How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at HCTO

I always love it when I have the opportunity to see a popular show that I haven't seen before and that is what happened at HCTO last night when I got to see their production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  It is a charming old-fashioned musical satirizing life on the corporate ladder and I loved it.  J. Pierpont Finch (Josh Valdez) is a lowly window washer for the World Wide Wicket Company with big ambitions.  After consulting the book How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, he impresses the boss J.B. Biggley (David Morley-Walker) and he gets a job working in the mail room.  Despite the attention from Rosemary Pilkington (Morgan Fenner), a secretary who has decided to marry him, and the scheming of Bud Frump (Joseph Paul Branca), Mr. Biggley's incompetent nephew who is jealous of him, he becomes a junior executive in the Plans and Systems Department, then Vice President of Advertising, and eventually takes the place of Wally Womper (Michael D. Fox) as Chairman of the Board.  The best part of this show is the dazzling and innovative choreography and I loved watching the incredibly talented ensemble perform in the big song and dance numbers "Coffee Break," "The Company Way," "A Secretary Is Not a Toy," "Paris Original," "Cinderella, Darlin'," "I Believe In You," and "Brotherhood of Man."  I had a huge smile on my face during all of these numbers and so did everyone in the audience.  The cast is outstanding!  Valdez has just the right combination of earnestness and charisma to shine as Finch and I loved his touching performance in "Rosemary" and his raucous rendition of "Grand Old Ivy" with Morley-Walker (which made me laugh out loud).  The female roles are a bit outdated for a modern audience but Fenner, Lisa Zimmerman (as Hedy LaRue), and McKell Shaw (as the secretary Smitty) add a lot of comedic elements to their performances.  However, it is Branca who absolutely steals the show because he is so petulant as Frump and his physicality and facial expressions are hilarious (I think I laughed at every single thing he did).  The stage features a black and white checkerboard floor, stylized logos for the World Wide Wicket Company (which reminded me of the Pan Am logo), and geometric set pieces that emphasize a 1960s vibe.  These geometric patterns are also used in panels with colored LED lights all around the theater and I loved how the lights flashed in sync with the music.  The period costumes are all a lot of fun, especially the Paris "original" gowns worn by all of the secretaries to a reception.  I definitely enjoyed this show (without really trying) and I recommend it highly (go here for tickets).  It runs every night but Sunday with several matinees through April 13.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

I saw the hilarious show The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at the Utah Shakespeare Festival years ago and I loved it so I was really looking forward to seeing the Terrace Plaza Playhouse's production last night. It was so much fun! A group of actors (Josh Curtis, Jenni Cooper, and Whitney Cahoon), who portray themselves and break the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience, attempt to perform all of Shakespeare's plays in 90 minutes. Hilarity ensues! They begin with a brief biography of Shakespeare, but they mistake the bard for Adolf Hitler, and then continue with the tragedies (Romeo and Juliet, which features commentary about consent, Titus Andronicus, which is presented as a cooking show, and Macbeth, which is performed with incomprehensible Scottish accents, are the highlights). Next they present the comedies as one long play with interchangeable characters (designated by different hats) because they all have the same plot and then perform all of the history plays as a football game with all of the kings as players and a crown instead of a ball (they call a flag on the play when King Lear tries to divide the kingdom between his daughters). At this point they realize that they have forgotten Hamlet but decide that they need a break. After the intermission, they present the sonnets (with help from the audience using Mad-Libs) and then perform an over the top version of Hamlet with lots of audience participation when they decide to psychoanalyze Ophelia. They finish early so they decide to perform Hamlet again in an attempt to break the record for the fastest production (53 seconds) and, when they do that, they decide to perform it backwards! I could not stop laughing during the entire show because it involves a lot of physical comedy.  It also allows for the addition of current pop culture references (I loved the use of Taylor Swift's song "Love Story" at the end of Romeo and Juliet), people and events specific to the area (there were many mentions of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City), interactions with the audience (there was a large group of high school students in attendance which made this really fun), as well as lots of improvisation (especially when props would malfunction). The cast is fantastic with brilliant comedic timing, especially in the scenes where they are portraying multiple characters, and I loved all of their facial expressions. The actors wear white blouses, black pantaloons, white hose, and black Converse high-tops and this allows them to become multiple characters with the addition of different costume pieces (my favorite costume was for the nurse in Romeo and Juliet because the audience howled with laughter at the obviously fake boobs). The stage is very simple with three red curtains, from which the actors make their entrances, and two large trunks on either side containing costumes and props. I had so much fun watching this show and I was really impressed with all of the students in the audience because they definitely picked up on all of the references! I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) during its run with shows Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays through April 6.

Bonnie & Clyde at PTC

I have been looking forward to Bonnie & Clyde at PTC ever since the 2023-2024 season was announced so I braved the wind driving to and the snow driving from the theater to see a matinee yesterday. It was worth it because I really loved this show (I had never seen it before). A young Bonnie Parker (Elisabeth Wilkins) wants to be a star on the big screen just like Clara Bow while Clyde Barrow (Daniel Michael Sorokine) spends his youth yearning for the excitement of being an outlaw like Billy the Kid. When they meet during the height of the Great Depression, Bonnie (Alanna Saunders) is a waitress and Clyde (Michael William Nigro) is an escaped convict but they both want to leave West Dallas. They fall in love and Bonnie is drawn into Clyde's life of crime, first when she helps him escape from prison again and then when they go on the run in her 1931 roadster. They become heroes to those who have suffered during the depression and, as their fame grows, they escalate from robbery to murder which gets the attention of retired Texas Ranger Frank Hamer (Daniel Simons). As they become more and more reckless and involve Clyde's brother Buck (Dan DeLuca) and his wife Blanche (Gina Milo), their adventure comes to an inevitable end when their car is ambushed on a Louisiana road. The story takes a long time to get going in the first act and then seems a bit rushed in the second act but I still found it to be very compelling, particularly the juxtaposition between the relationship between Bonnie and Clyde and that of Buck and Blanche. The music in this show is fantastic with a blues, gospel, and rockabilly sound. I especially loved "Picture Show" as Bonnie dreams of being on the screen, "This World Will Remember Me" as Clyde dreams of being an outlaw, "God's Arms Are Always Open" as a Preacher (Christian Brailsford) and Blanche try to get Buck to give up his life of crime, "You Love Who You Love" as Bonnie and Blanche realize that they can't help loving the Barrow brothers, "Raise A Little Hell" as Clyde plots to break out of prison, "Made in America" as the people express their desperation over their circumstances, and "Dyin' Ain't So Bad" as Bonnie consoles herself with the knowledge that she and Clyde have lived life on their terms. Both Saunders and Nigro have beautiful voices and give incredible performances that just about blow the roof off the theater. They are matched by the performances of DeLuca and Milo, especially when the four of them sing together. I also really liked Ben Jacoby as Ted Hinton, a policeman who is interested in Bonnie, because exhibits so much longing in the song "You Can Do Better Than Him."  This show features one of my favorite sets at PTC because it is so unique.  The backdrop is a three-story structure made of corrugated metal (it looks like the kind of bleak structure that would exist during the Great Depression) which features the mugshots of Bonnie, Clyde, Buck, and Blanche as well as a giant marquee (it looks like the front of a movie theater) that lights up to show the various locations in the show.  The action takes place in front of the backdrop with the addition of a few minimal props (I loved the roadster) as well as within an area inside that represents the couple's hideout. The lighting design is moody and atmospheric with sepia tones that turn into a dramatic splash of red during the scenes involving violence. The period costumes also feature sepia tones but Bonnie's become more colorful the more notorious she becomes. The story itself could have been more cohesive but I loved every aspect of this production and I highly recommend it (the audience at my performance was the largest I've seen at PTC this season). It runs through March 9 and tickets may be purchased here.

Clue at HCT

Yesterday afternoon I went to see a matinee of Clue on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage at HCT. At this point I have seen several productions of this play based on a movie based on a board game and, while I did enjoy some of the elements, this is probably my least favorite (the best one I've seen was at the Utah Shakespeare Festival). Six guests, including Colonel Mustard (Sanford Porter), Mrs. Peacock (Jayne Luke), Professor Plum (Taylor Seth Hall), Mrs. White (Stephanie Breinholt), Mr. Green (Jeffrey Whitlock), and Miss Scarlet (Kristi Curtis), are invited by Mr. Boddy (Jacob Thomason) to his manor under unusual circumstances on a dark and stormy evening. Mr. Boddy has been blackmailing each of them and, after providing them with weapons, he tells them that he will return the evidence he has against them if they kill his butler Wadsworth (Bryan Dayley). Murder and mayhem ensue! This show is one of the funniest that I have ever seen but this production felt really flat to me and I rarely heard the audience laughing. Dayley, who is one of my favorite comedic actors at HCT, gives an incredibly physical performance (which I loved) as Wadsworth that is completely over the top and at a fever pitch but all of the other actors play it straight as if they are appearing in a traditional murder mystery and I thought this sometimes caused some pacing issues (this performance featured a mix of actors from both the MWF and THS casts who are not used to performing together so that may have added to the low energy). In one particular scene, for example, Dayley reenacts every murder in great detail (so much so that he is completely out of breath at the end of it) while the rest of the cast stands inert around him (there are quite a few scenes where the cast just stands in a straight line). In most productions that I have seen, the guests use elaborate, and often hilarious, choreography to move from room to room but in this show Dayley is the only one who does this while the others just follow him around. Mr. Green is usually one of my favorite characters because he is so flamboyant but in this production Whitlock plays him as more of a nerd (so his final line really falls flat). Speaking of dialogue, it is incredibly witty and is usually performed at a rapid-fire speed. The delivery from this cast was almost sluggish (it involved a lot of empty silences) and many of the jokes didn't seem to land. I am not sure if these choices were made consciously by the production team to distinguish it from other versions but I found it a bit disappointing in comparison. I did not, however, find the elaborate two-story set to be disappointing! There are two doors on either side of the stage used by the actors to travel from room to room and a turntable that rotates to reveal the entry hall, the lounge, the study, the kitchen, and the billiards room at various times with set pieces for the library coming down from above and projections for the conservatory (located on the upper level). I also really enjoyed the dramatic lighting, especially the spotlight on each guest as he or she arrives at the manor, and the costumes which feature just a bit of each character's signature color are a lot of fun. Finally, an organist (Kevin Self) located on the upper level plays melodramatic music throughout the proceedings and this really adds to the murder-mystery atmosphere. Maybe I am being too hard on this production (or maybe I have seen this show too many times) but the tickets are really expensive so I can't in good conscience recommend this simply because the production design is good. Go see Fiddler on the Roof instead!  It is fantastic and runs on the Young Living Centre Stage through March 30 (go here for tickets).

MJ The Musical at the Eccles

Last night I had so much fun seeing MJ The Musical at the Eccles Theatre.  I am a big fan of Michael Jackson's music so I literally had to stop myself from singing along with every song!  This is a jukebox musical featuring many of Jackson's best known hits and it tells his life story but the premise is very clever.  Michael Jackson is creating his 1992 Dangerous World Tour and is facing resistance from his tour manager Rob and his financial advisor Dave because some of his ideas are deemed impossible and too expensive.  He refuses to compromise his vision and rehearses the numbers in the show, including "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Smooth Criminal," "Jam," "Bad," and "Black or White."  In between numbers he is interviewed for a documentary by Rachel and her cameraman Alejandro and he recounts his experiences with the Jackson 5 ("The Love You Save," "I Want You Back," and "ABC"), his fear of never pleasing his father Joe ("I'll Be There"), his decision to leave Berry Gordy at Motown to collaborate with Quincy Jones ("Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"), his fear that the new album and tour won't live up to expectations ("They Don't Care About Us"), and his frustrations with the press ("Human Nature").  He finally faces his demons ("Thriller") and decides to let his music tell the story ("Man in the Mirror").  As you can imagine, the elaborate choreography is absolutely amazing and it brilliantly recreates some of Jackson's most iconic performances (my favorite was "Billie Jean," which mimics his performance at the Motown 25th Anniversary concert, because I have vivid memories of watching it at the time).  I also really enjoyed the staging of the musical numbers because the rehearsal of the tour takes place on a stripped down stage and the flashbacks feature projections and set pieces that are moved seamlessly on and off that same stage as if Michael is remembering events as he is describing them to Rachel.  Specific songs are used very well to advance the narrative about Jackson's life (I especially loved "Stranger in Moscow" because, even though it was written after the Dangerous World Tour, it perfectly illustrates the isolation Jackson feels as his ideas are rejected) so it feels like a story rather than just a concert.  Three different actors portray Jackson at different stages of his life.  MJ (Roman Banks) rehearses the tour while Michael (Brandon Lee Harris) and Little Michael (Josiah Benson) appear in the flashback sequences.  All three give outstanding performances and there were moments when it really seemed like it was actually Michael Jackson on the stage (Benson is adorable).  Almost all of the ensemble play multiple roles and they sometimes transform from one to the other right on stage.  Having Devin Bowles portray both Joe Jackson and Rob is especially effective because both characters serve the same function in Jackson's life.  This is a high-energy show that fans of Michael Jackson are sure to enjoy and I highly recommend it.  It runs at the Eccles Theatre though March 3 (go here for tickets).