Richard Strauss' Don Quixote & Zarathustra

Last week I went to a Utah Symphony concert with my friend Angela and this week I persuaded my sister to come along.  I usually really enjoy doing things by myself but I have to admit that it has been kind of nice being social lately!  I invited my sister along because she plays the cello and last night's concert featured Rainer Eudeikis, the Principal Cello.  The entire program highlighted the music of Richard Strauss and it was absolutely epic!  The concert began with Serenade in E-flat Major which is a lovely piece featuring the woodwinds and the horns.  Since I played the clarinet in school I enjoyed this very much.  Next, the orchestra played Don Quixote, with the aforementioned Rainer Eudikis on cello and Brant Bayless on viola.  This amazing piece is, of course, based on the novel by Miguel Cervantes and if you are at all familiar with the story it is uncanny how the various instruments mimic the action!  The cello represents Don Quixote, a old man who thinks that he is a knight is pursuit of an adventure, and the viola represents Sancho Panza, his loyal sidekick.  There are ten variations which tell the story and my favorites are when Don Quixote mistakes a bunch of sheep for an army because the brass sound just like the bleating of sheep, when he mistakes a group of pilgrims as kidnappers because the brass, once again, mimic the singing of liturgical chants, and the death of Don Quixote because I always think of the cello as a mournful sounding instrument and the final note depicting the old knight's last gasp is heartbreaking!  After the intermission, the orchestra played Also sprach Zarathustra which I found to be absolutely exhilarating!  I have never heard this piece performed live before but it is instantly recognizable if you have seen the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.  In fact, I can never hear the opening fanfare without thinking of the movie!  This piece is simply spectacular and I loved hearing it live!  I suggest you get a ticket for this epic evening of music (go here).

Note:  One of the perks of having a companion for the symphony is being able to go out to dinner!  Last week it was the Cheesecake Factory and this week it was the Garden Restaurant!

A Chilly Bees Game

Marilyn was offered some free tickets to yesterday's Bees game at work.   The seats were right behind the dugout so we were pretty excited.  It was 80 degrees over the weekend but you just never know with the weather in Utah.  At one point it was actually snowing yesterday and I thought the game might be postponed.  But then it cleared up in the afternoon and we decided to go.  We had so much fun!  I can't begin to tell you how much I love spending time with Sean and Tashena!  We love going to Bees games and we have some silly rituals like what we get to eat (we opted for hot chocolate instead of ice cream, or at least three of us did).  We were laughing so hard I wondered if we were bothering the people around us!  The Bees played the Fresno Grizzlies and they scored three runs in the first two innings which was a lot of fun.  Then the Grizzlies scored three runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth inning which deflated the crowd a bit!  By the bottom of the sixth inning we were all really cold so we decided to leave and it might be a good thing we did because the Bees ended up losing 11-4.

It really doesn't matter what the score is because we always have so much fun and last night was a blast!  I am so grateful that I get to spend so much time with my niece and nephew.  Being an aunt is the best!

Lean on Pete

I have developed a lovely habit of seeing an independent movie at my favorite art house theater every Sunday afternoon and yesterday's selection was Lean on Pete.  Charlie Thompson (Charlie Plummer) is living a hand-to-mouth existence with an unreliable father when he finds a job at a racetrack working for an irascible trainer named Del Montgomery (Steve Buscemi).  He grows attached to an aging racehorse named Lean on Pete but, when the horse starts losing races, he is destined for slaughter.  After a tragedy involving his father, Charlie takes Lean on Pete for a cross-country journey to find his aunt.  It is a coming of age story about a boy whose situation becomes more and more perilous and it is absolutely unrelenting.  Much like Andrew Haigh's previous movie 45 Years, this movie does not have a lot of dialogue or exposition but everything that Charlie is feeling is evident and he is an entirely sympathetic character.  There were times when I had tears in my eyes and one scene made me gasp out loud but I never felt that it was manipulative.  It felt like an accurate portrayal of a segment of society living on the edge of poverty.  Plummer gives an astonishing performance, appearing in literally every scene.  The cinematography is beautiful, especially the nighttime scenes of Charlie walking with Pete through the desert with only a lantern for illumination.  I loved this movie and I highly recommend it!

Fischer Conducts Shostakovich

It has been a fun and busy week and I capped it off with a Utah Symphony concert with my friend Angela.  It is so nice to have a friend who likes classical music as much as I do and we had an absolutely wonderful evening.  After the lovely concert featuring the music of Dmitri Shostakovich we walked to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert and met with some rowdy fans who had just come from seeing the Jazz beat the Thunder to advance to the next round in the playoffs!  So much fun!  The orchestra began with Piano Concerto No. 1 featuring Boris Giltburg on piano and Travis Peterson on trumpet.  I found this piece to be a bit mercurial because at times it was very stirring but one of the themes played by the trumpet was so mournful.  Boris Giltburg joined the orchestra once more for Piano Concerto No. 2 and this was my favorite piece of the evening.  The first movement was bold and dramatic with all of the strings playing in unison.  The second movement was almost unbearably romantic and it brought spontaneous tears to my eyes.  The third movement was very playful and lively.  I really loved this and I enjoyed Giltburg's performance because he was so energetic.  After the intermission the orchestra concluded with Symphony No 10 which was incredibly moody and atmospheric.  I especially enjoyed all of the themes played by the woodwinds throughout and I loved the almost plaintive theme played by the solo horn in the third movement.  I was also very moved by the triumphant ending!  I love the Russian composers so much and, because Shostakovich is a particular favorite of mine, I enjoyed this concert immensely!  The same program is being performed again tonight and tickets may be purchased here.  I highly recommend it! 

Note:  I've been spoiled this season with so many concerts featuring Russian composers.  My final concert of the season will feature my favorite: Rachmaninoff!

Avengers: Infinity War

Last night I saw a Thursday preview of Avengers: Infinity War with a large and rowdy crowd and to say that it is epic would be an understatement!  All of the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been leading up to this point and it certainly did not disappoint.  Thanos (Josh Brolin) is on a quest to assemble all of the infinity stones so that he may destroy half of the population of the universe, believing that it will preserve resources and, thereby, ultimately preserve life.  He, along with his followers, battle against various groups of Avengers, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the people of Wakanda in order to retrieve the stones.  The stakes in this movie are real with serious consequences and there are scenes of great pathos but the humor that we have all come to love and expect is there, as well.  I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and between Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch).  I really liked Thanos as a villain because in many ways he is very sympathetic.  The battle sequences are incredible and the CGI is actually quite amazing.  In my screening there were cheers and applause as every character came on screen and there were audible gasps at some of the more poignant scenes.  I really have no words for my reaction to this movie except to say that it lived up to my expectations in every way and I suspect that I will need to see it again!

Note:  The ending...

Beirut

My Dad and I are both big fans of espionage movies so I took him to see Beirut last night.  This movie is the type of old fashioned political thriller that Hollywood doesn't seem to make any more and we both loved it!  It is 1972 and Beirut is the Paris of the Middle East.  Mason Skiles (Jon Hamm) is a U.S. diplomat living the high life in Beirut when an incident with his friend Cal Riley (Mark Pellegrino), a CIA agent, leads to a personal tragedy.  Ten years later Skiles is an alcoholic working as a labor dispute negotiator in the U.S. when he is asked by the CIA to return to Beirut, now engulfed in a civil war, to negotiate the release of Riley who has been taken hostage.  There is much unfinished business between the two men as well as uncertain loyalties within the state department set against the backdrop of unrest in the Middle East which makes this movie incredibly intense and suspenseful.  One of the reasons I love espionage movies that are done well is that you have to pay attention to the subtle clues and it is so satisfying when you figure something out.  At one point, my Dad leaned into me and asked, "You know where this is going, right?"  I answered him and then we gave each other knowing looks when my prediction proved accurate!  I still didn't know how the events would ultimately be resolved so I found it to be very compelling until the final scene.  Hamm gives a great performance, one of his best to date, as a man who is forced to confront his past and Rosamund Pike does a nice job as a CIA officer who decides to trust him.  This movie doesn't do anything new for the genre but I found it to be very entertaining and it made for a fun night out with my Dad (we discussed it the whole drive home).

The Music Man at HCT

Last night I went to Hale Theatre's production of The Music Man and I had a huge smile on my face during the entire show because it is just so delightful! There is something so comforting about the old favorites and I eagerly anticipated every familiar song: "Ya Got Trouble, " "Goodnight My Someone," "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Marian, the Librarian," "The Wells Fargo Wagon," "Gary, Indiana," and "'Till There Was You." I tried very hard not to sing along but the adorable older gentleman sitting next to me told me he didn't mind if I did! Hale does a fantastic job of staging this show to make it interesting and fresh. I especially loved the choreography in "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Marian, the Librarian," and "Shipoopi."  This new stage may be bigger and more technologically advanced than the old one in West Valley but it still impresses me what the choreographers can do with such a large cast in a relatively small space. The sets are absolutely amazing! The train in "Rock Island," the multi-level library with wrought iron spiral staircases in "Marian, the Librarian," and the foot bridge in "'Till There Was You" were my favorites. Addison Welch is incredibly charismatic as Professor Harold Hill and Rachel Woodward Hansen has a beautiful voice as Marian Paroo. There are a lot of funny characters in this show and I thought they were very well cast especially Janae Gibbs Cottam as Mrs. Paroo, Brandon Suisse as Mayor Shinn ("Not one poop out of you madame!"),  and Sharon Lynn Kennison as Eulalie MacKecknie Shinn ("One Grecian Urn.").  Ryder Mason and Christine Bernards are adorable as Winthrop and Amaryllis, respectively.  Finally, the barbershop quartet (Luke Shepherd, Juston Lebaron, Jason Baldwin, and Ricky Parkinson) is fantastic! If you are a fan of the classic musicals, then this will definitely put a smile on your face like it did me.  It runs at the Mountain America Performing Arts Centre until June 9 (tickets may be purchased here).

You Were Never Really Here

You Were Never Really Here was the very first film that I saw at Sundance this year and it has haunted me ever since.  I knew that I would need to see it again. Luckily it is being screened by the Salt Lake Film Society and I got to see it yesterday afternoon.  Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) is a brutal and ruthless hit man, whose weapon of choice is a hammer.  He is clearly tormented, attempting suicide multiple times, and through flashbacks we learn that he is suffering from PTSD from a violent childhood at the hands of an abusive father, from combat duty in Iraq, and as a former FBI agent.  He is hired to rescue the daughter of a New York State Senator who has become the victim of a sex trafficking ring.  The operation to rescue the girl goes wrong and everyone involved in her rescue, except Joe who manages to escape, is brutally murdered which prompts him to seek revenge.  What I loved about this film is that a tragically flawed character is ultimately redeemed by the very person he sets out to save.  This is a theme that really resonated with me because, while this film is dark and gritty, it does end on a optimistic note.  Joaquin Phoenix gives a brilliant central performance.  There is not a lot of exposition or dialogue but you can instantly feel Joe's pain and desperation.  One scene, in particular, is incredibly powerful when he realizes that the girl he has been hoping to save will now be as damaged as he is and I was almost in tears as she attempts to comfort him.  Jonny Greenwood's pulse-pounding score adds to the almost unbearable tension and Lynne Ramsay's script is a powerful exploration of suffering.  It is beautiful in its brutality.  It is profound in its simplicity.  It is a masterpiece!

Prom 2018

Last night Tashena went to Bountiful High School's Prom with her date Noah, her best friend Channing, and their group.  I love how her group always seems to coordinate the color of their dresses!

I really loved Tashena's dress this year.  She always picks something really classic!

Tashena with her date Noah.  He was adorable!

The other couples.

The guys.

The girls.

The whole group!

Grieg's Piano Concerto with Alexandra Dariescu

I have to admit that I bought a ticket to last night's Utah Symphony concert because I am a huge fan of Sibelius but I ended up loving all three of the pieces performed and enjoyed myself immensely!  The orchestra began with Carl Nielsen's Helios Overture and I loved it!  It began with a beautiful and contemplative theme, representing the sun rising above the sea, and then became very powerful with a soaring melody played by the horns followed by a triumphant fanfare by the trumpets.  The piece ended just as mysteriously as it began as the sun set and I found it to be quite breathtaking!  Then the orchestra was joined by Alexandra Dariescu for Edvard Grieg's spectacular Piano Concerto.  Dariescu may have been wearing a sparkly gold dress but it was her playing that dazzled the audience as her fingers flew up and down the keyboard.  From the instantly recognizable opening notes to the dramatic conclusion, I absolutely loved it!  After the intermission came the piece that I had been waiting for: Symphony No. 2 by Jean Sibelius!  In my opinion, Sibelius is every bit as passionate and emotional as the Russian composers but he is a bit more stately and restrained.  Symphony No. 2 is incredibly dramatic and I especially enjoyed the theme played by the cellos in the first movement because it is very atmospheric.  I found the second movement to be filled with tension and I loved the energy in the third movement.  There was a full house at Abravanel Hall last night with good reason!  This concert is not to be missed and, luckily, it will be repeated tonight (go here for tickets).

Note:  When I bought this ticket I thought that I was unfamiliar with Grieg but I immediately recognized the Piano Concerto as soon as I heard the opening notes!

Throwing Things

On Thursday I went to one of Tashena's track meets at Viewmont High School.  I didn't get to go to very many of her meets last year so I was really excited to see her in action.  She was entered in discus, shot put, and javelin but it was so cold and windy that the javelin event was canceled.  The wind makes the throwing events really difficult so I thought Tashena did a great job under the circumstances but she was disappointed.  She ended up winning the discus event with a distance of 109.1 and she took second place in the shot put with a distance of 30.1.  I was so proud of her!

I'm looking forward to going to more of her meets since I don't have as many commitments at school this year!

Hamilton at the Eccles

Last night I got to see Hamilton for the fourth time in two years and this musical has definitely not lost its magic for me.  In fact, the more I see it the more powerful it becomes!  I can honestly say that I was just as excited as I was when I stood outside the Richard Rodgers Theatre!  I am so glad that I got to see this production because it is fantastic!  This cast is actually tied with the original Broadway cast as my favorite!  Joseph Morales is absolutely phenomenal in the title role.  He reminded me so much of Lin-Manuel Miranda (he played Usnavi in the touring company of In the Heights) but I think he is a stronger singer, especially in "Dear Theodosia" and "Hurricane."  He did quite a few things to make the role his own but I think my favorite bit of business is when he wipes away his tears in "It's Quiet Uptown."  Nik Walker is so powerful as Aaron Burr and I think his is my favorite performance of "Wait For It."  Ta'rea Campbell is an incredible Angelica because she not only raises the roof of the Eccles Theatre during "Satisfied" but she also gives such an emotional rendition of "It's Quiet Uptown."  Marcus Choi is very different from the other actors I've seen play George Washington and his interpretations of "History Has Its Eyes on You" and "One Last Time" are also quite different but I really liked what he did with the role.  Jon Patrick Walker is absolutely hysterical as King George and his performance is so completely over the top.  He totally hams it up and I almost died laughing when he stomps his foot in "What Comes Next?"  I've not seen this character portrayed at such a pitch before but it was hilarious!  Shoba Narayan, as Eliza, has an unbelievably emotional response to Philip's death which made me start crying then instead of during "It's Quiet Uptown" like I usually do.  Finally, every Jefferson I've seen has has done something completely different in "What'd I Miss" and Kyle Scatliffe dances a little jig, which Hamilton imitates during "Cabinet Battle #1"  I also loved Jefferson's expression at the end of "The Election of 1800." I really loved every aspect of this production but what made it so much fun is that I have been hyping this show up to  the couple who sits in front of me, with whom I have become very good friends, all season long and, after the bows, they told me that it was everything I said it was!  The hype is real!  If you were not able to get tickets for the show during its run in SLC, you can enter the lottery daily for the chance to buy up to two $10 tickets!

Twelfth Night at PTC

You might think that after a day spent teaching A Midsummer Night's Dream to sophomores I wouldn't want to spend the evening attending yet another Shakespeare play.  If the play in question is PTC's production of the hilarious comedy Twelfth Night you would be wrong because that is exactly what I did last night and I loved it!  Sebastian (Zach Fifer) and his twin sister Viola (Grace Morrison) are shipwrecked in a terrible storm and each thinks that the other is dead.  Viola disguises herself as a man called Cesario and offers her services to the Duke Orsino (A.K. Murtadha) with whom she immediately falls in love.  Orsino is desperately in love with the Countess Olivia (Kelsey Rainwater), who is in mourning for her brother, and sends Cesario to make overtures on his behalf to her but she, in turn, falls in love with Cesario.  Meanwhile, Sebastian is wandering around and is, of course, mistaken for Cesario.  Chaos ensues!   There is a secondary story, which is the source of much amusement, involving Malvolio (David Andrew Macdonald), a priggish steward in Olivia's household.  He makes life difficult for the other members of Olivia's household, most notably Sir Toby Belch (Kenajuan Bentley), Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Conner Marx), and Olivia's gentlewoman Maria (Susanna Florence).  To get their revenge they have Maria mimic Olivia's handwriting and send a letter to Malvolio from Olivia professing her love for him, requesting that he wear yellow stockings with cross garters.  These scenes involve a lot of physical comedy and they are so funny!  I was laughing out loud along with everyone else in the audience.  I usually don't like it when the setting is changed in a Shakespeare play (I'm a purist) but I thought that having the action take place in New Orleans after a hurricane during Mardi Gras was incredibly effective and I loved the set design and costumes.  This allowed the character of Feste (Richard E. Waits) to become a sort of Greek chorus singing old spirituals (which Waits composed for this production).  Sometimes you have to suspend your disbelief a little bit with this play but Fifer and Morrison look so much alike that it is easy to see why they would be mistaken for each other.  All of the actors give spirited performances and I really enjoyed myself.  I highly recommend this show but the production closes on Saturday so get tickets (go here) quickly!

Note:  Last night's audience was a bit more appreciative of Shakespeare than my sophomores!

Sunday Ritual

Now that spring has finally come to Utah all I want to do is be is outside!  One of my very favorite things to do this time of year is go to my parents' house every Sunday evening to sit by their fire pit.  My sister makes a fire and members of my family come and go and sit around talking, sometimes well into the night, until the fire dies or we get too cold.  We have done this for years and it is such a wonderful ritual.  We have already had two fires this season, including one last Sunday, and I am really looking forward to many more this spring and summer.

Grease

I was nine years old when Grease was released and my Dad went to see it with my aunt and uncle without me.  This was absolutely devastating to me and the only thing that could console me was getting a giant lipsmacker (I chose watermelon).  I have, of course, seen it dozens of times since then but never on the big screen which is why I was so excited to see it yesterday as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series.  It was so much fun!  People in my screening sang along (out loud) to every song and some people were even doing the actions to "Greased Lightnin'" and "Born to Hand Jive."  This movie is the quintessential high school musical featuring a love story between Danny Zuko (John Travolta), the leader of the T-Birds, and Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John), a good girl who has recently transferred to Rydell High from Australia.  With a little help from the rest of the T-Birds (Jeff Conaway, Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci, and Kelly Ward) and the Pink Ladies (Stockard Channing, Didi Conn, Jamie Donnelly, and Dinah Manoff) they might just get back together by graduation.  This movie is such a nostalgic look back at the 1950s with leather jackets, letterman sweaters, poodle skirts, sock hops, malt shops, drive-in movies, and fantastic cars.  It was fun to see all of the cameos by people who were popular stars in the 1950s such as Sid Caesar, Eve Arden, Alice Ghostley, and Joan Blondell.  I love all of the songs especially "Grease" during the opening and closing credits, "Summer Nights," "Hopelessly Devoted to You," "Sandy," and "You're the One That I Want."  All of the musical numbers have a lot of fun choreography and they really stand the test of the time.  The only number that is really cheesy is "Beauty School Dropout" sung by Frankie Avalon but it is so cheesy that it is good.  I had so much fun watching this movie!  In fact, I'm thinking of seeing it again on Wednesday (my sister is bitter that I saw it without her).

Tchaikovsky's "Little Russian" & Prokofiev with Conrad Tao

It was certainly an incredibly dramatic evening at Abravanel Hall last night.  The Utah Symphony performed a concert featuring works by Sergei Prokofiev and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky under the baton of an exciting guest conductor, Karina Canellakis.  I really love the Russian composers so I thoroughly enjoyed this concert (my final two concerts this season feature Shostakovitch and Rachmaninoff so I am looking forward to them, as well).  The orchestra began with Le Chasseur maudit (The Accursed Huntsman) by Cesar Franck.  Although I was unfamiliar with this piece it was very easy to picture the events depicted.  A count disregards the Sabbath by hunting and, as he chases his prey, he is also pursued by demons who wish to damn his soul.  I loved the opening fanfare by the horns, representing the hunt, followed by the chimes, signifying church bells.  It was very dark and atmospheric.  Next the orchestra was joined by the brilliant Conrad Tao for Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2.  Tao is a very popular soloist and I always try to see him when he joins the Utah Symphony (I missed his performance in February because I had the flu) because he is so much fun to watch.  His fingers literally flew up and down the keyboard, especially in the wild and tumultuous first movement.  After the intermission the orchestra played Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2 "Little Russian." This piece incorporates many Russian folk songs and I found it to be both stirring and whimsical, especially the final movement with themes played by the woodwinds.  I enjoyed this thrilling concert so much and I recommend getting a ticket for tonight's performance featuring the same program (go here).

A Quiet Place

Last night I went to a Thursday preview of A Quiet Place which was one of my most anticipated films of 2018.  It did not disappoint.  In the near future Earth has been invaded by mysterious creatures who are blind but have a highly advanced sense of hearing.  There is almost no exposition, just vivid images of a town destroyed by an apocalyptic event, and this is highly effective at conveying an atmosphere of terror.  One family has survived this invasion by living in total silence with meticulous preparation and ingenious methods of communication.  However, there are the occasional lapses, one of which has resulted in the death of a son, and situations beyond their control which lead to unrelenting tension in the final act.  John Krasinski and Emily Blunt play the parents who go to extraordinary lengths to keep their children safe and they both give powerful physical performances, conveying absolute terror and incredible pathos with just a facial expression.  Millicent Simmonds gives a highly nuanced performance as a deaf girl who grapples with feelings of guilt over the death of her younger brother and Noah Jupe is extremely affecting as a boy who must overcome his fear to survive.  Beyond the outstanding performances, what elevates this above just another evade the scary monsters movie that we have all seen before is the brilliant sound design.  The first act is conducted in almost near silence, aside from the occasional ambient noise from nature, and it is very unsettling to watch.  My attention never wavered from the screen and, like the characters on the screen, I tried extremely hard not to make even the tiniest sound.  You could literally hear a pin drop in my screening and, again, it was so unsettling!  Another highly effective choice made by Krasinski, who co-wrote the script as well as directed, is to give the audience only brief glimpses of the creatures until the devastating final act.  It adds greatly to the tension.  I am not a huge fan of the horror genre but the unique premise and the fact that the story is about a loving family doing whatever they can to protect each other makes me give it a resounding recommendation.

Note:  Just don't buy any loud snacks to consume during this movie.  Trust me on this!

Tuck Everlasting at HCT

When I went to New York a couple of years ago I had the chance to see Tuck Everlasting, the musical based on the beloved novel by Natalie Babbitt, and I really enjoyed it (I didn't review it here because the production closed a few days after I saw it). It was a big show with multiple sets and elaborate choreography so I was very eager to see what Hale Theatre would do with it. I saw it last night and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It is a delightful and heart-warming show that the whole family will definitely enjoy. Winnie Foster (Mia Bagley) feels trapped in a house of mourning for her father and longs for adventure. One day she sneaks into the woods and meets Jesse Tuck (Kooper Campbell) near a stream. He stops her from taking a drink from the stream and inadvertently reveals a secret: the water has made his family immortal. Jesse is happy to have made a friend but Mae (Bailee Brinkerhoff Morris), Angus (David K. Martin), and Miles (Marshall R. Madsen) Tuck worry that their secret will be revealed.  Little do they know that the Man in the Yellow Suit (David W. Stensrud) has overheard Jesse and has evil plans for the water. Eventually Jesse asks Winnie to drink the water when she turns seventeen but his family warns that being immortal is not as enchanting as it appears. I loved this production! It is as good, if not better, as the one I saw on Broadway! Both Bagley and Campbell are so endearing in the lead roles and the rest of the cast is very strong. The choreography is wonderful and I am always amazed at what the choreographers are able to do on such a small stage. The final dance sequence is just lovely and brought a tear to my eye. The sets are incredible! The stage is framed by a giant lattice (the live orchestra sits at the top of the lattice) and all of the sets feature lattice-work, including the tree that the characters climb. It is incredibly clever. The costumes all feature beautiful floral patterns to go along with the lattice theme and this is very effective at portraying an enchanted world out of time. My favorite song in the show is "The Wheel" because Angus tells Winnie that she doesn't have to live forever she just has to live. I love that message so much! I highly recommend this beautiful show (go here for tickets) which runs through June 23 in the Jewel Box Theatre at the Mountain American Performing Arts Centre.

Note: A friend that I made on the New York trip is one of the dancers in this show and she was amazing!

Isle of Dogs

I absolutely love Wes Anderson.  I love all of his movies and that is not something I can say about many directors.  As you can imagine, I have been eagerly anticipating the release of his latest movie Isle of Dogs for a very long time so when my friend invited me to go with her to an advance screening last night (it opens next weekend in SLC) I jumped at the chance.  It is hard for me to be objective because of my aforementioned love for everything Wes Anderson but it is so good!  Twenty years in the future the dogs on the Japanese archipelago have been infected with a flu-like virus.  Mayor Kobayashi (Konichi Nomura) banishes all of them from Megasaki City to Trash Island, beginning with his nephew's dog Spots (Liev Schreiber).  Atari Kobayashi (Koyu Rankin) goes to Trash Island to search for Spots and is helped by a pack of dogs named Chief (Bryan Cranston), Rex (Edward Norton), King (Bob Balaban), Boss (Bill Murray), and Duke (Jeff Goldblum).  It turns out that Mayor Kobayashi has a nefarious reason for wanting to rid Megasaki City of all its dogs so, when Professor Watanabe (Akira Ito) discovers a cure for the virus, he is imprisoned and killed.  A foreign exchange student named Tracy Walker (Greta Gerwig), working for her high school newspaper, uncovers the conspiracy and sways popular opinion in favor of the dogs.  The stop-motion animation is brilliant and the attention to detail is remarkable, especially the fur on the dogs.  This movie also includes the usual Wes Anderson aesthetic (center framing, overhead shots, tracking shots, text on the screen, highly composed shots, monochromatic color palette).  The story is incredibly clever and laugh-out-loud funny but I also found it to be unexpectedly poignant.  I loved the journey that Chief takes from being a stray dog who likes to bite to learning to love the boy Atari.  The five main dogs have very distinct personalities, my favorite is the gossip loving Duke, and there are so many fun supporting characters, especially the Professor's Assistant Yoko (Yoko Ono), the Interpreter (Frances McDormand), Mayor Kobayashi's henchman Major Domo (Akira Takayama), and the show dog Nutmeg (Scarlett Johansson).  I enjoyed watching this movie so much and I'm sure that I will see it multiple times to catch all of the references.  In my opinion, Wes Anderson is a genius and, if you like his previous movies, I suspect that you will love Isle of Dogs.  Definitely go see it!

Hamilton in Denver

How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean make me spend so much money on tickets to see a musical about his life?  By making his life story the best thing that I have ever seen on stage!  By now I have spent almost $1,000 on tickets to Hamilton (New York, Los Angeles, Denver, and an upcoming performance in SLC) but I absolutely love it!  I know that people think I am crazy but whenever I do these crazy things I never regret it!  When I found out that the Broadway touring company production would be in Denver over my spring break and that there were tickets available, I jumped at the chance to have a fourth row seat and it was absolutely incredible to be so close!  Every production that I have seen has been so different and I really like what the actors do to make the roles their own.  In this production I really liked Nicholas Christopher in the role of Aaron Burr because he infused a lot of humor into the character, Isaiah Johnson in the role of George Washington because he had a beautiful voice, especially in "Right Hand Man" and "One Last Time," and Peter Matthew Smith as King George because his facial expressions were an absolute hoot (I sat so close I could actually see them) and I almost died of laughter when he filed his fingernails with his scepter.   However, the two who absolutely stole the show were Chris De'Sean Lee and Mathenee Treco who played Marquis de Lafayette/ Thomas Jefferson and Hercules Mulligan/ James Madison, respectively.  In both of their roles, the two of them played off each other hilariously, especially in the Cabinet Battles.  I loved Jefferson's mic drop and I loved Madison's waving handkerchief.  Once again the song "It's Quiet Uptown" brought spontaneous tears to my eyes.  I loved it when Eliza (Julia K. Harriman) gave Hamilton (Austin Scott) her hand and then he kissed it.  This scene has been very different in each production I've seen but each one has been so emotional.  I really loved having the chance to see Hamilton again and I'm looking forward to seeing it, yet again, in SLC in two weeks (I think it is the same company as this one).  If you can get a ticket, I highly recommend this brilliant musical!

Go Avs Go!

I was already going to spend part of my spring break in Denver so I spontaneously decided to drive out a day early to see the Colorado Avalanche play the Chicago Blackhawks.  I knew it would be a great game because the Avalanche are definitely in the mix for a Stanley Cup playoff position but I had no idea that it would be one of the best games ever!  I enjoy doing many things by myself but I had never been to a hockey game by myself before.  I used to go to games with my friend Tony and now I usually go with my Dad or my cousins and I wondered how fun it would be with no one to talk to.  I had nothing to fear!  I sat next to two of the rowdiest Avalanche fans in the world and they talked to me the whole night!  In fact, the obnoxious Blackhawks fan sitting behind us thought we were together which was somewhat problematic when they almost got into a fight!  It was so much fun!  With every goal, and there were five of them, we would celebrate by high-fiving and, as the game wore on, hugging each other!  The Avalanche scored a goal on all three power plays, one in each period, and then added two more for good measure in the third period to get the shut-out!  The Pepsi Center was out of control!  I am so glad I decided to go to this game!

Note:  I really missed my Dad!  Not only has he has been my hockey buddy my whole life but he springs for better seats!!

Ready Player One

Last night I had the opportunity to see a Wednesday preview of Ready Player One.  I just finished reading the book by Ernest Cline because so many of the boys in my sophomore English classes were reading it.  Reading is a hard sell to sophomore boys so I wanted to check it out to understand the appeal.  As a child of the 80s, I absolutely loved it and I, along with my students, have been eagerly anticipating the movie adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg.  If you are a fan of the book there are quite a few changes in the movie, which bothered me initially, but ultimately made for a better narrative.  In the year 2045 much of the population tries to escape from the dreariness of their daily lives by entering a virtual reality simulation known as the OASIS created by an eccentric gamer named James Halliday (Mark Rylance).  When Halliday dies, he reveals a contest to locate three keys leading to an Easter egg granting the winner sole control of both the OASIS and his vast fortune.  A rival software company called Innovative Online Industries (IOI), controlled by Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), compels indentured servants to search for the keys because it wants to use the OASIS in order to generate revenue through advertising.  Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), a Gunter (egg hunter) who uses the avatar Parzival, eventually teams up with Samantha/Art3mis (Olivia Cooke) and Helen/Aech (Lena Waithe) to find the egg using clues from Halliday's personal life, such as a fondness for 80s pop culture and his relationships with Ogden (Simon Pegg) and Kira Morrow (Perdita Weeks).  Most of the differences from the book involve the tasks needed to be completed in order find the keys but these scenes are absolutely exhilarating, especially an epic street race and a sequence from The Shining.  The movie is visually stunning, as if you are actually in the middle of a video game.  I loved all of the pop culture references, especially the ones that are very subtle.  When I saw the poster for the Rush album 2112 hanging on the wall in Halliday's teenage bedroom, I may or may not have squealed out loud.  Even though the nostalgia made watching this movie a lot of fun, the message about the dangers of disengaging with reality really resonated with me.  Online you can be anyone or anything that you want but it is always better to be appreciated for who you really are.  I really liked the fact that Art3mis the avatar is incredibly sexy but Wade ultimately wants to be with the mousy Samantha.  I loved this movie and I highly recommend it!

Note:  The only difference from the book that bothered me was that many of the references to music were not used, especially in the club scene.  I really wanted to hear "Union of the Snake."