Throwing Things

On Thursday I went to one of Tashena's track meets at Viewmont High School.  I didn't get to go to very many of her meets last year so I was really excited to see her in action.  She was entered in discus, shot put, and javelin but it was so cold and windy that the javelin event was canceled.  The wind makes the throwing events really difficult so I thought Tashena did a great job under the circumstances but she was disappointed.  She ended up winning the discus event with a distance of 109.1 and she took second place in the shot put with a distance of 30.1.  I was so proud of her!

I'm looking forward to going to more of her meets since I don't have as many commitments at school this year!

Hamilton at the Eccles

Last night I got to see Hamilton for the fourth time in two years and this musical has definitely not lost its magic for me.  In fact, the more I see it the more powerful it becomes!  I can honestly say that I was just as excited as I was when I stood outside the Richard Rodgers Theatre!  I am so glad that I got to see this production because it is fantastic!  This cast is actually tied with the original Broadway cast as my favorite!  Joseph Morales is absolutely phenomenal in the title role.  He reminded me so much of Lin-Manuel Miranda (he played Usnavi in the touring company of In the Heights) but I think he is a stronger singer, especially in "Dear Theodosia" and "Hurricane."  He did quite a few things to make the role his own but I think my favorite bit of business is when he wipes away his tears in "It's Quiet Uptown."  Nik Walker is so powerful as Aaron Burr and I think his is my favorite performance of "Wait For It."  Ta'rea Campbell is an incredible Angelica because she not only raises the roof of the Eccles Theatre during "Satisfied" but she also gives such an emotional rendition of "It's Quiet Uptown."  Marcus Choi is very different from the other actors I've seen play George Washington and his interpretations of "History Has Its Eyes on You" and "One Last Time" are also quite different but I really liked what he did with the role.  Jon Patrick Walker is absolutely hysterical as King George and his performance is so completely over the top.  He totally hams it up and I almost died laughing when he stomps his foot in "What Comes Next?"  I've not seen this character portrayed at such a pitch before but it was hilarious!  Shoba Narayan, as Eliza, has an unbelievably emotional response to Philip's death which made me start crying then instead of during "It's Quiet Uptown" like I usually do.  Finally, every Jefferson I've seen has has done something completely different in "What'd I Miss" and Kyle Scatliffe dances a little jig, which Hamilton imitates during "Cabinet Battle #1"  I also loved Jefferson's expression at the end of "The Election of 1800." I really loved every aspect of this production but what made it so much fun is that I have been hyping this show up to  the couple who sits in front of me, with whom I have become very good friends, all season long and, after the bows, they told me that it was everything I said it was!  The hype is real!  If you were not able to get tickets for the show during its run in SLC, you can enter the lottery daily for the chance to buy up to two $10 tickets!

Twelfth Night at PTC

You might think that after a day spent teaching A Midsummer Night's Dream to sophomores I wouldn't want to spend the evening attending yet another Shakespeare play.  If the play in question is PTC's production of the hilarious comedy Twelfth Night you would be wrong because that is exactly what I did last night and I loved it!  Sebastian (Zach Fifer) and his twin sister Viola (Grace Morrison) are shipwrecked in a terrible storm and each thinks that the other is dead.  Viola disguises herself as a man called Cesario and offers her services to the Duke Orsino (A.K. Murtadha) with whom she immediately falls in love.  Orsino is desperately in love with the Countess Olivia (Kelsey Rainwater), who is in mourning for her brother, and sends Cesario to make overtures on his behalf to her but she, in turn, falls in love with Cesario.  Meanwhile, Sebastian is wandering around and is, of course, mistaken for Cesario.  Chaos ensues!   There is a secondary story, which is the source of much amusement, involving Malvolio (David Andrew Macdonald), a priggish steward in Olivia's household.  He makes life difficult for the other members of Olivia's household, most notably Sir Toby Belch (Kenajuan Bentley), Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Conner Marx), and Olivia's gentlewoman Maria (Susanna Florence).  To get their revenge they have Maria mimic Olivia's handwriting and send a letter to Malvolio from Olivia professing her love for him, requesting that he wear yellow stockings with cross garters.  These scenes involve a lot of physical comedy and they are so funny!  I was laughing out loud along with everyone else in the audience.  I usually don't like it when the setting is changed in a Shakespeare play (I'm a purist) but I thought that having the action take place in New Orleans after a hurricane during Mardi Gras was incredibly effective and I loved the set design and costumes.  This allowed the character of Feste (Richard E. Waits) to become a sort of Greek chorus singing old spirituals (which Waits composed for this production).  Sometimes you have to suspend your disbelief a little bit with this play but Fifer and Morrison look so much alike that it is easy to see why they would be mistaken for each other.  All of the actors give spirited performances and I really enjoyed myself.  I highly recommend this show but the production closes on Saturday so get tickets (go here) quickly!

Note:  Last night's audience was a bit more appreciative of Shakespeare than my sophomores!

Sunday Ritual

Now that spring has finally come to Utah all I want to do is be is outside!  One of my very favorite things to do this time of year is go to my parents' house every Sunday evening to sit by their fire pit.  My sister makes a fire and members of my family come and go and sit around talking, sometimes well into the night, until the fire dies or we get too cold.  We have done this for years and it is such a wonderful ritual.  We have already had two fires this season, including one last Sunday, and I am really looking forward to many more this spring and summer.

Grease

I was nine years old when Grease was released and my Dad went to see it with my aunt and uncle without me.  This was absolutely devastating to me and the only thing that could console me was getting a giant lipsmacker (I chose watermelon).  I have, of course, seen it dozens of times since then but never on the big screen which is why I was so excited to see it yesterday as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series.  It was so much fun!  People in my screening sang along (out loud) to every song and some people were even doing the actions to "Greased Lightnin'" and "Born to Hand Jive."  This movie is the quintessential high school musical featuring a love story between Danny Zuko (John Travolta), the leader of the T-Birds, and Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John), a good girl who has recently transferred to Rydell High from Australia.  With a little help from the rest of the T-Birds (Jeff Conaway, Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci, and Kelly Ward) and the Pink Ladies (Stockard Channing, Didi Conn, Jamie Donnelly, and Dinah Manoff) they might just get back together by graduation.  This movie is such a nostalgic look back at the 1950s with leather jackets, letterman sweaters, poodle skirts, sock hops, malt shops, drive-in movies, and fantastic cars.  It was fun to see all of the cameos by people who were popular stars in the 1950s such as Sid Caesar, Eve Arden, Alice Ghostley, and Joan Blondell.  I love all of the songs especially "Grease" during the opening and closing credits, "Summer Nights," "Hopelessly Devoted to You," "Sandy," and "You're the One That I Want."  All of the musical numbers have a lot of fun choreography and they really stand the test of the time.  The only number that is really cheesy is "Beauty School Dropout" sung by Frankie Avalon but it is so cheesy that it is good.  I had so much fun watching this movie!  In fact, I'm thinking of seeing it again on Wednesday (my sister is bitter that I saw it without her).