National Theatre Live: Present Laughter

Yesterday I went to a National Theatre Live screening of Present Laughter and I absolutely loved this hilarious comedy by Noel Coward.  It was filmed in 2019 during its run at the Old Vic and was presented by the Tanner Humanities Center and Salt Lake Film Society at the Broadway.  Garry Essendine (Andrew Scott) is a petulant and self-absorbed actor known for starring in light comedies on the stage.  He has a tight-knit group of minders, including his housekeeper Miss Erikson (Liza Sadovy), his valet Fred (Joshua Hill), his secretary Monica Reed (Sophie Thompson), his estranged wife Liz Essendine (Indira Varma), his manager Morris Dixon (Abdul Sallis), and his producer Helen Lyppiatt (Suzie Toase), who all attempt to curb the self-indulgent behavior that his fame enables.  Chaos ensues when he becomes entangled with two of his admirers, Daphne Stillington (Kitty Archer) and Roland Maule (Luke Thallon), and when he begins an affair with Joe Lyppiatt (Enzo Cilenti), the husband of his producer.  When everyone turns on him, he reminds them that he is the sun around which they all revolve and that they enjoy both the reflected fame they get from him and all of the percentages they get from his income (the way Scott says "percentages" is one my favorite line readings).  While it is laugh out loud funny, this version leans heavily into Essendine's neediness and almost everything he does is a bid for attention.  I loved Scott's brilliant performance (he won the Olivier Award for it) because he is hilariously overwrought and melodramatic with a physicality that is fun to watch (at one point he keeps spinning around because he has people ensconced in every room and doesn't know what to do).  He has charisma to spare but he also has a vulnerability that is often displayed with just a fleeting look and I found the ending to be quite poignant (it is different from other versions I've seen).  The rest of the cast is also really good and I especially enjoyed watching Varma and Thompson interact with Scott because they treat him like a lost little boy (they both deliver some great one-liners) and I also loved Thallon's frenetic energy.  The staging of this show is very clever because, even though the set for Essendine's London flat is static, it features a large main area with multiple doors (through which characters come and go endlessly) that circle around it and this mimics the relationship he has with everyone in his life.  I am a huge fan of Andrew Scott and I enjoyed every minute of this production!

Note:  The next National Theatre Live screening at the Broadway is Nye on January 11.

Prayer for the French Republic at PTC

Last night I saw Prayer for the French Republic at PTC and it is incredibly powerful and thought-provoking. The narrative revolves around the Salomons, a Jewish family who have sold pianos in Paris for five generations. In 2016 Marcelle Salomon Benhamou (Judith Lightfoot Clarke) lives with her husband Charles (Alok Tewari) and her two adult children Daniel (Japhet Balaban) and Elodie (Kim Taff). While hosting their distant American cousin Molly (Maggie Goble), Daniel is severely beaten for wearing a yarmulke in an antisemitic attack. Charles, fearing for his family's safety at a time of growing antisemitism in France, believes that they should all move to Israel just as he was once forced to flee Algeria as a child for the same reason. The decision to leave is not an easy one for Marcelle because of the piano store currently managed by her ailing father Pierre (Joel Leffert) and the situation is exacerbated by Molly's opinions about Israel as a privileged American. Interspersed with this timeline is that of Marcelle's great-grandparents who live in the same apartment and manage the same piano store in 1944. Irma (Jayne Luke) and Adolphe (Joel Leffert, who also plays the older version of his son) stay in Paris during the war but the consequences of that decision become apparent when their son Lucien (Matthew McGloin) and grandson Pierre (True Leavitt) eventually return. The show is narrated by Marcelle's brother and Pierre's son Patrick (Robert Mammana) and he often speaks directly to the audience, posing complex questions about identity, assimilation, persecution, and fear. The narrative offers few answers to these questions, which is why it is sometimes difficult to watch, but I know that I will be thinking about them for a long time. The entire cast is outstanding but my favorite performance was from Taff, especially an incredible monologue where Elodie criticizes the people who post their strong opinions about Israel and the Middle East on social media without an understanding about the complex history of the region. I loved the minimal set, which features a large grand piano as a focal point with small groupings of furniture and sliding walls. This arrangement, and the clever use of darkness, allows for a seamless transition between the timelines. I also loved the the LED lights which outline the rectangular ceiling because they become the flag of France during the recitation of the prayer which gives the play its name. I can't say that I enjoyed this because it is really intense (and three hours long) but it is brilliant and I highly recommend it. There are only two performances left today at 2:00 and 7:30 (go here for tickets).

Peter Pan at the Eccles

Last night I went to see a new and updated version of Peter Pan and I was very impressed with all of the magical special effects (at one point I was actually giggling out loud).  Peter Pan (Nolan Almeida) climbs through the window of the Darling children's bedroom to reclaim his shadow and ends up taking Wendy (Hawa Kamara), John (William Foon), and Michael (Camden Kwok) on an adventure to Neverland to meet the Lost Boys.  They run afoul of Tiger Lily (Raye Zaragoza) and her tribe but they eventually join forces to defeat Captain Hook (Cody Garcia) and his pirates.  Peter does not want to grow up so he stays behind when the Darling children take the Lost Boys back home but he returns years later to take Wendy's daughter Jane (Christina Helene Braa) on a new adventure.  At first it was a little bit disconcerting to see a more contemporary version set in the U.S. instead of Victorian England with references to social media but as soon as Almeida appeared and starting singing "I Gotta Crow" I was completely captivated.  Other changes include a multicultural cast of children, a male actor playing Peter, better representation for Tiger Lily and the other indigenous people (they clash with the Lost Boys because of their lack of reverence for the land and the problematic song "Ugg-a-Wugg" is replaced with "Friends Forever" which emphasizes cooperation), an expanded role for Wendy, and the addition of the poignant song "When I Went Home" (it was cut from the original 1954 production) which explains why Peter wants to stay in Neverland.  Almeida is the highlight of the show because his performance is incredibly dynamic and he displays a child-like wonder that is very appealing.  I loved his voice and I loved watching him during the high-energy choreography, particularly when he interacts with his shadow and when he fights a duel with Hook.  Garcia is a hoot as Captain Hook and I laughed at all of his antics, especially during "Hook's Tango," "Hook's Tarantella,"  and "Hook's Waltz" (all of his pirates play musical instruments during these songs and it is hilarious).  As I mentioned, the technical elements in this show are dazzling!  The flying sequences are amazing (the projections as they fly to Neverland are absolutely spectacular and I actually felt like I was flying, too) and the lighting design for Tinkerbell is so much fun. In addition to the projections, the physical sets include an elaborate bedroom for the Darling children, the lair used by Peter and the Lost Boys in the middle of a lush forest, and the deck of Captain Hook's pirate ship and they are quite impressive.  I appreciated the care taken with the costumes for the indigenous people but my favorite one was for Captain Hook (a red waistcoat and frock coat with gold embroidery, a white ruffled shirt, and black knee boots).  I had so much fun watching this (much more than I was expecting) and I highly recommend getting a ticket for one of the five remaining performances (go here for tickets).

Emilia Perez

I found the trailer for Emilia Perez to be really intriguing (to say the least) so I went to a matinee at the Broadway yesterday.  This crime thriller that is also somehow a musical is incredibly bold and, even though it doesn't always work, it is never boring.  Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldana) is an overworked and underappreciated lawyer in Mexico who is disillusioned by the number of violent criminals that she is forced to defend.  After winning a big case, she receives a lucrative offer from Juan "Manitas" Del Monte (Karla Sofia Gascon), a notorious leader of a drug cartel, that she cannot refuse.  He asks her to help him become the woman he has always wanted to be so she secretly finds him a doctor to perform gender affirming surgeries, arranges for his wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and his two children to relocate to Switzerland, and helps him fake his death in return for an exorbitant amount of money.  Manitas begins a new life as Emilia Perez but, four years later, she is desperate to see her children.  She contacts Rita and has her arrange for Jessi and the children to return to Mexico to live with her in the guise of a distant cousin.  As Emilia sheds her old identity, she is still haunted by her violent past so she and Rita create a nonprofit organization to locate the missing victims of her former cartel so she can atone.  She also begins a relationship with Epifania (Adriana Paz).  However, she cannot escape who she really is when Jessi resumes a relationship with Gustavo Brun (Edgar Ramirez), with whom she had been having an affair during the marriage, and takes the children away from her.  I enjoyed the songs individually (none of them are particularly memorable) but the shifts in tone are all over the place with big choreographed group numbers raging against violence and hypocrisy, poignant ballads about identity (my favorite is "Papa" when Emilia's son tells her that she reminds him of his father), a campy sequence detailing the surgeries involved in transitioning, and upbeat pop songs about love.  There are also issues with pacing because the scenes involving the search for those who are missing go on a bit too long while the romance between Emilia and Epifania and the fiery climax both seem a bit rushed.  The theme of living authentically is very compelling but I'm not sure how I feel about the assertion that you can never change who you are because that seems to diminish Emilia's arc as a trans woman (I was especially disturbed by a scene in which Emilia threatens Jessi using the voice she had before she transitioned).  Having said all of that, my attention never waved because everything on the screen is so audacious and all three actresses give amazing performances, particularly Gascon in a powerful double role.  I didn't totally love this (my favorite genre-bending musical is Annette) but I recommend it for its creative swing for the fences.

Anora

I am a huge fan of Sean Baker's films (my favorite is The Florida Project but Tangerine is a close second) because they are always provocative but humane character studies about people on the margins of society.  His latest, Anora, is no exception and I was really excited to see it last night at the Broadway last night with my nephew.  Anora "Ani" Mikheeva (Mikey Madison) is a Russian-American who lives in Brighton Beach with her sister and works as a high-end stripper at a club in Manhattan.  Because she speaks Russian, the owner of the club introduces her to Ivan "Vanya" Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, who hires her for a lap dance and then for sex at his family's mansion in Brooklyn.  After several nights together, he hires her to spend the week with him as his girlfriend and then proposes marriage so that he can get a green card to stay in America and avoid his controlling parents back in Russia.  They get married in Las Vegas and have a whirlwind romance before his minders Toros (Karren Karagulian), Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), and Igor (Yura Borisov), who have been lax in their supervision, are ordered by his father to deal with the situation.  Ani eventually proves that she has more class than the feckless Vanya and his wealthy parents (Aleksei Serebryakov and Darya Ekamasova).  This is surprisingly hilarious (I laughed out loud when Ani bests the two henchmen who are trying to subdue her) and incredibly poignant (the final scene is absolutely devastating but hopeful).  I especially loved the relationship between Ani and Igor because he sees the vulnerability behind Ani's bravura and she finds an unexpected ally against people who see her as transactional.  Madison gives one of the most magnetic performances I've seen in a long time (one that is garnering a lot of much deserved Oscar buzz) and Borisov is quietly powerful.  My only criticism is that the narrative sometimes drags in places, particularly the sequence where Ani and the henchmen wander around Brighton Beach searching for Vanya.  I loved this and highly recommend it (with the proviso that it is very explicit).

Here

The second movie in the double feature my nephew and I saw last night was Here.  I was really intrigued by the premise but I was ultimately disappointed in the execution of it.  This portrays events that occur at one location, and one single point of view, from prehistory to today.  The narrative is non-linear and includes the extinction of the dinosaurs, an indigenous man (Joel Oulette) and woman (Dannie McCallum) who live on the land where the house will eventually be built, the colonial governor of New Jersey (Daniel Betts) who lives on a plantation that becomes a museum across the street from the house, a man at the turn of the century (Gwilym Lee) obsessed with flying and his disdainful wife (Michelle Dockery) who are the first inhabitants of the house, an inventor (David Flynn) and his pin-up model wife (Ophelia Lovibond) who live in the house during the 1930s, and Devon Harris (Nicholas Pinnock) and his wife Helen (Nikki Amuka-Bird) and son Justin (Cache Vanderpuye) who live in the house during the COVID-19 pandemic.  However, most of the timeline involves Al and Rose Young (Paul Bettany and Kelly Reilly, respectively), a couple who buys the house at the end of World War II and raises their family there through the mid-2000s.  Their son Richard (Tom Hanks) marries Margaret (Robin Wright) when she gets pregnant and they also live in the house and raise their daughter Vanessa (Zsa Zsa Zemeckis) there.  The static camera angle is really clever at first but then it left me feeling kind of bored and detached from the action.  The scenes are short and move through the timelines very haphazardly (the transitions occur with an outline of a shape through which you see one timeline inserted into another one) so a lot of the emotional impact is lost because, just when you feel a connection, the scene changes.  Hanks, Wright, and Bettany, especially, are great but almost everyone else inexplicably overacts.  At one point, my nephew and I looked at each other and had to stifle laughter behind our hands during what is meant to be a poignant moment.  I found the message to be very depressing (my nephew disliked it even more than I did) because Al and Rose buy the house thinking that they are achieving the American dream after the war but the house eventually stifles all of Richard's dreams.  I also think the score by Alan Silvestri is incredibly manipulative.  This movie thinks it is more profound than it actually is and I recommend skipping it (or at least waiting for it to stream).

Juror #2

My nephew and I went to a double feature last night and we started with Juror #2 at one of only 50 theaters showing it in the U.S.  I'm not sure why it is getting such a limited release because our screening was packed and there were a lot of positive comments from people after it was over.  My nephew and I really enjoyed it.  Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is a recovering alcoholic expecting his first child with his wife Allison Crewson (Zoey Deutch) when he is selected for jury duty in a high profile murder trial.  The prosecutor, Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette), thinks it is an open and shut case and is eager for a win to bolster her campaign to become district attorney.  James Sythe (Gabriel Basso) is accused of beating his girlfriend Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood) to death and leaving her body in a ravine after a fight in a local bar but he and his lawyer Eric Resnick (Chris Messina) staunchly maintain his innocence.  As Kemp listens to the testimony, he is horrified to realize that he was at the same bar on the night of the murder and that his car accident, which he believed to be a collision with a deer, may have killed the victim.  He is tormented by guilt when the jury begins their deliberations but he is also disconcerted when another juror (J.K. Simmons) starts asking questions about Sythe's guilt.  This is a slow burn in which the crime is shown from several different perspectives and I liked the fact that there was always some doubt about what actually happened.  I also enjoyed the discussion about culpability as Kemp tries to rationalize the fact that Sythe is a dangerous man who deserves to be punished even though he may not be guilty of the specific crime he is charged with as well as the criticism of a judicial system in which expediency is favored over the actual truth.  Hoult gives an incredibly powerful performance as a man desperate to believe that he is a good man and so does Collette because her character has a similar, though more understated, arc.  I found this to be very thought-provoking and I think it is a shame that most people won't have a chance to see it in a theater.

Ballet West's Jekyll and Hyde

Last night I went to Ballet West's amazing production of Jekyll and Hyde and I loved everything about it.  Robert Louis Stevenson (Jake Preece), who is ill and in a drug-fueled haze, has a dream about a respected man who secretly wrestles with his inner demons and this brings the character of Dr. Jekyll (Dominic Ballard) to life.  Jekyll attempts to treat a patient's mental illness with one of his potions in an insane asylum but it is a failure so, when he returns with Stevenson to his laboratory, he experiments on himself.  Stevenson glimpses the character Mr. Hyde (Adrian Fry), who represents the evil inside Jekyll, in the shadows waiting to be revealed.  Jekyll attends a party at the home of Sir Danvers Carew (Jeffrey Rogers), the father of his fiancee Nellie (Amy Potter), but he is distracted and joins the men at a tavern where he meets the prostitute Rowena (Nicole Fanney).  When he becomes aggressive with Rowena, he realizes that his potion has been successful and flees to his laboratory where Hyde finally emerges.  He ventures out on the streets of London, with violent results, and has interactions with both Nellie and Rowena before an epic confrontation with Jekyll for control.  Hyde is victorious but he is finally repressed when Stevenson succumbs to his illness.  The integration of Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, into the narrative is absolutely brilliant because his hallucinogenic interactions with the characters he created mirror their conflict with each other.  The staging is incredibly innovative and I really loved the use of reflective black surfaces and strips of LED lights that are raised and lowered for effect and turn from white to red to indicate the presence of Hyde.  I also loved the dynamic choreography because the emotions are conveyed by movement rather than by text and it is captivating, especially the frenetic sequences inside the insane asylum, the passionate Pas de Deux between Hyde and Nellie followed by a more restrained and lyrical one between Jekyll and Nellie, and the dramatic confrontation between Jekyll and Hyde in which they push and pull against each other.  I enjoyed having the focus on the men in the company and it was really impressive to see Preece, Ballard, and Fry so perfectly in synch as their movements mirror each other.  I always enjoy seeing Fry because he is amazing but I was really blown away by Ballard's expressive performance because I felt his every emotion.  The Victorian costumes are beautiful (I loved seeing the tails of the frock coats twirling) and the subtle integration of red in the scenes with Hyde is very effective as are the masks used during the transitions between Jekyll and Hyde.  Finally, the music is powerful and I particularly loved hearing a portion of Prelude Op. 28 No. 15 by Frederic Chopin (it is a favorite of mine because it is so melancholy) during the final scene.  This is now my favorite Ballet West production and I highly encourage getting a ticket to one of the four remaining performances (go here).

Your Monster

A screening of Your Monster was the most fun I had at Sundance this year so I was really excited to see it again with my nephew at the Broadway last night.  I was afraid that I might have hyped it up too much (like I did for My Old Ass) but he told me that it was awesome as we walked out!  Aspiring actress Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera) moves back into her childhood home after her boyfriend Jacob Sullivan (Edmund Donovan) breaks up with her during her cancer treatment.  She wallows in self-pity until the monster (Tommy Dewey) she banished to her closet as a young girl suddenly reappears.  She tries to repress her anger and jealousy when Jacob gives the part he wrote for her in his new Broadway musical to another actress and then pursues an affair with her but the monster helps Laura to find her voice (and revenge) again.  This is a hilarious mash-up of a romantic comedy and a horror movie (with a little bit of musical theatre thrown in) and there were multiple times when I laughed out loud (the ending is absolutely bonkers in the best possible way).  I also really enjoyed the theme of female empowerment and the use of an actual monster to represent the inner rage that Laura feels is a clever twist.  Barrera is incredibly charming with great comedic timing as well as tremendous chemistry with Dewey and it was nice to see her show off her musical theatre background again with her lively performance of the songs and choreography.  The prosthetics for the monster are fantastic and I loved Laura's theatre kid aesthetic!  This is really delightful and I recommend seeing it for Halloween!

Note:  It would be a great double feature with Lisa Frankenstein.

Pumpkin Carving 2024

Last night we had our annual pumpkin carving party and it was a lot of fun!  I keep waiting for the day when Sean says he doesn't want to continue with these holiday traditions but I'm so happy that he wanted to carve pumpkins this year.  We all went a bit old school with our designs but my favorite one was Sean's "Pumpkin Pie."

I love this Halloween tradition!

Conclave

Last night I joined a large crowd at the Broadway to see Conclave and I found it riveting!  After the pope dies of a heart attack, Thomas Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), as dean of the College of Cardinals, is tasked with overseeing the conclave to elect the next pontiff.  He is surprised by the unexpected appearance of Vincent Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), who was created a cardinal in secret because of how dangerous his ministry is in Afghanistan, but he soon completes preparations and the cardinals are sequestered.  No candidate has a majority after the first ballot but several leaders emerge, including Aldo Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), a progressive who wants to continue the liberal policies of the late pope, Geoffredo Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), a traditionalist who wants to return the church to the days before Vatican II, Joseph Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow), an ambitious and power-hungry cardinal, and Joshua Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), a charismatic cardinal who would be the first Black pope.  Amidst all of the pageantry, ceremony, and ancient traditions, there are also hushed whispers and sinister machinations behind closed doors.  Lawrence is plagued by doubt so, even though the cardinals are not supposed to allow the outside world to influence their decision, he secretly consults with his assistant Monsignor Raymond O'Malley (Brian F. O'Byrne) and with Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini), one of the nuns in charge of the cardinals' temporal needs, and finds damaging information on each of the candidates.  His decision about whether to use this information is complicated by the fact that he has become a leading candidate himself.  I was absolutely fascinated by the focus on all of the arcane procedures involved in electing a new pope but I was also on the edge of my seat from all of the twists and turns in this tense thriller.  There are a lot of powerful themes explored and, even though some might find the resolution controversial, I think it is very hopeful and inspiring.  I loved the stunning visuals, particularly the juxtaposition between the white marble of the Vatican architecture and the iconic red robes worn by the cardinals, the production design, including the elaborate re-creation of the Sistine Chapel, and the bombastic score.  I was impressed by the entire cast but Fiennes gives one of the best performances of his considerable career in a captivating and complex role.  I loved this and think it is one of the best movies I've seen this year.

The Mousetrap at OPPA

Last night I went to On Pitch Performing Arts to see Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap and I can't think of a better play to see in October! Mollie Ralston (Rachel Pullan) and her husband Giles (Tyler Probasco) have converted their large estate, Monkswell Manor, into a guesthouse and are nervously awaiting their first paying customers during a severe snowstorm. News of a grisly murder with ties to a neighboring village reaches the manor just as the guests, including Christopher Wren (Peter Davis), Mrs. Boyle (Wendy Ottmanns), Major Metcalf (Ken Hadlock), and Miss Casewell (Megan Chase), arrive one by one. An unexpected guest, Mr. Paravacini (Joey Engh), arrives rather suspiciously a few hours later after his car is overturned in a snowdrift and Detective Sergeant Trotter (Donovan Crane) skis his way to the snowbound manor to investigate a clue about the aforementioned murder. When one of the guests, who has a mysterious connection to the murder victim, is found dead it seems that everyone has a secret and it is up to Sergeant Trotter to solve the crime before another murder occurs. Information about each character's backstory is revealed very slowly and strict attention must be paid in order to discover the solution. I loved watching a young boy sitting across the stage from me because his eyes would light up whenever he made an important connection (I think he even figured out the big twist before it happened). Some of the acting is a little bit stilted but I really enjoyed Davis as the eccentric Wren because he has a nervous energy that is palpable and Engh as Paravacini because he is so flamboyant (I loved his ruffled shirt, cravat, and fur coat) and his facial expressions are hilarious (I found myself watching him even when the attention was on someone else because he is always in character and his reactions and bits of business are so over the top). The elaborate set, along with the one for Next to Normal, is one of my favorites at OPPA and I particularly loved the large picture window through which you can see falling snow (and through which Sergeant Trotter makes his entrance), the wood paneling and wallpaper, the Victorian-era furniture, the many doors, and the staircase. I also liked the attention to detail with all of the props, especially the old-fashioned radio and telephone. The pacing was sometimes sluggish but it was opening night so it will probably tighten up. My only other criticism is that the cast didn't give the traditional admonition to keep the ending a secret from future audiences at the end of the show! Nevertheless, I did thoroughly enjoy this murder mystery and I recommend it for a fun night out this spooky season. It runs Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays through November 16 (go here for tickets).

Venom: The Last Dance

I have been kind of hot and cold with the Venom franchise (I hated the first one but I enjoyed the relationship between Eddie and Venom in the second one) so I was eager to see where I would land with Venom: The Last Dance.  I saw it with my nephew last night and I think it has a lot of heart but the story is a mess.  After the battle with Carnage, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is now on the run from General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who, along with Dr. Teddy Payne (Juno Temple), is trying to capture all of the symbiotes in order to study them at an underground lab below Area 51 and Venom discovers that he is being hunted by a Xenophage, a symbiote sent by an imprisoned deity named Knull (Andy Serkis), in order to capture a Codex that was created within Eddie and Venom that can free him (we learn all of this from lots of stilted exposition dumps).  Several battles with both Strickland and the Xenophage ensue before Eddie and Venom are helped by a family of hippies, led by Martin Moon (Rhys Ifans) and his wife Nova (Alanna Ubach), on their way to Area 51 in search of aliens.  Venom eventually realizes that there is only one way to defeat the Xenophage and this leads to an epic confrontation at Area 51.  The narrative has multiple plot holes and plot contrivances but, even worse, there are several extended sequences that are essentially meaningless fillers, including a sing-along to "Space Oddity" with the hippie family and a dance sequence between Venom and Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu), who just happens to be in Las Vegas, to "Dancing Queen."  The action set pieces in the third act are exciting but it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between all of the different symbiotes set loose from the lab who are fighting multiple Xenophages sent by Knull and, at one point, I groaned out loud because it is obvious that much of it is in service of setting up future characters.  The highlight of this installment is, once again, the relationship between Eddie and Venom, which includes several incredibly poignant moments culminating in a montage of all of their exploits set to "Memories" by Maroon 5, and Hardy is as goofy as ever as the straight man to Venom's comedy.  This ranks above Venom but below Venom: Let There Be Carnage for me but I suspect people will like it more than I did.

Note:  There is a mid-credits scene and a post-credits scene (but they are both a bit anticlimactic).

Utah Hockey Club vs. Ottawa Senators

After seeing a preseason game against the Colorado Avalanche, I have become a huge fan of the Utah Hockey Club (I will be happy when we finally have an actual name).  I have had a lot of fun following the team because they have had a great start to the season (unlike the Avalanche) and I am still a little bit giddy at the thought that the NHL is in SLC.  Tickets are pretty expensive but they are all resell tickets and I've noticed that the price varies from game to game based on the opponent and decreases the closer you get to game time.  I found three good seats (the Delta Center has terrible sight lines) at a reasonable price for last night's game against the Ottawa Senators (I always like seeing a Canadian team because that means I get to hear "O Canada") and I was beyond excited to go with my sister and brother-in-law.  The three of us already have lots of apparel (my sister urged me to step away from the black and get the blue hoodie) and it was a lot of fun to be with a large crowd showing so much support for the team.  Utah came out in the first period with a lot of intensity and outshot Ottawa 8-1.  Then it all seemed to fall apart when Ottawa's Noah Gregor and Utah's Jack McBain got offsetting penalties at the 11:22 mark resulting in a four on four.  Drake Batherson scored for the Senators 21 seconds later then Claude Giroux made it 2-0 less than 90 seconds later during the same four on four.  Robert Bortuzzo got a holding penalty at 17:50 which allowed the Senators to get a power play goal from Ridly Greig to make it 3-0 (Utah was 8-8 on the penalty kill before tonight) and Brady Tkachuk scored with 8 seconds left in this disastrous period to go up 4-0.  Karel Vejmelka replaced Connor Ingram (who let in four of the nine shots he faced) in net to start the second period and Utah, once again, did everything but score with 14 shots to Ottawa's five.  Utah had a few good opportunities, including a power play, in the third period and ended the night outshooting Ottawa 31-22 (Anton Forsberg was amazing in goal for the Senators) but they still came away empty handed.  They were undefeated at home until last night so it was a bit disappointing to see them lose but I still had a great time.  I loved being able to go to an NHL game with Kristine and Trent and I'm hoping we can go to a few more (we already have tickets to the Calgary Flames game next April with Marilyn).

Into the Woods at CPT

My sisters and I became huge fans of the musical Into the Woods after we attended a production at PTC together many years ago so we have been looking forward to seeing it at CPT ever since the 2024 season was announced. We had to wait a little longer than we expected because our original performance was canceled because of a power outage. Thankfully, CPT added another one to the end of the run in order to accommodate us last night and it was definitely worth the wait! My sisters and I agree that it was one of the best versions of the show that we have seen (and we have seen it many times). The story incorporates well known fairy-tales, such as "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," "Jack and the Beanstalk," and "Rapunzel," the music by Stephen Sondheim is incredibly beautiful, and the messages that actions can sometimes have unintended consequences and wishes do not always turn out happily ever after are both though-provoking and poignant. This cast is one of the strongest I have seen at CPT but I especially enjoyed Claire Glaittli as the Baker's Wife because her voice was incredible but she also added a lot of comedy to the role with her facial expressions and physicality, particularly during her interactions with Josh Egbert as Cinderella's Prince. Other standouts were Emily Sparks as Little Red Riding Hood because she was so sassy, Emma Murdock as Cinderella because her voice was also very beautiful, Drew Dunshee as Jack because his characterization was a bit bolder than I have seen before, and Brandon Barton because his manipulation of the puppet for Milky White (which was fantastic) was really fun and dynamic. My favorite songs are "Agony" because it is so funny as Cinderella's Prince and Rapunzel's Prince (Dan Frederickson) try to one-up each other, "It Takes Two" because it is a turning point in the relationship between the Baker (Jake Heywood) and his Wife, and "No One Is Alone" because it is an emotional moment of understanding between the Baker, Jack, Cinderella, and Red and I was very impressed with both the performances and staging of all three. I also really loved the staging of Cinderella at her mother's grave because her transformation into the ball gown was magical (it happened right in front of me and it gave me goosebumps) and the slaying of the giantess because the use of shadows and sound design was very dramatic. This production had the narrator (Rick Murdock) read the story to a young boy (Sam Akerlow) as the show progressed and I thought this was a really clever idea but I absolutely loved it when he was revealed to be the Baker's son at the end of the show! It was an incredibly powerful moment and it made the final song, "Children Will Listen," so much more impactful. The set was absolutely spectacular (it may be my favorite at CPT), with giant trees that moved on tracks across the stage, Rapunzel's tower on one side of the stage, and Cinderella's mother's grave on the other (her mother's appearance was another magical moment in the show), and the costumes were gorgeous, especially the ball gowns. My sisters and I loved this production and we are sad that the run is over because we want to see it again! A huge thank you to CPT and the MWF cast for arranging this show after having to cancel the original one through no fault of their own!

We Live in Time

I didn't laugh as much as I thought I would during the first movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night but I definitely thought I would be able to have a good cry during the second, We Live in Time.  Unfortunately, this left me feeling a bit flat.  Chef Almut Bruhl (Florence Pugh) and the recently divorced Tobias Durand (Andrew Garfield) meet each other in an unconventional manner, fall in love, and then receive a devastating diagnosis that makes them reevaluate how they want to spend their time together.  This features a nonlinear narrative that jumps back and forth between the early days of their relationship, a cancer diagnosis that Almut is able to beat, their struggle to get pregnant and the eventual birth of their child, and the aftermath of hearing that Almut's cancer has returned several years later.  I'm not sure how I feel about the nonlinear timeline because it does feel like the two of them are looking back at memories as a way to celebrate their life together but I also feel like this structure takes away from the dramatic tension because we already know the outcome of several key moments before they happen.  It seems like a gimmick to make a fairly conventional story more compelling.  Pugh and Garfield have tremendous chemistry together and their performances do a lot to elevate the material but I didn't have an emotional connection to the characters because they are not developed fully (one character is an enigma and the other one has several baffling inconsistencies).  As a fan of both Pugh and Garfield, I wanted to like this more than I did but I seem to be in the minority on this one so I suggest seeing it for yourself.

Rumours

Last night I decided on a double feature at the Broadway designed to make me laugh and cry.  I started with the post-apocalyptic political satire Rumours but it wasn't as funny as I thought it would be.  Chancellor Hilda Ortmann of Germany (Cate Blanchett), President Edison Wolcott of the United States (Charles Dance), Prime Minister Maxime Laplace of Canada (Roy Dupuis), President Sylvain Broulez of France (Denis Menochet), Prime Minister Cardosa Dewindt of the United Kingdom (Nikki Amuka-Bird), Prime Minister Antonio Lamorte of Italy (Rolando Ravello), and Prime Minister Tatsuro Iwasaki of Japan (Takehiro Hira) meet together for a G7 summit in order to draft a provisional statement about a global crisis.  As they struggle to articulate coherent thoughts about the unnamed crisis (one suggests that they begin with the date) they discover that all of their aides have suddenly disappeared and they face a series of increasingly bizarre threats, including the sudden appearance of the deranged Secretary-General of the European Commission (Alicia Vikander).  They are eventually able to cut and paste (literally) a statement together composed of meaningless buzz words and they deliver it as the world burns around them.  I really loved the commentary on how world leaders tend to focus on the optics of a problem rather than how to actually solve it (unfortunately I think this is an accurate depiction) and I laughed out loud at how incompetent they are when attacked and at all of the revelations of inappropriate behavior in their personal lives (the Prime Minister of Canada is sleeping with all three of the women).  However, some of the humor is really out there (zombies and a giant brain) and it doesn't always land even if the cast is game for anything.  I enjoyed this enough to recommend it but not everyone will appreciate the surreal tone. 

Smile 2

I really enjoyed the first movie (even more than I thought I would) so I was really excited for Smile 2 with my nephew last night.  We both loved it and I think it improves upon its predecessor in every way!  Joel (Kyle Gallner), the police officer who witnessed Rose Cotter's suicide, inadvertently passes on the curse to a drug dealer named Lewis Fregoli (Lukas Gage).  Meanwhile, pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is attempting a comeback, including a world tour, even though she is still struggling with addiction and trauma from a car accident that killed her boyfriend Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson). She evades her mother/manager Elizabeth (Rosemarie DeWitt) and assistant Joshua (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) to to visit Lewis for some Vicodin after injuring her back during a rehearsal but she witnesses his derangement and eventual suicide instead.  Skye begins having hallucinations stemming from her trauma but her mother, assistant, and record producer (Raul Castillo) force her to continue preparing for the tour with tragic consequences.  What I liked most about the original is the discussion about the effects of repressed trauma and this adds the element of addiction which is very powerful.  It is also really interesting that Riley is a pop star because she has the added responsibility to carry on and smile for everyone who is counting on her, especially in a scene where she is forced to interact with fans who all want and need something from her, so this takes the central metaphor to a more extreme conclusion.  Scott gives a riveting performance as a pop star and her terror is palpable whenever she is unable to determine what is real.  Speaking of which, there are some truly terrifying sequences and quite a few jump scares for which I was unprepared!  I loved all of the gore so I was a bit disappointed by the restraint shown in the final scene (but this is a minor criticism).  This definitely amps up everything I loved about the first one and I highly recommend it to fans of horror.

Thriller 2024

After a one year hiatus ODT's Halloween-themed dance extravaganza Thriller is back and this news made me so happy because it is one of my favorite traditions this time of year!  I saw the show at the Grand Theatre (it moved there from Kingsbury Hall) last night and it was so much fun.  All of my favorite dances were back including a group of the undead cavorting in a graveyard in "Thriller," a breakdancing Egyptian mummy and his maidens in "Curse of the Mummy," misbehaving pandas at their first dance recital in "Miss Alli's Nightmare," a Pas de Deux that goes horribly wrong in "Frankenstein & Frankenstein," tap dancing skeletons that glow in the dark in "Dem Bones," a trio of Jasons wielding a variety of weapons in "Jason Jam" (this crowd favorite gets more elaborate every year and it was hilarious last night), scarecrows that are not what they seem in "Children of the Corn," a coven of condemned witches seeking vengeance from beyond the grave in "Salem's Mass" (this is my favorite dance), demonic dolls who come to life in "Chucky-Rama," acrobatic vampires who find an unsuspecting victim walking home alone in "Lost Boys," and a costume parade in "Trick or Treat."  Even though I have seen all of these dances over and over year after year, I still look forward to them with great anticipation and I cheer out loud (like everyone else in the audience) when they begin.  This year there were three new dances.  I really liked "Day-O," a spoof of the possession scene from Beetlejuice, and "Squid Skid," a dance competition with the same rules as Squid Game, but "Covid Cotillion," a dance featuring highly exaggerated performance protocols from the pandemic, wasn't very funny.  The artists from Aeris Aerial Arts joined the company once again and performed "Black Widow" (this was new and it was my favorite), "Full Moon," "Phantom of the Opera," and "Slytherin."  I think these numbers are so much fun to watch because I have no idea how the aerialists do what they do!  Bubbles the Clown was back performing in between numbers but, unfortunately, so was Giggle Girl (I think she is so annoying and needs new material).  There was a huge crowd last night so, if you are thinking about getting a ticket (and I recommend that you do), you need to act fast.  It runs at the Grand Theatre through October 26 and at Tuacahn Amphitheare in St. George from October 28 through November 2 (go here for tickets).

Note:  This is my usual warning to avoid making eye contact with the undead roaming around the theatre before the show.

Jekyll & Hyde at West Valley Arts

Jekyll & Hyde is one of the first shows I saw on Broadway (with the original cast) so it will always be a favorite of mine. The production now playing at West Valley Arts is very well done and I absolutely loved seeing it last night! Dr. Henry Jekyll (Rhett Richins) is a passionate man of science who wants to save his father, who is suffering from madness, with a chemical formula he developed to separate good from evil. When his request to test his formula is denied by the hypocritical Board of Governors at St. Jude's hospital, he takes matters into his own hands. His alter-ego Mr. Edward Hyde, a terrifying madman, is created when Jekyll experiments on himself and all of his inner demons are unleashed. Two women, his fiance Emma Carew (Kersee Whitney) and a prostitute named Lucy Harris (Jessica Knowles Andrus), both love him but are unaware of his secret. Jekyll is unsuccessful in his efforts to control the monster within and Hyde eventually kills all of the members of the Board of Governors and becomes a danger to the rest of the citizens of London, to Lucy and Emma, and to himself. I loved the entire cast (my former student Christian Johnston plays Gabriel John Utterson so it was really fun for me to see him) but I especially enjoyed the performances from all three leads. Richins is impressive in "This is the Moment" as Jekyll and in "Alive" as Hyde because each character has a distinct persona and his version of "Confrontation," where both characters battle for control, is incredibly powerful because of his physicality. Whitney has a beautiful voice and her rendition of "Once Upon a Dream" is very affecting while the duet "In His Eyes" with Andrus is a highlight because their voices complement each other so well. Andrus (I've seen her play Lucy before) just about blows the roof off the theatre in "Someone Like You" and "A New Life" and I liked her performance of "Bring On the Men" even though I prefer "Good 'N' Evil" in this scene because it makes more sense thematically ("Good 'N' Evil" was written for Linda Eder who originated the role of Lucy on Broadway). One of my favorite aspects of this production is the dynamic staging. The juxtaposition of couples dancing a waltz as Jekyll and Emma sing "Take Me As I Am" with the prostitutes dancing with their customers as Hyde and Lucy sing "Dangerous Game" is very striking. I also loved having the ensemble actually personify all of Jekyll's inner demons in the scenes where he transforms into Hyde because it is so dramatic. The choreography in "Murder, Murder" is very clever because this number sometimes drags for me and I was very engaged in this version (I loved the use of umbrellas).  The red and blue lighting, especially during "Confrontation," is very effective in distinguishing between the different personas of Jekyll and Hyde. The set design, which mimics the cobblestone streets of London, is minimal but I loved all of the bubbling neon-colored potions in Jekyll's laboratory and the multi-level structure used for the Red Rat. All of the productions at West Valley Arts this year have been outstanding but I think this one is my favorite and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs Wednesdays - Saturdays through November 2 at the West Valley Performing Arts Center.

Saturday Night

I was a huge fan of Saturday Night Live in the late 1970s (when I was too young to understand most of the references) and the 1980s (when it was actually funny) so I was really excited to see Saturday Night last night with my nephew.  Unfortunately, I didn't love it as much as others seem to.  It is 90 minutes to airtime on October 11, 1975 and Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) is still trying to convince NBC executives Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman) and David Tebet (Willem Dafoe) to air his groundbreaking sketch comedy instead of a rerun of The Tonight Show.  The set is not yet complete, technical elements malfunction, and the crew is fighting with each other.  Writers Michael O'Donoghue (Tommy Dewey), Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), Herb Sargent (Tracy Letts), and Al Franken (Taylor Gray) struggle to get the script past NBC sensor Joan Carbunkle (Catherine Curtin) before Alan Zweibel (Josh Brener) is hired at the last minute to rewrite it.  The host George Carlin (Matthew Rhys) doesn't believe in the show and cast members Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris), Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), John Belushi (Matt Wood), Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O'Brien), Jane Curtin (Kim Matula), Laraine Newman (Emily Fairn), and Andy Kaufman (Nicholas Braun) are mostly unknown, inexperienced, and dysfunctional.  Many of the musicians, including Billy Preston (Jon Batiste) and Paul Shaffer (Paul Rust), are high and an NBC page (Finn Wolfhard) can't even give away tickets to be in the studio audience.  However, everything comes together (as we all knew it would) when we hear Chevy Chase utter the iconic opening line, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"  This does a really great job at portraying the frenetic behind the scenes chaos with tight camera shots that follow Michaels as he puts out fires (literally and figuratively), quick edits, and a jarring score (by Batiste).  The use of a ticking clock is also very effective at adding tension until you remember that this show has been on the air for almost fifty years. The ensemble cast is excellent (Smith as Chevy Chase was the standout for me) but there are a lot of characters to keep track of and some don't make much of an impression (Hunt, Matula, and Fairn are essentially interchangeable as Radner, Curtain, and Newman, respectively, because they are underused).  I loved the nostalgia of all of the callbacks to the early days of SNL (I laughed out loud at the reference to Aykroyd's iconic impersonation of Julia Child and at Kaufman's Mighty Mouse routine) but, honestly, this wasn't as funny as I thought it would be.  I liked it but didn't love it.

Utah Opera's Sweeney Todd

When the Utah Opera 2024-2025 season was announced the only opera I was interested in seeing was Madame Butterfly so I decided not to renew my subscription.  I changed my mind about Sweeney Todd and got a ticket to see it last night and I'm very glad I did because the production is amazing!  Sweeney Todd (Michael Mayes) is a Victorian-era barber who has just returned to London after 15 years of exile in Australia.  When he learns the fate of his wife Lucy (Megan Marino) and daughter Johanna (Amy Owens), he immediately wants to get revenge on Judge Turpin (David Soar), the man who ruined his life.  He goes back to his former rooms above the pie shop run by Mrs. Lovett (Audrey Babcock) and discovers that she has kept all of his barbering tools so he decides to set up shop and lure the judge in for a shave so he can slit his throat.  However, the judge eludes him and he vows vengeance on the whole human race.  He begins to kill all of his customers and Mrs. Lovett uses the bodies in her meat pies!  Eventually, his quest for revenge turns to madness.  I have always loved the music by Stephen Sondheim so hearing it performed by operatic voices was absolutely stunning!  Both Mayes and Babcock have incredible voices and they bring these despicable characters to life in a way that is both comedic and tragic.  Mayes' rendition of "Epiphany" is terrifying and I found Babcock's versions of "The Worst Pies in London" to be hilarious and "By The Sea" to be incredibly poignant.  I laughed out loud when the two of them sang "A Little Priest."  Other highlights include a lovely performance of "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" by Owens, a moving version of "Johanna" by John Riesen as Anthony Hope, and a hilarious rendition of "Parlor Songs (Part II)" by Bille Bruley as Beadle Bamford (his facial expressions killed me).  I also really enjoyed "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" and all of its many reprises by the Chorus because they are all very dramatic, especially the Bedlam scene.  The large sets, including Judge Turpin's house, Mrs. Lovett's Pie Shop, and the bakehouse, all rotate in front of an imposing silhouette of a factory that is eventually revealed to be the asylum (in condemnation of the industrialization of London).  I loved the barber chair which sent Sweeney's victims to the bakehouse and the use of smoke, lighting, and other special effects (particularly all of the blood as Sweeney slits his victim's throats) add much to the spooky atmosphere.  This is a great show to see right before Halloween and I think it is very accessible for those who might not be very familiar with opera.  There are performances on Wednesday and Friday nights and a matinee on Sunday (go here for tickets) at the Capitol Theatre.

Timpanogos Community Theater's The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Last night I went to see Timpanogos Community Theater's production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and, of the three versions of this show I've seen this year, this one is the best! I absolutely loved it! Quasimodo (Adam Moore), a hunchback who has spent his entire life hidden in the bell tower of Notre Dame cathedral, yearns to be a part of the outside world. He summons the courage to attend the Feast of Fools and meets the gypsy Esmeralda (Teresa Jack) when she saves him from an angry mob. However, Quasimodo's master, the archdeacon Claude Frollo (Stanley Johnson), and the new captain of the cathedral guard, Phoebus de Martin (Casey Copier), also meet her and fall in love with her. When Esmeralda rejects Frollo, he orders Phoebus to arrest her but he refuses and they both become fugitives who are aided by Quasimodo until the final confrontation in the bell tower. I was very impressed by the incredibly talented cast, especially the four leads! Moore (he was amazing as Frederic in a previous production of The Pirates of Penzance) imbues Quasimodo with naivete and strength and I loved both his physicality as he moves up, down, and around the bell tower and his powerful vocals in the songs "Out There," "Heaven's Light," and "Made of Stone." Johnson does an excellent job portraying Frollo's torment and his rendition of "Hellfire" is incredibly stirring. My favorite song in the show is "God Help the Outcasts" and Jack's performance of it gave me goosebumps.  I also really enjoyed her dancing in "Rhythm of the Tambourine" and her interactions with Moore in "Top of the World" and with Copier in an incredibly emotional version of "Someday." Copier's characterization of Phoebus is a lot more playful than I have seen before but he still shows a bit of vulnerability in "Rest and Recreation." The ensemble in this show is also outstanding because not only do they effectively narrate events in "The Bells of Notre Dame" and all of its reprises as monks, gypsies, and townspeople but they also move set pieces seamlessly around the stage (I particularly loved the transitions between the interior of the cathedral and the bell tower). The gargoyles (Lily Shepherd, Ben Dunford-Cable, Kristyan Williams, and Scott Mason) who help and inspire Quasimodo are a lot of fun when they come to life and they have great costumes. The choreography in "Topsy Turvy," "Rhythm of the Tambourine," and "Tavern Song" is energetic and engaging and I loved the addition of acrobatic elements (there were a few ooohs and aaahs from the audience). The elaborate multi-level set is spectacular and includes large moving pieces that transform the stage into the interior of the cathedral, the bell tower, the town square, and the Court of Miracles. There is also a beautiful rose window, enhanced by some incredible lighting effects, that dominates the stage as well as some dramatic bells suspended from the rafters. The staging of the confrontation is very clever but I was moved to tears during the final sequence because the members of the ensemble are dressed in white and surround Quasimodo and Esmeralda like angels welcoming them to Heaven (it is so powerful). This production is better than some professional ones I have seen and, in my opinion, it should not be missed! There are four more chances to see it on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday at the Valentine Theater (go here for tickets).

National Theatre Live: Fleabag

I love the BBC series Fleabag (especially the second season with Hot Priest) so I was really excited to see the National Theatre Live presentation of the acclaimed one-woman show that started it all!  It was filmed live from the Wyndham Theatre in London's West End during its run in 2019 and it was screened at the Broadway yesterday by the Tanner Humanities Center and Salt Lake Film Society.  Phoebe Waller-Bridge is both humorous and heartbreaking as a twenty-something woman navigating modern life in London.  There is a framing device with Fleabag behaving inappropriately during a job interview before and after describing her on-again off-again relationship with her boyfriend Harry, her random hook-ups with men she meets on the tube, her addiction to porn, her alienation from her family, particularly her sister Claire, and her struggle to keep her guinea pig-themed cafe running all while trying to come to terms with her guilt over the death of her best friend and business partner Boo.  I really love the subversive humor because the situations are actually quite sad but Waller-Bridge uses them as fodder for her comedy (I think the appeal of the character is that using humor as a coping mechanism for the vicissitudes of life is something a lot of people can relate to).  Waller-Bridge is absolutely captivating, even though she rarely leaves a stool located on an empty stage, because she is able to create so many different characters with her delivery, facial expressions, and body language.  I loved the interaction between her and her sister Claire but my favorite was when she imitated her guinea pig listening to music!  This was so much fun (these NT Live screenings at the Broadway always draw a big and energetic crowd) and I am looking forward to Present Laughter in November, Nye in January, and The Importance of Being Earnest in March (go here for more information).

The Apprentice

Last night I went to see The Apprentice (my second Sebastian Stan movie this week) and I was absolutely riveted by this character study detailing how Donald Trump rose to become a New York real estate tycoon under the tutelage of the notoriously corrupt lawyer Roy Cohn.  In 1973 Donald Trump (Stan) is essentially an errand boy collecting rents for his father Fred (Martin Donovan) and the Trump Organization when he meets Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) at a club.  Fred is embroiled in a federal investigation about his discriminatory practices against Black tenants and, despite Fred's opposition, Donald hires Cohn who settles the case favorably despite solid evidence against the Trump Organization.  Donald comes to see Cohn as a mentor and enlists his help in developing the Commodore Hotel.  When Donald expresses reservations about his unethical and illegal methods, Cohn teaches him that he must always attack, always deny wrongdoing, and always claim victory if he wants to succeed in business.  He also tells him that he must be willing to do whatever it takes, however abhorrent, to defeat an opponent.  Donald takes this advice to heart and, not only does he become ruthless in business during the 1980s, but he eventually betrays his brother Fred Jr. (Charlie Carrick), his father, his first wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova), and, eventually, Cohn himself.  I am not a fan of Donald Trump (to say the least) so I have to admit that I enjoyed seeing him portrayed so unsympathetically, especially the scenes showing his liposuction and scalp-reduction surgeries, but it was also very enlightening to see all of the influences on his evolution to the person we know today.  Stan's portrayal is brilliant and he completely nails all of Trumps's mannerisms, particularly the way he moves his lips when he talks, and Strong is also outstanding in a complex role.  This is so much better, and more objective, than I was expecting but I suspect that one's enjoyment of it will depend on one's opinion of Trump.

Funny Girl at the Eccles

I have seen the movie Funny Girl dozens of times so I was really excited to see the stage musical upon which it is based last night at the Eccles.  I absolutely loved it!  After Fanny Brice (Leah Platt) is fired from the chorus of a vaudeville show, she and her friend Eddie Ryan (Izaiah Montaque Harris) contrive to get her back on stage and she wins the audience over.  This leads to stardom with Florenz Ziegfeld (Mathew Fedorek) and the Ziegfeld Follies as well as love, and eventual heartache, with Nick Arnstein (Stephen Mark Lukas). I loved hearing all of the instantly recognizable songs, especially my favorites "I'm the Greatest Star," "People," "You Are Woman, I Am Man," "Don't Rain on my Parade," "Sadie, Sadie," and "Who Are You Now," and I really had to try, sometimes unsuccessfully, not to sing along (I don't feel too badly about singing occasionally because the man sitting behind me was saying some of the dialogue out loud).  The staging of the big Ziegfeld Follies numbers "His Love Makes Me Beautiful" and "Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat" are really fun and I also enjoyed the choreography for "Henry Street" because it is so exuberant.  Platt does a great job as Fanny because she makes the iconic character, immortalized by Barbra Streisand, her own.  I loved her unique interpretation of "People" and her heartfelt versions of "The Music That Makes Me Dance" and  "Funny Girl" but I was most impressed by her rendition of "Don't Rain on my Parade (Reprise II)" at the end of the show because she just about blew the roof off of the Eccles Theatre.  Lukas is gorgeous (iykyk) and charismatic, especially in "You Are Woman, I Am Man," but my favorite performance from him was "Temporary Arrangement" because his vulnerability is palpable.  Singer Melissa Manchester is Mrs. Brice (she received applause when she took the stage for the first time) and I loved how she and her cronies Mrs. Strakosh (Cheryl Stern) and Mrs. Meeker (Christine Bunuan) serve as a Greek chorus as they play cards on Henry Street.  I was happy to see all of the traditional backdrops (this really feels like a big old-fashioned musical) and the period costumes are fabulous.  It was great to finally get to see this show after being a fan of the movie for so long and I highly recommend it.  There are five more shows through October 13 (go here for tickets).

My Fair Lady at HCTO

Last night I went to see My Fair Lady at HCTO and it was loverly!  Professor Henry Higgins (Ryan Shepherd) encounters a Cockney flower girl named Eliza Doolittle (Ashley Gardner Carlson) outside Covent Garden and boasts to his friend Colonel Pickering (Ben Parkes) that he could pass her off as a Duchess at the Embassy Ball within six months by teaching her to speak properly.  Even though Eliza is a success at the ball, she becomes a lady when she compels Higgins to treat her like one!  Every member of the cast is superb!  Shepherd is possibly the best Higgins I've ever seen and I really enjoyed his dynamic characterization and energy in the songs "I'm an Ordinary Man," "The Rain in Spain," and "A Hymn to Him."  I also really enjoyed his poignant rendition of "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" and his delivery of the final line to Eliza because it kind of changes the vibe of the ending (in a good way).  Carlson is the perfect Eliza because she is so elegant and sings and dances beautifully.  Her versions of "Just You Wait," "Show Me," and "Without You" are incredibly feisty but "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" are filled with so much joy.  Parkes provides a lot of the comic relief as Pickering and I laughed out loud when he becomes overwrought before the ball.  Jordan Strong is delightful as Freddie Eynsford-Hill and the way he sings my favorite song in the show, "On the Street Where You Live," is so romantic!  Finally, I absolutely loved Daniel Hess as Alfred P. Doolittle because he has a glint in his eye and his performances in "With a Little Bit of Luck" and "Get Me to the Church" are so fun and exuberant!  Rather than an elaborate library, the set features the exterior of Henry Higgins' house on Wimpole Street (I loved the flowers, columns, and gas lights) and the props used for Higgins' study are cleverly moved on and off stage by members of the ensemble dressed as servants (they are also used to great effect in "Poor Professor Higgins").  The costumes are gorgeous, especially those worn at Ascot (the use of gray rather than the usual black and white is a fun twist) and at the Embassy Ball (Eliza's pink gown is stunning).  I don't think the smile left my face during the entire show and I highly recommend it because it is one that everyone will enjoy.  It runs through November 23 (go here for tickets).

Note:  I enjoyed this so much more than the Lincoln Center production I saw at the Eccles last year.