Carousel: Utah Repertory Theater Company

What happens when you write a theater review, then assume you have clicked "save" in your late-night delirium, only to realize "save" is the opposite of what happened?  And you have to get out wedding invitations to 300?  And a dear friend recently passed away?  Folks, it has been quite a whirlwind these past few days. 

I have many thoughts on Utah Repertory Theater Company's production of Carousel, yet am unable to recreate the glamor of my original writing in a quick manner.  Carousel closes this weekend, so I want to get some notes up.  I will edit this post as soon as I can to more accurately reflect my thoughts. 

Pros:

• Live Orchestra!
• Beautiful male silks worker - acrobatics on silks hanging from the ceiling ala Cirque du Soleil
• The opening scene began with a stark stage, then gradually added in more color and life until all of a sudden you realize you are in the middle of a carnival - absolutely magnificent staging and pacing - this climaxes when the actors finally begin to speak, and then the crowd slowly dissipates until the scene is focused once again on the main characters
• Speaking of staging - the "Human carousel" makes several appearances and I love the idea
• Amber Lee Roberts as Julie Jordan is quite striking in both sweetness, stage presence, and cheek bones.
• When Mimi West as Carrie Pipperidge sang "Mr. Snow" I felt as if I were being drawn into a story two old girlfriends were sharing with each other instead of just watching an artist sing a song.  Mimi also has an incredible trained singing voice.  
• When Roberts and Samuel Ross West as Billy Bigelow share their first kiss?  Yowzas - now that's a kiss!
•  June IS bustin' out all over - what a large cast!  They produced a perfect group sound that truly made me feel the excitement of a community preparing for their favorite event of the year.
• Scott Cluff as Mr. Snow has a beautiful singing voice and is definitely one the women will realize why Ms. Pipperidge is swooning over.  He has an adorable chemistry with Mimi.
• I'm not stranger to community theater and I have one big question - where did they get all of these amazingly talented men?!  They all sing AND dance with much more adequacy than I expected!  Great job, men!
• Eve Speer as Mrs. Mullin has some amazing costumes! Especially the red and black number as her second costume - very striking - great work there!  Also, Speer had stage presence you can't ignore if you try.  When she's on stage, all eyes are on her.
• Elsa Hodder as Louise - h.o.l.y. c.o.w.  What a dancer!  She actually looks like the child of Julie and Billy, dances and acts like a seasoned pro, and all at the age of 14.  Holy smokes I only wish I'd been half as talented as her at 14.  She performs a beautiful dance at the beginning of act two and her partner, whose name escapes me, is tremendous as well - beautiful lifts, jumps, balance, coordination...she's going places!
• Roberts, as Julie Jordan, shed actual tears at the end of the show.  I could see the light glistening from them.  I appreciate an actress who is able to so fully immerse herself in her work that she emotes as her character.  Well done.
• Kyle Allen, as villain Jigger Craigin was not wearing a microphone and sounded great - his evilness and sound did not need a mic to project to the audience members.
• All-in-all this is a beautiful production!  The sparse feel of the Murray Theater lends itself to the atmosphere of the show. The ending of the show is somber, the message of the show can be seen many different ways, most of which is not "I hit you because I love you."  The point, to me, is that we can be forgiven for our mistakes and life can still produce beauty.  Don't let the dark nature of the storyline distort your appreciation of the beautiful performances. I was previously told this is the best show Utah Rep has performed to date and I whole-heartedly agree with that statement.  
• If you are an appreciator of the classic's of Rodgers and Hammerstein, you will love this production, hands-down. 

Cons:

• At the very beginning of the show, many of the faces are lost in the shadows, although I later realized this may have been intentional to show the starkness of the facility where the girls work.
• Due to the venue, there is an echo in a lot of the sound from those wearing mic's.
• The mics caused some of the voices to be muffled.  Unfortunately the beautiful voice of Samuel Ross West, as Billy, was the main voice on which we lost quality.  This is a such a terrible shame because West has a tremendous voice of which you want to hear every nuance. I've seen him perform previously and knew what I was missing.  The venue is difficult to work with mics in and I was assured the performance I attended was the first time his mic malfunctioned.
• When Mr. Snow and Ms. Pipperidge argue, his reaction is so melodramatic, I thought I was missing a joke somewhere and it seemed rather out of place.  You do immediately know they'll end up together because he doesn't seem genuinely upset, I, and my company, found this a rather odd character choice, although charmingly funny.
• My partner in crime for the evening suggested the program listing the bios should be arranged in order of leading characters, not in alphabetical order of actor's names.  He found it confusing to have to look up the actor's name in the front of the program, then flip to the bio section to find their bio alphabetically.  We know the character name, not the actor's name.  This did not bother me so much - I think it's a matter of personal preference.  

My sincerest apologies to the cast and pro team, mostly Johnny Hebda, for the delayed nature of this post.  Life, as displayed in Carousel, throws many unexpected turns.  

Catch the show!  Purchase tickets here or at the door. 
Friday August 23rd at 7:30 pm
Saturday August 24th at 2:00pm
Saturday August 25th at 7:30pm

Doo Wop Wed Widing Hood: Murray Arts in the Park

Finally!  A show for the kids. 

Did you know Red Riding Hood has 2 sisters?  Parents who are addicted to television?  A Fairy Godmother who sings the blues and twirls baton (oh, that's me!)?  Come check it out and meet all the fairy tale characters your children love!  Stick around to see what kind of work I produced in my first go-around as choreographer in the 50s musical olio.

Doo Wop Wed Widing Hood & 50s musical olio
Murray Amphitheater - 520 E. Vine Street   Murray, UT
June  21, 22, 24 @ 8pm

What The Bellhop Saw: Utah Repertory Theater Company

Walking into the Murray Theater last weekend, I couldn't help but let the edges of my mouth curl into a grin.  One thing I have got to give Johnny Hebda's Utah Repertory Theater Company is that they always do their darndest to create atmosphere for their patrons.  In What the Bellhop Saw, you will find your tickets at a hotel check-in desk in the hands of the hotel staff, after which the bellhops usher you to your seats.   Who doesn't love feeling a part of the show and removed from the real world before the show even begins?

My impressions were further reinforced as I gazed up on the stage in wonderment at the set.  I've been to the Murray theater many times and never expected to see a 1940's art deco hotel room constructed on the stage. 

What the Bellhop Saw, is a farcical comedy set in a New York City hotel.  The actual era of the show was a little lost on me as I know it was written in 1989, however music from the 1940s through today played throughout the show and the characters dressed in 1940s-style clothing.  As far as the storyline, you've got a man trying to seduce is secretary, a scheming brother, a terrorist, a manly jealous wife, and a sleep-your-way-to-the-top maid.  That's really all you need to know.  

I don't want to get too into the plot, as that's not what creates the fun about this show.  You've got cheesy, "Naked Gun"-esque lines, like a pantsless man stating, "You scared the pants off me," visual farce such *spoiler alert* a man dressed as a woman, and staging that constantly has your eyes darting from one side of the stage to the other as the actors run in and out of the room in dizzying array.  Kudos to director Chasey Ramsey!

Arlene, the jealous wife played by Jake Suazo, is physically hilarious and daunting, yet he often seemed on the verge of a smile.  When you see the show you can tell why he'd want to bust up laughing at any moment, alas the cruelty of the character isn't as sharp as it could be if you think the character may chuckle.  Thank heavens the only things truly busting up were the buttons off the bosom area of his dress.  Wardrobe malfunction or intentional, I covered my mouth to keep myself from giggling too loud every time I noticed.   

The only tidbits that rubbed me the wrong way were a few lines I like to call "throw away lines."  These are strange transitional lines that seem to make no sense in the course of the show, yet the writers throw them in anyway.  I thought most of these were cleverly hidden, but a couple fell flat and stalled the pace of the show.

Expect lots of yelling (hallelujah the actors are not miked so the yelling is awesome instead of shrilly busting out eardrums), lots of running, slamming doors, and fast-paced action.  I cannot tell you how impressed I was with this troupe rarely missing a beat of the frantic comedy pacing.  The first half of the show is about 45 minutes, while the second half less than thirty.  This is refreshing after too many a 2.5 hour show. 

I appreciate a group wanting to do a show simply because it is fun...it's refreshing.  I don't think enough people celebrate zaniness for the sake of zaniness.  Sometimes we need a show that reminds us that acting is fun and life is silly, pure and simple.  Not enough theaters in Utah attempt to embrace the fluff of comedies of the physical, mad-cap comedies of old.  One of the actors in the talk back session after the show stated, "This show is nonsense and it celebrates that."

Director Ramsey stated my summary of the show best in his production notes, "...It will not change your life, and it won't even make you think.  We do this to allow you to escape, laugh, and simply find freedom from stresses and blemishes in your lives."

You will enjoy each cast member in this strong ensemble: Jack Kyle Oram as Wally, James McKinney as Georgie, Daniel Whiting as Mr. Bickhardt, Benjamin James Henderson as Stan, Jason Sullivan as Roger, Bethany R. Woodruff as Missy, Maddy Belle Forsyth as Heather, M. Chase Grant as Guest, Jake Ben Suazo as Arlene, Robbie X Peirce as Babu, and Aubrey Bench as Little Heidi.  The pro-team is: Brian Grob the Assistant Director, Emily Griffith the Stage Manager, Kevin Dudley the Set Designer, Allen Stout the Costume Designer, Caitlin Mattie Webb the Makeup Designer, and Ariel Mitchell the Dramaturg.  

If you'd like to check into the What the Bellhop Saw hotel at the Murray Theater on 4691 State Street for an evening away from the world, you've got three chances left - Friday June 14th at 7:30pm, Saturday June 15th at 2pm, and Saturday June 15th at 7:30pm.  Get tickets here.

Photo courtesy of http://utahrep.org/2013-season/what-the-bellhop-saw/