EO

When my nephew and I were at the Broadway for Babylon, we saw the trailer for EO and he was fascinated by it.  He asked me if I would take him to see it so we went last night and, while he thought it was incredibly thought-provoking (we discussed it the whole drive home), I found it to be one of the most heartbreaking films I've ever seen.  EO, a small gray donkey with expressive brown eyes, is a circus performer in Poland and is lovingly cared for by his handler Kasandra (Sandra Drzymalska).  When an animal rights organization protests outside the circus, EO and the other animals are removed and thus begins an odyssey throughout Europe where EO experiences both kindness and cruelty from the people he encounters.  One of the most amusing sequences turns into one of the hardest to watch when EO inadvertently becomes the mascot of a soccer team when he distracts an opposing player kicking a penalty shot but is then viciously beaten by fans of the losing team.  There are so many ideas presented but the ones that resonated the most with me are the ways in which humans have disrupted the natural environment with technology so animals no longer have a habitat (birds are killed by wind turbines and foxes are shot in the forest by hunters using laser sights) and the ways in which humans exploit animals (using them as beasts of burden or for sport) and view them as disposable (herding them off to slaughter).  The imagery is incredibly striking, particularly the use of red which evokes very strong emotions, and the editing and sound design are disorienting but effective at portraying EO's place in the world.  I found this to be both incredibly beautiful and profoundly upsetting (the ending made me cry) but I recommend it.

Note:  I asked my nephew what drew him to this movie and he told me that he prefers creative storytelling.  I have turned him into a cinephile and I couldn't be prouder!

Corsage

I became fascinated with Empress Elisabeth when I visited the Sisi Museum in the Hofburg Palace on a trip to Austria so I have been looking forward to Corsage for months.  I finally had the chance to see it last night at the Broadway and I absolutely loved it!  I loved everything about it!  The narrative follows a year in the life of Empress Elisabeth (Vicky Krieps) beginning with her 40th birthday.  She is wild and restless but is constrained by her husband Emperor Franz Joseph (Florian Teichtmeister), who refuses to give her a voice in politics, her children Rudolf (Aaron Friesz) and Valerie (Rosa Hajjaj), who implore her to behave in a more dignified manner, her duties, which she finds tedious, and her image, which is becoming harder and harder to maintain.  She is also literally constrained by corsets (the title Corsage is in reference to the German word for corset) as her ladies-in-waiting pull the laces tighter and tighter.  She attempts to rebel by fleeing the palace every chance she gets, spending hours riding and fencing (which are considered unseemly for a woman), flirting with her riding instructor (Colin Morgan) and her cousin King Ludwig II (Manuel Rubey), finding ways to avoid her duties (there is a hilarious scene where she fakes a swoon), and, finally, cutting her hair because it takes hours to braid every day.  She finds a kind of freedom in the final scene, which is fictionalized (as is much of the narrative) but incredibly powerful.  Krieps is absolutely brilliant in the role because her performance never becomes a caricature and she embodies so many emotions even when she is completely still.  I loved the use of anachronistic details, such as contemporary music (I especially enjoyed the cover of "Help Me Make It Through The Night"), because they suggest that Elisabeth is ahead of her time and I loved the opulent interiors inside buildings that look to be crumbling and abandoned because Elisabeth is trapped in a society that is soon coming to an end.  This is very atmospheric and episodic so it might not be for everyone but I was mesmerized and I highly recommend it!

Note:  I also recommend The Empress on Netflix which has just been renewed for a second season.

The Marvelous Wonderettes at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

My first live theatre production of 2023 was The Marvelous Wonderettes at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse last night. It is a really fun jukebox musical featuring songs from the 1950s and 60s and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Springfield High School Class of 1958 is having their senior prom but the leader of the boys glee club originally scheduled to perform was suspended for smoking so the songleaders, known as the Marvelous Wonderettes, are asked to provide the entertainment at the last minute. In between the musical numbers, Betty Jean (Emily Richards), Cindy Lou (Jessica Andrus), Missy (Jenni Cooper), and Suzy (Katie Swainston) engage in witty banter about the rivalries within the group and their boy troubles as well as vie with each other to become prom queen (the audience gets to vote using a ballot distributed before the show). After the intermission, the Class of 1958 has their ten year reunion at Springfield High School and the Marvelous Wonderettes are, once again, asked to perform. They each have a chance to catch their classmates (the audience) up on what has been happening in their lives during the past ten years. The best part of this show is the amazing music (I grew up listening to all of these songs) and my favorites were "Mr. Sandman," "Lollipop," "All I Have To Do Is Dream," "Dream Lover," "Stupid Cupid," "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me," "You Don't Own Me," "It's In His Kiss," "I Only Want to Be With You," "It's My Party," "Son of a Preacher Man," "Leader of the Pack," "Rescue Me," and "Respect."  Richards, Andrus, Cooper, and Swainston have great four-part harmony and sound fantastic but they also do a good job with the choreography and the physical comedy. My favorite was Cooper (I voted for Missy to be prom queen) because her facial expressions are hilarious, especially when she confesses her crush on one of their teachers (Mr. Lee is played by someone picked out of the audience each night and our Mr. Lee got really into the choreography). The costumes are a lot of fun (each character has her own color) with elaborate tea length prom dresses made of tulle in the first act and sheath dresses and go-go boots in the second. The stage has been transformed into a high school gym decorated for the prom, complete with crepe paper streamers, posters advertising the candidates for prom queen (the posters correspond with each character's color), tables full of punch and cookies, and a bandstand with shimmering door curtains and standing microphones. The Terrace Plaza Playhouse is sometimes hit or miss with me but I feel like they really shine with smaller productions and this one is outstanding.  It is a delightful way to spend an evening and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets).

M3GAN

Last night I took my nephew to see M3GAN.  We were both really looking forward to this and we had a ball with it!  After her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car crash, Gemma (Allison Williams), a roboticist with a major toy company, becomes the guardian of her niece Cady (Violet McGraw).  She is ill-equipped to care for her niece, who is suffering from the loss of her parents, so she resumes working on a lifelike doll with artificial intelligence capable of learning and adapting (Model 3 Generative Android or M3GAN) with the hope that it will become a companion for Cady as well as help her cope with parenting duties.  When M3GAN (acted by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis) bonds with Cady in a demonstration, Gemma's boss (Ronny Chieng) believes it will be incredibly profitable for the company but Gemma becomes concerned when M3GAN takes her directive to protect Cady too far.  This is not particularly scary or gruesome and the premise is one we have seen many times before but it almost doesn't matter because M3GAN is such an amusingly diabolical character.  We saw this with a really large crowd and there were many times when everyone laughed out loud (the biggest laugh came when M3GAN sings "Titanium" as a lullaby to Cady).  In addition to the camp, there are also some incredibly poignant scenes about the nature of grief (Williams and McGraw are outstanding in several of these moments) and it is definitely a cautionary tale about our over-reliance on technology, especially when technology is used by parents as a substitute for spending time with children.  This will probably not feature on any top-ten list for the year but it is wildly entertaining and both Sean and I had so much fun watching it!

Note:  The marketing for this movie has been brilliant with life-size M3GAN dolls showing up everywhere performing that viral dance sequence!

Elgar's Enigma Variations

Last night I went to my first Utah Symphony concert of 2023 and it was certainly a good one!  The concert began with a contemporary number called Near Midnight by Helen Grime and, according to the composer, it is a moody and atmospheric piece about the reflection and introspection that occurs when when one day moves into the next.  I really liked the chimes used throughout to represent the tolling of the hour.  The orchestra continued with Scottish Fantasy by Max Bruch with Concertmaster Madeline Adkins as soloist.  This piece was inspired by several different Scottish folk songs and, as someone with Scottish heritage, I loved it!  I was especially moved by the first movement, which is based on the song "Auld Robb Morris," because it is quite mournful and features a duet between the solo violin and the harp (performed brilliantly by Louise Vickerman who is Scottish).  I also liked the second movement, which is based on the song "Dusty Miller," because it is very lively and I could picture people dancing.  I am always impressed by Adkins (I met her very briefly at a Utah Symphony after party and she was really cool) and it was fun to watch her because her performance was so passionate (I also enjoyed watching Vickerman).  After the intermission, the orchestra concluded with the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar which is such an amazing piece.  It came about, as the story goes, when Elgar sat at the piano after a long day and began to play a theme that he made up on the spot.  His wife really liked it and asked him to play it again.  He then began playing it again and again as different sketches representing some of their friends and he had her guess who each one was.  It was really fun to listen for the central theme in each variation and, like most people, my favorite one is "Nimrod," which is based on Elgar's friend August Jaeger, because it is incredibly somber and evocative, but very beautiful (it was played at Princess Diana's funeral), and the timpani rolls get me every time!  I love hearing Christmas music but it felt really good to be back at Abravanel Hall for a Masterworks concert!  I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) for the same program tonight!