Hi friends! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying some local theatre. I hit an exciting milestone this week. With Cinderella at The Ruth I saw my 500th show since the pandemic! I had a cake to honor the occasion and did a live stream with my friend Jacks.

It’s crazy my little goal to help get theaters back up and running after the pandemic closures has turned into 500 shows! I never would have guessed that but what an incredible experience and gift. I’m so blessed.

Today I have 2 shows to log about that I saw but am not doing full reviews. Let me know what you have been watching:

CINDERELLA- THE RUTH THEATRE, PLEASANT GROVE

I had the chance to see Cinderella again at The Ruth. I had previously logged my seeing the T/Th/S cast, which I thoroughly enjoyed. They seemingly thought of everything for this production including bringing in puppetry and unforgettable costumes. The most special part of the MWF cast is it was a bit of a family affair with Hailey Bennett Sundwall and Jeff Sundwall, a couple in real life, playing our leads. To add to that Michelle Sundwall, mother of Jeff, is playing Marie or the Fairy Godmother character in this version. That’s just fun and helps with the chemistry to see.

Of the 3 shows done at The Ruth Cinderella is by far my favorite. It was magic and I’m so glad I got to see it twice. It was the perfect show for my 500th! You can find out more about The Ruth and their upcoming shows here.

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION- LIAHONA ACADEMY, PLEASANT GROVE

Speaking of productions that seemingly thought of everything I have to give the same praise to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: High School Edition at Liahona Academy. They are an incredible teen theatre company and this production is outstanding. I’m not the biggest fan of the story of this play or the pacing (I can’t believe it is LONGER on Broadway and at one point was 6 hours long KMN) but I do appreciate some of the opportunities it gives a high school company. It’s a show that has a lot of speaking roles, requires a lot of ensemble scenes and speaks to issues teens will likely relate with.

Director Jordan Long has helped his students give their best performances and there honestly wasn’t a missed line or opportunity for emotion within the show. The standouts for me are James Fox as Harry Potter with Ian Hadfield giving a very mature performance as Draco Malfoy.

I was particularly impressed with the amount of practical sets they use in the production. Other performances of this play I have seen recently have been very projection-reliant and I think that is a missed opportunity for the teens to show forth their creativity and learn new skills in set building, painting and designing (set design by Brian and Canon Hadfield.)

It is also amazing how many visuals effects they work into the story and them all coming off quite seamlessly. All the students should be very proud of what they have accomplished. Tomorrow is the last day of this production and I’d highly recommend it (even if I find the script a little dry.) Tickets can be purchased here.

These logged shows I pay for out of pocket and I’d love to do that as much as possible. If you have a show you’d like me to take a look at and write a full review let me know. I also have my patreon which is a great way to support what I do and get some really fun perks. Find out more here.