The Duke

Last night I went to my favorite art house theater, for the second night in a row, to see the charming British comedy The Duke.  It is based on the true story of the theft of Francisco de Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in 1961.  Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent), a retired bus driver from Newcastle who is also an aspiring playwright, feels tremendous guilt over the death of his daughter several years earlier and is compelled to do something for the good of mankind to assuage that guilt.  His chosen cause is a campaign against making pensioners and war veterans pay for a license to watch television.  His long suffering wife Dorothy (Helen Mirren) begs him to stop all of his nonsense but he requests one last trip to London to bring attention to his message.  When he is turned away from the BBC, The Daily Mirror, and Parliament, he impulsively steals the painting in order to blackmail the government into exempting the less fortunate from paying for a license as a condition to get it back.  He enlists the help of his son Jackie (Fionn Whitehead) to hide it but, after a few misadventures, he decides to return it after which he is arrested.  When his trial at the Old Bailey begins, his barrister (Matthew Goode) tells him that his case is hopeless but he unexpectedly becomes a hero to the common man.  The narrative has a few twists and turns to keep it from being completely predictable and both Broadbent and Mirren give stellar performances full of wit and charm.  I found many scenes to be highly amusing and I laughed out loud several times (I love British humor).  I also really enjoyed the retro vibe in the cinematography because it looks like actual footage from the 1960s.  This is a lighthearted feel-good movie and watching it was a delightful experience (I was in a theater full of people twenty years older than me).

Petite Maman

I absolutely loved Portrait of a Lady on Fire so I was very eager to see the latest from Celine Sciamma, Petite Maman.  It seems like I have been waiting forever for it to get a wide release but it is finally playing at the Broadway and I had a chance to see it last night.  Sciamma is two for two with me because I loved Petite Maman just as much as Portrait of a Lady on Fire!  After the death of her maternal grandmother, eight year old Nelly (Josephine Sanz) travels with her mother (Nina Meurisse) and father (Stephane Varupenne) to her mother's childhood home to clear it out.  Nelly asks her mother questions about her childhood, including the location of the fort she once made out of tree branches, but she is too upset to answer her and eventually leaves in the middle of the night without saying goodbye.  While her father clears out the house, Nelly explores the nearby woods and finds a young girl named Marion (Gabrielle Sanz) building a fort out of tree branches.  Nelly begins spending all of her time with Marion building the fort, playing games, and acting out plays.  Marion ultimately helps Nelly understand her mother and helps her say goodbye to her grandmother.  This is such a beautiful film!  It is very slow and deliberate and, at times, it is unclear what is happening but if you are patient you will be rewarded with a beautiful message about love, grief, and the evanescence of childhood.  There are so many scenes that seem really simple, even mundane, on the surface but end up fraught with meaning and I found myself with tears in my eyes on more than one occasion.  The images on the screen are gorgeous, especially when the natural light bathes the fall foliage in the woods with a golden glow.  Finally, Josephine and Gabrielle Sanz give captivating performances and I couldn't take my eyes off of them even when they are simply walking together.  I was incredibly moved by this simple film and I cannot recommend enough!

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

I have been looking forward to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with great anticipation because I am a fan of the character and the first trailer was so thrilling it gave me goosebumps.  I had the chance to see it last night and I enjoyed it but I didn't love it as much as I expected to.  Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is attending the wedding of his colleague and former lover Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) when he is forced to rescue a young girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) from a demon with the help of Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong).  It turns out that Chavez is being pursued by demons because she possesses the power to travel through the multiverse.  Strange enlists the help of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) to protect Chavez but learns that the Scarlet Witch is responsible for the attack and is using spells from the Darkhold, a book of forbidden magic, to summon the demons.  Wanda wants Chavez's power to travel to an alternate universe where a version of herself is still a mother and will stop at nothing to get it.  Strange and Chavez travel to another universe looking for the Book of Vishanti, which will counteract the Darkhold, and chaos ensues as he is confronted with different versions of himself and other superheroes.  I think the story is incredibly convoluted with a lot of different characters and backstories to follow (you might find the action confusing if you haven't seen WandaVision, which I have, and What If?, which I have not).  I got the gist of what was happening but I feel like I missed a lot of the subtleties because I am not familiar with all of the characters, especially scenes involving the Illuminati (which feature some really fun cameos).  Having said that, Sam Raimi's distinct visual style is what makes this movie so entertaining because the images on the screen are absolutely brilliant, especially when Strange and Chavez travel through the multiverse and the space between universes.  I also really enjoyed the horror elements integrated into the action, particularly the sequences involving a zombie.  Finally, Cumberbatch is, as ever, a fantastic Stephen Strange but this movie really belongs to Olsen because Wanda's character arc dealing with her grief is very powerful and she absolutely delivers!  I definitely recommend seeing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness but I think the MCU is running the risk of becoming bloated with too many characters, stories, and timelines for the casual movie fan.

Camelot at HCTO

The first theatrical performance I remember seeing is the musical Camelot.  I remember everything about it very vividly because it was the last day of school so spirits were already running high.  I got all dressed up and went with a youth group to see the show at Promised Valley Playhouse and I found it to be an incredibly thrilling experience.  It is not performed very often any more but it will always be a sentimental favorite!  I was very excited to see HCTO's version last night and it was no less thrilling than when I saw it as a 13 year old girl!   This production is a stripped down and simplified telling of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table featuring Rex Kocherhans as Arthur, Kat Hawley Cook as Guenevere, and Scott Hendrickson as Lancelot with a small ensemble (Jordan Briggs, Jake Slater, Wade Flanagan, Caleb Collier, Braedon Reynolds, and Daniel Bradley) performing all of the other roles.  The set and props are very minimal and several scenes are described by narrators rather than explicitly portrayed.  However, all of the well-known songs are included such as "Camelot," "The Lusty Month of May," "How to Handle a Woman," "If Ever I Would Leave You," "Fie on Goodness," "What Do the Simple Folk Do?," and "Guenevere."  Despite the simplicity of the storytelling, I really loved the staging of all of the numbers, particularly "The Lusty Month of May" during which colored ribbons drop from the ceiling with choreography that mimics the dancing of the maypole, "The Joust" during which members of the ensemble create the sounds of the galloping horses and the crashing armor with household objects, and "Guenevere" during which the death of the knights in battle is portrayed with red scarves surrounding them as they fall.  This adaptation really focuses on the love triangle between Arthur, Guenevere, and Lancelot and the three lead actors give wonderful performances filled with pathos.  I was especially impressed with Kocherhans in the scene where Arthur discovers that Lancelot and Guenevere love each other because the conflict he feels is palpable.  Even though the sets and props are scaled down, the costumes are not because they are gorgeous!  I couldn't pick a favorite among Guenevere's gowns because they are all incredibly elaborate and beautifully embellished!  There's simply not a more congenial spot than HCTO for their production of Camelot!  I highly recommend that you get a ticket (go here) before the lusty month of May is over!

The Scarlet Pimpernel at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

I enjoyed the Terrace Plaza Playhouse's production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers so much I knew I had to come back! Last night I was able to see their version of one of my very favorite shows, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and I loved it. Percy Blakeney (Jeremy Gross) has disguised himself as the Scarlet Pimpernel and has recruited a band of followers in order to save the people of Paris from the sinister Chauvelin (Maxx Teuscher) and his guillotine during the French Revolution. He keeps his identity a secret from his wife Marguerite St. Just (Jessica Andrus), a Parisian actress, because he believes that she is helping Chauvelin, her former lover. He is also keeping his identity secret from the Prince of Wales (Quin Geilman) by pretending to be a foppish nincompoop. However, he must make his most daring rescue when Marguerite is arrested trying to rescue her brother Armand (Jaron Michaelis). I have attended three different productions of this musical at HCT as well as other productions around the Salt Lake valley and I think Gross is the best Percy I have ever seen. He is incredibly powerful in "Into the Fire" (my favorite song in the show) and very moving in "She Was There" but I especially enjoyed his hilarious physicality as the foppish nincompoop. I laughed out loud every time he mispronounced Chauvelin and could hardly breathe during "The Creation of Man." I also really enjoyed Teuscher's portrayal of Chauvelin, particularly his exasperation with Percy. His rendition of "Falcon in the Dive" is very stirring and he displays more passion during "Where's the Girl" than I have ever seen before. Andrus has an incredibly beautiful voice but she is sometimes overpowered by the music and the ensemble, especially during "Storybook" and "The Scarlet Pimpernel." However, she gives a very affecting performance of "I'll Forget You" (I had a tear in my eye) and I loved her interactions with Gross and Teuscher during "The Riddle." As with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, I was really impressed with the clever use of the intimate space, particularly the staging of "Into the Fire" as the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel travels from England to France by boat and then rescues the condemned prisoners from the guillotine. The choreography is fantastic and I loved how silk handkerchiefs and walking sticks are incorporated into "The Creation of Man" and I loved the intricate patterns created in "Ouilles Gavotte." The backdrop consists of marble archways with flags denoting England or France and various set pieces are brought in to create Percy's study, a garden, and a prison. The guillotine is very dramatic and the special effects used as the blade drops are impressive because it looks very real.  Finally, the costumes in this show are spectacular!  All of Marguerite's gowns are absolutely gorgeous but the outfits worn by the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel take "frou frou" to new levels (I loved the neon colored animal prints). I can't tell you how many times I've read the novel by Baroness Orczy (I love the story) or how many times I've listened to the Original Broadway Cast recording (I love the music) so I have very high expectations whenever I see this show and the Terrace Plaza Playhouse did not disappoint! I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).