ZNP With Tashena

During our recent road trip to Southern Utah, Tashena and I made a little detour to Zion National Park.  It was a really quick visit but I loved being among the red rocks!

The weather was absolutely perfect and the park wasn't very crowded!  It was a wonderful afternoon!

Avengers: Endgame

Last night I saw Avengers: Endgame and I think it is an incredibly satisfying conclusion to a saga that has been eleven years in the making.  I loved it!  I laughed, I cried, and I cheered out loud multiple times!  After the catastrophic snap that destroyed half the population of the universe, the remaining Avengers, Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), War Machine/James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle), Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), are left reeling in the aftermath (some more than others).  They want to punish Thanos (Josh Brolin) but, more than that, they want to reverse the effects of the snap.  They eventually devise a plan but will they be able to do whatever it takes?  This movie brilliantly weaves together multiple storylines which reference many events from the previous entries in the MCU (I definitely need to see this again because I am sure that I missed a few).  Each character has a rewarding emotional arc with moments of great poignancy and all of the actors, but especially Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson, give highly nuanced performances.  To be sure, there are epic battles but I absolutely loved all of the intimate moments with characters I've grown to love over the years.  This movie does justice to all of them.  I enjoyed every minute and I highly recommend that you see it as soon as you can!

Note:  I don't know if this is a spoiler or not but there is no post-credits scene.  Almost everyone in my screening stayed until the very end and we felt a bit foolish!

Aladdin at the Eccles

When I went to New York on a theatre trip a few years ago, my roommate went to see Aladdin on a night that I saw a different show.  When we both got back to the hotel she raved and raved about it so, of course, I immediately wanted to see it.  It seems like I have been waiting forever but I finally had the chance to see this entertaining show last night!  It definitely did not disappoint!  In fact, I think I giggled throughout the whole run time and I may or may not have sung along to "Prince Ali" which is my favorite song from the movie.  The stage musical basically tells the same story as the movie with all of the amazing songs you remember (and a few new ones thrown in for good measure).  Aladdin (Clinton Greenspan) is a street urchin in the city of Agrabah where he ekes out a living as a pickpocket with his friends Babkak (Zach Bencal), Omar (Ben Chavez), and Kassim (Colt Prattes).  While in the marketplace he meets Princess Jasmine (Kaenaonalani Kekoa), who has run away from the palace because her father the Sultan (Jerald Vincent) wants her to marry a prince, and he falls in love with her.  Jafar (Jonathan Weir), the Grand Vizier, wants the throne for himself and learns that there is a magic lamp hidden in the Cave of Wonders that could help him but only a diamond in the rough can enter.  He enlists Aladdin's help but his plan backfires when Aladdin releases the Genie (Major Attaway) from the lamp and is given three wishes.  Wanting to impress Jasmine, Aladdin wishes to be a prince but he soon realizes that he must be himself if he wants to win the princess.  I really loved all of the colorful and sparkly costumes, the dazzling choreography, especially in "Arabian Nights," "Friend Like Me," "Prince Ali," and "High Adventure," and the incredible sets, particularly the Palace and the Cave of Wonders!  The special effects are so much fun and the magic carpet ride in "A Whole New World" is everything I hoped it would be!  Both Greenspan and Kekoa have wonderful voices but Attaway steals the show with all of his hilarious pop culture references.  It is a glitzy production worthy of Disney that is just so much fun to watch from start to finish and I highly recommend it, especially for children!  It runs at the Eccles Theatre through May 12 (tickets my be purchased here).

Matilda at HCT

Two years ago I had the opportunity to see the Broadway touring production of Matilda and, unfortunately, I didn't like it very much. I found it to be really dark and sinister and, frankly, I wondered why it was marketed as a show for children. When HCT announced their 2019 season, I was not especially thrilled that this show was part of the lineup but I went to see it last night. HCT's production turned me into a fan because I absolutely loved what they did with it! Matilda Wormwood (Lucy White) is a precocious five year old with a penchant for reading and telling stories and, sometimes, being just a little bit naughty. She is ignored by her mother (Amelia Rose Moore), an amateur Latin ballroom dancer, and father (Ryan Simmons), an unscrupulous used car salesman, and is terrorized by Miss Agatha Trunchbull (Aaron Ford), the tyrannical headmistress of her school and the former Olympic champion in hammer throwing. With the help of a sympathetic teacher named Miss Honey (Bre Welch) and a little bit of magic, Matilda triumphs over the neglectful adults in her life! What I loved about this production is that the tone is much more lighthearted than the Broadway original and the adults are portrayed more like over-the-top caricatures rather than villains, especially Miss Trunchbull. Even the sets and costumes have a lighter color palette and I especially loved all of the colorful balloons used throughout. One of the things I really enjoyed about the Broadway production was the use of typography and the HCT version incorporates this through very clever projections. The library and the school yard sets, which come down from the ceiling, are fantastic. The big song and dance numbers, particularly "School Song" performed in a chain-link cage in the school yard, "Loud" performed by Matilda's mother and her Latin ballroom dance partner Rudolpho (Jeremy Egan), "Smell of Rebellion" performed by the children during a physical education class, and "Revolting Children" performed by the children in the classroom, are a lot of fun and feature innovative choreography. My favorite number was "When I Grow Up" which featured the children on swings that seemed to be held aloft by bouquets of balloons. This song is so poignant and it brought a tear to my eye. White is absolutely enchanting in the lead role and all of the children are incredible performers but, in my opinion, Bridget Maxwell steals the show as Lavender! Welch has a beautiful voice but I sometimes think that she is miscast. However, she is perfect in the role of Miss Honey and gives one of the best performances I have seen from her. The scenes with White (who is her niece) are so tender. I was very pleasantly surprised by my reaction to this show and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets and information).  It runs on HCT's main stage through June 15.

Note:  Don't forget about the lovely production of Steel Magnolias which is currently being performed in HCT's Jewel Box Theatre through June 1.

Easter Eggs

It has been quite a while since we have colored Easter eggs but Sean was really looking forward to doing it this year (he called me twice because I was three minutes late).  It was actually a lot of fun!

After coloring eggs we tried to have a BBQ but it rained almost all day!  Eventually my brother in law went outside and cooked the hamburgers and hotdogs and we ate everything inside.  It still tasted delicious!  In the evening we played Shanghai rummy which was really fun, as always!  I hope you had a lovely Easter filled with family and traditions!