Arsenic and Old Lace at the Grand Theatre

 

Last night I had a lot of fun seeing the hilarious play Arsenic and Old Lace at the Grand Theatre.  Mortimer Brewster (Bryan Harper) visits his elderly aunts Abby (Betsy West) and Martha (Alyssa Hickman Grove) only to discover a dead body in the window seat.  He learns that several old and lonely men have visited, answering an advertisement for a room to rent, and that the Brewster sisters have done their Christian duty by ending their misery with a glass of elderberry wine (with the addition of arsenic).  Their nephew and Mortimer's brother Teddy (Jim Nelson), who believes that he is Teddy Roosevelt, buries these men in the cellar because he thinks he is digging locks for the Panama Canal.  Chaos ensues when Mortimer's other brother Jonathan (David Hanson), a homicidal maniac, returns to the house needing to dispose of his own dead body which eventually ends up in the window seat, too!  Add an unwilling accomplice (Isaac Maltby), a bumbling policeman who really wants to be a playwright (Robert A. Easton), and a curious fiance (Katie Plott) and you have a thoroughly entertaining dark comedy that will keep you laughing all evening!  I really enjoyed the physicality of the performances and the cast has great comedic timing.  I especially loved it every time Teddy charges up the staircase as if he were in the Battle of San Juan Hill and when Mortimer and Jonathan each think they are hiding a different body in the window seat.  I also enjoyed the over the top characterizations because Harper is completely overwrought as Mortimer, West and Grove are incredibly dry and understated as the Brewster sisters, and Hanson is suitably menacing as Jonathan.  Finally, I loved the elaborate multi-level set (the staircase and window seat are fantastic) which includes all of the little details that you would see in a fussy drawing room inhabited by spinsters (the lace antimacassar on the back of the chair was my favorite) and the period costumes (the old fashioned dresses worn by the Brewster sisters are so funny compared to the other costumes).  This play is a classic comedy for a reason and fans of the genre are sure to love it (there was a big crowd last night).  It runs Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (with several Saturday matinees) through April 6 (go here for tickets).

Seussical the Musical at CPT

I am not a fan of Seussical the Musical but Utah audiences seem to love it so local theatre companies program it a lot. Because I am a subscriber, I saw CPT's production last night and, while the sets, projections, costumes, and performances are outstanding, nothing can compensate for the fact that the story is nonsensical, convoluted, and loses focus in the second act. This musical shoehorns the children's stories of Dr. Seuss, including Horton Hears a Who, Gertrude McFuzz, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, Yertle the Turtle, Horton Hatches the Egg, I Had Trouble Getting to Solla Sollew, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, McElligot's Pool, Oh Say Can You Say?, Hunches in Bunches, If I Ran the Circus, Dr. Seuss's ABC, The Butter Battle Book, Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!, Fox in Socks, The Cat in the Hat, The Sneetches and Other Stories, Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?, and Oh, The Places You'll Go!, into an incomprehensible story about an imaginative boy named Jojo, who sometimes gets in trouble for all of the thinks that he thinks, and the adventures he goes on with The Cat in the Hat. The positive message at the end is that anything is possible and that you can go anywhere you want just by thinking your thinks but it is all just so overstuffed with too many characters and ideas. I even find the music to be very repetitive. There are endless reprises of "Oh, The Things You Can Think" and "How Lucky You Are" and, even though the songs feature lots of different genres, they all blur together. The best thing about this show is the unbelievably talented cast, especially Emily Henwood as Gertrude McFuzz because she is so awkward and endearing, Dan Call as Horton the Elephant because he is incredibly sympathetic (his versions of "Alone in the Universe" and "Solla Sollew" were definitely the highlights for me), Meish Roundy as The Cat in the Hat because he makes for a boisterous and entertaining emcee, and Lelini Iongi as Jojo because he is absolutely adorable. The sets and projections mimic the bold, colorful, and fantastical world of Dr. Seuss's books and the costumes are a lot of fun, especially the fanciful feathered costumes worn by Gertrude, Mayzie (Janae Klumpp Gibb) and the Bird Girls (Katherine Frandsen, Brookelynn Alapa, and Cassie Dibbins) and the leather vests worn by Wickersham Brothers (Dylan Floyd Panter, Joshua David Lee, and Sterling Shane Allen).  The staging and choreography are imaginative and dynamic, particularly in "Here on Who," "It's Possible," "Monkey Around," "Circus McGurkus," "A Message From the Front," and "Havin' a Hunch." I really cannot find anything to fault with this production but I think this show just isn't for me and I have given myself permission to never see it again. Seussical the Musical runs on the Barlow Main Stage at CPT through April 13 and I recommend it because others seem to enjoy it much more than I do (go here for tickets).

Note:  Does anyone want my ticket to HCTO's production in June?

National Theatre Live: Vanya

The main focus of my BA in English was British literature but if I were to do it all over again I would definitely study Russian literature because I love it.  I don't know what this says about me but I really relate to the dark themes in the works of Dostoevsky (my favorite author), Tolstoy, Pushkin, and Chekhov.  So I was really excited to have the chance see Vanya, a bold retelling of the play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov starring Andrew Scott, which was filmed live on stage by National Theatre Live during its sold out run at the Duke of York's Theatre in London.  I saw this screening, presented by the Tanner Humanities Center and the Salt Lake Film Society, yesterday and it is absolutely brilliant.  The original setting has been changed to a potato farm in Ireland, the names have been anglicized, the dialogue has been modernized, and Scott portrays all of the characters with a very minimal set but the impact is just as powerful as the source material.  Alexander, an elderly filmmaker who hasn't had a hit in years, visits the vast estate he inherited from his late wife Anna with his much younger second wife Helena.  Anna's brother Ivan and Anna and Alexander's daughter Sonia have been running the estate for years and are bitter and angry at the disruption.  Ivan is in love with Helena and cannot understand why she is wasting her life with such a worthless old man like Alexander.  Sonia is secretly in love with her father's doctor Michael and calls him repeatedly to see to his aches and pains but he keeps returning because he is also in love with Helena.  These repressed passions and resentments eventually lead to a dramatic confrontation when Alexander announces that he plans to sell the estate.  Sonia reassures Ivan that, even though they have no joy in their lives, they will eventually receive their reward.  Scott brings each of these characters, and several others who provide comic relief, to life with very specific accents, body language, and props and it is absolutely mesmerizing (I loved it whenever Helena would play with her necklace and when Maureen, the housekeeper, would chain smoke).  It is easy to distinguish between the characters, even when they are interacting with each other, and Scott portrays their boredom, frustration, and unhappiness with so much passion.  It is a remarkable performance!  The nearly empty stage is filled with mismatched pieces, such as what one might see during rehearsals, and a large mirror gives the impression of more than one character on the stage.  Scott is dressed simply so as not to detract from his performance and this is very effective.  I was blown away by this production and I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than by seeing a Russian play about the meaninglessness of life!

Arthur the King

Mark Wahlberg is hit or miss with me but I love dogs so I decided to see Arthur the King last night and, for the second night in a row, I needed tissues for another inspirational true story.  Michael Light (Wahlberg) is an adventure racer desperate for what might be his last chance to win after failing to complete his last race.  He assembles a team for the world championships in the Dominican Republic including Chik (Ali Suliman), who was dropped by his former team after a knee injury, Olivia (Nathalie Emmanuel), who is fighting her own demons, and Leo (Simu Liu), a former teammate stipulated by a sponsor because of his large social media following.  As they begin the grueling race, which consists of trekking through dense vegetation, mountain climbing, biking through treacherous terrain, and kayaking, Michael notices an injured stray dog at a transition station and feeds him.  The dog, who they name Arthur, begins following them and, at a crucial moment, he saves their lives.  Michael bonds with him as he becomes a sort of mascot for the team and this friendship becomes more important than winning.  I really enjoyed this movie because it features exciting action, including an incredibly tense scene involving a zip-line, a compelling character seeking redemption for past failures, and an emotional story about a man and a dog who end up saving each other.  Wahlberg actually does a great job portraying the bond between his character and Arthur and has undeniable chemistry with Ukai (the dog who plays Arthur), especially in a scene where he has to coax Arthur into a crate.  I was very invested in their friendship and I was definitely crying during several emotional moments (I was not the only one).  This is not very deep or groundbreaking but it is a feel-good movie that dog lovers are sure to enjoy!

One Life

Last night I went to see a Thursday preview of One Life, the true story of how an ordinary man did something extraordinary to save hundreds of children on the eve of World War II, and I am glad I brought tissues because I definitely needed them!  In 1988, Nicholas Winton (Anthony Hopkins) is retired and living in Maidenhead, England with his wife Grete (Lena Olin).  She is exasperated by all of the clutter that he has held on to over the years so, while she is out of town, he attempts to organize it and finds a scrapbook from his time helping refugees in Czechoslovakia.  As he thinks about what to do with the scrapbook, the narrative shifts to 1938 when twenty-nine year old Nicholas Winton (Johnny Flynn) visits Czechoslovakia after the Munich Agreement gives Hitler control of the Sudetenland.  He is horrified by the appalling conditions in which many of the refugees, but especially the children, pouring into Prague are forced to live and requests that Doreen Warriner (Romola Garai), the head of the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia, help them but she tells him that she must prioritize the political figures facing arrest.  He decides to evacuate the children himself with the help of his mother Babi (Helena Bonham Carter), herself a former refugee.  Nicholas and his mother overcome tremendous obstacles to acquire visas, raise funds, and find foster homes in England for 669 children, most of whom are Jewish, before the border is closed after the German invasion of Poland.  The narrative then shifts back to 1988 after Winton's scrapbook ends up with the producers of the That's Life! TV show.  He is invited to a taping of the show but is surprised to discover that many of the children he saved are in the audience (I loved that the descendants of the children saved by Winton were used as extras in this scene) and has an emotional reunion with them.  This movie is a very conventional British period piece in terms of execution (luckily I happen to love these) but it is elevated by an incredibly compelling and moving story and by wonderful performances.  I loved learning more about this unlikely hero who acts simply because of a sense of altruism and there are several poignant scenes that had me (and most of the audience) crying, especially one where Winton is finally able to express his feelings after repressing his guilt at not being able to save all of the children for so long and multiple scenes where parents say heart wrenching goodbyes to the children they will most likely never see again as they board the trains to England.  I also really liked a scene where the young Winton gives his reasons why a rabbi should trust him with a list of children's names.  Hopkins is brilliant, particularly in the silences, but I really love the way in which Flynn, in one of his best performances, adopts all of his mannerisms and the two of them really do seem like an older and younger version of the same person.  Bonham Carter is also a standout, especially when Babi imperiously tells a bureaucrat to sit down and listen to her and, even though Doreen is not a very well-developed character, Garai portrays her frustration in a very visceral way.  The message that one man can make a difference in the world is a powerful one and I highly recommend this inspiring movie (just bring lots of tissues).