The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

I saw the hilarious show The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at the Utah Shakespeare Festival years ago and I loved it so I was really looking forward to seeing the Terrace Plaza Playhouse's production last night. It was so much fun! A group of actors (Josh Curtis, Jenni Cooper, and Whitney Cahoon), who portray themselves and break the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience, attempt to perform all of Shakespeare's plays in 90 minutes. Hilarity ensues! They begin with a brief biography of Shakespeare, but they mistake the bard for Adolf Hitler, and then continue with the tragedies (Romeo and Juliet, which features commentary about consent, Titus Andronicus, which is presented as a cooking show, and Macbeth, which is performed with incomprehensible Scottish accents, are the highlights). Next they present the comedies as one long play with interchangeable characters (designated by different hats) because they all have the same plot and then perform all of the history plays as a football game with all of the kings as players and a crown instead of a ball (they call a flag on the play when King Lear tries to divide the kingdom between his daughters). At this point they realize that they have forgotten Hamlet but decide that they need a break. After the intermission, they present the sonnets (with help from the audience using Mad-Libs) and then perform an over the top version of Hamlet with lots of audience participation when they decide to psychoanalyze Ophelia. They finish early so they decide to perform Hamlet again in an attempt to break the record for the fastest production (53 seconds) and, when they do that, they decide to perform it backwards! I could not stop laughing during the entire show because it involves a lot of physical comedy.  It also allows for the addition of current pop culture references (I loved the use of Taylor Swift's song "Love Story" at the end of Romeo and Juliet), people and events specific to the area (there were many mentions of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City), interactions with the audience (there was a large group of high school students in attendance which made this really fun), as well as lots of improvisation (especially when props would malfunction). The cast is fantastic with brilliant comedic timing, especially in the scenes where they are portraying multiple characters, and I loved all of their facial expressions. The actors wear white blouses, black pantaloons, white hose, and black Converse high-tops and this allows them to become multiple characters with the addition of different costume pieces (my favorite costume was for the nurse in Romeo and Juliet because the audience howled with laughter at the obviously fake boobs). The stage is very simple with three red curtains, from which the actors make their entrances, and two large trunks on either side containing costumes and props. I had so much fun watching this show and I was really impressed with all of the students in the audience because they definitely picked up on all of the references! I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) during its run with shows Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays through April 6.

Bonnie & Clyde at PTC

I have been looking forward to Bonnie & Clyde at PTC ever since the 2023-2024 season was announced so I braved the wind driving to and the snow driving from the theater to see a matinee yesterday. It was worth it because I really loved this show (I had never seen it before). A young Bonnie Parker (Elisabeth Wilkins) wants to be a star on the big screen just like Clara Bow while Clyde Barrow (Daniel Michael Sorokine) spends his youth yearning for the excitement of being an outlaw like Billy the Kid. When they meet during the height of the Great Depression, Bonnie (Alanna Saunders) is a waitress and Clyde (Michael William Nigro) is an escaped convict but they both want to leave West Dallas. They fall in love and Bonnie is drawn into Clyde's life of crime, first when she helps him escape from prison again and then when they go on the run in her 1931 roadster. They become heroes to those who have suffered during the depression and, as their fame grows, they escalate from robbery to murder which gets the attention of retired Texas Ranger Frank Hamer (Daniel Simons). As they become more and more reckless and involve Clyde's brother Buck (Dan DeLuca) and his wife Blanche (Gina Milo), their adventure comes to an inevitable end when their car is ambushed on a Louisiana road. The story takes a long time to get going in the first act and then seems a bit rushed in the second act but I still found it to be very compelling, particularly the juxtaposition between the relationship between Bonnie and Clyde and that of Buck and Blanche. The music in this show is fantastic with a blues, gospel, and rockabilly sound. I especially loved "Picture Show" as Bonnie dreams of being on the screen, "This World Will Remember Me" as Clyde dreams of being an outlaw, "God's Arms Are Always Open" as a Preacher (Christian Brailsford) and Blanche try to get Buck to give up his life of crime, "You Love Who You Love" as Bonnie and Blanche realize that they can't help loving the Barrow brothers, "Raise A Little Hell" as Clyde plots to break out of prison, "Made in America" as the people express their desperation over their circumstances, and "Dyin' Ain't So Bad" as Bonnie consoles herself with the knowledge that she and Clyde have lived life on their terms. Both Saunders and Nigro have beautiful voices and give incredible performances that just about blow the roof off the theater. They are matched by the performances of DeLuca and Milo, especially when the four of them sing together. I also really liked Ben Jacoby as Ted Hinton, a policeman who is interested in Bonnie, because exhibits so much longing in the song "You Can Do Better Than Him."  This show features one of my favorite sets at PTC because it is so unique.  The backdrop is a three-story structure made of corrugated metal (it looks like the kind of bleak structure that would exist during the Great Depression) which features the mugshots of Bonnie, Clyde, Buck, and Blanche as well as a giant marquee (it looks like the front of a movie theater) that lights up to show the various locations in the show.  The action takes place in front of the backdrop with the addition of a few minimal props (I loved the roadster) as well as within an area inside that represents the couple's hideout. The lighting design is moody and atmospheric with sepia tones that turn into a dramatic splash of red during the scenes involving violence. The period costumes also feature sepia tones but Bonnie's become more colorful the more notorious she becomes. The story itself could have been more cohesive but I loved every aspect of this production and I highly recommend it (the audience at my performance was the largest I've seen at PTC this season). It runs through March 9 and tickets may be purchased here.

Clue at HCT

Yesterday afternoon I went to see a matinee of Clue on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage at HCT. At this point I have seen several productions of this play based on a movie based on a board game and, while I did enjoy some of the elements, this is probably my least favorite (the best one I've seen was at the Utah Shakespeare Festival). Six guests, including Colonel Mustard (Sanford Porter), Mrs. Peacock (Jayne Luke), Professor Plum (Taylor Seth Hall), Mrs. White (Stephanie Breinholt), Mr. Green (Jeffrey Whitlock), and Miss Scarlet (Kristi Curtis), are invited by Mr. Boddy (Jacob Thomason) to his manor under unusual circumstances on a dark and stormy evening. Mr. Boddy has been blackmailing each of them and, after providing them with weapons, he tells them that he will return the evidence he has against them if they kill his butler Wadsworth (Bryan Dayley). Murder and mayhem ensue! This show is one of the funniest that I have ever seen but this production felt really flat to me and I rarely heard the audience laughing. Dayley, who is one of my favorite comedic actors at HCT, gives an incredibly physical performance (which I loved) as Wadsworth that is completely over the top and at a fever pitch but all of the other actors play it straight as if they are appearing in a traditional murder mystery and I thought this sometimes caused some pacing issues (this performance featured a mix of actors from both the MWF and THS casts who are not used to performing together so that may have added to the low energy). In one particular scene, for example, Dayley reenacts every murder in great detail (so much so that he is completely out of breath at the end of it) while the rest of the cast stands inert around him (there are quite a few scenes where the cast just stands in a straight line). In most productions that I have seen, the guests use elaborate, and often hilarious, choreography to move from room to room but in this show Dayley is the only one who does this while the others just follow him around. Mr. Green is usually one of my favorite characters because he is so flamboyant but in this production Whitlock plays him as more of a nerd (so his final line really falls flat). Speaking of dialogue, it is incredibly witty and is usually performed at a rapid-fire speed. The delivery from this cast was almost sluggish (it involved a lot of empty silences) and many of the jokes didn't seem to land. I am not sure if these choices were made consciously by the production team to distinguish it from other versions but I found it a bit disappointing in comparison. I did not, however, find the elaborate two-story set to be disappointing! There are two doors on either side of the stage used by the actors to travel from room to room and a turntable that rotates to reveal the entry hall, the lounge, the study, the kitchen, and the billiards room at various times with set pieces for the library coming down from above and projections for the conservatory (located on the upper level). I also really enjoyed the dramatic lighting, especially the spotlight on each guest as he or she arrives at the manor, and the costumes which feature just a bit of each character's signature color are a lot of fun. Finally, an organist (Kevin Self) located on the upper level plays melodramatic music throughout the proceedings and this really adds to the murder-mystery atmosphere. Maybe I am being too hard on this production (or maybe I have seen this show too many times) but the tickets are really expensive so I can't in good conscience recommend this simply because the production design is good. Go see Fiddler on the Roof instead!  It is fantastic and runs on the Young Living Centre Stage through March 30 (go here for tickets).

MJ The Musical at the Eccles

Last night I had so much fun seeing MJ The Musical at the Eccles Theatre.  I am a big fan of Michael Jackson's music so I literally had to stop myself from singing along with every song!  This is a jukebox musical featuring many of Jackson's best known hits and it tells his life story but the premise is very clever.  Michael Jackson is creating his 1992 Dangerous World Tour and is facing resistance from his tour manager Rob and his financial advisor Dave because some of his ideas are deemed impossible and too expensive.  He refuses to compromise his vision and rehearses the numbers in the show, including "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Smooth Criminal," "Jam," "Bad," and "Black or White."  In between numbers he is interviewed for a documentary by Rachel and her cameraman Alejandro and he recounts his experiences with the Jackson 5 ("The Love You Save," "I Want You Back," and "ABC"), his fear of never pleasing his father Joe ("I'll Be There"), his decision to leave Berry Gordy at Motown to collaborate with Quincy Jones ("Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"), his fear that the new album and tour won't live up to expectations ("They Don't Care About Us"), and his frustrations with the press ("Human Nature").  He finally faces his demons ("Thriller") and decides to let his music tell the story ("Man in the Mirror").  As you can imagine, the elaborate choreography is absolutely amazing and it brilliantly recreates some of Jackson's most iconic performances (my favorite was "Billie Jean," which mimics his performance at the Motown 25th Anniversary concert, because I have vivid memories of watching it at the time).  I also really enjoyed the staging of the musical numbers because the rehearsal of the tour takes place on a stripped down stage and the flashbacks feature projections and set pieces that are moved seamlessly on and off that same stage as if Michael is remembering events as he is describing them to Rachel.  Specific songs are used very well to advance the narrative about Jackson's life (I especially loved "Stranger in Moscow" because, even though it was written after the Dangerous World Tour, it perfectly illustrates the isolation Jackson feels as his ideas are rejected) so it feels like a story rather than just a concert.  Three different actors portray Jackson at different stages of his life.  MJ (Roman Banks) rehearses the tour while Michael (Brandon Lee Harris) and Little Michael (Josiah Benson) appear in the flashback sequences.  All three give outstanding performances and there were moments when it really seemed like it was actually Michael Jackson on the stage (Benson is adorable).  Almost all of the ensemble play multiple roles and they sometimes transform from one to the other right on stage.  Having Devin Bowles portray both Joe Jackson and Rob is especially effective because both characters serve the same function in Jackson's life.  This is a high-energy show that fans of Michael Jackson are sure to enjoy and I highly recommend it.  It runs at the Eccles Theatre though March 3 (go here for tickets).

Perfect Days

Last night I went to the Broadway to see Perfect Days and I absolutely loved it because it reminded me of Paterson (my favorite comfort movie).  Hirayama (Koji Yakusho) is a middle-aged man who lives alone in a modest apartment in a suburb of Tokyo and cleans a group of public bathrooms with architectural significance in Tokyo for a living.  Even though he is a manual laborer, he goes above and beyond what is expected of him and takes pride in a job well done (he even provides some of his own specialized tools).  He adheres to a very regimented routine from the moment he wakes up until the moment he goes to sleep (which we see repeatedly portrayed) but he greets every morning with a smile and takes delight in small pleasures such as caring for his greenhouse of plants, selecting the music for the day from his collection of cassette tapes, photographing the patterns he sees made by the trees in the park, and reading from his collection of books (which he adds to every week) before bed.  He seems to be very isolated but he enjoys the random interactions he has with the people he sees during the day (my favorite involves a game of tic-tac-toe).  He appears happy and content but a surprise visit from his niece Niko (Arisa Nakano) hints at a deep sadness and suggests that his serenity is a choice that he makes every day.  This is a slow-moving character driven narrative without a lot of action but I found the message that there is beauty in the mundane to be incredibly moving (much like in Paterson) and, even though it is often very repetitive, it is strangely compelling (watching a man scrub a toilet shouldn't be this riveting but it is).  Yakusho gives a deeply empathetic performance (he won Best Actor at this year's Cannes Film Festival) and conveys everything that Hirayama is feeling with almost no dialogue.  The final scene where his expression vacillates between happiness and despair while listening to "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone on the drive to work is beautiful and cathartic.  Finally, I loved the music because selecting what he will listen to during the day conveys so much about Hirayama's state of mind.  I especially loved "The House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals, "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison, and, obviously, "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed.  This is a lovely and gentle movie that will stay with you long after you've seen it and I highly recommend it.