Sketches of Spain

If you can’t go to Spain, the next best thing would be to go to Abravanel Hall for a Utah Symphony concert featuring several pieces inspired by Spain.  I was able to attend such a concert last night and it was absolutely exhilarating (almost like being there).  The first piece was Symphonie espagnole for Violin and Orchestra by Eduoard Lalo with guest soloist Benjamin Beilman.  It was fiery and passionate and I kept seeing flamenco dancers in my mind as I listened to it, especially during the final movement.  Beilman played it brilliantly and it looked like he was having so much fun.  I certainly had a lot of fun watching his bow fly across the strings of his violin (it was so fast)!  He received a thunderous standing ovation and then performed a beautiful encore (I didn't recognize the piece but I really liked it).  After the intermission the orchestra played Maurice Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole.  It was really wild and boisterous and I pictured a bull fight in my mind.  Next came Habanera by Louis Aubert which was my favorite because it was so mysterious and seductive (I loved the theme played by the clarinet).  This time the music reminded me of a couple dancing a sultry tango.  The concert concluded with Iberia (from Images pour Orchestre) by Claude Debussy which was filled with beautiful melodies.  My favorite was the third movement because it is meant to represent a carnival.  I thought it was very playful and I especially enjoyed the chimes.  Music has the power to transport you to another time and place and, for a few hours, I was back in Spain with the Utah Symphony!  Even if your passport isn't up to date you can still get a ticket to tonight's performance (go here) and I highly recommend that you do.

Dear Evan Hansen at the Eccles

I really wanted to see Dear Evan Hansen so, even though I knew it was coming to the Eccles Theatre this season, I decided that I didn't want to wait that long and took a road trip to Las Vegas to see it at the Smith Center last year.  I thought the message that you are not alone was extremely powerful and I fell in love with the music.  I couldn't wait to see it again!  I had the chance last night and I loved it just as much!  Evan Hansen (Stephen Christopher Anthony) suffers from anxiety and feels insignificant and all alone ("Waving Through a Window").  Heidi (Jessica E. Sherman), his busy single mother, doesn't know what to do to help him ("Anybody Have a Map?").  His one friend, Jared (Alessandro Costantini), is only nice to him so his parents will pay for his car insurance and he is too scared to talk to Zoe (Stephanie La Rochelle), the girl he likes.  His therapist encourages him to write letters to himself to build his self confidence but Connor (Noah Kieserman), a deeply troubled young man, intercepts one of his letters from the printer because it mentions his sister Zoe.  When Connor takes his own life, his parents, Cynthia (Claire Rankin) and Larry (John Hemphill), find the letter and, assuming it is a suicide note written to Evan, reach out to him.  To comfort them, he pretends that he and Connor were friends ("For Forever").  When Cynthia and Larry press for more information, Evan asks Jared to create a history of emails between him and Connor ("Sincerely, Me").  Larry and Zoe struggle to reconcile Evan's version of Connor with the difficult son and brother they knew ("Requiem").  Zoe tells Evan that the only nice thing Connor ever said to her was in his suicide note, which Evan wrote ("If I Could Tell Her").  Alana (Ciara Alyse Harris), another lonely student at school, wants Evan to do more to keep Connor's memory alive ("Disappear") so they create The Connor Project.  Evan gives a heartfelt speech about loneliness ("You Will Be Found") at a memorial assembly for Connor and it goes viral.  He begins a relationship with Zoe ("Only Us") and bonds with her family ("To Break in a Glove") to the exclusion of Emily, Jared, and Alana ("Good For You").  When the truth is finally revealed ("Words Fail"), Evan realizes that he was never really alone ("So Big/ So Small").  Evan was played by the same actor that I saw in Las Vegas and I found him to be incredibly endearing.  His portrayal of a boy who doesn't feel like he fits in made me laugh and cry.  My favorite song from this show has always been "You Will Be Found" but last night I was particularly struck by "Waving through a Window" because I think we have all felt like outsiders at one time or another and the words to this song are so poignant.  I really like the use of social media, which is depicted on large moving panels, because, even though the world seems increasingly connected, so many people struggle to find a connection.  I love this musical so much and I highly recommend seeing it if you have the opportunity.  It runs at the Eccles Theatre through March 14 (go here for tickets).

Once on This Island at PTC

Last night I went to see PTC's production of Once on This Island and I absolutely loved it!  On an island in the French Antilles, a young girl is frightened by a storm so a group of storytellers tell her about another girl named Ti Moune (Ava Lyn Smith) who survived a storm to try and calm her.  Ti Moune (Tyla Collier as an adult) is a dark-skinned peasant girl who falls in love with Daniel Beauxhomme (Jordan Alexander), a light-skinned wealthy descendant of a French plantation owner, after she rescues him from a car accident.  This relationship is frowned upon because the peasants and the grand hommes do not interact due to racial and class divisions.  The four gods of the island, Asaka, Mother of the Earth (Galyana Castillo); Agwe, God of Water (Terance Reddick); Erzulie, Goddess of Love (Kristian Espiritu); and Papa Ge, Demon of Death (Paul Jordan Jansen); intercede on her behalf in both positive and negative ways until love triumphs to bring the different groups together and her story is told again and again through the generations.  This fairy tale might not end the way you think it should but it has a beautiful message about love, loss, forgiveness, redemption, prejudice, and the power of storytelling.  I loved all of the Caribbean-inspired music in this show but my favorite songs were "And the Gods Heard Her Prayer," "Rain," "Pray," "Forever Yours," "Mama Will Provide," and "Why We Tell the Story."  Each number involves the clever use of items found around the stage (I especially enjoyed how the gods appeared and disappeared), dazzling choreography, and colorful and vibrant costumes.  The entire cast, many of whom play multiple characters with just the addition of an accessory or prop, is wonderful.  However, I was blown away by Collier (who has a beautiful voice and is an exceptional dancer) because she embodies so many emotions in her portrayal of a woman who sacrifices herself for love.   This is a beautiful and powerful production that should not be missed (go here for tickets).

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Yesterday I finally had the chance to see Portrait of a Lady on Fire and it is one of the best films I've seen recently!  Marianne (Noemie Merlant) is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of a young aristocratic woman living on an isolated island in Brittany during the 18th century.  Heloise (Adele Haenel) has recently returned home from a convent and is uneasy about her forthcoming marriage to a man who was originally betrothed to her sister before she took her own life.  Heloise refuses to pose for this portrait so she has been told that Marianne has been employed as her companion.  Marianne must observe her furtively during their time together and then paint in secret at night.  When the portrait is finished Marianne, who feels guilty about the deception, insists that it be shown to Heloise who says that, while it is an accurate likeness, it does not capture the real her.  Marianne destroys the portrait but Heloise convinces her mother, the Countess (Valeria Golino), to let her paint another one by agreeing to pose.  When the Countess leaves, the two become close and bond over Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.  When they eventually become lovers, Marianne is finally able to capture the real Heloise on canvas but the portrait becomes a symbol that Heloise will soon marry someone else and that they must part.  Their eventual parting mirrors the story of Orpheus and Eurydice and I found it to be incredibly poignant.  I loved everything about this film.  The story reminded me so much of Call Me By Your Name because it is about a forbidden affair where both of the lovers choose to cherish the memory of the relationship rather than regret the fact that it has ended.  I love that both Marianne and Heloise are profoundly affected by each other and I especially loved the scene where Heloise, shown years later, is overwhelmed by emotion when she hears a performance of The Four Seasons (which also mirrors Elio's response at the end of Call Me By Your Name).  I loved the depiction of their affair because their longing for each other is emphasized more than their physical relationship.  It is one of the most romantic films I have ever seen.  Both Merlant and Haenel give incredibly powerful performances and I was mesmerized by them throughout the whole film.  The two of them have amazing chemistry with each other and you can feel the tension between them almost from the moment they meet.  Finally, the images on the screen are absolutely luminous, especially the candlelit shots of Marianne painting.  I cannot recommend this film enough!  Go see it!

The Invisible Man

Horror movies are sometimes a hard sell for me because I like to be genuinely scared rather than shocked and it is very rare that a movie can really scare me (the exceptions are The Witch and Hereditary).  However, I really liked the trailer for The Invisible Man so I decided to see it last night.  If you are wondering if I was scared I will just say that I screamed out loud (and so did the majority of the people in my screening).  Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) flees from an abusive relationship with Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a wealthy and powerful tech guru in the field of optics, with the help of her sister Emily (Harriet Dyer).  She stays with her childhood friend James (Aldis Hodge) and his daughter Sydney (Storm Reid).  Several weeks later she learns that Adrian has committed suicide and has left her a large bequest in his will.  After a series of disturbing incidents that alienate her from Emily and James, she comes to believe that Adrian has found a way to become invisible and that he faked his suicide so that he can terrorize her.  She appears more and more erratic but no one believes that an invisible man is behind her behavior.  She is forced to take matters into her own hands but how can you fight someone you can't see?  This is a psychological thriller that is entirely believable.  The monster from H.G. Wells' classic novel has been updated to a villain (a domestic abuser who takes gaslighting to a whole new level) that contemporary audiences can relate to and it is a terrifying premise.  It is sometimes almost unbearable watching Cecilia's fear and powerlessness.  The tension builds and builds, more because of what you can't see than for what you can, until there is a twist that I didn't see coming and an ending that made me want to stand up and cheer!  Moss gives a riveting performance (she is great at portraying women in the midst of a breakdown) and I was fully invested in her plight.  This movie is genuinely scary and I recommend it to fans of the genre.