Sunday, April 10, 2016

Gwinna

Yesterday I went with my family to watch Tashena dance in CDT's production of Gwinna at Capitol Theatre.  The production, based on the children's book of the same name by Barbara Helen Berger, tells the story of a little girl who has wings but doesn't know that she can fly.  A woodworker and his wife want a child desperately and ask the Mother of the Owls to help them.  She promises them a child but they must let her go when she turns twelve.  The couple agrees but when their child, Gwinna, develops wings, they bind them up so she can't leave them.  Gwinna hears a melody that only she can hear and it frightens her parents.  When Mother Owl calls her home her parents try to stop her but they are turned to stone.  When Mother Owl learns that Gwinna can hear the music, she sends her in search of it.  With the help of a griffin Gwinna finds Druantia, the guardian of the trees, who tells her that her song has been forgotten and that she must bring it back to the world.  Gwinna builds a harp and the wind teaches her how to play it.  She flies back to her parents and brings them back to life by playing her harp.  I really liked the story, the choreography, and the music.  The costumes were really beautiful, especially all of the owls and their wings.
Tashena's dance (which was at the end!) was called "Wind in the Harp" and I thought it was very elegant and graceful.  My favorite part of the choreography was when Tashena had a very dramatic leap to mimic the wind.  I always love watching Tashena on stage because she expresses everything she feels through dance.
Tashena did such a good job and we are so proud of her!
Gwinna will be performed once again at the Sandy Amphitheater on June 21 (a free concert) and at the Utah Arts Festival on June 25.  Come see my beautiful and talented niece perform.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

I Saw the Light

I have definitely heard my fair share of country music lately!  While I am not usually a fan of the genre, I have been looking forward to I Saw the Light, a new biopic about country music legend Hank Williams, because I always enjoy stories about interesting people and I was hoping that it would be as entertaining as Walk the Line, a biopic about another country music icon, Johnny Cash, which I really enjoyed.  Hank Williams lived a life that was every bit as compelling as Johnny Cash did but, unfortunately, this movie certainly does not live up to Walk the Line.  I saw the film last night and it chronicles Williams' (Tom Hiddleston) first marriage to Audrey Sheppard (Elizabeth Olsen), his early days as a radio performer, his first recording contract in Nashville, his heyday on the Grand Ole Opry, his descent into alcohol and drug abuse, his second marriage to Billie Jean Jones (Maddie Hasson), and his untimely death at the age of 29.  In my opinion, the narrative lacks cohesion.  Events seem very random and there were many times when I wondered what was going on.  This is particularly true when Williams is in a sanatorium trying to get sober.  Out of nowhere we see Williams writhing on a bed and then, in the next scene, we see him signing himself out as an attendant tells him he looks better than when he came in and Williams vows that he won't be back.  We see many early scenes of Williams behaving badly, before becoming famous, but we never really know the cause of his ennui.  The script briefly touches on his mother's possessiveness, his absent father, and his not-even-remotely-talented and self-serving wife's attempts to use him to further her own career, but these themes are abandoned quickly and I wish that they had been explored with more depth.  What redeems this film, somewhat, is Hiddleston's amazing portrayal of Williams.  Like Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line, Hiddleston physically inhabits the role while performing all of Williams' songs himself and, while he doesn't sound exactly like him, he does a convincing job of capturing all of his idiosyncrasies.  I will admit that there were times when I lost interest in what was happening on screen but my attention never wavered when Hiddleston was performing, especially when he sings "Lovesick Blues" during his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry.  I had goosebumps!  Such a brilliant performance deserves a better script!  I would recommend that you give it a miss.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

It's That Time of Year...

A favorite photo of the Student Council at Leadership Camp last July.
Last week I began the process of electing new Student Body and Class Officers.  It is definitely bittersweet.  While it is a lot of fun to get to know a new group of students who are enthusiastic and full of great ideas, it is always really hard to say goodbye to the group you have worked with all year and this group has been especially wonderful.  I'm not sure that I can let them go!   They have worked so hard and accomplished so much this year!  I have grown to love them so much and I am incredibly proud of them!  I know that it is time for them to move on to bigger and better things (I have no doubt that they will all accomplish great things) but I will certainly miss them!  While they have set the bar really high for the 2016-2017 officers, I am hoping that this year is just the beginning of some great traditions at HHS!

Monday, April 4, 2016

Six Months

I have officially lived in my house for six months!  Moving is definitely the best decision I have ever made (I only wish I had made it sooner!).  I feel so completely comfortable in this house and I am now perfectly content to stay at home without constantly thinking of ways to escape!  I have had so much fun buying new furniture and decorating each room.  I love how every room turned out because my house feels like a sanctuary.  My desk is in front of a large window with a view of trees so I don't even mind bringing home papers to grade!  My neighbors are so warm and friendly!  Every one of them made a point of introducing themselves to me and now call me by name and ask about school whenever they see me.  My neighbor right next to me is especially attentive to me, making me feel very safe.  I love living in Bountiful because it is a big city which feels like a small town.  Everyone at my neighborhood grocery store and the post office now knows me by name!  One of my favorite perks of living in this house is that I am now less than 20 minutes from downtown (instead of 45 minutes).  I spend a lot of time downtown and it is so nice to get home from a Jazz game or a performance at 10:00 instead of 10:45.  I definitely eat at my favorite downtown restaurants more often!  Also, even though I am physically farther away, it takes me less time to get to school than it did from South Jordan because I use the freeway for the whole trip.  I love that, especially coming home in the afternoon.  Finally, I love being closer to my family.  My Dad has had a few health scares and it has been very helpful to have me nearby.  Plus, I am now available for all of those impromptu dinner and a movie get-togethers which are really fun.  Every aspect of my life has improved because of this move and, while I went through a lot to get here, I am so grateful that I found the perfect place to live!

Note:  Now that it is spring, I am especially happy about the fact that I don't have to do any of the yard work!

Saturday, April 2, 2016

A Tale of Two Musicals

Seeing Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre in London in 2010
When I was in high school I watched a PBS special about the making of a new musical called Les Miserables.  The toast of London's West End was about to make its debut on Broadway and composers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg were interviewed about the process of bringing Victor Hugo's masterpiece to the stage.  I was fascinated!  I distinctly remember them talking about how they wrote the song "On My Own," because they needed a powerful opening to the second act, and it instantly became my favorite song in the show (I still judge every production by how the actress playing Eponine sings this song!).  To say that I became obsessed with this musical would be an understatement.  I bought a copy (on vinyl!) of the Original London Cast Recording and listened to it over and over (much to the dismay of my family) during every waking moment.  I wanted to see Les Miserables more than I wanted anything else in the world!  When I was in college I had the opportunity to go on a study abroad trip and I knew that I would be in London for a week.  I tried everything in my power to get a ticket but it was sold out!  My heart was literally broken at the thought that I would be in London and wouldn't be able to see it.  Before I left for Europe, my Dad gave me a newspaper article about London's West End which said that you could very often get tickets to sold out shows on the day of the show in kiosks located throughout the city.  I found one in Piccadilly Circus and learned that there were tickets available for that evening but I would have to buy a block of four.  I didn't have a lot of money but such was my mania to see this show that I immediately bought all four.  When I got back to my hotel I asked a friend if she knew anyone who wanted to buy the other three tickets.  A man staying in the hotel overheard me and offered to buy them on the spot.  He even offered to let me ride with him and his family in their taxi to the theatre and, because I was so visibly excited about seeing the show, he bought me a program (which I still have!).  Words cannot describe how I felt when I first heard those opening notes!  To this day, I still get goosebumps when I hear them.

In January I watched an interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda on 60 Minutes about the staging of a new musical called Hamilton.  This story about the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton set to rap and hip hop music performed by a young and multiracial cast left me spellbound!  The song "My Shot" instantly became my favorite when Miranda said it took him a year to write because he wanted it to be the best song it could possibly be!  To say that I am obsessed with this musical would be an understatement!  I immediately downloaded the Original Broadway Cast Recording and I listen to it every day on the drive to and from school.  I want to see Hamilton so much!  Next month I am going on a theatre trip to New York City and I tried to get a ticket but it is sold out for the next year!  I would be brokenhearted to be in NYC and not be able to see it so, since I am a little bit more savvy than I was in college (not to mention I have a little bit more money), I eventually found a ticket on StubHub.  It cost the equivalent of the gross national product of a small country but such is my mania to see this show that I didn't hesitate to buy it.  I am so excited and I don't know how I am going to wait five weeks before I leave!  I know that it will be the experience of a lifetime just like it was seeing Les Miserables for the first time!
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