The Last Word

My May Book of the Month selection was The Last Word by Taylor Adams (the other options were The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer, Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez, Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul, The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane, and Paper Names by Susie Luo). I, once again, defaulted to the thriller and I am glad that I did because this is a good one! After suffering a personal tragedy, Emma Carpenter takes a job house-sitting on an isolated island along the Washington coast. Her only human contact is Deek, an old and enigmatic neighbor with whom she plays word games from afar using a whiteboard and a telescope. She spends most of her time reading and, after finishing a poorly written horror novel by H.G. Kane, she decides to leave a one star review. She is disconcerted when the author responds to her online with a threatening message but that soon turns to fear when disturbing incidents begin happening. Emma eventually discovers that all of Kane's novels involve stalking and murder from the POV of the murderer and she suspects that they are based on true events. Is Kane stalking her and will she be the subject of his next book? The narrative alternates between Emma's POV as she plays a cat-and-mouse game with an intruder who seems to have the upper hand and the manuscript of a novel describing the events as they happen and this device is incredibly effective at creating suspense because you are never entirely sure who is writing this manuscript! Speaking of which, there are so many twists and turns and, even though I thought I had a big one figured out early on, this definitely kept me guessing until the last page. Adams uses the isolated cabin trope very well with an atmosphere of unease and foreboding and there were multiple times when I was genuinely scared because the tension is unrelenting. I really enjoyed Emma as a character because she is sympathetic with a lot of unresolved grief and trauma, which is revealed little by little, but she is also very strong and clever with an arc that feels earned. This is an action-packed thriller but I also liked the thought-provoking commentary about art vs. criticism, especially with the anonymity of the internet. I honestly couldn't put this down (I read it in one day) and I highly recommend it!

Note:  This features a dog in peril and that could be triggering for some people.

Timpanogos Community Theater's The Sound of Music

Today is the first anniversary of my Mom's passing so my sisters and I decided to see a production of The Sound of Music with Timpanogos Community Theater last night. She suffered from dementia and during the last year of her life she loved the movie (she watched it every day and sometimes even watched it twice) so we thought it would be a great way to remember her. It was a bit emotional for me (I cried a few times just like I did when Marilyn and I saw a production at the Utah Shakespeare Festival last summer) but it was also so much fun to see it with both of my sisters because we would exchange knowing glances during particular scenes that my Mom loved. The production is delightful and we were really impressed with it! When a prospective nun named Maria (Maren Miller) is sent to be the governess to the seven children of Captain von Trapp (Nathaniel Brown), she brings music back to their household. Miller has a really beautiful voice and her version of "The Sound of Music" is incredibly stirring. I also really enjoyed her interactions with the von Trapp children, Liesl (Amalie Strongin), Friedrich (Benjamin Kland), Louisa (Summer Mitchell), Kurt (Lincoln Harper), Brigitta (Madison Hirschi), Marta (Chloe Hirschi), and Gretl (Story Harper), in "Do-Re-Mi" and "The Lonely Goatherd." I usually enjoy watching the young actress playing Gretl but in this production Lincoln Harper steals the show as Kurt! His facial expressions are hilarious! Strongin not only has a beautiful voice but she is also a great dancer and "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" with Trystyn Roberts as Rolf is a lot of fun. I especially liked the choreography in this number because Rolf tries to teach Liesl how to dance but she ends up doing her own steps. Other standouts in the cast are Charity Johansen as the Mother Abbess, because her rendition of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" just about blows the roof off of the theater, and Trevor Williams as Max Dettweiler, because his delivery is very flamboyant. There are some interesting variations in the staging of several numbers, including portraying the funeral of Captain von Trapp's first wife during "Preludium," having the Captain and the children upstage during "Maria" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" in order to foreshadow Maria's future, and having soldiers wearing Nazi armbands walking through the audience during "Edelweiss," but they are incredibly powerful. The sets are very elaborate for a community theatre production and I especially liked the arches in the Nonnberg Abbey set and the large staircase in the von Trapp Villa set. The costumes are what you would expect from this show but I did like the play clothes made out of Maria's drapes and I loved her wedding dress. My Mom would have loved this show! Tonight is the final performance but it is well worth seeking out (go here).

Note:  It is always disconcerting for me to see the stage version because it differs significantly from the movie (which I am very familiar with).

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

I have been looking forward to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for what seems like forever so I was really excited to see it last night at a Thursday preview in a packed theater.  It is a thrilling and emotional send-off for our team of misfits and I loved it!  The Guardians have established their HQ on Knowhere but Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still mourning the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldana).  They are soon attacked by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), a being created by Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) the High Priestess of the Sovereign, who tries to capture Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) to bring him to the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).  Rocket is seriously injured in the ensuing fight but the Guardians are not able to revive him for reasons.  They eventually learn that Theel (Nico Santos), one of the High Evolutionary's scientists, holds the key to healing Rocket so Quill, Nebula (Karen Gillan), Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) set off to find him.  Unbeknownst to Quill, Nebula recruits a variant of Gamora, who is now working as a Ravager, to help them (the interactions between a broken-hearted Quill and this version of Gamora provides much comic relief).  It takes all of the Guardians, and their individual strengths, working together to confront the High Evolutionary.  All of the Guardians have very compelling character arcs, which are continued from the first two movies in the trilogy, but Rocket's is particularly affecting and I cried multiple times (there are several scenes that might be very difficult for people who are triggered by animal cruelty to watch).  I loved the dynamic between the characters, especially a running gag between Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and Cosmo (Maria Bakalova) and the bickering between Mantis and Drax, and I found the resolutions between them to be very poignant and satisfying.  The visual effects are incredible (much better than some recent entries in the MCU, in my opinion) and, as always, the needle drops are fantastic.  My favorites are an acoustic version of "Creep" by Radiohead, "We Care a Lot" by Faith No More (this got my toes tapping), and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" by The Beastie Boys.  This is everything that I wanted and more from the conclusion to my favorite trilogy in the MCU and I am sure that fans are going to love it!  I can't wait to see it again!

Note:  There is a mid-credits scene and a post-credits scene that might set up a possible future for some of the characters.

Showing Up

I am a big fan of Kelly Reichardt's brooding and contemplative character studies so I ended up back at the Broadway last night for her latest, Showing Up, and I have been thinking about it ever since.  Lizzy (Michelle Williams) is a Portland-based sculptor who is preparing for the first small showing of her work during one chaotic week.  In addition to creating several new pieces, she must continue working her day job at the Oregon College of Art and Craft as an administrative assistant for her mother Jean (Maryann Plunkett).  She is feuding with her landlord and friend Jo (Hong Chau), who is also preparing for her own much bigger shows, and is worried that her eccentric father Bill (Judd Hirsch) is being taken advantage of by his perpetual house guests and that her mentally ill brother Sean (John Magaro) is having a manic episode.  She is frustrated because, even though her colleague Eric (Andre Benjamin) is extremely helpful, she has no control over the firing of her pieces.  Finally, her work is disrupted by a wounded pigeon (which serves as a metaphor for Lizzy's creative life in an incredibly exhilarating scene) that she is roped into caring for.  Ultimately, it is this chaos that inspires her work and I really enjoyed the theme that great art sometimes requires a struggle.  This, like all of Reichardt's movies, is a very slow burn but it is full of multiple layers (that I am still trying to unwrap) and it is surprisingly funny.  Williams gives an incredibly restrained and subtle performance (which I prefer to the overwrought one she gives in The Fabelmans) and Chau steals every scene she is in as the foil to Williams' character.  I liked this quite a bit!

Hello, Dolly! at HCT

Last night I saw the most charming and delightful production of Hello, Dolly! that I have ever seen! I loved everything about this show at HCT and I had a giant smile on my face from beginning to end! At the turn of the century, the irascible Horace Vandergelder (Brian Neal Clark) wants to get married again so that he will have someone to do all of the chores at his Hay & Feed store in Yonkers, New York. His niece Ermengarde (Rachel Bigler) wants to marry an artist named Ambrose Kemper (Dale Hoopes) but her uncle objects because he doesn't have a steady income. His clerk Cornelius Hackl (Landon Horton) is longing for an adventure in New York City so he convinces his fellow clerk Barnaby Tucker (Justin Gibbs) to come along with him and they vow not to return to Yonkers until they have both kissed a girl. They soon meet Irene Molloy (Shae Robins), who owns a millinery shop in NYC but wants a rich husband to take her away because she hates hats, and her assistant Minnie Fay (Amanda Baugh). A recently widowed matchmaker named Dolly Levi (Mack) is hired to find a wife for Vandergelder but she decides that she wants to marry himself. She just needs to convince him! She eventually arranges for all of the couples to meet for a memorable evening at the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant in NYC and merriment ensues! The choreography in this show is incredible and the big song and dance numbers, including "I Put My Hand In," "Put on Your Sunday Clothes," "Dancing," "Before the Parade Passes By," "Waiters' Gallop," and "Hello, Dolly," are exuberant and dynamic and feature a large and incredibly talented ensemble. I really enjoyed the staging of these numbers, particularly "I Put My Hand In," because Dolly appears in the audience handing out her matchmaking cards to audience members (a cute girl sitting next to me got one of the cards and she held it tightly in her hands during the whole show), and "Elegance," because Cornelius, Barnaby, Irene, and Minnie travel all through the audience to get to the Harmonia Gardens because they boys can't afford to hire a cab. Mack oozes charm and charisma as Dolly and, while she has a wonderful voice, I loved all of her interactions with Clark because it is so much fun to watch all of her hilarious facial expressions as she bamboozles him! The rest of the main cast is also fantastic with Horton (I loved his voice) and Gibbs (he is an amazing dancer) as standouts. I was impressed by the set before I even reached my seat because the stage is stenciled with a pink, red, and black pattern with pink and white miniature Victorian houses with working lights around the perimeter of the stage to represent Yonkers and larger pink and white buildings in the wings, which are moved around the stage during the show, to represent NYC. The wings are also decorated with thousands of pink, white, and red flowers with bouquets of flowers and chandeliers hanging from the rafters. Elaborate set pieces, such Vandergelder's Hay & Feed, the millinery shop, and Harmonia Gardens Restaurant, come up from the pit, down from the rafters, and in from the wings, but I loved the train and cutouts of a marching band that cross the stage during "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" and "Before the Parade Passes By," respectively. Finally, the period costumes are gorgeous! Every dress features textured, embellished, embroidered, or bedazzled fabrics and every suit features patterned waistcoats, cravats, and hats. This show is so much fun (I found pink, red, and white confetti in my car when I got home) and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) before the parade passes you by!