2025 Star Awards

Last night I attended the Benefit Gala for SCERA's Endowment for the Arts as a recipient of one of the Star Awards.  I was honored as a Friend of the Arts and it was an incredible event that I won't soon forget!

The theme was the Wild West and all of the decorations were so fun!

The evening began with a silent auction (there were some cool items to bid on) and then we had a dinner in the lobby provided by the UVU Culinary Arts Institute which included a salad of crisp frisee, grape tomatoes, a blue cheese wedge, bacon lardons, and shallot vinaigrette, a main course of herb & goat cheese stuffed chicken breast, creamy mashed potatoes, broccolini, baby carrots, and crispy red onion, and for dessert there was an amazing chocolate peanut butter cake.

After dinner there was a live auction (I wanted the Jazz tickets but they were way out of my price range) and then we moved into the theatre for the program and the Star Awards.

There was a beautiful slide presentation narrated by radio and TV personality Casey Scott for each of the recipients before we received our awards (and then we had to give a speech!).

Both of my sisters, my brother-in-law, my nephew, and a dear friend were there to support me and that really meant a lot to me.  There were also some lovely tributes from several of my friends and former colleagues printed in the program and these actually brought tears to my eyes when I read them.  I am so grateful to SCERA for all of the preparation and care that went into such a wonderful evening and I want to thank them for giving me an award for simply doing what I love!

Note:  The program included entertainment between the awards and we got a sneak peak of The Wizard of Oz (SCERA's next production).  Both of my sisters were so impressed they want to come see it with me!

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella at The Ruth

Last night I saw the Rodgers & Hammerstein version of Cinderella at The Ruth.  This is the first production in the more intimate Lindsay Legacy Theater and, as with the Scott & Karen Smith Grand Theater, I was really impressed with this wonderful new venue (lots of leg room).  This show features a contemporary update to the well-known fairy tale with a social reforming Cinderella (Hailey Bennett Sundwall) who rescues Prince Topher (Jeff Sundwall) from the Lord Protector (Kyle Harper) who is deceiving him about the conditions in his kingdom, a feminist Fairy Godmother (Michelle Sundwall) who tells Cinderella that it's up to her to make her own dreams come true, and a Stepsister (Jaymie Lambson) who eventually becomes a sympathetic conspirator with her own romance with the revolutionary Jean-Michel (Brock Harris).  I am not a huge fan of this version because I think it is very contrived with messages, however laudable, that are shoehorned into the story but there is so much to love about this production.  The set is absolutely magical!  There is a backdrop that looks like an illustration from a storybook with vines covered in lights that blink on and off and change color to coincide with all of the transformations (the effect is spectacular).  There are beautiful set pieces, which have an autumn color palette, that are moved on and off the stage by the ensemble and my favorites are the trees used in the pursuit of Cinderella after the ball.  The costumes are gorgeous!  I loved Cinderella's sparkly ball gown as well as the Fairy Godmother's gown (the transformations into these gowns are a lot of fun) but I was also impressed by the uniforms worn by Topher and his guards.  The puppets used for the Fox and Raccoon (with puppeteers Maggie Scott and Emily Runyan Manning, respectively) are clever as are their transformations and the portrayal of Topher's horse Buttercup is quite humorous (every production I've seen has portrayed the horse in a different way).  The performances are amazing!  The three leads (who are husband and wife and mother and son) do a lovely job with "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible," "It's Possible," "Ten Minutes Ago," "There's Music in You," and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful" and I also really enjoyed "Stepsister's Lament" by Karlena Nielson because her rendition is really funny.  Finally, the choreography is dazzling!  I particularly enjoyed the patterns created in "Now Is the Time/ The Prince is Giving a Ball," the romance in "Ten Minutes Ago," and the chaotic energy in "The Pursuit."  This may not be my favorite show but I enjoyed what The Ruth did with it and would recommend getting a ticket (go here).  It runs through May 3.

Ballet West's Cinderella

I was really excited to see Ballet West's production of Cinderella last night because, not only is it incredibly beautiful, it is also really funny!  It tells the well-known story of Cinderella (with a few differences from the Disney version) and features music by Sergei Prokofiev, choreography by Frederick Ashton, and all new costumes and sets.  The stepsisters, who are portrayed by male dancers (Dominic Ballard and Jonas Malinka-Thompson), are absolutely hilarious and I loved the scenes where they are getting ready for the ball (their gowns are very elaborately embellished), having a lesson from a dance master, and dancing at the ball with Wellington (Robert Fowler) and Napoleon (Vinicius Lima, who is a hoot).  I can't imagine how difficult it must be for trained ballet dancers to appear so awkward and to dance so badly!  The Fairy Godmother (Anisa Sinteral) has the Fairies of Spring (Kristina Pool), Summer (Victoria Vassos), Autumn (Rylee Ann Rogers), and Winter (Nicole Fanney) give Cinderella gifts before she transforms her into a princess and I really enjoyed these dances (and the young dancers who appear as their attendants).  The costumes and backdrops for the fairies evoke each of the seasons perfectly and I especially loved the falling leaves for Autumn and the fog for Winter.  Lexi McCloud is a beautiful Cinderella and her dance with a broom as a partner is really endearing, her entrance to the ball is stunning (seeing her descend the stairs on pointe was quite impressive and gave me goosebumps), and the Grand Pas de Deux with the Prince (Jordan Veit) is incredibly romantic with intricate choreography that is dazzling to watch (I also loved the music during this dance because it is very dramatic, especially the timpani).  Cinderella's costume for the ball is gorgeous but I was really impressed by her transformation back to a scullery maid at the stroke of midnight because it happens so quickly.  The dances at the ball with the Prince's attendants (I loved that their costumes matched the fairies) and the courtiers are charming but I was blown away by the athleticism of the Jester (William Lynch).  The final scene as Cinderella and the Prince dance with glitter falling all around them is absolutely magical.  I had a wonderful time watching this ballet and I highly recommend it but only one performance remains (go here for tickets).

Bravo Broadway

Last night I went to the Bravo Broadway concert featuring the Utah Symphony and guest vocalists Scarlett Strallen, Dee Roscioli, and Hugh Panaro.  It was wonderful!  Before the show, guest conductor John Gennaro Devlin told the audience that the first half would feature classic Broadway standards and the second would include songs from popular shows on Broadway today and I'm not sure which I enjoyed more!  The orchestra began with the Broadway Tonight Overture and then all three soloists came to the stage for "Lullaby of Broadway" from 42nd Street.  Strallen, who has a beautiful coloratura soprano voice, continued with a lovely version of "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady, Panaro sang an incredibly moving version of "Not While I'm Around" from Sweeney Todd (all of the lights on stage turned red during this song), and then Roscioli just about blew the roof off Abravanel Hall with her version of "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl.  Next came a romantic performance of "Stranger in Paradise" from Kismet and then the orchestra continued with a medley from West Side Story (which included audience participation).  All three soloists performed an amusing version of "Getting Married Today" from Company, Panaro gave a spirited rendition of "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man, and then everyone performed "Before the Parade Passes By" from Hello, Dolly! to conclude the first half.  After the intermission, Panaro sang "You'll Be Back" from Hamilton (complete with a crown) and this was obviously my favorite  performance of the night but Roscioli's rendition of "Memory" from Cats gave me goosebumps!  I love that Panaro and Strallen included "The Song That Goes Like This" from Spamalot next because it is such a spoof of Broadway musicals and the fact that they sang it so seriously was hilarious.  The orchestra played a really fun medley from Mamma Mia that got the audience cheering and then Strallen and Roscioli (who has had the longest run playing Elphaba on Broadway and on national tours) sang "For Good" from Wicked.  Roscioli continued with "Defying Gravity" (her dress was pink so she joked that she was wearing the wrong color but at least all of the lights on stage were green) and this was another favorite moment.  A Bravo Broadway concert just isn't complete without Phantom of the Opera so Panaro and Strallen sang "Phantom of the Opera" and then Panaro gave an incredible performance of "Music of the Night" that brought the house down!  For the encore, they performed a medley of love songs for Valentine's Day (my favorites were "Love Changes Everything" from Aspects of Love and "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar).  I enjoyed this concert so much and, if you love musical theatre as much as I do, I highly recommend getting a ticket to tonight's performance of the same program (go here) but act quickly because there were very few empty seats last night.

Captain America: Brave New World

Last night I went to a Thursday preview of Captain America: Brave New World and, while it is not the best entry in the MCU, I liked it.  Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) is elected President of the United States and, because of his problematic behavior in the past, he wants his legacy to be a treaty in which the adamantium discovered on Celestial Island is shared between several nations including Japan.  However, Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) holds Ross responsible for his incarceration after the events in The Incredible Hulk and uses his superhuman intelligence to disrupt the treaty negotiations.  Sterns uses mind control to compel the veteran and super soldier Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) to attempt an assassination of the president as he addresses international leaders.  Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) works with Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) and Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), an ex-Widow who is now a government agent, to clear Bradley's name but more manipulation from Sterns forces Captain American and the Falcon to intervene in order to prevent a war with Japan and a threat from Ross.  The story is a bit unwieldy and convoluted (there is also a plot involving Giancarlo Esposito as the Sidewinder and some stolen adamantium) but once it gets going I really enjoyed seeing a president try to be a better man and a new hero grappling with comparisons to an old one before finding his true strength.  I loved Mackie's more stoic performance (it is appropriate and I didn't miss the wisecracking usually found in the MCU at all) and I found his portrayal of Sam's relationships with Isaiah and Joaquin (Lumbly and Ramirez are also great) to be very affecting and a great way forward for the character.  Ford is outstanding as a man trying to reconcile his past mistakes but I feel like Esposito is wasted in role that is not fully realized.  The biggest problem with this movie is the way it looks.  Some of the CGI in the action sequences is really chaotic and the confrontation with the Red Hulk, especially in the cherry trees, is so obviously in front of a green screen that it is laughable.  There are definitely issues but I had fun with it and I am now eager to see more of the character in the upcoming Avengers movies.