Bryce Canyon National Park

Whenever I visit Zion National Park I usually stay on the Mt. Carmel Highway which eventually leads to Bryce Canyon.  I like to drive through the park and stop at all my favorite viewpoints then take Highway 89 home.

I met a couple from Florida in Zion and ran into them at just about every viewpoint in Bryce.  They took my picture at both signs!

Zion National Park

Zion National Park is one of my favorite places on Earth so it is really hard for me to resist driving through whenever I am in St. George.  The park was really crowded yesterday but I was still able to stop at some of my favorite viewpoints.

My best memory of Zion is driving through the park in my Dad's blue Dodge Ramcharger while listening to the Eagles.  Zion is my happy place!

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).

Thierry Fischer Conducts Messiaen, Smetana & Sibelius 2

Even though I was not familiar with any of the pieces performed by the Utah Symphony last night, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert because each one was so stirring.  The orchestra began with The Moldau by Bedrich Smetana and this was definitely my favorite piece of the evening.  It is one of a series of symphonic poems about the composer's homeland and it is meant to represent the the course of the Moldau River as it flows through fields and woods where peasants are celebrating a wedding then past castle ruins and then into the heart of Prague (which is one of my favorite cities).  It is very atmospheric and I especially liked the theme played by the clarinet and violas, which represent the joining of two springs to become a river, and the theme played by the horns, which represent a jubilant hunting party.  Next the orchestra played two movements from Des canyons aux etoiles (From the Canyons to the Stars) by Olivier Messiaen with Utah Symphony musicians Jason Hardink on piano, Keith Carrick on xylorimba, and Eric Hopkins on glockenspiel as soloists.  This piece is inspired by the beautiful red rocks and bird song encountered by the composer during visits to Bryce Canyon, Cedar Breaks, and Zion National Park.  I especially liked all of the percussion, particularly the wind machine and the chimes, the theme played by the piccolos, and the melodies played by the horns.  The Utah Symphony will be performing this piece in its entirety at the O.C. Tanner Amphitheater (with Zion National Park as a backdrop) in a few weeks.  The concert concluded with Symphony No. 2 by Jean Sibelius.  This piece eventually became a symbol for Finnish independence and I loved it.  I especially enjoyed the second movement, with themes played by the basses and cellos that are quite dark and melancholy (possibly representing death and defeat), and the finale, with stirring themes that are triumphant (possibly representing life and resurrection).  This concert was absolutely spectacular and if you are interested in attending tonight's performance of the same program go here for tickets.

The Drowsy Chaperone at the Empress

I really love the musical The Drowsy Chaperone because not only is it one of the funniest shows I've ever seen but it is a poignant ode to the power that musical theatre has to transport you away from the real world and all of your problems to a place where happy endings are possible for a few hours.  I saw a production at the Empress Theatre last night and I had so much fun!  Man in Chair (Ryan Fallis) is feeling a little bit blue so he decides to listen to the cast recording of The Drowsy Chaperone, a popular musical from 1928.  As he listens to the record, the actors appear in his apartment and bring the show to life with frequent pauses for his commentary on all of the theatre tropes used in the show.  Mrs. Tottendale (Chalise Craig) and her Underling (Brian Mecham) are hosting the wedding of oil tycoon Robert Martin (Patrick Hawkins) and Broadway star Janet Van De Graaff (Alayna Bria), who is giving up her glamorous career for love.  Robert is leaving the wedding details to George (Ezekiel Petersen), his best friend and best man, while Janet's Chaperone (Candice J. Jorgensen), who gets "drowsy" when she drinks, is charged with keeping the couple apart to avoid bad luck.  Broadway producer Feldzieg (Nate Fairclough) is unhappy about losing his biggest star and sets out to stop the wedding by hiring a Latin lover named Adolpho (Michael Ricks) to seduce the bride.  An investor in the Feldzieg Follies is also worried about losing its biggest star and hires two gangsters (Trae Fairclough and Nathaniel DiVall), disguised as pastry chefs, to stop the wedding.  A ditzy chorus girl named Kitty (Kandace Keddington) is hoping to take Janet's place.  Mayhem ensues, especially when Main in Chair puts the wrong record on at the beginning of Act 2 and the cast starts performing a song from Message From a Nightingale instead, but the happy ending comes eventually when Trix the Aviatrix (Marie Roe) is enlisted to marry four couples on her plane while flying to Rio.  The best part of this show is Fallis as Man in Chair because he is absolutely hilarious when he joins in with the choreography during "Toledo Surprise" and "Bride's Lament" but he also shows a lot of vulnerability when he compares the show to his life during a rant against the song "Love is Always Lovely in the End."  I also really enjoyed it when he spontaneously interacted with audience members (including me!).  Other standouts in the cast are Hawkins (I loved his tap dancing in "Cold Feets" and his roller skating in "Accident Waiting to Happen"), Ricks (I loved every entrance he makes), and Jorgensen (I loved it when she pushes Janet out of the way during "As We Stumble Along").  Once again, the use of the intimate space is incredibly clever with the Man's apartment at one end of the stage and an Art Deco hotel lobby complete with elevator at the other.  I also loved the plane and the staging of "I Do, I Do in the Sky."  I laughed and laughed through the entire show and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) for one of the two remaining performances.

Downton Abbey: A New Era

My sisters and I haven't been able to do anything together for over two years because one of us was always taking care of our parents so it was really fun (and a little bittersweet) for the three of us to be able to go to an early access screening of Downton Abbey: A New Era last night.  We are huge fans of the PBS series (we even saw the first movie together) so it was great to catch up with the Crawley family once again.  Violet (Maggie Smith) calls the family together to inform them that she is altering her will.  It seems that she has inherited a villa in the south of France and intends to bequeath it to her great-granddaughter, Sybbie.  Robert (Hugh Bonneville) and Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), Edith (Laura Carmichael) and Bertie (Harry Hadden-Paton), Tom (Allen Leech) and Lucy (Tuppence Middleton), and Lady Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton) all decide to travel to France to meet the current owners of the villa to unravel the mystery of Violet's past.  Meanwhile, Mary (Michelle Dockery) stays behind because a director (Hugh Dancy) wants to use Downton Abbey as the location for a film starring Guy Dexter (Dominic West) and Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock).  Chaos ensues when the movie suddenly becomes a "talkie" and when the downstairs staff, including Barrow (Robert James-Collier), Mrs. Carson (Phyllis Logan), Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol), Molesley (Kevin Doyle), Baxter (Raquel Cassidy), Daisy (Sophie McShera), Andy (Michael Fox), and Anna (Joanne Froggat), are roped into being extras.  Everything about this movie is simply delightful and fans of the series are sure to love it.  The locations and costumes are stunning and, even though there are a lot of characters to keep track of, the story is really engaging.  I particularly enjoyed the character arcs for Barrow, Molesley and Baxter, and Violet.  I laughed out loud many times and I had a tear in my eye at the resolution (series creator Julian Fellowes has stated that he is happy with the resolution if this is the last movie and so am I but I hope there is another one).  My sisters enjoyed it as much as I did (we were the last people out of the theater because we had to discuss it at length immediately afterwards).  I recommend this installment to people who love the series as much as my sisters and I do!

Note:  I think the next movie should be a prequel featuring the exploits of a young Violet.

Hello, Dolly! at PTC

Pioneer Theatre Company is ending the 2021-2022 season with a wonderful production of Hello, Dolly! starring Broadway star and TV personality Paige Davis.  I saw it last night and I loved it!  At the turn of the century, the irascible Horace Vandergelder (Kris Coleman) wants to get married again so he will have someone to do all of the chores at his Hay & Feed store in Yonkers, New York.  His niece Ermengarde (Hannah Balagot) wants to marry an artist named Ambrose Kemper (Myles Tracy Woolstenhume) but her uncle objects because he doesn't have a steady income.  His clerk Cornelius Hackl (Alexander Mendoza) is longing for an adventure in New York City so he convinces his fellow clerk Barnaby Tucker (Michael J. Rios) to come along with him and they vow not to return to Yonkers until they have both kissed a girl.  They soon meet Irene Molloy (Kelly McCormick), who owns a millinery shop in NYC but wants a rich husband to take her away because she hates hats, and her assistant Minnie Fay (Dori Waymer).  A recently widowed matchmaker named Dolly Levi (Davis) is hired to find a wife for Vandergelder but she decides that she wants to marry him herself.  She just needs to convince him!  She eventually arranges for all of the couples to meet for a memorable evening at the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant in NYC and merriment ensues!  This is a big old-fashioned musical and I loved all of the exuberant song and dance numbers, especially "Put on Your Sunday Clothes," "Dancing," and "Hello, Dolly!" because they feature dynamic choreography with a large ensemble.  I also really enjoyed the songs "Before the Parade Passes By" and "It Only Takes a Moment" because they both have poignant messages about life and love.  The sets are fantastic, particularly Vandergelder's Hay & Feed store and the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant, and I loved the elaborate period costumes, especially the lavish gown worn by Dolly at the Harmonia Gardens.  Davis is incredibly charismatic in the role of Dolly and I was really impressed with her singing and dancing!  The rest of the main cast is also really strong with Mendoza and McCormick as standouts.  I was absolutely delighted by this production and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) before the parade passes by.

Note:  The role of the judge is being performed by various notable people from local government and the media.  Last night it was the former state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn and she was great!

Happening

Another highly acclaimed film that I was unable to see at Sundance this year was Happening but it is now playing at the Broadway so I had the opportunity last night.  It is incredibly timely, given what is happening with Roe v. Wade in this country right now, and very powerful.  Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei) is a bright and talented university student in France in the early 1960s.  Her parents are working class owners of a cafe who have sacrificed much to enable her to go to school and they are justifiably proud of her accomplishments.  When she learns that she is unexpectedly pregnant, she sees her promising future slipping away.  However, she doesn't have many options because abortion is illegal.  She tries to persuade several people, including two different doctors, to help her get one but they all fear the possibility of prison and refuse to even speak about it.  Exams are looming and she becomes more and more desperate so, despite the pain, she attempts to terminate the pregnancy herself with a knitting needle but is unsuccessful.  Eventually, she finds someone willing to perform an abortion in secret but is forced to sell most of her possessions to pay for it and suffers devastating consequences.  The fact that Anne is not able to get a safe abortion is appalling, in my opinion, but I also found the shaming that she endures from the other girls in her dormitory for being sexually active to be just as deplorable.  There is a very poignant scene where one of Anne's friends confesses that she had a relationship over the summer and the only reason she didn't get pregnant is because she is luckier than Anne.  Vartolomei gives an affecting central performance in which Anne's despair is palpable.  The scenes involving Anne's two attempts at an abortion are quite visceral and very difficult to watch but there is another scene where she cries silently that is absolutely gut-wrenching.  This film is set in the 1960s but it may as well be today, which is a terrifying thought, and for that reason it should be seen by everyone.

Memoria

I finally had the chance to see Memoria last night at the Broadway (it seems like I have been waiting forever for it to get a wide release) and, while I sometimes found it to be incomprehensible, I was absolutely mesmerized.  Jessica (Tilda Swinton), a Scottish orchid farmer living in Colombia, is awakened one night by a mysterious booming sound that only she can hear.  She continues to be plagued by the sound, which prevents her from sleeping, as she wanders aimlessly from place to place interacting with strangers.  She seems to be an outsider everywhere she goes but she absorbs the energy of every place and ultimately has a strange connection to the memories of others as she tries to find the source of the sound.  There is an explanation, of sorts, but it is almost unimportant because the real discovery is the connection between everyone and everything.  Not a lot happens and I sometimes found the lack of a narrative structure to be frustrating, especially with the long takes of particular images and with the lack of a score, but whenever I stopped trying to figure out what was happening on the screen and just let myself get lost in what Jessica was experiencing I found it to be very haunting and profound.  Swinton gives a captivating performance because, even though you don't know much about her character, she is still able to create a lot of sympathy for Jessica.  Not everyone will enjoy this film (a group was discussing it in the lobby and one thought it was a masterpiece and the rest thought it was the most boring thing they had ever seen) but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it!

Breathless

My May Book of the Month selection was Breathless by Amy McCulloch (the other options were Yerba Buena by Amy LaCour, The Hacienda by Isabel Canas, Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez, and Darling Girl by Liz Michalski). I was hooked by this atmospheric and exciting thriller from the very first chapter and I read well into the early morning hours in order to finish it. Cecily Wong has just landed the interview of a lifetime with world-renowned alpinist Charles McVeigh as he attempts to climb Mt. Manaslu, the last in his quest to summit all fourteen peaks above 26,000 feet in one year. Even though she has limited climbing experience, McVeigh insists that she be a part of his expedition as a condition for granting the interview. Summiting at such a high elevations is extremely dangerous, even for experienced climbers, because of the freezing temperatures, harsh terrain, and lack of oxygen but it becomes even more menacing when two climbers die under mysterious circumstances. Cecily must not only face the elements, and her doubts about her abilities, but also a killer lurking on the mountain and it seems that everyone on her team is a potential suspect. I really enjoy murder mysteries with a closed circle of suspects and this novel takes that concept to new heights (pun intended) because everyone is trapped on the mountain due to the extreme conditions. The tension escalates the higher they climb and I was completely riveted. Cecily is an interesting narrator because she is a novice in the world of high altitude climbing and she is somewhat unreliable when she begins experiencing the effects of hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain). I actually started to question if the deaths were merely accidents or more sinister in nature myself which made the narrative even more suspenseful. It was also fascinating to learn about what it takes to summit a peak that high in elevation, particularly the need for acclimatization and how to scale sheer faces of rock and ice, and McCulloch's vivid descriptions (she actually summited Mt. Manaslu herself) made me feel like I was right there on the mountain with the characters. I even felt a little bit short of breath during several key moments. My only complaint is that the ending is a bit abrupt but, other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed Breathless and I recommend it to fans of thrillers.

Note:  Fans of this novel might also enjoy One By One by Ruth Ware. It has a similar vibe because it is a murder mystery that takes place at a Swiss chalet that is cut off from civilization after an avalanche.

Remembering My Mom

My Mom passed away very peacefully in the early morning hours of May 6 after a long and hard-fought battle with dementia.  This loss is especially difficult for me and my sisters because it comes so soon after losing our Dad but it is actually a blessing because she is now free from the disease that destroyed her mind.

Last night we held a visitation for family and friends and it was such a lovely evening.  My Mom's wish was to be cremated and we were able to find the perfect mother of pearl urn for her.  The flower arrangement we picked out for the display was also really beautiful.

It was nice to see so many family and friends pay tribute to my Mom and support me and my sisters (once again I wish I had taken more pictures).  The consensus was that my Mom was a gentle soul who touched the lives of everyone with whom she came in contact and these kind words were such a comfort to us!

Jesus Christ Superstar at the Eccles

I was able to see the Broadway touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Ted Neeley as Jesus and Corey Glover (lead singer of the band Living Colour) as Judas with my friend Dana several years ago.  The experience of seeing the show was more memorable than the show itself because my friend, who is quite a bit older than me, had a massive crush on Ted Neeley and I was completely starstruck by Corey Glover (I loved Living Colour) so we were both a bit giddy!  Luckily, I had the chance to see it again, this time the 50th Anniversary Tour, at the Eccles Theatre last night and I loved it!  This is a rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice.  It tells the story of the Passion of Jesus Christ from the perspective of Judas as he grows dissatisfied with Jesus' popularity and fears that his cult of personality is taking away from his mission to help the less fortunate.  The show features contemporary sensibilities and Jesus is portrayed as a sort of rock star with a guitar and microphone.  This particular production has been completely reimagined with new sets, costumes, and choreography and I literally could not take my eyes off the stage because it is so dynamic!  The set features multi-level steel towers, that look a bit like scaffolding, on either side of a large platform in the shape of a cross.  It is very dramatic!  The costumes are very contemporary and quite subdued (except for King Herod's) in different shades of gray.  The choreography is absolutely amazing and almost seems frenetic with synchronized movement and dazzling light displays.  I especially loved how "Hosanna" incorporates stylized palm leaves and how "The Temple" uses glitter.  The three leads, Aaron LaVigne as Jesus, Omar Lopez-Cepero as Judas, and Jenna Rubah as Mary Magdalene, are outstanding and have beautiful voices.  I particularly enjoyed Rubah's rendition of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" (my favorite song in the show) and LaVigne's version of "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)."  Lopez-Cepero does a very good job in portraying Judas' psychological torment, especially in "Damned For All Eternity/ Blood Money."  I found the whole show to be exhilarating and very moving but it might not be for everyone because "Trial By Pilate/ 39 Lashes" and "Crucifixion" are difficult to watch.  It runs at the Eccles Theatre through May 15 (go here for tickets).

Utah Opera's The Pirates of Penzance

Utah Opera is closing out the 2021-2022 season with Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operetta The Pirates of Penzance and I had a chance to see this delightful production last night at the Capitol Theatre.  Frederic (John Reisen) 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 (Hugh Russell) and his daughters, falls in love with the youngest daughter Mabel (Madison Leonard), and enlists the Sergeant of Police (Kevin Nakatoni) and his constables to arrest the pirates.  Chaos ensues when the Pirate King (Craig Irvin) and Ruth (Meredith Arwady), 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 staging of this show is so much fun and I laughed out loud during the scene where the pirates attempt to seduce the Major-General's daughters and when the constables and the pirates both hide from the Major-General in the graveyard.  Reisen is incredibly engaging as Frederic and, not only does he have a fantastic voice, but he has great comedic timing as the straight man in the show.  I especially enjoyed his interactions with Ruth when he tries to find out if she is beautiful when compared with other women.  Leonard has a beautiful voice as Mabel and I loved her rendition of "Poor wand'ring one."  Russell is absolutely hilarious in "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" and I loved the choreography involving his umbrella.  Irvin also has great comedic timing and I especially enjoyed his fancy footwork in "Oh, better far to live and die."  The large chorus, performing as pirates, daughters, and constables who sing and dance, is outstanding and so much fun to watch.  I loved all of the costumes, especially all of the colors and patterns used for the daughters' dresses and the argyle socks worn by the Major-General.  The set is quite simple consisting of a ship, the seaside, and a graveyard, but the proscenium is meant to look like a vaudeville theatre and is very effective at creating an amusing mood even before the show begins.  Hurrah for this production because I loved everything about it and I highly recommend it to anyone, even children, who might be intimidated by opera because it is very accessible.  There are only two more performances (go here for tickets) so act quickly.

Note:  Utah Opera recently announced the 2022-2023 season and it includes The Flying Dutchman, The Daughter of the Regiment, Rigoletto, and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.  I am incredibly intrigued by the last one.