The Last Jedi

After the beautiful Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir I went home and changed into some slightly less formal attire and went to my local Megaplex for a midnight screening of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  The theater was absolutely packed!  Many were in costume and all were excited for the latest installment in the Star Wars Saga.  Cheers and applause greeted the iconic John Williams fanfare and the opening crawl and I have to admit that I was caught up in the excitement myself!  Despite a few flaws, I loved this movie so much!  The Resistance is on the run, being pursued by the First Order, while Rey (Daisy Ridley) tries to convince a reluctant Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to return.  Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) try to figure out a way to stop the First Order's pursuit and Rey begins learning the ways of the Force and must contend with an unsettling connection with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).  This movie is much darker in tone and is more complex than The Force Awakens and many of the characters are developed more fully.  I loved the character arc of Luke from the first trilogy to this movie, especially in terms of what it means to be a Jedi and what it means to possess the Force.  He has a wonderful scene near the end with Leia (Carrie Fisher) that will leave you gutted and I loved his scenes with Rey.  I loved the conflict within both Kylo Ren and Rey between the light and the dark and there is a truly epic lightsaber battle in Snoke's throne room.  My favorite character from The Force Awakens has always been Kylo Ren and I was happy to see more revelations about his backstory, especially his relationship with Luke (Driver gives a brilliant performance as a villain haunted by his own actions).  I also loved the new character Rose because her story arc brings up some questions that are incredibly thought-provoking, and, of course, the porgs are absolutely adorable in their interactions with Chewbacca.  Having said that, some of the characters don't really have a lot to do.  Chewbacca, C-3P0, General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), and, to some extent, Leia (because of the creation of the Vice Admiral Holdo character, played by Laura Dern) seem to exist merely for other characters to play off of them (although many of General Hux's scenes are hilarious).  My biggest complaint, however, is with the portrayal of Supreme Leader Snoke.  I thought he was much more menacing when he was a hologram in The Force Awakens and I would have liked more backstory for him.  My complaints are very, very minor and, overall, I loved this movie!  I loved the experience of watching it because the visuals are stunning, especially the aerial dogfights between the Resistance and the First Order in the opening sequence and the awesome AT-AT Walkers in the final battle, and I loved the use of red throughout.  I think most fans of the franchise will be very happy with this installment.  Go see it on the biggest screen possible!

Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

A ticket to the Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert is highly coveted in these parts.  I very much wanted to go (I even schlepped my laptap on my trip to Los Angeles after having trouble using the website on my phone in the past) because this year the featured guests were Broadway star Sutton Foster and Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham!).  But, alas, I couldn't get tickets.  I was really sad but I knew that I had a lot of really fun things planned in December (The Last Jedi!) and, since you can't do everything, I got over it!  Then my wonderful friend, who sings in the choir, offered me one of his tickets (I got a ticket to a later screening of The Last Jedi because sleep is overrated).  The concert began with the choir, along with the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble, singing "Joy to the World" and that pretty much began the waterworks because it was so stirring.  The stage was decorated like the prow of a ship with sails, maritime signal flags, portholes, and flickering lanterns hanging all around.  The effect was stunning and the significance was revealed a bit later.  Sutton Foster, Hugh Bonneville, and hundreds of dancers dressed in Victorian costumes sang "Just Once a Year" which was a lot of fun.  Then Foster sang "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and "Christmas Time Is Here."  Next came my favorite part of the concert which was titled A Classical Christmas.  The choir and Richard Elliott, on the most amazing organ you can imagine, performed "Unfold, Ye Portals" from The Redemption by Charles Grunod and then "Sing!" based on the Toccata from Organ Symphony No. 5 by Charles-Marie Widor.  That was spectacular and I could hardly catch my breath!  Then Foster sang an amazing version of "Sunshine on My Shoulder" by John Denver after telling an affecting story about her mother.  Seriously, the waterworks began again (so much so that the adorable older gentleman sitting next to me felt the need to comfort me!).  The Orchestra on Temple Square performed "Sleigh Ride" and then Foster followed with "Snow," from A White Christmas, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "Happy Holiday."  Mack WIlberg, the conductor of the choir, led the audience in a rousing version of "Jingle Bells" complete with snow falling!  Richard Elliott performed an epic version of "I Saw Three Ships" on the organ and then Hugh Bonneville appeared in the audience very close to where I was sitting to tell the story of how Horatio Spafford came to write the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" after losing most of his family after a ship they were traveling on at Christmas time sank in the Atlantic Ocean.  It was quite moving because the choir sang the hymn at various times in the story.  Then the choir sang a beautiful version of "Silent Night" with lighting that made the women look like angels in their white dresses.  Bonneville then recited the Christmas Story form the Bible.  The concert ended with an incredible version of "Angels From The Realms of Glory" performed by Foster and all of the dancers.  I will never forget this night!  It was a beautiful and inspiring concert and I am beyond grateful that I got to go (Thank you so much, Stanford!).

Note:  Look for my review of The Last Jedi tomorrow!

Tashena's Christmas Concert

I love Christmas music and I especially love hearing it performed live!  I have now heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Lower Lights, and now the Bountiful High School Concert Choir!  Last night my family went to hear Tashena sing but the concert was with the whole music department and I was so impressed with the sheer number of kids involved.  There were four different choirs, the chamber orchestra, and the concert orchestra.  Every group sounded so beautiful and I especially loved one of the songs that Concert Choir sang called "There is Faint Music" accompanied by a harp.  Goosebumps!  It was such a lovely concert and I am so proud of Tashena because she is such a talented girl.

Note:  Where do schools get these Concert Choir dresses?  Is there a company that does nothing but supply these dresses to schools?  They all seem to look alike but with different colors to represent the school (HHS has the same dresses but in navy blue with a white sash).  Do the girls every wear them again after the school year is over?  I'm fascinated!  I think Tashena rocks the Concert Choir dress.

Foo Fighters at the Vivint Arena

I honestly don't know how I made it through the school day yesterday because I was so excited for the Foo Fighters concert.  I could hardly stand it because I absolutely love the Foo Fighters!  I have seen them several times in concert but I have to say that last night was probably the best one yet!  They played for over three hours!  They got the night started with "Run" from their latest album, Concrete and Gold, and that got the crowd screaming along with Dave Grohl.  They played a few other songs from the new album, such as "The Sky is a Neighborhood," "Sunday Rain," and "Dirty Water," but they mostly played the hits!  My favorite moment came early on when they played "The Pretender," my favorite Foo Fighters song, with some fabulous extended solos.  In fact, almost every song they played featured epic solos which was just fine with me.  They played "All My Life," "Rope," "My Hero," which included a lot of audience participation, "These Days," "Walk," "Times Like These," "Breakout," "Monkey Wrench," and "Best of You."  Throughout their set they played a few covers, such as "Under My Wheels," by Alice Cooper, "Another One Bites The Dust," by Queen, "Blitzkrieg Pop," by the Ramones, "Let There Be Rock," by AC/DC, and "Breakdown," by Tom Petty (another highlight!). During a cover of "Under Pressure," by Queen, Dave Grohl got behind the drum kit (sigh!).  They also played an awesome rendition of "Dear Rosemary" with Bob Mould, who opened for them.  They ended the evening, as they often do, with "Everlong."  I think Dave Grohl is just so damn cool and he kept up a steady stream of wisecracks at the audience ("I've been playing for two and half hours!  Get up off your asses!").  It was an amazing concert!  Did I mention that they played for over three hours!  The show didn't end until after midnight so I honestly don't know how I will make it through the school day today!

A Christmas Carol at HCT 2017

It just wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't see Hale Centre Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol. I like to joke that I've seen it so many times I could probably stand in for any part!  However, this year it is an entirely new production! It is now held in the new Jewel Box Theatre at the Mountain America Performing Arts Centre which has a traditional proscenium stage.  The script and all of the musical numbers are the same but, since it is no longer being performed in the theatre-in-the-round, the staging and the choreography are completely different. The stage reminded me of a set for a Shakespeare play because there is a upper level with balconies on either side at different levels and a staircase connecting the levels. The design is actually quite simple but I really liked it because, at its heart, the story of Ebenezer's redemption through visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future is a simple one. Sometimes the same actors reprise roles year after year but this year I was able to see many that I had never seen before, including Stephen Kerr as Scrooge, Lucas Charon as Fred, and Addison Welch as Bob Cratchit. It was fun to see some new interpretations of beloved characters and I particularly liked a scene where Bob Cratchit thanks Scrooge because it is so heartfelt and moving with an affecting performance by Welch that actually brought a tear to my eye. Tiny Tim, played by Alexander Scott, is absolutely adorable and I loved his interactions with Scrooge! There are some new costumes for the ghosts and the Ghost of Christmas Future is quite terrifying. I thoroughly enjoyed this updated classic and, even if you have seen it countless times like I have, I definitely recommend getting a ticket (go here) but hurry because almost every show is sold out!