The Little Mermaid at Murray Park Amphitheater

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is see a live performance outside under the stars and this was one of the things I missed most last summer when everything was shut down in response to Covid-19.  I am very happy to report that things are starting to open back up and the Murray Arts Council is sponsoring the Arts in the Park series once again this summer!  Marilyn and I took our Mom to see The Little Mermaid at the Murray Park Amphitheater last night and it was so much fun!  It has been incredibly hot in the Salt Lake Valley the past few weeks (we have even broken quite a few heat records) but it was actually quite pleasant to sit outside and the show was delightful.  Community theatre is always a little bit quirky but so many aspects of this production made me smile!  Kat Hawley Cook and Thomas Sant were wonderful as Ariel and Prince Eric, respectively, and they both had beautiful voices and great chemistry together but my favorites from the cast were Quentin Hedges as Sebastian and Alan LaFleur as Ursula.  Hodges was incredibly charismatic and his renditions of "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl" were definitely highlights for me.  LaFleur, who also co-directed and choreographed the show, was absolutely hilarious in his characterization of Ursula as a sea witch in drag and I loved his over-the-top costume with black and purple sequins on tentacles that could be manipulated with his arms!  There were also some really fun effects, such as Ariel and her sisters (Olympia Pead, Alice Maphey, Chelsea West, Gretchen Divine, Camille Jensen, and Anna Roelofs) gliding around the stage on heelys (shoes with wheels) and thousands of bubbles blowing in the audience during "Under the Sea."  The costumes for the various sea creatures, especially the jelly fish made out of clear umbrellas, were quite innovative and the sets, particularly Prince Eric's ship and Ursula's reef, were very impressive.  We all definitely enjoyed this production (every time I looked at my Mom she had a huge grin on her face) and I hope it is the first of many outdoor performances this summer!

Note:  Unfortunately, last night was the final performance of The Little Mermaid but there are lots of other shows scheduled at the amphitheater this summer (go here for more information).

Newsies at CPT

At one point Newsies was at the top of the list of musicals that I most wanted to see. I was finally able to see it at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles several years ago and I have seen it multiple times since but it still gives me a thrill so I was really excited to see Centerpoint Theatre's version last night. It is a fantastic production and I really enjoyed it! A group of newspaper delivery boys, or "newsies," led by Jack Kelly (Matt Taylor), decide to go on strike when publisher Joseph Pulitzer (Rick Murdock) raises the price of newspapers. With a little help from a fledgling reporter named Katherine Plumber (Jordan Petersen), the newsies get the attention of Governor Theodore Roosevelt (Rob Severinsen) and score a victory for all of the working children in New York. The cast is really strong and I especially liked Taylor's version of "Santa Fe" because he sings it with such longing and Petersen's version of "Watch What Happens" because she is so determined to succeed but also shows a bit of vulnerability. Soren Ray is absolutely adorable as Les and steals every scene he is in and Brandon Smith, as Crutchie, is incredibly affecting in the song "Letter from the Refuge." I was also impressed with the ensemble because they shine in the big numbers "Carrying the Banner," "The World Will Know" (it is my favorite song in the show and I still get goosebumps every time I hear it), "Seize the Day," "King of New York," and "Once and For All." The choreography in this show is quite challenging, with athletic leaps and spins in unison and intricate footwork (sometimes involving newspapers), but the cast does an outstanding job, particularly Nick Crapo (Davey) who tap dances on top of a table in "King of New York." I think the appreciative audience applauded for every single leap and all of the kids eagerly collected the newspapers thrown into the crowd during "Seize the Day" at intermission! The set, which consists of metal towers with multiple levels that are seamlessly moved in and out and reconfigured multiple times, is simple but effective and I liked the use of large screens on either side of the stage to show the headlines as they are written as well as Jack's drawings. Everything about this production is very well done and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs on the Barlow Main Stage through July 19.

The Sparks Brothers

The main reason that I wanted to see The Sparks Brothers, the documentary by Edgar Wright about the rock and pop duo Sparks, is because Ron and Russell Mael wrote the music for the upcoming movie Annette.  I have been anticipating this movie, a rock opera starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, since I first heard about it several years ago and I have become obsessed with the first single,"So May We Start," because it is absolutely brilliant.  I didn't really know anything else about the band.  However, while watching the documentary last night, I was quite surprised to recognize so many songs, particularly "Angst in My Pants," "Cool Places," and "Music That You Can Dance To," because I had no idea that they were by Sparks.  I found it fascinating that I pretty much conform to Wright's thesis that Sparks is one of the most influential and innovative bands in the business that nobody knows about!  The film chronicles Ron and Russell's youth in southern California (everyone thinks they are British), their college days at UCLA, their early influences (including the bands from the 1960s British invasion and the films of the French new wave), their early collaboration with Todd Rundgren (who was their first producer), and the making of each of their 25 albums (for which they reinvented themselves and their sound without regard to sales or critical response).  There are interviews with Ron and Russell (whose deadpan wit and back and forth banter had me laughing out loud) as well as what seems like hundreds of musicians, actors, directors, and comedians who all profess their love of and devotion to the band.  I especially loved it when members of Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, and Erasure talked about how much they were inspired by Sparks.  Interspersed between the interviews (which are in black and white) is archival footage (in color) spanning 50 years of creative and dynamic performances.  Wright also employs several different quirky animation techniques to highlight key moments in their career and this is incredibly effective at portraying Sparks' unique visual style.  I really enjoyed this documentary and I have now become a huge fan of the band (I love people who are unapologetically themselves without regard to public opinion).  I highly recommend it even if you don't know anything about Sparks!

Note:  My friend didn't know anything about Sparks either and only wanted to see this because he loves Edgar Wright!  I suspect that he has also become a fan of the band because he kept getting out his phone to download songs throughout the whole film (I downloaded "When Do I Get To Sing My Way," "The Number One Song in Heaven," and "My Baby's Taking Me Home").

In the Heights

I have seen the stage musical In the Heights several times and I love it so I have been anticipating the movie adaptation for what seems like forever (since the pandemic postponed the release for over a year).  I finally had the chance to see it last night and it is brilliant!  I loved it so much and I am sure that I will need to see it multiple times in the theater!  Washington Heights is a vibrant community where its many residents, under the watchful eye of Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz, who originated the role on Broadway), pursue their dreams for a better future.  Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) owns a bodega but dreams of returning to the Dominican Republic to restore his father's hotel.  His nephew Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV) is undocumented but hopes to become a citizen as a DREAMer (this is the biggest change from the musical but it is incredibly powerful).  Nina (Leslie Grace) returns to the neighborhood after her freshman year at Stanford but is thinking of giving up on her dream because she struggles to fit in with her wealthy and privileged classmates.  Benny (Corey Hawkins) wants a relationship with Nina, and wants to be accepted by her protective father Kevin (Jimmy Smits), but he doesn't want to hold her back (the lack of a serous conflict between Benny and Kevin is another change from the musical).  Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) works at a salon but dreams of moving downtown and becoming a fashion designer.  Abuela Claudia becomes an inspiration for them all as they come to realize what they really want.  This adaptation brings the musical to life in a joyful celebration of community with dynamic performances by all four leads and an exuberant staging of the musical numbers!  I was especially impressed by Ramos who is incredibly endearing (and sounds so much like Lin-Manuel Miranda who originated the role of Usnavi) and I found Daphne Rubin-Vega to be an absolute hoot as Daniela, the owner of the salon.  There are also a lot of really fun cameos (many with Hamilton references), such as the aforementioned Miranda as the Piraguero (stay for a post-credits scene with him), Christopher Jackson as Mr. Softee, Seth Stewart as a bartender, Marc Anthony as Sonny's father, Patrick Page (sigh) as the buyer for Rosario's, and Javier Munoz as a resident.  I really loved all of the big musical numbers but "96,000" is a showstopper that pays homage to all of the big Hollywood musicals of the past, "Alabanza" is incredibly affecting and had me openly weeping, and "When the Sun Goes Down," which is one of my favorites from the musical, is absolutely magical.  I could go on gushing about this amazing movie but you should probably stop reading right now and go see it for yourself!  I guarantee that you will leave the theater with a big smile on your face!

Note:  Speaking of Hamilton, pay close attention to the music playing when Kevin is on hold with Stanford.  I giggled with delight but I was the only one in my screening.

The Maidens

My Book of the Month selection for June was The Maidens by Alex Michaelides (the other options were Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon, Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie, Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian, and Mailbu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid). I haven't read The Silent Patient, the acclaimed debut novel by Michaelides, but I was, nevertheless, very eager to read this selection because I love atmospheric psychological thrillers and I was intrigued by the allusions to Greek mythology. Unfortunately, I was incredibly disappointed. Mariana is a psychotherapist with a small practice living in London. She is still reeling from the death of her husband Sebastian who drowned while the two of them were vacationing on the island of Naxos over a year ago. She receives a troubling call from her niece Zoe, a student at Cambridge University, with the news that her friend Tara has been brutally murdered. Because Zoe is so distraught, she travels to Cambridge to comfort her and becomes involved in the investigation when someone whom she believes is innocent is arrested. She suspects Edward Fosca, a charismatic professor of Greek tragedy, when she learns that Tara belonged to a select group of students under his tutelage, known as the Maidens, who worship the Greek goddesses Demeter and Persephone and perform rituals involving death and rebirth. She becomes obsessed with proving Fosca's guilt but there are plenty of suspects when her own life is threatened. I found Mariana to be a really frustrating protagonist because she makes such bad decisions, especially considering the fact that she is a therapist, and her insertion into the murder mystery is incredibly contrived. All of the other characters, especially the eventual murderer, are very thinly developed and their motivations are unclear which makes the big plot twist seem to come from nowhere. The aforementioned allusions to Greek mythology, as well as the allusions to The Duchess of Malfi and the poetry of Tennyson, are interesting but prove to be nothing more than bits of misdirection once the mystery is solved. A major theme of the novel is the effect that childhood trauma can have on future criminal behavior but it is not explored in any meaningful way because there is no resolution for the specific character involved which I found very exasperating. It is atmospheric and foreboding but, with all of the hype surrounding this novel, I expected so much more.

Note:  I wish I had selected Half Sick of Shadows instead (it was my second choice).