A Different Man

I had plans to see A Different Man at Sundance this year but I ended up seeing something else at the last minute and I kind of regret that decision.  Luckily it is now playing at the Broadway and I got to see it as part of a double feature last night.  I enjoyed this surreal black comedy even more than I was expecting.  Edward Lemuel (Sebastian Stan) is an actor with a facial deformity caused by neurofibromatosis who struggles to interact with other people, especially a playwright named Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) who lives next door, because of an extreme lack of confidence.  He volunteers for an experimental drug that could cure his condition and, when it works, he fakes his suicide and starts a new life as a handsome and successful real estate agent named Guy Moratz.  Several years later he discovers that Ingrid has written a play about Edward and he impulsively auditions using a mask of his old face.  Ingrid casts him, and begins a relationship with him, but struggles with the authenticity of her decision because, even though Guy embodies Edward's insecurities, he is not deformed.  Complications ensue when Oswald (Adam Pearson), a confident and charismatic man with neurofibromatosis, appears and replaces him in the play and in Ingrid's life.  The tone is all over the place with elements of body horror, dark comedy, science fiction, and romance but I love that it subverts expectations about identity and what makes someone a good person.  Stan, in some fantastic prosthetics during the first act, gives an incredibly nuanced performance as a man who gets what he thinks he wants and then comes undone when he realizes that it didn't change anything while Pearson, who has neurofibromatosis, is enchanting as his foil.  Not everything works (I'm still trying to figure out why so many things drop from the ceiling) but this is both thought-provoking and highly entertaining.

Sister Act at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

Last night I went to see Sister Act (which is probably my favorite musical based on a popular movie) at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse and, unfortunately, the negative experience I had watching it marred an excellent production. When Deloris Van Cartier (Olivia Lusk) accidentally witnesses her gangster boyfriend Curtis (Jacob Draper) kill someone, Detective Eddie Souther (David Simon) decides to hide her in a convent to keep her safe until she can testify against him. She wreaks havoc on the peaceful life there so, in exasperation, the Mother Superior (Melinda Cole Welch) has her sing in the choir with unexpected results. However, the choir's notoriety puts both Deloris and the convent in danger. My favorite aspect of this production is the beautiful set featuring a backdrop with Gothic arches and stained glass windows and panels that rotate to become the police station and Souther's apartment. Set pieces on each side of the stage are used for the Mother Superior's office and the sanctuary of the church while large wooden bleachers are brought on stage for "Raise Your Voice" as the nuns learn how to sing and movable chain link fence panels add a lot of fun to the song "I Could Be That Guy." Lusk is an appealing Deloris because she is sassy but also sympathetic and I loved her renditions of "Fabulous, Baby" and "Sister Act." All of the nuns (Kaylee Wheeler, Jen Petersen, Carla Zarate, Holly Lowell, Cathrine Washburn, Erin Roring, Melissa Virgin, and the rest of the ensemble) do a really great job singing and dancing in "Take Me to Heaven," "Sunday Morning Fever," and "Spread the Love Around" and I loved seeing them maintain all of their quirky mannerisms in these big numbers. My favorite nuns were Zarate as Sister Mary Lazarus because her facial expressions are hilarious and Petersen as Sister Mary Patrick because she is so over the top (I laughed out loud when she twirled her rosary). John Lee Roring, Matt Ford, and Jordan Wheeler, who play Curtis's henchmen, steal the show in "When I Find My Baby" and "Lady in the Long Black Dress" with their leisure suits and disco moves (I laughed out loud again when Roring rolled around on the stage). Another shoutout goes to David Hales as Monsignor O'Hara because it seems like he is channeling Elvis as the emcee for all of the choir's performances. The costumes are a bit more subdued than I usually see in this show but the nun's habits and the monsignor's vestments do get bedazzled for the finale. I would have really enjoyed this production were it not for the inappropriate behavior of a large group of students in attendance who were running around (one student even walked across the stage during the show), talking loudly, filming, putting their feet up on the seats in front of them, and screaming at the top of their lungs (the couple next to me started plugging their ears at the end of every number because it was so loud). I have no problem with students attending live performances (I took students all of the time when I was teaching) but they need to be reminded about theatre etiquette and monitored by their chaperones.  The only reason I did not leave at intermission is because the show is really fun and I do recommend it (go here for tickets). There are performances on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays through November 16.

White Bird

After multiple delays White Bird is now finally in theaters and I was excited to see it last night.  It is an incredibly moving story about the power of kindness that, unfortunately, is very relevant today.  Julian Albans (Bryce Gheisar) is at a new school after being expelled for bullying a boy with a facial disfigurement.  When he witnesses the bullying of another student he does nothing to intervene because, as he tells his visiting grandmother Sara (Helen Mirren), he just wants to keep his head down so he can fit in.  This attitude worries Sara so she decides to tell him about her experiences as a Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France during World War II in order to emphasize the need to take action against injustice.  This framing device (a reference to Wonder) connects to flashbacks of a young Sara (Ariella Glaser) and her classmate Julien Beaumier (Orlando Schwerdt) as he helps her escape from a Nazi roundup of Jewish children and hides her in his family's barn with the knowledge of his parents (Gillian Anderson and Jo Stone-Fewings) despite great personal risk.  I really love that Julien consciously makes the decision to be kind even though Sara and her friends ostracized him for having a crippled leg and that his kindness is an act of bravery with increasingly dangerous stakes because that is a very powerful message.  I also love how the relationship between Julien and Sara is developed because I really cared about their characters and was totally invested in their fate (I cried several times).  Helen Mirren and Gillian Anderson can always be relied upon to give outstanding performances but I was especially impressed by the two young leads.  The cinematography is beautiful, especially the scenes where Julien and Sara use their imagination to figuratively escape from the barn, and the score, particularly a song the characters sing throughout, is haunting.  I think everyone needs to see this movie to be inspired to be a light in a world of increasing darkness.

Utah Hockey Club vs. Colorado Avalanche

I still cannot believe that Utah now has an NHL team!  I was beyond excited to see a preseason game between the Utah Hockey Club and my favorite team yesterday.  I usually have to drive eight hours to see the Colorado Avalanche in action but yesterday it only took about 20 minutes to get to the Maverick Center (it will be even closer when Utah plays in the Delta Center).  I went to the game with my sister Kristine, who has already become a rabid Utah fan, and it was so much fun even though we were cheering for different teams!  There were not a lot of goals scored but the game was still really exciting because of the goaltending by Connor Ingram, especially during the three Utah penalties in the third period because Colorado really put the pressure on.  Utah eventually got the 2-1 win but, even though I was sad to see the Avalanche lose (the preseason has been a disaster for them), I have to admit that I enjoyed seeing the home team for the first time (I never really followed them when they were the Arizona Coyotes).  Besides Ingram, I was really impressed by Dylan Guenther, who got a goal and an assist, and Nick Schmaltz, who got the go-ahead goal.  I will always be a Colorado Avalanche fan but I think I am going to have a lot of fun cheering for Utah this season!

Something Rotten at the Empress Theatre

I am a big fan of Something Rotten (it is full of references to William Shakespeare and musical theatre which means that it was pretty much written for me) so I was really excited to see it at the Empress Theatre last night. This now ranks as one of my favorite productions at this theater because I absolutely loved it! Nick and Nigel Bottom (Sonny Payne and Jonas Stone, respectively) are playwrights in London during the Renaissance but they are not having much success. Their patron, Lord Clapham (Stratford Healey), is withdrawing his financial support, Shylock (Raiden Yocom) is demanding the payment of a loan, Nick's wife Bea (Taylore Cahoon) is pregnant, and Nigel has fallen in love with Portia (Eliza White), the daughter of a Puritan (Taylor Brooks) who wants to shut down the theaters for debauchery, but, even worse, they are constantly overshadowed by the immensely popular William Shakespeare (Bradley Barker). They desperately need a big hit so Nick consults Nostradamus (Caden Terry) to see what will be popular in the future. Nostradamus suggests writing something with singing and dancing in my favorite number, "A Musical." Things go slightly awry when Nick asks Nostradamus to look into the future again to see what Shakespeare's most popular play will be and, instead of Hamlet, he sees omelette (so close!). Nick tries to produce Omelette: The Musical while Shakespeare tries to steal his play back. It is so much fun to try and spot all of the references to Shakespeare's plays (my favorites are Richard III in the song "Will Power" and a quote from The Merchant of Venice during the courtroom scene) and to musical theatre (my favorites are RENT and Les Miserables in "A Musical" and The Lion King in "Make an Omelette"). I laughed out loud every time I noticed something new (I was the only one laughing hysterically at a reference to Falstaff). This is one of the strongest casts I've seen at this theater with so many standout performances. I particularly loved Terry as Nostradamus because his physicality as he predicts the future is completely over the top, Barker as Shakespeare because he is such a rock star as a he struts around the stage for his adoring fans (his facial expressions killed me), and Brooks as Brother Jeremiah because his delivery of the innuendo-filled dialogue is hilarious! I also really liked Cahoon's voice and her rendition of "Right Hand Man" was a highlight for me. Another aspect of this production that is outstanding is the high-energy choreography, especially in "Welcome to the Renaissance," "A Musical" (which mimics the choreography from some well-known shows), "Bottom's Gonna Be on Top," and "Make an Omelette." I was really impressed by the dancing from the ensemble because they do an amazing job (I, of course, loved all of the tapping because it is always so fun to watch). The minimal set is very effective and the elaborate Renaissance costumes are fantastic! I cannot recommend this show enough because it is definitely a fun night out (go here for tickets). It runs Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through October 19.