What I Liked in 2009

Theatre

Cash On Delivery- (Hale WVC) Cause I was in it. They sanitized too much of it, but it was still a fun show with fun cast members.

All Shook Up- (Hale Orem)- Cause Jackie was really fun in it and a 3 friends were the director, choreographer and music director. Jackie looked great with a dead fox around her shoulders.

Curtains- (Hale WVC)- Great cast- great voices- ok script.

The Yellow Leaf- (Pioneer Theatre Company)- Ummm.... beautiful set?

Dial M for Murder- (Pioneer Theatre Company)- Fun mystery.

Miss Saigon- (Pioneer Theatre Company)- Great show (especially the leading lady as Kim).

A Chorus Line- (Pioneer Theatre Company)- My first time seeing it live- they were fantastic.

Is He Dead- (Pioneer Theatre Company)- Hilarious cast- made me want to direct it (again).

A Christmas Story- (Pioneer Theatre Company)- Cute.

Rumors- (Riverton High School)- Fun cast, fun set (to build).

Back to the 80's- (Riverton High School)- Awesome!

Charlotte's Web- (UVU)- Fun to go with Millie- nice director's concept that made the script better.

Children of Eden- (BYU)- Great singing and dancing- strange set and costume choices.

Thoroughly Modern Millie- (BYU)- Great singing and dancing- is it just me or is this show really long?

Wicked- (Broadway Touring Company)- This is time #4 for me. Great cast and they were really nice to my student afterwards.

Catch Me If You Can- (5th Avenue Theatre Seattle)- Fantastic- can't wait for this to go to Broadway. Aaron Tveit and Nobert Leo Butz were awesome.

God Of Carnage- (Broadway)- The whole cast was great, but Hope Davis was a great projectile vomiter and James Gandolphini was just funny.

***Our Town- (Off-Broadway)- Best show of 2009. I'm so glad we got to see David Cromer (the director) as the Stage Manager. A production that stays with you a LONG time.

Shrek- (Broadway)- Really fun show- would have liked to have taken the girls to it.

Next to Normal- (Broadway)- Very touching, powerful show. A backup show for our trip in 2010 with students.

The Norman Conquests- (Broadway)- So glad I did the marathon 3 shows in one day. Amazing cast, script and direction. Not gonna be done for a long time so I'm glad I saw it.

Les Miserables- (Riverton High School)- Awesome cast, crew and pit.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged- (Utah Shakespeare Festival)- Fun to run around on stage back and forth with the actors.

Tuesday's With Morrie- (Utah Shakespeare Festival)- Great cast- many sniffles from all around me (except the obnoxious girl next to me that kept texting and leaving the theatre).

Movies

I saw a lot- here are just a selected few:

The Princess and the Frog- Great classic Disney animation. Ellis only had to leave the theatre once to pee (and Jackie and her missed a great song) and she ate an entire large popcorn pretty much by herself. A-

Harry Potter and the 1/2 Blood Prince- Another one we saw in an actual theatre. Really good.

A-

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist- Great scene in the bus depot. A-

Religulous- Sucked. D-

Let the Right One In- Creepy- especially the ending scene at the pool. B+

Rachel Getting Married- Like watching a car crash/interesting. B

Milk- Great performances and an interesting story. B+

Slumdog Millionaire- Loved it. A

Vicky Christina Barcelona- Started a solid B and ended up with a solid C. Penelope is an A though.

Frozen River- Intense and very believable. A

The Reader- Conflicted. B-

Revolutionary Road- Kind of like MadMen- great performances (especially from the mental patient) B+

The Wrestler- I think Mickey was playing himself. B

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- OK. B-

Coraline- LOVED this film. A

I Love You Man- I love you too. Paul Rudd is brilliant. A

Wendy and Lucy- Sad and touching. AState of Play- Interesting story. B+

Knowing- No Thanks. D

Appaloosa- This is not the film that will revive the western genre. C

Away We Go- I kind of liked it. Great soundtrack. B-

Drag Me to Hell- It was fun (possessed goats?). B

The Taking of Pellham 123- kind of silly. B-

Wallace and Gromit Loaf and Death- Genius. A

500 Days of Summer- More romantic comedies need Hall and Oates musical numbers. A-

The Proposal- a B to the film, an A for Betty White. More romantic comedies need Betty White.

The Cove- More tense than Duplicity with Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. A

The Hangover- An ok film (would have been worthless without Ed Helms who can do no wrong). B, but getting Jackie to watch the whole thing? A.

Public Enemies- should not have been this long and slow. Not with this cast and director. C

That's all I can remember right now. What I want to see over Christmas Break? Paranormal Activity, Sherlock Holmes, Avatar are at the top of my list. Next post- TV (cause this post is too long.).