Disney in Concert with the Utah Symphony at Sandy Amphitheater

I really enjoy Sandy Amphitheater as an outdoor venue so I always like to see a few shows there each summer.  Last night I went to see Disney in Concert featuring the Utah Symphony under the baton of guest conductor Ron Spigelman and Broadway stars Lissa deGuzman (known for playing Jasmine in Aladdin and Elphaba in Wicked), Nasia Thomas (known for paying Anna of Cleves in SIX), Susan Egan (the original Belle in Beauty and the Beast and the voice of Meg in the movie Hercules), Noah J. Ricketts (the original Kristoff in Frozen and Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby), and Adam J. Levy (known for Moulin Rouge) in a program celebrating the music from the Disney and Pixar movies released in the 1980s and 1990s.  The concert began with a fun medley featuring "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast, "Prince Ali" from Aladdin, and "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid with all of the vocalists.  Thomas and Ricketts continued with "Reflection" and "I'll Make a Man Out of You," respectively, from Mulan and then Egan performed "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" from Hercules with Thomas and deGuzman as the Muses.  The orchestra played a medley from A Bug's Life then Ricketts and Levy returned to the stage for "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story.  Tucker sang "God Help the Outcasts" then Levy sang "Out There" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and both were incredibly powerful.  All of the vocalists performed a medley from The Disney Afternoon featuring songs from the TV shows DuckTales, Goof Troop, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, and Darkwing Duck. This was followed by "Part of Your World" and then Egan continued with a hilarious version of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from The Little Mermaid.  The first set ended with "Santa Fe" and "Seize the Day" from Newsies (these were crowd favorites).  After the intermission, the orchestra performed a medley called "Mickey's Imagination" and then Ricketts and Thomas thrilled the crowd with renditions of "Go the Distance" and "Zero to Hero," respectively, from Hercules.  My favorite moment came next when deGuzman sang "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas because it was so beautiful.  Thomas, deGuzman, and Egan sang "I Put a Spell on You" as the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus and then were joined by Levy for "Once Upon a Time in New York City" from Oliver & Company.  Egan gave an incredibly moving rendition of "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2 and then the other vocalists performed a romantic mash-up of "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast and "A Whole New World" from Aladdin.  The second set ended with "Circle of Life" from The Lion King and then Ricketts sang "Stand Out" from A Goofy Movie (Thomas told the crowd that this is her favorite movie of all time) as an encore.  I loved hearing all of these unbelievably talented Broadway stars perform and it was a lot of fun to see the movies referenced in the songs shown on the screen above the orchestra.  It was the perfect temperature for an outdoor concert and I am really looking to a few more this summer (go here for the remaining concerts in the Deer Valley Music Festival and here for the line up at Sandy Amphitheater).

Lady Gaga in Las Vegas

I love Lady Gaga and, even though I was able to see her Jazz & Piano show a few years ago, I have always wanted to see her in concert performing her own music.  I didn't think I would ever have an opportunity because she mostly does big stadium tours so I was beyond excited when she announced an arena tour in support of her latest album MAYHEM (which, in my opinion, is her best album since The Fame).  I was able to get a ticket to the opening show at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas last night and took a fun road trip to cross another item off my bucket list!  The concert was absolutely amazing and I am still on a high from it!  Every performance was very theatrical (the stage was even configured as an opulent opera house) with elaborate costumes, lighting, visuals, and choreography for each song.  The show was structured into four acts and a finale during which Lady Gaga periodically confronted a character called the Mistress of Mayhem (she is the personification of the inner chaos created by her trauma and fame as revealed in the opening manifesto, "The Art of Personal Chaos").  Act 1, Of Velvet and Vice, began with Lady Gaga inside a towering red Tudor gown singing an operatic version of "Bloody Mary" after which the skirt opened to reveal a steel cage filled with her backup dancers.  She emerged to perform "Abracadabra," with shortened versions of "Judas," "Aura," and "Scheiße" as an outro, and "Garden of Eden” with her on guitar.  This set concluded with "Poker Face" as Lady Gaga and the Mistress of Mayhem played a game of chess with dancers as pieces on a chessboard of lights on the runway jutting into the audience.  During Act II, And She Fell Into a Gothic Dream, Lady Gaga cavorted in a burial ground while performing dramatic renditions of "Perfect Celebrity" and "Disease" with skeletons all around her.  She then climbed out for "Paparazzi" (so symbolic) with an iridescent veil trailing her down the runway and then "LoveGame."  This set ended with atmospheric versions of "Alejandro" and "The Beast."  Act III, The Beautiful Nightmare That Knows Her Name, featured Lady Gaga dressed in a long black frock coat covered in black satin roses and a large headdress singing "Killah," "Zombieboy,"  and "LoveDrug" with a giant skull on stage and concluded with a burlesque performance of "Just Dance" with "Applause" as an intro.  Act IV, Every Chessboard Has Two Queens, included "Shadow of a Man," "Kill for Love," "Summerboy," and a very powerful performance of "Born This Way."  The Mistress of Mayhem pursued her during "Million Reasons" (also very symbolic) and then rowed her in a gondola down the runway for a solo version of "Shallow" (my favorite moment in the show because it was so cool).  She stayed on the secondary stage at the end of the runway to perform a solo version of "Die With a Smile" on piano and then gave a heartfelt thanks to her fans for supporting her throughout her career before going out into the crowd for "Vanish Into You."  For the Finale, Eternal Aria of the Monster Heart, Lady Gaga had her backup dancers perform surgery on her heart (her costume had a bloody incision that was stapled together) while she sang "Bad Romance" and this was followed by a recorded speech called "Monsters Never Die" which signified her victory over the Mistress of Mayhem.  For the encore, Lady Gaga sang "How Bad Do U Want Me," which is my favorite song from MAYHEM, starting from backstage.  I loved both the storytelling and the theatricality of this show and I was beyond impressed by Lady Gaga's incredible vocals (she is the ultimate performer).  I also liked her selection of songs because she sang almost everything from MAYHEM but also included the hits and a few deeper cuts that haven't been performed in a long time.  This is one of the best concerts I've seen and I am so glad that I was able to go!

Superman

Superman has always been my favorite comic book character so James Gunn's new reboot was my most anticipated movie of the summer.  I had the chance to see it at a Thursday preview with my nephew and sister last night and, while it is a bit messy, I absolutely loved it!  Clark Kent/ Superman (David Corenswet) acts without the authority of the U.S. government to stop the invasion of Jarhanpur by Borovia, a neighboring country and U.S. ally, in order to save lives but many, including Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), his girlfriend and colleague at the Daily Planet, question his motives.  Tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who is jealous of Superman's notoriety, uses this incident and a previously unheard message from his Kryptonian parents to turn public opinion against Superman and he takes steps to destroy him in a perceived attempt to keep people safe.  I think the narrative is really bloated because it includes Luthor's allies Ultraman (also played by David Corenswet) and Angela Spica/ The Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria), the Justice Gang members Michael Holt/ Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Guy Gardner/ Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Kendra Saunders/ Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and eventually Rex Mason/ Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) who help Superman save the people of Jarhanpur, as well as Clark Kent's Daily Planet colleagues Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), Perry White (Wendell Pierce), Steve Lombard (Beck Bennett), and Cat Grant (Mikaela Hoover) who work to discredit Luthor.  I also think the story is very convoluted with lots of plot holes, especially Luthor's use of nanotechnology and pocket dimensions.  However, it hardly matters because this movie is incredibly entertaining with all of the fun and goofy non-stop action Gunn is known for (I especially enjoyed the battle against a kaiju).  In my opinion, the characterization for Superman is very true to the comic books.  I love that he is kind and strives to do what is right to protect the innocent (at one point he saves a squirrel), even when it is difficult, and I think his old-fashioned naivete is very refreshing.  I also love his character arc as an outsider who ultimately finds his strength in his humanity (the juxtaposition between the scenes with his Kryptonian parents and his Earth parents at the Fortress of Solitude is very powerful).  Corenswet (especially), Brosnahan, and Hoult are absolutely fantastic and I think Gisondo is the perfect Jimmy Olson but Gathegi steals every scene he is in as Mister Terrific (I hope to see more of him in future DCU projects) and Superman's dog Krypto is adorable.  As much as I love the direction Zack Snyder took the character, I think this is a great reset for the DCU and I am excited for what is to come!

Note:  There is a mid-credits scene and an end-credits scene.

Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale at St. Mary's Church

One of my favorite activities in the summer is to see the Utah Symphony at St. Mary's Church in Park City as part of the Deer Valley Music Festival so I was really excited for The Soldier's Tale by Igor Stravinsky last night.  I love St. Mary's Church as a venue because it is beautiful (I love the views of the mountains from the windows) but it is also very intimate so the concerts usually feature smaller groups of musicians and chamber pieces.  Last night's concert featured a clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, violin, double bass, and percussion which is a unique grouping of instruments selected by Stravinsky to represent the treble and bass in each instrument family.  The program began with Catch and Release by Esa-Pekka Salonen.  The guest conductor Yaniv Dinur, who was incredibly charming, explained that the contemporary Finnish composer Salonen is a great admirer of Stravinsky and purposely selected the same instruments so that Catch and Release could be played as a companion piece to The Soldier's Tale.  I really enjoyed all of the different textures within this piece (it reminded me of Middle Eastern music) and I especially liked how the ending went from extremely loud to just the vibrations from the strings because it was very dramatic.  After the intermission, the concert continued with The Soldier's Tale narrated by Kevin Nakatani (he recently performed in Utah Opera's production of Madame Butterfly).  A soldier on leave trades his old violin to the Devil in return for a book that tells the future.  He uses this to become rich but he soon realizes that his wealth means nothing and he longs for everything he had before.  He makes another deal with the Devil and regains his violin which wins him the hand of a Princess but this also has unforeseen consequences.  Nakatani has a deep and sonorous voice and I really enjoyed listening to him.  I also enjoyed how the specific instruments illustrate what is happening in the story.  I especially loved the theme played by the violin and clarinet together when the soldier first plays his violin, the fanfare played by the trumpet and trombone when the soldier visits the King, as well as the violin and percussion as the Princess dances.  The juxtaposition between these two pieces made for a very powerful concert and I loved it!  Go here for information and tickets for all of the remaining concerts in the Deer Valley Music Festival.

Note:  Construction in Parley's Canyon added over an hour to my drive home.  That was super fun!

Footloose at HCT

Last night I went to see Footloose at HCT and, much to my surprise, I really loved it. The stage musical is based on the 1984 movie of the same name and follows Ren McCormack (Ren Cottam) as he and his mother Ethel (Melody L. Baugh) move to the small conservative town of Bomont after his father abandons them. Ren immediately finds himself at odds with almost everyone, including the Rev. Shaw Moore (John Rex Kocherhans), because he cannot believe that the town has outlawed dancing. With the help of Ariel Moore (Kersee Whitney), the Reverend's rebellious daughter, and Willard Hewitt (Weston Wright), a redneck with a penchant for fighting who becomes his best friend, Ren eventually convinces Rev. Moore to let him and the rest of the teenagers have a dance which helps the town heal from a tragedy that affected them all. I have to admit that I am not usually a fan of this musical because I think the original songs, most of which were written specifically for the adults to sing, are incredibly contrived and not very memorable even though Baugh, Kocherhans, and Teaira Burge (who plays Vi Moore) have beautiful voices and do a great job in this production. I think the musical is at its best when it incorporates the songs from the movie, including "Footloose," "Somebody's Eyes," "Holding Out for a Hero," "I'm Free," "Let's Hear It for the Boy," and "Almost Paradise," and the staging of these songs in this version is absolutely spectacular with dynamic high-energy choreography that is executed brilliantly by an unbelievably talented cast! I loved, loved, loved the staging for "Footloose" because shiny door curtains encircling the stage are raised just enough to reveal the feet of the dancers (this replicates the iconic opening of the movie), for "Somebody's Eyes" because Rachel Martorana as Rusty, Maryn Tueller as Urleen, and Beyonca Davis as Wendy Jo (who harmonize beautifully) follow Ren around as he butts heads with various townspeople, for "Holding Out For a Hero" because it is set at a drive-in movie with 1980s movie heroes who come to life from the LED screens around the theater (my favorites are Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, the Karate Kid, and Elliot flying around on his bicycle with E.T.), for "I'm Free" because it takes place in the school's gym and the choreography incorporates basketballs, jump ropes, and trampolines, for "Let's Hear It for the Boy" because the country line dancing as Ren teaches Willard to dance is so much fun to watch, and for "Almost Paradise" because Cottam and Whitney have such sizzling chemistry. I couldn't help cheering out loud at the end of each of these numbers! The set pieces are so much fun, especially the Burger Blast with the aforementioned movie screens, the Bar-B-Que with rows of cowboy hats, hanging wagon wheels, old license plates, and dollar bills tacked on the bar and tables, and the church with stained glass windows, and so are the costumes, particularly the Bomont High School gym uniforms and all of the 80s prom dresses. I also loved the real VW bug that Ren drives and the snapshots taken on the drive from Chicago to Bomont displayed on the screens (I laughed out loud at the one in front of the Lehi Roller Mills). This is not my favorite musical but I had an absolute ball last night (it is the best production of this show I have ever seen including an earlier one at HCT) and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs on the Young Living Centre Stage through August 30.