Jazz vs. Kings

My friend Angela renewed her Utah Jazz ticket package and, just like last season, she very graciously allowed me to select several games to attend with her.  The first game I picked, against the Toronto Raptors (for reasons), is not until January but, when Angela let me know that the ticket for the game last night was available, I jumped at the chance to go!  The arena is once again known as the Delta Center (which is really funny to me because I still called it the Delta Center for years after the name changed) so there was a big celebration out on the plaza before the game and it was so much fun to be there.  The atmosphere inside was just as electric because it was the first game of the season and we have several new players with a lot of promise on the roster.  The Jazz played the Sacramento Kings and they let them take an early lead in the first few minutes of the first quarter.  Despite 24 points from Jordan Clarkson, 19 from Lauri Markkanen, 15 from John Collins and some exciting back-to-back layups from Talen Horton-Tucker and Walker Kessler, the Kings never relinquished that early lead for the rest of the game and even led by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter.  It was a bit frustrating because the Jazz couldn't seem to stop Sacramento's offense, especially their three-point shots, while their own offense struggled to find a rhythm (I think they are still learning how to play together as a team).  By the fourth quarter, the Kings were basically having their way with the Jazz and they ended up winning 130-114.  Despite the loss I was really excited by what I saw from our rookie Keyonte George (I like him a lot).  He ended up playing 19 minutes and finished with eight points (including an exciting dunk that got the crowd cheering), two rebounds, and two assists.  I am looking forward to watching his progress this season!  It was also a lot of fun to spend time with Angela and I'm so glad I got to go to the game with her even with the final outcome.

Note:  The Jazz won every game I attended for the past two seasons.  It looks like my streak is now over.

The Rocky Horror Show at PTC

I have been waiting for PTC's production of The Rocky Horror Show with great ANTICI.....say it.....PATION. I was able to see it last night and I had so much fun! This cult classic is a campy spoof of science fiction B-movies complete with an usher named Magenta (Ginger Bess) who introduces the story. While driving home on a rainy night, a young and naive couple named Brad (Alex Walton) and Janet (Alanna Saunders) get a flat tire and end up at the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Jeremiah James), a cross dressing mad scientist from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy Transylvania, who is having a wild party with his entourage, including Riff Raff (Hernando Umana) and Columbia (Micki Martinez), to unveil his latest creation Rocky (Michael Dalke), a beautiful and muscular man designed to give pleasure. Hi-jinks (and a floor show) ensue! The Narrator last night (the role rotates between three different Utah personalities) was the popular former news anchor Randall Carlisle and he got some of the biggest laughs of the evening, especially with his references to BYU. The rest of the main cast is also outstanding with great voices and excellent comedic timing! James is perfect as Frank with all of his over-the-top facial expressions and I loved his flamboyant rendition of "Sweet Transvestite" and his surprisingly poignant version of "I'm Going Home." Walton provides a lot of the comedy as the nerdy Brad and I laughed out loud during "Damn It, Janet" and "Once in a While." The same could be said of Saunders as the prudish Janet because the physical comedy as she loses her sexual inhibitions during her performance of "Touch-A Touch Me" is a highlight of the show. The choreography is so much fun, particularly the iconic number "Time Warp" and the dazzling "Floor Show." I also loved how Frank's seduction of both Janet and Brad is staged and the ending of the song "Space Ship" provides a lot of laughs. The costumes, including corsets, garters, fishnet stockings, and high heels, are fabulously outrageous and the hair and makeup are very glam while the stage features a spooky castle backdrop (I loved all of the freestanding candelabras) with lots of quirky laboratory set pieces. A live band is also located on stage and they sound fabulous! Of course, what makes a live performance of The Rocky Horror Show so much fun is all of the audience participation! Even though it had been quite a while since I'd seen it, I remembered the words to the songs, when to use all of the props (prop kits are available to purchase for $5.00 online and in the lobby before the show), and most of the talk backs! I always think it is so funny to yell "asshole" and "slut" every time the names Brad and Janet, respectively, are mentioned. To be sure, this show provides a fun and raucous night out but, more than anything, it has a powerful message about acceptance that is needed now more than ever and I highly recommend it! It runs at PTC through October 31 with several matinees and late night performances (go here for tickets).

Note:  One of my fondest memories from participating in high school theatre is when a bunch of us climbed up to the catwalk and performed "Time Warp" at a late night rehearsal.  It was so fun to perform it again last night at the end of the show.

The Birds

I am a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock (my rankings change all of the time but he is definitely one of my top three favorite directors) so I was really excited to see The Birds, which is back in theaters in honor of its 60th anniversary, last night.  I have seen this movie many times but it was a very different experience seeing it on the big screen!  Socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) meets a man named Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet store as he attempts to buy two lovebirds for his eleven-year-old sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright).  On impulse, she decides to buy the birds and take them to him at his family home in the small Northern California town of Bodega Bay where she meets his former girlfriend Annie (Suzanne Pleshette) and his disapproving mother Lydia (Jessica Tandy).  As the relationship between Melanie and Mitch develops, the town is inexplicably and viciously attacked by a variety of birds.  What is so brilliant about this movie is the almost casual introduction of the romance between Melanie and Mitch with subtle foreshadowing of the horror to come.  Then, when the birds finally begin attacking, the tension is almost unbearable.  I was especially unnerved by the suspense as Melanie waits for Cathy outside of the schoolhouse while birds ominously gather on the playground and when Mitch, Melanie, Lydia, and Cathy anxiously wait inside their house for an attack they know is coming.  The practical effects, involving both real and mechanical birds, really hold up because they are quite disturbing, particularly the attack on the school children as they are running away, the attack on Melanie as she is trapped in a phone booth, and the attack on Melanie in the attic.  The sound design is absolutely brilliant because the sound of the birds attacking is terrifying but the use of silence is even more effective at creating an atmosphere of dread.  Finally, the ending is so bleak (my audience sat in stunned silence even after the lights came back on) but it is the perfect way to emphasize the fact that we are all powerless against the forces of nature.  This is one of Hitchcock's best movies, in my opinion, and I'm so glad I got to see it on the big screen (especially during the month of October).

Pumpkin Carving 2023

Since Tashena is living in Washington and Sean is in college living in a dorm, Marilyn and I thought that we probably wouldn't be doing some of our holiday traditions this year.  Then Marilyn got a text from Sean asking when we would be carving pumpkins!  We had our annual pumpkin carving party last night while he was home for dinner (my family gets together every Sunday for dinner) and it was a lot of fun!

I am quite proud of my pumpkin this year because it actually turned out like the pattern!

I have a picture like this from every year since he was a little boy!  We'll see if he wants to do gingerbread houses for Christmas!

Ballet West's Dracula

Two years ago I had the opportunity to see Ballet West's amazing production of Dracula and it immediately became one of my favorites.  I was, therefore, really excited when I found out that it would open the 2023-2024 season and I loved seeing it again last night.  In Act I Dracula (Tyler Gum) emerges very dramatically from a tomb in the crypt of his castle and summons all of his brides who dance at his command.  I really loved the choreography in this scene because the brides, who wear ethereal white dresses, are controlled by Dracula with just a glance or gesture and he works them up into a frenzy as they leap (and sometimes fly) across the stage.  Renfield (Vinicius Lima), Dracula's minion, brings a young woman named Flora (Amy Potter) to the castle in a horse-drawn carriage (the horses are portrayed by dancers Kai Casperson and Phillipp Mergener and their costumes are very macabre).  The brides help Dracula to beguile her and the two of them dance a gorgeous Pas de Deux before he transforms her.  In Act II an innkeeper (Jake Preece) and his wife (Emily Adams) are celebrating the birthday of their daughter Svetlana (Katlyn Addison) with a group of peasants who perform various dances based on the folklore of the area.  The costumes worn by the peasants are very vibrant and colorful and I loved the patterns the women make with ribbons and the ones the men make with staffs in these dances.  Svetlana is in love with a peasant named Frederick (Hadriel Diniz) and, when they become betrothed, they dance another beautiful Pas de Deux.  They also perform a series of solos and I loved it when the choreography has Svetlana spinning on her heels.  Dracula hears of Svetlana's beauty so he sends Flora into the village to capture her and bring her to his castle.  In Act III Flora flies back and forth across the stage directing the other brides to prepare Dracula's bedchamber.  When Svetlana arrives Dracula attempts to beguile her in a stunning Pas de Deux where she appears to glide across the stage (I think Addison is a beautiful dancer and her grace and elegance are really on display in this role) but Frederick and her father interrupt him when they suddenly appear at the castle to rescue her.  A battle, featuring lots of special effects, ensues.  The performances are outstanding and the choreography is exciting but I also loved the atmospheric music by Franz Liszt (after the Utah Symphony concert the previous evening I immediately recognized the use of the Dies irae from the Requiem Mass), the beautiful costumes (including all of those I mentioned previously as well as a cape worn by Dracula which, when unfurled, looks like a bat's wings), and the striking sets (especially the dark and gloomy crypt in the castle).  This production is absolutely perfect for Halloween and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets).

Note:  I decided not to subscribe this season because I wanted to be able to choose performances based on casting.  I really enjoy seeing Katlyn Addison, my favorite dancer in the company, in a main role.