Mozart's Requiem

One of my all-time favorite movies is Amadeus.  I have a very vivid memory of watching it for the first time on HBO when I was in high school because, for some reason, I was in my parents' room instead of the family room downstairs.  They wanted to go to bed but I was so engrossed that they let me continue watching it to the end.  It was the first movie that I owned (on VHS) and I watched it obsessively.  I also bought the soundtrack (on vinyl) and I loved it so much that my parents took me to my first Utah Symphony concert because the program featured Mozart's Requiem.  I will never forget that concert because it was my introduction to hearing classical music performed live (I have been a Utah Symphony subscriber ever since) and I was completely overcome hearing a piece that I loved so much (my parents both fell asleep).  The program for last night's Utah Symphony concert included three pieces by Mozart that are featured in Amadeus and I was so excited that I could hardly contain myself (I have been looking forward to it since the season was announced a year ago).  The orchestra began with the Overture to The Magic Flute and, even though it is not my favorite opera by Mozart (that would be Don Giovanni), I really enjoyed it because it is very playful, especially the unexpected use of the brass in the opening notes.  Next came Symphony No. 25 and, while I love all of it, the first movement is my favorite because it is incredibly stirring (I love the syncopation) and I know every single note because it is played over the opening credits in Amadeus as Salieri is rushed through the streets of Vienna after attempting suicide (I saw this scene in my mind as I listened to it).  After the intermission, the orchestra was joined by Soprano Deanna Breiwick, Mezzo-Soprano Cecelia Hall, Tenor Matthew Newhouse, Baritone Levi Hernandez, and the Utah Symphony Chorus for the Requiem.  I am fascinated by this piece because it is hauntingly beautiful and, while the movie definitely takes many liberties with how it was composed, the true story is still very intriguing because it is believed that a mysterious figure commissioned a Requiem Mass with the intention of passing it off as his own and, of course, it is incredibly tragic that Mozart died before completing it.  The performance was spectacular and I had goosebumps many times throughout but my favorite sections were the Kyrie because the double fugue is so intense, the Confutatis because I love the arpeggios by the strings as the women sing (this is what Mozart is writing with Salieri on his deathbed in the movie), and the Lacrimosa because it is atmospheric and mournful (this is what plays during Mozart's funeral in the movie).  I loved this concert so much and I am sure that I will be on a high from it for days!  I highly recommend getting a ticket for tonight's concert featuring the same program (go here) but act quickly because there were very few empty seats last night.

Note:  Now I want to watch Amadeus again!

Sacramento

Yesterday I went to a matinee of Sacramento at the Broadway (there are so many movies that I want to see playing at the Broadway right now so I have to fit them in when I can) and I found it very charming.  The free-spirited Rickey (Michael Angarano) meets a woman named Tallie (Maya Erskine) before learning of his father's death.  One year later, after he is kicked out of his grief support group, he arrives unannounced at the home of his estranged friend Glenn (Michael Cera).  The uptight Glenn is about to become a father and is filled with anxiety to the chagrin of his exasperated wife Rosie (Kristen Stewart).  Rickey notices how stressed Glenn is acting and spontaneously suggests a road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento and, when Glenn refuses to go, he tells him that the purpose of the trip is to scatter his father's ashes even though he has another motive for wanting to go there.  Glenn suspects that Rickey is lying but agrees to go because he is worried about him.  As they argue over who is having a bigger breakdown, Glenn helps Rickey face up to his responsibilities and Rickey helps Glenn calm down.  This is both funny and heartwarming and plays to the strengths of Angarano and Cera as actors.  I laughed out loud when Rickey and Glenn end up at a boxing gym, for reasons, and end up going at each other in the ring and when they wrestle each other to the ground in the middle of a parking lot because they are just like twelve year old boys.  I also laughed at the lengths to which Rickey goes to keep Glenn on the trip with him, especially arranging for his car to be towed.  There is also an incredibly poignant scene where Rickey helps Glenn through a panic attack and reassures him they will both be okay.  Stewart and Erskine don't have a lot of screen time but they really ground the story.  I enjoyed this buddy comedy (I think it is a more lighthearted version of A Real Pain) and I recommend it to fans of the actors.

Wicked at the Eccles

I really love the musical Wicked because not only is it a powerful ode to anyone who has ever felt different but it is also extremely clever in the way it sets up the events in The Wizard of Oz and the music is so stirring.  I love it so much that I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing it (the usher, who talks to me before every show, asked me how many times I've seen it and I think the number is now ten).  It was so much fun to see it again last night at the Eccles Theatre, especially now that I have seen the movie (I cannot wait for the second part now).  I am really glad that it is still the original production and that it hasn't been changed to conform to the choreography, costumes, and production design of the movie because I've always really enjoyed all of these elements in the stage version (although I thought the projections for the tornado were really underwhelming this time around).  I noticed that the pace is so much faster in comparison to the movie with scenes moving very quickly but I actually appreciated this because I always sit with great anticipation for all of my favorite numbers.  The two leads in this production, Austen Danielle Bohmer as Glinda and Lauren Samuels as Elphaba, are wonderful and I especially enjoyed Bohmer's hilarious rendition of "Popular" (I loved it when she hunched down to get her wand working) and Samuels is incredibly powerful in "The Wizard and I," "Defying Gravity," and "No Good Deed" as well as very affecting in "I'm Not That Girl" (my favorite song in the show).  They also sound great together in "What Is This Feeling?" and "For Good" although their physicality is a bit off because Samuels is very slight in stature (I always think that Elphaba should be larger and more awkward than Glinda).  I also really liked Xavier McKinnon as Fiyero because he is charismatic (and is a great dancer) in "Dancing Through Life" and he has a lot of chemistry with Samuels in "As Long As You're Mine."  He is especially awkward with Samuels when she leaves Shiz for the Emerald City as well as with Bohmer during "Thank Goodness."  Aymee Garcia is one of the sassiest Madame Morribles I've seen and Blake Hammond is suitably smarmy as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz but I found Erica Ito and Alex Vinh to be a bit bland as Nessarose and Boq, respectively.  This show will always be a favorite and I absolutely loved seeing so many people around me experience the stage version for the first time after being introduced to the story by the movie.  I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) through the run at the Eccles Theatre which continues through May 25.

Note:  After seeing the movie, I decided to read Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.  It is extremely dark and very weird (Elphaba and Glinda do not even interact very much) and I definitely prefer the stage adaptation.

A Chorus Line at West Valley Arts

Last night I went to a production of A Chorus Line at the West Valley Performing Arts Center and it is outstanding in every way! A large group of dancers are vying for a chance to be part of the ensemble of a new Broadway show. The director Zach (Joseph Spear) observes as his assistant Larry (Madison Valgardson) takes the group through the choreography and all of the dancers express the hope that they will be cast. Eventually, the group is narrowed down to Cassie (Bailee Johnson), Kristine (Annie Jones), Richie (Phil Lewis), Bebe (Sophi Keller), Diana (Celeste Palermo), Connie (Ally Choe), Mark (Alec Foote), Greg (Dylan Panter), Al (Remy Talanoa), Paul (Angel Martinez), Bobby (Michael Avila), Maggie (Summer Sloan Alvey), Mike (Cameron Robbins), Val (Rosalie Wasser), and Sheila (Heather White). Zach wants to learn more than what is listed on their resumes so he asks them to talk about their experiences and what made each of them want to be a dancer and they do so in a series of stirring musical numbers. My favorite songs are "I Can Do That" as Mike talks about accompanying his sister to dance class, "At the Ballet" as Sheila, Bebe, and Maggie recount how they used ballet as an escape from their unhappy childhoods, "Gimme the Ball" as Richie describes how he almost became a kindergarten teacher before becoming a dancer, and "Dance: Ten, Looks: Three" as Val brags about getting more work after having plastic surgery. As the group learns the choreography for a number from the show, Zach confronts Cassie and it is revealed that she was once the star of one of his shows, as well as his former lover, and he doesn't think she will fit in with the chorus and he also has a poignant moment with Paul as he describes the difficulty he has had with his sexuality. The group rehearses "One" and Zach selects the final eight dancers who then perform this number in the show. The entire cast is stellar, one of the strongest I've seen at West Valley Arts, but the standouts for me are Johnson because I loved her mesmerizing performance in "The Music and the Mirror" and Martinez because his delivery of Paul's monologue is incredibly emotional. I wondered about the staging of this show because the theater is in the round but it is very clever. Zach initially observes the group from a platform above one of the wings but then we only hear his disembodied voice coming from various areas of the theater and this allows the dancers to face different parts of the audience as they speak to him. The choreography is also very clever (I have become a huge fan of co-director and co-choreographer Izzy Arrieta) because, while it is recognizable from other versions of this show that I have seen, lots of different patterns are created on stage so there is always something to look at. I also loved the use of the company as the individual characters perform their solo numbers, particularly during "And..."  The set is minimal because the audition takes place on a bare stage but I really liked the use of clear plexiglass panels around the perimeter because they are somewhat reflective and replicate the mirrors one would find in a ballet studio and the way that actual mirrors are incorporated into "The Music and the Mirror" is very effective. The costumes during the audition are also minimal but the sparkly gold ones used in the finale are quite spectacular (as is the dramatic lighting during this number). This stunning show is definitely one that you do not want to miss! It runs at the West Valley Performing Arts Center through May 3 with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (go here for tickets).

Warfare

The second movie in the double feature at the Broadway with my nephew last night was Warfare.  It was quite a shift in tone from our first movie because it is incredibly intense!  In 2006 the Navy SEAL platoon Alpha One is sent on a surveillance mission looking for insurgents in the aftermath of the Second Battle of Ramadi.  They commandeer the house of a local family and begin to monitor the market located across the street after it shows an elevated level of activity.  In the ensuing firefight with the insurgents, several members of the platoon are injured and require evacuation but this proves to be incredibly dangerous until Alpha Two eventually reaches their position.  It focuses on Erik (Will Poulter), the Officer in Charge, Ray (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), the communications officer, Elliott (Cosmo Jarvis), the lead sniper injured in the firefight, Sam (Joseph Quinn), the LPO injured by an IED, Tommy (Kit Connor), a relatively inexperienced gunner, and Jake (Charles Melton), the Assistant Officer in Charge.  Ray Mendoza, the communications officer in the actual Alpha One platoon, is the co-writer and co-director and he wanted the movie to serve as a memory of the events for the injured Elliott Miller and, as such, it is one of the most accurate portrayals of war that I have ever seen.  It is incredibly immersive, especially a scene where the soldiers use smoke to mask their movements and the scenes depicting the explosion of an IED, because the visual effects and sound design put the audience in the middle of the action which is shown in real-time.  The scenes showing a plane strafing the street as a "show of force" are especially visceral.  This is definitely an experience rather than a narrative (although there is more of a story arc than I was expecting) and I was particularly struck by the moments of tedium as the soldiers wait for something to happen juxtaposed with the total chaos and terror of battle.  It is very powerful but, in my opinion, it is quite neutral in its message about war in that it is merely an objective look at what actually happens and the audience is meant to take away their own interpretation.  I highly recommend it but it may be difficult for some to watch.