Into the Woods

On Christmas Eve Marilyn and I took Sean and Tashena to see the first screening of Into the Woods because I literally could not wait another moment to see it.  Stephen Sondheim's Tony award winning musical is one of my very favorites and I have been waiting for months and months for the movie adaptation to come out.  The story incorporates well-known fairy tales, such as "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," "Jack and the Beanstalk," and "Rapunzel," to demonstrate that actions can sometimes have unintended consequences and wishes do not always turn out happily ever after.  It is a very faithful adaptation and its strength is in the wonderful cast.  Meryl Streep is amazing as the Witch and, although I was not especially impressed with her singing in Mamma Mia, I really liked her renditions of "Stay With Me" and "The Last Midnight."  I think Anna Kendrick is absolutely perfect as Cinderella and I especially loved her performance of "On the Steps of the Palace."  When I found out that Johnny Depp was playing the Wolf, I may or may not have squealed because, in my opinion, he was made for this role.  I was positively giddy during his version of "Hello, Little Girl."  My favorite song in the stage musical has always been "Agony" sung by Cinderella's Prince and Rapunzel's Prince.  I was a bit surprised that Chris Pine not only pulled it off but, along with Billy Magnussen (who I was not familiar with), he actually turned it into one of the highlights of the movie.  Pine is hilarious as the prince who was raised to be charming not sincere and I loved all of his facial expressions and all of his strutting around.  The entire cast is well suited to their roles and Rob Marshall does a great job staging all of the song and dance numbers, especially the aforementioned "Agony" in a waterfall.  I really love the production design, making the woods seem much darker and more foreboding than they are usually portrayed on stage, and I think the costumes are fantastic, especially those worn by Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters.  My only complaint is that Rapunzel's storyline becomes rather ambiguous (it is pretty bleak in the musical) at the end but it is a small deviation.  Overall, I think it is a fabulous adaptation and fans of the musical will probably love it as much as I do.  I highly recommend it;  in fact, I will probably see it again!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a pair of tickets to see the Utah Symphony New Year's Eve weekend.

Gingerbread Houses 2014

Ever since Tashena joined our family, we have had the tradition of making gingerbread houses (which is funny because I don't really remember doing this as a child).  This year we made them during the day on Christmas Eve.

Sean actually eats more frosting than he puts on his house (I have a picture like this every year) and we inevitably drop half of the candy on the floor, much to the delight of the dogs!

We buy the kits and then we use a hot glue gun to put them together (we never actually eat them).  We are impatient and we like to get to the fun part, which is decorating them, as soon as possible.  It doesn't really matter what they look like in the end because we have so much making them!

My masterpiece.

Marilyn's masterpiece.

Sean's masterpiece.

Tashena's masterpiece.

Our gingerbread house village!

2009

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2012

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a pair of tickets to see the Utah Symphony New Year's Eve weekend.

A Christmas Carol at HCT 2014

Like The Nutcracker, another one of my cherished holiday traditions is seeing Hale Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol.  I've seen it so many times that I really think I could stand in for any part (happily, my services were not required last night) but it just wouldn't be Christmas without it!  The well-known story of Ebeneezer Scrooge's redemption after visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future is so touching that I always walk out of the theatre vowing to keep Christmas in my heart all year long.  Some of the actors (such as David Weeks as Scrooge and Brad Charon as Bob Cratchit) return again and again and I look forward to seeing them.  I also look forward to seeing new actors making very familiar roles their own and I particularly liked Brannon Killgo as the Ghost of Christmas Present and, of course, Jimmy Empey was adorable as Tiny Tim.  I love the familiar sets, the opulent Victorian costumes, and the beautiful Christmas carols sung by an octet throughout the play.  It is always fun for me to look for any subtle changes that are made to the production (again, I've seen it so many times I can detect any change in an instant).  This year there was a new set for Scrooge's Counting House, which I thought was highly effective because it put Scrooge above Bob Cratchit and the rest of the office serving to emphasize his isolation from everyone (I have no idea if Kacey Udy, the brilliant set designer for HCT, intended it thus but I literally cannot stop my brain from analyzing everything I see).  There was also a new costume for the Ghost of Christmas Future which I really liked because, quite frankly, the old one was rather scary!  Last night was another lovely evening filled with Christmas spirit but, unfortunately, it was the final performance of A Christmas Carol for 2014.  However, you can go here to check out HCT's 2015 season! I'm looking forward to it!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a pair of tickets to see the Utah Symphony New Year's Weekend.

Leaping Russians and a Sugar Plum Fairy

Last night I attended Ballet West's production of The Nutcracker. This is such a beautiful production (in fact, it is so amazing that Ballet West recently performed five sold-out shows in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts) and it is one of my very favorite Christmas traditions. I look forward to it every year! No matter how many times I see it, I always feel like a child again anticipating those well-known opening notes of Tchaikovsky's magnificent Overture. I am just as excited as the children in the party scene as they await the unveiling of the Christmas tree and I marvel as the toy nutcracker is transformed into a handsome prince in the first act.  In the second act, Clara and her prince travel to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy and I definitely enjoy the divertissements she arranges for their pleasure.  I love the Arabian dance, but my favorite is the Russian dance for the sheer athleticism of it!  The Grand Pas de Deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier gives me goosebumps every time and, tonight, Emily Adams and Beau Pearson danced it beautifully.  I absolutely love Tchaikovsky's score for this dance!  I think it is one of the most romantic pieces of music in the classical cannon and William Christensen's original choreography really complements it!  I love everything about this ballet and it was such a wonderful way to start my Christmas vacation.  The Nutcracker will be performed at Capitol Theatre until Dec. 31 (with matinee and evening performances excluding Christmas Day) and I highly recommend it. Go here for information and to purchase tickets.  Whether it is your first time or, like me, you've been going for years, you're sure to be enchanted by this holiday classic!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a pair of tickets to see the Utah Symphony New Year's Eve weekend.

Utah Symphony Giveaway!

Vienna is traditionally the place to be on New Year's Eve with its many opulent balls and concerts featuring stirring waltzes and marches but, if you can't afford the airfare, I have the next best thing!  How would you like to win a pair of tickets to see the Utah Symphony perform its version?  I have been given two pair of tickets for the New Years in Vienna concerts to give to my readers.  You can choose Friday Jan. 2 or Saturday Jan. 3 at Abravanel Hall in SLC at 8:00pm.  (Go here for more information about the pieces the orchestra will be performing).  I will be attending the Friday concert and I am so excited!  If you would like a pair of tickets, follow Phaedra's Adventures via Google Friend Connect (located in the sidebar) and enter the Rafflecopter below (you can enter every day until the giveaway closes on Dec. 28).  I will notify the winners by email on Monday Dec. 29 and tickets will be held in Will Call at Abravanel Hall.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!