The Last Five Years

Last night I went to see The Last Five Years, a film adaptation of the popular musical by Jason Robert Brown.  I haven't seen the musical but I really enjoyed this movie.  It tells the love story between Jamie Wellerstein (Jeremy Jordan), an up-and-coming writer, and Cathy Hiatt (Anna Kendrick), a struggling actress.  The narration alternates between the two of them with Cathy's story told in reverse chronological order starting at the end of their marriage ("I'm Still Hurting") and Jamie's told in chronological order starting just after they first meet ("Shiksa Goddess").  Their stories intersect in the middle with both of them singing about their wedding in the song "The Next Ten Minutes."  I thought it was a very clever device and I particularly liked the ending.  Cathy sings "Goodbye Until Tomorrow" after her first date with Jamie and Jamie simply says goodbye to her and walks away after writing the note she reads at the beginning of the movie.  I also liked the use of Cathy's jewelry as symbols of their relationship.  After reading Jamie's note, Cathy removes a watch, a bracelet, and her wedding ring and throughout the rest of the movie we see Jamie give them to her.  The lighting is also used very effectively to convey the status of their relationship: very bright and saturated in happier times and dark and somber as things deteriorate.  All of the songs are memorable and both Kendrick and Jordan give incredible performances.  I loved Kendrick's singing and dancing in "A Summer In Ohio" and Jordan gives a passionate rendition of "If I Didn't Believe in You."  I recommend this movie to all fans of musical theatre.  If you live in the SLC area, it is currently playing at the Broadway Centre Cinemas.  Go here for information and tickets.

Insurgent

Thursday night I went to the first screening of Insurgent with my cousin Emily and we had such a great time!  I loved this movie and I loved seeing it with my cousin.  Tris, Four, and their small band of rebels take refuge, first with Amity, and with the Factionless, and finally with Candor.  However, Jeanine needs a Divergent to open a box containing a message from the city's founders so Tris eventually surrenders in order to stop the needless killing of the rebels.  Tris undergoes a series of simulations, one for each faction, to discover the message which changes everyone's perceptions of the Divergents.  It is very rare that I like the movie adaptation better than the book, but in this instance I think the movie is much more cohesive.  I lost the thread of the story in the book and the differences (and there are a lot of them) in the movie helped me tie everything together.  Shailene Woodley has a much more emotionally complex role as Tris in this installment as she struggles with the consequences of her actions and she does an outstanding job, particularly in the scene where she confronts herself in one of the simulations.  I also loved Kate Winslet as the evil Jeanine and I really enjoyed her Eva Peron-like propaganda pieces projected on the buildings and vehicles in the city.  However, I thought the casting of Naomi Watts as Evelyn was odd because she doesn't seem old enough to be Four's mother.  Also, all of the other actors in the movie seem like window dressing (with the exception of Miles Teller as Peter who has a few amusing scene-stealing moments) because the narrative focuses so much on Tris and her guilt.  The action sequences and special effects, especially during the simulations, are incredible.  Devotees of the novels by Veronica Roth may be upset by all of the changes (dare we hope that there might be significant changes in Allegiant?) but they worked for me and I recommend the movie for what it is:  an escapist action adventure!

Note:  This week I spent time with three of my cousins!  I love that!

Utah Opera's Cosi Fan Tutte

Monday night I went to the opera Cosi fan Tutte by my favorite composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, at the Capitol Theatre.  Two soldiers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, are betrothed to a pair of sisters, Dorabella and Fiordiligi, respectively.  When they brag about the fidelity of their fiancees, Don Alfonso scoffs and devises a plan to test their loyalty.  He tells the women that the men have been called to war and then has the men, posing as Albanians (with elaborate mustaches which are, of course, the true symbol of manhood), try to woo them.  Don Alfonso enlists the help of Dorabella and Fiordiligi's maid, Despina, to aid the Albanians in their pursuit and thus ensues some hilarious physical comedy.  Even though the women eventually succumb to the Albanians' charms, Ferrando and Guglielmo decide to marry them anyway, because "women are like that."  The entire cast is outstanding, particularly Aaron Blake as Ferrando.  Some of his comedic elements were a bit over the top but his aria, "A Loving Breath," was the highlight of the production for me.  I thought the sparse set was very effective and I loved the beautiful costumes.  Susan Memmott-Allred dressed the cast in clothing from the 1920s and I especially loved the spats worn by the men.  This production is exceptionally well done but I definitely prefer the tragedies over the comedies.  I want a grand passion with desperation and betrayal, not mere flirtation, and I need someone to die in the arms of their lover!  However, the assembled audience at the Capitol Theatre seemed to enjoy this opera immensely (hoots of laughter greeted many of the antics on stage) so I suspect you will, too!  There are performances tonight and Friday night at 8:00 pm and a matinee on Sunday at 2:00 pm.  Go here for more information and to purchase tickets.

Note:  Hockey one night and opera the next!

A Weekend of Hockey in Denver

I absolutely love watching the Colorado Avalanche play at the Pepsi Center!  My dad and I try to go to at least one game every year (last year I went to three; two with my Dad and one with my cousins).  A couple of weeks ago we chose to go the game against the Calgary Flames (we try to pick a Canadian team so we can hear "O Canada" at the beginning of the game) on Saturday night and we invited my cousin Blaine, who lives in Denver, to go with us.  I counted down the days because I was so excited.  We drove to Denver (about an eight hour drive) and met my cousin Blaine downtown for dinner.  He picked a great place called My Brother's Bar and I ate one of the best burgers I have ever had!  Then we went straight to the Pepsi Center.  I like to get there early because I like to smell the ice (Blaine thought I was weird at first but then he said that you actually could smell the ice) and watch the practice skate.  That gets me really amped up for the game!

It was an incredible game!  The Avalanche are still in the hunt for a playoff spot so they started the game very aggressively!  They got a lot of shots on goal and it was so fun to watch!  At the end of the first period, the Flames really tightened things up and started shooting more.  During the second period, the Avalanche went on a power play and Alex Tanguay got a nice goal.  Just a few minutes later Ryan O'Reilly got a goal which electrified the Pepsi Center.  In the third period, the Flames scored two goals but John Mitchell (with an assist from my favorite player, Matt Duchene) got one of the prettiest goals I've ever seen and, luckily, the play that led to the goal happened right in front of us.  My dad always gets the good seats!  The last five minutes of the game were really tense but Semyon Varlamov (who stopped 29 shots) had an amazing save which got the crowd chanting, "Varly, Varly, Varly!"  I loved it!  The Avalanche won the game 3-2, which was thrilling for me because they lost the last two games I attended.  I loved every minute of this weekend!

Colorado Avalanche road trips are the best!

2014

2013

2012

2009

Mamma Mia

Friday night I had the opportunity to see the Broadway touring company perform Mamma Mia at Kingsbury Hall.  It was just as good as the first time I saw it in London twelve years ago!  Sophie Sheridan is getting married and wants her father to walk her down the aisle but she has a problem:  she doesn't know who he is and there are three possibilities!  She invites all three candidates to her wedding without her mother's knowledge and chaos ensues!  Add the music of Abba and you have more fun than should be allowed in a theatre!  I really loved the entire cast of this production, especially Georgia Kate Haege as Donna, Jeff Drushal as Sam, and Chelsea Williams as Sophie.  The highlights of the evening for me were Haege's rendition of "The Winner Takes It All" and Drushal's performance of "Knowing Me, Knowing You."  Both of them gave me goosebumps!  I also really enjoyed "Dancing Queen" performed by Donna and the Dynamos (Haege, Bailey Purvis as Tanya and Sarah Smith as Rosie).  It is hilarious when they try performing some of their old dance moves and hurt themselves.  All of the choreography is really fun, particularly in "Voulez Vous," "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!," "Under Attack," and "Lay All Your Love On Me" (I loved the fins).  However, the best part of the show just may be the encore after the bows.  The cast comes out in spandex jumpsuits and platform boots to sing "Mamma Mia," "Dancing Queen," and "Waterloo."  The audience usually sings along and dances in the aisles and it is so much fun!  This is definitely a show that I can see over and over and still enjoy!  I highly recommend getting a ticket if you have the opportunity.  It closes tonight at Kingsbury Hall but you can still get tickets here.