Jersey Boys at the Eccles

The first time I saw the musical Jersey Boys I was one of the youngest in the audience and the lady next to me asked me how I knew all of the words to every song (apparently I was singing along).  I told her that my Dad played the Four Seasons on road trips.  I knew that my Dad would absolutely love this musical so, at intermission, I bought him tickets to see it the next night.  He, of course, loved it.  When he found out that the Broadway touring company was coming to SLC again he kept telling me that he wanted to go so I got him tickets for Father's Day last year and we were finally able to see it last night.  I love this show because it uses all of the great songs by the Four Seasons to tell the story of how they rose from four guys singing under a streetlamp to become superstars and then how the pressure of fame caused it all to fall apart.  My favorite numbers are "Sherry" performed on American Bandstand, "Dawn (Go Away)"  performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, and "Rag Doll" performed at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.  I also really liked it when Frankie Valli sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off You.”  The crowd went absolutely crazy afterwards!  I think the staging of this show is so clever, especially when they would record a song and then seamlessly transition to performing the song.  Aaron De Jesus, who plays Frankie Valli,  grew up in Utah and left the Broadway production to perform here in SLC.  He is absolutely amazing in the role and he captures Valli's falsetto perfectly.  Tommaso Antico, as Bob Gaudio, Corey Greenan, as Tommy De Vito, and Chris Stevens, as Nick Massi, are also fantastic performers who have the look, sound, and choreography of the Four Seasons down pat.  If you are a fan of the Four Seasons, this show is a must-see.  There are two more performances today (tickets may be purchased here).

Note:  This show contains a lot of profanity.  My sister did not like it at all.

Let's Go Bison

Last night the South Davis Bison had another series of games and I was there to cheer them on!  Have I mentioned that rugby is incomprehensible?  I honestly don't understand what is happening most of the time but I sure love watching Sean play.  He had the ball quite a bit and he run the ball the whole length of the field to pass it off to another boy for a try!  I cheered so loud!  South Davis ended up with two wins (I think)!

I sure do love this kid!

Summer Reading: Orphan Train

Unlike the first two selections on my summer reading list, I could not put Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline down! It is a compelling story about a little known period of history and an unlikely friendship that really touched me. Kline seamlessly blends a story from the 1930s and a contemporary one with two alternating narrators: Molly is a seventeen year old orphan in a difficult foster placement who is given community service hours for stealing a book and Vivian Daly is a lonely 91-year-old woman living in a large house overflowing with painful memories. Molly is given the opportunity to complete her community service hours by helping Vivian clean and organize her attic. As the two of them interact, Molly learns Vivian's remarkable story about her life as an Irish immigrant and how, after losing her parents in a fire, she was placed on a train to the Midwest to be adopted by families in need of labor during the 1930s and their relationship begins to grow. They bond over their shared experiences as orphans (and the book Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery) and eventually help each other in surprising ways. I found both of these characters to be incredibly sympathetic. Molly is, initially, harder to like because she has built such a wall around herself to deal with the circumstances of her life but I understood her anger and appreciated her transformation even more. I found Vivian's story to be incredibly moving, even more so because it is a true depiction of what happened to over 200,000 orphans from 1854 to 1929. Vivian's bleak life after riding the orphan train brought tears to my eyes but this novel is ultimately very hopeful.  I read well into the night because I wanted to know what happened to these characters and, while I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed, I found it to be very satisfying. This is a memorable story that I highly recommend.

Note:  Have you read Orphan Train?  What did you think?

The Incredibles Double Feature

Last night I had the chance to see a double feature of The Incredibles, a favorite of mine, and the new movie Incredibles 2 on an IMAX screen!  It was so much fun!  I love the first movie so much but, incredibly, I've never seen it on the big screen before so this was such a treat.  I think it holds up really well and I loved the character of Edna as much as ever!  The new movie is everything that I hoped it would be!  It picks up exactly where The Incredibles left off with our family of superheroes facing the Underminer (John Ratzenberger).  They ultimately defeat him but leave a swathe of damage in their wake which, because superheroes are illegal, lands them in trouble.  Winston Deaver (Bob Odenkirk), the CEO of a telecommunications company, and his sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener) have a plan to reinstate the superheroes which involves Elastigirl (Holly Hunter).  She battles a new villain called Screenslaver (Bill Wise) while Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nielson) takes over at home.  Violet (Sarah Vowell) has boy troubles, Dash (Huck Milner) has math trouble, and Jack Jack (who steals the show) has trouble controlling his newfound powers (which prompts a hilarious visit to Edna for a new suit).  I really enjoyed this role reversal which provided a lot of comedic moments that made me laugh out loud.  I think this movie does a great job at developing the characters to their natural progression from the first movie and their arcs are interesting and compelling.  The family dynamic rings true and, in addition to providing lots of laughs, there are a few really poignant moments that give this movie a lot of heart.  The action is almost non-stop and it is so much fun!  The images are look so good on the screen and the animation is some of the best I've ever seen.  The story is a bit predictable with a plot twist that I saw coming early on but that did not in any way detract from my tremendous enjoyment of this movie.  I loved it and I highly recommend it for just about everyone!

Hamilton in Las Vegas

I absolutely loved the cast of Hamilton when the show made a stop in SLC a few months ago and, even though I had the opportunity to see it three times, I still wanted to see it again.  Luckily the same company is now in Las Vegas and I was able to get a ticket.  Before I left on my road trip from SLC to Las Vegas I learned that Joseph Morales, who plays Alexander Hamilton, would be out of the show all this week and I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed because I loved his performance so much!  However, I really liked Julius Thomas III who played Hamilton last night.  His voice is really beautiful and I especially loved his renditions of "Dear Theodosia" and "Hurricane." I've started judging each each actor in the role by how he makes me feel in "It's Quiet Uptown" and his version was incredibly emotional!  Just about everyone sitting near me was crying!  The show also featured the understudies for King George (Conroe Brooks) and George Washington (Desmond Sean Ellington) and both of their performances were more traditional like the other casts I've seen.  I especially liked Ellington's performance of "One Last Time" because he basically turned the ensemble into a gospel choir complete with choreography.  Like the SLC production, I was blown away by Nik Walker as Aaron Burr, especially in "Wait For It."  I loved all of the humor he infused in "Non-Stop" and "The Room Where It Happens." In this production Kyle Scatliffe, as Thomas Jefferson, blew kisses to the audience in "Cabinet Battle #1," Fergie L. Philippe, as Hercules Mulligan, threw his flowers to the audience in "Satisfied," and Shoba Narayan, as Eliza Hamilton, threw in some wild hand gestures as she was beat boxing in "Take a Break."  All of this business was new to the show since I saw it in SLC and it makes me wonder if the company changes things up when they move on to a new city!   Because I've now seen this show seven times, I am able to notice different things because I'm so familiar with the main action and last night I was particularly struck by the choreography of the British soldiers in "Stay Alive" and by the choreography of "Washington on Your Side."  Every time I see it I also notice something completely new and last night I noticed that the lantern lights flicker when Angelica (Ta’Rea Campbell) sings about Benjamin Franklin’s key and kite in “Satisfied.”  This show is so brilliant!  The excitement in the audience was palpable and I loved it when they applauded after the dance break in "Yorktown."  I've never been in an audience that did that!  A lot of people ask me if it gets old after watching it so many times and I can honestly say that I was just as giddy walking into the Smith Center last night as when I walked into the Richard Rodgers Theatre to see it for the first time.  I love this show so much!