Inside

I thought the trailer for Inside looked really intriguing so I decided to see it last night at the Broadway.  It was definitely thought-provoking!  Nemo (Willem Dafoe) breaks into the luxury penthouse apartment of an art collector to steal several valuable paintings.  As he attempts to leave, however, the security system malfunctions and traps him inside with no way out.  The owner is away on an extended trip so most of the utilities have been shut off, including water, and there is very little food.  He is completely alone with no way to contact the outside world beyond watching a housekeeper in the building named Jasmine (Eliza Stuyck) who appears on the security camera feed every day.  As the weeks turn into months, he struggles both to survive and to find a way out of the apartment while interacting with the owner's art collection.  Any survival thriller taking place in only one location has a tendency to become a bit one-note after a while but Dafoe has such a compelling presence that my attention never wavered because I wanted to see what he would do next.  Watching him slowly become unhinged is absolutely riveting (see also The Lighthouse).  The production design is brilliant because the apartment is almost like a character itself.  It is large, spacious, luxurious, monochromatic, and filled with priceless art but it is also cold and sterile and none of these beautiful pieces can sustain him.  I had to sit with this movie for a little while to determine what the filmmakers are saying about art and I've decided the message is that art might be beautiful and profound but it cannot take the place of human connection and that the price we place on it is excessive.  This is definitely not for everyone (the couple I spoke to in the lobby afterwards hated it and thought it was incredibly boring) and I don't think it is something I will ever watch again but it has stayed with me so I recommend it.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

I went to see Shazam! Fury of the Gods yesterday afternoon and it seems like I enjoyed it a lot more than most people.  The daughters of Atlas, Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu), and Anthea (Rachel Zegler), steal the broken staff that once belonged to the Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) from a museum in Athens and compel him to repair it in order to reclaim the power stolen from their father.  They come into contact with the Wizard's champions, including Billy (Asher Angel and Zachary Levi), Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody), Eugene (Ian Chen and Ross Butler), Pedro (Jovan Armand and D.J. Cotrona), Mary (Grace Caroline Currey), and Darla (Faithe Herman and Meagan Good), because their powers are derived from the staff.  Mayhem ensues.  What I enjoyed most about this movie is the emphasis on the importance of family and the storyline where Billy worries about aging out of foster care is incredibly poignant.  I also really liked the fact all of the siblings end up being more powerful as themselves rather than their superhero alter egos and I think that is a great message.  I do think that the Billy character is supplanted a bit by the Shazam character but Levi's goofy performance as someone suffering from impostor syndrome who learns how to be a leader is a lot of fun.  Even though the villains are not very memorable (I would have preferred a face-off between Shazam and Black Adam) I still loved seeing Mirren in this role, especially her interactions with Levi.  The action sequences are great, particularly the final battle, with VFX that definitely look a lot better than other recent CBMs.  I am actually baffled by the critical response because, despite a cameo (that I actually enjoyed) and some mid- and post-credits scenes that don't really make sense any more with all of the changes made in the DCEU as well as one of the most egregious uses of product placement I've ever seen, this is very entertaining with a lot of heart and I would definitely recommend it.

Utah Opera's Rigoletto

I was so excited to see Utah Opera's production of Rigoletto last night because it is one of my favorite operas and it certainly didn't disappoint!  The hunchback Rigoletto (Scott Hendricks) is a jester in the court of the licentious Duke of Mantua (Matthew White).  He amuses the Duke by mocking the husbands and fathers of the women the Duke has seduced but this often earns their anger, especially Count Monterone (Christopher Clayton) who places a curse on Rigoletto in retaliation.  Rigoletto returns home to his beloved daughter Gilda (Jasmine Habersham) and, even though he is fiercely protective of her, she manages to meet and fall in love with a man she sees at church.  This mystery man, who is none other than the Duke, contrives to meet her that night and professes his undying love to her.  The courtiers, who want to teach Rigoletto a lesson, kidnap Gilda and bring her to the Duke.  Rigoletto is distraught and arranges for an assassin named Sparafucile (Kevin Thompson) to help him get revenge.  However, the plan goes horribly wrong leading Rigoletto to despair because Monterone's curse has come to pass.  The music in this opera is incredibly beautiful and I especially loved "Caro nome," in which Gilda declares her love for the Duke (who she thinks is a penniless student), because it uses coloraturas to mimic the themes played by two flutes, "La donna e mobile," in which the Duke accuses women of being fickle, because even though it is light and charming it is really an indictment of the Duke's behavior, and "Cortigiani, vil razza dannata," in which Rigoletto tearfully begs the courtiers to release his daughter, because it is so affecting.  I also really loved the themes played by a solo cello, a solo bass, and the woodwinds when Rigoletto first meets the assassin Sparafucile because it is so sinister.  The entire cast is outstanding (I was particularly struck by the ensemble in the number "Scorrendo uniti," in which the courtiers tell the Duke that they have kidnapped Rigoletto's daughter, because the staging is so humorous) but the three leads are absolutely phenomenal.  I loved White's voice but the choice to have such a young, charismatic, and handsome actor play the villain was very effective because it made his behavior seem even more reprehensible.  Habersham was absolutely luminous and her rendition of "Caro nome" just about brought the house down.  Hendricks has tremendous stage presence and he was brilliant at portraying both the foolish jester and the devoted father willing to do anything to protect his daughter (he made me laugh multiple times and brought a tear to my eye).  The period sets and costumes reflected the both opulence of the Duke's court (lots of luxurious red and gold fabrics) and the simplicity of Rigoletto's house and Sparafucile's workshop.  This production is heartbreaking but powerful and I enjoyed everything about it!  There are two more performances and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) to one of them!

Tuck Everlasting at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

Last night I went to see Tuck Everlasting, a musical adaptation of the beloved novel by Natalie Babbitt, at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse and I really enjoyed it. Winnie Foster (Jenna Francis) feels trapped in a house where her mother Betsy (Tracie Davies) and her Nana (Juliene Snyder) are in mourning for her dead father and she longs for adventure. One day she sneaks into the woods and meets Jesse Tuck (Jace Fawcett) near a stream. He stops her from taking a drink from the stream and inadvertently reveals that the water has made his family immortal. Jesse is happy to have made a friend but the rest of the Tuck family, including Mae (Hailey Jasper), Angus (Sheldon Cheshire), and Miles (Max Fawcett), worry that their secret will be revealed. Little do they know that the Man in the Yellow Suit (David Hales) has overheard Jesse and has evil plans for the water. Eventually Jesse asks Winnie to drink the water when she turns seventeen but his family warns that being immortal is not as enchanting as it appears. Francis and Fawcett are incredibly endearing as Winnie and Jesse, respectively, and I especially enjoyed their renditions of "Top of the World" and "Seventeen." Some of the performances from the rest of the main cast are definitely better than others but they are all filled with tremendous heart. Throughout most of the show I was really confused as to why there were so many seemingly extraneous people on stage because they often pulled focus from the action. However, this staging made a lot more sense at the end of the show during "The Wheel," where Angus tells Winnie that she doesn't need to live forever she just needs to live, and "The Story of Winnie Foster," which shows the joys and sorrows as Winnie lives out the remainder of her mortal life, because these extra characters are actually revealed to be the people in Winnie's future life who have been shadowing her as she makes the decision of whether to drink the water or not. This is an interesting, but ultimately very effective, choice because it led to several major a-ha moments for me! I also really enjoyed the choreography, especially in "Partner in Crime" where Winnie and Jesse sneak away and go to the fair, the set, which includes a large tree with a stream in front of it in the middle of the stage, and the costumes, particularly the iconic yellow suit. This production is so charming and heartwarming that I couldn't help but love it and I highly recommend it, especially to families!  It runs through April 8 and tickets may be purchased here.

Note:  I saw this show on Broadway a few years ago and it closed two days later!

Emma at Parker Theatre

My friend Karen recommended the play Emma at Parker Theatre so, because I trust her and because I am a huge fan of Jane Austen, I decided to check it out last night. I am glad that I did because I was incredibly impressed with both the production and the theatre and I will definitely be back! After Emma Woodhouse (Ariana Bagley, a wealthy young woman who has no desire to get married herself, is successful in matching her former governess Miss Taylor (Eden Benson) with Mr. Weston (Michael Hohl), she decides to take Harriet Smith (Taylor McKay Barnes), a young woman of unknown parentage, under her wing. She encourages Harriet to reject the proposal of Robert Martin (Sam Schmuhl) because he is a farmer and not worthy of her and sets her sights on the vicar Mr. Elton (Seth Larson) as a suitor instead.  However, he mistakes Emma's interest in him and declares his love to her. Then she selects Frank Churchill (Ren Cottam), whom everyone tries to match with her, but he is secretly engaged to someone else. Finally Harriet falls in love with Mr. Knightley (John Hayes Nielsen), a Woodhouse family friend, but chaos ensues when Emma realizes that she has loved Mr. Knightley all along! There are some other delightfully eccentric characters in the village of Highbury, such as her hypochondriac father Mr. Woodhouse (David Glaittli), a chatty old maid named Miss Bates (Abbie Webb), the long-suffering Jane Fairfax (Liz Nielsen), and Mr. Elton's snotty wife Augusta (Madeline Thatcher), and I absolutely loved the amusing projections that introduce and describe the dramatis personae! This adaptation, much like the one I recently saw of Pride and Prejudice at HCTO, does not include everything but it captures the essence of the novel in a way that feels fresh without sacrificing any of my favorite lines ("If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more."). I am normally a purist when it comes to changing the source material but I really liked having Robert Martin propose to Harriet first before Knightley declares his feelings to Emma because this allows the play to end with a touching moment between the two main characters. Bagley is wonderful in the title role, especially when she breaks the fourth wall to address the audience because it seems like we are all in on her schemes, and so is Barnes as Harriet because she is so physically awkward (I loved a scene where she is described as graceful while she slaps a bug on her arm and then wipes the guts off her sleeve). I also enjoyed Glaittli as Mr. Woodhouse, because he is hilariously overwrought, and Cottam as Frank Churchill, because he is such a foppish rake. However, there isn't a lot of romantic chemistry between Bagley and Nielsen (I think there should be a spark between them from the beginning and not just at the end) but that is my only criticism of the performances. The impressive set features an elegant drawing room at Hartfield that moves forward when needed, a backdrop with board and batten paneling that, with the addition of a few Regency furniture pieces, is used for the other houses in Highbury, and arches that come in from the wings to represent outdoor locations. The period costumes are a lot of fun but, strangely, I preferred the ones for the men over the ones for the women because they are more embellished. I loved this thoroughly entertaining show and I highly recommend getting a ticket for one of the three remaining performances (go here).