Utah Opera's Pagliacci

Last night I went to Utah Opera's wonderful performance of Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo and, even though it is very short (the last production I saw was part of a double bill), it is filled with emotion and I loved it.  A traveling commedia dell'arte acting troupe arrives in a small town to give a performance, much to the delight of the crowd.  The troupe consists of Canio (Jonathan Burton) who plays Pagliacci, his wife Nedda (Lydia Grindatto) who plays Columbina, Tonio (Darren Drone) who plays Taddeo, and Beppe (Aaron McKone) who plays Arlecchino.  Canio is worried that Nedda might be having an affair but he is persuaded to drink at the pub with the townspeople and leaves Nedda alone.  Tonio finds her and professes his love but she refuses his advances mercilessly.  Nedda is actually having an affair with Silvio (Eleomar Cuello) and, when Tonio sees them together, he informs Canio in order to punish her for her harsh treatment of him.  Canio is devastated but, singing what is arguably one of the most famous arias in the repertoire, he says that he will drown his sorrows with laughter when he plays Pagliacci on stage.  Art imitates life as Columbina flirts with Arlecchino while Taddeo stands guard but, when Pagliacci comes home early to find the lovers, Canio's reaction is real and he declares that he is no longer Pagliacci.  The crowd is impressed by the passion his performance but they are soon horrified when he dramatically kills both Nedda and Silvio, who is in the audience.  Canio tells the crowd that the performance is over as he stands forlornly in the middle of the stage.  I was very impressed by the entire cast!  Burton's emotional performance of the aforementioned aria "Vesti la giubba" is so heartbreaking that I had tears in my eyes.  I was also very moved by Grindatto's rendition of the aria "Stridono lassu" as Nedda yearns to be as free as the birds she sees in the sky (the Utah Symphony, under the baton of Joseph Coloneri, performs this beautifully because it is so light and airy that it really sounds like birds) and I loved her interactions with Cuello in the duet "Silvio! a quest'ora" because he also has a beautiful voice and the two of them have tremendous chemistry.  In addition, the Utah Opera Chorus and the Choristers of the Madeleine Choir School are captivating and add a lot of energy as excited townspeople eager for a performance.  Finally, I loved the colorful costumes and set (the set within a set for the troupe's performance is really clever) because they really bring the Italian countryside to life.  I'm so glad I decided to get a ticket and I recommend that you get one (go here) for one of the three remaining performances.

Novocaine

Last night my nephew and I went to an early access screening of Novocaine and we both had a blast with it.  Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) is a mild-mannered assistant bank manager with a rare genetic disorder, called congenital insensitivity to pain, that causes him to lead a very lonely existence.  When he begins a relationship with a co-worker named Sherry (Amber Midthunder), he thinks that he has found the love of his life.  Three criminals dressed as Santa Claus (Ray Nicholson, Conrad Kemp, and Evan Hengst) rob the bank where they work and take Sherry hostage so Nate decides to go after them to get her back and uses the fact that he can't feel any pain to his advantage.  This has a clever premise with action sequences that are brutal and unrelenting (the gory images might be too much for some) but also very amusing, especially a scene where Nate pretends to react to being tortured by one of the bank robbers.  Quaid is really appealing as a nerdy introvert who becomes an unlikely hero and his interactions with Midthunder and Jacob Batalon, who plays Nate's online gaming friend who is called upon to rescue him in real life, are incredibly charming.  He excels at playing these kinds of goofy roles but he also does a good job in the action sequences and has great comedic timing.  There is a really obvious plot twist but it hardly matters because it is just so much fun.  I recommend seeing with it a group of friends and a big tub of popcorn.

Mickey 17

Last night my nephew and I saw Mickey 17 with a large crowd at the Broadway and it is the most fun I have had at a movie this year!  Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) and his friend Timo (Steven Yeun) are on the run from a loan shark and decide that their only option is to join a crew leaving Earth to colonize the planet Niflheim under the leadership of a failed politician named Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his scheming wife Ylfa (Toni Collette).  Timo signs up as a pilot but, because he has no skills, Mickey signs up as an "expendable" which means that he is given lethal assignments and is reprinted with his memories intact every time he dies.  On the voyage to Niflheim, Mickey begins a relationship with a security guard named Nasha Barridge (Naomi Ackie) and is reprinted seventeen times.  Once on Niflheim, Mickey 17 is assigned to capture one of the native lifeforms, insect-like creatures dubbed "creepers."  When he falls into a crevasse and is swarmed by the creepers, he is presumed dead and is reprinted again but the creepers rescue him resulting in two iterations which is forbidden.  Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 fight each other for control but they ultimately join with Nasha to save the creepers, and the planet, from Marshall's tyranny.  This is a hilarious satire with commentary on the evils of authoritarianism, religion (one of the funniest scenes is when Marshall's religious advisor, played by Daniel Henshall, leads a group in song), and colonialism as well as the ethics of cloning, the fear of death, and the futility of guilt.  Admittedly, there is a lot going on and the narrative does become a bit unwieldy with lots of subplots and unnecessary characters but the theme that resonates the most is the economic disparity found in a post-capitalist society (which is popular with director Bong Joon Ho).  Pattinson gives an absolutely bonkers performance (with two more silly voices to add to his repertoire and an impressive physicality) that is both highly sympathetic and fun to watch.  Ruffalo and Collette are completely over the top but I suspect that people will either love or hate what Ruffalo does with the character.  The production design and visual effects are distinctive and add to the overall dystopian tone and I loved the ponderous score.  This will not be for everyone but the dark humor really worked for me and I had a blast watching it with a crowd who laughed out loud every time I did.

Fiddler on the Roof at Hopebox Theatre

I first learned about Hopebox Theatre at the SCERA gala (they were also honored for their contribution to the arts) and I was really impressed by their mission of bringing hope to someone in the community who is battling cancer (they donate a portion of the ticket sales during the run of a show to a nominated recipient) so I knew that I wanted to support them. Their current production is Fiddler on the Roof and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing it last night. It tells the well-known story of Tevye (Jacob Draper), a poor Jewish dairyman living in the small Russian village of Anatevka at the turn of the century, and the traditions he clings to in order to guard against the harsh realities of life until his three oldest daughters, Tzeitel (Sidney Brown), Hodel (Abby Rubin), and Chava (Rachel Stephenson), push against them when finding a match. The performances by the talented cast are all outstanding and I had a smile on my face during all of my favorite songs, especially "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" by Brown, Rubin, and Stephenson, "If I Were a Rich Man" by Draper, and "Far From the Home I Love" by Stephenson. The Hopebox Theatre features a small thrust stage and this production has a large cast so I was particularly impressed by the dynamic choreography in "Tradition," "To Life," "Sunrise, Sunset," and "The Bottle Dance" because it makes very good use of the space and I absolutely loved "Tevye's Dream" because Fruma-Sarah (Andrea Whootton) appears very simply by running out on stage but it is still quite dramatic because of the costumes and lighting design (I am always intrigued by how she appears because I once played her and I came up through the bed). I was also impressed by lots of little details that make this production stand out from the many that I've seen before, most notably the extended interactions between Tevye and the Fiddler (Jennifer Ostermiller) during his monologues, the care taken with the authenticity of the religious ceremonies (it is incredibly moving when Tevye removes the mezuzah from the doorpost before leaving Anatevka), and the dance sequence between Chava and Tevye before Fyedka (CJ Rawlins) steps in during "Chavaleh (Little Bird)." The elaborate set features a house and barn made of weathered wood with objects such as benches, blocks, and doors that are cleverly moved and configured to become the village inn, Motel's tailor shop, the railway station, and other locations. This is a great production for an even greater cause (go here to read about Wendy Thurman) and I definitely recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through March 15.

The Monkey

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was The Monkey.  I was really looking forward to this and, even though a lot of liberties are taken with the original short story by Stephen King, I enjoyed it.  Petey Shelburn (Adam Scott) attempts to get rid of a toy monkey before abandoning his twin sons Bill and Hal (Christian Convery) but they eventually find it in a closet of his belongings.  They wind a key, which makes the monkey play its drum, and their babysitter Annie (Danica Dreyer) is decapitated in a freakish accident soon after.  Hal attributes Annie's death to the monkey and, after Bill bullies him in a cruel incident at school, he turns the key hoping that Bill will be its next victim but it is his mother Lois (Tatiana Maslany) who dies.  They are taken in by their aunt Ida (Sarah Levy) and uncle Chip (Osgood Perkins) who live in a small town in Mane but, when Chip becomes the next victim, Bill and Hal throw the monkey in a well.  Decades later, the brothers (now played by Theo James) are estranged and Hal is horrified when he realizes that the monkey has mysteriously reappeared after Ida dies in another unusual accident.  Terrified for his young son Petey (Colin O'Brien), from whom is is also estranged, Hal returns to Maine in order to find the monkey but he finds more carnage and an even bigger threat.  This is absolutely bonkers with some really wild and gruesome scenes (my favorites are when someone is electrocuted in a swimming pool and when someone's head is smashed by a swinging bowling ball) but I think this absurdist tone works because it emphasizes the irrational fear of death that keeps both Hal and Bill from living.  James gives a great performance, as both the sympathetic Hal and the villainous Bill, because it is his reaction to the almost comical deaths that creates the tension.  I also enjoyed several hilarious cameos, particularly Nicco Del Rio as a clueless priest and Elijah Wood as young Petey's stepfather.  Finally, the design of the monkey is really unnerving and I found the eyes to be especially malevolent.  A lot of horror movies that I've seen in the past year begin with an intriguing premise and then unravel as they go on, including Longlegs which was also directed by Osgood Perkins, but I actually loved the ending of The Monkey because it reiterates the theme that death is inevitable and you have to find a way to live anyway.  I highly recommend this to fans of horror.