Bright Star at HCTO

I fell in love with the musical Bright Star when I saw a production at PTC a few years ago which featured most of the original Broadway cast, including Carmen Cusack as Alice Murphy.  I was, therefore, really excited to see this show at HCT Orem last night and I loved what they did with it!  The story takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina during the 1920s and just after World War II.  After the war, Billy Cane (Zack Elzey) briefly returns to his hometown of Hayes Creek to visit his father (Sanford Porter) and his childhood friend Margot (Maren Miller) but he soon decides to try writing for a magazine in Asheville where he meets the uptight editor, Alice Murphy (Anya Young Wilson), who once made Hemingway cry.  When Daryl (Dayne Joyner) and Lucy (Kelsey Phillips Harrison), staff members at the magazine, tease Alice about her boring existence, she transforms in front of our eyes into a wild and rebellious young girl in the small town of Zubulon.  She begins a romance with Jimmy Ray Dobbs (Benjamin Henderson), much to the chagrin of his father Mayor Josiah Dobbs (Stephen Kerr) who tries to separate them.  The narrative alternates between the two timelines as Alice suffers an unimaginable loss and then is unexpectedly made whole again.  The story is very powerful and heartwarming with amazing bluegrass music written by Edie Brickell and Steve Martin.  My favorite songs are "If You Knew My Story," "Asheville," "Sun's Gonna Shine," and "I Had a Vision."  Wilson has a beautiful voice and her emotional rendition of "Please Don't Take Him" brought tears to my eyes.  When she first appears on stage as the older Alice I was so impressed by her portrayal of the emotionally restrained professional woman that I wondered if she would be able to pull off the reckless teenage girl but she transitions seamlessly between the two with just a change in expression (and some quick costume changes).  The rest of the cast is really strong but the other standouts for me were Miller, as a young woman afraid that she will lose the one she loves to the big city, and Kerr, as a father who thinks he is doing the right thing for his son.  The staging of this show in such a small and intimate space is so clever!  The set includes the facade of a rustic cabin with a fenced in porch, where a three piece band (featuring Braden Williams on fiddle, Marcus Williams on mandolin, and Taylon Mann on banjo) performs, as well as an attached platform and a grassy area where the action takes place with the addition of portable set pieces and projections to denote the bookstore where Margot works and the office of the magazine.  I also really liked the use of vintage light bulbs. The members of the ensemble move props on and off stage very effectively and I was really impressed with how a key moment on a train is portrayed.  This is a wonderful production that should not be missed (go here for tickets).

The Batman

Last night I had the opportunity to see an early screening of The Batman and I had so much fun!  The giant IMAX theater was completely sold out (which I haven't seen happen since The Force Awakens) and full of boisterous fans, many in costume, who cheered throughout and applauded at the end!  This movie is one of my most anticipated this year and, after seeing so many positive reviews, I was super hyped which sometimes leads to disappointment.  I am happy to report that it exceeded all of my expectations!  Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) is a virtual recluse but his alter ego Batman is a vigilante fighting crime in Gotham City.  He has a working relationship with Lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) who summons him to the crime scene of a brutal murder because the killer, known as the Riddler (Paul Dano), has left him a personal message.  His investigation of the clues left by the Riddler at each subsequent crime scene brings him in contact with a cat burglar named Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz), uncovers city-wide corruption involving a mobster named Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and his henchman Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot (Colin Farrell), and reveals uncomfortable truths about his family before an epic confrontation.  I really liked the darker tone.  It feels more like a classic noir thriller with a brooding protagonist and a setting that is grounded in gritty realism rather than a stylized superhero action movie.  The story is absolutely riveting and, in my opinion, the almost three hour runtime flies by.  I especially enjoyed Bruce Wayne's character arc as a man almost broken by the weight of living up to his parents' legacy to finally accepting their fallibility and Batman's journey from exacting vengeance to becoming a symbol of hope for Gotham City.  I was also really struck by a similarity between the characters of Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, and Edward Nashton (who becomes the Riddler) because their reactions to their experiences are very telling.  Pattinson is brilliant in the role (I think he is very underrated as an actor) and the way he uses his eyes under the cowl to convey emotion is incredibly effective.  I enjoyed the juxtaposition between his more explosive performance as Batman with his restraint as Bruce Wayne because it really shows that he has been using his alter ego as a means of coping with his traumatic past.  He only feels alive when he is the Batman.  The rest of the cast is also outstanding but Dano is truly terrifying as the Riddler and Kravitz is the most realistic Catwoman I've seen on screen.  I loved this movie's version of the Batsuit because it actually looks like something that Bruce Wayne could have made himself and there are some fantastic gadgets.  The action sequences are exciting and intense, particularly a fight in a subway station, an epic car chase involving the Batmobile that ends in flames, and Batman's use of a wingsuit to escape from the police station (this prompted the loudest cheers from the audience).  The images on the screen are absolutely gorgeous and I particularly enjoyed the use of the color red.  Finally, I really loved the atmospheric score by Michael Giacchino, especially a motif that is repeatedly used for the Riddler (I kept wondering if that was really what I was hearing which lead to an incredible "aha" moment).  I loved this movie so much and I will definitely be seeing it again!

Cyrano

I always enjoy seeing the play Cyrano De Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (I have been fortunate enough to see both Patrick Page and Brian Vaughn in the title role in productions at PTC and the Utah Shakespeare Festival, respectively) and I am a huge fan of director Joe Wright (especially for Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, and Anna Karenina) so I was beyond excited when I found out about his latest movie, Cyrano, especially since it is a musical.  Having it be delayed again and again was extremely frustrating for me because I wanted to see it so badly but I finally had the chance last night.  As predicted, I absolutely loved it!  Roxanne (Haley Bennett) is a penniless young woman who is being encouraged to marry the wealthy Count de Guiche (Ben Mendelsohn) by her maid Marie (Monica Dolan) but she wants more.  Her childhood friend Cyrano de Bergerac (Peter Dinklage), a poet and cadet in the French army, is in love with her but does not reveal his feelings because he believes that his physical appearance will keep her from loving him in return.  She falls in love at first sight with Christian de Neuvillette (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), a new recruit in Cyrano's regiment.  Because he loves her, Cyrano agrees to take him under his wing and tells him of Roxanne's wish that he write to her.  Christian is also in love with Roxanne but he lacks the wit and intelligence to woo her the way she wants so Cyrano offers to write the letters himself but they express his feelings rather than Christian's.  Roxanne loves Cyrano's words but can she love him?  Despite the theme of unrequited love, I think the story is incredibly romantic and Dinklage gives a brilliant performance, one of his best, as a man afraid to take a risk for love.  It is heartbreaking to watch!  Bennett and Harrison are also very good and I was quite impressed by their singing voices.  I really enjoyed the songs, especially "Someone to Say," "Every Letter," and "I Need More," and the choreography is so organic that you can almost imagine it happening in real life.  I particularly loved the staging of "Someone to Say" when the soldiers parry and thrust in perfect syncopation with the music, of "Every Letter" when letters flutter all around Roxanne and Cyrano as they read and write them, and of "Overcome" when Cyrano is finally able to speak of his love to Roxanne because he is hidden from view as she stands on her balcony.  The images on the screen are beautiful with sumptuous costumes and lavish production design and I loved the use of light and shadow.  This movie is so good that it was almost worth the wait and I highly recommend it.

Note:  I have already pre-ordered the blu-ray even though there is not a release date yet!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in Concert

Last night the Utah Symphony performed Nicholas Hooper's score for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince while showing the movie as part of its Films in Concert Series and it was so much fun!  It was such an immersive experience with lots of audience participation.  There was a house roll call (three cheers for Ravenclaw) before the show and then boisterous applause when every main character appeared on the screen (the loudest was, rather unexpectedly, for Professor McGonagall).  This particular movie is one of my favorites in the franchise because the tone is much darker and the stakes are higher for every character.  As Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) begin year six at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) convinces a former potions professor named Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) to return to the school.  He enlists Harry's help to get Slughorn to reveal a secret about Tom Riddle which could help them stop Voldemort's reign of terror. Meanwhile, Draco (Tom Felton) is also given a dangerous assignment which eventually brings tragedy to Hogwarts and suspicion upon Snape (Alan Rickman).  The ominous score reflects this darker tone, particularly in "Snape & the Unbreakable Vow," "Into the Pensieve," "Malfoy's Mission," "The Drink of Despair," and "Inferi in the Firestorm."  There are also some some really fun and exuberant themes, such as "Wizard Wheezes" and "Ron's Victory," which provide some comic relief.  I really loved the harp in "Harry & Hermione" because it is such a poignant moment in the movie since, even though the relationship woes are meant to be lighthearted, this is when the characters admit that they have feelings for Ginny and Ron, respectively.  I also loved the cello in "Dumbledore's Farewell" because it is so mournful as the students raise their wands in tribute (this scene always gives me goosebumps).  The music really provides so much of the tension and emotion in this movie so hearing it performed live added much to the experience of watching it.  If you have never attended one of these concerts, I highly recommend doing so!  Conductor Conner Covington teased that the final two movies in the franchise might be coming next season!  I can't wait until the 2022-2023 season announcement to see what the films will be!

Big Fish at the Empress

I enjoyed the Empress Theatre's production of Daddy Long Legs so much I decided to see their latest show, Big Fish, last night.  It didn't quite live up to Daddy Long Legs (which set the bar really high) but I thoroughly enjoyed it!  Will Bloom (Austin Payne) has always been exasperated by all of the wild stories that his father Edward (Jeff Pashley) tells him.  These include hearing his fortune told by a witch (Mya Sanchez) in a swamp, learning how to swim from a mermaid (Audrey Kocherans), befriending a giant (Owen Pashley), running away to the circus, wooing a young woman (Amber Ellington) with daffodils, and stopping the assassination attempt of a general during the war.  As he is about to become a father himself, he learns that his father is dying of cancer and returns home to attempt a reconciliation with him.  After a Wild West confrontation between the two of them, Will discovers that the truth about his father is even more extraordinary than the stories.  The songs in this show are a lot of fun because they bring all of Edward's fantastical stories to life and I was really impressed with how well they are staged in such a small space with a very minimalistic set.  My favorite numbers were "Be the Hero," "Ashton's Favorite Son," "Daffodils," and "Red, White, and True."  This is a very complicated show technically with many different costume changes and multiple props moving on and off stage and I thought the transitions went very smoothly, especially so early in the run.  The majority of the cast members are much better singers than actors but they are very earnest and give it their all so you can't help but be enchanted by their performances.  It is a little bit quirky (all community theatre is a bit quirky) but the heartwarming story of a son trying to understand his father and a father trying to make his son proud is sure to please everyone.  It runs through March 12 and tickets, which are very reasonable, can be purchased here.