Freaky Friday at the Empress

There are exceptions but I am not a big fan of turning popular movies into stage musicals because, in my opinion, they are incredibly contrived and this is especially true of Freaky Friday.  However, I saw a production of this show last night at the Empress Theatre and, while I didn't especially like the material, I enjoyed the performances.  Katherine Blake (Jen Kroff) is a single mother who owns her own catering business.  She is stressed out because she is catering her own wedding to Mike (Jeremy Jonsson) with the hope that it will be featured in a popular bridal magazine so she wants everything to be perfect.  Her moody and argumentative teenage daughter Ellie (Beck Skeen) doesn't want her to marry Mike and definitely doesn't want to attend the rehearsal dinner because she would rather participate in the school scavenger hunt organized by her crush Adam (Eli Carillo).  Both Katherine and Ellie each wish that the other could see the situation from her perspective and this wish (and a magic hourglass) causes them to switch bodies.  Chaos ensues as Katherine tries to navigate high school while Ellie deals with wedding preparations and a photo shoot.  They think that finding another hourglass will switch them back but Katherine and Ellie must ultimately learn to appreciate each other for who they are before things can return to normal.  Most of the songs are largely forgettable (although I do like "I'm Not Myself Today" because it is an emotional turning point) but the show is elevated by the performances of Kroff and Skeen.  They both have wonderful voices and great comedic timing, especially when they imitate each other (I loved Kroff's wobble while walking in high heels and Skeen's facial expressions when reacting to the goings on at school).  I also really enjoyed the ensemble because they are enthusiastic and give it their all in executing the fun choreography.  When I saw a production of this show at HCT I was really impressed with their elaborate set but I think I actually prefer the minimal set in this production because it put all of the emphasis on the choreography.  This show will never be a favorite but I had a lot of fun watching this heartfelt production and recommend getting a ticket to one of the three remaining performances (go here).

Master Gardener

The next movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was Master Gardner.  As a huge fan of First Reformed, I was very intrigued by Paul Schrader's latest exploration of redemption and, even though it pales in comparison to that movie, I appreciated a more optimistic resolution.  Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton) is a man with a violent past who has left that life behind to become the head gardener at an extensive estate owned by Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver).  He appreciates the rules and order that can be imposed upon a garden after living a life of chaos and records his thoughts in a daily journal.  However, his ordered life is thrown into chaos once again when Norma demands that he take her troubled grand-niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell) on as an apprentice but his need to protect her from the consequences of her past becomes a way for him to atone for his.  A lot of the dialogue in this is incredibly cringe-worthy (I even laughed out loud during a scene that was definitely not meant to be funny) and I wasn't as emotionally invested in the story as I was for the one told in First Reformed (perhaps because the themes are becoming repetitious).  However, all of the performances are compelling, especially Weaver's turn as the haughty and petty owner of the estate (I think it is her best in years).  Also, I was initially a bit disappointed that, apart from a beautiful stop-motion title sequence with blooming flowers, the gardens seem very drab and lifeless but a gorgeous sequence involving magical realism as Narvel and Maya drive through a forest of flowers highlights how empty his life has been without Maya (this is my interpretation).  Finally, I loved the metaphor about how planting a garden is an act of hope for the future because it left me feeling positive about the fate of these characters (which is rare in a film by Schrader).  I didn't love this as much as I was expecting to but it is thought-provoking enough for me to recommend it.

Carmen

It was another double feature at the Broadway for me last night and I started with Carmen, Benjamin Millepied's directorial debut.  It is meant to be a reimagining of Carmen by Georges Bizet but it shares a vibe with the famous tragic opera rather than a plot.  After her mother Zilah (Marina Tamayo) is brutally gunned down, Carmen (Melissa Barrera) is forced to leave her home in the Mexican desert and cross the border illegally.  Aidan (Paul Mescal), a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who is clearly suffering from PTSD, volunteers with the border guard but ends up impulsively killing another volunteer who captures Carmen.  Soon the two of them are on the run to Los Angeles so Carmen can find Zilah's friend Masilda (Rossy de Palma) who owns a nightclub there.  They begin a passionate relationship but can they outrun their fate?  There are some amazing dance sequences (Millepied is better known as a choreographer and it shows) interspersed in the narrative and this, rather than dialogue, is how all of the characters express their emotions (my favorite is a high energy hip-hop dance sequence when Aidan is involved in an underground boxing match).  Barrera is a beautiful and expressive dancer and she and Mescal sizzle in their scenes together.  The visuals are absolutely gorgeous, particularly the recurring image of fire, and the music is incredibly evocative and haunting.  Even though the story is very superficial and Carmen and Aidan seem more like archetypes rather than fully fleshed out characters, I was mesmerized from beginning to end.  This might not be for everyone but I recommend it to those who appreciate movies with a unique vision.

Messiaen's Turangalîla

Last night's Utah Symphony concert was absolutely spectacular!  The entire program consisted of an 80-minute performance of Turangalîla-Symphonie by Olivier Messiaen and it was incredibly dramatic to say the least!  The title of the piece comes from two Sanskrit words which, when combined together, mean love, joy, time, movement, rhythm, life, and death.  I especially enjoyed the use of a large percussion section (I loved the gong and the chimes) featuring nine different musicians!  Utah Symphony Principal Keyboard Jason Hardink was a featured soloist on piano and Augustin Viard joined the orchestra on the ondes Martenot (he is one of only a few musicians who can play this instrument, which sounds a lot like a theremin, and it was flown in from France just for this concert).  It is comprised of ten separate movements but there are several themes that appear throughout.  My favorite themes were the "statue" theme, which is represented by the trombones and tuba and is incredibly powerful, and the "flower" theme, which consists of two clarinets and is very delicate.  They are often entwined together and are meant to represent the masculine and feminine, especially in the first and third movements.  The "love" theme includes a beautiful melody played by the strings and the ondes and this is incredibly ethereal in sixth movement.  Another theme involves chords played by the piano in opposition to the rest of the orchestra and this is energetic and almost frenzied, particularly with the percussion in the seventh movement.  Hardink's performance was brilliant with several very demanding solo cadenzas and I loved watching his fingers flying up and down the keyboard.  Viard was also really fun to watch on the ondes because I could never really figure out what he was doing.  He was definitely using the keyboard but he was also controlling the sound of the notes with the movement of his fingers.  Whatever he was doing, it looked and sounded really cool!  This piece was completely over-the-top and, while it was sometimes overwhelming to me, it was definitely thrilling!  It is not performed very often because of the orchestra personnel required so, if you are intrigued, you should definitely get a ticket to tonight's performance (go here).

In the Heights at the Grand Theatre

Last night I was really excited to see In the Heights at the Grand Theatre.  I love this show so much and this is a fantastic production!  A woman named Claudia (Sonia Maritza Inoa-Rosado Maughan) acts as an abuela, or grandmother, to everyone in a small community in Washington Heights.  Usnavi (Armando Serrano) runs a bodega which is beset with problems, including a refrigerator that doesn't work, and tries to keep his wayward cousin Sonny (Avery Sims) in line but dreams of returning to the cool breezes of the Dominican Republic.  Vanessa (Sophia Morrill Mancilla) is hoping to escape the barrio, and an abusive mother, to move downtown but a credit check for her new apartment stands in her way.  Nina (Aisha Marie Garcia) is the pride of her parents, Kevin (Monte Garcia) and Camila (Sophia Valdez Davis), and the whole neighborhood because she received a scholarship to Stanford.  But college is a lot harder than she thought it would be, especially since she has to work two jobs to make ends meet, and she is thinking of quitting.  Benny (Onias Snuka) dreams of taking over the cab company owned by Kevin but his interest in Nina sours his relationship with his employer.  Abuela Claudia has looked after all of them their whole lives and she just might find a way to help them make their dreams come true!  The entire cast, which is made up of POC, is amazing but the standouts for me are Garcia and Snuka as Nina and Benny.  My favorite songs in the show are "When You're Home," "Sunrise," and "When the Sun Goes Down" and Garcia and Snuka perform them with so much emotion that I had tears in my eyes during all three!  I also really enjoyed Whitney Harris Gutirrez as Daniela because she is so dramatic and her renditions of "No Me Diga" and "Carnaval del Barrio" are so fun.  The ensemble is also really strong and they can really dance!  Speaking of which, the choreography for "In the Heights," "96,000," "The Club" (the dance-off between couples is so sultry), "Blackout," and "Carnaval del Barrio" is incredibly energetic but I absolutely loved that it seamlessly includes a member of the ensemble who is in a wheelchair (Mason Burr is a fantastic dancer).  I was also really impressed with the set, which features storefronts for Daniela's salon, Usnavi's bodega, and the Rosario Cab Company as well as Claudia's stoop with fire escapes connecting them, and the lighting design, especially the fireworks and the candlelight procession during "Alabanza."  I have seen this show many times and this production is one of the best!  Definitely get a ticket (go here).