The Nutcracker 2019

Last night was such a lovely evening!  My friend Angela and I had a really fancy dinner at Bambara, one of my favorite restaurants downtown, and then we walked across the street to Capitol Theatre for a production of Ballet West's The Nutcracker.  I enjoyed both immensely!  Seeing this ballet is one of my very favorite Christmas traditions and I anticipate every scene!  The party revealing the Christmas tree to Clara and Fritz is enchanting, the Nutcracker coming to life and leading a group of toy soldiers against the mice is magical, and the dance of the Snow Queen and her snowflakes is dazzling!  When Clara and her Nutcracker travel to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy, I love all of the divertissements devised for her entertainment!  My favorites are the Arabian dance because it is so exotic and the Russian dance because it is so athletic (it gives me goosebumps)!  I wait through the whole ballet to get to the Grand Pas de Deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier because, in my opinion, both Tchaikovsky's music and William Christensen's choreography are incredibly romantic.  Sayaki Ohtaki danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy beautifully and she had great chemistry with Adrian Fry as her Cavalier.  I also really enjoyed Beau Pearson as Mother Buffoon because he was quite the ham (he even got the audience clapping which I don't remember happening before).  The children in the cast were wonderful and I especially enjoyed Jax Steele as Fritz because he seemed more mischievous than usual and Mother Buffoon's children because they were adorable.  Everything about this production is so magical, particularly the special effects as the Christmas tree grows in size, the snow falling in the land of the Snow Queen, and the fireworks in the finale, and it makes me feel like a child again.  I really enjoyed being able to see this ballet with Angela because she thought it was just as magical as I did!  It is the perfect way to celebrate the season and I highly recommend getting a ticket to one of the remaining performances (go here).

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in Concert

I am so happy that I am finally on winter break (it has been a rough week) and it was really nice to begin it with such a fun concert last night!  The Utah Symphony continued its Films in Concert series with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix shown on the big screen while the orchestra performed the score by Nicholas Hooper (with variations on themes composed by John Williams) live.  In Year Five at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, Voldemort (Ralph Finnes) is back with a strange connection to Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) but there are many, including the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) and several of Harry's classmates, who do not believe it is true.  Fudge places Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) at Hogwarts as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in order to stop the students from preparing for an attack.  In response, Harry gathers a group of his friends, including Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson), Neville (Matthew Lewis), Luna (Evanna Lynch), Ginny (Bonnie Wright), and Cho (Katie Leung), to train with him in secret as Dumbledore's Army.  Eventually, Dumbledore's Army travels to the Ministry of Magic to fight the Death Eaters who are trying to retrieve a prophesy about Harry from the Department of Mysteries.  This leads to a confrontation in which Voldemort tries to possess Harry (I like how Harry mimics Voldemort's mannerisms throughout).  This movie is much darker than the ones preceding it so there are two really sinister themes, one for Dolores Umbridge and one for Voldemort's invasion of Harry's mind, which are introduced and feature lots of deep percussion (it was really cool to watch all of the drummers in unison).  There are also some more lighthearted themes, such as when Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson) and other members of the Order of the Phoenix fly with Harry through London to get to Grimmauld Place and when Fred (James Phelps) and George (Oliver Phelps) disrupt the OWLs with their homemade fireworks, that are really whimsical and fun.  My favorite aspect of these concerts (especially the Harry Potter movies) is that audience participation is encouraged!  There is always a House roll call before the concert begins (I am Ravenclaw, obviously) and there are cheers (the loudest was for Dumbledore) and boos (the loudest was for Umbridge) for the various characters when they appear on screen (people booed every time Umbridge appeared on screen).  This concert was so much fun and I highly encourage getting a ticket to tonight's concert (go here for any remaining tickets).

The Rise of Skywalker

I honestly don't know how I made it through the school day yesterday because I was practically counting down the minutes until I could see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker!  I can't remember when I have had more anticipation for a movie!  I had the chance to see the final installment of the franchise at a Thursday preview last night and I had a very mixed reaction.  Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) is alive on the planet Exegol and has a plan to rule the galaxy with a secret armada of deadly Star Destroyers.  Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) travels to Exegol in the guise of joining the Emperor but is told that he must first kill Rey (Daisy Ridley) before she completes her Jedi training with General Leia (Carrie Fisher).  The Resistance learns of Palpatine's existence from a mole within the First Order, now under the command of Allegiant General Pryde (Richard E. Grant), so Rey, Finn (John Boyega), and Poe (Oscar Isaac) go on one final adventure to save the galaxy.  They are helped by C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), Chewbacca (Joonas Suatamo), and Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) as well as a few new faces such as an old friend of Poe's named Zorii Bliss (Keri Russell) and an unexpected ally of the Resistance named Jannah (Naomi Ackie).  Both Kylo Ren and Rey must ultimately confront each other and the darkness within themselves and, I have to say that, while their lightsaber duel on the wreck of the Death Star is absolutely amazing and the final resolution between them is everything I wanted and needed it to be, their last scene together left me absolutely devastated and quite disappointed.  There are a lot of answers about Rey and her background provided but they seem like a course correction from The Last Jedi, my favorite movie in the trilogy, and they are ultimately unsatisfying.  I was also disappointed that some of the characters are sidelined in this installment, especially Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran).  There are some really fun action sequences (it actually reminded me a little bit of The Return of the Jedi) and the visuals on the screen are absolutely gorgeous but I am not sure that this is a fitting conclusion to the saga that began when I was nine years old.

Mannheim Steamroller at the Eccles

I absolutely love Mannheim Steamroller but it has been a few years since I last saw them in concert.  Tickets to this year's shows at the Eccles Theatre sold out very quickly so I was thrilled when another show was added and I immediately got a ticket.  However, when the ticket arrived in the mail, I realized that the show was for 3:30 in the afternoon!  I had to leave school as soon as the bell rang yesterday but I made it in time and I thoroughly enjoyed myself!  Chip Davis created Mannheim Steamroller as a fusion between classical and contemporary music and I especially love his arrangements of Christmas music.  The concert began with "Celebration," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "Catching Snowflakes On Your Tongue," "Mere Image," "Hallelujah," "Angels We Have Heard On High," "Greensleeves," and "Christmas Lullaby."  I felt so lucky to be able to hear my favorite Christmas song for the third time this season when they played "Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)."  It is such a beautiful version of the song and it gave me goosebumps!  I also really loved the song "Fairies" because it is a rock and roll version of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from the Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky.  They ended the first half of the concert with "Carol of the Bells" which is one of their most popular songs.  After the intermission they played "Wonders" from their latest album, Exotic Spaces.  This wasn't a Christmas song but I really liked it.  In honor of the 35th Anniversary of their first Christmas album, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, they performed all of the songs on it in order!  This made me so happy because I have probably listened to that album hundreds of times and I love every song, including "Deck the Halls," "We Three Kings," "Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella" (I have now heard this song performed three times this season, as well), "Coventry Carol," "Good King Wenceslas," "Wassail, Wassail," "Carol of the Birds," "I Saw Three Ships," "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen," and "Stille Nacht (Silent Night)."  This concert was so wonderful and it was just what I needed after a difficult day at school (I am counting the days until winter break)!  The concert tomorrow night at the Eccles is sold out but I definitely recommend checking them out if they come to SLC again!

A Christmas Carol at HCT 2019

I like to joke that I have seen Hale Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol so many times that I could stand in for any part! I have seen it so many times that I sometimes think I should probably skip a year. That is what I decided last year but at the beginning of December I started to feel sad that I would be missing it. I tried to buy tickets but there were absolutely none to be had! There was not even one available seat for any of the shows! I was devastated that I wouldn't get to see it but I learned my lesson! Traditions are important and you better believe that I got my ticket to this year's production months in advance! I went last night and I loved it more that I usually do. Hale's version of this classic tale about Ebeneezer Scrooge's redemption after visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future is so heartwarming that you just can't help but leave the theatre with a smile on your face and a giant dose of Christmas cheer! Some of the actors return year after year to the same role so it is like seeing an old friend on the stage. I have seen David Weekes as Scrooge and Adam Dietlein as Fred for many years and I always love their performances. It is also really fun to see someone new give a different interpretation of a character. This year was the first time seeing DRU as the Ghost of Christmas Present (he has played the role several times but, as the show is double cast, I have never gone on a night when he was performing) and I thought he was hilarious! I think my favorite aspect of Hale's production is the use of Christmas carols throughout (have I mentioned how much I love hearing Christmas music?). I especially love it when they sing "Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella" at the Fezziwig Christmas party! I also loved the song "Away in a Manger" this year because the family singing it had a real baby (and that baby already has a great stage presence because it was so well-behaved).  Because this show is now on the Jewel Box Stage (which is more traditional than the old stage) there were some new sets that I really liked because they had a very Victorian feel, especially Scrooge's counting house, Scrooge's bed chamber, and the rag and bottle shop.  I am so glad that I was able to see A Christmas Carol this year (every show is sold out again this year) because it just isn't Christmas without it.

Note:  Even though A Christmas Carol is sold out you can still get tickets to Seussical on the Main Stage (go here).  It was not really my cup of tea but children are sure to love it and it would be a really fun Christmas outing for families.