fiction

A classic story told well with Creekside’s Persuasion (Review)

| Rachel's Reviews

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge Jane Austen fan, and I jump for any chance I get to see one of her novels on the screen or stage. Persuasion has always been a difficult one to adapt because the heroine is more introspective and most of the romantic action happens off-page with it being a classic case of second chance romance. This is why I love many of the choices made by playwright Melissa Leilani Larson in her adaptation of Persuasion, and I enjoyed getting the chance to see it at Creekside Theatre Festival this year.

The smartest choice Larson makes in her script for Persuasion is she has 2 sets of actors cast as the leads Captain Wentworth and Anne- both a young and older version of the couple. This helps the audience become attached to the pair and their relationship in a way the novel is able to do through backstory and exposition but needs a visual manifestation for a play to be effective. I liked both sets of actors at Creekside with Eden Bostrom and Anne Madsen as our Annes and Christian Wawro and Ian Hadfield as our Wentworths.

The cast overall is large and strong in this Persuasion even if they had to overcome some occasional opening night jitters. I particularly enjoyed Isabelle Purdie as sister Mary who is one of Austen’s most obliviously self-absorbed characters. Purdie has good comic timing and captures the exasperating cluelessness of her character very well.

Director Jon Liddiard has made the decision to bring the audience forward at the Liahona by setting up office chairs on the stage to watch the show from. I didn’t mind this approach although it would be nice to get some kind of notice of this type of seat so I could bring some support for my back. Also I’m not sure if it is the stage lights but it does get quite warm on the stage which can make the play feel longer than it actually is.

Maybe I missed something but I also don’t understand what the point of the hanging chairs is for the story? I suppose it is because Anne has been waiting for Wentworth all these years but it just struck me as strange. In addition, there are times when Liddiard could have staged things differently for a better view of the action on stage particularly with the letter writing. If these actors had been in the back of the stage instead of in a front corner with their backs to us everyone would have seen them better.

Costumes are of course an important part of any period piece and I really enjoyed what designer Jen Christensen came up with for this production. The dress for Hillary Straga’s Lady Russell is especially pretty, and I like that both Annes and Wentworths have similar clothing in color and style to add to the feeling of them being the same characters.

For those that are less devoted to Austen and period pieces the pacing may be challenging. They are also attempting to do the play without microphones which mostly worked fine but there were moments particularly when the loud rotating stage was moving that were difficult to understand and hear. Still, for those of us that love this story it’s a wonderful adaptation put on by a talented group of actors. Persuasion at Creekside is playing through June 29th at the main Liahona stage. Tickets can be purchased here. Usually Austen adaptations do so well in Utah so we clearly need to get the word out on this one! (I would also not recommend getting seats on the South side because there are windows frequently present on that side that would obstruct the view a lot.)

Persuasion is based on the novel by Jane Austen, which was the final of her 6 books to be published. This adaptation is by Melissa Leilani Larson

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 like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.

‘Alice By Heart’ is a Weird Mixture of War and Wonderland at West Valley Arts (Review)

| Rachel's Reviews

As a patron of the arts even more than a critic I want companies to take risks and try bold and ambitious new productions. That said it doesn’t always mean those risks pay off, and I end up loving the finished product. This is now the second time I have seen the musical Alice by Heart. The first time was at Weber State University last Fall and now West Valley Arts has taken it on and it’s a decidedly mixed bag.

Not to over-compare productions but one thing that made the Weber State piece better is they created the atmosphere and feel of a wartime bunker more effectively. I keep feeling like WVA isn’t picking shows that use the theater-in-the-round set up they have to its advantages. Shows like this, A Chorus Line and A Play That Goes Wrong do not benefit from the immersive nature this stage has to offer. In fact, those shows in particular are actively hurt by this stage.

For Alice by Heart director Brooklyn Pulver Kohler doesn’t use the platforms in the audience at all failing to give much of an atmosphere or tone to a source material that desperately needs it for the mixture of war and nonsense to work. It leaves the audience alone to guess and try to figure out what is happening to the characters or even where the scenes are taking place (and we only have an electronic program so no help there.)

I feel like I am coming across too harshly on this review because there are things to like in this production. The talent is all there, and I appreciate the choreography by Emily Henwood and the creative costumes particularly for the Queen of Hearts (Rachel Mardis) by Tabitha Sublette although I would still say the Weber State team did a better job combining WW2 and Wonderland aesthetics even in the costumes.

The songs are largely forgettable and while Ivy Dunbar Jones has a good belt her performance as Alice feels one-note and shouty without any softness or sense of calibration to what she is facing. It’s all loud, loud, loud and that can be exhausting. The best number of the show is “Isn’t it a Trial” which makes the most of the various pieces all working together as Alice is on trial with the Queen of Hearts.

Still, if you are looking for something different that takes some risks than I’d recommend supporting Alice by Heart. I wish I loved it, but I appreciate the swing and hope they keep on experimenting at WVA. It is playing through June 28th and tickets can be purchased here.

Alice by Heart contains music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater and a book by Sater and Jesse Nelson.

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 like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.

‘NEXT TO NORMAL’ IS ANYTHING BUT NORMAL AT HART (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

There are some musicals that are entertaining and there are others that are enriching. What I mean by that is some are a fun escape from your problems but others are a grueling look into those problems. Next to Normal is definitely the latter. It’s deep dive into mental illness and the effects it has on a family are brutal but not without value. Suffice it to say it’s not a musical I can watch every day but I’m glad when I get the chance to see it (I’ve seen it 3 times in recent years.) The most recent production I saw was at Hart Theatre Company at the Regent Street Black Box and it was an outstanding show. Unfortunately I saw it closing night but it cemented Hart as one of the top 3 theatre companies working in Utah today and an amazing bang for your buck.

If you haven’t seen it Next to Normal tells the story of Diana, a woman with severe bipolar disorder and how that illness impacts her husband Dan and daughter Natalie. At Hart Diana is played with great passion and skill by Natalia Noble. Sam Torres is Natalie but the performance I most appreciated is Benjamin Henderson as Dan. Some other interpretations I’ve seen have been rather one-note on Dan. Painting him as some kind of patriarchal beast but I felt director Chase Ramsey and Henderson’s performance brought as much humanity to Dan as they could. After all, he is trying to keep his vows and love a rather unlovable person. He is dishonest with her and completely out of his depths in dealing with her condition but it is a character I feel a lot of sympathy for in spite of his flaws (would most of us do much better? That’s the power in the play to make you ask these questions.)

Being in a small black box it’s remarkable how much Hart was able to do in the space including having a full live band (conductor/piano Nicholas Maughan). They also have the 2-story set with rope lighting that is traditional with Next to Normal. My favorite visual moment of the show was “Wish I Were Here” to open act 2. The lighting and dance (lighting design Michael Gray) used to portray both shock therapy and drug addiction was arresting to say the least and very well executed by Torres and Noble.

Joseph Paul Branca plays the son Gabe and he has a terrific singing voice for some of the best songs like “I’m Alive” and “I’ve Been” (which Henderson was also mesmerizing in.) I don’t think there is any relation but Branca and Noble actually looked a lot like which helped make things feel all the more real. The interesting thing about Noble’s performance is I started to resent her as the story goes on. Resent her for what she’s doing to her family and marriage and I haven’t really felt that when seeing Next to Normal before. I think this is intentional and something that made me think about how we judge people who are suffering. Can we only feel compassion for likable people? When she makes her choice at the end of the piece you feel relieved for Natalie and Dan (and even Diana) and I don’t know that I’ve had quite that response to the end of this show before. It left me pondering long after I left the theater.

The other question that’s interesting in Next to Normal is if our pain is debilitating is it better we forget it? There’s no easy answers to such questions but I appreciated Hart Company for helping me ask them with their arresting production. It’s too bad this run has completed but as I said earlier keep Hart on your radar as next up is another compelling show about marriage- The Last Five Years. More information can be found here.

Next to Normal premiered on broadway in 2009 and has music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey,

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.