of water, on which Huck and Jim float their raft and, at times, there is even real rain and fog.  It is incredible! It was a great way to spend my birthday and, once again, I highly recommend this show.  Tickets can be purchased here, but get them quickly because many shows are sold out!

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Me Before You

I loved the movie Me Before You!  Sometimes when I really love a book I'm a little hesitant to see the movie because, let's face it, the book is always better!  While this adaptation of Jojo Moyes' best-selling novel is very faithful to the source material (except for one element which I thought was a turning point in the plot of the book but its absence didn't detract from the movie), it is the performances of Emilia Clarke as Lou and Sam Claflin as Will that made me love it so much.  Clarke is endearing as the free-spirited, optimistic, and eccentric Lou and she is able to convey so many different emotions with just a facial expression, particularly in the scenes when Will is showing so much disapproval of her, when she is overcome by the music at the Mozart concert (my favorite scene in the book), when she learns to scuba dive, and when she tells Will that she loves him.  You know exactly how she is feeling all the time which is how I imagined her in the book. In some respects, Claflin gives an even more affecting performance because he has only his facial expressions to convey his emotions since he is portraying a quadriplegic (he is so still).  I laughed and laughed at his antics when he is introduced to Lou and I laughed again at his interaction with Patrick (Matthew Lewis, from the Harry Potter movies) at Lou's birthday party.  I cried so hard when he tells Lou his plans at the end of their vacation in Mauritius (and so did everyone around me).  My favorite scene in the movie is when they "dance" at Alicia's wedding.  The camera follows them as they turn on the dance floor and everyone around them fades away.  It is such an absolutely beautiful shot (although I couldn't help but love it because Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" is playing in the background).  I'm not usually one for weepy romances (I've never seen a Nicholas Sparks movie!) but I loved this movie because it emphasizes the fact that it is your duty to live life as fully as possible.  I highly recommend it, but bring a box of kleenex!

Friday, June 3, 2016

Summer Reading: Me Before You

I picked Me Before You by Jojo Moyes to read first because I wanted to finish it before the movie came out (I am seeing it tonight!). It is a quick and easy read that requires a box of kleenex but it doesn't feel at all emotionally manipulative and it is so much more than just a romance novel. I absolutely loved it!  Louisa Clark is living an ordinary and conventional life at home with her parents with a dead-end job and a steady boyfriend with whom she has very little in common. Will Traynor was a globe-trotting corporate big-shot until an accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. When Lou is let go from her job she is inexplicably hired to be Will's caregiver for a period of six months despite the fact that she has no qualifications. An instant animosity develops between the two of them until she inadvertently learns that Will is planning an assisted suicide at the end of those six months and that she has been hired to lift his spirits and give him a reason to live. She immediately begins planning outings for him, some more successful than others. Their relationship slowly develops into something more and her attempt to save his life changes her own life forever. I found both of these characters to be engaging and entirely believable and I loved the message of living life to the fullest. I also really enjoyed all of the comedic elements in the novel, especially when Will attends Lou's birthday party. My favorite part of the novel is when Will takes Lou to a symphony concert (which she is hesitant to do because it is something she has never done before) and she is completely swept away by the music. This novel made me angry, it made me laugh, and it made me cry (I finished reading it on the porch of our cabin at Bear Lake and the fact that I was crying made Marilyn mad because she didn't want any spoilers). I highly recommend it and I highly recommend stepping outside your comfort zone to live life to the fullest!

Note:  I hope the movie is good!

Thursday, June 2, 2016

X-Men: Apocalypse

Last night I was on aunt detail and Sean wanted to see X-Men: Apocalypse (I didn't coerce him, I promise).  The story is set a decade after the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past  (which means that the pop culture of the 80s is now on display including big hair and an action sequence to "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by the Eurythmics) and this time the action revolves around the proliferation of nuclear weapons (like the Bay of Pigs invasion in X-Men: First Class and the Paris Peace talks in X-Men: Days of Future Past).  Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) is now running a school for mutants, Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) is trying, unsuccessfully, to live a normal life with his wife and daughter, and Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) is a one-woman vigilante rescuing mutants who are oppressed.  CIA Agent Moira McTaggart (Rose Byrne) is investigating the awakening of an ancient Egyptian mutant (a terrific Oscar Isaac) who believes that the world has become corrupt without his presence.  This mutant, known as Apocalypse, recruits Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Angel (Ben Hardy), and Magneto, after a devastating incident with his family, as his Four Horsemen in order to destroy humanity and begin again with mutants.  Apocalypse kidnaps Xavier (because he wants his ability to connect with all mutants) so the younger generation of mutants, including Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), with the help of Mystique, Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Quicksilver (Evan Peters), must confront Apocalypse in an epic battle.  Granted, the story is convoluted and there are a lot of characters to follow, but I actually really enjoyed this movie.  The action sequences are a lot of fun, especially when Quicksilver rescues the students from an explosion at the school, and I think the filmmakers do a good job of highlighting all of the characters and their motivations.  To be fair, I did watch this movie with an 11-year-old boy who thought all of the action sequences were amazing and kept up a running commentary in my ear about about who was who so I might not be the best person to consult about its merits!  However, I think that fans of the franchise will enjoy this installment (with or without an 11-year-old boy).

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Finding Neverland on Broadway

With the exception of Hamilton, Finding Neverland was the show I was most looking forward to seeing during my New York trip.  I absolutely loved the movie (I cried and cried during the ending) and I hoped that the stage adaptation would be just as affecting.  The story of how J. M. Barrie is inspired to write Peter Pan after meeting Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and her four sons is simply magical.  While this show is definitely about loss, there is quite a bit of comic relief with Mary Barrie's (Teal Wicks) snobby aristocratic friends in the songs "All of London is Here Tonight" and "The Dinner Party," with Barrie's exasperated theatre agent Charles Frohman (Marc Kudisch) and his over-the-top acting troupe in the song "Play," and with Captain Hook (Rory Donovan) in "Live by the Hook."  I also really loved Barrie's interaction with the Llewellyn Davies brothers (Jackson Demott Hill, Alex Dreier, Christian Michael Camporin, and Jack McCarthy) in the song "The Pirates of Kensington."  The boys give an outstanding performance in "We're All Made of Stars" and the song "When Your Feet Don't Touch the Ground" is lovely.  However, I was especially moved by the romance between Barrie and Sylvia (Laura Michelle Kelly, from the Original Broadway Cast).  Their songs "Neverland" and "What You Mean to Me" are so beautiful and the actors give amazing performances.  I was initially a little bit disappointed that Kevin Kern, the understudy, performed the role of J.M. Barrie instead of Alfie Boe (because Alfie Boe is amazing) but he did a wonderful job.  I really loved the staging of this musical, especially the song "Neverland" (Reprise) when the acting troupe performs Peter Pan for Sylvia in the nursery.  Sylvia's death scene is one of the most magical things I've ever seen on stage and, just like I did in the movie, I cried through the whole thing.  Seriously beautiful!  I loved everything about this show and I am so glad that I got a chance to see it on Broadway!

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Memorial Day Weekend 2016

Memorial Day is the official start of summer so Marilyn and I decided to spend the weekend at Bear Lake.  We had so much fun!
We stayed at the KOA in Garden City and this was our cabin for the weekend.  Both Marilyn and I spent some quality time sitting on the front porch reading.  It was so relaxing!  On Saturday my Mom and Dad drove up and we rented a pontoon boat for the afternoon.  It was so much fun!  My Mom does not like boats and, initially, she didn't want to go with us but she let herself be coaxed on board.  Marilyn is terrified of water and doesn't know how to swim but she eventually drove the boat.  I'm telling you, it was so much fun being out on the water and the weather was absolutely perfect!
On Sunday Marilyn and I spent the day at the beach.  We drove to Bear Lake State Park in Idaho because it was a little bit out of the way so it wasn't very crowded.  We ended up at North Beach and we basically sat on the beach and read.  It was fabulous!
This was such a wonderful start to the summer!  

Monday, May 30, 2016

A Day at the Met

Whenever I am in a big city for a few days, I like to plan a visit to a museum because I find them to be endlessly fascinating.  In New York City there are so many to choose from!  I had been to the MoMA (although it merits a return visit) so I thought about the Guggenheim (it was closed) and the Natural History Museum but, in the end, I opted for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and it was incredible!  I started on the ground floor with a current exhibition called Manus x Machina (it runs through August 14) showing how the sewing machine has changed haute couture.  My favorite piece is a wedding gown designed by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel which has a 20 foot train embroidered in gold.  It is quite spectacular.  I also loved the exhibition of J.M.W. Turner's Whaling Pictures (it runs through August 7) which includes one painting in the Met's permanent collection and three on loan from the Tate in London.  These four paintings were completed near the end of Turner's life and are very tumultuous, to say the least.  (I became a fan of Turner after seeing this movie).  Next, I wandered through an exhibition called Artistic Furniture of the Gilded Age.  It is fascinating but it closes soon (June 5).  Finally, I wandered through the permanent collections including Egyptian Art, Medieval Art, Greek and Roman Art, and the Art of Africa and Oceania (which has some dramatic exhibits).  I was there most of the day and still didn't see everything!  If you are a fan of art from around the world, I highly recommend a visit to this amazing museum (I also recommend the cafeteria in the basement!).  Go here for more information.

Friday, May 27, 2016

Summer Reading

Today is the last day of school!  Yippee!  One of the things I like best about summer vacation is lots of uninterrupted time for reading!  I already have a stack of books and I can't wait to get started.  Since I teach the classics from British literature during the school year, I decided to spend the summer reading contemporary British authors and I found a great list here.  I will be reading White Teeth by Zadie Smith, The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, Little Bee by Chris Cleave, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, The Girl Next Door by Ruth Rendell, and Me Before You by JoJo Moyes (I will probably start with Me Before You because I want to read it before the movie comes out next week) and I will review each book here every Friday.  You can join me and let me know what you think of each book in the comments.  Yay for summer reading!

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Hamilton on Broadway

By the time I got in line in front of the Richard Rodgers Theatre, I had worked myself into quite a state.  After all, I had flown all the way across the country, paid the equivalent of the gross national product of a small country to sit in the balcony, and eagerly anticipated this moment for months.  Would I be disappointed?  Was this musical worth all of the hype?  The answer, my friends, is a resounding yes!  Hamilton is absolutely amazing, even better than I had imagined, and I think it is the best thing I have ever seen on the stage!  I have listened to the music going to and coming home from school for months so I basically had the lyrics to the entire show memorized.  The music was even better when I saw the costumes, the staging, and the choreography!  With the intimacy of the theatre it seemed as though the actors (the original cast from the Broadway recording!) sang their roles with much more emotion and passion and, believe me, I noticed every little nuance.  Some of my most favorite moments were when the crowd exploded into thunderous applause when Lin-Manuel Miranda made his first entrance on stage in the song "Alexander Hamilton," when Samuel Seabury (Thayne Jasperson) moves his soapbox forward to get away from Hamilton heckling him in "Farmer Refuted," when King George III (Rory O'Malley) struts out on the stage in high heels and waves his scepter at the audience during "You'll Be Back," when Lafayette (Daveed Diggs) jumps off of the table in "Guns and Ships,"  the choreography of the soldiers in "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)," when Hamilton imitates Jefferson (Daveed Diggs) in "Cabinet Battle #1," how the transition from Hamilton writing and then Washington (Christopher Jackson) delivering the Farewell Address is staged in "One Last Time," how the song "Hurricane" is staged to simulate an actual hurricane, when Jefferson struts around the stage (wearing a purple velvet frock coat) tossing pamphlets in the air during "The Reynolds Pamphlet," when Eliza (Phillipa Soo) actually burns letters in "Burn," when Eliza screams after Philip (Anthony Ramos) dies in "Stay Alive (Reprise)," when Eliza takes Hamilton's hand and he bows his head in "It's Quiet Uptown," when a member of the ensemble hands Burr (Leslie Odom, Jr.) a list of Hamilton's grievances one page at a time in "Your Obedient Servant," and the staging of the duel between Hamilton and Burr on the turntable in "The World Was Wide Enough."  I could go on and on!  So many of the performances gave me goosebumps, especially Christopher Jackson in "Right Hand Man" ("We are outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered, outplanned. We've got to make an all out stand!"),  Leslie Odom, Jr. in "Wait For It" and "The World Was Wide Enough," and Renee Elise Goldsberry in "Satisfied."  I had a hard time taking my eyes off Lin-Manuel Miranda when he was on stage because he was such an imposing presence, much like, I suspect, Alexander Hamilton himself.  I walked out of the theatre with my mind buzzing with all I had seen and heard, wanting desperately to see it again!  It was definitely worth the outrageous price of admission and I would pay it again in a heartbeat.  I highly recommend this brilliant musical if you have the opportunity to see it.  In fact, I highly recommend that you make the opportunity to see it!

Note:  Hamilton was the highlight of my New York trip.  It may be the highlight of the year!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

A Job Well Done

The school year is soon coming to a close and this is always a bittersweet time for me.  I have to say goodbye to my current student body officers and my heart is certainly heavy at the prospect.  I have worked with many different student groups over the years but I have never had a group more committed or more dedicated than this one.  They have worked countless hours to make Hunter High School a better place and they have accomplished more in one year than I thought was possible.  There are so many memories from this year that it is hard to narrow it down but I think my favorites are when they brought the Spirit Can out for the first time in an assembly (it was definitely a big hit with the students), when we crowned a special needs student as our Homecoming Queen, and when we presented a check for $4,500 to a little boy with cancer named Carson through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Emily, Sam, Alex, Oriana, Cameron, Nesley, and Sam I am so proud of you and, even though I will miss you terribly, I am excited to see what this next chapter in your lives brings you!  I wish you much success in all of your future endeavors!

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Wicked on Broadway

Outside the Gershwin Theatre in New York City.
While I was in New York City I was able to see seven shows in five days!  I included a few new shows that I had not seen before and a few of my old favorites that I can see again and again.  Wicked is a show that I never get tired of because I absolutely love the music and I can definitely relate to the story about a girl who doesn't quite fit in.  The Broadway production was one of the best I have seen (maybe even better than the London production).  I tend to think that whoever is playing Elphaba in the production I am currently seeing is the best one but Rachel Tucker was simply amazing!  She just about blew the roof off the Gershwin Theatre during "Defying Gravity" and "No Good Deed."  I also really liked Carrie St. Louis as Glinda, especially when she tossed her hair.  She added her own hilarious touches to "Popular" by stretching and throwing punches.  I laughed and laughed.  St. Louis and Tucker had great chemistry in "What Is This Feeling" (they had the best facial expressions) and they sang "For Good" beautifully (I had a tear in my eye).  Jonah Platt (Fiyero) was not the best dancer I have seen in the role but he had an incredible voice and I loved his song "As Long As You're Mine" with Tucker.  When the Wizard sang "A Sentimental Man" at the end of the first act, I kept thinking that I recognized him so I looked him up in the program during intermission.  It turns out that the Wizard was played by Peter Scolari, a veteran of several TV shows and movies, most notably Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.  I have to admit that I was a bit star-struck by his performance!  I thought Madame Morrible (Judy Kaye) was the best I've seen and the ensemble was great in all of the big song and dance numbers, especially "No One Mourns the Wicked" and "March of the Witch Hunters."  I really enjoyed myself at this production because several people in our group had never seen it before and it was fun experiencing it through their eyes.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Paul Simon at the Maverik Center

I love the music of Paul Simon.  I grew up listening to Simon & Garfunkel but I came to love Simon as a solo artist when the album Graceland was released the summer after I graduated from high school.  This album literally blew my mind (and prompted me to protest against apartheid).  I think Simon is an absolutely brilliant and innovative songwriter and I love his fusion of sounds from all over the world.  I predicted that his concert last night at the Maverik Center would be an evening of spectacular music.  It was!  Simon was joined on stage by an unbelievably talented band, all of whom played multiple instruments, and he played hit after hit for over two hours to the delight of the crowd.  He did play some new songs from his forthcoming album Stranger to Stranger, including the sultry title track "Stranger to Stranger" as well as "The Werewolf" and "Wristband."  He also played some old Simon & Garfunkel songs such as "Homeward Bound" and "El Condor Pasa."  However, much of the evening was devoted to his solo greatest hits like "Boy in the Bubble," "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," "Dazzling Blue," "That Was Your Mother," "Rewrite," "Slip Slidin' Away," "Mother and Child Reunion," "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" (which got everybody dancing), "Spirit Voices," "The Obvious Child," "Duncan," "The Cool, Cool River," and a rowdy rendition of "You Can Call Me Al" to end the set.  One of my favorite moments of the evening came near the end of the set when he played my favorite song, "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes."  For the first encore he played "Graceland" and "Still Crazy After All of These Years."  For the second encore, Simon came out alone with just an acoustic guitar and played a lovely rendition of "The Boxer."  He usually only plays one song during the second encore but last night he said that he would play one more because it looked like we didn't want him to leave (I found him to be so charismatic which surprised me a bit).  This was the best moment of the evening because he played "The Sound of Silence" which is one of my all-time favorite songs.  I had goosebumps through the whole thing!  It was an incredible performance to end one of the best concerts I have ever seen!
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