Madeline Adkins Plays The Lark Ascending

I always love it when I have a Utah Symphony concert to look forward to at the end of the week and last night's concert was definitely worth the wait!  The orchestra, once again under the baton of Music Director Thierry Fischer, began with Symphony No. 30 "Alleluia" by Joseph Haydn.  In my opinion (take it for what it’s worth because I really don't know much about classical music) this piece is incredibly melodic with themes that are light, airy, and celebratory.  I especially loved the theme played by the flute in the second movement because it is so happy and cheerful.  Next came The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams with Concertmaster Madeline Adkins as soloist.  This is one of the most beautiful pieces I've ever heard and I found it to be incredibly moving.  It is based on a poem of the same name by George Meredith and the solo violin represents a lark taking flight while the rest of the orchestra represents the verdant English countryside below it.  It was composed just before World War I and it is now viewed as a nostalgic ode to an idyllic bygone era before the world lost its innocence.  Like the first piece, is also incredibly melodic and I had such beautiful images of sun dappled fields in my mind as I listened.  Adkins played it brilliantly and I think the entire audience was collectively holding its breath as she played the final transcendent notes before erupting into thunderous applause (the loudest I’ve heard from a socially distanced crowd).  The concert concluded with Arnold Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony No. 1.  This piece was in stark contrast to the two that preceded it because it is much more modern and, in my opinion, sometimes quite jarring.  It features ten woodwinds and five strings, with every musician functioning as a soloist, and the usual five sections within a more traditional symphony are condensed into one movement.  The pacing is relentless, almost frantic, but there is a more somber and mournful section towards the end of the piece that really appealed to me.  This concert was the perfect end to the week and I highly recommend getting a ticket to tonight's concert which features the same program (go here).

Note:  I really like Madeline Adkins.  I met her once at a Utah Symphony after party at BTG, a wine bar downtown, and she was very charming (please take a moment to be impressed that I sometimes attend Utah Symphony after parties).

Daddy Long Legs at HCT

I vaguely remember watching the movie Daddy Long Legs, starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron, on my black and white TV late at night when I was in high school. However, I was totally unfamiliar with the stage musical so I didn't really know what to expect when I attended HCT's production of this show last night. I ended up absolutely loving it! At the turn of the century, Jerusha Abbott (Kelly Coombs) is the oldest orphan at the John Grier Home but a young and wealthy Trustee named Jervis Pendleton (David Paul Smith), impressed by one of her essays about living at an orphanage, decides to send her to college so she can become a writer. He will pay her tuition and all of her living expenses on the condition that he remain anonymous and that she writes him a letter once a month to inform him of her progress. Not knowing his name she decides to call him Daddy Long Legs, referring to the tall shadow she saw leaving the orphanage, in her letters which prove to be enchanting to Jervis. Against his better judgment he meets her without revealing that he is her benefactor and then falls in love with her. Jerusha also falls in love with him but, when she pours her heart out about him to Daddy Long Legs in her letters, it creates much confusion as he struggles to decide whether to reveal himself to her. I love Jerusha as a character because she grows and develops so much as a person throughout the course of the show and I really appreciate the fact that she pays her benefactor back before beginning a relationship with him because she proves herself to be his equal. She has such a thirst for knowledge (I love that she has a new favorite subject to denote each year in school) and for new experiences (I love her sense of wonder while on a cultural weekend in Manhattan) so it was easy for me to relate to and sympathize with her. Coombs is absolutely delightful in the role and Smith is incredibly earnest as Jervis. They both have amazing voices and palpable chemistry with each other. I particularly enjoyed the scenes while Jervis is jealous when Jerusha mentions Jimmy McBride in her letters. It is really impressive that the two of them carry this show entirely by themselves with demanding songs, rapid-fire dialogue, high energy blocking, and multiple costume changes which happen right on stage. I was also very impressed by the live band on stage consisting of Kelly DeHaan on piano, Josh Ogden on cello, and Bryan Matthew Hague on guitar. The music is quite stirring, especially the guitar, and I really liked the songs "Like Other Girls," "Things I Didn't Know," "What Does She Mean By Love?" and "The Secret of Happiness." The set is ingenious with two levels and a pulley system between them to allow the characters to be separate while in the same scene and the inclusion of props stored in strategically placed suitcases and trunks quickly transforms the space multiple times without a pause. The actors utilize the space very effectively (I was sitting on the extreme right side of the theatre and there were only a few times when I couldn't see the action which is sometimes more of an issue). My only complaint, which is a minor one, is that I grew impatient in the second act for the characters to just get together already (I don't think this is a spoiler because, to me, it is a foregone conclusion) because the action gets bogged down a bit and many of the songs are reprises. Nevertheless, I loved this show much more than I was expecting to and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets). It runs on the Jewel Box Stage through June 12.

Note:  I also highly recommend Les Miserables which is currently playing on the Young Living Stage. Many performances are sold out but some matinees have recently been added later in the run (go here for tickets).

The Music Man at CPT

Last night it was so much fun to see a full production of The Music Man at Centerpoint Legacy Theatre (the first for CPT since the pandemic). I really love all of the old classic musicals, especially The Music Man, because they remind me so much of my Grandma Anderson. Every single familiar song made me want to sing along, especially "Ya Got Trouble," "Seventy-Six Trombones," "The Wells Fargo Wagon," and "Gary, Indiana," but I somehow controlled myself! This show tells the well-known story of a traveling salesman who comes to swindle the residents of River City into buying band instruments and uniforms but falls in love with a librarian instead and this production is very well done! I really enjoyed the entire cast! Russell Maxfield is incredibly charismatic and charming as Harold Hill and Mailee Halpin has a beautiful voice as the uptight yet vulnerable Marion, particularly in the songs "Goodnight My Someone," "My White Knight," and "'Till There Was You." Chad Wilkinson is the embodiment of befuddled pomposity as Mayor Shinn ("Not one poop out of you, madame.") and Angela Brown is hilarious with her version of a Grecian Urn as Eulalie MacKecknie Shinn (as a sometime character actress, Eulalie is my dream role). Tyler Bender as Zaneeta, Mayor Shinn's oldest girl, and Brevin Gardner as Tommy Djilas, a boy with reform school written all over him, are amazing dancers who lead a terrific ensemble in the big production numbers (more on them later).  Micah Thornton is adorable as Winthrop, especially when he lisps, while Bridget Maxwell is an absolute hoot as Amaryllis and I laughed out loud during her cross-hand piano piece (I love this young actress because she stole the show as Gloria in HCT's production of Wait Until Dark and again as Lavender in HCT's production of Matilda). The feuding school board members, Nathan Asay, Eric Corrington, Paul Dixon, and Jeffrey Duncan, harmonize beautifully in "Goodnight Ladies," "Sincere," and "Lida Rose" and they are definitely a highlight of the show. The sets are also very well done and I especially liked the two-level library, the interior and exterior of the Paroo house, the fountain in the park, and the footbridge. The energetic choreography is a lot of fun and it is executed very well by the talented cast, particularly in "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Marion the Librarian," and "Shipoopi." I had a smile on my face throughout the entire show because it is just so delightful and I highly recommend it for a bit of nostalgic fun (go here for tickets).

French Exit

Is there anything better than going to a movie in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday?  I submit that there is not so I went to see French Exit yesterday and, while this comedy of the absurd is a bit depressing, I found it to be strangely entertaining.  Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer), an aging Manhattan socialite, learns that all of the money she inherited from her late husband is gone which brings about an existential crisis for her and her son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) who is finding it difficult to commit to his girlfriend Susan (Imogen Poots).  She decides to sell everything and move to a friend's empty apartment in Paris with Malcolm and a cat that may or may not be the reincarnation of her late husband (Tracy Letts).  As she and Malcolm try to find redemption, they accumulate an eccentric group of people around them including a lonely American expat (Valerie Mahaffey), a clairvoyant that they meet on the crossing to France (Danielle Macdonald), the private investigator they hire to find her (Isaach de Bankole), Susan and her new boyfriend (Daniel di Tomasso), and, eventually, the owner of the apartment who comes to check up on them (Susan Coyne).  This might be a bit too quirky for some people but I found it to be hilarious.  In fact, I laughed out loud multiple times but I was the only one in my screening who did.  The plot is a bit thin and the supporting cast doesn't have much to work with (although Mahaffey steals every scene she is in) but it doesn't matter because the movie belongs to Pfeiffer and she gives a brilliant performance.  She is icy and imperious as she delivers the sharp and witty dialogue but there is also just enough vulnerability under the surface to make an unsympathetic character into a compelling one.  Hedges gives an understated performance that sometimes pales next to Pfeiffer's but the two of them have great chemistry as a mother and son searching for a real connection.  This is the type of movie that I would usually see at my favorite art house theater (which I hope opens soon) and it really appealed to me because it features my particular brand of humor but, as previously mentioned, it might not be for everyone.

Voyagers

I thought the trailer for Voyagers looked really intriguing so I went to see it last night.  In the near future the Earth has become uninhabitable because of climate change and disease and, while a planet capable of sustaining life has been found, the journey there will take 86 years.  Scientists decide to create a bio-engineered group of children who will grow up on board the spaceship as it travels to the new planet and serve as the crew for the mission while producing children and grandchildren to eventually colonize it.  They are raised by a scientist named Richard (Colin Farrell) in complete isolation so they won't miss anyone or anything on Earth and their emotions and impulses are controlled by a chemical put in a drink administered daily known as the blue.  An inquisitive crew member named Christopher (Tye Sheridan) discovers that they are being controlled by the blue and he convinces Zac (Fionn Whitehead), and then the whole crew, to stop taking it with him.  At first this causes an exciting awakening of their senses but soon they start to give in to their darker instincts.  When an accident leaves a leadership void, Christopher and Zac fight for control and for the affections of Sela (Lily-Rose Depp) which compromises the mission.  This movie has an interesting premise but, unfortunately, the execution of it is rather bland.  Most of the characters are so thinly drawn that I couldn't recognize any of their names when they appeared in the end credits and, aside from Whitehead (who is becoming quite good at portraying psychopaths), the performances are incredibly stilted.  The message about the breakdown of order and its consequences (which is stolen from reminiscent of Lord of the Flies) is very heavy-handed and obvious while the scenes of teenagers running amok are surprisingly tame (the poster is more titillating than the movie).  Many of the deeper psychological questions, such as nature vs. nurture, freewill, and sacrificing oneself for a greater cause, are briefly introduced and then quickly abandoned.  I did enjoy the sleek and stylish design of the spaceship (with endless corridors for the characters to run through) but not enough to recommend this lackluster movie to anyone other than fans of the young actors.