Utah Opera's Silent Night

Last night I had the opportunity to see Utah Opera's wonderful production of Silent Night which depicts an actual ceasefire that happened on Christmas Eve in 1914.  World War I is very meaningful to me because of my great-grandfather so I knew that I would enjoy this opera but I absolutely loved it because every aspect of this production is outstanding.  I was moved to tears multiple times.  In Berlin, an opera performance featuring Nikolaus Sprink (Andrew Stenson) and Anna Sorensen (Abigail Rethwisch) is interrupted by the news that Germany is at war.  In a small town in Scotland, William Dale (Stephen Pace) dreams of glory and urges his younger brother Jonathan (Jonathan Johnson) to enlist with him.  In Paris, Madeleine Audebert (Quinn Middleman) is angry that her husband (Efrain Solis) is leaving to go to war while she is pregnant with their first child.  The war commences with some dramatic sequences, including an ill-fated battle between the German, Scottish, and French troops where William is shot.  Jonathan is forced to leave him behind and is comforted by Father Palmer (Troy Cook).  Lieutenant Audebert writes his report of the battle and laments that he has lost his wife's photo (in an incredibly beautiful aria that moved me to tears and not for the last time).  Nikolaus sings of his despair to his memory of Anna.  As all of the soldiers go to sleep, snow begins softly falling (it is a beautiful image).   Anna has arranged for Nikolaus to perform with her for the Kronprinz on Christmas Eve but, after the performance, he insists that he must return to his men so she joins him on the battlefield.  He hears the Scottish regiment singing (with bagpipes) a song filled with longing for home so he begins singing a German Christmas carol.  Soon all of the soldiers are singing, prompting the leaders of the three regiments to meet in no-man's land to arrange a ceasefire for Christmas Eve.  Father Palmer leads them in a mass and then Anna sings an a capella song of peace by candlelight (another beautiful moment that moved me to tears).  My audience literally held their breath through this song and then there was an audible sigh when all of the candles were blown out.  In the morning the ceasefire is over and Jonathan is almost shot in no-man's land.  When it is discovered that he was burying William's body, the leaders once again agree to a ceasefire so that each regiment can bury their dead.  All of the soldiers salute the dead and then there is a plaintive sound of a bagpipe (this just about did me in).  The soldiers come to see the futility of war but each regiment is berated by their commanding officer and ordered to resume the hostilities.  The story is incredibly poignant, the music is simply gorgeous (particularly the music depicting a sunrise on the battlefield), and every singer gives a lovely performance (I was especially impressed with Rethwisch and Solis).  The costumes and all of the props are authentic to the period (I was impressed with the number of guns) and I really enjoyed the use of projections (especially during the battle sequences.)  The Scottish, French, and German bunkers are made of granite and are placed in three tiers on top of each other.  (Spoiler alert!)  These tiers are then transformed into a monument to the fallen at the end of the opera and when the last soldiers leave the stage they reveal poppies at the edge of it (moving me once more to tears).  This opera is beautiful, moving, and very powerful!  I highly recommend getting a ticket to one of the two performances remaining (go here).

The Irishman

Because I watched The Irishman last night, I have now seen all of the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture (click on the titles for my commentaries on Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood,  Parasite,  Little Women,  Jojo Rabbit,  Joker,  Ford v Ferrari,  1917,  and Marriage Story).  I really wish that I had been able to see The Irishman when it screened at the Broadway because I was very distracted watching it at home on Netflix.  It is three and half hours long and, while it is filled with brilliant performances, it is definitely a slow burn.  Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a veteran of the Anzio Campaign in World War II, is an elderly man living out his final days in a nursing home.  He begins recounting his experiences as a hitman for the Bufalino crime family to an unseen listener.  The action then moves back and forth between a long and meandering cross-country road trip, that is incredibly portentous, and the chronological accumulation of detail telling of how Sheeran comes to be on this road trip.  He is a driver for a meat company and begins stealing from the company's shipments to sell to a local gangster (Bobby Canavale).  When he is caught, he is successfully defended by union lawyer Bill Bufalino (Ray Romano) who introduces him to his cousin Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), the head of a well-known Pennsylvania crime family.  He makes himself useful to Russell and other members of the crime family and eventually becomes their top hitman.  Russell then introduces him to his associate Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and he becomes his friend and bodyguard while Hoffa deals with a threat from a rising teamster (Stephen Graham) and a witch hunt by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (Jack Huston).  Eventually, Hoffa becomes a loose cannon and the Bufalino family sends Sheeran to deal with him.  He is a dispassionate killer but when he comes to the end of his life Sheeran is melancholy, alone, and alienated from his daughters.  He tries to find a measure of solace by confessing to a priest but he ultimately feels no remorse.  Because Sheeran is such a cold-blooded killer, most of the action sequences seem oddly flat (which is why I found it to be a bit boring) and visually uninspiring.  Also, given the circumstances surrounding Jimmy Hoffa's "disappearance" and the lack of corroboration in the real Sheeran's account I thought it was odd that Scorsese chose to portray a certain scene at face value.  A little ambiguity would have been more interesting, in my opinion.  Much has been made of the digital de-aging techniques used on the main cast and I did find it a bit distracting at first but, eventually, I didn't even notice it any more.  It goes without saying that both De Niro and Pacino are amazing; however, I was most impressed with the quiet restraint (which is terrifying) in Pesci's performance because he is normally so bombastic.  I also really enjoyed Anna Pacquin as Sheeran's estranged daughter because, even though she has almost no dialogue, she is essentially his missing conscience and her scenes are very powerful.  This movie is an almost heartbreaking meditation on confronting mortality but it takes a long time to get there so I recommend seeing it in a theater (it will probably be re-released in conjunction with the Oscars) where there will be fewer distractions.

Note:  Now that I have seen all of the nominees, my pick for Best Picture is 1917.  It is remarkable!  Go see it!

Marriage Story

The Academy Award nominations were announced yesterday and I have seen all of the nominees for Best Picture (click on the titles for my commentaries on Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood, Parasite, Little Women, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Ford v Ferrari, and 1917) except two of them and, luckily, both of are currently streaming on Netflix.  Since I always like to see all of the nominees, I decided to watch Marriage Story last night and I thought it was a thoughtful exploration of a relationship that has disintegrated with incredible performances from Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson.  Charlie (Driver) is a brilliant theatre director in New York City and his wife Nicole (Johansson) is a former Hollywood star who relocated to New York to be with him and star in his productions.  At first she was the main draw for the fledgling theatre company but now he has become the toast of the town and she is feeling more and more insignificant.  When Nicole is offered a pilot for a TV show in Los Angeles she decides to take it and wants them to move there with their eight-year-old son Henry (Azhy Robertson).  Charlie wants the family to stay in New York and this exacerbates all of the underlying problems within the marriage.  They initially agree to handle the divorce themselves in an amicable manner but Nicole is advised by a producer on her show to hire Nora Fanshaw (Laura Dern) which causes Charlie to hire Jay Marotta (Ray Liotta) in retaliation and it quickly becomes acrimonious.  When things spiral out of control the two of them try to work it out themselves leading to an incredibly visceral confrontation.  What is extraordinary about this movie is that both characters are highly sympathetic.  Nicole just wants to have a voice again after years of being taken for granted and Charlie feels blindsided by Nicole's decision and doesn't want to lose his son.  They are both inherently decent people (as evidenced in the opening voice-over where they talk about what they love about each other) who end up doing terrible things in the name of winning and their journey to redemption is very compelling.  Johansson is as vulnerable as I have ever seen her, particularly when she talks about meeting Charlie for the first time, and Dern gives another fantastic performance, especially in a speech about the double standard for mothers.  However, I was blown away by Driver (I hope he wins Best Actor).  He is brilliant when he sings "Being Alive" in a piano bar after signing the divorce papers but he is also so heartbreaking in the quieter moments, such as when he sees that his pictures have been removed from his mother-in-law's house and when he reads Nicole's letter.  This is a movie that will make you laugh and cry and I highly recommend it.

Note:  My review of The Irishman (also streaming on Netflix) is coming tomorrow.

Escape to Margaritaville in Las Vegas

I received a season subscription to Broadway Las Vegas for Christmas (I think the Smith Center is a fantastic venue and I don't mind the drive from SLC to Las Vegas) and the first show was Escape to Margaritaville last night.  The story is basically the lyrics to Jimmy Buffet's classic song "Margaritaville" but it features a lot of other Jimmy Buffet songs and it was a lot of fun!  Tully (Chris Clark) is wasting away as the singer at the Margaritaville Hotel and Resort on a tropical island.  He enjoys island life because his relationships with women only last for as long as they are on vacation.  Tammy (Shelly Lynn Walsh) and Rachel (Sarah Hinrichsen) travel to the island for one last fling before Tammy gets married.  Rachel is driven and uptight but Tully is able to get her to relax and they spend the whole week together.  Meanwhile, Tammy begins a flirtation with the bartender Brick (Peter Michael Jordan).  In addition, J.D. (Patrick Cogan), a beach bum who is perpetually searching for his lost shaker of salt, tries to woo Marley (Rachel Lyn Fobbs), the owner of the hotel.  When it is time for the women to go home, Tully realizes that he is in love with Rachel and Tammy is having second thoughts about her upcoming wedding.  When a volcano threatens the island, Tully and Brick decide to find Rachel and Tammy but will the women feel the same when they are not on island time?  It is really clever how Buffet's songs are incorporated into the story, especially "License to Chill," "Fins," "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," "Changes in Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes," "Margaritaville," "Come Monday," and "One Particular Harbor."  I did think that "Cheeseburger in Paradise" was a little cheesy (pun intended) but my very favorite number was "Why Don't We Get Drunk" because it involved some audience participation for one particular word!  The singing and dancing were great and I enjoyed watching the incredibly talented band on stage (I really love steel drums).  This wasn't the greatest musical I have ever seen but it was such a blast watching it with a boisterous crowd filled with Jimmy Buffet fans (many were dressed for the islands) and quick road trips to Las Vegas are always a lot of fun!

1917

I have had a lifelong fascination with World War I (my great-grandfather was wounded in the Battle of Ypres and left for dead on the battlefield until he was found alive by his brother) so I have been anticipating the movie 1917 for months.  I was finally able to see it last night with my Dad and the hype is real!  This movie is absolutely brilliant!  At the height of WWI in northern France, General Erinmore (Colin Firth) sends two young soldiers, Lance Corporal Will Schofield (George MacKay) and Lance Corporal Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), on a desperate mission across no-man's land to deliver a message to Colonel Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch).  Thinking that the German forces are on the run, Mackenzie is about to attack but Erinmore has received aerial reconnaissance photos that show the Germans are waiting to ambush the regiment.  Communications have been cut so Schofield and Blake are the only hope to avoid the massacre of 1600 soldiers, including Blake's older brother.  Everything about this movie is outstanding!  The story about the futility of war is compelling and full of so much pathos that I was crying uncontrollably by the end of it (aspects of the story reminded me of my very favorite movie Gallipoli which is what started my tears).  MacKay gives an astonishing and physically grueling performance as a jaded soldier who initially doesn't want to go on the mission because he has seen action at the Somme but eventually finds a meaningful reason to continue.  His character's arc is incredibly profound and the final shot had me crying once again.  The action is intense and completely immersive (it is as if you are in the trenches with the soldiers) due to the elaborately choreographed camera shots which give the impression of one long and continuous take.  It is a technical achievement that left me stunned.  I have long been a fan of Roger Deakins (I loved the cinematography in Blade Runner 2049) and his use of light and shadow while Schofield runs through the bombed out city of Ecoust is mesmerizing.  I also loved the evocative score by Thomas Newman because it adds so much to the intensity and emotion.  I highly recommend this movie (both my Dad and I want to see it again) and, even though the nominations haven't been announced yet, it is my pick for the Best Picture Academy Award!