Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in Los Angeles

Over the weekend my sister Kristine and I went on a quick road trip to Los Angeles to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Pantages Theatre and we had so much fun!  I saw this show several years ago in San Francisco when it was performed in two parts so I was really intrigued to see the new production and my sister, who is a huge Harry Potter fan, was even more excited to see it for the first time.  We both loved it because it is absolutely magical!  It is nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts and Harry Potter (John Skelley) now works for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, his wife Ginny Potter (Trish Lindstrom) writes for The Daily Prophet, Hermione Granger (Ebony Blake) is the Minister of Magic, and her husband Ron Weasley (Matt Mueller) manages Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.  Their children Albus Potter (Emmet Smith) and Rose Granger-Weasley (Naiya Vanessa McCalla) are on their way to Hogwarts when the story begins.  Albus soon forms an unlikely friendship with Scorpius Malfoy (Aidan Close), the son of Harry's nemesis Draco (Benjamin Thys).  They are drawn together because they are both unpopular and bullied.  Albus is bothered by his father's notoriety and feels that he is a disappointment while Scorpius is plagued by unfounded rumors that he is really the son of Lord Voldemort.  They feel that they have something to prove so, with the help of Delphi Diggory (Julia Nightingale), they steal a time-turner from the Ministry of Magic in order to go back in time to save Cedric Diggory (Caleb Hafen) from his fate.  This has unintended consequences and now Scorpius must enlist Hermione, Ron, and Severus Snape (Larry Yando) to help him go back in time to change the future back.  However, Delphi has her own reasons for wanting Cedric to return and compels Scorpius and Albus to use the time-turner once again to restore the alternate timeline which leads to an epic confrontation in Godric's Hollow.  Even though this new version is close to three hours long, there are obviously some elements that have been removed from the earlier one but I honestly didn't miss anything.  The biggest changes I noticed were that the Dementors appear on stage rather than fly through the audience (I was a bit disappointed but my sister still thought they were really cool) and the relationship between Albus and Scorpius is more romantic than I remember.  I really loved the touching story about father-son relationships, the fun performances (my favorite was Close and my sister's was Mackenzie Lesser-Roy as Moaning Myrtle), and the iconic costumes and sets (fans of Harry Potter will immediately recognize the Gothic architecture, the House Banners, and the moving staircases at Hogwarts) but the way the magic is staged is what makes this show so amazing!  Seeing the students run through Platform 9 3/4, use their wands, travel by flue powder, and drink polyjuice potion caused the audience to gasp out loud but the duel between Harry and Draco and the transfiguration scene received spontaneous applause!  The staging of other scenes is also very clever, particularly when Albus and Scorpius jump off the Hogwarts Express, when they emerge from the lake, and when they are separated by the moving staircases.  Even the choreography used by the ensemble to move set pieces on and off stage is incredibly dynamic!  The show is absolutely spellbinding (pun intended) and I am so glad that I had the chance to see it again, especially with my sister!  It will be on tour in various cities through 2026 (I hope it eventually comes to SLC) and I highly recommend getting a ticket if you have the opportunity.

Note:  I had to drive through a severe snow storm and my sister had to drive in Los Angeles traffic.  I'm not sure which was worse (although we still had the best time on this trip).

Black Bag

My nephew and I went to a Thursday preview of Black Bag last night.  We were both really looking forward to it and we were not disappointed.  When George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender), an intelligence agent who specializes in administering polygraphs, is given a list of five agents who might be responsible for allowing a cyber worm capable of destabilizing a nuclear facility, code name Severus, to fall into the wrong hands, he is dismayed to see that his wife, fellow agent Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett), is one of them.  He has a week to find the traitor so he invites the other agents, Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke) and Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela), who are a couple, and James Stokes (Rege-Jean Page) and Zoe Vaughan (Naomie Harris), who are also a couple, to an elaborate dinner at his home with Kathryn whereupon he provokes them into revealing intimate details about themselves (in a fabulous tension-filled scene).  He eventually zeroes in on Kathryn and initiates surveillance on her black bag activities (anything too sensitive to be revealed even to a spouse) but is his motivation to expose her or to protect her?  This is a slick and stylish spy thriller but it focuses more on the loyalties and betrayals that happen within three relationships more than those that happen between countries and, in my opinion, that makes it even more compelling.  It also focuses more on dialogue than on action (although there is a great sequence involving a drone), especially in a brilliantly edited scene involving polygraph tests because the answers to the questions posed reveal everything (if you are paying attention).  It is so much fun watching Fassbender and Blanchett spar with each other while delivering the witty dialogue and the rest of the cast is also excellent (Burke is so good at playing a cad).  I love intelligent thrillers and this is a good one.  Go see it!

Rule Breakers

I am a sucker for inspirational movies so I went to see Rule Breakers last night and I really enjoyed this true story about one woman's quest to empower young girls in Afghanistan through science and technology education.  After she was denied the opportunity to use the computers at her school because of her gender, Roya Mahboob (Nikohl Boosheri) eventually teaches herself how to code using a computer in a local cafe, campaigns for computer classes for women at her university, becomes an entrepreneur in the tech field, and establishes computer classes at high schools for girls.  However, she wants to do more and, with the support of her brother Ali (Noorin Gulamgaus) and an Indian tech entrepreneur (Ali Fazal), she decides to sponsor a girls robotics team with the hope of taking them to international competitions and recruits four highly qualified girls, including Taara (Nina Hosseinzadeh), Esin (Amber Afzali), Haadiya (Sara Malal Rowe), and Arezo (Mariam Saraj).  They face many obstacles (so many obstacles!), experience personal tragedy, and receive backlash from the Taliban before they eventually triumph through dedication and determination.  This is incredibly moving and there were moments when I had tears in my eyes over what these girls had to go through in order to achieve their dreams.  I also think this is an important story to tell about the power of knowledge to change the world, particularly now that girls in Afghanistan no longer have access to education beyond the sixth grade.  The performances are all outstanding but I do wish that the movie had developed the characters, especially the girls on the team, more fully because I wanted to know more about them.  My only other complaint is that the scenes at the robotics competitions focus more on the party atmosphere (are robotics competitions really like this?) rather than on what the teams are actually doing and how they are being judged.  The heartwarming story definitely overcomes these minor issues and I highly recommend it!

Les Miserables at the Eccles

The first time I saw Les Miserables while on a study abroad trip to London, I was almost overcome when I heard those dramatic opening notes and, even though I have now seen it more times than I can count, I was still still incredibly moved when I heard them again at the Eccles Theatre last night.  I always wait with great anticipation for all of my favorite numbers and I loved every one of them in this production because it has one of the best casts I've ever seen!  As expected, Nick Cartell (who also played Jean Valjean that last time this show was in town) gives a highly emotional performance of "Bring Him Home" but I was actually moved to tears during Valjean's "Soliloquy" because his transformation is palpable.  I don't think I have ever had such a strong reaction to this song before but I was an absolute mess after Cartell's beautiful rendition.  Lindsay Heather Pearce, as Fantine, is heartbreaking in her version of "I Dreamed a Dream" because you can really feel her disillusionment.  Nick Rehberger, as Javert, is incredibly powerful during "Stars" because he just about blows the roof off of the Eccles Theatre.  Christian Mark Gibbs, as Enjolras, is especially stirring in "Red and Black" and "Do You Hear the People Sing" because I wanted to stand up and cheer (I really loved his voice).  Jake David Smith, as Marius, is absolutely devastating in his performance of "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" because I was reduced to tears once again by his anguish during this scene.  I was also really struck by Andrew Marks Maughan, as Combeferre, because I loved both his physicality (he is very tall) and his voice in "Red and Black," "Do You Hear the People Sing," and "Drink with Me to Days Gone By."  Finally, I always judge every production by how Eponine sings "On My Own" (my favorite song in the show) and Mya Rena Hunter absolutely delivered.  She imbues this song (as well as "A Little Fall of Rain") with a vulnerability that is in sharp contrast to her previous interactions with Marius and I loved this characterization.  I love the new staging without the turntable because the sets are more elaborate and truer to the events in the novel, especially in "Look Down" and "At the End of the Day," and the new backdrops feature Victor Hugo's original illustrations which are very striking.  The only element that I miss from the original staging is when the turntable slowly rotates to reveal Enjolras upside down on the barricade with the flag (he is now shown with the flag on a dogcart but it isn't as dramatic).  I love this show and I love that it still has the power to affect me in such a profound way every time I see it.  There are still tickets available for the five remaining performances (go here) and I highly recommend it!

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.