Stephen Hough Performs Stephen Hough

Last night I was back at Abravanel Hall for my first Utah Symphony concert of 2024 and it was certainly a good one to begin the year with!  First up was a delightful piece called Cockaigne (In London Town) by Edward Elgar which is described as a musical portrait of Edwardian London.  I really loved how the instruments mimic the sounds of a big city with lots of boisterous themes by the timpani and brass.  Next, the orchestra was joined by perennial Utah favorite pianist Stephen Hough for the world premiere of his Piano Concerto "The World of Yesterday."  He took the title from Stephen Zweig's memoir about his nostalgia for life in Vienna before World War I so I was really excited to hear it (I read, and enjoyed, this book because it inspired Wes Anderson to write the screenplay for one of my favorite movies The Grand Budapest Hotel and also because I am a total nerd).  Hough spoke to the crowd and explained that he was also inspired by nostalgia for the time when composers would write works for themselves to perform on piano in order to be able to show off!  I really enjoyed this piece (it is always exciting to be the first to hear a new work), especially a lovely theme played by the clarinet and harp, and extended cadenza by the solo piano (where Hough was, indeed, able to show off), and variations of a waltz which included a fun theme by the xylophone.  The crowd gave Hough and the orchestra a rousing standing ovation and he rewarded us with an encore performance of a traditional folk song called "Blow the Wind Southerly."  After the intermission, the concert concluded with Symphony No. 5 by Ralph Vaughan Williams and this piece will now be added to my list of favorites because I absolutely loved it!  I was incredibly moved by the beautiful and emotional themes played throughout by the strings but I especially loved the third movement because it began and ended with the woodwinds and featured an incredible solo from Concertmaster Madeline Adkins.  This concert was definitely a wonderful way to spend a cold and dreary Saturday evening!

Mean Girls

I have never actually seen the original Mean Girls (one of my former colleagues was absolutely incredulous when she heard this) but I love the stage musical, especially the song "World Burn," so I was really excited to see the new adaptation yesterday.  I thought it was a lot of fun.  Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) has recently moved back to the U.S. from Kenya, where she was home schooled, and is finding North Shore High School to be as brutal as the African plains.  Two social outcasts, Janis 'Imi'ike (Auli'i Cravalho) and Damian Hubbard (Jaquel Spivey), attempt to help her fit in and advise her to avoid The Plastics, a clique made up of Regina George (Renee Rapp), Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood), and Karen Shetty (Avantika).  Regina shows an interest in Cady and allows her to sit with her and her friends at lunch until she discovers that Cady likes her former boyfriend, Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), and takes him back.  Cady devises a plan for revenge against Regina and, when it is successful, she takes her place as the leader of The Plastics.  However, this alienates her real friends Janis and Damian, angers Aaron, and disappoints her Calculus teacher Ms. Norbury (Tina Fey).  A math competition shows her that it is better to be yourself than to pretend to be someone else to fit in.  I was a little bit disappointed that two of my favorite songs from the musical, "Where Do You Belong?" when Damian describes all of the cliques at school to Cady and "Fearless" when Gretchen and Karen finally stand up to Regina, were cut but I really loved the staging of the musical numbers that remain because the camera work and choreography are very dynamic, especially in "A Cautionary Tale" and "What Ifs" because it is one long continuous take from a garage to the plains of Africa to North Shore High School, "Apex Predator" because the camera follows Regina through the school as her classmates mimic the actions of animals who are afraid of her, "Revenge Party" because it is an explosion of pastel as Janis and Damian fantasize about getting even with Regina, and, of course, my favorite song "World Burn" because it is so chaotic as the students discover what has been written about them in the Burn Book.  I liked all of the performances from the cast (including hilarious small moments from Busy Philipps as Regina's mom, Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall, and Jon Hamm and Ashley Park as teachers) but my favorites were from Cravalho because she is both fierce and vulnerable, especially in "I'd Rather Be Me," and Rapp because, in addition to her powerful voice, she is incredibly charismatic and commands the screen with attitude to spare.  I obviously cannot compare it to the original movie but I thoroughly enjoyed this version and would recommend it (especially to fans of the musical).

SIX at the Eccles

My first live theatre production of 2024 was SIX at the Eccles last night.  I had the chance to see this show with my sister Kristine in Las Vegas in 2022 and we both loved it so I was really excited to see it again!  The former wives of King Henry VIII, including Catherine of Aragon (Gerianne Perez), Anne Boleyn (Zan Berube), Jane Seymour (Amina Faye), Anna of Cleves  (Terica Marie), Katherine Howard (Aline Mayagoitia), and Catherine Parr (Adriana Scalice), get together to perform a concert with their band, The Ladies in Waiting (Jane Cardona on Keyboard, Sterlyn Termine on Bass, Rose Laguana on Guitars, and Kami Lujan on Drums).  They decide to have a competition to see which one of them has suffered the most heartache to determine the leader of the group and then each Queen proceeds to tell her story.  Catherine of Aragon (Divorced) agreed to leave her homeland at age 15, come to a country where she didn't speak the language, marry a man she had never met, spend seven years in a nunnery after he died, and then marry his brother but she did not agree to be replaced in "No Way."  Anne Boleyn (Beheaded) is sorry not sorry because she was just trying to have a little fun (what was she meant to do?) in "Don't Lose Ur Head."  Jane Seymour (Died) loved Henry but she knows that his love for her was only because of her son in "Heart of Stone."  Anna of Cleves (Divorced) was rejected by Henry for not looking like her profile picture but she ended up with a castle and more money than she can spend with no one to tell her what to do in "Get Down."  Katherine Howard (Beheaded) says her only crime was to be irresistible to men who used her in "All You Wanna Do."  Catherine Parr (Survived) argues that, even though she survived her marriage, she had to sacrifice true love in order to marry Henry in "I Don't Need Your Love."  The Queens eventually realize that they don't want to be defined by Henry and decide to lead the group together in the ultimate ode to girl power, "Six."  What I love so much about this musical is how clever it is!  Each Queen's song embodies her history so well and each performance is inspired by a real life pop star (Aragon by Beyonce, Boleyn by Avril Levigne, Seymour by Adele, Cleves by Nicki Minaj, Howard by Ariana Grande, and Parr by Alicia Keyes).  I also love how the costumes are inspired by Tudor silhouettes but feature the fabrics and bling of contemporary pop queens and how the set design mimics Tudor architecture but uses flashing LED lights.  All of the actresses give really fun performances (I think the crowd last night was the loudest I've ever heard at the Eccles) but my favorite was Faye (she was the same actress I saw in Las Vegas and she was also my favorite then) because she is incredibly powerful in "Heart of Stone."  I have been talking this show up to the friends I sit by ever since this season was announced and (luckily) they loved it just as much as I do so I can confidently talk it up here, too!  It runs at the Eccles Theatre through January 24 and tickets may be purchased here.

Note:  I love it so much I will be seeing it again Sunday night with both my sisters, my brother-in-law, and my nephew!

The Beekeeper

Last night I went to an early access IMAX screening of The Beekeeper and I had a lot of fun with it because it is the type of movie that I would have seen with my dad (he would have loved it).  Adam Clay (Jason Statham) practices his hobby of beekeeping and making honey on a farm owned by his neighbor and friend Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad).  When Eloise commits suicide, Clay discovers that she was the victim of a sophisticated phishing scam perpetrated by a vast criminal organization.  He vows revenge and, as Eloise's daughter FBI agent Verona Parker (Emmy Raver-Lampman) and her partner Matt Wiley (Bobby Naderi) investigate in his wake, they learn that Clay is a retired operative in a covert organization, known as The Beekeepers, with vast resources and no oversight.  When Clay's brutal quest for vengeance leads to Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson), a seemingly untouchable CEO protected by the former director of the CIA Wallace Westwyld (Jeremy Irons), he is forced into an epic showdown.  Statham (doing what he does best) executes thrilling fight choreography featuring single-handed combat against highly trained FBI agents, Navy SEALs, hired mercenaries, and secret service agents (sometimes all at once) with almost no dialogue other than a few witty quips (the bee analogy is a bit belabored but I have to admit that I laughed out loud at one reference).  The plot does descend into the ridiculous at times but Irons, who provides most of the exposition, plays it straight so I was completely riveted and Hutcherson is a lot of fun as the villain.  The action set pieces are completely over the top, especially an extended fight sequence in a long mirrored hallway, and they had my audience cheering out loud!  This was exactly what I was expecting and I thoroughly enjoyed it (I just wish I could have watched it with my dad).

The Color Purple

I really enjoyed the Broadway touring production of The Color Purple several years ago so I was excited to finally have the chance to see the movie adaptation of the musical last night.  It was my first movie of 2024 and I certainly picked a good one because I loved it!  Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi), a young Black girl living in the rural South in the early 1900s, has already had her two children by her abusive father Alfonso (Deon Cole) taken away from her when she is forced to marry an older man known only to her as Mister (Colman Domingo).  He beats her and forces her to cook, clean, and take care of his three children but, worse than that, he separates her from her beloved sister Nettie (Halle Bailey) and hides all of Nettie's letters to her.  After several years of this treatment, Celie (Fantasia Barrino) has had her spirit completely broken but Sofia (Danielle Brooks), the wife of Mister's son Harpo (Corey Hawkins), teaches her that she can stand up for herself and Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson), a blues singer who was once Mister's lover, teaches her to love herself.  These relationships eventually help Celie find the strength to stand up to Mister which also helps Sofia find her voice again and helps Shug reconcile with her father.  The importance of female friendships in overcoming adversity and finding the beauty in life when it seems so bleak are incredibly powerful themes and the performances, especially by Barrino and Brooks, are amazing.  I also really enjoyed the music, particularly "Keep It Movin'" by young Celie and young Nettie, "Hell No!" by Sofia, and "I'm Here" by Celie, and I loved the staging of the musical numbers (many have called it too theatrical because the choreography seems to be happening on stage but this really worked for me).  As much as I loved this movie, the pacing sometimes suffers because it tries to incorporate elements from both the stage musical and the novel by Alice Walker which means that some of the milestones in Celie's life happen very quickly before the audience has a chance to experience the emotional impact (especially in the first act).  Even so, it still feels too long.  Aside from these pacing issues, the themes, the music, and the performances make this adaptation worth seeing and I highly recommend it.