Pride and Prejudice at HCTO

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice is one of my very favorite novels so I was really excited to see a production of it at HCTO yesterday!  I loved everything about it!  First, I cannot say enough about the brilliant adaptation by Melissa Leilani Larson.  As someone who has read the novel countless times and even studied it in college (I took a class focused on the novels of Jane Austen and it was my favorite one in college), I think it is perfect.  Obviously not everything can be included in an adaptation (except for maybe the A&E version starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle) but I think this one captures the essence of the novel in a way that feels very fresh and new without sacrificing any of my favorite lines of dialogue.  There is even a hilarious spoof of the well-known opening sentence about a single man in possession a fortune being in want of a wife that made the audience laugh out loud!  I even enjoyed a very subtle difference from the source material (which almost never happens with me because I am a purist) in which Mary displays an infatuation for Mr. Collins because it seems like an organic extension of the character as written in the text.  Next, the performances are wonderful!  One of the things I love about the novel is that the characters are so well delineated and every member of the cast is perfect for their role, especially Madeleine McBeth because she is intelligent and quick-witted as Elizabeth, Sasha Fazulyanov because she is reserved and gentle as Jane, Bronson Dameron because he is arrogant and aloof as Mr. Darcy, and Parley Lambert because he is pleasant and a bit awkward as Mr. Bingley.  However, Bradley Mackay steals every scene he is in as Mr. Collins!  His reaction to Mr. Wickham when he is out with the Bennett sisters is hilarious and his proposal to Elizabeth had me (and the audience) in hysterics!  Finally, I loved the staging (especially both dances at the Netherfield ball because the choreography emphasizes every character's personality so well), the minimal set in which chairs are moved into various configurations by the actors, and the beautiful Regency costumes.  I enjoyed this so much and I wish that I had time to see it again!  It runs through February 11 and tickets may be purchased here.

Carmina Burana

Last night's Utah Symphony concert was truly spectacular and I recommend that you stop reading right now and get a ticket for tonight's performance of the same program as soon as possible because there weren't many empty seats at Abravanel Hall!  The orchestra began with Feuertrunken (Fire-Drunk) by Joshua Cerdenia and I really loved this piece.  It was inspired by Dante and depicts the journey through a wall of fire to get from purgatory to paradise.  It is intense, energetic, and exciting and I particularly enjoyed the themes played by the brass, the percussion (especially the timpani and the bass drum), and the harp.  Next came The Firebird suite by Igor Stravinsky and, as a fan of Russian composers, I loved this as well.  This ballet is based on a series of Russian folktales and features a Firebird that is captured and then released by Prince Ivan and then later recalled to break the evil spell holding thirteen princesses prisoner by King Kastchel.  I especially loved the melody played by the solo oboe, horn, and viola during the Firebird's Dance of Supplication where she pleads with Prince Ivan to let her go and I loved the theme played by the violins and woodwinds during the Dance of the Princesses.  After the intermission, the orchestra performed Carmina Burana by Carl Orff with the Utah Symphony Chorus, the University of Utah Choirs, the Choristers of the Madeleine Choir School, and soloists Christopher Clayton, Jack Swanson (who recently sang the role of Tonio in The Daughter of the Regiment), and Ashley Fabian.  The music is unbelievably dramatic and I had goosebumps through most of it.  The text, which is based on a collection of medieval poetry, describes a wheel of fortune as it turns and features themes of luck and fate during several sections.  My favorite is the well-known "O Fortuna," which frames the piece at the beginning and end, because it is so bombastic and powerful.  The first section is about the rebirth found in Spring and I enjoyed the playful theme played by the solo flute depicting the whirling of dancing couples.  The second section is about feasting, drinking, and debauchery and the interactions between Clayton and Swanson (who impersonates a swan being roasted over a fire) had the audience laughing out loud!  The third section represents romantic love with incredibly tender solos by Clayton and Fabian (along with some encouragement from the children's choir).  This piece is epic and, trust me, you definitely do not want to miss this brilliant performance!  Go here for tickets.

See How They Run at HCT

HCT likes to begin the new season with a comedy and this year they picked a great one! I love the play See How They Run because I played Miss Skillon in high school and I had a blast watching HCT's version last night! This hilarious British farce takes place in the vicarage of a village called Merton-Cum-Middlewick during World War II. Lance Corporal Clive Winton (Clayton Barney) comes to visit his old friend Penelope (Morgan Fenner) who is now married to the Rev. Lionel Toop (Ben Parkes). Ida (Elise Pearce), her love-struck cockney maid, is flustered by his arrival but Miss Skillon (Lori Rees), a meddling spinster who has come to the vicarage to complain to Rev. Toop, is convinced that Penelope is having an affair with him and imbibes too much cooking sherry. Penelope persuades Clive to wear Rev. Toop's second best suit and clerical collar so they can dodge army regulations and see the play they once performed together. When Penelope's sedate uncle the Bishop of Lax (Zac Zumbrunnen), a mild-mannered visiting clergyman named Rev. Arthur Humphrey (Sanford Porter), and an escaped German POW (Jason Hackney) all end up at the vicarage, you get mayhem, mistaken identity, and everyone chasing each other in clerical garb! The action is incredibly fast-paced with a lot of physical comedy and there were hoots of laughter at all of the preposterous goings-on, especially when Clive, Toop, the Bishop, and the German prisoner jump over the prostrate Miss Skillon as they chase each other through the drawing room (this was one of my favorite scenes in my high school production even though I always worried that they wouldn't jump in time). It is even funnier when they continue jumping even when she isn't there anymore! Another hilarious scene involves several characters, including Miss Skillon, hiding in the cupboard (in my production the Rev. Toop and I would always try to come up with funny poses to get the others to break character when they opened the door). The entire cast is outstanding but my favorites were Parkes, because he becomes more and more hysterical, Zumbrunnen, because he becomes more and more outraged, and Porter, because he becomes more and more flustered (all of their facial expressions are so much fun to watch) in response to the chaos. Of course I absolutely loved Rees as Skillon (she is such a fun character) because she gives an absolutely brilliant physical performance, especially when she is intoxicated and trying to stand up or walk! The set features an explosion of floral prints on the wall, on the furniture, and on the many throw pillow featured in the drawing room of the vicarage. I also really liked the timbered rafters, the glass doors leading out to the garden, and the aforementioned cupboard. The costumes are very flamboyant, especially the Bishop's purple and scarlet vestments and robe and Miss Skillon's mismatched plaid ensemble. This show is more fun than should be allowed on a Tuesday and I loved it! I highly suggest that you get a ticket (go here) before all of the shows sell out. It runs on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through April 22.

She Loves Me at CPT

I love the musical She Loves Me because it is just so charming! I've seen it countless times (including the Broadway revival starring Zachary Levi, Laura Benanti, and Jane Krakowski as well as at HCT and West Valley Arts) but I was still really looking forward to CPT's production. I took a little break from Sundance to see it last night with my sisters and my niece and we all really enjoyed it. The action takes place at Maraczek's Perfumery in Budapest during the 1930s and follows a group of eccentric clerks, including Georg Nowack (Ben Lowell), Ilona Ritter (Jordyn Tracy), Steven Kodaly (Ryan Bruckman), Ladoslav Sipos (Chad Wilkinson), and Arpad Laszlo (Drew Dunshee). When Mr. Maraczek (Darin Stite) hires Amalia Balash (Claire Glaittli) as a new clerk, Georg takes an immediate dislike to her and soon they are both bickering constantly.  However, both Georg and Amalia have unknown correspondents but neither one knows that they are writing to each other! Most of the songs are like every day conversations between co-workers (the clerks even break out into song whenever a customer leaves the shop) and I especially love "Tonight at Eight" and "Will He Like Me" because they each give the male and female perspective about going on a first date. There are a couple of big song and dance numbers, including "A Romantic Atmosphere" and "Twelve Days To Christmas," and the choreography in both is a lot of fun and well executed by the ensemble. Glaittli has an incredibly beautiful voice and she really shines in the song "Vanilla Ice Cream" while Lowell is energetic and endearing in "She Loves Me." The two of them have great comedic timing and wonderful chemistry which really elevates the enemies to lovers trope. I was also really impressed with Tracy because, even though the character is supposed to be a bit fast and loose with her affections, her performance is more playful than overtly sexy. The period costumes and wigs are beautiful and really convey the time and place but my favorite aspect of this production is the amazing set! I was just as impressed with the outside of Maraczek's Perfumery as I was with the inside because of the attention to detail. The shop actually looks like it could be found on a street in Europe with stone masonry, stained glass windows, wooden benches, and pots of flowers. When the shop opens up there are window displays that light up, moving display cases filled with colored bottles of perfume and monogrammed gift boxes, chandeliers, and gold leaf wallpaper. The Cafe Imperial is a simple but effective set piece that rises from the floor and also features lots of fun details such as more gold leaf wallpaper, sconces, and candles flickering on the tables. Everything about this show is delightful and I highly recommend it for a romantic night out. It runs on the Barlow Main Stage through February 18 (go here for tickets).

Note:  There were a lot of empty seats last night and I think the reason might be that not many people (other than theatre nerds like me) are familiar with this show.  Both of my sisters and my niece had never heard of it before. Hopefully people will give it a chance because it really is lovely.

What Lies in the Woods

My January Book of the Month selection was What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall (the other options were Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor, Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen, Queen of Thieves by Beezy Marsh, Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo, The Reunion by Kayla Olson, and Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni). I already pre-ordered Hell Bent, the long-awaited sequel to Ninth House, months ago so I decided to go with the thriller and I'm glad that I did because I couldn't put it down! Twenty-two years ago in a small town in the Pacific Northwest, three eleven-year-old girls with vivid imaginations spend the summer in the woods role-playing their favorite stories from mythology in secret. Later that summer Naomi is brutally attacked by a serial killer and barely survives but, when he is caught, she and her friends Olivia and Cassidy provide the evidence that convicts Allan Michael Stahl. In the present, Naomi learns that Stahl has died in prison and, rather than providing a sense of relief, this bring up long repressed memories of the attack. She travels back to her hometown to reconnect with her friends and Olivia is distraught over the fact that the three of them have not been entirely honest and may have sent an innocent man to prison. Olivia wants to tell the truth but, when she disappears, it turns out that all three women have been keeping even more secrets about that day in the woods. This novel is incredibly suspenseful and the tension never lets up until the dramatic conclusion back in the woods. Even though I guessed one of the big reveals pretty early on, I was completely blindsided on several occasions with all of the twists and turns. I really enjoyed the structure because the narrative uses flashbacks to provide incremental details about the central mystery and this is very effective because I had to keep reading well into the night to find out what happened. I also really liked Naomi as the main protagonist and I think her character is very well-developed, particularly in regards to how the trauma she suffered as a child has informed the person she has become and the decisions, which are not always rational, she makes. My only complaint is that some of the secondary characters are not as well-developed and I sometimes lost track of them but that didn't detract from my enjoyment. Ultimately, this is a riveting psychological thriller and I recommend it to fans of the genre.

Note:  This is the first foray into adult fiction by this author but, as a fan of YA fiction, I might try to find some of her earlier works because I like her style.