Theater

I spent half of last week down in Cedar City going to the Utah Shakespeare Festival. This was my 4th year in a row. I really love going to the theater there. This year I went with my mom and a niece (but a different niece than the previous 2 years). We had a good time. The shows were fantastic. We saw four: 

The Sound of Music

I must admit I only bought tickets to this one because my niece wanted to see it. I might have skipped it and I’m so glad I didn’t. I just figured I’ve been exposed to it so much, even though I knew the theater production is different than the movie. It was fantastic. The actress who played Maria brought so much joy and exuberance to the role. All of them did so well with their parts. My least favorite was Captain Von Trapp and I figured out to myself why. I was expecting a slightly deeper voice. He sang beautifully but the timbre of his voice was just higher than I liked. I saw him in another play also and it’s just his voice, there’s nothing wrong with it at all. It’s just a personal preference. 

Clue

I was so looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint. I love the movie so much and this stage version was very similar. They hit the comedy right on and the characters were also spot on. It was so good. I had so many laughs. A favorite part was when they were searching the manor for other people and two of the characters were using a Clue board game for the “map” of the house. So funny. 

Sweeney Todd

This is one of my favorite musicals. It’s one of the rare instances where I love the dark themes and not happy ending. I love the music and the cleverness in the lyrics and how the harmonies all work together. This was my mom and nieces’ least favorite and I can see why. I think you need more exposure to it to really appreciate it. Making meat pies out of people is not for everyone! But it is for me and they did a great job.

The Tempest

Our last play was finally some Shakespeare. This one was in the smaller theater that I had never been in before. They set it in the 1990’s and Prospero and Antonio were played by women. Oh my gosh, it was good. I had some good laughs and really enjoyed seeing what they did on a small stage with very few props. I would love to see it again. Plus, I had forgotten it is the play that Mary Stewart used in her book This Rough Magic and I’ve been re-reading it since I got home.

I thought four plays might be a bit much but it was not. I loved them all and really could have gone to 1 or 2 more without any problems. 

So it was a great time. Right now I’m actually not planning to go next year because I’ve already seen the only play that actually appeals to me but I may change my mind later on. You never know.