book-review

‘IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE’ RADIO PLAY IS WONDERFUL AT PG PLAYERS (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

One of my favorite parts of embracing local theatre is discovering hidden gem theaters I never would have found otherwise. Nowhere is that more true than with the Pleasant Grove Players in Pleasant Grove. They are run out of the Pleasant Grove library and I’ve now seen many productions on the little stage and they’ve never missed. It is such a wonderful company. Speaking of wonderful they have a new unique offering for this holiday season with It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Adapted from the beloved film it’s a fresh and highly entertaining way to ring in Christmas.

Most of us know the story of It’s a Wonderful Life but this production is very special because it has our cast playing actors as if they were doing an old school live radio recording complete with commercials and a large foley table with 2 foley actors (Johanne Perry and Dennis Purdie.) As much as I love It’s a Wonderful Life I was a little nervous going in this might be a little boring simply watching people read the script. I thought it might be akin to a staged reading but it is really more than that. It is a full performance with actors taking on multiple voices and characters and the foley is a character unto it self (I love foley so much!)

Directors Howard and Kathryn Little have nailed it once again and the cast is uniformly charming. L.D Weller is the standout playing Freddie Fillmore who is the narrator, God talking to Clarence, Uncle Billy and Mr Potter. My favorite sequence is when he had to play both Potter and Billy having a conversation and had to flip between both. With the movie being so iconic I also I appreciate Jared Cloud didn’t try and copy Jimmy Stewart in the lead role of Jake Laurents or George Bailey in the play.

I do think the adaptation by Joe Landry is a bit too long. Ideally this type of performance makes more sense at around 90 minutes with no intermission but it’s such a classic story I wouldn’t complain. I just don’t think we needed nearly every scene from the film minus the swimming pool dance for obvious reasons.

If you are looking for something unique and heartwarming to see this holiday season the PG Players production is well worth your time. It’s emotional and touching and brings all the holiday feels you could want. There are a few more chances to see It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play and you can purchase tickets here.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.

TEENS GREAT. PLAY NOT SO MUCH… THOUGHTS ON HARRY POTTER AT EAST HIGH (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

It’s always an interesting experience when I’m asked to review high school or youth productions. How do you offer constructive critique when learning and making mistakes is literally part of the purpose of the experience? High school productions should be inclusive and exciting with as large ensembles that give kids the chance to try something new for the first time. In this sense Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: High School Edition at East High School was a resounding success. The chemistry amongst all the teens was obvious and they clearly stretched themselves in many ways including the many strong performances.

That said, I was not a big fan of this play. I know on Broadway it has a lot of awe and spectacle but I can’t imagine sitting through an even longer version of this story. I’m told the West End production was a two day event. Kill me now. But I am also not a die-hard Harry Potter fan. I have enjoyed some of the movies and books but really disliked the parody play Puffs and the Fantastic Beasts movies were painful to sit through. So if you are on board for all of that maybe you will find more joy in this journey than I did.

As far as the cast I love how big it is and the polyjuice transitions are very well done as are the costumes, Some standouts are Maxium LaPlante as the Sorting Hat and Oliver Oviedo as Professor Snape. Chaudron Brock Beesley and Wesley Magda have terrific chemistry as the 2 leads Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy respectively and I really enjoyed Liam Riedelbach-Armer as Draco Malfoy. They all did everything they could to elevate the story and create believable characters.

While I do think the direction by Kevin McClellan and Lucy Law was stong in getting the most from their young performers they could have been a little more creative with the production details. Most of the sets and atmosphere are created through video projections. While I know this is all the rage at all levels of theatre it denies the opportunity for the students to learn how to build sets and props and makes the experience feel more generic when it could be a chance to express their unique creative voices. I have very fond memories of painting set panels for my high school productions and while I’m sure they didn’t look as polished as a projection they were ours, homemade by us. Maybe that’s nostalgia talking but it just seems like a missed opportunity.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: High School Edition is a play by Jack Thorne, based on an original story by JK Rowling, Thorne and John Tiffany. It’s not for me but I’m sure big time Harry Potter fans will enjoy it more. It has finished its run at East High School but you can find out more about their drama department here.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.

‘SECRETS OF SLEEPY HOLLOW’ AT THE HIVE IS A NEW TAKE ON A CLASSIC GHOST STORY (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

As a patron of the arts and critic I am always rooting for local original productions and hopeful they will be great experiences I can champion. However, I was a little nervous going into Secrets of Sleepy Hollow at The Hive Collaborative in Provo. I love the Disney animated classic based on Washington Irving’s short story from 1820 but I really disliked a musical version I saw last year at WVPAC. I wondered if the actual story just isn’t for me and it has to be Disneyfied for me to enjoy it or if it was just the musical? Well, I saw the version at The Hive and while it is not perfect I enjoyed it much more than the previous one.

This straight play called Secrets of Sleepy Hollow is adapted by Mahonri Stewart and directed by Jason Purdie in the small intimate space of The Hive. My favorite aspect of the production was the use of thin muslin panels when lit to create silhouettes to tell the ghostly sections. There are 3 panels so the storytelling could go across the stage in shadows and that was a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed Act II more as the action started to build momentum and the plot became more focused and easier to follow.

The cast is very talented with Joel Ackerman bringing a charm to Ichabod and Darci Ramirez a quiet strength as Alice Hudson. My friend didn’t like the ‘silly girls’ of Guenevere and Gertrude Goosen played by Christina Craven and Alisha Laidlaw respectively, but I actually thought they were nice comic relief and were very convincing in their accents.

Perhaps because I am not as familiar with the Irving story as some, but I do think Stewart could work on making particularly Act 1 a little tighter with a clear story arc for Ichabod. I wasn’t really sure what his goals were as a character. There’s one moment where he talks about loving food, but we don’t get the building greed or superstitious nature of the animated short. I realize this is not the short but what that does well is it builds his character bit-by-bit until him getting spooked in our big finale makes complete sense. There’s honestly a lot happening plot-wise for a small cast. A part of me actually wondered if it would be better starting at the beginning of Act II and making it a one act?

Nevertheless, there is a lot to enjoy in Secrets of Sleepy Hollow. The production establishes a spooky atmosphere and mood, and I really did love the silhouette effects used throughout. If you are open to something a little more experimental than head over to The Hive for a ghostly good time at the theater! I actually think it could make a good date night because a lot of different relationships are portrayed. The play runs until Nov 2 and you can purchase tickets here.

Also I was on KSL’s Fan Effect program talking about Sleepy Hollow with my friend KellieAnn Halvorsen and Ackerman. You can listen to it here.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.