Finding Neverland at the Eccles

A couple of years ago, while on a theatre trip to New York, I was able to see Finding Neverland and I loved it so much!  I loved it just as much after seeing it again last night!  It is a beautiful and heartwarming story of how J.M. Barrie (Jeff Sullivan) comes to write the play Peter Pan after Sylvia Llewellyn Davies (Ruby Gibbs) and her four sons help him find his imagination again.  The music is absolutely wonderful (I listen to the Original Broadway Cast Recording all of the time) and every song is staged brilliantly.  I love how Barrie goes to Kensington Gardens for inspiration in "My Imagination," how he and the Llewellyn Davies brothers become pirates in "Believe," how he turns a dull dinner party into an adventure in "We Own the Night," how the people in his life try to get Barrie to act more sensibly in "Circus of Your Mind,"  how Barrie's alter ego, Captain Hook, encourages him to act boldly in "Live By the Hook," how Barrie's acting troupe reacts to his new play in "The World Is Upside Down," how Barrie and Sylvia play with their shadows in "What You Mean to Me," how Barrie's acting troupe rediscover their inner children in "Play," how the Llewellyn Davies brothers use their imagination in "We're All Made of Stars," how Barrie tries to comfort Peter when he realizes that he will have to grow up in "When Your Feet Don't Touch the Ground," and how Barrie brings the play Peter Pan to Sylvia when she is too ill to attend the premiere in "Neverland" (Reprise).  I think the penultimate scene with Sylvia is one of the most magical bits of stagecraft that I have ever seen and I cried once again.  I really enjoyed Sullivan's performance, but I missed the Scottish accent, and his chemistry with Gibbs, who has a beautiful voice, is palpable.  The acting troupe is completely over the top, and a bit cliched, but they are a lot of fun.  The young actors playing the Llewellyn Davies brothers (they rotate from night to night) are delightful and elicited many cheers from the audience.  It is all so enchanting and the message that you should never take life too seriously really resonates with me.  If you can discover your own inner child I think you will really enjoy this musical which runs at the Eccles Theatre through Sunday, Dec. 9 (go here for tickets).

Korver For Three!

Last night was Kyle Korver's first home game as a member of the Jazz and I can't remember when I have been more excited for a Jazz game!  It was so much fun to see him out on the court making three pointers!  The Jazz played the San Antonio Spurs and it was a fantastic game.  They took a 3-2 lead with a three pointer from Donovan Mitchell in the first few minutes of the game and they never once relinquished that lead!  Korver came in during the last three minutes of the first quarter and the arena went crazy!  In less than a minute he made a 25-foot three point jumper and the crowd went crazy once again!  He hit a few more three pointers during the game and ended up with 15 points.  It brought back so many happy memories of watching him play and I pretty much lost my voice cheering for him.  Korver wasn't the only one who played well!  Ten different players combined for 20 three pointers (a franchise record) and the Jazz basically had their way with the Spurs to win 139-105.  I am so glad that Korver is back in SLC and I anticipate going to a few more games this season (this could be a bad thing)!

Note:  I wore my old Korver jersey and I got quite a bit of attention (every time he scored the man behind me would pat me on the back).  I think I might need to get a new one!

Boy Erased

I love this time of year because a lot of Oscar contenders are released and I had the chance to see one of them, Boy Erased, yesterday.  Lucas Hedges is Jared Eamons, the son of Marshall (Russell Crowe), an affluent Baptist minister and owner of a car dealership, and his wife Nancy (Nicole Kidman).  He breaks up with his girlfriend and questions his sexuality when he begins college.  After a traumatic incident at school with another boy he is outed to his parents who, seeking the counsel of other church members, decide to send him to a gay conversion therapy program run by Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton).  In the beginning he is a willing participant who wants to change.  He is told by one attendee named Jon (Xavier Dolan) to devote himself wholeheartedly to the program and by another named Gary (Troye Sivan) that he should play the part so that he can go home again.  He begins to question Sykes' practices when an attendee named Cameron (Britton Sear) is humiliated in front of the group and, during an emotional exercise, he retrieves his phone and contacts his Mom.  She is horrified by what has been happening in the program and decides to take him home despite her husband's objections.  What I really liked about this movie, which sets it apart from The Miseducation of Cameron Post, is that neither the parents nor the program director are vilified but the message about the harm done by conversion therapy is very clear.  They are misguided but they mean well.  Both Kidman and Crowe give highly sympathetic performances because you definitely understand why they do what they do even if you are horrified by it and I loved the fact that they ultimately accept their son (the final scene between Hedges and Crowe is so affecting).  I also really enjoyed a cameo by Cherry Jones who plays a doctor who tells Jared that he is completely normal.  Hedges, as always, gives a brilliant performance that is incredibly nuanced as a young man forced to reconcile his sexual identity with his Evangelical Christian upbringing.  You see his confusion, his desire to please his parents, and his dawning realization that he is not evil.  It is very restrained but it is extremely powerful with an important message that everyone needs to see.  I highly recommend it!

Winter Ball 2018

Last night Tashena went to the Bountiful High School Winter Ball with Carson who was in Ragtime with her.  He is absolutely adorable and the two of them can dance (I wish I could have seen them together at the dance).

Pinning on the boutonniere.

The corsage.

I always love the dresses that Tashena picks!  I think this one is beautiful!

I hope they had a good time!

Sean is Fourteen

Yesterday we celebrated Sean's fourteenth birthday (his actual birthday is tomorrow).  He wanted to stay at home have hamburgers and fries for lunch, which tasted delicious.  After lunch we had the traditional Baskin Robbins ice cream cake and he picked a polar bear design.  It was absolutely adorable (the ears were made of Oreos).

For his birthday he only wanted one (really expensive) thing so we all pitched in together and got it for him!

We got him a PlayStation4 and he was so excited!

After he opened it he took it to his room and started playing with it!  I love this kid so much and I hope he had a great birthday!