Dear Evan Hansen at the Eccles

When Dear Evan Hansen was announced as an add-on to the Broadway at the Eccles 2022-2023 season, I decided that I probably didn't need to see it again but, as the date of the run got closer and closer, I started to feel really sad that I wasn't going.  I ended up getting one of the few remaining tickets for last night's performance and I am so glad I did because I love this show and its message so much!  Evan Hansen (Anthony Norman) suffers from anxiety and feels insignificant and alone ("Waving Through a Window").  Heidi (Coleen Sexton), his busy single mother, doesn't know what to do to help ("Anybody Have a Map?").  His one friend, Jared (Ian Coursey), is only nice to him so his parents will pay for his car insurance and he is too scared to talk to Zoe (Alaina Anderson), the girl he likes.  His therapist encourages him to write letters to himself to help build his confidence but Connor (August Emerson), a deeply troubled young man, intercepts one of them from the printer because it mentions his sister Zoe.  When Connor takes his own life, his parents, Cynthia (Lili Thomas) and Larry (John Hemphill), find the letter and, assuming it is a suicide note, reach out to Evan.  To comfort Connor's parents, Evan pretends that they 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 (Gillian Jackson Han), another lonely girl at school, wants Evan to do more to keep Connor's memory alive ("Disappear") so they create The Connor Project and Evan gives a heartfelt speech about loneliness at a memorial assembly for him ("You Will Be Found") which goes viral.  He soon begins a relationship with Zoe ("Only Us") and bonds with her family ("To Break in a Glove") to the exclusion of Jared, Alana, and Heidi ("Good For You").  Eventually the falsehoods spiral out of control and, when the truth is finally revealed ("Words Fail"), Heidi helps him realize that he has never been alone ("So Big/ So Small").  As someone who suffers from anxiety and struggles to interact with people, I find Evan's story to be incredibly powerful and I always have tears in my eyes during "Disappear" and "You Will Be Found."  Norman is very endearing and sympathetic in the role and I loved all of his idiosyncratic tics and rapid-fire line deliveries.  The rest of the cast is also really strong and Anderson, Emerson, and Han portray Zoe, Connor, and Alana, respectively, very differently than I have seen before which I enjoyed.  Finally, as always, one of my favorite elements in this show is the use of social media, which is depicted on large moving panels, because, even though the world seems increasingly connected by technology, so many people still struggle to find a connection.  This inspirational show only has two performances left at the Eccles Theatre but it is definitely worth getting a ticket (go here).

Note:  Just so you know, the stage musical is so much better than the movie!

Dvorak's Symphony No. 5

I always love it when I have a Utah Symphony concert to look forward to during the week and the one last night was especially worth the anticipation because I was swept away by the music of Bruch and Dvorak.  The orchestra began with Ringelspiel by Ana Sokolovic and it pains me to say this but I didn't particularly care for this piece.  I appreciate that the composer meant to mimic the disoriented and dizzy feeling that one has while riding on a merry-go-round but most of the time it just sounded like noise to me, especially a section where it seemed like everyone was playing a different note (it was so jarring).  This hardly mattered because I absolutely loved the next piece as well as the soloist!  Randall Goosby joined the orchestra for Violin Concerto No. 1 by Max Bruch and he was brilliant!  I loved the themes played by the solo violin because they are passionate in the first movement, melancholy and filled with longing in the second movement, and intense in the third movement.  I also really enjoyed the orchestral background because it is incredibly lush but Goosby has such a magnetic stage presence that I couldn't take my eyes off him and all of my attention was focused on his dazzling performance.  The audience literally erupted with thunderous applause so he performed "Louisiana Blues Strut" by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson as an encore!  After the intermission, the concert concluded with Symphony No. 5 by Antonin Dvorak.  I had never heard this piece before but I'm glad I had the chance last night because it is so emotional and romantic!  I always love it when the woodwinds are prominently featured and the themes played by the clarinets in the first movement are beautiful.  My favorite movement was the second because it has the feel of a Bohemian folk dance with a lyrical theme played by the cellos and then echoed first by the violins and then the woodwinds.  The final movement includes a tender dialogue between the clarinets and violins and another between the flutes, oboes, and violins followed by a triumphant conclusion from the brass.  It was another wonderful evening at Abravanel Hall and I highly recommend getting a ticket for tonight's performance of the same program (go here for tickets).

Note:  Yesterday I renewed all of my subscriptions (Masterworks, Films in Concert, and Opera) for the 2023-2024 season without even knowing what will be programmed!  That is how much I love attending Utah Symphony concerts (and Utah Opera performances).

Go Home Come Back at Plan-B Theatre

I was so excited to see Plan-B Theatre's production of Go Home Come Back in the Studio Theatre at the Rose Wagner Center for the Performing Arts last night because the playwright is my dear friend (and former colleague) Darryl Stamp. It is a heartwarming and humorous take on second chances and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Will (Calbert Beck) and James (Lonzo Liggins) find themselves in a waiting room of sorts with no explanation of where they are or how they came to be there. There are flashbacks to when Will met his future wife Janice (Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin) and to an awkward encounter between James and his estranged daughter Monica (Marilyn Melissa Salguero) as well as periodic announcements (thanking them for their patience which is, rather amusingly, repeated in Spanish) over an intercom.  They are eventually directed to enter to an office where they each meet Llecenia (Kris Wing Peterson), the replacement for the retired St. Peter. It turns out that both Will and James have recently died but, in a new promotion called "Go home come back," they have each been given the opportunity to go home for an hour before they return for permanent placement. Will uses his time to make sure Janice knows how much he loves her while James attempts to make amends for being an absentee father to Monica. There is a thought-provoking twist when they once again find themselves back in the waiting room. I loved so many things about this show! Heaven is portrayed as a corporation and it is a lot of fun, especially all of the references to marketing, but I also found Llecenia's final monologue about loving her job because of all of the happy reunions she gets to witness to be especially comforting after recently losing both of my parents. I also found it hilarious that, despite some questionable behavior in his past, Will is granted a place in Heaven because he taught middle school for ten years and I found it incredibly poignant that the ne'er-do-well James is offered a chance at redemption. The cast is wonderful (I was particularly impressed with the chemistry between Beck and Darby-Duffin), the simple set in the intimate space is highly effective, and the lighting is very dramatic (especially the pillar of light as the characters move from the waiting room to the office). This is such a lovely play (my audience responded very favorably) and I would definitely recommend getting a ticket but, unfortunately, all of the remaining performances are sold out!

Note:  Darryl also curated a playlist of music for the show which can be heard before it begins.  I especially liked "Once in a Lifetime" by the Talking Heads.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder at HCTO

I recently had the chance to see A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder at the Empress Theatre and I was very impressed by what they did with an incredibly ambitious show in such a small and intimate space.  Because HCTO is similar in scale I was really eager to see their version and I had the opportunity last night.  I was equally impressed by this production!  After the death of his mother, Monty Navarro (Jordan Nicholes) is informed by her friend Miss Shingle (Bonnie Wilson-Whitlock) that she was once a member of the wealthy and aristocratic D'Ysquith family but was disinherited for marrying his father.  He is really Montague D'Ysquith Navarro and he is in line to inherit an earldom.  However, there are eight family members ahead of him!  When his vain and heartless girlfriend Sibela (Brittany Sanders) marries the rich and handsome Lionel Holland, he decides to murder all eight family members in order to become the Earl of Highhurst and win her back.  Standing in his way are the Reverend Lord Ezekiel D'Ysquith (who has an unfortunate fall from the bell tower of his cathedral), Asquith D'Ysquith, Jr. (who has a bizarre skating accident), Henry D'Ysquith (who is stung by bees), Lady Hyacinth D'Ysquith (who disappears in deepest darkest Africa and is presumed dead), Major Lord Bartholomew D'Ysquith (who is decapitated while lifting weights), Lady Salome D'Ysquith Pomphrey (who is killed when a prop gun is mistakenly loaded with real bullets during her debut in Hedda Gabbler), Lord Asquith D'Ysquith, Sr. (who is driven to a heart attack after hearing about all of the deaths in his family), and, finally, Lord Adalbert D'Ysquith, the Earl of Highhurst, (who is mysteriously poisoned).  Along the way, Monty falls in love with Phoebe D'Ysquith (Lisa Zimmerman) and marries her which makes Sibela jealous.  When Monty becomes the Earl of Highhurst he is arrested for the murder of Adalbert, the only D'Ysquith death for which he is actually not responsible!  The charges are eventually dismissed when Phoebe and Sibela each give proof that the other committed the murder but Monty might not live happily after because Chauncey D'Ysquith, the next in line to the earldom, is lurking!  The cast is absolutely stellar and I particularly enjoyed both Wilson-Whitlock and Laurel Asay Lowe (as Lady Eugenia D'Ysquith) because their characters are so unhinged!  However, the star of the show is Bryan Dayley who plays every member of the D'Ysquith family (I loved him in a similar role in One For The Pot at HCT last year).  He is absolutely hilarious and makes every character feel distinct with his facial expressions and comedic physicality (as well as some quick costume changes).  Every time I see this show I always love a different family member and this time my favorites were the Reverend Ezekiel (because of the way he flails about before he falls) and Lord Adalbert (because of his plummy accent).  As with most productions of this show, the set is reminiscent of an old music hall but I loved the use of a falling red curtain in between scene changes and the elaborate painted backdrops.  A scene where Monty must keep Sibela and Phoebe apart at his flat is staged in an especially clever way and I also loved the singing ancestors at Highhurst.  Finally the period costumes are incredible, especially the highly embellished gowns worn by Sibela and Phoebe!  Do yourself a favor and get a ticket to this hilarious show (go here).  It runs through April 8 but many dates are sold out!

Cocaine Bear

Last night my nephew Sean and I went to see Cocaine Bear with a large crowd at the Broadway and we had a blast with all of the chaotic humor!  When a large shipment of cocaine is inadvertently dropped into the Chattahoochee National Forest, a 500-pound black bear ingests it and becomes highly aggressive as two unfortunate backpackers (Kristofer Hivju and Hannah Hoekstra) soon discover.  Drug kingpin Syd White (Ray Liotta) sends his henchman Daveed (O'Shea Jackson, Jr.) and son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) to retrieve it with a local detective (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) hot on their trail.  Meanwhile, two teens named Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) and Henry (Christian Convery) skip school and head to the forest so she can paint a waterfall while her mother (Keri Russell) enlists the help of a park ranger (Margo Martindale) and a wildlife expert (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) to find them.  Add three juvenile delinquents (Aaron Holliday, J.B. Moore, and Leo Hanna), two paramedics (Kahyun Kim and Scott Seiss), and a police officer on the take (Ayoola Smart) and mayhem ensues!  As soon as I heard "Jane" by Jefferson Starship (all of the needle drops in this movie are fantastic) during the opening scene, I knew that it would be a wild ride and it was!  There are too many characters to keep track of and the pacing is sometimes uneven but I have to admit that it is wildly entertaining!  Sean and I laughed out loud through the whole thing with some of the funniest moments coming when the violence is at its most graphic (the ambulance scene is hilarious).  This is exactly what you would expect from a movie about a bear jacked up on coke and, if you go in knowing that, it is a lot of fun!  I recommend seeing it with the biggest crowd possible!