National Theatre Live: Fleabag

I love the BBC series Fleabag (especially the second season with Hot Priest) so I was really excited to see the National Theatre Live presentation of the acclaimed one-woman show that started it all!  It was filmed live from the Wyndham Theatre in London's West End during its run in 2019 and it was screened at the Broadway yesterday by the Tanner Humanities Center and Salt Lake Film Society.  Phoebe Waller-Bridge is both humorous and heartbreaking as a twenty-something woman navigating modern life in London.  There is a framing device with Fleabag behaving inappropriately during a job interview before and after describing her on-again off-again relationship with her boyfriend Harry, her random hook-ups with men she meets on the tube, her addiction to porn, her alienation from her family, particularly her sister Claire, and her struggle to keep her guinea pig-themed cafe running all while trying to come to terms with her guilt over the death of her best friend and business partner Boo.  I really love the subversive humor because the situations are actually quite sad but Waller-Bridge uses them as fodder for her comedy (I think the appeal of the character is that using humor as a coping mechanism for the vicissitudes of life is something a lot of people can relate to).  Waller-Bridge is absolutely captivating, even though she rarely leaves a stool located on an empty stage, because she is able to create so many different characters with her delivery, facial expressions, and body language.  I loved the interaction between her and her sister Claire but my favorite was when she imitated her guinea pig listening to music!  This was so much fun (these NT Live screenings at the Broadway always draw a big and energetic crowd) and I am looking forward to Present Laughter in November, Nye in January, and The Importance of Being Earnest in March (go here for more information).

The Apprentice

Last night I went to see The Apprentice (my second Sebastian Stan movie this week) and I was absolutely riveted by this character study detailing how Donald Trump rose to become a New York real estate tycoon under the tutelage of the notoriously corrupt lawyer Roy Cohn.  In 1973 Donald Trump (Stan) is essentially an errand boy collecting rents for his father Fred (Martin Donovan) and the Trump Organization when he meets Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) at a club.  Fred is embroiled in a federal investigation about his discriminatory practices against Black tenants and, despite Fred's opposition, Donald hires Cohn who settles the case favorably despite solid evidence against the Trump Organization.  Donald comes to see Cohn as a mentor and enlists his help in developing the Commodore Hotel.  When Donald expresses reservations about his unethical and illegal methods, Cohn teaches him that he must always attack, always deny wrongdoing, and always claim victory if he wants to succeed in business.  He also tells him that he must be willing to do whatever it takes, however abhorrent, to defeat an opponent.  Donald takes this advice to heart and, not only does he become ruthless in business during the 1980s, but he eventually betrays his brother Fred Jr. (Charlie Carrick), his father, his first wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova), and, eventually, Cohn himself.  I am not a fan of Donald Trump (to say the least) so I have to admit that I enjoyed seeing him portrayed so unsympathetically, especially the scenes showing his liposuction and scalp-reduction surgeries, but it was also very enlightening to see all of the influences on his evolution to the person we know today.  Stan's portrayal is brilliant and he completely nails all of Trumps's mannerisms, particularly the way he moves his lips when he talks, and Strong is also outstanding in a complex role.  This is so much better, and more objective, than I was expecting but I suspect that one's enjoyment of it will depend on one's opinion of Trump.

Funny Girl at the Eccles

I have seen the movie Funny Girl dozens of times so I was really excited to see the stage musical upon which it is based last night at the Eccles.  I absolutely loved it!  After Fanny Brice (Leah Platt) is fired from the chorus of a vaudeville show, she and her friend Eddie Ryan (Izaiah Montaque Harris) contrive to get her back on stage and she wins the audience over.  This leads to stardom with Florenz Ziegfeld (Mathew Fedorek) and the Ziegfeld Follies as well as love, and eventual heartache, with Nick Arnstein (Stephen Mark Lukas). I loved hearing all of the instantly recognizable songs, especially my favorites "I'm the Greatest Star," "People," "You Are Woman, I Am Man," "Don't Rain on my Parade," "Sadie, Sadie," and "Who Are You Now," and I really had to try, sometimes unsuccessfully, not to sing along (I don't feel too badly about singing occasionally because the man sitting behind me was saying some of the dialogue out loud).  The staging of the big Ziegfeld Follies numbers "His Love Makes Me Beautiful" and "Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat" are really fun and I also enjoyed the choreography for "Henry Street" because it is so exuberant.  Platt does a great job as Fanny because she makes the iconic character, immortalized by Barbra Streisand, her own.  I loved her unique interpretation of "People" and her heartfelt versions of "The Music That Makes Me Dance" and  "Funny Girl" but I was most impressed by her rendition of "Don't Rain on my Parade (Reprise II)" at the end of the show because she just about blew the roof off of the Eccles Theatre.  Lukas is gorgeous (iykyk) and charismatic, especially in "You Are Woman, I Am Man," but my favorite performance from him was "Temporary Arrangement" because his vulnerability is palpable.  Singer Melissa Manchester is Mrs. Brice (she received applause when she took the stage for the first time) and I loved how she and her cronies Mrs. Strakosh (Cheryl Stern) and Mrs. Meeker (Christine Bunuan) serve as a Greek chorus as they play cards on Henry Street.  I was happy to see all of the traditional backdrops (this really feels like a big old-fashioned musical) and the period costumes are fabulous.  It was great to finally get to see this show after being a fan of the movie for so long and I highly recommend it.  There are five more shows through October 13 (go here for tickets).

My Fair Lady at HCTO

Last night I went to see My Fair Lady at HCTO and it was loverly!  Professor Henry Higgins (Ryan Shepherd) encounters a Cockney flower girl named Eliza Doolittle (Ashley Gardner Carlson) outside Covent Garden and boasts to his friend Colonel Pickering (Ben Parkes) that he could pass her off as a Duchess at the Embassy Ball within six months by teaching her to speak properly.  Even though Eliza is a success at the ball, she becomes a lady when she compels Higgins to treat her like one!  Every member of the cast is superb!  Shepherd is possibly the best Higgins I've ever seen and I really enjoyed his dynamic characterization and energy in the songs "I'm an Ordinary Man," "The Rain in Spain," and "A Hymn to Him."  I also really enjoyed his poignant rendition of "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" and his delivery of the final line to Eliza because it kind of changes the vibe of the ending (in a good way).  Carlson is the perfect Eliza because she is so elegant and sings and dances beautifully.  Her versions of "Just You Wait," "Show Me," and "Without You" are incredibly feisty but "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" are filled with so much joy.  Parkes provides a lot of the comic relief as Pickering and I laughed out loud when he becomes overwrought before the ball.  Jordan Strong is delightful as Freddie Eynsford-Hill and the way he sings my favorite song in the show, "On the Street Where You Live," is so romantic!  Finally, I absolutely loved Daniel Hess as Alfred P. Doolittle because he has a glint in his eye and his performances in "With a Little Bit of Luck" and "Get Me to the Church" are so fun and exuberant!  Rather than an elaborate library, the set features the exterior of Henry Higgins' house on Wimpole Street (I loved the flowers, columns, and gas lights) and the props used for Higgins' study are cleverly moved on and off stage by members of the ensemble dressed as servants (they are also used to great effect in "Poor Professor Higgins").  The costumes are gorgeous, especially those worn at Ascot (the use of gray rather than the usual black and white is a fun twist) and at the Embassy Ball (Eliza's pink gown is stunning).  I don't think the smile left my face during the entire show and I highly recommend it because it is one that everyone will enjoy.  It runs through November 23 (go here for tickets).

Note:  I enjoyed this so much more than the Lincoln Center production I saw at the Eccles last year.

The Outrun

I liked but didn't love The Outrun when I saw it at Sundance so I was eager to see where I would land after a second viewing at the Broadway last night.  Rona (Saoirse Ronan) is a graduate student in biology living in London when her drinking becomes problematic.  She hits rock bottom when her boyfriend Daynin (Paapa Essiedu) leaves her and she is physically assaulted while on a bender.  After a 90-day stint in rehab she returns home to the Orkney Islands in Scotland but her relationships with her father Andrew (Stephen Dillane), who is struggling himself with bipolar disorder, and mother Annie (Saskia Reeves), who believes that prayer is the answer, are complicated and she relapses.  She eventually retreats to a remote island north of Orkney where she takes inspiration from nature to become sober.  The first time I saw this I really struggled with the nonlinear timeline (it was a late screening and I was tired) but this time around I thought it was an effective way to portray Rona's disorientation and it made a lot more sense to me.  It is definitely a slow burn as Rona makes connections between herself and the landscape but the sequences on the island are beautiful and I was riveted by them.  I especially loved the use of the corn crake (the endangered bird she searches for while working for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) as a symbol for her journey to sobriety, especially in the final shot.  Ronan is absolutely brilliant (it is one of my favorite performances from one of my favorite actresses) because she very credibly depicts so many different aspects of her character: wild and exuberant as a party girl in London, mean and combative when confronted by her behavior, tearful and apologetic when begging her lover not to leave her, and brooding and contemplative as she reconciles everything that has happened to her.  I loved the scene where she interacts with the waves crashing on the beach because it is surprisingly powerful and emotional.  I definitely appreciated this more than I did at Sundance and I highly recommend it for Ronan's stellar performance.