Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

My sister and I are big fans of the Planet of the Apes trilogy so we were really excited to see the latest installment, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, last night.  We both found it to be incredibly thought-provoking with amazing visual effects.  Many generations after the rule of Caesar, Noa (Owen Teague) is a young chimpanzee in an isolated clan that raises eagles and other birds of prey.  Wanting to impress his father Koro (Neil Sandilands), the master of the birds, Noa goes on a reckless journey to find an eagle egg and inadvertently leads a violent clan ruled by the brutal Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand) to his village.  Noa is injured, his father is killed, and the rest of the clan is taken.  Noa begins searching for his family and notices that a human is following him from a distance.  He also meets an orangutan named Raka (Peter Macon), a member of the Order of Caesar who follows the teachings of the former leader, and he informs Noa that humans and apes once lived peacefully together and that he should trust the human.  Noa and the human, who eventually tells him that her name is Mae (Freya Allan), are captured by Proximus and taken to his settlement.  Proximus reveals that he rules in Caesar's name and that all apes should join together to keep the humans subjugated no matter the cost.  Noa must decide who to trust if he is to save his clan.  The story is so thematically dense that my sister and I couldn't stop talking about it afterwards (and the more we talked about it the more ideas we discovered) but my main takeaway is that history and mythology are often distorted to manipulate the uninformed and that knowledge is the true power.  This does take a little while to get going but everything eventually comes together in the end (I loved the significance of the eagles) and the tension-filled action sequences in third act had me on the edge of my seat.  The images on the screen are simply spectacular with unbelievably realistic motion-capture performances and visual effects combined with shots on location.  Noa is a compelling character and is easy to root for, particularly as he struggles to make sense of events that happened in the past, and Proximus is a great villain (my sister thought he was terrifying).  This is a worthy successor to the original trilogy and sets the stage for further installments.  I highly recommend it!

Note:  It was so fun to see this with my sister!  She doesn't see very many movies in the theater but she has a list for the ones she wants to see this summer.

Utah Opera's Thaïs

I have been looking forward to Utah Opera's production of Thaïs by Jules Massenet all season because it is an opera that I was not familiar with.  I finally had the chance to see it last night and I absolutely loved it!  It is a big production that is staged very dramatically with beautiful music and powerful performances that kept me captivated.  Athanaël (Troy Cook) is a devout monk who has been disturbed by dreams about Thaïs (Nicole Heaston), a courtesan and devotee of Venus who lives only for love and pleasure.  He believes the dreams are a sign from God that he should travel to Alexandria to convert her to Christianity.  Once in Alexandria he seeks out his friend Nicias (Dominick Valdes-Chenes), who is Thaïs's current lover, and is invited to a feast later that evening where Thaïs mocks him for daring to defy Venus.  However, after the feast, she laments that she will grow old and die.  When Athanaël visits her room she attempts to seduce him but he refuses her advances and promises her eternal life instead.  She agrees to enter the convent after a night of meditation but suffers greatly on the journey through the desert.  Athanaël pushes her to continue as penance for her sins but begins to take pity on her and they share an idyllic moment together at a spring.  He reluctantly places her in the care of Mother Superior Albine (Aubrey Adams-McMillan) knowing he will never see her again but, when he is haunted by dreams of her, he renounces his vows in order to return to her.  He discovers that she is dying so he declares his love for her but Thaïs chooses God's love and eternal life instead which leaves him bereft.  The music, performed by the Utah Symphony under the baton of Steven White, is incredibly beautiful (I loved the themes played by the harp).  Even though I had never seen this opera before, I immediately recognized "Méditation" from the second act.  Concertmaster Madeline Adkins gave an emotional performance of the dramatic violin solo and the staging of this scene, featuring eight dancers with Repertory Dance Theatre, is spectacular.  I heard audible gasps from the audience when a dancer emerged from behind the sleeping figure of Thaïs as if her soul was ascending to a higher plane and all of the lifts in the choreography continue this theme culminating in a final haunting pose.  I was also struck by the juxtaposition of the staging in the scenes with the monks who circle Athanaël as he prays and the revelers who circle Thaïs as she performs.  The set and costumes also emphasize this juxtaposition because the gilded panels surrounding the stage appear silver in the monastery and gold in Thaïs's palace and Athanaël and the monks wear black while Thaïs, Nicias, and the revelers appear in a riot of sumptuous gold.  The role of Thaïs is a demanding one and Heaston's performance is brilliant.  Not only does she have a beautiful and powerful voice, the aria "Dis-moi que je suis belle" is a highlight, but she is convincing as both a licentious courtesan and a newly converted supplicant.  Cook is also believable in the role of an ascetic who is corrupted and I especially loved his voice in the duet "C'est toi, mon pere" with Heaston.  Another impressive performance was that of Katrina Galka as La Charmeuse as she entertains Nicias and the revelers.  I enjoyed every aspect of this production and I highly recommend taking advantage of this opportunity to see this rarely-performed opera.  There are two more performances (go here for tickets) on Friday and Sunday.

The Time Machine at HCT

Last night I went to Hale Theatre for the world premiere of The Time Machine, an original work by local playwright Michael D. Fox inspired by the novella of the same name by H.G. Wells. The premise is an interesting one and the sets, projections, and special effects are very impressive but, unfortunately, the narrative is a mess. Fifteen-year-old Skye Mason (Mariah Grace Bowman) opens a mysterious package meant for her grandmother Helene Briggs (Lori Rees) and discovers a puzzle box containing a handwritten manuscript of The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. Helene panics when she sees the manuscript because she believes it is a desperate message across time telling her that she is in danger. She reveals that the story in the manuscript is real and that it was inspired by her travels to the future in a machine of her own invention. A young Helene (Amber Dodge) travels to the far future and returns to 1888 with a powerful source of energy stolen from a savage group known as the Morlocks. Fearing what use might be made of such a powerful object she seeks advice from her friend Gregory Whitman (Kaden Caldwell) and her fiance H.G. Wells (Dallin Suman). She ultimately decides that she should take the power source to the future and hide it and, since she cannot go back to a specific time and place more than once, she stays in 1988 and makes a life for herself. However, the message from Wells sends her and her granddaughter on a journey through time to keep the power source safe from someone with plans to abuse it. The way the original novella is integrated into a new story is clever but I found it really convoluted (lots of overly complicated exposition about time travel), hard to follow (lots of jumps between timelines and relationships between characters that are not very explicit), and inconsistent (there are a few elements that did not make sense to me). I definitely think this could have used another draft before it was performed for an audience (I usually do not have this much trouble following a plot). What really impressed me about this production, however, is the set!  I was intrigued by it the moment I took my seat because it is made up of large geometric panels that move to form concentric circles through which different set pieces (including an elaborate time machine) move on and off stage and on which various images are projected. I especially loved the clock motif that is used in many of the projections. The lighting design is very dramatic, particularly the lightning effects that happen when the time machine travels, and so is the score (which was composed by fifteen-year-old Cameron Dietlein!). Once again, Hale delivered on the style without much of the substance and I was left feeling underwhelmed.

Note:  I have only really loved one production out of the four I've seen at Hale this season.

The Phantom Menace

I have very vivid memories of seeing The Phantom Menace with my friend Tony on opening day when it was first released.  We were able to get advance tickets but, because seats were not assigned back in the day, we decided to go really early to make sure we got good ones.  When we got to the theater the line was already stretched out to the parking lot (we still got good seats) but it was so much fun because the anticipation and excitement were palpable!  I remember how thrilling it was to hear the instantly recognizable fanfare while watching a new opening crawl!  I almost couldn't contain myself!  Tony and I (and the rowdy crowd we saw it with) really liked it and we were surprised by the critical response because it sets up the characters Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Palpatine to become who they are in the original trilogy in a really intriguing way and it is dazzling to look at (there has been a big reassessment of the prequel trilogy in recent years but I always liked them).  Episode I is now back in theaters in honor of its 25th Anniversary and it was so much fun to see it on the big screen again last night with a large crowd!  Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) are assigned to negotiate the end of the Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo but are unable to prevent the invasion of the planet.  They eventually rescue the young queen, Amidala (Natalie Portman), and escape but are forced to land on Tatooine for engine repairs.  There they meet a young slave named Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) who helps them get the parts they need.  He also makes a big impression on Qui-Gon who arranges for his release.  They travel to Coruscant where Amidala and Palpatine (Iam McDiarmid), the senator from Naboo, hope to plead their case to the Senate only to discover that the blockade is just the beginning a sinister plot by the long dormant Sith to control the galaxy.  This is a movie that definitely should be seen on the big screen because the worldbuilding and visuals are so spectacular, especially the architecture on Naboo, the underwater world of the Gungun, and the senate chamber on Coruscant, and the sound design during the podrace is absolutely epic.  The action sequences are impressive, particularly the aforementioned podrace, the battle against the droid army, the gunfight in the throne room, and the starfighter battle against the droid control ship.  It also features what is widely considered to be the best lightsaber duel in the entire series when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan fight Darth Maul (accompanied by "Duel of the Fates" which is one of my favorite pieces from all of the Star Wars soundtracks).  Neeson has a suitably imposing presence as the Jedi Master and I think McGregor is an entirely believable younger version of Obi-Wan as portrayed by Alec Guinness.  Lloyd's performance as Anakin has been much maligned but the farewell scene with his mother is genuinely heartbreaking (and really sets his path to the dark side in motion).  Some of the characters are still problematic (although Jar Jar Binks isn't as annoying as I remember him) and the dialogue is really clunky but it is definitely worth seeing while it is back in theaters (especially if you have never seen it on the big screen).

Bryce Canyon National Park 2024

After driving through Zion I kept going on Highway 89 to Bryce Canyon (it is a really pretty drive and takes about two hours).  Unlike Zion, Bryce Canyon was absolutely packed and there was nowhere to park at Sunrise Point or Bryce Point.  I was able to stop at all of the other viewpoints and to find a parking spot at Rainbow Point to walk around so I'm calling it good!

I really loved seeing the snow against the red rocks!  This was a fun weekend road trip and I thoroughly enjoyed both Tuacahn and the national parks!  My next road trip will be to Washington for my niece's wedding later this month!