A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder at the Empress

Over the past few years A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder has become one of my favorite musicals because it is absolutely hilarious!  I was really excited to see the Empress Theatre's version last night and I was certainly not disappointed!  This is an incredibly ambitious production and it is so well done that it might be the best show I've seen at the Empress!  After the death of his mother, Monty Navarro (Riley Grover) learns that she was once a member of the wealthy and aristocratic D'Ysquith family but was disinherited for marrying his father.  He is really Montague D'Ysquith Navarro and he is in line to inherit an earldom.  However, there are eight family members in line ahead of him!  When his vain and heartless girlfriend Sibela (Heather Shelley) marries the rich and handsome Lionel Holland, he decides to murder all eight family members ahead of him in the succession to become the Earl of Highhurst and win her back.  Standing in his way are the Reverend Lord Ezekiel D'Ysquith (who has an unfortunate fall from the bell tower of his cathedral), Asquith D'Ysquith, Jr. (who has a bizarre ice skating accident), Henry D'Ysquith (who is stung by bees from his own hive), Lady Hyacinth D'Ysquith (who disappears in deepest darkest Africa and is presumed dead), Major Lord Bartholomew D'Ysquith (who is decapitated while lifting weights), Lady Salome D'Ysquith Pumphrey (who is killed when a prop gun is mistakenly loaded with real bullets during her stage debut in Hedda Gabbler), Lord Asquith D'Ysquith, Sr. (who suffers a heart attack after hearing about all of the deaths in his family), and, finally, Lord Adalbert D'Ysquith, the Earl of Highhurst, (who is mysteriously poisoned).  Along the way, Monty falls in love with Phoebe D'Ysquith (Merci Hase) and marries her which makes Sibela jealous.  When Monty becomes the Earl of Highhurst he is arrested for the murder of Lord Adalbert, the only D'Ysquith death for which he is actually not responsible!  The charges are eventually dismissed when Phoebe and Sibela each give proof that the other committed the murder!  However, Monty might not live happily ever after because Chauncey D'Ysquith, the next in line to the earldom, is lurking!  The cast is absolutely stellar!  The entire D'Ysquith family is played by Chris Last and he is so hilarious with brilliant facial expressions and gestures (not to mention some quick wardrobe changes).  Every character has a distinct personality and I (along with everyone else in the audience) laughed out loud when each one made an appearance!  My favorites are the outrageously flamboyant Henry who thinks everything is "Better with a Man" and the over-the-top Lady Hyacinth who just wants to do some good in "Lady Hyacinth Abroad."  Grover is also outstanding with great comedic timing and both Shelley and Hase have beautiful voices, especially when they harmonize together in "That Horrible Woman."  The set, featuring an elaborate stage reminiscent of an old music hall, is one of the best I've seen at the Empress and I was very impressed with how seamlessly the ensemble move the many props on and off.  I especially enjoyed the clever staging of the singing portraits at Highhurst castle and Monty trying to keep Sibela and Phoebe apart in different rooms at his flat!  The beautiful period costumes are also some of the best I've seen at the Empress, particularly the women's gowns (but I have to admit I also loved all of the top hats worn by the men).  I loved everything about this show and I can't recommend it enough!  It runs through October 22 (go here for tickets).

Amsterdam

My nephew Sean really wanted to see Amsterdam and, since he is a busy high school senior with a job, I jumped at the opportunity to spend some time with him.  We saw it last night and, even though it is a bit convoluted with some messy tonal shifts, we both liked it (apparently far more than most people).  During the Great War, Dr. Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale) is assigned to a Black regiment where he meets Harold Woodsman (John David Washington).  They are both severely wounded and are cared for by Valerie Voze (Margot Robbie), an unconventional but wealthy and well-connected nurse.  After the war, the three of them bond as life-long friends during an idyll in Amsterdam but eventually they go their separate ways and return to the U.S.  It is now 1933 and Burt is a doctor who specializes in caring for veterans, Harold is a lawyer, and Valerie is an over-medicated invalid.  When Senator Bill Meekins (Ed. Begley, Jr.) dies under mysterious circumstances, his daughter Elizabeth (Taylor Swift) asks Burt and Harold to investigate because he was their commanding officer.  However, they become the prime suspects when she is also murdered just as they are about to reveal their findings.  They recruit Valerie to help clear their names and encounter Burt's estranged wife Beatrice Vandenheuvel (Andrea Riseborough) and her disapproving parents Augustus (Casey Biggs) and Alvelia (Dey Young), Valerie's brother Tom (Rami Malek) and his social climbing wife Libby (Anya Taylor-Joy), General Gil Dillenbeck (Robert De Niro), a sympathetic policeman (Matthias Schoenaerts) and his suspicious partner (Alessandro Nivola), an MI5 agent (Mike Myers) and his counterpart at Naval Intelligence (Michael Shannon) who pose as bird watchers, and representatives from an organization dedicated to replicating the beliefs espoused by a rising dictator in Europe, before discovering the truth at a reunion of their former regiment.  This cast is absolutely amazing and I loved all of the performances, especially Malek and Myers who made me laugh out loud every time they were on screen, but I will say that I enjoyed individual scenes more than the whole.  There is definitely a lot going on with commentary on just about everything from racism to PTSD to the rise of fascism but I was particularly struck by the theme of friendship and the importance of choosing who you love.  The mad-cap humor is often at odds with these heavy themes but, ultimately, I thought it was very entertaining and definitely not as bad as the critics are suggesting.

The Lion King at the Eccles

The first time I saw The Lion King was on a theatre trip to London with PTC.  I was so overcome by all of the animals marching down the aisles during "Circle of Life" that I actually shed a tear!  I have since seen in on Broadway and in SLC several times but I don't think I will ever get tired of it!  I had the chance to see it again last night at the Eccles and it was just as magical as the first time (I sat on the aisle and I have to admit that, once again, I had a tear in my eye when the baby elephant walked by me).  This musical tells the well-known story of how a lion cub learns how to be a king and I love everything about it!  The puppets and prosthetics used to represent the animals are absolutely amazing (my favorites are the giraffes and elephants) and after a while you don't even see the actors who are manipulating the puppets any more because they transform themselves so completely.  I also really like the use of light and shadow in many of the scenes, especially during the confrontation with Scar.  The staging is brilliant, especially when Mufasa and Simba frolic on the grasslands, when Sarabi and the lionesses hunt an antelope, when Simba is trapped during the wildebeest stampede in the gorge (it actually looks like the wildebeests are running towards the audience), when Timon falls into the river, and when Mufasa appears to Simba in the stars.  I also really like all of the choreography with the hyenas (I forgot that they come down the aisles during "Chow Down").  Many of the songs from the animated classic are included but there are also some new ones.  I love all of the traditional African music but I got goosebumps when Aaron Nelson, as Mufasa, sang "They Live in You," when Khalifa White, as Nala, sang "Shadowland" (my favorite song in the show), when Darian Sanders, as Simba, sang "Endless Night," and when Gugwana Dlamini, as Rafiki, sang "He Lives in You."  Of course, "Hakuna Matata" with Tony Freeman as Timon and John E. Brady as Pumbaa is a lot of fun and Spencer Plachy as Scar is suitably villainous in "Be Prepared."  I am so happy that I had the chance to see this wonderful show again and I highly recommend getting a ticket during the SLC run (go here for tickets).  I especially recommend it to families because the children all around me were awe-struck by all of the animals!

The Addams Family at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

Last night I went to the second production of The Addams Family in as many weeks. This time it was the Terrace Plaza Playhouse's version and, once again, I had a lot of fun watching it. The Addams family relies on their dead ancestors to help them through life and they need them now more than ever because Wednesday (Arianna Evans) has fallen in love with a boy from Ohio named Lucas Beineke (Trey Cornell). She wants his uptight parents, Mal (Josh Curtis) and Alice (Jana Plowman), to meet her family, including her father Gomez (Nathan Sachs), her mother Morticia (Natalie Petersen), her brother Pugsley (Amauree Mack), her uncle Fester (David Storm), her Grandma (Carla Zarate), and their butler Lurch (Drew Saddler), so she arranges a dinner and requests that they give her just one normal night. Chaos ensues when a mishap involving a poisonous potion occurs and it is up to Uncle Fester, with the help of the ancestors (Antonio Moya, Colby Majors, Ethan Page, Evelyn Bush, Ian Wellisch, Isabelle Page, Kade Saddler, Kayley Turner, Kelsey Turner, Kysa Ronnow, McKenna Plowman, McLain Reid, Mikelle Shupe, Nataly Hirano, Olivia Page, Savanna Hewitt, and Shane Alvey), to convince everyone that love is the answer. I really enjoyed the choreography in this production, especially all of the big song and dance numbers featuring the ancestors. This was the biggest group of ancestors I have seen used in this show and they are integrated into the choreography very well, particularly in "When You're An Addams," "Trapped," "One Normal Night," "Full Disclosure," "Just Around the Corner," and "Move Toward the Darkness." I also liked having the ancestors as part of the choreography for "Tango De Amor" because I have not seen that done before (I really like seeing subtle differences in productions since the same shows are often repeated by Utah theatres). Evans is one of the best Wednesdays I've seen and I loved her renditions of "Pulled" and "Crazier Than You" because she has a beautiful voice. I also enjoyed Cornell as Lucas (he is a Timothee Chalamet lookalike with all of his same awkward mannerisms), Mack as Pugsley (he is adorable), and Curtis as Mal (his facial expressions had me laughing out loud), but Saddler steals the show as Lurch (he is often in the background but you should watch everything he does because all of his actions are hilarious). The costumes are fantastic, especially those worn by the ancestors (my favorites were the World War I soldier, the Highland lass, and the conquistador) because they are so elaborate! The set is very minimal but suitably atmospheric with lots of spooky details (I loved the organ). My only disappointment was the with the moon.  During "Move Toward the Darkness," the entire cast gestured to the moon so we all turned our attention to it and nothing happened.  I'm not sure if there were technical difficulties but it was a bit anticlimactic. This is a minor criticism because the show is fantastic and I recommend it as a fun activity perfect for Halloween.  It runs through November 12 (go here for tickets).

The Mummy and The Bride of Frankenstein Double Feature

I really enjoyed the Universal Monsters double features last year (go here and here) so I was excited to learn that a new series of movies is being presented this year, starting with The Mummy and The Bride of Frankenstein.  I had a lot of fun seeing both of these for the first time on the big screen yesterday afternoon!  First up was The Mummy and I really liked it because it was more atmospheric than scary.  During an archaeological expedition in Egypt conducted by Sir Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron), the mummy of Imhotep (Boris Karloff) is discovered and accidentally brought back to life by the Scroll of Thoth buried next to him.  Ten years later, Imhotep (now known as Ardeth Bey) is desperate to be with his forbidden love, the Princess Ankh-esen-amun, and assists Joseph's son Frank (David Manners) in locating her tomb during a new expedition.  Imhotep comes to believe that a half-Egyptian woman named Helen Grosvener (Zita Johann) is the reincarnation of Ankh-esen-amun and uses all of his powers to try to kill her so she can be mummified and brought back to life again with the Scroll of Thoth.  However, David has fallen in love with Helen and will do anything to stop Imhotep.  The backstory of how Imhotep was buried alive as punishment for stealing the Scroll of Thoth in order to bring Anks-esen-amun back to life is presented as a dream to Helen and his suffering is used as justification for wanting to kill her.  In my opinion, this entitlement is what makes the character of Imhotep so menacing.  Karloff gives an incredibly unsettling performance because he is so still and I was very impressed with the makeup for the mummy (even if this version of the character is not on screen for very long).  Next was The Bride of Frankenstein which is a direct sequel to Frankenstein.  Percy Shelley (Douglas Walton) and Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon) praise the story that Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester) once wrote during a stormy night on Lake Geneva but she informs them that there is much more and, as it is another stormy night, she continues (I really liked this framing device).  Both Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and the Monster (Boris Karloff) survive the fire at the windmill.  Frankenstein returns to Elizabeth (Valerie Hobson) but he still feels compelled to find the secret of immortality until his mentor, Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), visits him wanting to collaborate on a new creature and he refuses.  To persuade Frankenstein, Pretorius has the Monster, who now wants a bride, kidnap Elizabeth.  Once again, I was impressed with the vulnerability that Karloff imbues the Monster with, especially in the scenes with the blind hermit (O. P. Heggie).  I also loved all of the elaborate gadgets used to harness the electricity needed to bring life to the bride (Elsa Lanchester) as well as the timpani used in the score for this scene.  Finally, Minnie (Una O'Connor), Elizabeth's maid, brings a lot of unexpected comic relief that made me laugh out loud at one point!  I really enjoyed these movies (seeing them was the perfect way to spend the first day of October) and I definitely recommend seeking them out.

Note:  Fathom Events will also be presenting Creature from the Black Lagoon and Phantom of the Opera as a double feature later this month (go here for more information and tickets).