Sutton Foster at Deer Valley

One of my very favorite summer activities is to see a Utah Symphony concert up at the Deer Valley Mountain Resort.  I love packing a picnic, heading up to the mountains where it is a lot cooler than the valley, and listening to some fabulous music.  I try to see at least one concert during the summer and this year I picked one featuring Kristen Chenoweth.  Unfortunately, she had to cancel because of an injury but then I learned that Sutton Foster would be replacing her!  I saw her when she performed a Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and she was amazing.  I knew this would be a wonderful concert and it was.  Sutton Foster is known for her many roles on Broadway and the program featured songs from the Great White Way.  She began with "Cockeyed Optimist" from South Pacific and then a lovely medley from Thoroughly Modern Millie, Annie, and Little Women which showcased her most famous roles.  She continued with "I Get a Kick Out of You" from Anything Goes.  Next she performed three songs from her most recent album Take Me to the World: "C'est Magnifique," "Give Him the Ooh-La-La," and "Stars and the Moon."  My favorite moment of the concert was when she sang "It All Fades Away" from The Bridges of Madison County.  This was absolutely beautiful and it gave me goosebumps!  She closed the set with the title song from Anything Goes.  After the intermission she sang a really fun medley of "If I Were a Bell" from Guys and Dolls and "Singing in the Rain."  She continued with "The Nearness of You" and "Down With Love."  Next she was joined by Megan McGinnis, her co-star from Little Women, and they performed "Some Things Are Meant To Be" from that show which was another favorite moment because it was so beautiful!  She dedicated "Sunshine on My Shoulders" to her mother like she did at the Christmas concert.  She continued with "Being Alive" from Company and the ended the set with "Take Me to the World" from her new album.  For the encore she sang "Gimme Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie which left me saying gimme gimme some more!  I loved this concert so much!  It was really windy at Deer Valley Saturday night but it was Foster's voice that blew us all away!  Not only was her performance amazing but she was just so charming and personable.  I'm so glad I got to see her again!  Go here for more information about the remaining Utah Symphony concerts at Deer Valley.

Bryce Canyon National Park

After visiting Zion National Park I decided to make another detour to Bryce Canyon National Park to see all of the stunning rock formations.  As soon as I got to the viewpoints, it started raining and it eventually turned to hail.  I did manage to get to most of the viewpoints and despite the fact that I was completely drenched by the time I was done I did manage to get some pictures.

Zion National Park

Since I was already in Southern Utah for the Shakespeare Festival, I decided to take the scenic way home through Zion National Park.  This is one of my very favorite places because my family took a lot of road trips here when I was young and I have so many happy memories.  It has been a while since I have been here so I spent several hours wandering around.  It was really wonderful!

Summer Reading: Beneath a Scarlet Sky

When I began reading Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan, the next selection on my summer reading list, I was waiting for an outdoor concert to begin and a random woman sat down next to me to tell me how much she and her book club loved the book. She absolutely gushed about it so I was very eager to continue reading. It tells the true story of seventeen year old Pino Lello, a typical young man living in Milan during World War II who loves jazz, fast cars, and girls. As the bombing of Milan escalates, Pino is sent to a monastery high in the Alps for safety and he begins leading Jews through the mountains on treacherous journeys to elude the Nazis. When he reaches the age of conscription, his parents, hoping to keep him relatively safe, convince him to join the German army. He eventually becomes the driver and interpreter for General Hans Leyers which puts him in a position to observe the goings-on of the Nazis. He is recruited as a spy for the resistance and risks his life on many occasions to ultimately become a hero. I really wanted to like Pino's story but the manner in which it is told is rather bland. Sullivan tells us, in very simple declarative sentences, what happens rather than shows us and one event happens after another without a lot of dramatic tension or suspense. Even though this is purported to be a true story, much of what happens seems to be the result of a series of improbable coincidences. Pino just happens to be in the right place at the right time to meet many of the most important members of the Gestapo, as well as Mussolini himself, and he just happens to witness the major events that happen in Italy during the war. It strains credibility at times (it actually reminded me a little bit of the movie Forrest Gump which I dislike for the same reason). Pino also has a lot of abilities which manifest themselves just when they are needed, such as when he is able to maneuver the general's car away from a plane dive bombing it after recently learning to drive. What I did really enjoy was learning about the Italian experience during the war. Even after reading countless fiction and nonfiction books about World War II, I had little knowledge about the major events during the German occupation of Italy. After hearing such a glowing recommendation I was a little bit disappointed in this selection but that might mean others will enjoy it more than I did.

Note:  Have you read Beneath a Scarlet Sky?  What did you think?  I hear there is a movie in the works starring Tom Holland.

Utah Shakespeare Festival 2018

This week I drove to Cedar City for my annual trip to the Utah Shakespeare Festival.  I was able to see three plays this year and I enjoyed all of them.  Tuesday night I saw The Merchant of Venice, one of my very favorite Shakespeare plays, and I thought this production was very powerful.  There were some very interesting casting choices, including having two women play traditionally male roles.  Bassanio (Wayne T. Carr) asks his friend Antonio (Leslie Brott) for 3,000 ducats to woo Portia (Tarah Flanagan).  Antonio doesn't have the money but, knowing that he has three ships on their way to port, he borrows the money from Shylock (Lisa Wolpe), a Jewish moneylender.  Bassanio is successful in his quest for Portia's hand in marriage, in some highly amusing scenes involving other suitors, but Antonio's ships are lost and he must pay the bond to Shylock which is a pound of flesh.  Portia, feeling responsible for the situation, pleads for mercy but when Shylock refuses she finds a loophole which saves Antonio and condemns Shylock.  My sympathy is always with Shylock and this production really emphasizes the cruelty towards him, at one point one character even knocks him down.  His daughter Jessica (Aidaa Peerzada) is portrayed as feeling guilty about converting to Christianity and I loved the scenes where she recites Jewish prayers.  Wolpe is absolutely brilliant in the role, especially in the "Do we not bleed?" speech!  I also really enjoyed Josh Innerst as Gratiano, Jamil Zraikat as the Prince of Morocco, and Geoffrey Kent as the Prince of Arragon because they infused a bit of levity into an otherwise somber piece.

Wednesday afternoon I saw the hilarious comedy The Foreigner.  I have seen this play several times and I very much enjoyed this production.   Sgt. Froggy LaSeuer (Chris Mixon) brings his painfully shy friend Charlie Baker (Michael Doherty) to stay at a boarding house in Georgia run by Betty Meeks (Colleen Baum) while he is on maneuvers there.  Froggy tells the inhabitants that Charlie is a foreigner who cannot speak English to save him from having to make conversation.  Because everyone believes that he can't understand them, he overhears all of their secrets to great comedic effect.  Doherty is absolutely hysterical in this very physical role!  I laughed and laughed when Ellard (Rob Riordan) tries to teach him English and again when he is asked to tell a story in his native language.  Seriously, I couldn't breathe!

Wednesday evening I saw The Merry Wives of Windsor.  Sir John Falstaff (John Ahlin reprising the role after playing it in Hanry IV Part Two) is down and out and has come to Windsor to woo two wealthy women, Mistress Page (Stephanie Lambourn) and Mistress Ford (Tarah Flanagan).  He sends them both the same letter so they conspire to get revenge on him, and fool their husbands, in some absolutely hilarious scenes.  Meanwhile, Mistress Ford's daughter, Mistress Anne (Cailen Fu), has three suitors pursing her (Lance Rasmussen, Michael Elich, and Ty Fanning).  Both Mistress Ford and Mistress Page as well as the three suitors use Mistress Quickley (Leslie Brott) to deliver notes and chaos ensues.  I usually do not like it when the source material is changed but this production takes place in the early 1900s and uses popular songs from that era to emphasize plot details and I thought that was very effective.  I also really liked how they introduce the dramatis personae at the beginning of the play.  It is extremely clever!  Mistress Quickly is portrayed as more of the town busybody and she is hilarious.  Elich is completely over the top as one of the suitors, especially when he is preparing for the duel.  Ahlin is an absolute master of physical comedy and I laughed out loud when he is placed in a laundry basket, when he has to dress as a woman, and when he dresses as stag to meet Mistress Ford.  It is a really fun production.  I had so much fun at the festival this year!  I enjoyed all three plays and I was able to have lots of my favorite tarts!

Note:  I am beyond excited for next year because two of my favorites will be performed, Hamlet and Macbeth.  I can't wait!