The Girl on the Train

My book club chose the wildly popular novel The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins as its March selection.  I was enthralled from the very first page.  Rachel takes the same commuter train into London every morning and, at a signal crossing, she sees the same couple having breakfast on their deck.  Little by little, we learn that Rachel is an alcoholic whose husband has left her for another woman and, furthermore, that she has been fired from her job and only takes the train to keep up appearances with her landlady.  She idealizes the couple she sees every morning, even making up names for them, and assumes they have the perfect life.  Then one day she sees something she shouldn't and the next day the woman goes missing. Rachel inserts herself into the investigation and learns that the couple didn't have the perfect life she imagined for them after all.  The narrative is told from multiple perspectives and the suspense builds and builds to a climax I didn't see coming (although several members of my group did). There have been many comparisons to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl (which my book club also read) because they are both psychological thrillers with unsympathetic characters and huge plot twists but I actually liked this book more. Even though Rachel is a complete mess with questionable judgement, I couldn't quite hate her.  I kept rooting for her to put the gin and tonic down and get herself together.  I did, however, get a bit confused with the sequence of the multiple narrators occasionally but I found it to be a quick and enjoyable read.  I would recommend it to fans of psychological thrillers.

Note:  Does anyone else romanticize people you don't know at all but come in contact with on a regular basis?  I have had season tickets to Broadway in Utah for years and I always sit near the same couple. They are quite a bit older than me and they are very affectionate with one another. I decided that they were a newly married couple who found each other later in life and were now living a fun and adventurous life together.  I was completely devastated when I eventually talked to them and learned that they had been married for years and had several children...

California Dreamin'

The trees are not brown and the skies are not grey (in fact Utah has had one of the mildest winters I can remember) but I am still dreaming of California!  Spring break starts for me tomorrow (I am taking a few extra days off) and I will be on my way to California in the wee hours of the morning!  I get to spend three days at Disneyland, a day at the Santa Monica Pier, and I get to see the musical Newsies at the Pantages Theatre in L.A. on Friday night.  I am so excited!  In the meantime, here are some of my favorite adventures in California.

Sea World

San Diego Padres game

San Diego Zoo

Wicked

Tour of the U.S.S. Midway

The beach

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