Utah Shakespearean Festival 2009

This year at the festival has been the best year yet. The first day (October 8) my group and I attended the Randall L. Jone's Theater's production of The Woman in Black. First off: it was quite possibly the most brilliant performance of any show I have ever seen. It was also probably the most horrifying show I have ever seen...

The show starts of in a theater were the aged and withered Mr. Kipps begins reading a manuscript he wrote explaining in detail of the harrowing events he had as a youth involving the mysterious woman in black. Hoping that reciting his story to an audience will end his nightmares he hires an actor who strongly believes it would be best to perform the story rather than read it (which will bore the audience).

The actor than portrays the young Mr. Kipps and Mr. Kipps portrays the other people of the English village of Crythin Gifford. Mr. Kipps travels to this village to settle the estate of the late Mrs. Drablow. Upon arrival to her funeral he notices a sickly-looking woman wearing black. When mentioning this to his escort, Mr. Keckwick, his response is silence.

As Mr. Kipps heads to Mrs. Drablow's estate he dicovers some documents and learns of the mysterious history of the house and the family that formerly resided in it. And some secrets are never to be revealed...

The performance of this show was astounding. The actors were all very into character that had I seen them out of character I would think them to be two different people. The show had a lot of special lighting and sound effects and it all played out to be one of the most terrifying experienced of my life. This show is a must-see. If it ever is performing in a theater near you, GO AND SEE IT!

Later, the same day, I was privileged to attend the play Tuesdays with Morrie. This performance had the same two main actors from The Woman in Black. I couldn't even recognize them for they had donned completely different characters.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a beautiful, poignant, play about life. It was very witty and I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

The play opens with a college student, Mitch Albom, who then introduces his favorite professor, Morrie Schwartz. The two were great friends and they had classes on Tuesdays. After college ends, Mitch promises to keep in touch with Morrie. Twenty years later and Mitch hasn't seen or heard from Morrie since.

In the meantime Morrie is diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease, which is fatal.

Mitch, who had dreamed of being a pianist, becomes a Detroit sports columnist after his dream didn't pan out. Upon seeing Morrie on Nightline, Mitch meats with Morrie who pleads with Mitch to visit with him every Tuesday.

Mitch visits asking countless life questions each visit and their former friendship rekindles as Mitch learns some very important life lessons.

The acting was, of course, BRILLIANT! And the lighting was also very well done

On the second day of the festival (October 9), my team and I rehearsed for our competition performance of our ensemble scene, from Henry VI, part III, act 5, scene 5. We did very well and our team even took second place for that scene.

In the end the team I was participating in won first for our duo scene, second place for our ensemble scene, and first place overall.

The Utah Shakespearean Festival is a must for thespians. It is so educational, you see brilliant shows, and it is quite possibly the most fun you will ever have in three days.

Cedar City's Shakespearean Festival

In exactly five days, 16 hours, 48 minutes and 25 seconds of the time that I am typing this I will be leaving to the Tony Award winning Southern Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City. As you can probably already tell... I AM SO EXCITED!!!! For all of you movie buffs out there who know nothing of Broadway or the Tonys: Tony Award = A-FLIPPIN-MAZING!

Anywho, this will be my third year attending the festival at which I will attend two theatrical performances (Tuesdays With Morrie and The Woman in Black) both I am stoked for. The performances at the festival are always top-notch.

I leave on October 8th, and after I return I shall have a great blog post about the whole thing!

New Movie Review: 9

This last Saturday, I had the opportunity to see the new animated film 9.

First thing first: The art design and animation was beautiful. It really draws you into this dark, sad, lifeless world. The film was very detailed in the art department. The colors were very vivid and it was just a wonderful feast for the eyes to behold.

The plot was very interesting. Not a bad plot, and there was definitely one there, but a plot that is very metaphorical. I have heard so many people tell me that they did not like it because they "didn't get it". It has a very definite plot. I really liked the movie very much.

The voice acting was great from all accounts. Most notably John C. Reilly as 5. I love this guy's voice. He has such an innocent sound with this character that it really makes you feel for him.

Also, Christopher Plummer as 1, was also very exceptional. He just has that voice of an over controlling character. Perfect voice casting all-in-all. No complaints here.

Overall, I believe the movie was a success. Very intelligent, visually stunning, great story.

My rating:
[4/5]

Coming Soon

Ok, so this week 9 comes out and I plan on seeing it so expect a review soon.

Also this month I plan on seeing Fame which I will also be reviewing.

Ideas for Auditions

School season has come again, and with school comes the school musical.

And, thus, this list came into existence.

This is a list of suggestions for auditioning!

Male:
'Pity the Child' from Chess, tenor.
- There is so much emotion and power in this song. And if you can pull off the incredibly high belting, I'm sure the casting director will be very impressed.

'This is the Moment' from Jekyll & Hyde, tenor.
- This song is so... cheesy. But that's okay for an audition. It is very showy and will definitely use your range and breathe power.

'Epiphany' from Sweeney Todd, bass/baritone
- This would only be an option if you were auditioning for a part involving these emotions. And don't scream it. I am certain that that would not impress anyone.

'You Should Be Loved' from Side Show, baritone.
- For any of you men who could sing this song well: I am very envious of you. This song is amazingly written and would impress anyone if you performed it well.

'Why God Why' from Miss Saigon, tenor.
- You have no idea how I wish I could sing this song for an audition. So amazing. Perfect for anyone going for a lead role, that it, if you can sing it.

Female:
'How Did We Come to This' from Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party, Alto
- Such a beautiful piece with so much emotion. Perfect audition song for any alto.

'Someone Else's Story' from Chess, Alto
- I honestly think that this is the ultimate alto audition piece. Incredibly beautiful.

'And I am Telling You I'm Not Going' from Dreamgirls, Alto
- If you can belt like this lady can, you'll probably make it in the show. However, this probably wouldn't be a good idea if you were auditioning for something classical.

'Once Upon a Dream' from Jekyll & Hyde, Soprano
- Possibly too simple for an audition, but some directors like that.

New Music Review: Chess in Concert

I have recently purchased the amazing new recording of the 80s musical Chess. This recording has more songs than any other recording of the show, and has some pretty amazing new orchestrations giving it a more raw and modern feel to it.

Bringing in Broadway veterans Adam Pascal and Idina Menzel as Freddy Trumper and Florence Vassy and Josh Groban as Anatoly Sergievsky, Chess in Concert is a CD not to be missed.

The show, with music and lyrics by Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Tim Rice, originally came to Broadway in 1988 and closed after the short run of eight weeks. Prior to Broadway Chess opened in West End in 1984 and ran for three years. The success it had in London, unfortunately, did not follow it to Broadway.

After constant changing of the plot and adding new songs, Chess just never seemed to achieve much fame in America.

The story is mainly about the cold war using a chess tournament between American chess champion, Freddy Trumper, and Russia's champion, Anatoly Sergievsky, to explain the tension between the two sides during the war.

I have not only seen the concert's DVD, but I have also seen the show live. It is a truly stunning show deserving a good run.

This recording of the music brings back all the Chess hype for me. Idina Menzel is perfect as Florence and really belts out every note with precision. Adam Pascal's rendition of 'Pity the Child' brings more emotion to the song than in any previous performance I have ever heard. Truly amazing.

Other notable performers are Kerry Ellis, who portrayed Svetlana, Anatoly's wife. She has a beautiful, clear voice that is ultimately refreshing to listen to. Josh Groban does great as Anatoly, but the Anatoly on the original Broadway recording is much better.

Chess in Concert is a must for any Broadway or ABBA fan. Truly astounding!

My rating:
[4.5/5]

Movies that I am way excited for

This year has been pretty good with movies, but there are some even better ones coming up that I can not wait for. Namely:

9
For any of you who have seen the visually stunning trailer probably share my excitement. Produced by on of my faves, Tim Burton, and featuring voice acting from actors like Elijah Wood, Crispin Glover, and Christopher Plummer, this is going to be a pretty amazing movie.

Taking place in a post-apocalyptic earth, robots with numbers for name try to ensure their own continuity.

Looks pretty exciting!

Fame
A remake of the well-known 80s musical, this movie looks to behold dazzle, dancing, singing, and amazing performing from the cast.

This film is about students at a performing arts school in New York City. Each student suffers through strenuous training and practice in order to become the best they can and to achieve fame.

Nine
Woah! Wait?! There are two movies titled 9??? No, this one is called Nine, as in N-I-N-E. Not 9... Just thought I'd point that out because every time I mention Nine people respond with, "The really rad-looking cartoon?"

No.

This is the "really rad-looking" musical.

Based off the winner of Best Musical in 1982, directed by Rob Marshall, and with a cast including Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, and even Furgie, this is bound to be the best musical-film since Sweeney Todd.

The Lovely Bones
The director of the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson, steps up to direct the new fantasy/murder mystery/suspense/thriller film version of the touching book, The Lovely Bones.

The story mainly consists of a 14 year old girl who gets raped and murdered on her way home from school one day. After she enters heaven she watches her family down on earth as they grieve her lost and her murderer continues to murder.

The cast includes Susan Sarandon, Mark Wahlberg, and Rachel Wiesz.

Sherlock Holmes
Not knowing much about this film at the moment, I am still way excited to see this one.

Robert Downey, Jr. plays the detective with Jude Law as his sarcastic sidekick, Watson.

Looks pretty cool!