Another Day at the Festival

I started last week at the Utah Shakespeare Festival and then I joined my family on a camping trip in Fillmore for the rest of the week.  When Marilyn mentioned that she really wanted to see one more play in the Adams Theatre, we spontaneously decided to drive to Cedar City (about an hour and a half away from Fillmore) to see King Lear on Saturday night.  I ended the week the same way I began it!

Ironically, King Lear is the first play Marilyn saw in the Adams Theatre.  Whenever I would bring Marilyn with me to the festival, we would usually see the contemporary plays in the Randall Jones Theatre but this particular year I really wanted to see King Lear and I convinced Marilyn to go.  It is really dramatic, intense, and full of symbolism so I was afraid that she wouldn't like it or get it. During intermission she told me how much she loved it and we've seen the Shakespeare plays ever since.

It was a beautiful night to see a play outdoors and this production of King Lear is amazing!  Lear (played brilliantly by Tony Amendola) is growing old and decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters Goneril (Melinda Pfundstein), Regan (Saren Nofs-Snyder), and Cordelia (Kelly Rogers) according to how much they profess to love him.  Cordelia refuses to publicly declare her love so Lear divides his kingdom between his greedy older daughters and their ambitious husbands to the detriment of everyone.  The actresses playing Lear's daughters are outstanding and I especially enjoyed David Pichette as Lear's fool.  Marilyn mentioned several times that the oldest daughter is the most ruthless while the youngest is the one who really loves Lear.  What?  I certainly enjoyed this play (and a few more tarts) and I'm glad Marilyn suggested we come.

Note:  Unbelievably, I ran into yet another friend while waiting for the Greenshow.  This time it was my friend Jim (the one who recommends great books).

Adventures in Fillmore

All last week my parents and my sister Marilyn were camping at one of my family's favorite camping spots: the KOA in Fillmore.  I joined them on Wednesday and stayed until yesterday.  It was an incredibly relaxing five days and I had such a wonderful time!  Over the years I have really grown to enjoy the RV lifestyle.  You meet people from all over the country and everyone stops to chat and debate the merits of various types of RVs.  Most people are very intrigued by Marilyn's little trailer.  We even gave a couple of people a tour of the inside (even though it was a bit messy with a week's worth of stuff strewn about).  I like the people we meet because they are friendly, adventurous, and have great stories (and most of them have dogs).

We all really like the KOA in Fillmore.  The facilities are fabulous and the people who run it are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.  They are on a first name basis with us (and our dogs).

We were in spots right next to each other.  My parents slept in the motor home and I stayed with Marilyn in her trailer.  It was almost like one giant slumber party because we would sometimes get laughing so hard we couldn't stop.  Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep at night (which meant that naps were required during the day).

It was so relaxing because we didn't have to wake up at any particular time and we didn't have to eat at any particular time.  There wasn't anything that we had to do.  In many ways, this has been a difficult summer and it felt so great to have some down time.  We all spent a lot of time outside reading.  I finished two books and started a third.  Marilyn even brought her sewing machine and finished a quilt.

One of our favorite things to do when it got dark was to set up the TV and have an outdoor movie complete with popcorn.  I am so glad that we got to spend this time together doing what we absolutely love: camping!

Past adventures in Fillmore here, here, here, here, and here.

Utah Shakespeare Festival 2015

This season is the final one in which the Adams Memorial Theatre will be used for the Utah Shakespeare Festival.  It has been in operation since 1977 and the first play I saw there, Shakespeare's The Tempest, was in 1989 while on a college trip.  I have returned almost every year since and have many wonderful memories of the amazing performances I've seen, including Patrick Page in Richard III and Brian Vaughn in Hamlet.  Sam Ashdown's portrayal of Prince Hal in last year's Henry IV Part One is also among one of my favorites so it is especially fitting that my final performance "within this Wooden O" was to see him reprise his role in Henry IV Part Two.

I also bought a ticket to see Amadeus and made the drive to Cedar City Monday morning in time to see the matinee performance.  The movie adaptation of the stage play is one of my favorites and I actually credit it with turning me into a fan of classical music (it was the first movie I ever owned) so I was looking forward to seeing it.  The movie is quite different from the stage play (Peter Shaffer wrote the play before the screenplay) but I eventually stopped comparing the two because this version is so powerful and I was completely drawn into the story of rival composers Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  David Ivers, one of my favorite actors/directors of the festival, gives an incredibly intense and passionate performance as Salieri.  He transforms from the stooped and wheelchair-bound older Salieri into the composer in his prime right before our eyes by merely substituting his coat, wig, and facial expression.  I have never seen anything like it before and it is repeated several times.  His agony is palpable when Salieri rails against God for giving such an unworthy man the talent he covets.  Tasso Feldman does a wonderful job as Mozart (he even has a great laugh) but Ivers dominates every scene, even when he is just eavesdropping on Mozart from behind a tall chair.  The supporting cast is excellent and I particularly enjoyed John Pribyl as Emperor Joseph II and Brandon Burk and Anthony Simone as the Vinticelli (Little winds).  The costumes are magnificent and I was struck by the opulence of Mozart's frock coats at the beginning of the play in contrast to the muted colors he wears as he sinks further and further into penury.  I loved the addition of Mozart's music, especially the operas, into many of the scenes.  This production of Amadeus rocked me (I couldn't resist) and I highly recommend it.

It rained all day so I was really disappointed that Henry IV Part Two might be moved from the Adams to the indoor stage.  I desperately wanted to see it outside to have one final memory in that magical theatre.  Luckily, the rain stopped just in time for the Greenshow (pictured above) and I enjoyed it very much while eating a tart (I ran into my friend Joe and he bought me another one).

Henry IV Part Two is not as exciting as the first one (It is rarely performed) because it is dealing with the aftermath of what has happened but I found it to be just as engrossing because of the resolution of these events, particularly the transformation of a wayward prince into a noble king and the reconciliation between father and son.  There are some hilarious moments with Falstaff (John Ahlin), the prince's unsuitable friend.  Ahlin is a master of physical comedy and I, along with everyone in the theatre, laughed out loud when he tries to get up off the floor and when he recruits men to go to battle with him.  However, I waited the entire play for the final scene between Prince Hal and King Henry IV (Both Sam Ashdown and Larry Bull are reprising the roles from Henry IV Part One) and it is powerful.  The King is on his deathbed and Hal, thinking that he is dead, picks up the crown.  The King accuses Hal of wishing for his death and berates him for all of his previous wanton behavior.  Hal responds with genuine grief and concern for ruling the country and the King finally shows him some tenderness and gives him advice.  Ashdown and Bull are incredible in this scene and I had goosebumps!  Another scene that is quite moving is when Henry V is crowned and paraded through London with much pomp and circumstance.  When he sees Falstaff, he turns his back on his old friend and banishes him.  Ahlin's performance in that moment brought me to tears!  I am now eagerly awaiting Ashdown's performance in Henry V next summer (It was a brilliant idea to cast the same actor in the role for all three plays, in my opinion) in the new Engelstad Theatre!

Note:  I keep inadvertently running into friends.  First it was Scott at a movie, then I saw my friend Marta in the lobby before Amadeus, and finally, as I mentioned, I found my friend Joe at the Greenshow before Henry IV Part Two.  The theatre wasn't full so after the intermission we moved to seats closer to the stage so we could sit together.  It was great!  Maybe I should actually plan something with my friends...

Mr. Holmes

I have always really liked the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (I even decided to pull out the classic The Hound of the Baskervilles for my seniors at the end of the year).  Sherlock Holmes is such a wonderfully complicated and idiosyncratic character so, when I saw the previews for Mr. Holmes, I was intrigued by the premise of an older and more fallible man in retirement.  It has been on my list and I got the chance to see it last night.   A 93 year old Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) has been retired and living in a remote cottage in Sussex for over 30 years,  He is unhappy with how John Watson portrayed his final case and wants to write a true account before he dies (in some funny scenes he is also unhappy about his portrayal with a calabash pipe and deerstalker cap in the illustrations of the stories).  His memory is failing him but his housekeeper's son Roger (Milo Parker) wants to know the story and helps him piece together the clues.  The case, involving a man wanting to know why his young wife is so distraught, is presented in bits and pieces as flashbacks.  Holmes went about the case logically and uncovered the facts but he couldn't prevent a tragedy from occurring.  As a man facing mortality all alone, he finally realizes that he should have shown the young woman some compassion and this changes his relationship with his housekeeper (Laura Linney) and Roger.  McKellen is simply marvelous as both the celebrated detective in his prime in Baker Street and the curmudgeonly old man waiting for death by the sea, giving an incredible performance.  I was also impressed with Parker and the relationship between Holmes and Roger is beautiful to watch as it develops.  The plot moves slowly; it is not a typical detective story (although there are some really clever moments where Sherlock displays his genius) but, rather, it is an exploration of a man facing his legacy with regrets and I found it to be very moving.  In fact, my only complaint about this movie is Laura Linney's inconsistent accent, although she does an excellent job with some powerful scenes at the end of the film.  I loved it and I recommend it highly.

Note:  I think my favorite actor to portray the detective is still Benedict Cumberbatch.  I absolutely love the PBS series, Sherlock, which is set in present-day.

Classical Mystery Tour

The summer is just not complete unless I see a Utah Symphony performance at Deer Valley and this year I picked a great concert featuring a Beatles tribute band called Classical Mystery Tour.  Just in case you didn't know this, the music of the Beatles sounds absolutely incredible backed by an orchestra, especially the Utah Symphony!  Jim Owen (John Lennon), Tony Kishman (Paul McCartney), David John (George Harrison), and Chris Camilleri (Ringo Starr) look and sound a lot like the Beatles and they even keep up the witty banter that the lads were known for.  They came out wearing the iconic black suits and Cuban heeled boots and sang a few early hits and a beautiful version of "Yesterday."  Then they quickly changed into the Sgt. Pepper's uniforms, which were fabulous, and sang "All You Need Is Love," "Penny Lane," "Here Comes the Sun," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "With a Little Help From My Friends," and "Eleanor Rigby."  They ended their first set with "A Day in the Life" which sounded absolutely amazing with the orchestra.  That song has always been one of my favorites!  After the intermission, they came out dressed like hippies (I especially loved George Harrison's leather vest with fringe).  They sang "Magical Mystery Tour," "I am the Walrus," "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da," "Yellow Submarine," and "Come Together."  One of my very favorite moments was when they sang "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" because David John (George) was absolutely incredible on the guitar solos.  They played "Live and Let Die" and "Imagine" which are technically not Beatles songs but they were awesome.  They finished the second set with "Let It Be" and a great rendition of "Golden Slumbers/ Carry That Weight/ The End."  When they left the stage, I started yelling "Hey Jude" and everyone around me cheered.  Of course, they came back and sang it for me and the crowd went a little crazy with the chorus as they often do.  They ended with "Twist and Shout" which got everybody up dancing!  I loved every single minute of this concert and I think I sang every word of every song!  Seeing the Utah Symphony at Deer Valley is so much fun!  Go here to see the rest of the concerts at the Deer Valley Music Festival this summer and then pack a picnic, bring a blanket, and sit under the stars listening to fabulous music!