The Sound of Music at the Empress

Last night I went to the Empress Theatre for the first of three productions of The Sound of Music that I have scheduled this year.  Obviously I really love this show (although I actually prefer the 1965 movie starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer to the stage musical) and I had so much fun watching an aspiring nun sent to be the governess to the seven children of Captain von Trapp bring music back into his household.  I love every song (they are all so instantly recognizable and I really had to try hard not to sing along), particularly "The Sound of Music," "Maria," "My Favorite Things," "Do-Re-Mi," "Edelweiss," "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," and "Somthing Good."  Laura Strong, who plays Maria, has a really beautiful voice (although there were lots of problems with her microphone) and I really enjoyed her interactions with the von Trapp children, Liesl (Kimberly Allred), Friedrich (Sam Selcho), Louisa (Brynlee Dalton), Kurt (Bridger Dalton), Birgitta (Mabel Utley), Marta (Roux Carter), and Gretl (Daphne Carter).  All of these young actors do a wonderful job, especially in "The Lonely Goatherd" and "So Long, Farewell."  I wish that there had been more interaction between Strong and and Don Smith, as Captain von Trapp, because their romance seems to come out of nowhere but I think that is a problem with the show itself rather than the actors.  Kacee Mickelsen, as the Mother Abbess, and Morgan Hekking, as Baroness Schrader, are the other standouts from the cast because they both are very powerful (even though Mickelsen also had issues with her microphone).  I really enjoyed the choreography, especially the entrance of the nuns in the opening number and the interplay between Liesl and Rolf (Patrick Hawkins) in "Sixteen Going on Seventeen."  The entire space is utilized very effectively, especially the stairs and the areas behind the top row of seats which feature a beautiful mural of mountains (it felt like we were actually sitting in the middle of the Alps), and I particularly loved the final scene as the vop Trapps climb to freedom.  This is the most elaborate set I've seen at the Empress and I was quite impressed with both the abbey and the von Trapp mansion.  Community theatre can sometimes be very quirky but this show equals many professional productions I've seen.  My only complaints are the aforementioned issues with the microphones and some of the transitions run a bit long (all of which will probably be resolved as the run continues).  I highly recommend this show which runs through April 16 (go here for tickets).

Note:  There was a couple sitting across the stage from me who were very obviously the parents of one of the children.  They literally beamed every time the children were on stage and I thought that was so sweet!

Noises Off at the Grand Theatre

Noises Off is one of my very favorite plays and I have seen it many times, including productions at PTC and the Utah Shakespeare Festival, so I was thrilled when I found out that the Grand Theatre was performing it this season.  I saw it last night and it wasn't quite up to par with those other productions but I definitely enjoyed it.  Lloyd Dallas (David Hanson), a temperamental and sarcastic director, is staging a play called Nothing's On starring Dotty Otley (JJ Neward), an aging television star, as Mrs. Clackett, Gary Lejeune (Nick Dunn), a scatterbrained actor incapable of improvising, as Roger Tramplemain, Brooke Ashton (Taylor McKay Barnes), a young and inexperienced actress involved with Lloyd, as Vicki, Frederick Fellowes (Michael Scott Johnson), an insecure and accident prone actor, as Philip Brent, Belinda Blair (Amy Williams), a reliable actress who knows all of the gossip about the cast, as Flavia Brent, and Selsdon Mowbray (Richard Scott), an accomplished actor who has a drinking problem and a tendency to miss his cues, as the Burglar.  Poppy Norton-Taylor (Anne Louise Brings) is the put-upon assistant stage manager who is also involved with Lloyd and Tim Allgood (Alvaro Cortez) is the overworked stage manager tasked with fixing every problem.  Act I involves a disastrous dress rehearsal before opening night involving missing props, a malfunctioning set, an actor questioning his character’s motivation, and a missing contact lens.  Act II takes place backstage while the show is on tour and features the deterioration of a relationship between Dotty and Gary where they do everything to sabotage each other's performance and Lloyd's ill-fated attempts to keep both Poppy and Brooke happy (and multiple attempts to have Tim buy them flowers).  Act III takes place at the end of the run and features a complete breakdown with the actors ad-libbing the entire scene.  I thought the performances were a bit uneven and the pace was sometimes sluggish (especially in the first act) but the physical comedy throughout had me laughing out loud.  I especially enjoyed it when Gary has a spectacular fall down the stairs (the audience spontaneously applauded after this), when two different understudies play the Burglar after Selsdon misses his cue and then finally enters, and when Frederick tries to perform with a head injury and a broken arm.  The elaborate set, especially backstage, and the costumes work really well for a play-within-in-play that fails so dramatically.  It has flaws but it is a lot of fun!  It runs at the Grand Theatre on the south campus of Salt Lake Community College through April 16 and tickets may be purchased here.

X

Last night I finally had the chance to see X and it was not at all what I was expecting.  It was so much better!  A group of free-spirited filmmakers decide to make an adult film in the late 1970s.  Maxine (Mia Goth) is hoping to use this film to escape her mundane existence and become a star, Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) and Jackson Hole (Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi) are more seasoned performers in it for the thrill, Maxine's boyfriend Wayne (Martin Henderson) is a wannabe producer hoping to cash in on the burgeoning home video market, RJ (Owen Campbell) is an idealistic director who believes that porn can be elevated into serious art, and Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) is RJ's timid girlfriend who disapproves of the genre but acts as his sound technician.  They travel to a remote farm in rural Texas to stay as paying guests but they film secretly without the owner's knowledge.  When the elderly owners Howard (Stephen Ure) and Pearl (Mia Goth, in a dual role) witness what is going on, things turn deadly.  This is very definitely an homage to the slasher films of the 1970s (particularly The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) but the narrative also manages to be entirely original and fresh.  It is tense and atmospheric with some gruesome kills but underneath it there is a very powerful message about regretting one's lost youth.  This theme is subtly, but brilliantly, emphasized by having Goth portray both Maxine and Pearl (I actually didn't realize this until almost the end) because it is appears as if Pearl is looking at her younger self whenever she sees Maxine.  The structure is also absolutely brilliant because there are quite a few moments that seem to be incongruous but ultimately pay off later in a big way, particularly an accident on the road involving a collision with a cow.  The technical aspects are outstanding, especially the lighting and sound design, and I think the editing is highly effective because there are many quick cuts between images that mirror each other throughout.  This movie is really good on so many levels but it might not be for everyone because of the subject matter.  I had a blast watching it and, if the post credits scene is to be believed, I will definitely watch the prequel!

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

I am so excited because I just discovered a new venue for community theatre called the Terrace Plaza Playhouse and I now want to see every show in their upcoming season (go here to check it out). I was able to attend their latest production, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, last night and it was so much fun! This is one of the movie musicals I grew up watching at my Grandma Anderson's house and, even though the story is actually quite problematic, I love it for the singing and dancing! Adam Pontipee (Brian Sears) leaves his frontier home in the mountains in search of a wife in the nearest town. He finds the perfect candidate in Milly (Victoria Hall) but she is dismayed when she discovers that she must also care for his six brothers. Her solution is to get them all married off so she tries to teach them how to court women.  After all of the brothers meet women they like at the town social, they ruin their chances with them by getting in a brawl with their suitors. Adam fears that Milly has made his brothers too soft and suggests that they simply go get the women they want and marry them. Chaos ensues! Sears and Hall have lovely voices (although it was sometimes hard to hear Hall) and I especially enjoyed their renditions of "Bless Your Beautiful Hide" and "Wonderful, Wonderful Day," respectively.  All of the brothers, Benjamin (Danny Hall), Caleb (Kimball Bennion), Daniel (Trevor Griffin), Ephraim (Garret Rushforth), Frank (Dallin Johnson), and Gideon (Peter Jenkins), harmonize beautifully, especially in the song "We Gotta Make It Through The Winter."  All of the brides, Dorcas (Katie Hamblin), Ruth (Katelyn Webb), Liza (Megan Griffin), Martha (Cami Johnson), Sarah (Anna Higgins), and Alice (Andrea Poll), each have distinct personalities (beyond the different colored gingham dresses they wear) and are fantastic dancers, especially in "The Challenge Dance" at the town social because they whirl seamlessly between the brothers and the suitors without missing a beat! All of the big song and dance numbers feature really fun choreography and are executed very well.  Besides "The Challenge Dance," I really loved "Goin' Courting," because the way Milly tries to teach the brothers how to dance is absolutely hilarious, and "Spring Dance," because you can see the brides and brothers falling in love with each other through their interactions. There is also a fun recurring bit of business between Daniel, Ephraim, Liza, and Martha that had the audience laughing every time it happened. The stage is small and intimate and the space was utilized very well for all of the various chase scenes and I was very impressed with the elaborate set pieces for the Pontipee cabin and barn which rotated for scenes inside and outside. I enjoyed this show very much and I am looking forward to seeing a lot more at this theater!

Note:  During the intermission, this little old lady came up to me and told me that I had a big smile on my face during the whole first half.

Compartment No. 6

Yesterday I went to see Compartment No. 6 at my favorite art house theater (I was very intrigued because it won the Grand Prix at Cannes this year along with A Hero) and I loved it because it is so charming.  Laura (Seidi Haarla) is a young woman from Finland who is studying archaeology in Moscow.  She lives with her lover Irina (Dinara Drukarova), a professor of literature at the university, and she longs to be a part of Irina's cultured and sophisticated world.  They have planned a trip to Murmansk to view some ancient petroglyphs but Irina suddenly backs out and Laura goes on her own.  To her dismay she is sharing a compartment on the train with an uncouth Russian laborer named Lyokha (Yura Borisov) who is on his way to Murmansk for temporary work at a mine.  She takes an immediate disliking to him and not only tries to get another compartment (to no avail) but contemplates getting off the train at a stop in St. Petersburg.  She ultimately opts to continue and, as her relationship with Irina deteriorates, she begins to see Lyokha in a new light.  Once she reaches Murmansk she is told that it is impossible to get to the famous petroglyphs in the winter so Lyokha goes to extraordinary lengths to get her there.  She eventually discovers that the journey with Lyokha has been more meaningful than the destination.  I loved both of these characters so much because, on the surface, they couldn't be more different but over the course of the journey they come to understand that they have more in common than they realize.  The connection that they form with one another is so warm especially in contrast with a harsh Russian winter.  Haarla and Borisov give wonderful performances, particularly in a pivotal scene when their characters finally acknowledge the pain they both feel, and their chemistry is palpable.  The camera work on the train is very effective at creating a mood and I loved that the titular compartment is incredibly claustrophobic at the beginning of the journey but seems to grow larger and as the characters become more comfortable with each other.  The ending, which is a callback to an amusing moment when they first met, put a huge smile on my face!  This is definitely a slow moving character study but it is brilliant in its simplicity and I highly recommend it.