The Hobbit

I fell in love with all things Tolkien when I was in Jr. High and watching the movies adapted from my favorite Tolkien book, The Hobbit, has been quite an adventure!  I arranged for a private screening of An Unexpected Journey for my students (a new theater had just opened near my school and they had a great promotion for private screenings) two years ago and it was so much fun.  I don't know what my students liked more:  the actual movie or the fact that they were missing school!  I was completely enchanted by it, especially Radagast the Brown...and his rabbits!  I was so excited for The Desolation of Smaug so I saw it last year at midnight right before an early morning flight to Denver!  Hmmm.  While I really liked the sequences with the spiders and the Dwarves' escape from the Elves in wine barrels, this installment was my least favorite because it didn't really advance the plot very much.  Last night I saw the first screening of The Battle of the Five Armies  in IMAX 3D and I thought it a fitting end to the trilogy.  The story begins with the the death of Smaug after the dramatic destruction of Laketown (which, in my opinion, is where The Desolation of Smaug should have ended).  The Dwarves then return to Erebor to look for the Arkenstone and Thorin descends into madness over lust for the treasure left by Smaug.  The inhabitants of the decimated Laketown, having been promised a share of the treasure for helping the Dwarves, also travel to Ereborn, as do the Elves seeking to reclaim valuable heirlooms stolen by Smaug.  Dwarves, Humans, and Elves begin battling with each other, until a threat from Azog and his army of Orcs unite them against a common enemy.  The battle sequences are epic, if somewhat repetitive, especially when Tauriel fights Bolg (girl power), when Thorin pushes Azog under the ice, and when the Eagles drive off the rest of the Orcs.  I really liked the resolution between Bilbo Baggins and Thorin and I think this movie does a great job of bridging the gap between The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I definitely recommend it but, honestly, if you haven't seen the previous movies, you may be a bit confused.  If, however, you are a fan of the franchise, I suspect you will love it!

Note:  I really think that men should wear their hair long.  Just my opinion.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Last December Marilyn and I took Sean and Tashena to see Elf: The Musical at PTC.  They enjoyed it so much we decided to take them to another Christmas performance this year (a little culture never hurt anybody).  Every year the Utah Symphony performs Here Comes Santa Claus as part of its Family Series and we went to this concert yesterday afternoon.  It was only one hour long (the perfect length for children) and the orchestra played well-known Christmas songs such as "Joy to the World," "O Christmas Tree," "Here Comes Santa Claus," and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."  For the finale, a visitor from the North Pole came and conducted the orchestra (and the audience) in a sing-along featuring "Deck the Halls," Jingle Bells," and "Frosty the Snowman."  These concerts in the Family Series are a great way to introduce classical music to children (see the Halloween concert here) because they are a lot of fun and the music is accessible for all ages.  Tashena loved it and Sean did a really good job sitting through the whole thing (of course, we did a full pat-down before entering Abravanel Hall and confiscated several toys with lasers).  I loved every minute of it and so did Marilyn (she thinks that Associate Conductor Vladimir Kulenovic is adorable).  I am so glad that the Utah Symphony performs concerts that are geared for the whole family.  I derive a great deal of pleasure from the performing arts (as you know if you read my blog regularly) and it makes me very happy to give Sean and Tashena opportunities like this concert.  Afterwards, we went out to lunch and Sean told us that this was the best day ever!

Lights at Temple Square

Every year millions of lights are illuminated around the LDS Temple in downtown Salt Lake.  About that many people, from all over the world, come to visit the spectacular display beginning the day after Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve.  Marilyn and I were among the crowd last night.  Actually, it wasn't too crowded and, more importantly, it wasn't too cold (we are having a very mild winter so far).  It is quite a sight to see.

There are also free Christmas concerts every night on Temple Square.  I was able to see the Hunter High School Concert Choir and Madrigals perform last night and I thought they were amazing!  The Madrigals sang one of my very favorite Christmas songs, "Lo How a Rose 'Ere Blooming."  You can go here for more information about all of the events on Temple Square.

Peter and the Starcatcher at PTC

Two years ago the Utah Shakespeare Festival produced Peter and the Starcatcher.  That year I could only spend one day at the festival and, since I didn't know anything about that particular play, I didn't choose to see it.  Of course it turned out to be the most popular show of the season and I was a little bit sad that I hadn't seen it (especially since the theatre teacher at my school raved and raved about it).  As luck would have it, I got a second chance to see it last night at Pioneer Theatre and I absolutely loved it!  Much like Wicked does for The Wizard of Oz, Peter and the Starcatcher tells the backstory of Peter Pan.  We learn how a mistreated orphan boy gets magical powers and arrives in Neverland and how the inept pirate Black Stache becomes Peter's arch-nemesis Captain Hook.  It is a fantastical journey that is best enjoyed through the eyes of your inner child.  You must be willing to believe (there is a hilarious spoof of the classic "clap if you believe" speech to save Tinkerbell) that stars fall to the ground and give ordinary people magical powers (such as turning the male ensemble into dancing mermaids).  I believed every bit of it!  The entire cast is wonderful (almost everyone plays multiple roles) but I laughed and laughed at Leo Ash Evens as Black Stache.  To be sure, Black Stache is a great character (a poetic pirate looking for a hero to defeat so he can become a memorable villain) but Evens is especially flamboyant!  I loved watching his facial expressions, particularly in the scene where he loses his hand.  The set is very minimal.  The actors pantomime much of the action, with the addition of some fabulous sound effects, and many of the props are ordinary objects such as ladders, which become the masts of ships, as well as plungers and umbrellas, which become swords.  The actors are almost like children using their imaginations while playing with whatever is at hand and I thought it was highly effective.  I definitely recommend Peter and the Starcatcher for children and for adults who, like Peter, refuse to grow up!  It runs through Dec. 20 and tickets can be purchased here.

Note:  The theatre teacher at HHS is taking her students to see it this afternoon.  I wish I could go with them and see it again!

Happy Birthday Sean!

Sean's birthday was actually last Wednesday but we had the family celebration yesterday.  Sean gets so excited about everything so he couldn't wait to get the party started!  Dinner was chosen by the birthday boy and he picked hamburgers and fries (he always does).  Then we had an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (a birthday tradition in our family).

Sean's cake had trick candles so every time he blew them out they would light up again!  He tried really hard to blow them out!

After cake, Sean opened his presents.  He got lots of clothes and superhero action figures (which he plays with for hours) from Grandma and Grandpa, Marilyn, and me.  As he opened presents, he seemed to get more and more distressed.  For weeks he has been telling us that he wanted a bike (with gears) for his birthday.  He thought it would be too expensive so he told all of us to go in together and get it as a "family gift."  Because he was opening presents from us, he thought he wasn't going to get a bike.  But his Mom and Dad came through!

When my brother-in-law brought it in, the look on Sean's face was absolutely priceless!  He went from disappointment to extreme joy in about ten seconds!

He immediately took it outside to try it out and practice "changing gears."  I asked him if he had a good birthday and he said he was so happy because he had lots of new toys to play with, new outfits to wear to school next week, and a new bike!  Happy Birthday Sean!  We sure do love you!

Note:  I am so glad that Sean still likes to play with superhero action figures!  I sometimes wish we could go back to the days when all Tashena wanted was Barbies!