Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at HCT

My friend Scott, who teaches high school theatre, says, rather derisively, that Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is the most overdone musical of all time. He has a point, as I have seen it performed countless times, but it is so popular because it is usually so fun and entertaining. It tells the well-known Bible story of how Joseph rose to become the Pharaoh's second-in-command after his brothers betrayed him for being their father's favorite with songs that span every musical genre. Each production adds their own special touches and Hale Centre Theatre's version, which I saw last Saturday night, is no exception. In "Journey to Egypt" the Ishmaelites are portrayed as a motorcycle gang, in "Potiphar" the title character plays miniature golf trying to hit the ball into a Sphinx-like feature (which I thought was hilarious), in "Go, Go, Go, Joseph" the dancers emerge from psychedelic VW buses, "The Song of the King" is performed as a Las Vegas floor show complete with showgirls and waiters offering cocktails to audience members, and the "Megamix" is performed in a nightclub with Mrs. Potipher as the DJ spinning the tunes. These were all really fun touches and both Joseph (Zack Wilson) and the Narrator (Amelia Rose Moore) have incredible voices, but I didn't really like this production. Perhaps my friend Scott is right and it is overdone because I have seen much better versions. First of all, the lighting is way too dark, relying on colored lights and illuminated stars strung throughout the theatre to light the action. Sometimes I had a hard time seeing what was going on. Next, there was a lot going on. The stage at Hale Theatre is small and intimate and this is a big show with a large cast. There were many times when the action seemed to be a bit unwieldy, and even messy, with the moving on and off of set pieces and props and those set pieces and props were so completely over-the-top that they detracted from the action. Finally, I did not like the costumes at all. I thought they were dark, edgy, and a bit too avant-garde for my taste. In my opinion, they should be fun, colorful, and whimsical. My complaints all have to do with style; the music is, as ever, what makes this musical so popular and the cast does a fantastic job with all of the songs. I'm sure that most people will enjoy this production more than I did.

Another Saturday of Rugby

Last Saturday morning found all of us back at Murray Park for some rugby!  It is becoming a ritual just like football was in the fall.  I can't believe that I actually get up early on a Saturday!  Bountiful played Olympus, Hunter, and Herriman.  They barely lost to Olympus, they got killed by Hunter (I bet some of the players were little brothers of my students), and they beat Herriman.  Despite that win, Sean wasn't very happy at the end of the morning and could barely smile for me (but at least he did it!).  Here are a few action shots of him in the game against Hunter.

I overheard one of the Moms say that she had absolutely no idea what was going on.  Same!

Wonder Woman

I am in full summer mode now and it is glorious!  I went to see the movie Wonder Woman in the afternoon on a weekday (with my Mom) just because I could!  To say that I was excited to see this movie would be an understatement!  After all, I have been eagerly anticipating its release since I saw Batman v Superman.  I tried to keep my expectations in check, so I wouldn't be too disappointed if it wasn't very good, but I have to admit that I didn't do a very good job of it!  Now that I have seen it I can report that it exceeded my expectations in every way!  In my opinion, it is the best superhero movie, ever!  I absolutely love the character of Diana (Gal Gadot) and the story of her journey is told extremely well.  We first meet her on the island of Themyscira as a warrior-in-training.  When a pilot crash lands near the island, Diana saves him and learns of the world war raging all around her.  She believes that the god Ares has returned and it is his influence that has caused mankind to slaughter each other.  She decides to leave with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) to kill Ares and stop the conflict.  Even though there are Germans (Danny Huston and Elena Anaya) working to create an even deadlier form of mustard gas, I love the fact that the real villain of this movie is war itself and mankind's inclination to evil.  The ultimate lesson that Diana learns about mankind makes me feel more positive and hopeful than I have felt in a very long time and I love that she learns this lesson through her relationship with Steve Trevor.  I had a tear in my eye during a key moment between them.  In fact, I found this story to be incredibly emotional.  I love the fact that Diana is a strong woman but she needs the help of both Steve and the gang of misfits recruited for the mission in order to succeed.  There is a strong feminist message but it does not put men down in order to deliver it.  I think changing the source material from World War II to World War I was a brilliant decision because this conflict has often been called the war to end all wars and that is what Diana tries to do.  Gadot gives a wonderful performance highlighting both Diana's naivete and strength and I also enjoyed her chemistry with Pine.  This movie is very dark in tone, a oft-repeated criticism of the DCEU, and while I liked and even defended Batman v Superman because I feel like the subject matter warranted a dark and gritty treatment, I think Wonder Woman does a better job because there are also moments of levity, particularly Diana's fish-out-of-water scenes while trying on clothes, and moments of tenderness, especially after the group liberates a village from the Germans.  The special effects are amazing.  I could not look away from the screen during an epic battle scene where Diana takes the full brunt of Germany's fire.  I cannot say enough about this movie and how much I loved it.  I am especially thrilled that it is getting such glowing reviews because, in my opinion, it deserves them.  Definitely go see this movie!

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella at the Eccles

Thursday night I went to the Eccles Theater to see the Broadway touring production of Rodger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella.  After watching this musical I can definitively say that I prefer the Disney version of this story.  I really didn't like the commentary on class structure and the fact that Cinderella is now a social reformer who must rescue the prince from everyone in his court deceiving him about the conditions in his kingdom.  I also didn't like the portrayal of the stepsisters who are merely silly instead of mean and end up as Cinderella's sympathetic conspirators.  I'm sure that this is an attempt to make the story more up-to-date for modern audiences but I yearned for the traditional fairy tale because it is so much more magical and romantic.  Having said that, I did love the gorgeous costumes and I was especially impressed by the quick changes from rags to elaborate ball gowns in the blink of an eye all while Cinderella is singing.  I also really loved the choreography, particularly during the "Cinderella Waltz" which is amazing.  Both Tatyana Lubov, as Cinderella, and Hayden Stanes, as Prince Topher, have wonderful voices and my favorite songs were "In My Own Little Corner," "Ten Minutes Ago," "A Lovely Night," and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?"  Joanna Johnson, a Utah native, is hilarious as Charlotte, one of the stepsisters, and I really enjoyed her in the song "Stepsister's Lament."  There were a lot of little girls in the audience, wearing tiaras that you can buy in the lobby, but if you are planning to take your little girls you should know that this production is very different from the one that they are probably familiar with.  However, the performances, costumes, and choreography make this a fun night out.  It runs at the Eccles Theater through June 4 (go here for tickets).

Note:  The theater was evacuated in the middle of the ball scene because of a fire, which turned out to be a false alarm.  I was impressed that the cast was able to pick right up with the same energy as before the alarm.

Summer Reading: Truly Madly Guilty

The first selection on my summer reading list was Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty. My former book club read Big Little Lies and What Alice Forgot, both of which I really enjoyed, so I was really looking forward to this, Moriarty's latest best-seller. Like these previous novels, Truly Madly Guilty is set present-day suburban Sydney and involves a great deal of foreshadowing before finally revealing the conflict. It centers on three couples: wealthy electrician Vid and his "smoking-hot wife" Tiffany (who used to be an exotic dancer), their neighbors Erika and Oliver who are both accountants, and Erika's childhood best friend, Clementine, a cellist, and her husband Sam. Vid spontaneously invites Erika and Oliver to a barbecue in his backyard and, when Erika reveals that Clementine, Sam, and their two young children are expected at their house for tea, he invites them along as well. Then an incident occurs at the barbecue and the narrative alternates between the night of the barbecue and several weeks later as the couples deal with the aftermath of the incident. All of these characters have issues, to say the least, and the incident at the barbecue bring them all to the forefront of their lives and they all feel a tremendous amount of guilt over what happened. The incident is referred to constantly and information is revealed with brief, and sometimes maddening, little flashes of information about what happened. I must admit that I literally couldn't put this book down, often reading well into the wee hours of the morning, because I had to know what happened at the barbecue. However, unlike Moriarty's previous novels, when the incident is finally revealed, I found it to be utterly anticlimactic and, to be honest, I quickly lost interest in the resolution. I did continue reading and I found the resolution, given the characters' backstories and their traumatic reactions to the incident, to be much too neat and pat. All of the characters are pretty unlikable, which is usual for Moriarty, but this time I didn't find them to be quirky or humorous and I wasn't really invested in what happened to them. This novel was a pretty big disappointment to me and reading it to the end seemed like a chore rather than a pleasure. I would definitely recommend reading Big Little Lies instead.

Have you read Truly Madly Guilty?  What did you think?