Beethoven & Wagner

Last night, after an absence of over a month, I was very happy to be sitting in Abravanel Hall listening to the Utah Symphony!  This concert was much needed (my student body officers just finished sponsoring spirit week at school) and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the performance.  The orchestra began with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2.  This piece was very light, airy, and pretty.  It reminded me a great deal of Mozart so imagine my delight when I read in the program at intermission that Beethoven was very much influenced by Mozart during his early period.  I think I am slowly getting more knowledgeable and sophisticated in my appreciation of classical music!  I sat in the third tier so I really enjoyed watching pianist Ingrid Fliter's fingers literally fly up and down the keyboard.  She was amazing!  After the intermission, we heard the Orchestral Suite from The Ring by Wagner.  It was incredibly stirring and dramatic!  The Ring cycle is actually a series of four operas (Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried, and Gotterdammerung) which follow various Norse and Germanic mythological characters in their quest for a ring which gives dominion over the world.  The suite is a musical summary of these four works and, based on the sampling I heard last night, I would really like to see the entire cycle (which usually takes four nights to complete) because I absolutely loved it!  Guest conductor Jun Markl was just as dramatic as the music and I enjoyed watching all of his wild gestures.  At one point I thought he was going to leap off of the podium!  What a spectacular evening of music!

Note:  Remember when I said I was getting more sophisticated in my appreciation of classical music?  During "Ride of the Valkyries" from Die Walkure, all I could think of was "Kill the wabbit.  Kill the wabbit."  Clearly I have a long way to go!

I Hate Hamlet at PTC

Last night I saw I Hate Hamlet at PTC.  It is absolutely hilarious!  Andrew Rally (Ben Rosenbaum), an actor whose popular TV show has just been canceled, moves to New York when he's inexplicably offered the role of Hamlet in a Shakespeare in the Park production.  As it happens, his new apartment was once owned by John Barrymore, an actor known for his legendary performance as Hamlet.  When Andrew realizes that he doesn't have the acting ability to play such a complex character, the ghost of Barrymore (J. Paul Boehmer) returns to coach him through it.  I laughed and laughed at Boehmer's antics as the over-the-top Barrymore, particularly when he challenges Andrew to a sword fight and when he teaches him how to bow.  Add a real estate broker who holds a séance to summon Barrymore, a ditsy girlfriend who thinks she is in love with the character of Hamlet, a talent agent who once had a fling with Barrymore, and a Hollywood producer trying to lure Andrew back to television and you get a really fun evening of theatre.  Juxtaposed with all of the comedy is a fascinating discussion about art vs. entertainment and selling out for fame rather than earning glory.  I must admit that the snob in me enjoyed all of the jabs at television.  "When you watch TV, you can eat.  You can talk.  You don't really have to pay attention."  However, I also enjoyed the funny comments about Shakespeare:  "It's like algebra on stage."  I'm sure many of my seniors would agree with that sentiment after reading Hamlet last semester.  All of the actors do a great job, especially Boehmer, the costumes are a lot of fun, especially the codpieces, and the set of John Barrymore's New York apartment is fantastic.  I highly recommend this production!  It runs at PTC until April 4 and you can purchase tickets here.

Summer Concerts

There are so many great concerts coming to SLC this summer.  It seems like a new concert is announced every week and I keep buying tickets!  It looks like 2015 might be the Summer of Concerts and I am so excited!  It all started with Taylor Swift.  By the way, I read somewhere that life is too short to pretend that you don't like Taylor Swift so I will admit right now that I am a huge fan!  I debated and debated about getting a ticket but I decided to go for it (I had to use an alternate ticketing source because the SLC show sold out in minutes) because I really regret not seeing the Red tour.  Then I bought tickets to Rush!  I actually bought these tickets as soon as they went on sale which was in the middle of one of my classes.  I am the consummate professional!  I also have tickets to Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, Sam Smith, and Shania Twain!  Then last week U2 announced that they were adding a show in Denver to their schedule!  Squeal!  I have loved U2 since I was in eighth grade and I have seen them in concert every time they've come to SLC (SLC is currently not on their schedule).  I was toying with the idea of getting a ticket to one of the Chicago shows but it will be so much easier for me to get to Denver!  I was able to get a ticket and I am beyond excited!  The show is on the first day of summer vacation and I can't wait!

Here are some of my favorite summer concerts from years past.

U2 at Rice-Eccles Stadium - May 2011

The Eagles at Rio Tinto Stadium - May 2009

Paul McCartney at Rio Tinto Stadium - July 2010

Crosby, Stills & Nash at Red Butte Garden - August 2012

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!