Muse at the Vivint Arena

I have seen Muse perform live many times and every show is a light and sound extravaganza.  Last night, when the band was in town in support of their latest album Simulation Theory, was certainly no exception.  It was an awesome concert!  I really love Simulation Theory and I was happy that they played quite a few songs from it.  They began the show with the Alternate Reality version of "Algorithm" and then played "Pressure," "Break It to Me," "Propaganda," "The Dark Side" (my favorite song from the album), a rousing version of "Thought Contagion" which got the Vivint Arena rocking, and the Acoustic Gospel version of "Dig Down."  Every song was accompanied by incredibly theatrical lights, lasers, visuals, and choreographed performers in various LED light up suits.  I loved it!  They also played the hits, and some more obscure tracks, including "Psycho," "Uprising," "Plug In Baby," "Supermassive Black Hole," "Hysteria," "Madness," "Mercy," "Time Is Running Out," and an epic version of "Take a Bow."  They ended their set with "Starlight," which is my favorite Muse song, and the obligatory confetti and streamers.  For the encore they played "Algorithm," a kick-ass medley of "Stockholm Syndrome," "Assassin," "Reapers," "The Handler," and "New Born" complete with a giant cyborg skeleton looming over the stage, and "Knights of Cydonia."  Matt Bellamy was in full rock-star mode wearing leather pants, neon shutter shades, and a variety of leather jackets (including several with LED lights) and he spent much of the evening shredding while on a runway extending into the crowd.  It was quite the spectacle and I absolutely loved it!

Once at PTC

When I saw the Broadway touring production of Once several years ago, I didn't know anything about the musical.  However, it quickly became one of my favorites because of the bittersweet love story and the incredibly beautiful music!  So I was thrilled to see PTC's version last night and I fell in love with the show all over again!  A Guy (Roderick Lawrence) is singing one of his songs on the street in Dublin when a Girl (Hillary Porter) hears him and strikes up a conversation.  She really likes his song but he tells her that he wants to give up on music because all of his songs were written about a girl who left him to go to New York.  She encourages him to sing more of his songs and eventually helps him record a demo.  He begins to have feelings for her and tells her that he may have written the songs for another girl but now he is singing them for her.  She knows that she needs to reconcile with her estranged husband for the sake of her daughter and that he needs to go to New York to play his music for his former girlfriend so she convinces him to go.  If you have ever had someone come into your life for just a brief moment but have a profound impact on it then this story will break your heart.  I had tears streaming down my face at the end.   The staging of this show is quite different from the Broadway version but I really liked the use of the turntable and the guitar motif.  The entire cast is unbelievably talented (all of the secondary characters in the show play a variety of instruments live on stage) but I was especially impressed with both Porter and Lawrence (I really loved Lawrence in this role).  They have beautiful voices and are outstanding musicians (piano and guitar, respectively).  Their renditions of my three favorite songs, "Falling Slowly," "If You Want Me," and "Gold," gave me goosebumps!  This just might be my very favorite production by PTC!  There is quite a bit of profanity (they are Irish, after all) but if you are not bothered by that I highly recommend this wonderful show (go here for tickets) which runs through March 2.

Fighting With My Family

Last night I went to see Fighting With My Family and I really enjoyed this biopic about WWE wrestler Saraya "Paige" Bevis.  Saraya (Florence Pugh) lives in the working class English town of Norwich and wrestles with her father Patrick "Rowdy Ricky" (Nick Frost), her mother Julia "Sweet Saraya" (Lena Headey), and her brother Zak "Zodiac" (Jack Lowden) in their own wrestling league, the World Association of Wrestling.  Both Saraya and Zak are invited to try-out for the WWE by Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn) but only Saraya is signed to NXT, the developmental league for the WWE.  Zak must deal with the loss of his dream and Saraya, who changes her name to Paige after a character on her favorite TV show Charmed, must survive a grueling training program as an outsider and an underdog.  She is a skilled wrestler but doesn't know how to brand herself or relate to the crowd.  The movie ends when Paige is given an opportunity to fight for the Divas Championship in some scenes that will make you want to stand up and cheer.  Zak must learn that teaching kids with nowhere else to go how to wrestle is important and Paige must learn that all she needs to do is be herself.  It is a bit formulaic but it is also funny (especially the scenes with her parents), inspirational, and heart warming.  Pugh and Lowden give earnest performances that make it easy to cheer for their characters while Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is quite funny in a cameo.  I don't know much about wrestling but I had a lot of fun watching this feel-good movie and I would definitely recommend it.

Ballet West's Swan Lake

Last night I got to see a glorious production of my very favorite ballet, Swan Lake, and I got to see my favorite dancer with Ballet West, Christopher Ruud, perform for the final time on the Capitol Theatre stage as Prince Siegfried.  Needless to say it was a lovely evening!  The ballet begins when Princess Odette (Katherine Lawrence) and her handmaidens are transformed into swans by the Baron von Rothbart, an evil sorcerer.  Many years later Prince Siegfried (Ruud) is celebrating his 21st birthday with friends.  His mother, the Queen, presents him with a crossbow and reminds him that he must soon take a bride which fills him with dismay.  He decides to go hunting with his friends and follows a flock of swans to a lake where he captures one of them.  The swan struggles and then transforms into a beautiful woman.  It is the Princess Odette and she begs Siegfried to spare the other swans.  She is a swan by day but becomes a human in the moonlight and only the true love of a human man can break the spell she is under.  Siegfried is captivated by her and they dance the most beautiful pas de deux, which is filled with such longing and emotion, as they fall in love.  Before Siegfried can declare his love, the dawn comes and Odette is transformed back into a swan.  At Siegfried's birthday ball he is introduced to princesses from around the world but he is not interested until the Baron von Rothbart appears with his daughter Odile, who has been enchanted to look exactly like Odette.  Thinking that she is Odette, Siegfried dances a pas de deux with Odile, which mimics many of the same movements with his pas de deux with Odette but is more powerful and seductive, and he declares his love to her.  Rothbart then reveals his treachery.  Siegfried returns to the lake in despair and begs Odette for forgiveness, which she grants, before they hurl themselves onto the rocks breaking the spell.  Tchaikovsky's magnificent score was performed brilliantly and there were moments when the music was so heart-wrenching that it brought tears to my eyes.  The choreography is exquisite and the artists of Ballet West performed so passionately.  Ruud gave one of the best performances I've ever seen in the iconic role.  Lawrence was alternatively demure as Odette and provocative as Odile and I loved many of the swan-like mannerisms that were incorporated into her portrayal.  The opulent sets and lavish costumes transport the audience into another world and I was absolutely riveted throughout the whole performance.  My very favorite moment came when all of the swans emerged one by one from the mist.  It was magical!  I'm so glad that I was able to see my favorite dancer end an incredible career in such a beautiful production and I highly recommend getting a ticket to his final performance tonight (go here).

An American in Paris at HCT

If you need a little joie de vivre in your life (and who doesn't in the middle of winter) then might I suggest attending An American in Paris at Hale Centre Theatre. It is a song and dance extravaganza set in Paris after World War II featuring the music of George and Ira Gershwin. 'S wonderful! 'S marvelous! Jerry Mulligan (Wesley Valdez) is an American soldier who decides to stay in Paris after the war to pursue his dream of becoming a painter. He sees Lise (Juliet Doherty), a Parisian shopgirl with aspirations of becoming a ballerina, on the street and begins to pursue her. They meet every afternoon along the Seine and inevitably fall in love but complications arise. Lise feels a duty to the Baurel family for hiding her from the Nazis and accepts a proposal of marriage from their son Henri (Taylor Morris). Jerry is indebted to his patron Milo Davenport (Ashley Gardner Carlson), a rich American heiress who promotes his art and falls in love with him. It takes several more dazzling dance sequences for Jerry and Lise to realize that they belong together! The choreography, which is used to tell the story, is simply amazing! I especially loved the big production numbers "I've Got Rhythm" in the middle of a Parisian cafe, "I've Got Beginner's Luck" in the Galleries Lafayette where Lise works, "Rhapsody Ballet" at a costume ball, and "Stairway to Paradise" at a Parisian nightclub. I loved how the choreography incorporates props such as umbrellas, benches, lampposts, and perfume counters into the numbers. The cast features incredibly talented dancers, especially the two leads. Doherty (who is single-cast) performs the demanding choreography, much of it on pointe, effortlessly and with so much passion while Valdez is charismatic and captivating to watch. I was so impressed with their performance in the final ballet because it requires a lot of stamina coming at the end of the show. I also really enjoyed Carlson's characterization of Milo as a formidable, yet vulnerable, woman and she provides quite a bit of comic relief with her delivery. The costumes are fantastic, especially Milo's elaborate gowns, the dramatic black and red costumes at the ball, and the sparkly showgirl costumes in "Stairway to Paradise."  The set is very clever and incorporates inventive choreography as pieces are moved on and off the stage. Who could ask for anything more? This production is a beautiful love letter to the City of Lights (my favorite city) and I highly recommend it. An American in Paris runs at HCT on the Main Stage through April 6 (go here for tickets).

Note:  Don't forget about the hilarious A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder which is currently being performed on the HCT Jewel Box Stage through March 16.