Waitress at the Eccles

A few years ago my friend Esther and I went on a quick theatre trip to NYC.  I chose to see the revival of She Loves Me and Esther picked Waitress.  I wasn't really that keen on seeing Waitress but I am so glad that Esther picked it because I ended up loving it!  The original Broadway cast, especially Jessie Meuller, was outstanding and the song "She Used To Be Mine" brought me to tears!  Needless to say I was really excited for the chance to see it again at the Eccles Theatre last night and I loved it just as much as the Broadway production.  It tells the story of how Jenna (Desi Oakley, in her final performance in the role) uses baking to cope with her dead-end job as a waitress in a diner and her unhappy marriage to an abusive husband (Nick Bailey).  When she learns that she is pregnant, and then begins an affair with her gynecologist (Bryan Fenkart), she expresses her hopes, dreams, fears, and frustrations through the names of the pies she bakes each morning for the diner: Deep Shit Blueberry Pie, Berry the Bullshit Pie, A Little Wild Wild Berry Pie, In the Dark Chocolate Pie, etc.  Whenever she is overwhelmed everything freezes and she tells the audience the ingredients for her latest pie, always beginning with "Sugar, Butter, Flour."  In the end, the ingredient she needs is courage!  The songs, written by Sara Bareilles, are fabulous and I especially like "What's Inside," "Opening Up," and "It Only Takes a Taste" because, while they are about baking, they are also metaphors for life!  So clever!  My favorite song is, of course, "She Used To Be Mine" and Oakley performed it with so much passion that I had tears once again!  While I did cry, I also laughed and laughed in many parts of the show, particularly "Never Ever Getting Rid of Me" and "Bad Idea" because the choreography is absolutely hilarious!   It is also really fun to see the live band playing in the diner and to watch the cast actually make the pies on stage!  I really enjoyed watching this show again and I highly recommend it!  Waitress runs at the Eccles Theatre until Sunday and tickets may be purchased here.

Rebel Without a Cause

I have never seen Rebel Without a Cause, the ultimate movie about teenage angst, so I was really excited when I found out that it was part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series this year.  I had the chance to see it yesterday and I'm glad I can finally cross this classic off my list.  This movie is about three teenagers who are alienated from their families and are getting into trouble as a reaction to their discontent.  Jim Stark (James Dean) lives in a home with an overbearing mother (Ann Doran) who emasculates his father (Jim Backus).  Jim is embarrassed by his father and gets into fights to prove that he is not a chicken.  Judy (Natalie Wood) hangs out with the wrong crowd in order to get her father's (William Hopper) attention.  John "Plato" Crawford (Sal Mineo) longs for a connection with someone because he has an absent father and a disinterested mother.  After Jim participates in a drag race that results in the death of a gang member, the rest of the gang goes after him because they think he has ratted them out to the police.  Jim, Judy, and Plato hide out in an abandoned mansion (which was also used in Sunset Boulevard) until the gang finds them leading to an epic showdown at the Observatory.  I understand that this movie was groundbreaking in its portrayal of adolescent unhappiness but, to me, it seems extremely melodramatic.  There was even a moment early on when Jim tells his parents that they are tearing him apart when I laughed because it reminded me of the same line in the movie The Room.  Everyone ridicules Tommy Wiseau for his delivery of that line but I didn't see a difference between his delivery and Dean's.  However, I did enjoy Dean's performance in this movie much more than his performance in Giant because I found him to be incredibly appealing.  My favorite scene was the field trip to the Observatory because the presentation about the destruction of the Earth profoundly foreshadows the characters' feelings of hopelessness (it also reminded me of the Observatory scenes in La La Land).  I'm glad I had the chance to see it on the big screen!

Oslo at PTC

I made several different plans to see Oslo, the Tony Award winning play opening the 2018-2019 season at PTC, but they all fell through for one reason or another.  I finally had the chance to see it last night with my friend (we both have rush passes) and I thought it was absolutely brilliant.  I wish that I had time to see it again.  It tells the behind-the-scenes story of how the Oslo Accords, the first ever agreement between Israel and the PLO in 1993, came to be.  Terje Rod-Larsen (Jeff Talbott), the Executive Director of the Fafo Institute, and his wife Mona Juul (Kate Middleton), an official in the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, witness a riot while traveling through the Gaza Strip in Israel.  Terje is forever changed by the incident and, believing that the current model of negotiation will never work, decides to get low-level representatives from the PLO, Ahmed Qurie (Demosthenes Chrysan) and Hassan Asfour (Thamer Jendoubi), and Israel, Yair Hirschfeld (Neal Benari) and Ron Pundak (Max Woertendyke), to meet in secret in Oslo.  He believes that if they get to know each other as men they will learn to trust each other and this provides a bit of comic relief.  The story details the back and forth between the two groups as they work towards peace and it does involve lots of dialogue rather than action.  As a former world geography teacher I pay close attention to world events, especially in the Middle East, so it was really easy for me to follow what was happening but my friend found it very compelling, as well.  The pacing kept me engaged (although I thought it was over before the second intermission) and the actors give outstanding performances.  I also really liked the staging, which is minimal to allow for quick transformations.  I highly recommend this production which runs through next week (tickets may be purchased here).

Ode to Joy

If you were not at Abravanel Hall last night you definitely missed out on a magnificent performance!  The orchestra began with a new piece by Andrew Norman, Composer-in-Association with the Utah Symphony, called Suspend.  The composer was there to introduce the piece which was commissioned by pianist Emanuel Ax.  He explained that he wanted the piece to represent the freedom that comes from solitude and that theme really resonated with me because I crave solitude.  Soloist Jason Hardink began by softly playing notes, seemingly at random, and then continued in an almost improvisational manner.  Different sections of the orchestra gradually joined in as the piece escaped from the pianist's mind to become a composition.  The piece ended as it began with the just the pianist, alone once again, playing a few random notes.  I was fascinated by the percussion section because they used bows on different percussion instruments instead of mallets (I'm sure there is a proper term for this) and the effect was quite otherworldly.  I really loved it.  After the intermission the orchestra was joined by the Utah Symphony Chorus, the Choirs of the University of Utah, and soloists Joelle Harvey, Kirsten Chavez, Issachah Savage, and Patrick Carfizzi for Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 "Ode to Joy."  This piece is simply amazing and it was performed brilliantly!  I loved the timpani in the first movement, the jaunty theme played by the woodwinds in the second movement, and the beautiful melody played by the strings in the third movement.  Then the stirring and life-affirming fourth movement just blew me away.  The instantly recognizable theme began softly with the cellos and then it was repeated, in turn, by different sections of the orchestra and, finally, by the soloists and the choirs.  I was absolutely overcome!  During the thunderous standing ovation the little old lady next to me turned and said, "I don't think you have really lived if you haven't heard that played live!"  I agree wholeheartedly and suggest you get a ticket (go here) to hear it when it is performed again tonight!

The Scarlet Pimpernel at HCT

I have seen two of HCT's three productions of The Scarlet Pimpernel and they are among my very favorite shows at Hale or anywhere else! I think I squealed out loud when I learned that they were mounting a new production this season and I have been eagerly anticipating it for months to see what they could do in their new space. I was not disappointed because it is even bigger and better than ever! I have always loved the novel by Baroness Orczy (one of my students is reading it and we discuss it every day) and the music by Frank Wildhorn adds a dazzling romance to the thrilling story.  Percy Blakeney (Daniel Beck) has disguised himself as the Scarlet Pimpernel and has recruited a band of followers in order to save the people of Paris from the sinister Chauvelin (Dallyn Vail Bayles) and his guillotine during the French Revolution. He keeps his identity a secret from his wife Marguerite St. Just (Erin Royall Carlson), a Parisian actress, because he believes that she is helping Chauvelin, her former lover.  He is also keeping his identity secret from the Prince of Wales (Jeffrey Whitlock) by pretending to be a foppish nincompoop. However, he must make his most daring rescue when Marguerite and her brother Armand (Nathan Kremin) are arrested. What I loved most about Hale's former productions was the carousel during Marguerite's performance of "Storybook" at the Comedie Francaise. With a bigger stage and more toys at his disposal, set designer Kacey Udy outdid himself with the carousel in this show because it is amazing. I heard an audible gasp from the audience as it rose from below the stage. The 23-foot guillotine is another impressive set piece. I also really liked Percy's study and the rose garden. The costumes are absolutely gorgeous throughout the entire show but my favorites were those worn by the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel during "The Creation of Man."  They take "frou frou" to new levels. I really enjoyed the choreography, especially the intricate "Ouilles Gavotte" where Marguerite questions the men to try to learn the identity of the Pimpernel. The three leads are outstanding and it is incredibly powerful when the three of them sing "The Riddle." Beck, especially, does a good job at portraying Percy's strength as the Pimpernel, his vulnerability as a man who loves but can't trust his wife, and his silliness as a man trying to hide his identity. He is so funny in his interactions with Chauvelin and I laughed out loud every time he mispronounced his name! I cannot recommend this show enough (go here for more information) but you better hurry because most shows are sold out making tickets even more elusive than the Pimpernel!