Sean Requested a Jazz Game!

My nephew got a smartphone at the beginning of the school year because he is going to a charter school instead of his home school and it is a bit further away from home.  Sometimes he randomly calls me during the day and I have to admit that I really love it when he does.  One day he called me to ask me to help him organize his school work and I made arrangements to meet him one day and go through his backpack.  We talked about various other things and, as we were finishing our conversation, he casually mentioned that we hadn't been to a Jazz game for a long time.  It was at that moment when I understood the purpose of his phone call.  I told him we would have to look at the schedule to see when the next Saturday home game was and he said it was against the Brooklyn Nets!  You have to admire his preparation!  We went last night and had so much fun!  I usually buy him a shirt (I only take him to one or two games a year and, besides, spoiling is the first article in the aunt by-laws) and he picked the cool shirt he is wearing in the picture.  It conveniently did not have a price tag on it and when it was scanned at the register we found out that it was $55.  What?  It is actually an NBA limited edition shirt for Veteran's Day and the Jazz players were wearing them during warm-ups so I guess it is worth it (said in a sarcastic voice). The Vivint Arena has undergone a really cool renovation so there are lots of great restaurants inside now.  We ate at Hire's which was fantastic but expensive!  Then we always have to get ice cream at half-time.  Ka-ching!  He is an expensive date but I love him so much (either that or I have the word “sucker” on my forehead!).  The Jazz played really well, leading the Nets for most of the game.  Donovan Mitchell had a great game, leading the team with 26 points, and Rodney Hood electrified the crowd with five three-pointers!  The Jazz ended up winning 114-106!  Sean thought he was the good luck charm!  I had so much fun with him and he is already planning our annual winter break Jazz game!

Note:  Ladies and gentlemen I am pleased to announce that my new Jazz crush is Ricky Rubio!  He has great hair!

Mozart's Great Mass

November is shaping up to be a wonderful month for Utah Symphony concerts!  Last week I got to hear the music of Rachmaninoff and last night I got to hear the music of Mozart (both of whom are favorites of mine).  The orchestra began last night's concert with Four Preludes and Serious Songs by Johannes Brahms with an arrangement by Detlev Glanert.  I really enjoyed this piece because it is a dark and mournful meditation on death which ultimately ends in triumph.  The orchestra was joined by Patrick Carfizzi who gave an incredible vocal performance and, of course, I really loved the woodwinds.  After the intermission the audience heard a magnificent performance of Mozart's "Great Mass."  I think that the Requiem Mass will always be my favorite piece by Mozart but this is definitely a close second.  The orchestra was joined by the University of Utah Chamber Choir and The Utah Symphony Chorus and soloists Celena Shafer, Sarah Shafer, Thomas Cooley, and Patrick Carfizzi.  The soloists were amazing, especially Celena Shafer who was last seen by Utah audiences as Musetta in Utah Opera's production of La Boheme.  The music in this mass is so beautiful and so powerful.  Listening to all of those voices was almost overwhelming so sometimes I just closed my eyes and let the music carry me away.  It was a beautiful concert, one that will be repeated at Abravanel Hall tonight.  I definitely recommend getting a ticket (go here).

Murder on the Orient Express

It seems like I have been waiting forever for Murder on the Orient Express to be released!  The wait was finally over last night because I went to an early Thursday preview with my family and boy did I love it!  I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie.  I have read every one of her mysteries multiple times and Murder on the Orient Express is a particular favorite because of the clever plot twist.  Kenneth Branagh's version is stylish and entertaining but it also adds a bit of poignancy that the other versions lack.  Hercule Poirot (Branagh) boards the Orient Express in Istanbul hoping for a few days of rest and relaxation.  However, one of the passengers, Samuel Ratchett (Johnny Depp), is stabbed to death just as the train is derailed during an avalanche.  Poirot is enlisted to solve the crime by his friend Bouc (Tom Bateman) before the murderer can strike again while the train is stranded.  Everyone, it seems, is a suspect:  Ratchett's assistant Hector MacQueen (Josh Gad), Princess Dragomiroff (Judi Dench) and her companion Hildegarde Schmidt (Olivia Colman), an American named Caroline Hubbard (Michelle Pfeiffer), the missionary Pilar Estravados (Penelope Cruz), Dr. Arbuthnot (Leslie Odom, Jr.), a governess named Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley),  Professor Gerhard Hardman (Willem Dafoe), Ratchett's valet Edward Masterman (Derek Jacobi), Biniamino Marquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and the Count and Countess Andrenyi (Lucy Boynton and Sergei Polunin).  I really enjoyed the all-star cast, especially Pfeiffer who has an incredibly affecting scene and I can think of no one better to play an imperious princess than Dame Judi Dench.  They all have their moment to shine as they are interrogated one by one.  Branagh's iteration of the famous Belgian sleuth is a bit more emotional and tormented than the ones I've seen before and I actually really liked his portrayal (although his accent was a bit affected).  I also liked the claustrophobia of the sumptuous train cars juxtaposed with wide sweeping shots of the train traveling through the snow covered mountains.  Since I've read the book countless times and seen several versions, my enjoyment was not derived from trying to figure out "whodunnit" but from seeing a classic tale told in a new and surprising way.  I loved this movie and I would definitely recommend it!

Note:  The ending implied that Poirot's next case would be in Egypt.  Dare we hope that Death on the Nile will be next?

LBJ

Last night I went to the Broadway once again to see LBJ and I hate to admit it but I was a bit disappointed.   The film begins on that fateful day in November when President Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan) is assassinated and Lyndon Johnson (Woody Harrelson) assumes the presidency.  Then the film flashes back to when Johnson was the most powerful member of the Democratic Party as Senate Majority Leader only to lose all of his power once he becomes the Vice President.  Despite a fantastic performance by Harrelson, as well as one from Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lady Bird, my biggest problem with the film is that it really isn't about Johnson.  Rather, it is about the Kennedys.  The script takes great pains to point out that Johnson was thwarted at every turn by the Kennedys, starting with losing the 1960 presidential nomination to John Kennedy then being relegated to a bit player at the White House by Bobby Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David) and finally having the first days of his presidency overshadowed by the nation's grief over President Kennedy's death.  The film ends with President Johnson giving a speech to a joint session of Congress advocating for President Kennedy's Civil Rights Act.  His one shining moment in the film is fighting for President Kennedy's legacy.  Then we see a few seconds of text on the screen outlining everything Johnson was able to accomplish during his presidency such as his Great Society legislation, Head Start, Medicare, and Medicaid, as well is his disastrous escalation of the Vietnam War.  I wish the filmmakers had focused on that.  I also felt that for being a biopic about such a bombastic character it was rather dull.  There is a lot of talking and many of the characters are difficult to distinguish from each other.  My mind definitely wandered.  The most stirring moment came during Johnson's speech when the film was practically over.   I would recommend giving this one a miss.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the most provocative directors currently working.  His film The Lobster definitely generated more conversations with people in line for screenings at Sundance two years ago than any other film I saw.  Honestly, I still think about it and I am certain that I will be thinking about his latest film, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, for a long time to come.  Cardiologist Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) begins spending time with Martin (Barry Keoghan), the son of one of his patients who died.  Their relationship is very undefined until Martin insinuates himself into Steven's life which makes him uncomfortable.  Soon his children fall ill with a strange paralysis.  We learn that Steven may have been responsible for the death of Martin's father and, seeking justice, Martin demands that Steven kill a member of his family or all three of them, including his wife Anna (Nicole Kidman), will eventually die of their illnesses.  The narrative is deeply disturbing on so many levels and some of the images are absolutely horrifying and yet I could not look away!   Every single shot evokes such a sense of menace and the crescendo of strings at key moments adds to the general unease.  I found myself nervously laughing several times.  Farrell is absolutely brilliant, speaking the oddly stilted dialogue in a monotone voice which serves to highlight his detachment from everyone and everything (he even has his wife pretend to be under anesthesia when he has sex with her).  This makes his emotional undoing all the more powerful.  Kidman gives an incredibly intense and chilling performance as a woman who can't quite accept the fact that her perfect life is crumbling around her and Keoghan gives one of the best performances I've seen this year as a twitchy teenage psychopath.  It is definitely not for everyone (I can't remember when I've felt more uncomfortable watching a film) but it is bold and brilliant.  Whether you love it or hate it, I guarantee that you will have a strong reaction to it and, in my mind, that is what the best films are able to do!

Loving Vincent

After spending Saturday night seeing a blockbuster at the megaplex I went for something totally different on Sunday afternoon.  I saw the independent film Loving Vincent at my favorite art house theater and I was completely captivated by this beautiful and heartbreaking film!  Every one of the frames of this film was hand painted by over 100 artists to mimic the style of Vincent Van Gogh so the images on the screen are absolutely dazzling.  I was spellbound by the beauty of what I was seeing!   I also really enjoyed the narrative about the last weeks of Vincent Van Gogh's life.  Armand Roulin (Douglas Booth) is tasked by the Postmaster, his father, to deliver a letter written by Vincent to his brother Theo Van Gogh.  Roulin travels to Paris but when he learns that Theo has also died, he travels to Auvers, where Vincent died, to interview everyone who knew him during his final weeks.  What I loved about this portrayal is that Vincent is not depicted as a madman but as a profoundly lonely man who had a sensitive soul and felt things deeply.  There is a scene between Roulin and Marguerite (Soairse Ronin), the daughter of Vincent's doctor, that had me sobbing.  I also loved this film because it doesn't definitively answer the question of how Vincent died because his life is more important than his death (which is what Marguerite conveys so beautifully in that pivotal scene).  I also loved that this portrait is not from Vincent's point of view (which is how other biopics tend to present his life) because there is no way we can fully understand this enigmatic artist and the story is as much about Roulin's journey as it is Vincent's.  His paintings must speak for themselves and I have always loved his paintings!   I absolutely loved this film, as well, (I suspect that I will be haunted by it for some time to come).  I highly recommend it!

Thor: Ragnarok

Last night I finally had the opportunity to see Thor: Ragnarok and I had a blast watching this movie with a rowdy late night crowd.  Thor (Chris Hemsworth) battles against his long-lost sister Hela (Cate Blanchett) for control over Asgard but first he must escape from the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), the leader of the planet Sakaar, by fighting in a gladiator battle with the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and enlist the help of the treacherous Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and a disillusioned Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson).  This movie is absolutely hilarious and I was laughing out loud within the first minute as was the rest of the crowd.  Hemsworth is a great comedic actor and I especially enjoyed all of Thor's goofy banter with Loki (my favorite character in the series) and the Hulk.  I also really liked the villain Hela and it is clear that Blanchett had a lot of fun with the role, vamping and strutting around.  There are so many funny lines in this movie but I think my very favorite is said by Korg, a rock creature who is also imprisoned by the Grandmaster, when he explains how he came to be working as a gladiator: "I tried to start a revolution but I didn't print enough pamphlets."  I laughed and laughed at that!  The production design is fantastic, especially on Sakaar with all of the psychedelic colors and retro patterns.  There are some great action sequences and the use of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" in the opening and final battles got my adrenaline pumping.  It is really lighthearted and zany but I actually did enjoy the story because the notion of Ragnarok, or apocalypse, where an old world is destroyed and a new and better one is reborn is particularly compelling.  I definitely recommend this entertaining movie for a great time at the movies!

Note:  There are some fabulous cameos, especially in the play performed on Asgard (pay attention to who is playing Loki!) and the scene where Thor's hair is cut (I think I prefer Thor with long hair, though).  The scene with Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) had me laughing the whole time ("I have been falling for 30 minutes!").

Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances

If you read this blog on a regular basis you surely know by now that I absolutely love all of the Russian composers and that Rachmaninoff is my very favorite of all the Russians (with Tchaikovsky a close second).  So a program featuring his Symphonic Dances was definitely on the top of my list when I was creating my season package.  However, this concert also featured two pieces which made me think about putting Maurice Ravel on my list of favorite composers.  When I think of Ravel I automatically think of Bolero, which I love, but the pieces performed last night were absolutely wonderful as well.  The orchestra began with Ma Mere l'Oye (Mother Goose) and it was so enchanting and whimsical, telling the stories of Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, The Princess of the Pagodas, Beauty and the Beast, and The Fairy Garden. I especially loved it when the instruments would mimic the sounds of nature, such as chirping.  I really, really loved the themes played by the harp in this piece!  The orchestra also played Ravel's Tzigane, which means gypsy.  I was absolutely blown away by the lengthy opening which featured the solo violin, played by Utah native William Hagen.  His performance was incredibly passionate just like a gypsy.  Once again I loved the harp in this piece (Ravel must have been in love with a harpist at one time).  Hagen also joined the orchestra for the stirring Introduction and Rondo capriccioso for Violin and Orchestra by Camille Saint-Saens (a composer already on my list of favorites).  What I loved most about this piece is that it starts slow with themes played mostly by the solo violin repeated at intervals and then it becomes a dazzling display of virtuosity.  Hagen's bow literally flew across his violin!  Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances came after the intermission and all I can say is "Wow!"  This piece always suggests a longing for Russia to me and I think it is romantic and emotional.  I really love all of the themes played by the woodwinds  and the horns.  The orchestra played it beautifully and I had tears in my eyes at its conclusion!  It was a spectacular evening of music at Abravanel Hall last night and this program will be performed again tonight.  I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).

Note:  I get more Rachmaninoff in two weeks because the Utah Symphony will be performing Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.  Sigh!  You should probably get tickets to that concert, too!

A Comedy of Tenors at PTC

Several years ago I saw Lend Me A Tenor at the Utah Shakespeare Festival and I thought it was so much fun!  When I found out that the sequel, A Comedy of Tenors, would be a part of PTC's 2017-2018 season I got really excited.  This show is a hilarious romp through an elegant Parisian hotel suite as an impresario (Andy Prosky) tries to get three temperamental tenors (Hansel Tan, Gregory North, and Storm Lineberger) to stop fighting long enough to take the stage for the concert of the century.  Add a bellhop looking for his big break, misunderstandings galore, mistaken identities with comedic results, characters in various stages of undress hiding from each other, and plenty of face slapping and door slamming and you have a delightful evening of theatre.  What makes this show so much fun is the manic physical comedy and all of the actors have superb comedic timing.  At one point, there was so much running around I couldn't keep track of what was happening and there are some astoundingly quick costume changes.  I loved it and I laughed out loud multiple times as did everyone around me.  Oh and by the way, all three of our tenors can really sing!  They performed an impressive rendition of "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from Verdi's La Traviata.  It is a bit risque in some parts but that just adds to the fun.  I would highly recommend this delightful production (tickets may be purchased here) which runs at Pioneer Theatre until Nov. 4.

Halloween 2017

Last year Halloween was kind of a dud!  For some reason Marilyn and I didn't think about getting pumpkins for Sean and Tashena to carve until the day of Halloween.  We took a very sad Sean out that afternoon looking for some but there were none to be found.  We went to about six different places (everywhere we could think of) and ended up finding some tiny ones at the Home Depot.  It was a definite aunt fail!  This year we vowed that we wouldn't make the same mistake so between the two of us we had at least ten pumpkins and six carving kits!  Ha ha!

Various stages of carving.

Our finished pumpkins.  I am especially proud of my Kylo Ren pumpkin but Tashena's Day of the Dead pumpkin is amazing!

Here they are all lit up on the porch.  I think they look pretty awesome!

I hope you had a wonderful Halloween!

Tashena is Seventeen!

Tashena turned seventeen on Saturday and we had our family birthday party for her yesterday.  Once again, she chose to have her birthday dinner at Cafe Rio (excellent choice!) then we came back home to open presents and have cake.

Grandma, Grandpa, and Marilyn gave her gift cards to Kohl's, H & M, and Old Navy.  She was very happy!  Marilyn also gave her some new ear buds (she loses them!).

I gave her some body spray from Bath & Body Works.  She sent me pictures of the specific fragrances she wanted but they are only available seasonally.  She told me that she trusted me to pick some out for her!  I hope she likes them (I really liked pink cashmere).

Her mom and dad gave her a foot spa and lots of goodies to pamper herself with!

After presents we had cake!  We have a tradition in our family of having an ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins.  Tashena's had chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and it was delicious!  Happy Birthday Tashena!

Broadway Divas

Last night the Utah Symphony was joined by Christina Bianco, Christina DeCicco, N'Kenge, and Kristen Plumley for an amazing evening of Broadway standards.  I loved this concert so much and every song gave me goosebumps!  The orchestra, under the baton of guest conductor Jack Everly, began with the Overture to Gypsy.  Kristen Plumley was the first diva to perform with a beautiful rendition of "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady.  Then Christina DeCicco gave an affecting performance of "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables and I may or may not have had tears in my eyes at the end of it!  N'Kenge delivered a sultry "Summertime" from Porgy & Bess and the orchestra played the Overture from Chicago.  One of my very favorite moments came next when DeCicco belted out "Defying Gravity" from Wicked.  I think they are still looking for the roof of Abravanel Hall because she definitely blew it off!  Before the intermission, all of the divas performed "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" from Show Boat which was fantastic.  The orchestra returned with the Overture to Funny Girl then another one of my favorite moments came when N'Kenge sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls.  All I can say is, "Wow!"  Plumley gave a powerful rendition of "Think of Me" from The Phantom of the Opera, as Carlotta, of course, and she was in full diva mode!  Christina Bianco gave some hilarious impersonations of famous divas singing their signature songs including: Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, Bernadette Peters, Celine Dion, Judy Garland, and Kristen Chenowith.  This brought the house down!  DeCicco and Plumley gave a lovely performance of "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love" from West Side Story then N'Kenge and DeCicco sang "Mein Herr" and "Maybe This Time," respectively, from Cabaret.  To finish the set, Bianco sang "If He Walked Into My Life" from Mame, which is a song I had never heard before.  For the finale, all four of the divas sang "Let It Go" from Frozen.  This was so fun for me to hear after seeing the musical in Denver last month!  I always love the Bravo Broadway concerts programmed by the Utah Symphony and this one was especially wonderful! 

Goodbye Christopher Robin

I went to see an early matinee of Goodbye Christopher Robin yesterday (there aren't enough hours in the day so I had to fit it in when I could).  It tells the story of how the beloved classic Winnie-the-Pooh came into existence.  After World War I the playwright A.A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) returns from battle suffering from shell shock.  He decides to move to the country for some peace despite his wife Daphne’s (Margot Robbie) strenuous objections.  When Daphne decides to return to her socialite lifestyle in London and the nanny (Kelly MacDonald) is called away to tend to her mother, Milne is left on his own with his young son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston).  The two share an enchanted few weeks together roaming through the woods surrounding their house with Christopher Robin's stuffed animals.  These adventures becomes the basis of a story which is eventually published to world-wide acclaim.  The fame and adulation eventually takes a toll on the young boy who cannot escape the pressure of being Christopher Robin.  Milne achieves his greatest success but at what cost?  This is a very conventional biopic but I absolutely loved it and, at one point, I was in tears.  It is a lovely story about the relationship between a father and a son with great performances by Gleeson, Robbie, and an adorable Tilston.  The film is simply gorgeous, especially in the sun-dappled woods, and the scenes where Christopher Robin's stuffed animals come to life are enchanting and whimsical.  I did feel that the events of the older Christopher Robin's (Alex Lawther) life were really rushed but this is exactly the type of movie that I really enjoy and I highly recommend it.

Note:  Gleeson reminded me so much of Julian Sands in this role.

Thriller 2017

I love rituals and traditions.  In a world that seems to be full of chaos it is really nice to have something that you can count on and look forward to!  I have recently purchased tickets to quite a few seasonal performances and I have already started looking forward to them.  One such performance occurred last night after putting in a long and difficult week at school finishing up the first quarter (students only care about their grade during the last week of the quarter).  It was exactly what I needed!  In my opinion, it simply wouldn't be Halloween if I didn't get to see Odyssey Dance Theatre's production of Thriller.  The fact that I have seen this show so many times adds to, rather than detracts from, my enjoyment because I anticipate each number as I watch!  I love when the undead begin cavorting in a graveyard during "Thriller," when the break-dancing mummy comes to life in "Curse of the Mummy," when the uncooperative pandas begin acting up in "Miss Alli's Nighmare," when Frankenstein breaks his Bride's neck in "Frankenstein & Frankenstein," when the tap-dancing skeletons start tossing their heads around in "Dem Bones," when a trio of Jasons get crazy with their chainsaws in "Jason Jam," when the scarecrows come to life in "Children of the Corn," when condemned witches come back for revenge in "Salem's Mass," when a group of chucky dolls come to life in "Chucky-Rama," and when acrobatic vampires spin and leap in "Lost Boys."  Even though the numbers are the same from year to year, there always seems to be some new choreography or special effects to keep them interesting.  This year, in addition to the hilarious films of Scott Winn (the twerking stormtroopers are my favorite) in between numbers, there were some amazing aerial numbers choreographed by Aeris Aerial Arts.  I absolutely loved "Bats in a Box" which featured between four and six aerialists performing on a spinning steel box.  It was fabulous and I may or may not have said "Wow" out loud multiple times!  I also really liked "Phantom of the Opera" which featured two aerialists performing on a rope (it reminded me of Cirque de Soleil).  It is such a fun and exuberant show and I highly recommend getting at ticket (there are four more performances at Kingsbury Hall) which may be purchased here.

Note:  I have been attending this concert for twenty years!  I remember the first concert distinctly because I had just started teaching at Westminster College in 1997 and I ran into two of my students.  Last night I only saw one of my HHS students!

The Florida Project

Tangerine, a film about a transgender prostitute who roams the streets of Los Angeles on Christmas Eve looking for the boyfriend (pimp) who cheated on her while she was in prison, is Sean Baker's hilarious and heartbreaking debut.  It is a brilliant portrayal of a subculture rarely shown on the screen and I admired its authenticity (it was shot using an iPhone).  Baker's follow-up, The Florida Project, is no less brilliant.  This time his subject is a group of children who live in the cheap hotels that line the freeway leading to Disney World with the dysfunctional adults in their lives.  Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) knows that she is living in poverty but she chooses to turn every day into an imaginative adventure, whether it is getting customers at an ice cream stand to buy her a cone or wandering into a nearby field to look at cows (otherwise known as going on safari).  Her young mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) can't get a job and struggles to pay the weekly rent at the motel by selling perfume to the wealthy tourists on the way to Disney World (as well as other unsavory things).  Bobby (Willem Dafoe), the manager of the motel who clearly has his own demons, takes a proprietary interest in both Halley and Moonee and there is a brilliant scene where he chases away a pedophile who has taken an interest in the children.  Everything in the film is from Moonee's perspective and her life seems magical without ever ignoring the desperation of her situation.  This tonal balancing act is what makes this film so brilliant.  We see Moonee do many things multiple times and yet my attention never wavered.  I found Halley to be an incredibly sympathetic character and, even though she does some truly reprehensible things, I think it is best to reserve judgment to really see how she, like many people living in the margins of society, copes the best she can.  Brooklynn Prince is wonderful and I would say that this is one of Dafoe's best performances yet.  My favorite moment in the film is when Moonee says,"Do you know why this is my favorite tree?  Because it is tipped over and still growing."  That, in a nutshell, is what this amazing film is all about.  It is not for everyone but it is one of my favorite films of the year!

Volleyball Queen

My niece is on the Bountiful High School volleyball team for the second year in a row.  The varsity team is undefeated this season and they hope to win a state championship for the third year in a row!  Go Braves!

I am so proud of Tashena, who will be seventeen in a few days!

The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert

I am a huge fan of Utah Symphony's Films in Concert series because it is so much fun to watch a movie on the big screen at Abravanel Hall while the orchestra performs the score live!  Last night I had the opportunity to see The Nightmare Before Christmas and, frankly, I had been looking forward to it for months.  It was the perfect way to get excited for Halloween (my favorite holiday).  Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King and leader of Halloween Town, is getting bored with scaring everyone with the same old tricks every year, so when he accidentally discovers Christmas Town while wandering in the woods, he decides that Christmas is a more appealing holiday and that he should take it over this year.  Santa Claus is kidnapped and all of the residents of Halloween Town are put to work making terrifying toys to disastrous effect.  Will Santa Claus be able to save Christmas in time?  I love this movie because of the spectacular world-building using stop-motion animation.  Only Tim Burton could dream up such a macabre, yet strangely enchanting, world filled with quirky characters and dazzling images on the screen that are so inventive and imaginative that you cannot look away.  Danny Elfman's iconic score is absolutely brilliant and having the Utah Symphony play it live was amazing.  I enjoyed this so much!  It will be shown again at Abravanel Hall tonight and tickets may be purchased here.

Note:  I wish that I could have seen The Nightmare Before Christmas at the El Capitan Theatre (it is screened there every October) while I was in Los Angeles but I ran out of time!  I will just have to go back!

Hamilton in Los Angeles

For my third road trip this fall I left early yesterday morning to begin a ten hour drive to Los Angeles in order to see Hamilton at the Pantages Theatre last night.  My good friend Karen is a season ticket holder at the Pantages and subscribers were allowed to purchase extra tickets to Hamilton before they went on sale to the general public.  She very generously asked me if I would like a ticket and I asked her to try and get me one during my fall break (and I also gave her a price limit).  I couldn't believe it when she sent me a text telling me that she had been successful!  I was so excited to be able to see my favorite musical again (so excited that I didn't mind another ten hour drive this time to a city I hate driving in).  It was so incredibly special to be able to see the original cast on Broadway, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, but I really enjoyed what each actor in this production did to make the role his or her own.  Michael Luwoye, as Alexander Hamilton, has a beautiful voice and he sang the role in a more traditional manner rather than spitting out the lyrics, particularly in "My Shot."  His version of "It's Quiet Uptown" made me cry because he was literally sobbing through the song and when Eliza took his hand to forgive him he kissed it.  This absolutely shattered me and I heard the woman behind me sniffling after this as well.  I also really enjoyed Joshua Henry's portrayal of Aaron Burr because he infused a lot of humor into the role, especially in "The Room Where It Happens" and "The Election of 1800."  Isaiah Johnson was incredibly powerful as George Washington in "Right Hand Man" but surprisingly vulnerable in "History Has Its Eyes on You" and then pretty much blew the roof off the Pantages Theatre at the end of "One Last Time."  Jordan Donica didn't strut around the stage as Thomas Jefferson like Daveed Diggs did but, instead, he struck a pose (which Hamilton imitated) during key moments and the mic drop in the first Cabinet Battle was hilarious.  Amber Iman, as Peggy Schuyler, had the funniest pout every time she sang, "...and Peggy" during "The Schuyler Sisters."  Finally, King George was played by Rory O'Malley, who I saw on Broadway, and it seemed like he had a lot more choreography in this production which made the audience laugh out loud!  My two favorite numbers were, once again, "Yorktown" and "Hurricane" because the staging is so dynamic.  I didn't think it was possible for me to love Hamilton any more than I already did but seeing it again was thrilling!  Now I can't wait to see it again in SLC in the spring!

Breathe

Fall break continues and I spent yesterday sleeping in scandalously late and then reading all afternoon.  In the evening I went to a Thursday preview of Breathe which I had been looking forward to for quite a while.  I am a sucker for British period pieces and the trailer for this inspirational true story looked gorgeous.  However, it left me feeling a bit flat.  Andrew Garfield plays Robin Cavendish and Claire Foy plays his wife Diana.  They meet, fall in love, get married, move to Kenya, and become pregnant with their first child in rapid succession.  Then Robin is stricken with polio and is paralyzed from the neck down.  He begs everyone to just let him die but Diana demands that he fight to live.  With her help Robin is able to leave the hospital, become mobile with the help of a wheelchair that breathes for him, and travel the world advocating for the rights of the severely disabled.  Garfield and Foy give wonderful performances and the cinematography is breathtaking but there is something lacking in the story itself.  We never really get to know the characters beyond a superficial level.  Diana's devotion to Robin doesn't feel authentic because their love story is never fully explored.  Robin sees her at a cricket match, in the next scene they are going on a date, in the next Diana tells her brothers (both played hilariously by Tom Hollander) that she is getting married, and then they are in Kenya.  It is literally that quick, almost as if the filmmakers are merely ticking boxes.  The whole film moves from one episode to the next without much explanation.  Also, the difficulties that the Cavendishes must have surely faced are glossed over so that their life looks like one big garden party after another on their sprawling estate.  They laugh when the dog unplugs Robin's respirator and throw a party when they are stranded on the road in Spain.  It ends up feeling very bland and I was hoping for so much more.

The Foreigner

I am now on fall break and to celebrate I went to see The Foreigner last night. Now I am not normally a big fan of Jackie Chan action movies but, to me, the trailers for The Foreigner made it seem more like a political thriller so I decided to take a chance.  I really enjoyed it!  After a terrorist bombing claims the life of his daughter in London, a distraught Quan (Chan) goes looking for answers.  When a faction of the IRA claims responsibility, Quan looks to Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan), the Deputy Minister for Northern Ireland and a former IRA member, for answers.  Hennessy is less than forthcoming, and is clearly more involved than he will admit, so Quan sets out to convince him to tell him the names of the bombers in some fabulous action scenes.  Details about both men are slowly revealed and I found the conclusion to be quite satisfying.  The story reminded me of the novels of Robert Ludlum, Frederick Forsyth, or John Le Carre, which I love, and I found the twists and turns to be very engaging (I've heard some critics say that the story is convoluted).  Chan gives an intense portrayal of a grieving father out for revenge but Brosnan is fantastic, one of his best performances in years.  The movie has a few flaws (lots of scenes with politicians talking in offices while drinking scotch) but I had a great time watching it and I recommend it to fans of action-thrillers.

Note:  This movie features Rory Fleck Byrne as Hennessey's nephew.  I may have found my latest celebrity crush.

Bob Dylan at the Eccles Theater

I first saw Bob Dylan in concert many years ago at Deer Valley and I was really disappointed.  I literally couldn't recognize what song he was singing because he performed most of them with very different arrangements and different phrasing.  I suppose he has earned the right to do as he pleases but it is something you have to understand in order to enjoy his show.  When I found out that he was coming to SLC again, I decided that I could listen to "Mr. Tambourine Man" any time I wanted on my iPod and this concert would be an opportunity to see an unbelievably talented musician, a rock and roll icon really, jam with a group of equally talented musicians in a live show so I bought a ticket.  This time around the fact that nearly every song was virtually unrecognizable mattered not because it was Bob Dylan on the stage!   He can jam.  With a mane of unruly hair and a permanent scowl on his face, he spent as much time behind a baby grand piano as he did standing with a microphone in one rock-star pose after another.  He played for over two hours and his set featured an eclectic mixture of hits and covers of the old standards.  Of the former, my favorites were "Things Have Changed," which is how he opened the show, and "Blowin' in the Wind," which he played as part of the encore.  Of the latter, I particularly enjoyed "Melancholy Mood" and an incredibly atmospheric rendition of "Autumn Leaves" (which rivaled the version performed by Leslie Odom, Jr.).  Dylan performed with a five member band, each of whom played multiple instruments, and they sounded amazing.  He did not acknowledge the audience in any way but, again, it simply didn't matter because he is pretty much the coolest dude around.  If there is anyone cooler than Bob Dylan, I have yet to see him!  This same concert will be performed again at the Eccles Theater tonight (tickets may be purchased here) and I recommend it if you want to see an incredible live show.  Stay home and listen to your iPod if you want to hear the songs the way you remember them from your youth!

The Princess Bride

Thanks to the TCM Big Screen Classics series I got to see The Princess Bride, one of my all-time favorite movies, on the big screen again yesterday.  What a treat!  It is being screened in select theaters in conjunction with its 30th anniversary and I loved every minute of it!  I actually had to stop myself from quoting every single line out loud!  The Princess Bride is a spoof of traditional fairy-tales that is full of romance, revenge, and swashbuckling adventure.  Buttercup (Robin Wright) falls in love with a farm boy (Cary Elwes) who goes away to seek his fortune but is presumed dead when the Dread Pirate Roberts attacks his ship.  Buttercup, in despair, agrees to marry the nefarious Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon).  Chaos ensues when Buttercup is kidnapped by Vezzini (Wallace Shawn), Fezzik (Andre the Giant), and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), who turn out to be agents of Prince Humperdinck, as a way to start a war with neighboring Guilder.  I love Christopher Guest as the six-fingered man, Billy Crystal as Miracle Max, and Peter Cook as the Impressive Clergyman.  In my opinion, this movie is practically perfect and I highly recommend that you see it on the big screen (go here for tickets).

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

Last night I saw Professor Marston and the Wonder Women and I thought it was fabulous!  It tells the fascinating true story of how the Wonder Woman comic strip came into existence.  William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans) is a Harvard professor of psychology whose area of expertise is dominance and submission in human relationships.  His wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) has also earned a PhD in psychology, although Harvard won't grant her the degree because she is a woman, and she works closely with her husband testing his theories.  Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote) is a student who signs up to participate in their experiments and falls in love with both of the Marstons.  They begin a relationship and the two very different women inspire William to create the character of Wonder Woman.  What I loved most about this film is the clever way that every part of Wonder Woman's iconography comes into being.  Watching the film becomes a little bit like a scavenger hunt looking for clues, some of which are fairly obvious, such as the Marstons' creation of the lie detector test as the inspiration for the lasso of truth, but others are more subtle and are satisfying to notice (the timing of this film is particularly good coming so close after the release of the blockbuster Wonder Woman).  While the film does focus of the creation of the iconic character, to me it is more about the relationship between these three people and I think director Angela Robinson does a beautiful job in developing it tastefully and intelligently.  Yes, there are some really steamy scenes involving S&M role playing between the three characters but it is absolutely clear that they are all consenting adults and that they all love each other deeply.  All three of the lead actors give amazing and highly nuanced performances but I was especially impressed with Hall who is brilliant in this role.  It is a beautiful film on the screen with lovely cinematography, costumes, and production design.  This story is interesting but it is also very timely in its message about the right to love who you love.  I highly recommend it!

Imagine Dragons at USANA

Last night I had the opportunity to see Imagine Dragons perform at the USANA Amphitheatre and it was absolutely amazing, definitely a night I won't forget for some time.  I love Imagine Dragons (their album Night Visions is rare in that I can listen to it on repeat for hours without skipping any songs) and they always put on a spectacular show.  Last night was no exception!  They began with a song from their latest release, Evolve, called "I Don't Know Why" and continued with almost every song from this album throughout the night, including "Whatever It Takes," "I'll Make It Up to You," "Mouth of the River," a rousing rendition of "Yesterday," "Start Over," and "Rise Up."  I was really happy that they played "Gold," one of my favorite songs from Smoke + Mirrors but I have to admit that I especially enjoyed "This Is It," "On Top of the World," and an incredibly powerful version of "Demons."  Dan Reynolds was effusive in his love for Utah and the impact that the state had on their development as a band.  He dedicated "This Is It" to the crowd!  He also gave a heartfelt speech about depression before performing "Demons" and the audience held up their phones to light up the amphitheatre.  It was amazing!  After their main set, the band walked to a small stage in the middle of the crowd and performed an acoustic version of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" which they dedicated to him.  This was another high point of the concert for me.  Then they performed acoustic versions of "Bleeding Out" and "Dream."  I especially loved the cello on both of those songs.  Once they returned to the main stage, they finished their set with "Thunder," "I Bet My Life," and "Radioactive" complete with smoke and lasers.  It was thrilling to stand in a crowd with everyone singing every word to "Radioactive," the song that made me a fan of the band!  For the encore (which was really not an encore because they decided that it was too cold to make the crowd wait for them to return to the stage) they performed "Walking the Wire" and "Believer."  I can't describe how much I loved this show!  Dan Reynolds is such an enthusiastic performer and he seems so genuine in his interactions with the crowd!  At one point he mentioned that the rest of the tour would all be downhill from this point on because he loved the Utah crowd so much (sorry Denver!).  I will always try to see this band whenever they come through SLC!

Note:  It was really cold!  Last year I seem to remember making a vow that I would never see another outdoor show this time of year ever again...

An American in Paris at the Eccles

I have wanted to see the Tony Award-winning musical An American in Paris for a long time so I was thrilled when Broadway at the Eccles announced it as the first show of the 2017-2018 season.  I was able to see it last night and I thought it was wonderful.  The story follows the movie of the same name (a personal favorite) pretty closely.  A U.S. soldier named Jerry Mulligan (McGee Maddox) decides to remain in Paris after World War II and meets an aspiring ballerina named Lise (Sara Esty).  He pursues her and they begin to fall in love.  However, Lise has become engaged to Henri (Nick Spangler) out of a duty she feels to him and his family for protecting her during the war and Jerry is pursued by a wealthy heiress (Emily Ferranti) who wants to promote his art.  Will they choose love or duty?  Both Maddox and Esty are incredible dancers and the choreography is absolutely stunning, especially in "I've Got Beginner's Luck" and "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise."  The final 18-minute ballet to the tune of "An American in Paris" is simply spectacular and it was amazing to me that the leads have the skill and stamina to perform such demanding choreography at the end of a Broadway show!  It was a lot of fun to hear the well-known songs, written by George and Ira Gershwin, such as "I Got Rhythm," "'S Wonderful," "But Not For Me," and "They Can't Take That Away From Me."  I loved all of the costumes but the sets are so creative!  The minimalist sketches that Jerry draws throughout the show are often projected on screens to transport audience members to the middle of Paris.  This is an old-fashioned and incredibly romantic musical that reminded me of the big Hollywood extravaganzas of the 1950s.  Who could ask for anything more!  I highly recommend seeing it if you get a chance and this particular production runs at the Eccles Theatre until Sunday (tickets may be purchased here).

The Princess and the Frog

When The Princess and the Frog was first released in 2009, I took my nine-year-old niece to see it and it was absolutely magical for her to be able to look up at the screen and see a Disney princess who looked like her.  After seeing it on the big screen she watched the DVD over and over and sang every song.  She even had a Princess Tiana dress!  This movie may have a few flaws (I still think the voodoo scenes are a little weird, especially for a film marketed to children) but Tiana was definitely important to my niece and I can't think of a better role model for her to emulate.  The Princess and the Frog is being screened again at AMC Theatres as part of the Dream Big, Princesses film festival so I invited Tashena, who is now almost seventeen, to see it with me again last night.  We had so much fun!  She says she doesn't really remember when I took her to see it the first time but she certainly remembers the words to all of the songs because she sang them all at the top of her lungs (we were the only ones in the theater).   Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) is a young girl determined to succeed and open the restaurant she has always dreamed of owning.  Prince Naveen (voiced by Bruno Campos) is a ne'er-do-well who has been cut off financially by his parents.  Naveen turns to voodoo to make his dreams come true but he is inadvertently turned into a frog.  Thinking that Tiana is a princess because of a costume she is wearing, Naveen asks her to kiss him to break the spell, promising her the money she needs to start her restaurant, but when she does she is also turned into a frog.  Naveen and Tiana must discover what they need, rather than what they want, in order to break the curse with the help of a jazz playing crocodile, a Cajun lightening bug, and blind voodoo priestess (some really fun characters).  I really loved all of the scenes in the bayou, especially when all of the lightening bugs guide Tiana and Naveen to Mama Odie because it looks so magical (it reminded me of the lantern scene in Tangled).  I had forgotten how great the hand-drawn animation is in this film.  It was such a fun night and I'm glad that, for a little while, I got to spend some time with the little girl who wanted to be just like Princess Tiana!  The Princess and the Frog will be screened at AMC Theatres until Oct. 12.

Victoria & Abdul

Sunday afternoon I decided to see Victoria & Abdul.  I was initially very lukewarm about this film because, frankly, I felt that this story had already been told much better in Mrs. Brown (which also stars Judi Dench).  While it does have a similar plot to the previous film, I found Victoria & Abdul to be absolutely charming.  Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) is old and barely able to get out of bed for an endless round of ceremonial duties which hold little interest for her.  Abdul (Ali Fazal) is randomly selected to present Victoria with a ceremonial coin from India as part of the Golden Jubilee.  Victoria takes a liking to Abdul and spends most of her time with him, much to the dismay of the Prince of Wales (Eddie Izzard), the Prime Minister (Michael Gambon) and her household staff.  I'm sure that there were a lot of liberties taken with the historical accuracy of this film and there has been a lot of criticism about the portrayal of Britain's colonization of India, but I enjoyed it as a story about an unlikely friendship.  Dame Judi Dench is brilliant in this role, as ever, and there is an incredibly affecting scene where she laments the fact that everyone she loves has died while she goes on and on.  Ali Fazal is very endearing as Abdul and it is easy to see why Victoria would be so enamored of him.  The other characters are pretty one-dimensional but the two strong central performances make up for that.  The film is gorgeously shot, especially the scenes in Scotland, and the costumes and interiors are  everything that you could want from a British period-piece.  In short, it is a lovely little film that I enjoyed much more than I thought I would!

Utah Opera's La Boheme

In honor of its 40th Anniversary, Utah Opera began the 2017-2018 season with the same opera chosen for the inaugural season, Puccini's La Boheme.  It is one of my favorite operas so it was a treat to be able to see it for the second time this year!  It was a marvelous production of a magnificent opera and I loved every minute of it.  The libretto is about a group of artists living in a garret apartment in Paris in the nineteenth century.  Marcellus (Michael Adams), a painter, is in love with Musetta (Utah native Celena Shafer) but their relationship ends because Musetta is a flirt and Marcellus is jealous.  Rudolpho (Scott Quinn), a poet, is in love with Mimi (Jennifer Black) but their relationship ends because Mimi is dying of consumption and Rudolpho feels guilty that he can't take care of her.  Marcellus and Musetta have a volatile relationship that is really fun to watch, especially in the amusing aria "Quando m'en vo" or "Musetta's Waltz" which is staged very well in this production.  But Rudolpho and Mimi are ill-fated lovers who are heartbreaking to watch and their beautiful duet at the end of Act I, "O soave fanciulla," brought spontaneous tears to my eyes!  Quinn and Black have beautiful voices and great chemistry with each other.  I always enjoy Shafer, a perennial favorite with Utah audiences, and she gives a great performance.  Adams, who has been diagnosed with bronchitis, began Act I but couldn't continue so John Nelson sang from the side of the stage as Adams continued to act the role.  At first it seemed strange but, after a while, I didn't notice any more and Nelson has a great voice.  I also enjoyed Ao Li and Samuel Schultz as the other bohemians.  The costumes and the set are fantastic (San Francisco Opera had larger and more elaborate sets in their production but Utah Opera's set worked well for the size of the stage at Capitol Theatre).  I loved this production and I highly recommend getting a ticket!  It runs at Capitol Theatre through Oct. 15 and tickets may be purchased here.

Note:  I was sitting on an aisle and a very distinguished older gentleman stopped near me saying that he was dizzy.  I smiled at him and suggested that the cause of his dizziness was the loud pattern in the carpet whereupon he answered, "No.  I'm just old."  I laughed so he stayed and flirted with me outrageously until the curtain rose!  During the intermission he came back to talk to me which was fun because he was charm personified!  Opera lovers are great!