Festival of Trees 2025

The Festival of Trees is an event I look forward to all year because it is so much fun to volunteer and it is such a worthwhile cause since every single penny raised goes to benefit Primary Children's Hospital!  Various groups and individuals decorate trees, usually to commemorate someone who is or has been a patient at Primary Children's Hospital, and then donate them.  The trees are put up for auction and then displayed at the Mountain America Expo Center for the duration of the festival.  In addition to the trees, there are centerpieces, wreaths, quilts, and gingerbread houses on display with lots of activities for kids (even Santa) and treats to purchase (I may or may not have had two cinnamon rolls).  This was my fifteenth year volunteering as a hostess and when my shift was over I got to look around.  Here are some of my favorite trees.

Wicked was very "popular" at the festival this year.

This was my favorite.

The Festival of Trees runs at the Mountain America Expo Center through December 6.  Go here for more information and tickets.

Gentri Christmas at the Eccles 2025

I love hearing Christmas music performed live so I was really excited for the Gentri Christmas concert last night.  This was my fourth year attending this concert and it has become one of my favorite traditions!  Casey Elliott, Brad Robbins, and Bradley Quinn Lever, better known as Gentri (short for The Gentlemen Trio), began with "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," "He Is Born, the Heavenly Child," "We Three Kings," and "Away in a Manger."  Then they were joined by the Rise Up Children's Choir for "Ave Maria" (the children carried candles and sounded like angels) and "Do You Hear What I Hear."  In between these songs, three of the boys from the choir, who have formed their own trio called the Junior Gents, performed "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and they were really good (the gents joked that they could take over for them when they become the Geriatric Gents).  Next came their original song "Finding Christmas" and then "O Holy Night" which I absolutely loved because their arrangement is so beautiful (this has been my favorite Christmas song since I was a little girl and I always hope to hear it performed live every year).  They concluded their first set with "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly" which was very powerful.  After the intermission, they performed a mash-up of "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and "Joy to the World" featuring David Halliday on saxophone.  This really got going with lots of audience participation!  They continued with "Little Drummer Boy," which is one of their most popular songs, with Nick Johnson on acoustic guitar followed by their original song "All is Well" with the Rise Up Children's Choir.  Their music director Stephen Nelson arranged a piece on the spot using a movie score and a Christmas song suggested by the audience (they do this every year and it is extremely popular with the crowd).  Our audience picked the theme from Mission: Impossible and "A Holly Jolly Christmas" and it was surprisingly good!  They continued with their version of "Silent Night" and then their original song "Somewhere in Your Silent Night" which is one of my favorite Gentri songs.  They performed "Welcome to Our World" from their latest Christmas album Emmanuel and then ended with a rousing rendition of "O Come, All Ye Faithful."  The gents were as amusing as ever and it was a wonderful concert!  I thoroughly enjoyed it and got a big dose of Christmas cheer!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I finally put my tree up a few days ago (I usually put it up a lot earlier but I've been a bit lazy) and now that it is up I am really excited for Christmas!  This year I have decided to slow down and not see so many shows (last year I saw five different productions of A Christmas Carol and it got to be a chore to get through all of them) so I can spend more time with my family.  We are planning on a craft night, a baking night to make Christmas treats for our neighbors, a night to make gingerbread houses, a night to go see Christmas lights, and lots of movie nights (we are compiling a list).  I am also really excited because my niece and her husband are coming on Christmas Eve for a week!

I really love this time of year (I especially love sitting in my living room with just the light from the Christmas tree) and I am determined to enjoy every minute of it!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Thanksgiving 2025

I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family yesterday and it was a really nice day!  I am very thankful that we all get along so well and that both my sisters are really good cooks (my nephew says the only thing I make for Thanksgiving dinner is a purchase).  This year we opted for a ham instead of a turkey but we had all of the traditional side dishes, including stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, strawberry jello salad, vegetables and dip, and homemade rolls.  Everything tasted so good!  We grazed on lots of treats while we played Shanghai rummy (I came in last) and then we ended the evening with banana cream pie (we have it every year because no one really likes pumpkin pie).  I had a lot of fun and I am looking forward to spending even more time with my family during December (hopefully I have better luck the next time we play cards).  I hope you had a wonderful holiday with the people you love!

Wake Up Dead Man

The second movie in the double feature with my nephew last night was Wake Up Dead Man.  I am a huge fan of this franchise and I think this installment is my favorite because, where Knives Out and Glass Onion are indictments against inherited wealth and celebrity culture, respectively, this one takes aim at organized religion and, even though it has a darker tone, it also very moving because faith is proven to be more powerful than corruption.  Reverend Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor) is a young and idealistic priest with a violent past who is sent to Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude in upstate New York as punishment for hitting a deacon.  The small parish is led by the radicalized Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) who antagonizes all but a few eccentric members of his dwindling congregation, including the devout Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close) who assists him, the recovering alcoholic Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church) who works as groundskeeper, the bitter Vera Draven (Kerry Washington) who replaced her father as Wicks's lawyer, the failed right-wing politician Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack) who now espouses his rhetoric online, the conspiracy-obsessed best-selling author Lee Ross (Andrew Scott) who is writing a book about Wicks, the local doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner) whose wife has recently left him, and the disabled cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny) who is hoping (and paying) for a miracle from Wicks. Jud is determined to serve the congregation with love and mercy rather than fear and judgement and this often brings him into conflict with Wicks so, when Wicks is stabbed to death in an alcove in the middle of the Good Friday service, he is the most obvious suspect.  Police Chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) eventually calls in Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to solve the seemingly impossible crime because everyone is revealed to have a motive but it appears that no one had the opportunity.  There are lots of twists and turns and, as always, it subverts expectations multiple times.  I especially loved the push and pull between reason personified by Blanc and faith represented by Jud because both are eventually needed to solve the mystery.  Craig is as entertaining as ever and both Close and Brolin give standout performances from the ensemble but O'Connor is absolutely brilliant as a flawed character who ultimately embodies what is good about religion.  Finally, I loved how the theme of good and evil is emphasized by the clever use of light and shadow in the cinematography.  I loved this continuation of the series and I hope Rian Johnson continues making them!

Note:  My only complaint is that the song "Wake Up Dead Man" by U2 is not used during the credits like the song "Glass Onion" by the Beatles is used in the previous movie.  I had to play it for my nephew on the drive home.

Eternity

Last night I had another double feature, this time with my nephew, and we began with Eternity which we both enjoyed.  After Larry (Miles Teller) and Joan (Elizabeth Olsen), a couple who has been married for 65 years, die one after the other, they find themselves in an afterlife where they have one week in a so-called "junction" to decide where, and with whom, they want to spend eternity. They each have the help of an afterlife coordinator, Anna (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) for Larry and Ryan (John Early) for Joan, and a variety of options to choose from.  However, complications ensue when Luke (Callum Turner), Joan's first husband who died in the Korean War shortly after their marriage, appears and reveals that he has been waiting for her in the junction for the past 67 years.  Joan is now faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with and the man she was denied a life with.  Her decision isn't made any easier when both men, rather amusingly, turn it into a competition for her love.  Even though this features a really clever and intriguing premise, I think it goes on much too long and I found it really annoying that the rules painstakingly established within the afterlife are broken, not once but twice, to advance the plot.  However, I liked all of the performances, especially those of Early and Randolph because they are hilarious, and the world-building, particularly the exhibition hall and advertisements promoting the options for places in which to spend eternity (my favorite was the Weimar Republic without the Nazis) and the archives of memories which look like museum exhibits.  I didn't love this but it is a lot of fun and I recommend it to fans of romantic comedies.

Sentimental Value

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway yesterday was Sentimental Value.  I have been looking forward to this ever since it won the Grand Prix at Cannes earlier this year and I was definitely not disappointed.  Nora Borg (Renate Reinsve) is a stage and television actress in Norway who, along with her sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), is dismayed when her estranged father, celebrated director Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgard), reappears in her life after the death of her mother.  He is hoping to make a comeback with an autobiographical movie about his mother featuring a script written specifically for Nora.  She is angry with her father for abandoning her and turns down the role thinking that he is only using her to get financing.  When Hollywood actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) becomes enamored with him after seeing a retrospective of his work at the Deauville Film Festival, he offers her the role instead and they begin rehearsals in the house, which has been in his family for generations, where key moments in the script actually happened.  Rachel eventually realizes that she cannot do justice to the role because she has no connection to the character.  Nora finally reads the script and recognizes that the character is actually based on her and that her father wrote it as a way to reconcile with her.  This features incredibly powerful performances from Skarsgard and Reinsve and I was especially impressed by the scene in which Gustav first offers Nora the role because there is so much raw emotion simmering under the surface during their seemingly polite conversation (it is absolutely riveting).  Fanning is also great and I loved the juxtaposition between how Rachel delivers a line from the script in English and how Nora delivers the same line in Norwegian because it is immediately apparent that the role was written for the latter.  The house in which Gustav, Nora, and Agnes grew up is used as a character to represent all of the memories that keep them in a dysfunctional relationship and it is remodeled throughout the narrative to depict the possibility of a fresh start.  This is a brilliant exploration of the power of art to heal and I highly recommend it.

Rental Family

Yesterday I spent most of the day at the Broadway watching movies with all of the other retired people!  My double feature started with Rental Family and I really loved it.  Phillip Vandarploeug (Brendan Fraser) is a lonely American actor living in Tokyo, Japan.  He struggles to find work (his biggest success has been playing a superhero in a toothpaste commercial) and to find a connection (he spends his evenings wistfully watching people in the apartments opposite his through the window).  His agent sends him on a job playing a "sad American" and he is disconcerted to realize that he has been hired to play a mourner at a funeral by a company that provides people to serve as family members, friends, colleagues, or other significant people for personal, social, or emotional reasons.  Shinji (Takehiro Hira), the owner of the company, offers him more work and, because he needs the money, he reluctantly agrees and plays a groom for a young woman who wants to appease her traditional parents and a friend to an antisocial young man who wants someone to play video games with him.  However, when he plays a reporter interviewing a retired actor (Akira Emoto) suffering from dementia and the estranged father of a young girl (Shannon Mahina Gorman) whose mother (Shino Shinozaki) wants to get her into a good school, he forms an emotional bond with both of them which eventually becomes problematic.  This has a beautiful message about the importance of feeling seen and there were several times when I had tears in my eyes.  I also loved the subplots involving the owner Shinji and another employee of the company (Mari Yamamoto) because they reveal the loneliness that has become endemic in society today.  Fraser gives a lovely and sensitive performance that never feels manipulative (in my opinion it is better than his performance in The Whale) and I loved his interactions with Emoto (particularly when Phillip stages a "jailbreak" because it is hilarious).  This is a gentle and touching movie that will make you laugh and cry and I highly recommend it.

Pride and Prejudice at CPT

Last night I went with both of my sisters to see Pride and Prejudice on the second stage at CPT and we absolutely loved it! The novel by Jane Austen is one of my all-time favorites and I love this particular adaptation by Melissa Leilani Larson so I was already looking forward to it and this production exceeded my expectations! When Mr. Bingley (Austinn Le), a single man in possession of a fortune, lets Netherfield Hall, Mrs. Bennett (Marinda Maxfield) immediately sets her sights on him as a possible husband for one of her five daughters. Bingley falls in love with the beautiful Jane (Kassandra Torres) but her sister Elizabeth (Elizabeth Moulton) takes an immediate dislike to his friend Mr. Darcy (Garrett Stephenson) because he is so aloof and disdainful. Elizabeth must overcome her prejudice and Mr. Darcy must overcome his pride for them to realize that they belong together. One of the things I love most about the novel is that the characters are so well delineated and everyone in the cast is incredibly well-suited to their role. I especially enjoyed how uptight Rylan Benson is as Mary (her facial expressions are hilarious), how overwrought Maxfield is as Mrs. Bennett, how smitten Le is as Bingley, and how imperious Hazel Rowe is as Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Moulton and Stephenson have tremendous chemistry (which is interesting because Stephenson is usually in the THS cast), especially in the proposal scene when they are sparring back and forth because it is very emotionally charged and during their kiss at the end because it is definitely swoon-worthy. However, Tyler Roberts steals the show as Mr. Collins and I don't think I stopped laughing during the scene when he dances with Elizabeth at the Netherfield Ball. This adaptation is so good because, while it doesn't include everything from the novel, it captures its essence without sacrificing key moments and the use of letters between characters to advance the narrative is particularly effective. I love how the letters are staged in this show because the sender pantomimes what is happening as the recipient reads it aloud (this is especially well done with the letter Mr. Darcy sends Elizabeth after the proposal). The Regency costumes are beautiful (I loved all of the embellished fabrics and trims used in the gowns) and the way the characters add layers to differentiate their looks for different events is very clever. Finally, the set is incredible with lots of elaborate details. It includes a fireplace flanked by book shelves with a spiral staircase leading to a balcony on one side and marble pillars with large windows in between and a nook with a piano forte on the other. Large screens behind the set and on either side of the thrust stage show images that change to denote the various locations (I especially loved the ones used for Pemberley) and period furniture pieces are reconfigured for different scenes. I had so much fun seeing this with my sisters (who are also big fans of Jane Austen) and I would highly recommend it but, unfortunately, the entire run is sold out (with good reason). 

Note: You can still see CPT's production of A Christmas Story on the main stage through December 16 (go here for tickets).

Sisu: Road to Revenge

Last night I went to see Sisu: Road to Revenge and I had a great time (at one point someone in the audience cheered out loud).  I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the first movie (it is incredibly violent but also wildly entertaining and strangely satisfying) and this one amps up the carnage!  After World War II, Finland is forced to cede territory to the Soviet Union as part of the peace agreement and this displaces many, including the legendary ex-commando Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila). He crosses the border in order to find his former house and dismantles it board by board so he can transport it and rebuild it in Finland.  However, Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), the Red Army soldier responsible for killing his wife and children during the war, is ordered by the KGB to find him and finish the job.  Absolute mayhem ensues but, this time, Korpi has a worthy opponent.  He must fight soldiers on tanks, motorcycles, planes, and a moving train (this occurs after he has been brutally tortured) before an epic confrontation with Draganov involving hand-to-hand combat (and several available items such as a fork, a shovel, and a ballistic missile).  The action is even more exciting and unrelenting (I especially loved a scene where he uses dynamite to catapult a tank that he has commandeered over a Soviet checkpoint) but also even more implausible (his truck is forced over a cliff into the water and he is able to use the boards from his house to build a makeshift raft).  As with the first movie, the violence is interspersed with some incredibly moving moments and Tommila gives another brilliant performance in which his physicality communicates the narrative (this time there is no dialogue with an amusing callback to the earlier movie).  If you are a fan of Sisu, buckle up because this is an even wilder ride and I highly recommend it (if you can handle the gore).

Jay Kelly

Last night I went to see Jay Kelly at the Broadway.  I am a big fan of director Noah Baumbach and I really enjoyed it.  Jay Kelly (George Clooney) is a famous movie star with a 35 year career in Hollywood who has an existential crisis and questions whether it has been worth the cost of all of his important relationships.  He spontaneously decides to travel to Europe, ostensibly for a tribute at a film festival but really to spend time with his youngest daughter Daisy (Grace Edwards) who is on a trip with friends.  This forces members of his entourage, including his manager Ron (Adam Sandler), his publicist Liz (Laura Dern), and others, to leave their families on short notice to travel with him.  He has a series of misadventures on a train, including an incident with a German cyclist (Lars Eidinger) that goes viral, and reminisces, through flashbacks, about important people who are no longer in his life, including Peter (Jim Broadbent), the director who gave him his first big break, Timothy (Billy Crudup), a friend who blames him for stealing a role meant for him, Jessica (Riley Keough), his oldest daughter who feels abandoned by him, and Daphne (Eve Hewson), an actress with whom he had an ill-fated affair.  When he gets to the film festival, his daughter, who is angry at being followed, refuses to attend, his father (Stacy Keach), who he reluctantly invited, decides to go home early, and most of his entourage, who all have other responsibilities, abandon him.  His only support is Ron, who is paid to be there, and, even though the audience at the festival is visibly moved by a retrospective of his work, he finally realizes what he has lost.  This is a bit bloated with lots of underdeveloped characters to keep track of but I really liked the message about what truly matters in life which is shown through the juxtaposition between Jay and Ben (Patrick Wilson), a less famous actor who arrives at the festival with his wife (Isla Fisher) and other family members, as well as between Jay and Ron, who ultimately resigns in order to be with his wife (Greta Gerwig) and family.  This is a powerful portrait of a man who comes to regret his choices but it is also incredibly funny (I especially loved a running bit about a rider that stipulates having cheesecake on all of Jay's movie sets and at his appearances and another one in which he whines about being alone while having staff members cater to him).  Clooney is at his very best as Jay (a stand-in for himself?) and, even though I am not a big fan of Sandler, I was quite impressed with his performance as Ron.  I also loved Eidinger, who is absolutely deranged as the cyclist, and Alba Rohrwacher, who is hilarious as a fawning festival committee member.  You can probably wait to watch this on Netflix but I definitely recommend checking it out when it begins streaming on December 5.

Frozen at HCT

I have been looking forward to Frozen at HCT ever since the 2025 season was announced over a year ago! I finally had the chance to see it at a matinee yesterday and it is absolutely amazing (I think it is better than the Broadway touring production). Much like the movie, the musical begins with a young Elsa (Penny Hodson) and a young Anna (Bentley Nuila) building a snowman together. When Elsa accidentally freezes Anna with her mysterious powers, King Agnarr (Brock Dalgleish) and Queen Iduna (Breearna Mandla) tell her that she must hide herself away from Anna and the rest of Arendelle. However, after the King and Queen are lost at sea, Elsa (Jessica Hudson) must open the doors of the castle once again for her coronation. She loses control of herself, with devastating consequences, when Anna (Kelly Coombs) requests permission to marry Hans of the Southern Isles (Jon Rose) and then flees Arendelle. Anna follows her, hoping to save Arendelle from the endless winter, and is aided by Kristoff (Ethan Kelso), an ice harvester, Sven (Brae Anderson), his reindeer, and Olaf (BJ Whimpey), the snowman built by Elsa and Anna as young girls. Elsa fears that she is a monster but it is her ability to love that ultimately saves Anna and Arendelle. I loved Hudson's performance because Elsa's songs, "Dangerous to Dream," "Let It Go," and "Monster," are my favorites from the show and she sings them with so much emotion! Coombs is a perfect Anna and her versions of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?," "For the First Time in Forever," "Love Is an Open Door' (with Rose), "What Do You Know About Love?, (with Kelso), and "I Can't Lose You," (with Hudson) have an appealing wide-eyed innocence and an amusing awkwardness that is so much fun to watch. The rest of the cast is also outstanding but I especially enjoyed Tanner Sumens as the Duke of Weselton and Ryland Despain as Oaken because they are both hilarious! The audience, which was filled with lots of children, loved Wimpey as Olaf and they cheered and laughed out loud at everything he did! I loved all of the special effects used in "Let It Go," particularly the dangling LED lights which look like falling snow, the projections that are synchronized to Elsa's movements, and the quick costume change (the two little girls sitting next to me were amazed by this). I also loved the staging of "Fixer Upper," because the puppets for Pabbie (portrayed by Ben Fonoimoana Tutor) and Bulda (portrayed by Janzell Luika Kim Tutor) are so cool and the choreography for the Hidden Folk is a lot of fun, and of "Colder By the Minute," because the way that Anna is frozen and then thawed is so clever. Speaking of puppets, the one for Sven is incredible! Most of the costumes, especially for Elsa, Anna, and the residents of Arendelle, are informed by the movie and are beautiful (I loved the embroidery).  Finally, the set pieces are pretty spectacular!  My favorites include the maypole used during the summer festival, the gates of the castle, the castle chapel used during the coronation, the bridge at the foot of the North Mountain, the vignettes used in Olaf's song "In Summer," and, of course, Elsa's ice palace (I loved the icicles that come up from the pit and down from the rafters). I can't say enough about this wonderful production and I highly recommend getting tickets for the whole family this holiday season (go here). It runs on the Young Living Centre Stage through January 31 with best availabilty for weekday matinees.

Jazz vs. Thunder

My friend Angela had her seats upgraded for the Utah Jazz game against the Oklahoma City Thunder last night and, luckily, this was a game that I had selected to go with her!  We got to sit on row two in the lower bowl and it is the closest I have ever been to the action!  It was so much fun!  I got to the arena early so I could watch the warm-up and I loved being able to see the players up close.  The Jazz started the game really well and scored 44 points in the first quarter, including eight 3-pointers, with 12 from Kevin Love (he electrified the crowd with every basket) and 11 from Lauri Markkanen.  Their 14 point lead at the end of the first quarter was their biggest of the night because the Thunder answered back with an 8-0 run to begin the second.  They eventually cut Utah's lead to one to end the first half 68-67.  Then the Jazz had an absolutely disastrous third quarter, as they often do, and let the Thunder go on a 33-4 run.  It was really frustrating to watch because the Jazz got lots of breakaways but they couldn't keep control of the ball once they ran it down the court (they ultimately had 28 turnovers during the game which resulted in 44 points for the Thunder) and ended the third down 110-88.  Utah had fewer turnovers in the fourth quarter and they got a spark from Walter Clayton, Jr. and Taylor Hendricks but it wasn't enough to stop Oklahoma City who went on to win the game 144-112.  Keyonte George had 20 points, Lauri Markkanen had 19, and Kyle Filipowski had 18 for the Jazz while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 for the Thunder (I have to admit that I really like him because he is Canadian).

Even though the Jazz lost (and were eliminated from the NBA Cup), I had a great time at the game because it was really exciting to sit so close!

Wicked Double Feature

Yesterday my sister, my nephew, and I went to a Wicked and Wicked: For Good double feature and it was so much fun!  I am glad that I got to see the first movie on the big screen again before the new one because, in my opinion, both of them form one cohesive narrative.  I think Wicked tells Elphaba's story (a misunderstood young woman learns how to control her magic and becomes the Wicked Witch of the West to fulfill her destiny) and Wicked: For Good tells Glinda's story (a popular young woman realizes that she doesn't need magic and becomes Glinda the Good to fulfill her destiny).  I was initially a bit concerned when it was announced that the stage musical was being divided into two movies because I think the second act is weaker than the first but Wicked: For Good definitely improves upon the source material with additions (of songs and scenes) that deepen the relationships between the characters.  I do think the movie gets off to a slow start with an expanded version of "Every Day More Wicked" (which includes reprises from many of the songs in the first movie) but I really loved the new songs "No Place Like Home" and "The Girl in the Bubble" and the expanded version of "Wonderful" because they add to the characterizations of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), Glinda (Ariana Grande), and the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), respectively.  I also liked the addition of a scene between Nessarose (Marissa Bode) and Boq (Ethan Slater) because it shows her control over him, the wedding scene between Glinda and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) with cuts to Elphaba because it is so powerful, and several scenes with the animals because they emphasize Elphaba's motivation.  I was impressed with how the filmmakers portrayed Nessarose's enchanted shoes as well as how Dorothy (Bethany Weaver), the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion (Colman Domingo) are depicted.  My favorite scenes were definitely the duet of "As Long as You're Mine" between Elphaba and Fiyero and the confrontation between Elphaba and Glinda at Dorothy's farmhouse after the tornado (the audience cheered during both of them).  As I previously mentioned, this movie focuses more on Glinda and Grande does a brilliant job portraying her journey.  Her acting is as exceptional as her singing, especially in "I Couldn't Be Happier," "I'm Not That Girl (Reprise)," and "For Good" (the scene that follows this song brought me to tears).  Erivo's performance of "No Good Deed" is absolutely amazing (I had chills), Bailey's portrayal of Fiyero's inner conflict is very affecting, and, even though her singing is not great, Michelle Yeoh is fun to watch as the villain Madame Morrible.  It is not as big a spectacle as the first movie (there are few big choreographed numbers) but I enjoyed the world-building, particularly Elphaba's tree house hideaway, the production design, and the costumes.  I really loved this (my sister and I are already talking about seeing it again) and highly recommend it!

Note:  My sister made us pink and green hoodies (my sister and nephew had pink ones and I had a green one) with the logo embroidered on them.  We got lots of comments!

Keeper

I didn't like Longlegs as much as other people seemed to (I think the unbearable tension so painstakingly crafted in the first two acts is completely undone when the mystery is explained) but I was willing to give Osgood Perkins another chance because the trailer for Keeper looked intriguing.  I went to see it last night at the Broadway with my nephew and, in my opinion, it is even worse than Longlegs.  Dr. Malcolm Westridge (Rossif Sutherland) arranges for a romantic weekend with his girlfriend Liz (Tatiana Maslany) at his secluded cabin in the woods for their one year anniversary.  When they arrive, Malcolm insists that Liz eat a piece of the cake left there for them by the caretaker and, even though she doesn't like chocolate, she eventually acquiesces.  The next morning Malcolm is called away to a medical emergency and Liz begins having disturbing visions, which may or may not be real, of strange women who seem to be haunting the cabin.  It is only when Malcolm returns that Liz discovers the true horror lurking inside.  There is an opening montage and an early scene between Malcolm and Liz that set up a possible exploration of toxic relationships and men who are unwilling to commit (my nephew had an even better take about a serial killer who preys on women) and I would have preferred that, or literally anything else, to the actual resolution to the mystery.  Even more frustrating than the underwhelming ending is the incredibly slow, and monotonous, build-up that prioritizes style over substance (I did really like the cabin, which is a character in and of itself, with architectural angles and plate glass windows that allow for some interesting shots with cool perspectives and reflections). This isn't even remotely scary and I found the creatures to be bizarre rather than creepy (my nephew and I laughed out loud several times).  Finally, I didn't especially like Maslany's performance (my nephew argues that she does the best she can with the cringe-worthy dialogue) but Sutherland is one of the worst actors I have ever seen and the two of them have zero chemistry.  I definitely recommend avoiding this (even to fans of Perkins). 

Note: I think Perkins needs better material.  He excels in creating atmospheric visuals but they are undermined by weak screenplays.

A Christmas Story at CPT

I think the musical A Christmas Story is really fun and the new production at CPT, which I was able to see last night, is so good it deserves a major award! It is one month to Christmas and Ralphie Parker (Sam Akerlow) desperately wants an official Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time. However, his Mother (Lindsey Stephens), his teacher Miss Shields (Abigail June Mathews), and even Santa Claus (Micah Young) all tell him that he will shoot his eye out despite all of his elaborate schemes to convince them. What I love most about this show is that all of the iconic scenes from the movie (which I love) are brought to life on stage, including when Randy (Danny Gallagher) eats like a piggy, when Schwartz (Atticus Bronson) triple dog dares Flick (Jack Stephens) to stick his tongue to the flag pole, when the Old Man (Andy Leger) wins a major award, when Ralphie says the F-dash-dash-dash world while helping the Old Man change a tire, when Ralphie gets into a fight with Scut Farkus (John Nelson Wakley), when Ralphie gets a bunny costume from Aunt Clara, and when one of the Bumpus Hounds (played by Annie, making her stage debut) eats the turkey. I looked forward to all of these scenes and I often found myself mouthing all of the dialogue as it was spoken (I watch the movie several times every year). What I loved most about this specific production is the incredible talent of the young cast! Akerlow is a very endearing Ralphie and I loved his heartfelt performances of "It All Comes Down to Christmas," "Red Ryder Carbine-Action BB Gun," "Ralphie to the Rescue," and "Before the Old Man Comes Home." The kids in the ensemble are also outstanding, especially with the choreography in "It All Comes Down to Christmas (Reprise)," "When You're a Wimp," "Ralphie to the Rescue," "Sticky Situation," "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" (I loved seeing the kids tap dance!), "Up On Santa's Lap," and "Somewhere Over Indiana" because they are so energetic. I particularly enjoyed Luciana Foster (the youngest member of the ensemble) because she is in character the whole time (her facial expressions are absolutely hilarious) and her tap dancing is incredible! The adults in the cast also do a great job and I really liked Rick Murdock, who narrates the show as radio personality Jean Shepherd, Mathews, who does a great job with the tap dancing in "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out," and Leger, who gives a spirited performance in "A Major Award" (I loved the kick-line with the lamps) and ad-libs a steady stream of made up expletives (my favorite was Fahrvergnugen).  Finally, this production features one of the best, and most elaborate, sets I've ever seen for this show (including the Broadway touring production and the one at PTC). I was really impressed by the Parker house, which features three large set pieces that rotate to show different views, and the Santa display at Higbee's Department Store, which includes a large slide. I had a huge smile on my face during the entire show and I recommend getting a ticket (go here) for a big dose of Christmas cheer! It runs on the Mountain America Main Stage through December 16.