My Fair Lady at CPT

Last night I went with my Mom and both of my sisters to see My Fair Lady at CenterPoint Theatre and all four of us had so much fun (especially my Mom). This production is loverly! When Professor Henry Higgins (Andrew Heyward) and Colonel Pickering (Kevin Burtenshaw) encounter a flower girl named Eliza Doolittle (Sarah Jane Watts) outside Covent Garden,  Higgins boasts that he could pass her off as a Duchess at the Embassy Ball within six months by teaching her to speak properly! Even though Eliza is a success at the Embassy Ball, she becomes a true lady when Higgins treats her like one. I was really impressed with the cast of this show. I am always amazed at the caliber of the talent that CPT is able to recruit because it is a community theatre and the actors are all volunteers. Watts is a delightful Eliza and her renditions of "Just You Wait," "Show Me," and "Without You" are feisty while "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" are incredibly joyful. I loved Heyward's characterization of the curmudgeonly Higgins. His inflections are hilarious, especially in "Why Can't The English?," "I'm an Ordinary Man," and "A Hymn to Him." His version of "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" is so poignant that it brought a tear to my eye. My favorite actor in this show was Christian Lackman as Freddy Eynsford-Hill because he has a beautiful voice but he is also so funny. I always think that "On the Street Where You Live" is incredibly romantic but Lackman is absolutely twitterpated. His facial expressions made me laugh out loud. The choreography is a lot of fun, especially in "With a Little Bit of Luck" and "Get Me to the Church," and I loved it when Eliza dips Freddy in "Show Me." The set for Higgins' study is pretty spectacular, particularly the spiral staircase to the second level. Finally, the costumes are amazing! The black and white gowns in the "Ascot Gavotte" are quite elaborate and Eliza's gown at the Embassy Ball is simply stunning. Every aspect of this production is superb and I highly recommend it (go here to purchase tickets) but it closes on Saturday so you need to hurry!

Note: I have had lots of opportunities to see My Fair Lady this year!  I saw the Academy Award-winning film adaptation as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series and I saw the concert version performed by the Utah Symphony.

Echo in the Canyon

I have always vaguely felt that I was born twenty years too late because I really love the music of the 1960s.  When I heard the fabulous music in the trailer for Echo in the Canyon, I immediately put this documentary on my list.  I saw it last night and, even though I was the youngest person in the theater, I knew the words to every single song.  This documentary explores the development of folk-rock, the so-called California sound, by artists who lived in Laurel Canyon from 1964-1967 and how these musicians influenced each other and influenced generations to come. Jakob Dylan interviews Roger McGuinn and David Crosby of the Byrds, Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield, Eric Clapton of Cream, Ringo Starr of the Beatles, Graham Nash, Tom Petty, Jackson Brown, and producer Lou Adler.  They talk about getting together for epic jam sessions in living rooms and how certain songs inspired new songs.  My favorite anecdote came from Brian Wilson when he talked about how much Rubber Soul by the Beatles inspired the creation of Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys which, in turn, inspired Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  Interspersed throughout these interviews is footage of Jakob Dylan recording and performing songs from these bands with contemporary artists who were influenced by them: Fiona Apple, Beck, Norah Jones, Regina Spektor, Cat Power, and Jade Castrinos.  The best part of this documentary is the music.  I loved the songs, both in their original form and performed by Jakob Dylan and others (I downloaded the soundtrack while I was still in the parking lot of the Broadway Theater) and my favorites were "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by the Byrds, "Monday Monday" and "Dedicated to the One I Love" by the Mamas and the Papas, "In My Room" by the Beach Boys, and "Expecting to Fly" by Buffalo Springfield.  I also really enjoyed Dylan's obvious reverence for these musicians in his interviews because he is my age and that is how I feel about them as well.  Can you feel nostalgia for music that was created before you were born?  If you lived through this era in music (or just appreciate it like me), I definitely recommend this documentary!

Ophelia

Two years ago I had some seniors who loved the play Hamlet more than any other other group I've ever taught.  We had some amazing discussions, most of which centered on whether or not Gertrude was complicit in the king's death and whether or not Ophelia deserved her cruel fate.  Because they were so interested, I brought my copy of Ophelia by Lisa Klein to class to see if anyone was interested in reading the story of Hamlet told from Ophelia's perspective and it was so popular that I eventually bought several more copies to keep up with the demand (one student asked for her own copy of it for Christmas).  When I got the information for the Sundance Film Festival that year, I was thrilled to see that an adaptation of Klein's novel had been made and that it was one of the films available for a student screening. So many students wanted to see this film that I eventually had to request more tickets and I even had to turn some of them away.  The students absolutely loved this film and cheered out loud at its conclusion!  It was so much fun for me to see their enthusiasm.  I enjoyed it as well so I was very excited to see it again last night now that it is in wide release.  In this version of Shakespeare's classic tale, Ophelia (Daisy Ridley) is an independent young woman who is ultimately able to triumph over what is rotten in Denmark.  I think this version of the story is entirely plausible with, as my students pointed out to me after our first viewing, lots of textual evidence to support it.  I especially enjoyed the characterizations of Hamlet (George MacKay), Gertrude (Naomi Watts), Claudius (Clive Owen), and especially Ophelia.  Hamlet is usually portrayed by an older actor with the gravitas to pull off such a demanding role but, according to the text, he is a young university student who is highly emotional over his father's death and his mother's remarriage.  McKay is the first age-appropriate actor I've seen in the role and I liked his melodramatic take.  Gertrude is one of the most enigmatic characters in literature (I've told my students that when I retire I want to write the story of Hamlet from Gertrude's perspective) and her motivation in this adaptation, namely that her fear of losing her youth and beauty is what makes her susceptible to Claudius' charms, really rings true.  Watts does a good job of showing her desperation and vanity.  There are hints in the text that Claudius is a duplicitous character even before the death of the king and Owen's portrayal is so menacing.  Ophelia is a pawn used by Polonius, Claudius, and Hamlet for their own ends in the play but there is a brief spark of rebellion when Laertes gives her advice about her relationship with Hamlet and she calls him a hypocrite for his own unscrupulous behavior towards women.  This rebellious spirit is emphasized in Ridley’s nuanced portrayal.  Many of Ophelia's most pivotal scenes in the play take on a new meaning and make more sense, most notably in the "get thee to a nunnery" scene and Ophelia's mad scene.  Finally, this movie is beautiful with visuals that evoke the classic painting of the drowned Ophelia by John Millais.  If you are a fan of Hamlet, I am sure you will find this movie quite intriguing and I recommend it.

Fourth of July in Hanna

I spent the Fourth of July with Kristine, Trent, and Sean up at our favorite campground in Hanna.  It was absolutely lovely up in the mountains and it was so relaxing.

We barbecued burgers for dinner and they were delicious.  I think everything tastes so much better outside!

After dinner Sean and I made our traditional flag cake.  I have made this cake every year since I was a teenager!

Sitting around the fire is my very favorite part of camping.

Of course we had to make s'mores!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday filled with fun, friends, and family!

Summer Reading: Something in the Water

I enjoyed Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman, the next selection on my summer reading list, very much. Perhaps I am beginning to sound like a broken record but I couldn't put this one down either! The novel begins very dramatically with one of the characters digging a grave to bury another one and I just had to know what happened to bring this about! Erin is a documentary filmmaker working on a project about criminals reintegrating into society after being released from prison, including Eddie Bishop a notorious crime boss. Her fiance Mark is a successful investment banker but he has recently lost his high-profile job. This necessitates a much more modest wedding than Erin had planned on but their extravagant honeymoon to Bora Bora is already booked so they decide to go any way. While they are scuba diving, they find something in the water which turns out to be a duffel bag containing enough money and diamonds to solve all of their financial woes. They decide to keep it and they set up a Swiss bank account to launder the money and attempt to sell the diamonds through Eddie Bishop. Of course, this decision brings about unexpected consequences and a few twists and turns along the way. After such a dynamic beginning, I found the first third of this novel to be a bit slow with a lot of details that didn't seem to be relevant to the story. Then the action becomes incredibly compelling and the seemingly random details, such as the minutiae surrounding Mark's job in investment banking, what it is like to fly first class, and Eddie Bishop's involvement in organized crime, become important and the tension escalates. I was very intrigued by the premise of the story, especially how easy it is to rationalize dishonest behavior and how easy it is to succumb to greed. It made me think about what I would do if I found myself in similar circumstances! Finally, I really enjoyed Erin's voice in the novel. At first I thought the writing was very haphazard but I eventually came to see Erin as an ordinary person in over her head and that made the dialogue seem more believable. I enjoyed her as a character as a result. This is an intriguing read that will keep you turning the pages until the end and I recommend it.

Note:  Have you read Something in the Water?  What did you think?