Big River at HCT

Last night (on my birthday!) I had the chance to see Big River at Hale Centre Theatre.  Based on the classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, this wonderful musical tells the story of Huck Finn and his friendship with Jim, a runaway slave, as they travel down the Mississippi River. I loved it!  I have seen this show before (at Hale Theatre) but I forgot just how beautiful the music is!  I especially loved the songs "Muddy Waters," "River in the Rain," and "Worlds Apart" sung by Huck (Matthew Clark Richards) and Jim (Conlon Bonner).  Their voices harmonized so well together and their duets are definitely a highlight of the show.  I also really enjoyed Huck's rendition of "Waitin' For The Light To Shine" and Jim basically made me cry with "Free at Last."  Both Richards and and Bonner give incredible performances but I was especially touched by Bonner's heart-felt portrayal of Jim. This production has a large supporting cast, many of whom are new to HCT.  My favorites include John Lee Roring as The Duke because he has the best facial expressions and his rendition of "The Royal Nonesuch" is absolutely hilarious, Stephen Kerr as Pap Finn because his raucous rendition of "Guv'ment" had the entire audience laughing out loud, and Rachelle Elbert as Mary Jane Wilkes because her  performance in "You Oughta Be Here With Me" gave me goosebumps!  In addition to the beautiful songs and the great performances, I would recommend getting a ticket to this production because of the impressive set.  The stage literally becomes a river, complete with a 9,000 gallon tank of water, on which Huck and Jim float their raft and, at times, there is even real rain and fog.  It is incredible! It was a great way to spend my birthday and, once again, I highly recommend this show.  Tickets can be purchased here, but get them quickly because many shows are sold out!

Me Before You

I loved the movie Me Before You!  Sometimes when I really love a book I'm a little hesitant to see the movie because, let's face it, the book is always better!  While this adaptation of Jojo Moyes' best-selling novel is very faithful to the source material (except for one element which I thought was a turning point in the plot of the book but its absence didn't detract from the movie), it is the performances of Emilia Clarke as Lou and Sam Claflin as Will that made me love it so much.  Clarke is endearing as the free-spirited, optimistic, and eccentric Lou and she is able to convey so many different emotions with just a facial expression, particularly in the scenes when Will is showing so much disapproval of her, when she is overcome by the music at the Mozart concert (my favorite scene in the book), when she learns to scuba dive, and when she tells Will that she loves him.  You know exactly how she is feeling all the time which is how I imagined her in the book. In some respects, Claflin gives an even more affecting performance because he has only his facial expressions to convey his emotions since he is portraying a quadriplegic (he is so still).  I laughed and laughed at his antics when he is introduced to Lou and I laughed again at his interaction with Patrick (Matthew Lewis, from the Harry Potter movies) at Lou's birthday party.  I cried so hard when he tells Lou his plans at the end of their vacation in Mauritius (and so did everyone around me).  My favorite scene in the movie is when they "dance" at Alicia's wedding.  The camera follows them as they turn on the dance floor and everyone around them fades away.  It is such an absolutely beautiful shot (although I couldn't help but love it because Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" is playing in the background).  I'm not usually one for weepy romances (I've never seen a Nicholas Sparks movie!) but I loved this movie because it emphasizes the fact that it is your duty to live life as fully as possible.  I highly recommend it, but bring a box of kleenex!

Summer Reading: Me Before You

I picked Me Before You by Jojo Moyes to read first because I wanted to finish it before the movie came out (I am seeing it tonight!). It is a quick and easy read that requires a box of kleenex but it doesn't feel at all emotionally manipulative and it is so much more than just a romance novel. I absolutely loved it!  Louisa Clark is living an ordinary and conventional life at home with her parents with a dead-end job and a steady boyfriend with whom she has very little in common. Will Traynor was a globe-trotting corporate big-shot until an accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. When Lou is let go from her job she is inexplicably hired to be Will's caregiver for a period of six months despite the fact that she has no qualifications. An instant animosity develops between the two of them until she inadvertently learns that Will is planning an assisted suicide at the end of those six months and that she has been hired to lift his spirits and give him a reason to live. She immediately begins planning outings for him, some more successful than others. Their relationship slowly develops into something more and her attempt to save his life changes her own life forever. I found both of these characters to be engaging and entirely believable and I loved the message of living life to the fullest. I also really enjoyed all of the comedic elements in the novel, especially when Will attends Lou's birthday party. My favorite part of the novel is when Will takes Lou to a symphony concert (which she is hesitant to do because it is something she has never done before) and she is completely swept away by the music. This novel made me angry, it made me laugh, and it made me cry (I finished reading it on the porch of our cabin at Bear Lake and the fact that I was crying made Marilyn mad because she didn't want any spoilers). I highly recommend it and I highly recommend stepping outside your comfort zone to live life to the fullest!

Note:  I hope the movie is good!

X-Men: Apocalypse

Last night I was on aunt detail and Sean wanted to see X-Men: Apocalypse (I didn't coerce him, I promise).  The story is set a decade after the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past  (which means that the pop culture of the 80s is now on display including big hair and an action sequence to "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by the Eurythmics) and this time the action revolves around the proliferation of nuclear weapons (like the Bay of Pigs invasion in X-Men: First Class and the Paris Peace talks in X-Men: Days of Future Past).  Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) is now running a school for mutants, Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) is trying, unsuccessfully, to live a normal life with his wife and daughter, and Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) is a one-woman vigilante rescuing mutants who are oppressed.  CIA Agent Moira McTaggart (Rose Byrne) is investigating the awakening of an ancient Egyptian mutant (a terrific Oscar Isaac) who believes that the world has become corrupt without his presence.  This mutant, known as Apocalypse, recruits Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Angel (Ben Hardy), and Magneto, after a devastating incident with his family, as his Four Horsemen in order to destroy humanity and begin again with mutants.  Apocalypse kidnaps Xavier (because he wants his ability to connect with all mutants) so the younger generation of mutants, including Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), with the help of Mystique, Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Quicksilver (Evan Peters), must confront Apocalypse in an epic battle.  Granted, the story is convoluted and there are a lot of characters to follow, but I actually really enjoyed this movie.  The action sequences are a lot of fun, especially when Quicksilver rescues the students from an explosion at the school, and I think the filmmakers do a good job of highlighting all of the characters and their motivations.  To be fair, I did watch this movie with an 11-year-old boy who thought all of the action sequences were amazing and kept up a running commentary in my ear about about who was who so I might not be the best person to consult about its merits!  However, I think that fans of the franchise will enjoy this installment (with or without an 11-year-old boy).

Finding Neverland on Broadway

With the exception of Hamilton, Finding Neverland was the show I was most looking forward to seeing during my New York trip.  I absolutely loved the movie (I cried and cried during the ending) and I hoped that the stage adaptation would be just as affecting.  The story of how J. M. Barrie is inspired to write Peter Pan after meeting Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and her four sons is simply magical.  While this show is definitely about loss, there is quite a bit of comic relief with Mary Barrie's (Teal Wicks) snobby aristocratic friends in the songs "All of London is Here Tonight" and "The Dinner Party," with Barrie's exasperated theatre agent Charles Frohman (Marc Kudisch) and his over-the-top acting troupe in the song "Play," and with Captain Hook (Rory Donovan) in "Live by the Hook."  I also really loved Barrie's interaction with the Llewellyn Davies brothers (Jackson Demott Hill, Alex Dreier, Christian Michael Camporin, and Jack McCarthy) in the song "The Pirates of Kensington."  The boys give an outstanding performance in "We're All Made of Stars" and the song "When You're Feet Don't Touch the Ground" is lovely.  However, I was especially moved by the romance between Barrie and Sylvia (Laura Michelle Kelly, from the Original Broadway Cast).  Their songs "Neverland" and "What You Mean to Me" are so beautiful and the actors give amazing performances.  I was initially a little bit disappointed that Kevin Kern, the understudy, performed the role of J.M. Barrie instead of Alfie Boe (because Alfie Boe is amazing) but he did a wonderful job.  I really loved the staging of this musical, especially the song "Neverland" (Reprise) when the acting troupe performs Peter Pan for Sylvia in the nursery.  Sylvia's death scene is one of the most magical things I've ever seen on stage and, just like I did in the movie, I cried through the whole thing.  Seriously beautiful!  I loved everything about this show and I am so glad that I got a chance to see it on Broadway!