Fly More Than You Fall

I have been looking forward to this moment for quite some time. The opportunity to see the world premiere of a brand new musical before it hits the great white way is a rare opportunity and I wasn't about to miss it! I was not in the least disappointed. What an incredible new musical that I hope will grace Broadway for a very long time. Broadway desperately needs new works. The re-hash of film's being adapted to the musical comedy stage is getting old and tired. Not that many of them are not good, some, in fact, are well done, but we need fresh new voices to keep the theater alive, "really" alive.

This was my first time in the new Noorda Center for the Arts and I was completely blown away by this beautiful center. And the new Smith Theater is absolutely gorgeous. What a beautiful venue to premiere this beautiful show.

In a nutshell, this beautiful story is about a young girl named Malia, played by the wonderfully gifted Lexi Walker who gave an incredible performance as a young woman dealing with the illness and eventual death of her mother by cancer. Malia deals with her problems in life by writing fantastical stories and within the confines of this story, we see the unfolding of a young bird named Willow, played to equal perfection by the wonderful Autumn Best and her journey to chase after her dreams no matter where they take her. This story mirrors the challenges that Malia is going through and it allows us, along with Malia to escape the sadness of her mom's eventual passing and the challenges she faces after her death of taking care of herself and helping her grieving father, Paul, played brilliantly and very touchingly by Thom Miller. Mr. Miller's performance brought me to tears and practically broke my heart. The challenges this character faces at the death of his beloved wife and becoming a single father all at the same time trying to help her deal with her grief is the challenge in this story and helps us the audience understand the grieving process and how important it is to move forward, albeit very difficult to do at times, and to eventually let life move forward and for us to continue our lost loved one's story by continuing our own; a very life-affirming message that is delivered by this beautiful and touching musical. It basically breaks your heart and puts it back together again in the course of the story.

The ensemble is absolutely amazing and the energy and exuberance was exciting to watch and made the journey through this tough material bearable and actually moving and at sometimes even fun. Which gave a nice balance to the material. Book Writer & Co-Lyricist, Eric Homes delivered a very tight and incredible script that delivered a message of hope and promise without ever being preachy or overly sentimental.

Malia's mother, played at the matinee performance by the understudy, Tianna Maxwell, is at the heart of this story, and Tianna's performance was magnificent and heartbreaking. Balancing her responsibilities as a mother to Malia along with her struggles with cancer that is slowly taking her was heartbreaking to watch and Tianna did it with such grace and gave us such a well-rounded character that won my heart the moment she appeared on stage for the first time. The surprise of the show for me was the wonderful Seth Foster as Caleb, Malia's friend at writer's camp who becomes the one friend of her's that helps her to move forward and in his own funny and heartwarming way makes us fall in love with home from the very beginning. We all wish we could have a friend like Caleb. The fact that he deals with what can be seen as a disability along with being gay are both moot points. It isn't the focus of his character. No matter what, Caleb loves life, his friends and wants to live life with gusto and goes after his passions with all of his might, which he passes on to everyone he comes in contact with. This character was so much fun to watch and brought me such joy throughout the entire performance! Such a life-affirming and fantastic performance by a wonderful young actor. I hope we get to see more of him in the future! Equally awesome is the character of Derek, played by another amazing young artist, Josh Durfey. There really isn't a full-fledged romance that happens between Malia and him, but you can see the beginnings of one that leaves you a feeling of hope at the end that maybe, just maybe, Malia has found her soul mate and Derek becomes another hero in Malia's life that stands up for her and tries his best, despite all of his adolescent faults, to be that good friend that everyone needs. Last, but not least, is the wonderful Cairo McCgee as Flynn, the male bird that Willow, in Malia's fantastical story, falls in love with and in the end, helps Willow reach her dreams of climbing a giant mountain and flying off of it to glorious results; one of the truly touching moments of the entire production. Cairo delivered an equally heartbreaking and touching performance of the bird who gets his heart broken but steps up when it counts to help the one he loves to reach for the stars. A wonderful metaphor for Malia's real-life story and struggle.

The entire ensemble, Lyza Bell, Jason Bowman, McCall Hope Brainard, Joseph Campbell, Tyler Fox, Abby Higbee, Levi Hopkins, Chloe Galli King, Malia Nutter, Rachel Peel, Preston Smith, and Bennett Wood, were all wonderful and rounded out a terrific cast of awesome artists and helped to make this experience so awesome for me as an audience member.

Congratulations to the team of Nat Zegree (Music & Lyrics), who's score was exciting, fresh and absolutely moving, Eric Holmes (Book & Lyrics), and Jeff Whiting (Director and Choreographer). Fly More Than You Fall is magnificent and a wonderful original piece that I hope will find itself on Broadway soon, so the rest of the world can see this wonderful story come to life on the stage. I lost my mother to Alzheimer's 4 years ago, and this story was very personal for me. Thank you, Nat & Eric, for writing a beautiful and touching story!

Click here for an article that appeared in the Deseret News. I'm 100% in agreement with this article! I hope Fly More Than You Fall makes it to the great white way!

Xanadu

I will never forget the first time I ever saw this incredibly hilarious production of this musical comedy back in 2011 and then in 2016 and now it's 2019 and we're back again celebrating the wonderful Christopher Clark and raising money for the Rocky Mountain ALS Chapter.

This is one of three guilty pleasures I have in my life, the other's being "Grease 2" and "The Pirate Movie." Three of the worst movies ever made but their so much fun! With great 80's music combined with the music of the '60s and the later being Gilbert & Sullivan.

Xanadu though features the great music of Jeff Lynne & John Farrar "The Electric Light Orchestra."

With a Book by Douglas Carter Beane, this hilarious spoof of everything 1980 brings so much joy to this Generation X'er and Friday night was no disappointment!

Kudos once again to the director, Chris Clark; choreographer, Jenny Barlow, and music director, Korianne Orton-Johnson for bringing this gem back to the HCTO stage!

It was so awesome to once again see the beautiful Ashley Gardner Carlson as Kira/Clio, the characters made famous by Olivia Newton-Johnson herself in the film! Ashley stands on her own and delivers such a fun and energetic performance. It was equally awesome once again to see the awesome David Holmes as Sonny, the character made famous by Michael Beck in the film. David is so hilarious and so much fun to watch on stage. The entire evening was absolute non-stop hilarity and this was all accomplished by not only these two awesome artists, but the terrific ensemble made up of  the wonderful Shawn Lynn as Danny/Zeus, made famous in the film by the incomparable Gene Kelly; Bailee Morris as Melpomene, the incomparable and hilarious Ali Bennett as Calliope/Aphrodite, the wonderful Josh Valdez and Terpsichore/Hermes, David Muncy as Thalia/Dream Danny, Britany Sanders as Euterpe/Thetis and Katie Sloan as Erto/Hero. Rounding out the evening were hilarious cameos by Christopher Clark's awesome wife, Lisa Valentine Clark as Medusa; Hailey Jones Smith and Benjamin James Oldroyd as the Cyclops.

Thank you all for a wonderful evening of laughs and pure joy!

The Moors

It's so exciting to see An Other Theater Compay begin its 3rd season in Provo. This theater company is so incredible and the work they are doing is monumental!

"The Moors," directed by dear friend Angela Nibley is a very strange tale (Dark Comedy about love, desperation, and a moor-hen). I didn't know what to expect when sitting down last night to watch this wickedly hilarious play by Jen Silverman, but I wasn't disappointed at all! What a fun evening of theater! I am so happy for Angela and her success with this wonderful play! Believe me, what actually happens on the stage is nothing you could possibly imagine, and that is what makes this play and this awesome production so incredible and so much fun!

The cast are all incredible! Each, very unique in their own right, and the artists behind these delightful characters are consummate professionals at the top of their game. Bryn Curry as Agatha was precise and calculating in her performance which led to the eerieness and mystery behind this piece. I have loved Bryn in her previous work at AOTC, particularly as Mary in "The Rapture Happens at Midnight." Maddie Smith as Huldey is making her AOTC debut and what a delight! She is so energetic and fun to watch on stage. Her character made a nice contrast between herself and Agatha. The relationship was very clear and concise. Vivianne Turman gave a hilarious performance as Mallory/Marjory the two manorhouse maids. Chelsea Hickman gave a heartbreaking and honest performance as Emilie, the governess. I have admired Chelsea's work at AOTC including Ruth in "The Rapture Happens at Midnight" and Uncle Peck in "How I Learned to Drive." Rounding out the incredible ensemble in two hilarious and heartbreaking performances were Bryce Lloyd Fueston as The Mastiff and Laura Elise Chapman as The Moor Hen. I was rooting for these two delightful characters throughout the entire performance. Bryce is amazing in anything that he does and this was the first time I had seen Laura and she was so delightful and amazing in her performance; I look forward to seeing her again soon!

Kudos to the entire design team and staff for a job well done! I highly urge you to get down to the Provo Towne Center to see this amazing theatrical work. It's the regional premiere and will most likely not be done again for a very long time, if ever in Utah. This theater is doing remarkable work in Utah County and bringing a unique voice to local theater and works that need to be seen. Thank you to Kacey Spadafora and Taylor Jack Nelson and their entire team for doing what you are doing for Utah County theater!

Us

I know I'm behind on my film watching and all of my friends keep pestering me to see this movie, so I finally did and WOW!!!!!! Jordan Peele is my new favorite horror director, hands down! I personally feel he is the next Hitchcock but with a style all his own! It's wonderful to see black actors being the stars for once in the horror genre!

I didn't know what to expect going into this film, and every one of my expectations were turned upside down and that is the best thing I can say about this incredible and thrilling piece of filmmaking!

I love intelligent horror films and this film is indeed that. Highly intelligent! It left me with more questions and answers, and finding answers to those questions and discovering those answers for myself have been so enjoyable and thrilling!

This film completely held me spellbound from beginning to end. Just when I thought the film was headed a certain way, Jordan Peele did a 360 and headed a completely different way, thus the comparison to Hitchcock. I absolutely love and adore this film and will now watch Jordan Peele's first film, "Get Out" very soon!

The entire cast was incredible, particularly having to play two characters each. Lupita Nyong'o's performance was the standout though in this film! What an incredible artist! She had me glued to my seat the entire time! She was so wonderful to watch! I am so happy that there are artists like Jordan Peele that are writing films like this out there! We need more! Please!!

I highly recommend this film to everyone!

Newsies

 

 I am a die-hard Fansie, and I have loved this incredible musical since the film version came out in 1992.

When the stage version came out in 2011 I was excited to see how it would be adapted for the stage. 

I wasn't disappointed in the least! In fact, Harvey Fierstein's adaptation of the film to the stage was nothing short of brilliant! It vastly improved the story and made it even better in my opinion! Well, this piece finally made it to the SCERA stage and it was not only a fun production it was also very endearing and kudos to the entire cast and crew for a job well done.

Even before the show started I was immediately transported back to turn of the century NYC with M’liss Tolman's incredible set; one of the most complex and beautiful sets I have ever seen on the SCERA Shell Stage. The pre-show music added to this tremendously. The wonderful casting of equal girls and boys as Newsies rounded out this package to bring the audience a very well crafted, historically accurate production of this wonderful show! Deborah Bowman's wonderful costumes were a delight to see! You could distinguish between each character very well! Deborah is a master at this and I love and adore her! Elizabeth Ottley Griffiths lighting design was equally stunning! I loved in particular, the gas lamps; very invocative of the time period.

Michael Carrasco's wonderful concept and direction of this piece were superb! He brought his own flavor to this show and in particular I loved what he did with "Letter from the Refuge" which helped to really show the deep suffering that Crutchie suffers at the hands of Snyder and his ugly brand of "Juvenile" reform; having this as an actual solo, different from the original production with other kids sleeping around him as well as having him situated above the set, helped this a lot. It was an awesome directorial choice! Tyne Valgardson Crockett's choreography, as always, was inventive and exciting to watch! I adore Tyne and I loved her take on this story from a choreography POV, particularly with this show because sometimes the emotion is so high that only dance can communicate to the audience what is happening with the characters on stage. Some of my favorite numbers were: "The World Will Know," "Seize the Day," "King of New York," and "Once and For All." Delayne Bluth Dayton, as always, delivered the music so brilliantly to the stage. The harmonies were awesome and it was so wonderful to hear such a large cast come together as a true ensemble from a music standpoint!

The entire cast was incredible. Their energy was infectious and I was rooting for all of them from the very beginning. This was a true ensemble and they all worked so well together! A standout for me though in this particular production was the characters of Jack and Katharine, played by Paul Cave and Avonlea Simmons respectively. Each brought a whole new and different take on these characters than I ever have seen before and it was so refreshing and endearing! I loved Paul's youthful exuberance and boyish energy, particularly his reaction to Katharine's admission of her love for him in "Something to Believe In;" in fact, it was this scene, in particular, that was handled so well by both these terrific artists! Avonlea's performance as Katharine was so feisty and youthful as well. In particular, a stand out of me was her incredible performance of "Watch What Happens." She captured so well this "actor's" musical number; each thought was brought carefully forward to the audience and she portrayed Katharine's struggle to fit in this new world of turn of the century America as a woman so well! This was the character that changed this show for me! Her creation by Harvey Fierstein was a brilliant choice and it is this character that makes Jack Kelly's character so much stronger! I personally feel that this was the main flaw in the original film: Jack's out of nowhere romance with Davey's sister, who was a throw-away character. This relationship was so much more honest, realistic and helped to make Jack's journey so much more cathartic and touching! Congratulations to two very talented and gifted artists!

Again, congratulations to everyone involved for a job well done! I also want to thank SCERA for not cutting the language from this production. I know that Utah County audiences are very conservative and even dams and hells generates letters from time to time. Even the inclusion of "Bastards" helped to honor the intent of the playwright. In that opening scene, "Santa Fe" that word is very important and it helps to convey the frustration of Jack and Crutchie from the very beginning. Language is important and sometimes so-called "Profanity" is needed to convey the intent of the character. I applaud SCERA for leaving the material fully intact! Thank you to everyone involved for such an enjoyable evening under the stars!

Tuck Everlasting

I must say that I adored every single moment of this beautiful production at HCT-Orem. I love this story and the musical version is wonderful and emotionally packed. The entire cast needs to be congratulated for a job well done. The biggest honor though must go to the beautiful Ava Hoekstra as Winnie Foster. She was absolutely adorable and I was rooting for her throughout the entire evening. At such a young age, this wonderful little actress brought such depth and professionalism to her performance. Her story broke my heart. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be faced with the decision this little girl had to make. Equally stunning was the amazing Carter Walker as Jesse Tuck. He also broke my heart! The one thing you think would be great (everlasting life) can also be a tremendous curse, and this, unfortunately, is a hard lesson learned by this wonderful character throughout the course of the evening. The rest of the cast once again did outstanding jobs and each was unique and brought their own flavor to the production! Well done to a terrific ensemble! This production closes this weekend, so don't miss it if you can get tickets!

The Rapture Happens at Midnight

I was so excited as I sat down on Saturday, May 4th to watch this world premiere play by my dear friend Liz Golden, that I could hardly contain myself! I was not disappointed in any way!

Liz assembled a tight ensemble to bring to life this incredible story about faith, belief, family loyalty, and personal integrity! The basic story is the story of a televangelist, his wife, and their 4 daughters, 1 granddaughter and their manager/personal assistant, all preparing for the rapture happening that night at Midnight.

Thus begins an intense journey into the depths of familial hopes, dreams, relationships, etc. The entire cast was a true ensemble and worked so well together. My dear friend, Jessamyn Svensson led the cast as the eldest daughter only known to us as "D." Joel Applegate delivers another stunning performance as her father/televangelist, Michael. Supporting both of them was the stunning Cathy Ostler as her mother, Deborah and her sisters Mary (Bryn Curry), Beth (Merry Magee), Chelsea Hickman (Ruth), Lucy Golden as the granddaughter Paislee, and Camilla Martinez (Hannah, the maid) and Bryce Lloyd as Martin (The Assistant). All of these incredibly gifted artists delivered stunning and top-notch performances!

A stunning and inspirational evening of theatre! Thank you once again An Other Theater Company for the wonderful work you're doing for us here in Utah County!