The Little Mermaid at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

I have a new favorite production at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse! Last night I saw my third and final production of The Little Mermaid this month and this one is fantastic!  Ariel (Kaylee Wheeler) is a mermaid who just wants to be where the people are so she defies her father King Triton (Sheldon Cheshire) and trades her voice to the sea witch Ursula (Olivia Lusk-Garibay) for a pair of legs and, with a little help from a crab named Sebastian (Ian Wellisch), a fish named Flounder (Grace Moore), and a seagull named Scuttle (Terran Lowe), she hopes to make Prince Eric (Drew Saddler) fall in love with her. What I loved most about this production is all of the amazing costumes and puppets because they are absolutely incredible (the best of any production I have seen including both of the ones at HCT). Ursula wears an elaborate black and purple gown with eight puffy tentacles that swirl all around her while Flotsam (Shaelynn Wright) and Jetsam (Davin Loveland) wear segmented eel puppets around their shoulders and arms (I think these were my favorites). The songs "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl" feature a dazzling array of sparkling neon-colored fish and other sea creatures (I loved the multicolored coral reef headdresses and the jellyfish made from clear umbrellas) and it is quite the spectacle! Sebastian is covered from claw to claw in red sequins while Scuttle is covered in white feathers. Ariel and her sisters each have their own color with jewel encrusted gowns and mermaid tails made of organza and King Triton has regal robes of turquoise and silver. I was also impressed with all of the elaborate set pieces, including a reef that lights up in different colors as a backdrop, Prince Eric's ship located on a platform next to the stage, Ariel's grotto filled with her collection, and Ursula's lair complete with a bubbling cauldron. The staging of several of the numbers is incredibly clever, especially the portrayal of the sea when Ariel saves Eric after he falls overboard because it is so immersive as well as Ariel's final transformation because it is very dramatic, and the choreography is a lot of fun and integrates a large cast into the small space very well, especially in "Les Poissons." Finally, the cast is outstanding! Wheeler and Saddler are perfect as Ariel and Eric, respectively, but Wellisch steals the show as Sebastian because he is hilariously overwrought with facial expressions that are a hoot. I also really enjoyed the mersisters (Ginny Waldron, Shantell Eisenbarth, Aleksa Poulter, Hailey Burt, Kayli Sorenson, and Arianna Evans) because each of the characters is very distinct. This is definitely the best production I have seen at this theatre and I had so much fun watching it (as did the all of the children sitting around me). There are performances on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays through July 27 and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) to one of them!

Note:  In the "Battle of the Mermaids" this month I can't really pick a winner because I enjoyed every production for different reasons!

Timpanogos Community Theater's Anastasia

I have always found the idea that the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov may have escaped the fate suffered by the rest of her family during the Russian Revolution to be incredibly compelling (even though it has now been debunked by DNA evidence) so I am a huge fan of the musical Anastasia. I was able to see the Broadway touring production several years ago so I was very intrigued to see what the Timpanogos Community Theater would do with it last night. I was quite impressed! Young Anastasia (Paisley Shepherd) is given a music box by her grandmother the Dowager Empress (Nicole Tupola) before she leaves Russia to live in Paris. Several years later the Imperial family is arrested and executed by Bolsheviks but there is a rumor in St. Petersburg that Anastasia somehow survived. Two con men named Dmitry (Tanner Tate) and Vlad (William Gardner) want to find someone to impersonate her in order to claim the reward money offered by the Dowager Empress. They find an old music box believed to be owned by the Romanovs and eventually encounter a young woman named Anya (Sierra Livermore) who is suffering from amnesia. As they try to teach her about the Grand Duchess using history books, she recognizes the music box and starts remembering the Imperial family. They escape the clutches of a Bolshevik general named Gleb (Dylan Bradford), who vows to finish the job of executing the Romanovs begun by his father, and eventually arrive in Paris. With the help of Countess Lily (Serene Parker), a lady in waiting, they introduce Anya to the Dowager Empress but is she really Anastasia and does she want the life of a Grand Duchess? The Broadway production is known for the beautiful and elaborate sets and projections that bring St. Petersburg and Paris to life. This show is much more scaled down with simpler set pieces brought on and off stage by the ensemble.  However, the upstage area is dominated by a gilded marble archway from an Imperial ballroom that is covered by white sheets, which are removed one by one as we learn more about Anastasia, and this is very effective at portraying a lost way of life that is rediscovered by Anya. I admit that I really liked this, maybe even more than the Broadway version, because it is less distracting and lets the story shine on its own with a lot more emotion. The staging of the musical numbers is still incredibly dramatic. The red lights in "The Last Dance of the Romanovs" as the Romanov family is captured by the Bolsheviks while waltzing in the Winter Palace are powerful, the ghosts of the Romanovs dancing around Anya in "Once Upon a December" and "A Nightmare" are otherworldly, and the performance of the ballet Swan Lake in "Quartet at the Ballet" as Anya, Dmitry, Vlad, Lily, and the Dowager Empress watch in box seats on each side of the stage is impressive. I also really enjoyed the choreography in "Paris Holds the Key" and "Land of Yesterday" (the Russian dancing is so fun). I've noticed that this community theater is able to attract a lot of unbelievably talented performers that other professional companies would envy and this show is no exception. Livermore is outstanding as Anya and I particularly enjoyed her renditions of "In My Dreams," "Once Upon a December," and "Journey to the Past"  as well as her portrayal of so many different emotions as she transitions from reading about the events in Anastasia's life to remembering them. Everyone else does a great job but Bradford gave me goosebumps, especially in "The Neva Flows" and "Still," because his voice is so beautiful. This is another stellar production from TCT!  It has fewer bells and whistles than the Broadway version but it is all the better for it and I would highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through July 6.

Into the Woods at OPPA

The musical Into the Woods is one of my very favorites because the story is incredibly clever, the music is beautiful, and the messages are both thought-provoking and poignant. I always try to see any production that I can find and last night I found one at On Pitch Performing Arts (I have recently become a fan of this theatre company). It was so much fun to see a different take on a familiar favorite! Several fairy tale characters must go into the woods to make their wishes come true: a Witch (Caitlin Olsen) wishes to reverse a curse, a Baker (John Wright) and his Wife (Heather Ann Jackson) wish to have a child, Cinderella (Cassie Hurt-McLarty) wishes to attend the festival and meet a prince, Jack (KJ Weidner) wishes to save his cow Milky White (Madison Tate) from being sold at market, and Red Riding Hood (Harriett Bauer) wishes to visit her Grandmother (Rachel Glad). However, having a wish come true does not always result in a happily ever after and actions can sometimes have unintended consequences. This production is unique in that the setting has been changed to an urban area (depicted with images on a large screen and minimal props) during the 1950s (including fun costumes such as the poodle skirts worn by the Stepsisters and the motorcycle jacket worn by Cinderella's Prince). In the many different productions of this show that I have seen I don't remember a change to the setting like this before but I think it is a really effective way to make the themes of team work, resilience, and acceptance more accessible to the audience through this modern sensibility. I especially liked the characterization of Rapunzel (Lauralye Anderson) as a young woman who is judged by her appearance and feels the need to be perfect (with 1950s era ads shown on the screen during her scenes). The entire cast is really fun to watch and I especially loved Olsen's dramatic facial expressions, Wright's nervous energy, Tate's physicality in manipulating the puppet for Milky White, and Bauer's sass. However, Preston Fullmer, as the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince (characters who are very similar if you think about it), absolutely steals the show with all of his over-the-top preening. I think I laughed at every single thing he did on stage (my favorite bit of business is when he winks at the Baker's Wife before continuing to chase Cinderella) and his version of "Agony" with Gage Andersen as Rapunzel's Prince is a highlight! I have always loved the songs "It Takes Two," because it is such a turning point in the relationship between the Baker and his Wife, and "No One Is Alone," because it is a very emotional moment of understanding between the Baker, Jack, Cinderella, and Red, and the performances by this cast gave me goosebumps. The choreography is very well suited to the small and intimate space and I was particularly impressed with "Into the Woods," "So Happy," "Ever After," and "Children Will Listen" because of the large number of people on stage and the intricate patterns they are able to create. I thoroughly enjoyed this interpretation of Into the Woods and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through July 13.

The Bikeriders

Last night I went to a Thursday preview of The Bikeriders and I liked it but I didn't love it.  Photojournalist Danny Lyon (Mike Faist) rides with the Vandals Motorcycle Club, based in Chicago, from 1965-1973 and interviews Kathy (Jodie Comer), the wife of a volatile member named Benny (Austin Butler), about her experiences.  Kathy tells Danny that she met Benny when her girlfriend invited her to a biker bar and that they immediately connected.  She soon becomes a part of the club, created by Johnny (Tom Hardy) as a place for a group of outsiders to belong, which also includes Brucie (Damon Herriman), Cal (Boyd Holbrook), Corky (Karl Glusman), Wahoo (Beau Knapp), Zipco (Michael Shannon), and Cockroach (Emory Cohen).  Kathy eventually begins to resent the hold that the club and Johnny have on her husband and, when the club morphs into a dangerous criminal organization through expansion to other chapters, the introduction of drugs (by a hilarious Norman Reedus), the inclusion of disaffected Vietnam war vets, and a challenge to Johnny's leadership from a violent young member (Toby Wallace), she issues Benny an ultimatum to choose between her and the club.  The story is simple but very compelling because the audience is slowly immersed into biker culture and the specific time period (the gritty production design is incredibly authentic).  Both Comer and Hardy give outstanding performances (their accents are not quite as grating as I feared they would be) but Butler is absolutely off the charts because he oozes both charisma and danger (I loved his expression in the final shot).  My biggest issue with this is that I felt emotionally disconnected from the characters because I didn't really know who they were or what their motivations were.  I definitely wanted more backstory for Benny (The Kid, a minor character, gets more backstory than any of the other main characters) and I wanted a deeper exploration of his relationships with Johnny and Kathy because, even though this triangle is integral to the story, it is very superficial.  There is a lot to recommend with this movie (and I suspect people will enjoy it more than I did) but I just didn't feel very invested in it.

I Used to Be Funny

The next movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was I Used to be Funny and, as a big fan of Rachel Sennott, it was really interesting to see her in a more serious role.  Sam (Sennott) was once a stand-up comedian known for her provocative jokes about men and her sex life as well as a nanny for a man named Cameron (Jason Jones) and his 12-year-old daughter Brooke (Olga Petsa).  Now Sam is suffering from PTSD as a result of an assault and is no longer able to perform at the comedy club or do much of anything else.  She is further traumatized when Brooke lashes out at her and then goes missing.  The narrative alternates between the present, as Sam tries to work through her trauma while searching for Brooke, and the past, when she formed a close relationship with her, and this is an effective technique because I was very invested in the mystery (which is very slowly revealed) of what happened to derail both of their lives.  There is a very thought-provoking discussion about consent when Sam's material is used against her but I loved that she ultimately finds healing in her humor.  I also liked the exploration of how one person's trauma has a ripple effect on everyone around them, allowing for some poignant scenes between Sam and her roommates Paige (Sabrina Jalees) and Phillip (Caleb Hearon) and her ex-boyfriend Noah (Ennis Esmer).  Sennott gives an amazing performance because she is essentially playing two different versions of the same character (you immediately know which timeline you are in simply by the subtle changes in expression on Sam's face) and she straddles the line between comedy and tragedy very well.  I loved the soundtrack, which features lots of indie sad girl songs (two songs by Phoebe Bridgers), and all of the locations in Toronto and Niagara Falls (where I grew up).  I very much enjoyed this and would recommend it to fans of Sennott.