Hairspray at the Draper Amphitheater

Last night I saw Hairspray at the Draper Amphitheater and it was so much fun!  I had never been to the Draper Amphitheater before but, since I love seeing outdoor performances in the summer, I decided to make the drive and I am so glad I did because it is a great venue and the show was fantastic!  Hairspray has always been a favorite of mine (I saw the Broadway touring production a few years ago and another touring production will be coming to SLC next year) because it has such a great message about loving who you are, following your dreams, and standing up for what you believe is right.  Plus-sized Tracy Turnblad (Linze Struiksma) wants to be one of the dancers on the Corny Collins (Weston Seiler) Show, to have Link Larkin (Austin Kimbell) notice her, to integrate the show so her Black friends can dance with her, and to win the Miss Teenage Hairspray crown.  Velma Von Tussle (Marilyn Oveson) and her daughter Amber (Kellie Seiler) do everything they can to stop her but Tracy proves that you can't stop the beat and makes all of her dreams come true.  The main cast is outstanding but I particularly enjoyed Struiksma's performance as Tracy because she could really dance and was very charismatic.  I also really enjoyed Gennell Goodman as Motormouth Maybelle, because her rendition of "I Know Where I've Been" brought the crowd to their feet, and Chad Smith and Joey West as Edna and Wilbur Turblad, respectively, because their antics were incredibly amusing in "Timeless to Me."  The ensemble is also very noteworthy, especially all of the dancers on the Corny Collins Show and the Dynamites (Ariana Marshall, Rebecca Meats, and Kimberly Teitter), because they execute the choreography very well.  I especially loved the staging of "The Big Doll House" (the tap dancing!), "Nicest Kid in Town," "I Can Hear the Bells," "Run and Tell That," "Hairspray," and "You Can't Stop the Beat."  My favorite song in the show is "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" and Struiksma, Kellie Seiler, and Kaitlyn Schreiner (as Penny Pingleton) did such a good job with it. I loved the costumes (the sheer number of costumes is very impressive) because they were so colorful and sparkly.  The set was a lot of fun with a giant LED television screen that featured live shots in black and white of the Corny Collins Show.  I really enjoyed every aspect of this show and it was wonderful to sit outside because the weather was absolutely perfect (although it did get a tad cold when the sun went down).  I highly recommend getting a ticket for one of the remaining shows (go here) through June 11.

Note:  Most of the seating is on grassy tiers so bring a blanket or a camp chair and grab some snacks because food is allowed.

Crimes of the Future

I have been looking forward to Crimes of the Future ever since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and I finally had the chance to see it last night.  It is incredibly bizarre and definitely won't be for everyone but I found it to be haunting and extremely thought-provoking.  In the near future, humanity has begun evolving to cope with a rapidly decaying environment but the government attempts to control the rate of evolution with a National Organ Registry and a police force dedicated to solving evolutionary crimes called the New Vice Unit.  Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) has developed the ability to grow new organs inside of his body but this is incredibly painful and causes severe digestive issues which require specialized machines to regulate.  He and his partner Caprice (Lea Seydoux) have turned the surgery required to remove his extra organs into performance art in front of a live audience who view mutilation as a form of pleasure.  This attracts the attention of a bureaucrat (Kristen Stewart) with the National Organ Registry who becomes enamored with him, a police detective (Welket Bungue) with the New Vice Unit who asks him to infiltrate a group of underground evolutionists, and the leader (Scott Speedman) of this group who wants to use his notoriety to publicly highlight an illegal but revolutionary advance.  I found the narrative to be a bit confusing in the beginning because the audience is dropped in the middle of a strange new world but there was a moment when everything suddenly came together for me and, by the time it ended, I was left wanting more because the themes are so compelling (the most fascinating, in my opinion, being that the destruction of the planet is actually changing our bodies).  The mood is quite unsettling (but it is not nearly as graphic as I was expecting) with a bleak production design filled with abandoned and rotting vehicles, atmospheric lighting, and a tension-filled score.  All of the performances are great but Stewart is brilliant and steals every scene she is in as a woman desperate for sensation in a world devoid of feeling.  I was captivated by this movie and I have not been able to stop thinking about it but it is not something I would recommend to everyone.

Montana Story

Last night I went to my favorite art house theater to see Montana Story and I really enjoyed it.  Erin (Haley Lu Richardson) and Cal (Owen Teague) are estranged siblings who return to the Montana ranch where they were raised after their father suffers a stroke and is placed on hospice.  They disagree over what should be done with an aging and decrepit horse named Mr. T once they sell the ranch.  Cal believes the humane thing to do would be to euthanize him but Erin reacts very emotionally to this plan and impulsively decides to haul him from Montana to upstate New York where she lives.  The disagreement over the horse triggers a past trauma between them involving their abusive father and another horse and, as they work out the logistics of transporting Mr. T, they begin to heal.  The plot unfolds very slowly and there are many long moments of silence so some viewers might become impatient with it but I found the narrative to be captivating because of the beautiful cinematography and the stellar performances from Richardson and Teague.  The expansive Montana scenery is used in juxtaposition with the tense and emotional drama that is playing out between the two characters in a claustrophobic setting and this is highly effective.  Richardson and Teague have great chemistry and their portrayal of siblings feels really natural.  You can feel the quiet animosity radiating off of them when they see each other for the first time in seven years and this tension continues to build until they finally confront each other in an incredibly powerful scene.  I loved the resolution between them but I loved the solution they find for the horse even more (a lovely metaphor for their relationship).  It is definitely a slow burn but it is ultimately very moving so I would recommend it.

Memorial Day Weekend 2022

My whole family (Marilyn, Kristine, Trent, Tashena, Sean, and I) went up to the property over the long Memorial Day weekend and we had so much fun together.  Friday was Marilyn's birthday so we celebrated with cake and yesterday Sean convinced me to go with him into town to get ice cream and then we went off-roading a little bit but the temperatures were a lot cooler than expected (we even had hail at one point) so we spent a lot of time around the fire pit making s'mores and in the trailer playing games and watching movies.  It was so nice to be able to relax!  The dogs were in heaven!

I hope to spend a lot more time at the property this summer!

Beethoven's Violin Concerto, Messiaen & Ravel

Last night was the final Utah Symphony concert of the 2021-2022 season and it was a great one to end with!  The orchestra and soloist Veronika Eberle began with Concerto for Violin by Ludwig van Beethoven and it was absolutely brilliant!  I loved the opening of the first movement because the timpani is so dramatic and the themes played by the oboe, clarinet, and bassoon are very lyrical.  I also really enjoyed the third movement because it features a hunting theme played by the horns.  Many have called this concerto "unplayable" but Eberle seemed to have no difficulty with it.  It was fun to watch her bow flying up and down the strings and I especially enjoyed the extended passage she played at the end of the first movement.  She received the most enthusiastic standing ovation I have heard all season and it was much deserved!  After the intermission, the orchestra, once again, played two movements from Des canyons aux etoiles (From the Canyons to the Stars) by Olivier Messiaen with Jason Hardink on piano, Keith Carrick on xylorimba, and Eric Hopkins on glockenspiel as soloists.  These two movements represent the stars seen from the cathedrals of red rock found in the natural parks of Utah.  I loved all of the percussion, especially the chimes.  This piece will be performed in its entirety at the O. C. Tanner Amphitheater near Zion National Park in a few days (go here for tickets and information).  The concert concluded with Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2 by Maurice Ravel.  I had never heard this piece before and I loved it!  The music was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes and tells the love story of the goatherd Daphnis and the shepherdess Chloe.  I especially loved the flute solo as Chloe dances for Daphnis and the all of the percussion used in the bacchanale featured in the dramatic conclusion.  I enjoyed this concert immensely and I highly recommend getting a ticket for the same program which will be performed again tonight (go here).

Note:  This is the first season that I subscribed to the entire Masterworks series and, even though I had to miss a few concerts because of family responsibilities, I thoroughly enjoyed every one!  I renewed my subscription for next season and I am really excited (go here for more information about next season).