Riverdance at the Eccles

I was able to see Riverdance many years ago at Kingsbury Hall and I remember thinking that it was absolutely spectacular.  The show is once again on tour with a new production commemorating its 25th Anniversary and I was able to see it last night at the Eccles Theatre.  I really loved the dancing, which was amazing, but I was a little bit underwhelmed with the performance as a whole.  The show features stylized Irish step dancing that is incredibly energetic and so much fun to watch with high kicks, leaps across the stage, and instantly recognizable poses.  I especially loved it whenever the dancers would get in a line and kick in unison!  There is a story loosely connecting all of the dances together with narration, lighting, and dramatic projections and this focuses on nature in the first act and migration in the second.  I particularly liked "Reel Around the Sun," "The Countess Cathleen," "Thunderstorm," "Firedance," "Riverdance," "Anna Livia," and "Home and the Heartland."  I also really enjoyed seeing the addition of flamenco dancing in "Andalucia" and Russian dancing in "Macedonian Morning" and "Russian Dervish."  However, my favorite number of the night was "Trading Taps" which is basically an epic dance off between tap dancers and step dancers and it was amazing.  The dancers in the troupe are insanely talented, especially the lead dancers Amy-Mae Dolan and James Greenan.  There are musical numbers between each of the dances featuring the bodhran, fiddle, saxophone, and uilleann pipes and, while the performers are incredibly talented, I found these interludes to be a bit boring after a while.  I tend to grow weary of long improvisational solos (even at rock concerts) and whenever the musicians were on stage I kept wishing that the dancers would come back soon.  I don't remember these "filler" numbers in the original production but, to be fair, it was a long time ago.  I enjoyed the show but I wish that there had been more dancing in Riverdance.  The run at the Eccles ended last night but the production will be touring around the country through the summer and, if it comes to a city near you, I recommend it.

Louis Schwizgebel Plays Mozart's Piano Concert No. 12

It is always nice to start the weekend with the Utah Symphony but last night's concert was something really special!  The orchestra began with Escaramuza by Gabriela Lena Frank.  This piece is meant to symbolize the dance of an Inca warrior and it is incredibly energetic and dynamic.  It begins with the rhythmic pounding of a bass drum that doesn't let up until the end and the strings play a frantic theme that is really exciting to listen to.  I could almost see the dancers in bright and colorful costumes and I thought it was really cool.  Next came Piano Concerto No. 12 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with soloist Louis Schwizgebel.  I've mentioned this many times before but I was first introduced to classical music by watching the movie Amadeus when I was fourteen.  I became obsessed with Mozart's music, especially the music from the movie, and the first Utah Symphony concert I ever attended featured Mozart's Requiem (and the rest is history).  I think his music is really light and airy and highly accessible to the casual listener (which does not mean that it is simple).  Piano Concerto No. 12 is beautiful with almost playful themes and I really enjoyed it.  Schwizgebel was so much fun to watch because his fingers were moving so fast but he made it look so easy!  The concert concluded with Symphony No. 5 by Dmitri Shostakovich but, after the intermission, it was announced that the Utah Symphony organization had contemplated changing composers in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  They ultimately decided to keep Shostakovich on the program because, even though Symphony No. 5 was written to appease the Soviet state, it is actually a condemnation of the horrors found under Stalin.  I thought it was incredibly appropriate and the parallels to the situation today made the performance even more powerful.  Before the Shostakovich, the orchestra performed the national anthem of Ukraine and it was such a beautiful and powerful moment!  I became quite emotional because, for some reason, the music made the situation in Ukraine very real for me but I take solace from the fact that the people are as heroic as their anthem.  The first movement of Symphony No. 5 is bold with militaristic marches played by the brass and the second is very stirring (I loved the opening theme played by the cellos and basses).  However, my favorite was the third movement because it is so affecting, particularly a theme played by the harp and flute, and it provided a way for the public to express their grief over Stalin's purges at the premiere.  I also found it immensely moving.  The final movement becomes celebratory once again with an epic conclusion by the timpani.  This was an extraordinary evening of music and emotion and I am so glad that I got to experience it.  The same program will be performed again tonight (go here for tickets).

Something Rotten at PTC

I saw the Broadway touring production of Something Rotten a few years ago and I absolutely loved it (it is a hilarious spoof of Shakespeare and musical theatre so it was basically written for me).  I was thrilled when PTC announced that it would be part of the 2021-2022 season and I had so much fun watching it last night!  I could hardly breathe because I was laughing so hard!  Nick and Nigel Bottom (Matt Farcher and Daniel Plimpton, respectively) are playwrights in London during the Renaissance but they haven't been very successful.  Their patron, Lord Clapham (Peter Surace), is withdrawing his support, Shylock (Howard Kaye) wants his loan repaid, Nick's wife Bea (Galyana Cstillo) is pregnant, and Nigel has fallen in love with Portia (Lexi Rabadi), the daughter of a Puritan (Kevin B. McGlynn) who wants to shut down the theaters for debauchery, but, even worse, they are constantly overshadowed by the immensely popular William Shakespeare (Matthew Hydzik)!  They need a big hit so Nick decides to consult the soothsayer Nostradamus (Robert Anthony Jones) to see what will be popular in the future.  Nostradamus suggests writing a play with singing and dancing in one of my favorite numbers in the show, "A Musical."  When inspiration fails, he asks Nostradamus to look into the future again to see what Shakespeare's most popular play will be and, instead of Hamlet, Nostradamus sees omelette (so close!).  As Nick tries to produce Omelette: The Musical, Shakespeare suffers from writer's block in another one of my favorite numbers, "Hard to Be the Bard," and tries to steal his play back!  Chaos ensues until Nigel teaches Nick an important lesson in the number "To Thine Own Self."  What I love most about this show is all of the references to musical theatre (the audience applauded during the reference to Les Miserables but my favorite was RENT) and Shakespeare's plays (the allusions to Richard III and Romeo and Juliet during the song "Will Power" had me in hysterics).  It is so much fun when you are able to recognize a show or line of dialogue!  I loved the entire cast but my favorite was Hydzik as Shakespeare because he is completely over the top as the rock star of the Renaissance, especially when he crowd surfs during an appearance at the Globe Theatre, and I loved his bedazzled leather costume complete with a gigantic codpiece.  I really enjoyed the staging of the big song and dance numbers because it mimics the instantly recognizable choreography of the musicals being parodied, especially in "A Musical" and "Make an Omelette."  The set features the aforementioned Globe Theatre and other thatched Renaissance buildings and the period costumes are a lot of fun, especially the codpieces!  I laughed from beginning to end, as did the entire crowd (which was the largest one I have seen at PTC this season), so I highly recommend it, especially if you are a big theatre nerd like me.  It runs through March 12 and tickets may be purchased here.

Bright Star at HCTO

I fell in love with the musical Bright Star when I saw a production at PTC a few years ago which featured most of the original Broadway cast, including Carmen Cusack as Alice Murphy.  I was, therefore, really excited to see this show at HCT Orem last night and I loved what they did with it!  The story takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina during the 1920s and just after World War II.  After the war, Billy Cane (Zack Elzey) briefly returns to his hometown of Hayes Creek to visit his father (Sanford Porter) and his childhood friend Margot (Maren Miller) but he soon decides to try writing for a magazine in Asheville where he meets the uptight editor, Alice Murphy (Anya Young Wilson), who once made Hemingway cry.  When Daryl (Dayne Joyner) and Lucy (Kelsey Phillips Harrison), staff members at the magazine, tease Alice about her boring existence, she transforms in front of our eyes into a wild and rebellious young girl in the small town of Zubulon.  She begins a romance with Jimmy Ray Dobbs (Benjamin Henderson), much to the chagrin of his father Mayor Josiah Dobbs (Stephen Kerr) who tries to separate them.  The narrative alternates between the two timelines as Alice suffers an unimaginable loss and then is unexpectedly made whole again.  The story is very powerful and heartwarming with amazing bluegrass music written by Edie Brickell and Steve Martin.  My favorite songs are "If You Knew My Story," "Asheville," "Sun's Gonna Shine," and "I Had a Vision."  Wilson has a beautiful voice and her emotional rendition of "Please Don't Take Him" brought tears to my eyes.  When she first appears on stage as the older Alice I was so impressed by her portrayal of the emotionally restrained professional woman that I wondered if she would be able to pull off the reckless teenage girl but she transitions seamlessly between the two with just a change in expression (and some quick costume changes).  The rest of the cast is really strong but the other standouts for me were Miller, as a young woman afraid that she will lose the one she loves to the big city, and Kerr, as a father who thinks he is doing the right thing for his son.  The staging of this show in such a small and intimate space is so clever!  The set includes the facade of a rustic cabin with a fenced in porch, where a three piece band (featuring Braden Williams on fiddle, Marcus Williams on mandolin, and Taylon Mann on banjo) performs, as well as an attached platform and a grassy area where the action takes place with the addition of portable set pieces and projections to denote the bookstore where Margot works and the office of the magazine.  I also really liked the use of vintage light bulbs. The members of the ensemble move props on and off stage very effectively and I was really impressed with how a key moment on a train is portrayed.  This is a wonderful production that should not be missed (go here for tickets).

The Batman

Last night I had the opportunity to see an early screening of The Batman and I had so much fun!  The giant IMAX theater was completely sold out (which I haven't seen happen since The Force Awakens) and full of boisterous fans, many in costume, who cheered throughout and applauded at the end!  This movie is one of my most anticipated this year and, after seeing so many positive reviews, I was super hyped which sometimes leads to disappointment.  I am happy to report that it exceeded all of my expectations!  Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) is a virtual recluse but his alter ego Batman is a vigilante fighting crime in Gotham City.  He has a working relationship with Lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) who summons him to the crime scene of a brutal murder because the killer, known as the Riddler (Paul Dano), has left him a personal message.  His investigation of the clues left by the Riddler at each subsequent crime scene brings him in contact with a cat burglar named Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz), uncovers city-wide corruption involving a mobster named Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and his henchman Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot (Colin Farrell), and reveals uncomfortable truths about his family before an epic confrontation.  I really liked the darker tone.  It feels more like a classic noir thriller with a brooding protagonist and a setting that is grounded in gritty realism rather than a stylized superhero action movie.  The story is absolutely riveting and, in my opinion, the almost three hour runtime flies by.  I especially enjoyed Bruce Wayne's character arc as a man almost broken by the weight of living up to his parents' legacy to finally accepting their fallibility and Batman's journey from exacting vengeance to becoming a symbol of hope for Gotham City.  I was also really struck by a similarity between the characters of Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, and Edward Nashton (who becomes the Riddler) because their reactions to their experiences are very telling.  Pattinson is brilliant in the role (I think he is very underrated as an actor) and the way he uses his eyes under the cowl to convey emotion is incredibly effective.  I enjoyed the juxtaposition between his more explosive performance as Batman with his restraint as Bruce Wayne because it really shows that he has been using his alter ego as a means of coping with his traumatic past.  He only feels alive when he is the Batman.  The rest of the cast is also outstanding but Dano is truly terrifying as the Riddler and Kravitz is the most realistic Catwoman I've seen on screen.  I loved this movie's version of the Batsuit because it actually looks like something that Bruce Wayne could have made himself and there are some fantastic gadgets.  The action sequences are exciting and intense, particularly a fight in a subway station, an epic car chase involving the Batmobile that ends in flames, and Batman's use of a wingsuit to escape from the police station (this prompted the loudest cheers from the audience).  The images on the screen are absolutely gorgeous and I particularly enjoyed the use of the color red.  Finally, I really loved the atmospheric score by Michael Giacchino, especially a motif that is repeatedly used for the Riddler (I kept wondering if that was really what I was hearing which lead to an incredible "aha" moment).  I loved this movie so much and I will definitely be seeing it again!