Utah Opera's Flight

I usually do not like operas based on contemporary librettos or ones that are sung in English so when Utah Opera announced the 2021-2022 season I was not very interested in Flight.  However, the more I heard about it, the more excited I became to see it.  I had the opportunity last night and, to my surprise, I really loved it.  A Refugee (John Holiday) has been living at an international airport for weeks because he lacks the documentation to leave while a Controller (Abigail Rethwisch) watches everything that happens from high above in her tower.  She enjoys having the power to send planes into the sky while he is powerless.  Soon they are joined by Bill (Daniel O'Hearn) and Tina (Julia Gershkoff), a couple going on a tropical holiday to try and rekindle the spark in their marriage, an insecure Older Woman (Deanne Week) waiting for her much younger fiance, whom she met on holiday in Mallorca, to join her, a Steward (Evan Hammond) and Stewardess (Edith Grossman) involved in a passionate relationship whenever they can find a stolen moment to be together, and the Minskman (Stephen Pace) and his pregnant wife, the Minskwoman (Elise Quagliata), on their way to a diplomatic assignment in Minsk until she has second thoughts about going and he leaves without her.  When a dangerous electrical storm grounds every flight, they are stranded in the terminal together all night.  This brings out the worst in them and the Controller laments the fact that her domain has been invaded by people.  In the morning, when flights are resumed, the Minskman returns because he cannot live without his wife and she goes into labor.  The birth of the child causes everyone to regret their behavior the night before, particularly their behavior towards the Refugee.  When the Immigration Officer (Seth Keeton) arrests the Refugee, many of them intercede on his behalf but the officer is unmoved.  The Refugee then relates how he came to be in the airport which causes the Controller to plead for mercy.  The officer ultimately decides to turn a blind eye and allow him to remain at the airport and, after the others board their flights, the Refugee is welcomed home by the Controller.  I found this narrative to be incredibly compelling and, while I certainly enjoyed the beautiful music and the outstanding performances by everyone in the cast, I loved the search for belonging that is a theme running through every character's arc.  It is very powerful, especially when the Controller finds belonging with the Refugee.  I also loved that the airport represents a sort of limbo (anyone who has ever had a long layover before reaching a destination can attest to this) for the characters which allows for an intriguing exploration of human nature.  The minimalistic set, which is a modern departure lounge of an unnamed international airport with large windows showing a plane on the tarmac, arrival and departure monitors, a gate, a podium, and rows of black seats (which reminded me of those at LAX), is highly effective and the costumes are fun, especially the uniforms worn by the Steward and Stewardess.  Finally, I loved the lighting effects used to mimic the takeoff and landing of a plane.  I am so glad that I gave this opera a chance (I probably would not have gotten a ticket if I wasn't a season subscriber) because I loved it so much more than I thought I would.  There are two more performances (go here for tickets) and I definitely recommend taking a flight with Tri-Star Airlines!

One For the Pot at HCT

Last night I went to see Hale Centre Theatre's production of One For the Pot and it was the second madcap comedy that I've seen in as many days. I was not at all familiar with this show but I love British farces and all of the slamming doors and mistaken identities kept me laughing out loud from beginning to end! Jonathan Hardcastle (Mark Fotheringham) is a wealthy mill owner who is trying to find the son of his former business partner to bestow a large amount of money on him. He places an advertisement in the newspaper asking him to come to his manor to confirm his identity and prove that he is his partner's only living relative. Billy Hickory Woods (Bryan Dayley) and his friend Charlie Barnet (Kyle Baugh), who is pretending to be his lawyer in order to benefit from this bequest, arrive on the day that Hardcastle's daughter Cynthia (Megan Heaps) is celebrating her birthday with a dance organized by Hardcastle's sister Amy (Tamari Dunbar). Hardcastle's lawyer, and Amy's boyfriend, Arnold Piper (David Marsden) is on hand as is Cynthia's latest admirer Clifton Weaver (Jamie Rocha Allan). Hilarity ensues when Billy's heretofore unknown brothers Rupert, Michael, and Francois (all played by Dayley) also show up to claim the money, and romance Cynthia, forcing Charlie to enlist the butler Jugg (Jeff Blake) to keep them away from Hardcastle and Billy's suspicious wife Winnie (Jasmine Fuller). The action becomes more and more frenetic as the situation descends into the absurd with characters running in and out, hiding in unusual locations (my favorite was a window seat), incapacitating each other through various means, and impersonating each other. The physical comedy is absolutely hilarious and I was especially impressed with Dayley (I've seen him in other HCT comedies and he is brilliant) because I have no idea how he was able to exit the stage as one character and enter seconds later as another character! What a workout! Most of the brothers end up wearing the same black tuxedo so they are only differentiated by Dayley with an accent and a facial expression. It was amazing because you could immediately see which character he was playing as soon as he came on stage. I laughed at just about everything he said and did! I was also impressed with Heaps because she is the understudy for all of the female roles and her performance as Cynthia was flawless (once again, I must commend all of the understudies who keep these shows open through the madness). Director Ryan L. Simmons added a live band into the mix with a set that rotates on a turntable between the lounge and the ballroom where they perform during the dance. This play is set in the late 1950s so the music is a lot of fun and the musicians (Byran Matthew Hague on guitar, Daniel Pack on bass, and John Nielsen on drums) are outstanding. The only element that didn't really work for me was the audience participation initiated by Baugh because it seemed a bit forced. Otherwise, this show is a delight and I recommend it for a fun night out.  It runs on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through April 2 (go here for tickets).

The Play That Goes Wrong at CPT

I have attended productions of The Play That Goes Wrong at PTC and HCT and, since it is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen, I was really looking forward to Centerpoint Theatre's version last night. I started laughing before the show even began because the sound and lighting technician was searching the audience for a missing dog and I don't think I stopped until the cast had to manually close the curtain at the end. The titular play that goes wrong is the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society's production of The Murder at Haversham Manor by Susie H. K. Bridewell. The cast includes Max (Tyler Clawson) as Cecil Haversham/ Arthur the Gardener, Chris (Michael Gardner) as Inspector Carter, Jonathan (Blake London) as Charles Haversham, Robert (Dylan Padilla) as Thomas Colleymore, Dennis (Mitchell Gibb) as Perkins the Butler, and Sandra (Niki Waite Padilla) as Florence Colleymore. The Director is Chris, the Stage Manager is Annie (Jenni Cooper), and the Sound and Lighting Director is Trevor (Jacob Sommer). The set is slowly falling apart, the props malfunction or go missing, the sound designer accidentally plays Duran Duran instead of the sound cues, the aforementioned missing dog is never found, one actor cannot stay still while playing the murder victim, one actor cannot remember his lines, one actor constantly breaks the fourth wall to milk the audience for applause, and the leading lady is injured halfway through the show and must be replaced first with Annie and then with Trevor (with scripts in hand) but the show must go on! The physical comedy is absolutely hilarious! My favorite scenes were when Cecil and Thomas have to answer a phone call with their hands full, when Sandra and Annie have a long and drawn out fight for the chance to play Florence, when Cecil and Thomas have a sword fight with broken swords, and when Arthur the Gardner and Trevor (who is playing Florence) have an awkward kiss. The cast is one of the best I have seen at CPT and they all have superb comedic timing but I especially enjoyed Gibb because of his facial expressions. The set is also one of the best I have seen at CPT because it falls apart so spectacularly, particularly the second floor study which is the source of much physical comedy. I highly recommend this show because watching this play fall apart is the perfect distraction from a world that seems to be falling apart. It runs on the Barlow Main Stage through February 12 (go here for tickets).

Note:  Since I've seen this play performed by three different theatre companies in as many years, it was really fun for me to notice the subtle differences in the productions. I particularly enjoyed the different ways a fire was staged.

Scream

Last night my plans were unexpectedly canceled so I decided to see Scream instead.  I had initially been on the fence about seeing it because I am just a casual fan of the franchise but I have to admit that I had a blast with this latest installment!  Twenty-five years after the original murders in Woodsboro, someone wearing the Ghostface mask is once again terrorizing a new group of teens.  After her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega) survives an attack, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) returns to Woodsboro with her boyfriend Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid) and reveals that she is the biological daughter of the original killer Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich).  After subsequent attacks, she realizes that the victims all have a connection to the original killers so she contacts Dewey Riley (David Arquette) for help.  He then notifies Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and the three of them come to suspect Tara's group of friends, including Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding), Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown), Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison), and Liv McKenzie (Sonia Ben Ammar), because that is the formula used in the Stab movies based on events in Woodsboro.  Of course this leads to an epic, and very bloody, conclusion revealing the identities of the killers!  I absolutely loved how meta this movie is about the horror genre and the discussion that Tara has with Ghostface over the phone about the elevated horror found in The Babadook, Hereditary, and The Witch had me laughing out loud (because I love those movies).  I also found the motivation for the killings to be incredibly clever and a spot-on reflection of movie culture today (unfortunately).  Arquette, Campbell, and Cox each have a poignant moment as legacy characters but I really appreciated the fact that they play a secondary role in the plot and that the young cast is allowed to shine (I especially enjoyed Ortega and Barrera).  The kills are absolutely brutal and there were a few moments when I actually jumped in my seat.  I correctly guessed the identity of one of the killers fairly early on (I followed the formula used in the Stab movies) but I enjoyed this movie so much more than I was expecting.  I suspect that hard-core fans of the franchise will love it!

Belle

I am not a huge fan of Japanese anime, mostly because I haven't seen very much of it, but I found the trailer for Belle to be absolutely beautiful so I went to see it last night.  It is a modern retelling of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast and I loved it!  Suzu (Kaho Nakamura) is a quiet and mousy high school student who is still mourning the loss of her mother who died saving the life of a drowning child.  She used to enjoy singing and writing songs with her mother but, since her death, she has lost her love of music.  Her friend Hiro (Lilas Ikuta) encourages her to join a virtual world known as "U" because she can be completely anonymous there.  She is able to channel all of her emotions into writing songs and performing them as her avatar Belle and she becomes very popular until an avatar known as Dragon (Takeru Satoh) interrupts her performance.  A vigilante group, let by Justin (Toshiyuki Morikawa), wants to unveil him (reveal his identity) but Belle is drawn to the pain she sees in him and wants to protect him.  When she and Hiro locate Dragon in the analog world, she realizes that she must reveal her true identity to him in the digital world in order to reach him.  There are so many themes explored in this movie but the one I especially enjoyed is that it is better to be your true self than to hide behind a persona.  This is a theme that really resonates with me (go here, here, and here) and it is portrayed so beautifully when Suzu sings a song in U as herself and Belle's millions of fans support her by singing along with her.  This moment literally took my breath away!  I also enjoyed it when Suzu uses her newly acquired confidence to stand up to some cyberbullies who are harassing her for her friendship with Shinobu (Ryo Narita), the most popular boy at school, and to approach Ruka (Tina Tamashiro), the most popular girl at school.  This suggests that the online world is not necessarily such a bad place because being Belle has helped Suzu find her voice in more ways than one.  Finally, I loved that Suzu's decision to find Kei (the boy using the Dragon avatar) helps her to understand her mother's actions and make peace with her death.  The animation is dazzling (I especially loved all of the fantastical creatures in the virtual world and the ballroom in Dragon's castle where he and Belle have their iconic dance) and the music is incredible (especially "Lend Me Your Voice").  I loved this movie so much and I highly recommend it!

Note:  I saw the subtitled version (which I tend to enjoy more) but there is also an English dubbed version.