The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams
Directed by David Morgan

Reese Phillip Purser - Tom
Stephanie Breinholt Foster - Laura, his sister
Karen Baird - Amanda, his mother
Daryl Ball - Gentleman Caller (aka Mr. O'Conner), his co-worker and an acquaintance of Laura's from High School

For more information on The Glass Menagerie visit here.

Mortals Fools website. (They have several production photos on their website as well on their facebook page.)

So last week I was playing around on facebook, which has, oddly enough, become the center of my social life...Pathetic, I know...when I ran across a post from Mortal Fools (one of the groups I am a fan of) offering comp tickets to anyone who would come to the show and write a review about it on their blog.  (Sure, there was more to it then that, but it's late and the caffeine in the Pepsi I'm drinking doesn't seem as potent as it should...)  Where was I?  Oh, yes.  Free tickets.  Free is always good.  (Sort of...but that's another story.)

So I did the thing (requirements to get the comp tickets), got two comp tickets and got the nerve to ask a girl out for the evening...(She canceled three hours before.  Story of my life.  I'm calling it quits in regards to dating for now.  But I'm not here to talk about my personal life.  That's what I pay my psychiatrist for.)

So that cancellation put me in a bad mood for the evening, but despite that, The Glass Menagerie WAS AWESOME!!!

I'm not going to give a synopsis in this review, you can visit the above link for that.  I'm going to discuss (well, I'm going to type and all y'all will hopefully read what I type...there'll be no actual "discussion.")  :) the overall production.

The set was designed by Nat Reed.  He also designed the set for The Sound of Music (the production I was in a few years ago with the Lehi Arts Council...I played Herr Zeller...I still hate that show!  Though I'm forcing myself to see it this summer in Logan with the Utah Festival Opera.  Three years is enough time...)  The set was relatively simple.  At least in appearance.  (Having designed the set for a couple of chamber operas and a couple other short plays (I'm only in my first year of doing theatre), I know sometimes the simplest looking is sometimes the most difficult to pull off.  My assistant can attest to that.)  Despite it's simple nature, I loved it.  It was dark.  Much like the story.

The character of Amanda (played by Karen Baird) reminded me of some of the women I met while serving an LDS mission in the south.  (Amanda is, after all, a Southern Belle...)  Constantly trying to be charming.  Worried about her family.  Wants to make sure that her family is taken care of.  (And looks, "right."  Because, evidently, how the world perceives us (generally speaking) is the most important thing.  I gave that up awhile ago myself, hence the three inches of mold growing in my kitchen.  Kidding.  My kitchen is clean.  My car on the other hand...You know that's one good thing about my date canceling on me.  I didn't have to clean my car!)

Reese Phillip Purser as Tom, is torn between his loyalty to his dreams and his loyalty to his family.  (Sounds familiar.)  Laura (Stephanie Breinholt Foster) is a shy, timid girl who seems to know what she wants, but is afraid to reach for it.  Amanda (without giving away the plot), to me, blames Tom for what her husband, Tom and Laura's father, did.  (Sorry, I'm not giving it away here.  I only give the plot away if I didn't like something...As an example of this, please see one of my somewhat recent posts.)

There was only one thing that annoyed me about the production, well "on stage" anyway.  The story takes place in 1937.  I could swear they had 33's (that's type of record...you know, an early CD player...) on stage, when in 1937, 33's didn't exist.  They used 78's (okay, so there's more to the numbers then just "33" or "78"...I don't remember the exact "number."  I'm a virgin "audiophile" for cryin'-out-loud!)

When I arrived at the theatre it was about 6:40.  (I left from Salt Lake (about 8000 south for those in the area) and was planning on lots of traffic.  I didn't want to be late.  It's this little thing I have about being early for shows (and rehearsals, hint hint to my performers if they're reading this).)  The show was scheduled to begin at 7:30 (it didn't actually begin until about 7:35...but whatever...They weren't waiting for me!)  So, since I was SOOOOO early, I decided to wait in my car, read some emails (UNIPAC stuff...it never ends.)

About 6:50 I walked to the front door...Locked!  A woman waiting in her car said they'd open the door in about ten minutes.  My first thought was, "what? No lobby!?!  I need to pee, dang it!"  So I went back to my car and checked Fox News.  What did I ever do before a Blackberry?  About five minutes after seven, I went back. The door was STILL locked.  But this time I walked around the building...There was another door!  Imagine that!  Another door.  (Note to anyone from Mortal Fools who may be reading this, a sign on the front door would nice.  It would sure save a little old lady from walking up the steps to get to that door and then have to walk down them again to get to the other door.   Which happened.  I saw it.)

Other then the 33's (I emailed one of the producers about this, offering to loan them one of my "78" albums to use...), the lack of a sign on the front door and the apparent not letting people into the theatre until 30 minutes before curtain (with UNIPAC, the House doors open 60 minutes before curtain, but people can come in anytime before the show opens...well as longs as the person with the key, typically, the person who we're renting the building from, is there to unlock the building for us) it was a GREAT show.

I would go again, unfortunately though, my finances won't allow it.  (This March is quite busy.  Opera.  Theatre.  Concerts.  Phantom of the Opera in Las Vegas...)    But, hey, I could always sacrifice decent food and live on peanut butter and Ramen noodles for what I love.  Art.  Music.  Theatre.  It's what I do.  Something to say, "I Was Here." Of attending the theatre doesn't exactly help the sentiment of this song along, but, well, never mind.  (This link will take you to youtube.  This recording isn't exactly the best, but it's decent enough for my purpose in posting this song.)

If you're able; GO SEE THIS SHOW! 

And then come see the FREE concert that I'm directing of "The Garden" by Bryce Neubert and Michael McLean on Easter Sunday, April 4th @7:00 at the Alpine Tabernacle in American Fork (110 East Main Street).  Visit UNIPAC's blog for more information.

Glad I only paid $1.50

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT
So I get a text message last night about 7pm saying "meeting at sticky shoe to see 2012 at 9."  Well, after a short texversation it was decided that I would leave home the second Criminal Minds was over.  I walked into the movie about three minutes into it.

Besides the blatantly obvious conclusion, it was a decent movie.  It was a typical story of the government knowing about a natural disaster, making preparations, selling "safety nets" to the rich, a lone man finds out about it, works his butt off trying to save his family which consists of him, his ex-wife, two children, and the ex-wife's boyfriend.  There's the brainiac who is looked at at being somewhat inferior.  The brainiac's superior who's only worried about one thing.  Saving his own ass and the plan.  (Okay, so two things.)  The brainiac's love interest who is always the daughter of some "powerful" big-wig (who happens to be the president of the United States and is almost always some minority, whether it be a black man or a woman.  (Or a combination of the two.)  And then you've got the minor characters towards the end who help the lone man and his family...often at their own peril.  There's always the older "foreigner" jerk.  The one who is rich and trys to buy his way out of trouble.  He has a girlfriend half his age.  And two children from his ex-wife.  Who both (the older "foreigner" jerk and the girlfriend) die at the end. And don't forget the OFJ is always a dick until the very end of the movie when he fulfills his one redeeming moment. 

And then you've got the people who play important parts in the story, but really don't do much else except die to save the lives of the lone man, the ex-wife, two children, the ex-wife's boyfriend, the OFJ, his girlfriend and children by "landing" a plane on ice as the "group" exits the plane in some fashion that would make James Bond and MacGyver proud, as the group watches said plane with the pilot fall off a cliff.  (Yeah, I didn't see that coming! *rolls eyes*)

We mustn't forget the crazy person who was right the whole time.  And of course, he dies as well.  But he dies early on.  The crazy person, though, does have an opportunity to save his life, offered by the lone man, but he refuses, deciding instead to stay and watch all hell break loose and proclaim to no one but the audience in the movie theatre (who is bored to tears at this point) that he was right all along.

Towards the end of the movie the lone man and the group find a way to board the "saving" vessel that will take them to safety from whatever the pending disaster may be.  Whether they sneak on or board "legally."  And then you've got the expected malfunctions in the "saving" vessel that the lone man must go and fix.  He completes his mission but doesn't return.  Well, until the required "suspenseful" moment when the music suddenly stops and he appears.  Alive.  Unharmed.  (I forgot to mention the ex-wife's boyfriend always dies.)

So what movie am I describing?  Well, 2012, but really, this could be ANY movie from the genre.  Titanic, Deep Impact, Armagedon, Independence Day, Dante's Peak, Volcano...This particular genre of movie reminds me of a Gilbert and Sullivan opera.  Essentially every single one has the same basic plot with only slight variations.  The music sounds the same.  And they star the same type of actor.  The good looking ones who can't act to save their lives. 

Sure I'll probably buy it when it goes to the $5 bin at Walmart, but until then...I'll be renewing my season subscription to the opera.

Carmen

Carmen

Utah Opera

Capitol Theatre

Salt Lake City, Utah

January 16, 2010

Ari Pelto, Conductor

Garnett Bruce, Director

Leann Sandel-Pantaleo, Carmen

Chad Shelton, Don Jose

Christopher Feigum, Escamillo

Seriously; now I know why I don't usually sit in the first couple of rows when I go to the opera. The orchestra was echoing off the box seats just above me. I couldn't see about 1/3 of the blocking...But can I just say how much I love Bizet's Carmen? Of course, I love any opera where the tenor doesn't die at the end. Especially if said tenor gets to stab someone. Even more so if that someone is a soprano. (Well in this case, it was a mezzo-soprano, but still...)

This is my second time THIS season to see this opera. The first was in Logan with the Utah Festival Opera. (I also saw Carmen for the first time several years ago...in Logan.)

It gets better every time I see it. Thankfully, it's a popular opera so opera companies do it farily regularly. Which is nice. Because I love to watch the tenor kill a soprano (or mezzo-soprano). I know, I know, I'm sadistic. UFO also did I pagliacci this last season. I had an enjoyable couple days up there. Lots of murdering of sopranos. (Insert evil laugh here.)

Overall the production (Utah Opera's) was great. Like I mention earlier I couldn't see about a 1/3 of the blocking. My fault really, I chose that seat! It was only bad in Act One when you have literally everyone on stage. Carmen's entrance was a little blocked from my view.

The character of Carmen, to me, is a suducer. Ms. Sandel-Pantaleo pulled that off well. Mr. Shelton was amazing as Don Jose, the hopeless romantic with fits of jealousy and rage. Mr. Feigum was...okay. I personally didn't care for him. He seemed kinda stiff. I don't mean the character. Escamillo is arrogant, self-absorbed...I've never known a baritone who wasn't. (A note to all my baritone friends; "Just kidding."). I think I remember hearing that this is his first time in the role, so perhaps he's just not sure of himself yet. Don't get me wrong, Mr. Feigum does have a beautiful voice.

(I'd never sing the role. I'm a tenor and even though it's most likely in my comfortable singing range, tessitura aside, I'm the only person for whom I'll degrade myself my singing baritone. Which I have done. Once. In Utah/Idaho Performing Arts Company's production of The Other Wise Man by M. Ryan Taylor. Directed by your's truly...Singing baritone is beneath me.)

Personally, I would love to see this production again. The set was different then what I've seen before. Which is nice. I like to see things different then what other people do. Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend again. My paycheck only goes so far and I have my own company to support. Visit UNIPAC's blog for more information about our upcoming concert on February 6th. An evening of opera arias, art song, lied, and broadway ballads. Single tickets are $8.00 and $14.00 for couples.

God Bless,

Joey

An Evening of Beethoven

An Evening of Beethoven

Utah Symphony

September 11, 2009

Abravanel Hall

Matthias Bamert, Conductor

Jennifer Frautschi, Violin

The evening started out like any other with the Utah Symphony. Ralph Matson (the concertmaster) walks out. The orchestra "tunes." Then the conductor comes out (not the closet, from backstage. Jeesh people!) The orchestra stands. The maestro steps up to the podium to begin and instead of having sat down like usual, the orchestra (with the exception of the celli and bassi) stayed standing. I was thinking, "okay, this must be some type of 'visual effect' for the 'Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, op.43' that Maestro Bamert decided on." Than they began to play a familiar tune. (I can't hum it for you here, so I'll just give you the words. Boring, I know.) "Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light?" The audience stood (I would hope so.) Some in the audience sang. Followed by thunderous applause. (Okay, maybe not thunderous, but you get the idea.)

The Overture was next. Having never heard it before, it sounded awfully familiar. (Unfortunately, my lack of knowledge of proper terminology while doing reviews of this sort is extremely limited; so suffice it to say, I enjoyed it.) Maestro Bamert left the stage. Assistants came in and moved the 1st violins around. (They had to make way for the violin soloist.)

The Concerto for Violin in D Major, op. 61 was incredible. (It lasted roughly 45 minutes. That's a lot of music.) There are three movements. I. Allegro ma non troppo II. Larghetto III. Finale: Rondo. The first (at first) seemed to drag a little, but then I got into it. (Then the audience applauded after the first movement. Cretins! (Of course I say that with love.) (Honestly, I have no idea why it's considered taboo to applaud between movements. I just know it is, so I don't.) Ms. Frautschi played gracefully. She moved her body (slightly) with the music. Which I didn't find distracting. Sometimes people will wear sequins and THAN move to the music. The lights catch all of the sequins and well, instant migraine. That didn't happen last night. (Thank goodness.) The Larghetto segued into the Finale: Rondo. The high notes echoed through the hall. The trills were exquisite. In response to the audiences applause, Ms. Frautschi came out for FOUR CURTAIN CALLS. (Pardon my ignorance, but I'm not entirely sure what the proper phrase for concerts such as this is. Maybe I'm just involved in theatre too much. I don't know.)

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for...Dun Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuhn! The most famous four-note motif in all of classicdom. (Yes, that IS a word. Well, it is now anyway.) This has always been one of my favorite works. In fact, this is the first symphony (that I remember) ever heard. I was a student at Centennial Elementary School in Nampa, Idaho. The music teacher introduced us to Beethoven. We watched a movie. The title of it was/is (if memory serves. It doesn't always.) Beethoven Lived Upstairs. Well, something like that. I decided I wanted to be just like Beethoven. Well, except for the "dirty old man" thing. All I had ever heard was the first movement. It's the most popular. It would be at Boise State University about 15 years later before I heard the rest of the symphony. At 7:30 in the morning. (That's an awful time for a class by the way.)

The violins play quietly at the end of the third movement, than it "breaks forth triumphantly" as the fourth movement begins. There is no pause between these movements. (I'm sensing a theme...)

The entire evening was great. The fifth is still among my favorite symphonies.

Mission the Musical

Mission the Musical

WestofEast Productions

Written and Directed by Jed Christensen

Music and Lyrics by Eric Malizia and Jed Christensen

I saw an ad for Mission: The Musical on playersanonymous.org while I was posting notices for my company's production of Dido and Aeneas. They were asking for people to come and audition. I probaby would have if I hadn't been busy with Dido. So I emailed them to reserve a couple of tickets for Saturday the fifth of September for the matinee performance.

From the playbill..."Mission the Musical is a coming of age story about the journey through one of life's toughest trials: A mission. It is the story of two young men from very different worlds." Kendall is turning 19 and will be serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saitns. Meekum leaves home to serve in the Army of Helaman (you know, the story of the 2,000 stripling warriors from the Book of Alma in the Book of Mormon...).

"Along the way both will meet interesting and unforgettable characters. Both will learn valuable lessons about life, faith, and the power of decisions. And both will forge the unbreakable bond of friendship that forms when in the service of God."

The musical opens with the mothers of Kendall and Meekum. They are holding their new-born sons. When the curtain opened I, at first, thought the actress playing Susan, Kendall's mom, had forgotten to remove her socks. But then I realized the woman on the other side of the stage was from another century. (There wasn't much difference in their costumes, except for color.)

Nineteen years later! Kendall is in his bedroom with his girlfriend. He tries, several times, to kiss her. All attempts are unsuccessful. They are repeatedly interuppted by Mom (Susan), Dad (George), and Grandpa (Earl). (Earl was one of my favorite characters. He was the one who saw life a little differently, perhaps, because he's also the oldest character in the show.) Kendall shares (to one extent or another with parents, girlfriend and the audience) his concerns, his worries about serving a two year mission. (Anyone who HAS served a mission has felt these. I know I did.)

In the Nephite world, Meekum tells his mother he will join Helaman's army in defense of his people. She reminds him of the covenant they made to never go to war. "That was our fathers," he replies. (For more information on this, read of the Book of Alma in the Book of Mormon.) As a result he leaves.

Moving right along...Kendall leaves on his mission. (He stays up until 3 am writing his talk. Susan laments over his leaving. George tells her to make up her mind as to whether or not she wants him to go. And Kendall and Melissa, his girlfriend, get into an argument.) Meekum meets a fellow soon to be warrior and they run off to Helaman's Army's camp. (Try saying that three times fast.)

At the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Kendall meets his companion. Who feels that showering once a day is a little ridiculous. Nine weeks later Kendall leaves the MTC. (This nine-week period takes place in about five minutes. Mostly dance. With a tap dancing janitor, who by the way, wore a santa claus wig and beard. I guess the producers have never heard of buycostumes.com...That's were I get all my wigs. For my performing arts company silly!)

We see Meekum and the other Nephites for a minute and then the scene changes to Kendall's apartment where he lives with his current mission companion, Elder Walton. Elder Walton is a trunky missionary about to go home. ("Trunky" is a term used in the mission field for those who get lazy and all they begin to do is think about going home, so they don't do much in the way of "missionaryizing." Yes, that is now a word. I just made it up.)

Then, INTERMISSION!! During which time, I leaned over to my assistant..."The girl playing Melissa can't act to save her life. This stage kinda sucks (ADD moment: We're looking for a place to hold our season next year.) This music reminds me of Bare the Musical." She agreed on all points. (Bare the Musical takes place at a Catholic school. Peter wants to bring his relationship with Jason out in the open. Jason says no, they break up. Jason decides he does in deed love Peter, ends up overdossing and dies. That's a VERY brief summary. It's actually a much better show then I have made it sound here.)

Act Two begins with the Lamanites, (aka, the "bad guys" of the Book of Mormon. Well...nevermind. I don't want to confuse anyone. In this case, the Lamanites are the bad guys.) dancing around in their loin clothes. (Dont' worry, they were decent.) Kendall wonders if he's doing any good. Helaman and Nephites go to battle against the Lamanites. They fight. (The fight scene needed some more rehearsal time.) Melissa tells her boyfriend du jour, "I have brains too." Elder Walton prepares to go home. They finally have begun to have some success in their missionary work. Then Susan and George get a letter, "He's coming home." At the train station, Kendall says goodbye to Elder Smith (his current companion - missionaries go through a lot of companions. I personally had 12.) Meekum says goodbye to a friend. Then Kendall and Meekum sing, "Goodbye Brother, Good Fight." Meekum returns home. His mother sees him. "My son." (Then the scene ends with that.) The next scene is at the air terminal. Kendall has come home. He and Melissa get back together and the show ends.

Despite some poor acting, poor singing, poor directing the show was pretty good. I would have liked to have seen more with Meekum. I had nothing to relate to him with. We see Kendall with his girlfriend, mission companions. But not so much with Meekum. We don't get to see him grow. There could have been more of Kendall's growth as well, but what we did get to see was "okay." The man who played George, also performs with the Utah Opera. I have seen better things from him before, which leads me to believe the directing wasn't exactly beer and skittles. (Which is partly why I said, "poor directing.")

Helaman...oh boy, well he was kinda scrawny. I my biceps are bigger than his calf muscle. (Okay that's a stretch, but still.) I've always imagined Helaman to be big and muscular. Not skin and bones. Of course, that could've been a casting issue. In the program the writer and director mentioned some of the issues they had with casting...So perhaps that was the issue with some of the other people. Well, I'll go with that.

Would I see it again? Perhaps. It runs until this weekend. The final show is Saturday September 12th at 7pm. Matinee at 1pm. I might go. But then I have tickets to the symphony on Friday and an "Opera Gala" concert for Saturday evening. And Glenn Beck is doing a "special" on Fox News during the day on Saturday. So perhaps I won't be seeing Mission the Musical again during this run. Hopefully, next time, they'll get a few of the bugs worked out (in the script. ie., adding some detail in the Nephite scenes. "Give me something to relate to!")

Messiah

Messiah

by George Handel

December 14, 2008

Somewhere in the Salt Lake City, Utah area...

This is my first negative review, but to be honest, I didn't find much to be positive about with this particular production. Let me say this; I almost left two measures into the overture. There's not much worse than listening in the first violins play flat. Well, I guess, at least they were consistent. (Imagine me rolling my eyes at this point...)

I almost left, it was so bad. Than I thought, well I might as well stay so I can write a review about it. So, I suffered through it. Wishing I had ear plugs throughout most of it.

This production was presented by several churches in the area (due to the negativeness of this review I have opted to leave out any direct reference to the locale, the church(es), the soloists. In part, because I'll most likely join the choir and audition for a solo for the next year's production. I'll comment more on that later.).

The soloists were picked from the chorus. That has an advantage, but personally, I want to hear a soloist. I takes time for the soloists to step out of the choir sits and go to the place to sing their aria. Which only adds to the, well for lack of a better word, uncomfortableness of the event.

As with the Messiah Sing-In I participated in a couple weeks previous, this group did highlights of the complete work. Just once, I'd like to go to a presentation of Messiah and hear the complete work. With orchestra of course. And live. Sure, I can listen to the complete work on CD, but hearing it live is SO much better. I digress, back to the topic at hand.

SC, a high school student, sang "Comfort ye, my people." You know, I'm just going to leave it at that. He's a high school student. DL - "Every valley shall be exalted." In my notes I wrote, "Oh my ears!" DL was also the timpanist for the orchestra. The timpani sounded wonderful. Than the chorus sang, "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed." They lacked any and all emotion.

"Thus saith the Lord, the Lord of Hosts," in my score is listed as a baritone number. Um, RC is a tenor. He tried to sound like a baritone. I get that sometimes in these types of productions you have to have tenors sing baritone roles to fill in, as it where, for parts where you don't actually have a decent baritone. But a note to the tenor filling such a part, DON'T TRY TO SOUND LIKE A FREAKING BARITONE! Another comment about DL and RC, they both breathed at the end of EVERY MEASURE! I get that sometimes you need to breath during those long phrases in "Every valley," but not every measure.

"O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion" was sung by JA. I kinda wish she had stuck to choral singing. Another note about each of the soloists up to this point, none of them looked out of their music for more than half a second, except to look at the conductor. DN sang the recitatives (numbers 14-16) leading up to the chorus number "Glory to God" (Number 17). She did a good job at it, except the high note at the end of 16, "And suddenly there was with the angel." This good be attributed to nerves. I'm going to be nice for a moment and give her the benefit of the doubt. During "Glory to God," I received a bonus. The violins weren't playing flat. Woot Hoot! I was happy.

HM sang "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion." She has a nice sound on the sustained notes, though her voice is whiny at times. The top of her voice was nice, but the bottom seemed to "fall out" of her voice and she sounded unsupported on the lower notes. Again, could be due to nerves...(I'm trying to end my mean streak...Okay, not really.) Than the orchestra hurt me again in number 20 during "Come unto Him."

Number 23, "He was despised and rejected." Ms. TO, (this is taken directly from my notes) Wow a contralto. She wasn't flat at all. She looked up from her music. What is she doing here? The chorus number (Number 33) "Lift up your heads, O ye gates" wasn't bad at all. DW sang, "why do the nations so furiously rage together?" He has a nice bottom, the top isn't so good and the middle is kinda spread. He sings with lots of tension. (By the way, I'm talking about his voice, NOT his physical attributes.)

I was glad to see that the audience respected the tradition of standing during "Hallelujah!" I didnt' want to be the only one. That would've been awkward.

"I know that my Redeemer liveth" was sung by Ms. TR. She has a pleasant voice. Not really screechy, but a little more "airy" than I prefer. But than, I'll take airy over screechy anyday. "Dang you orchestra!"

Mr. DW, who also sang "Why do the nations so furiously rage together?" also sang "The trumpet shall sound." The same problems presented themselves with this aria as well. He was slightly under pitch on the high notes, it's probably technique issues, though I'm not qualified to say much in that regard. But reading his bio included in the program, one would think he'd have done a better job than he did. By the way, the trumpet solo, was flawless. And wouldn't you know, the violins were conspiring against me.

The final movement, number 53, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" is difficult to sing. Okay, so it's not terribly difficult until the "Amen" section. I felt sorry for the soprano, who kept getting lost and looking over to the soprano next to her trying to figure out what page they were on. I think at that point, I would've made up my own part and sang whatever note I heard in the orchestra.

As I was leaving the hall I updated my facebook status via text to say, "Joey didn't think it possible to ruin Handel's Messiah." One of my friends commented back saying, "you mean you didn't think it was possible and someone did?" "Yes," I replied. "Maybe you're just too picky." And maybe I am, but that's life. We get over it eventually.

The Forgotten Carols

The Forgotten Carols

2008 Tour - Salt Lake City, Utah at Cottonwood High School

by Michael McLean

Michael McLean - Uncle John

Kelly Shepardson - Connie Lou

Christy Summerhays- Lillian

Jordan Bluth- (several different characters)

Gili Getz- Dr. Halifax

Lynne McLean- Sarah

I first saw The Forgotten Carols in Boise, Idaho in November 2005. I loved it. It reminded em of what Christmas is about. The birth of Jesus the Christ. Love. Forgiveness. Hope. I sang with the Boise LDS Institute of Religion Choir at the time and that choir was asked to be the "backup choir" for that performance. As I said, I loved the show than. It has only gotten better since then.

This is not a complete synopsis, but here is a brief one. John is staying in a "relative's" home. The "family" hires a nurse to come and watch him while he's there. He's really old, you see. John asks her for help to put the ornaments on the Christmas tree. "It's a very big tree." She does, wishing she were somewhere...anywhere else. John explains the meaning of each ornament. As the play unfolds, we learn that John is roughly 2,000 years old. As each ornament is put on the tree, John shares a carol, a Christmas carol, that has since been forgotten. But that have great meaning.

We hear from the innkeeper who turned Joseph and Mary away. John talks of when he met George F. Handel. (Who is represented by the quill pen ornament, the pen he used to write Messiah.) A dream that he (Handel) had had. About not being able to sing in the Celestial choir at the birth of Jesus. (That song, Handel's Dream, is probably my favorite. Oh who am I kidding, I like all the songs.)

We also see Constance, Connie Lou as Uncle John calls her, as a child. (This is new. I like it, it adds some power that wasn't in the show when I first saw it. And it gives it more depth. I'm all about depth.) We see her father as a soldier in war (I believe world war 1. Though it might've been ww2...) I'm not going to go on with the story, you'll have to see it yourself. It truely is an amazing show. A DVD of the performance is available at deseretbook.com (and no, Deseret Book did not pay me to make that annouoncement for them.)

After the show was ended, Michael McLean came out to do his traditional epilogue. He sits at the piano and sings "We can be together forever someday." Than he has the audience join him. He shares some other personal stories. One of which goes like this: "You know what the best part of doing a show with your wife is? Making out backstage." (Lynne McLean is his wife.) After the final stuff was over, Michael had everyone in the audience hum, Silent Night. He asked that there be no applause as he left, because he wanted us to leave that auditorium thinking of Christ. He "directed" us as we hummed as he walked off stage. He finished, the house lights came up and people slowly began to leave. It was truly a great experience.

I have no comments about any of the cast. They were all outstanding. They were funny when they needed to be. Serious. And emotional, as the situation required. I have on the other hand seen Jordan Bluth in another peformance. He sang the role of John Taylor in Joseph Smith, the Prophet by Rob Gardner. I had the opportunity to sing in the choir when it was recorded live at Abravenel Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah. Conducted by the composer. I was also in the choir when it was presented in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake in April 2008. (Which was attended by President Thomas S. Monson.) Excue me, I'm getting lost in my thoughts. I was talking about Jordan Bluth...I liked him in Joseph Smith, the Propeht as well. This is another show, that will become part of my Christmas tradition.

Messiah Sing-in

Messiah Sing-In

Timpanogos Festival Orchestra and Chorus

Lois Stout, Conductor

Friday, December 5, 2008

Alpine Tabernacle

American Fork, Utah

Mary Billeter-Young, Soprano

Laura Garff Lewis, Mezzo-Soprano

Todd Miller, Tenor

Gary Sorenson, Baritone

This is the first year I have sung with the chorus. I attended the sing-in in 2006 about a week after I moved to Utah. But I had to leave shortly after "Thus saith the Lord." An announcement was made, "anyone parked in the Checker parking lot will be towed." I was in the checker parking lot. There were no other parking spots available. The streets were full of parked cars (not the middle of the road, silly. The sides.) So I went home. Sadness! But this year, I got the necessary information, so joined the chorus. YAY!!! I had a fun experience. Of course like any other music that I'm learning, I begin to hate it. I started hating Baroque music. We had something like four rehearsals total. Thankfully we didn't have to memorize it. Phew!

I love the opening number (after the overture). "Comfort ye my people." Those are the first words in the work. I can't really explain what that means to me, but suffice it to say, that those four words speak volumes to me. I have often said on my facebook profile, that a musician's job is to inspire hope. And indeed it is. Thank you G.F. Handel.

The one thing about the set up for this sing-in is that the powers that be put Hallelujah! at the end of the program. Handel put it as the end of Part 2. The end of the work is "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." Than the final, "Amen." Usually nothing comes after "amen." That usually means it's over. Perhaps, this year, I'll figure out why they do that.

Ms. Billeter-Young. Wow, where do I begin? She has been singing the soprano role for this sing-in for...well years I'm sure. She seems like a sweet lady and perhaps she was just having a bad day. But she was flat. Alot! I know I'm flat sometimes so I don't have a lot of room to talk. But seriously!

Ms. Lewis did great. There aren't a lot of arias for the Mezzo in this work, especially since it was cut practically in half. But I enjoyed listening to her.

Mr. Miller has a nice voice that carried through hall. His voice is slightly lighter than what I'm used to listening to on recordings of Messiah, but I liked it. (And I know, you're probably asking yourself, "why do I care what Joey thinks about so and so's voice?") "Comfort ye my people," is what it's all about. If the tenor blows that aria, the first words the audience hears for the evening, than there is no hope for the rest of the performance. Well, needless to say, Mr. Miller didn't blow it. I enjoyed it. (Although he sways. I do it to. I'm trying to quit. I promise.)

Mr. Sorenson has a lot of energy. I've never known a baritone that didn't. At least none that I can think of at the moment. "The trumpet shall sound" is probably one of the most popular pieces from Messiah. And with good reason. It's energetic. It requires something more than a good range and fast breathing to do it. Mr. Sorenson did an amazing job.

Overall, this was a fun and exciting evening for me. To sing the music of the great Mr. Handel, especially Messiah, a work which was written in approximately three weeks, was a great experience for this tenor.

Plaid Tidings

Plaid Tidings

SCERA Center for the Arts - Orem, Utah

Nov 28 - Dec 23, 2008

Jinx - Shawn Mortensen

Smudge - David Smith

Frankie - Geoff Reynolds

Sparky - Conn Curran

Directed by Robinne Booth

Plaid Tidings in the sequel to Forever Plaid. Stuart Ross, the playwright, was asked to do a sequel to his hit Forever Plaid shortly after 9/11. Until than, he had avoided doing a sequel, feeling that sequels were for movies like, Rambo, Lord of the Rings, Home Alone, Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter. "It was at a time when we all needed a little joy and a little cozy holiday fun to lift spirits."

The show opens with the four plaids singing Deus Ex Plaid. They remember their previous "trip" to earth (after their deaths) and are trying to figure out what they're doing back. Perplexing dilemma. They argue with each other. One of them notices all the Christmas decor. They fight and argue some more about why they're back to do a Christmas show.

They eventually acquiesce and do the Christmas show. I think the highlight of the evening is in the second act. Frankie, Jinx, Sparky, and Smudge do highlights from the Ed Sullivan Show. Jinx sings, I'll Be Home for Christmas, while the rest of them "perform" "talents" that one would see on the Ed Sullivan Show. From seals juggling, dogs jumping through hoops, balancing plates on little sticks... It's, as I mentioned earlier, the best part of the show. At least for me. The entire piece is entertaining. And at the time it was written, we (Americans) needed to be entertained. We needed to be distracted from the cares of the world.

Conn Curran was sick the night I went. In his place David Whitlock played the role of Sparky. When I saw this show in 2007 at SCERA, Mr. Whitlock was part of the cast as Sparky.

Overall, this was a great production. I have seen it twice now and will continue to see it every Christmas as long as there is still breath in my body and strength in my legs to carry me to the theatre. Christmas time for me is always hectic. I'm always going from one performance to another. And I usually end up hating the holiday season by December 15th. This year was no different. It's always nice to attend a show, that is simply fun. Helps you relax.

Aida - Review

Aida

Music by Elton John

Lyrics by Tim Rice

Hale Center Theater Orem

Josephine Scere - Aida

Darick J. Pead - Radames

Jared Young - Mereb (Radames slave/servant)

Dave Burton/Cody Hale - Zoser (Radames father)

Nikki Bohne/Korianne Orton-Johnson - Amneris (Radames betrothed)

(The show was double cast. I have included only cast members my friend and I saw play the particular role.)

Overall, Hale's production of Aida was really good. So good in fact, I saw it twice. A friend invited me. She has a friend who works for Hale Theater who got her free tickets. Sweet! It's nice having friends who have friends.

Elton John's Aida is different than the Verdi opera. Go figure! In the Verdi opera, Radames has already met Aida before the curtain rises. And he sings, Celeste Aida (Heavenly Aida). In the John musical however, Radames (the Captain) and his crew capture several Nubian women and enslave them. Aida and Radames fight, he becomes in fatuated with her, although he won't admit it. She and the other women/slaves are taken to Egypt. Aida is given to Amneris, Radames' betrothed, as a gift. (Hmm, a Nubian slave...? Sounds like something out of Samuel Barber's A Hand of Bridge.) Mereb, Radames' slave, recognizes Aida as the Nubian King's daughter. She tells him to forget it, "I'm just a slave like you. Our lives are not our own."

Radames and Aida fall in love. Much to the dismay of Amneris who is in love with Radames. Mereb and the other Nubians plot to escape. And than the Nubian King is captured! Aida, who has not revealed her true identity to Radames her love, or ot Amneris her mistress, is heartbroken. Radames doesn't understand her anger. "Our countries are at war!"

Love triangles...gotta love 'em. Okay not really. They're great on stage. But not so much in real life. But that's what we've got here. Aida tells Radames to marry the princess. He tells her there will be a boat waiting for her to take her back to Nubia. Mereb and Aida get the king out of prison. He escapes on the boat, Mereb dies, and Radames and Aida are caught. They are accused as traitors and therefore must die by being buried alive.

Did I mention that Zoser, Radames father, has been secretly poisening Pharoah so that Amneris and Radames will wed and Radames will be king?

Well, Zoser's plot comes out. He is hunted down and we assume killed on the spot as we don't see him again until the curtain call.

Amneris convinces Pharoah to let Radames and Aida be buried together. They are entombed and than sing themselves to death.

Of course, this IS a musical, so it must have a happy ending. Fastforward about 4,000 years to the modern day. One man and one woman (reincarnated Radames and Aida) meet at a museum and fall in love. Oh how sweet.

You know the difference between an opera and a musical? In an opera, everyone dies at the end. In a musical everyone dies at the end, but they meet again Heaven.

My friend and I went to a Saturday matinee first. She loved it. I liked it. (I prefered the tomb scene from the Verdi opera over the John musical, but than again...I'm partial to opera anyway.) We saw Josephine Scere as Aida and Darick J. Pead as Radames. She was very good. (In fact, I thought she was better than Heather Headley who played the role in the original Broadway cast.) Mr. Pead, on the other hand...was okay. He's no Adam Pascal (from the original Broadway cast). But perhaps, my bigggest problem with him was, I really don't like rock/pop singers. They look funny when they sing. What is with them closing their eyes, tightening their face and neck muscles, and standing on their toes to "reach" the high note? Perhaps, I'll never understand that.

Jared Young as Mereb was superb! So much better than the original cast Mereb. He convinced me in his role as the slave/servant of Radames, who was still very much devoted to his king and country.

Nikki Bohne and Korianne Orton-Johnson both did well in the role of Amneris, Aida's "owner" and Radames betrothed.

And Dave Burton and Cody Hale as Zoser? Well, let's just say, I'm not surprise how Mr. Hale got the role. And Mr. Burton...well my friend and I agreed, I could've done better. But than again...I don't sing rock music. I refuse to. So maybe I couldn't.

Overall, this show was awesome. If it was still playing I'd like to see it again. Maybe someday I will. But hopefully someone else will be playing Zoser.

Madame Butterfly

Utah Opera

Capitol Theatre - Salt Lake City, Utah

October 18-26, 2008

Barbara Shirvis, Cio-Cio San (Butterfly)

Scott Piper, Pinkerton

(I have opted not to include a synopsis of this opera. Please follow this link.)

I found out at the later end of of the 2007/2008 season that Scott Piper would be singing the role of Pinkerton, the lead tenor from Puccini's Madame Butterfly. I was very disappointed. You see, he also sang the role of Cavaradossi in Utah Opera's production of Tosca (January 2008). I went there ready to cry during E lucevan la stella. Cavaradossi's aria while he awaits execution. Everytime I hear it, if it is sung well, I end up in tears. It is so emotional. He sings of his love, Floria Tosca, and the sweet times they shared together. So the time of the famous aria (one of my favorites!) comes and Mr. Piper ruined it for me. I didn't sense any emotion in his voice. It was kind of "dry," boring. (The rest of the opera was great, especially the murder in the second act [I love it when baritones are killed] and Tosca's suicide was phenomenal.)

So I went into Madame Butterfly, expecting the worst from Mr. Piper, but you know what? Of course you don't, but I'll tell you...I realized, I didn't know any of the tenor arias from this opera (Butterfly). So how could he ruin it for me, I had nothing to compare his performance too. So needless to say Mr. Piper didn't ruin it for me. I still don't like his voice, but, well anyway. I'm very critical of tenors, probably because I am one myself. :)

Barbara Shirvis as Cio-Cio San was amazing. One could hear the hope in her voice as she sang Un bel di (One fine day). She expresses her hope that Pinkerton will return to her "when the flowers bloom." Despite the fact that they have already "bloomed" three times.

I was deeply touched by the devotion she showed to her husband. She gave up everything to be with him. Even to the point of be cut off from her family. She left her religion for the "American religion" (Christianity).

Another of the most famous pieces of music from this opera is the Humming Chorus. During this chorus, Cio-Cio San, Suzuki (her maid), and Dolore (Cio-Cio San and Pinkerton's son) gather flowers and spread them all around the house in preparation for Pinkerton's return. His ship has arrived, after three years! While they gather flowers, the chorus is heard (offstage) humming. It sounded exactly like the duet from the end of act one of La Boheme and Bring Him Home from Les Miserable by Claude-Michel Schonberg (composers always steal...er...I mean "borrow" from other composers. I do it to.) This song was very powerful.

The final act, Pinkerton arrives with his new "American wife." Which he had promised to have at the beginning of the first act before he and Butterfly (Cio-Cio San) were even married. (The jerk! He's one of the most hated tenors in all of opera. Maybe that's why I wasn't bothered by the role being sung by Scott Piper. [Don't get me wrong, he does a lot better than I could do. I just want to make that clear] The other most hated tenor, in my opinion, is Judge Danforth from Robert Ward's The Crucible.) Anyway, Cio-Cio San and the new Mrs. B.F. Pinkerton meet. Mrs. P. promises to take care of Dolore. (Which by the way, means sorrow. Cio-Cio San named him that to remind herself of the sorrow she felt during Pinkerton's absence. She planned to rename him when Pinkerton returned.) Pinkerton is not present during all of this he decided he couldn't handle being in that house. (The idiot realized how dumb he had been three years before.)

Did I fail to mention Cio-Cio San was only 15 years old when they were married?

So Cio-Cio San agrees to let Mr. and Mrs. Pinkerton take her son on the condition that Pinkerton, the jerk of a tenor, comes to get him. (Remember the coward left because he couldn't handle being in that house . C'mon, man up, ya punk!) Cio-Cio San sends Suzuki outside to play with Dolore after she says goodbye to him. She grabs the knife (the same knife her father used to kill himself. The knife was a gift from the Mikado. [Unrelated to the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta]. Her father obliged by killing himself.) and prepares to kill herself.

Now here is where I actually kind of found Scott Piper's voice somewhat nonrepugent. He runs up to the house (it's on a hill, probaby to discourage family members from visiting :)...) singing "Butterly, Butterfly, Butterfly." He enters just as she stabs herself. Dolore enters, followed closely by Suzuki as Cio-Cio San dies in Pinkerton's arms.

The curtain came down as the cast got ready for curtain call. (That means the show is over and it's almost time to go home.) As the curtain rose Barbara Shirvis was alone on stage. She recieved a standing ovation. Her performance was magnificent! After a moment she exited and the rest of the cast came out and took there bows. Than the priniciples and Scott Piper. Than Barbara Shirvis came out again, this time with the boy who played Dolore. Who also received "loud applause." The show was a smash hit.

I saw it again the following Friday. I loved it so much I had to see it again. This time, I was in the back of the orchestra level. I had a large woman who smelt of BO on my left and a couple on my right. I was leaning a little to my right trying to breath. I think I annoyed the couple, as I was sitting rather close to the woman trying to get as far away as possible from the big woman. The show was sold out. I didn't see any empty seats, otherwise I might've talked to someone about changing my seat. The performance was still amazing however despite the company around me.

I did however get a compliment from one of the ushers as I walked into the theatre. He commented on me wearing a tuxedo. Not many people do that anymore. It's sad.

Next time, my review of Hale Theatre - Orem's production of Aida the musical Elton John and Tim Rice.

2008 Recital - Nampa

Here is my review of the Nampa concert. I ended up having to work Monday morning (the11th) so I didn't leave Salt Lake (Lehi/Lindon actually) until noonish. Our dress rehearsal was scheduled for eight. So I had plently of time. I stopped every chance I could for gas. Not that I needed it. I just wanted to get out of the car. I got to the church about 7:30 and waited for Sean and Jennie, who had gone out to dinner. We rehearsed. Okay, okay, so there's more to it than that. Michal, Jerusha, and Dani were also there. We started rehearsal with the end of the program. "You have nothing to fear..." And than went backwards. Skipping my solos.

Than we got to A Hand of Bridge. Michal, Jerusha, and Dani decided to veto my decision of standing on the stage and deciced that we would sit around a table as of we were playing bridge. (That is what I wanted to do in the first place, but it cost money to do a "staged"version of the opera. And I wasn't feeling confident with the music, so I wanted to cheat and have my music with me, hence the "concert" or unstaged version.) We ran it back to front, front to back and various sections of the ten-minute opera several times. Everytime it got worse! Than Sean suggested to call it, "I think the more we try to perfect it right now, it's just gonna get worse. We're all tired..."

So the three of them left. Sean, Jennie, and I were the only ones left. Jeannie and I worked out the bugs from our set. And than I discovered I was counting Erlkonig wrong. Damn you Schubert! (Don't get the wrong impression, I love that song. It's just rather difficult.)

About eleven I got to my parents house. It had been a long day. I had a lot to the next day, so I went to sleep after going over Erlkong and A Hand of Bridge again and again.

Tuesday morning. I got all my errands done. Picking up refreshments, program inserts, the hat for the Carousel set. Studying music. Cards for A Hand of Bridge...

The entire day, I was not feeling good about the concert. I really did not want to get up there and do it. Than I started thinking about my hero, Canio. And I thought, if he can perform while he's "out of [his] mind" than so can I.

So I did. Overall it was a great performance. We went out for A Hand of Bridge. I forgot one of my lines, (despite that fact that we had copied and pasted our music onto the playing cards :)...) A Hand of Bridge was not received well. Sean said he looked out at the audience a couple of times and saw quite a few shocked faces. My parents and grandma didn't like it. I was telling a friend of mine, Mark Walters, about that and he said , "well you can't please everyone." (Okay, so that's not exactly what he said, but that's the main idea.)

The Schubert set went fairly well. Erlkong was still fun. And I think I got my timing issues fixed. Anyway, it felt better to me.

Michal sang. His song was really good. The spirituals went better than Saturday. At least I thought they did. Well I was in the choir room (backstage), I was going over the words to Goin' Home. I couldn't remember them I tried all during Michal's song and Jennie and Sean's piece. But the words weren't coming. So I knelt down and said a quick prayer. I felt better and instantly the words came to me. Prayer is such an amazing thing.

Jerusha sang Girl in 14G. I love this song.

The time for Carousel came. I had "changed." I lost, my jacket and tie, unbuttoned my vest and put on a hat. And Dani and I sang, If I Loved You. This song was my mom's favorite.

I had the music out for Soliloquy thinking I would need it. But I didn't. I opened it up to a section that I kept messing up on and got through that spot and forgot to continue turning the pages to get to the next spot I needed. So when I got to the next trouble spot, I kept thinking, "I hope I get the words right. I hope I get the words right." I did. And I stepped away from the music stand and finished the song. Than I left and changed again and Michal, Jerusha, and Dani started You'll never walk alone. I came out for the repeat and the four of finished it. Than of course, Sean and I finished with "You have nothing to fear from the journey..." Kind of a fitting "benediction," as I was I "fearful" of performing that evening.

2008 Recital

So I figure it's been long enough since I posted anything...So here is a review of the concert/recital last August. On August 9, 2008 shortly after one a.m. That's right one in the morning! I get a text from a woman I had never met. Her name is Jennie Ficks. She was traveling with my accompanist, Sean Rogers, for my recital the next afternoon. (Okay, really, later that day.) The text message said. "Sean and I can't find a hotel. Don't know when we'll see you tomorrow." The concert was scheduled for three p.m . We needed to rehearse rehearse before than. (Jennie and I, as I mentioned earlier, had never met and she was going to be playing the French Horn at my recital. Sean and I had worked on the songs Jennie and I would be doing together. And so did Sean and Jennie.) Well, Sean and I also needed to work out a couple of things. Since I moved to Utah two years ago, I always make my out of town recital guests (performers and family) breakfast the morning of the concert. I "texted" Jennie back saying I had room. She called. They were turning around and on the way. Their hotel room was given away as they were late. They had car problems shortly after leaving Boise and finally got back on the road five hours later. There were no hotels available because of some convention in Salt Lake that weekend. They were on the way to Las Vegas.They got lost, so I had to go out and get them. We finally got back to my place just before three. (Twelve hourse to go.)

They slept until about 10:30 or 11. Jennie was still working out her part. There were changes that needed to be made and since horns are "tuned" differently, it had to be transposed. (There's only so much you can do in a moving vehicle at midnight.) Sean and I practiced a little bit. Jennie and Sean practiced a little bit, we ate, I showered and than we had to leave. Jennie and I never got to go through the songs together until it was time to do them during the concert.

But despite all that I thought the program went fairly well. Kennessa Powell Malan the soprano scheduled to join me in Orem fell ill so she was unable to sing.

Ave Maria is a standard piece. I figured it was a song that most people would have heard at least once in their life...(which is pretty much the only reason it was included in the program.)

Stanchen, Stanchen, Stanchen...reminds me of the balconey scene from Romeo and Juilet.

Erlkonig. This song was a lot of fun. I got to be four different people. And do it in German! (Okay so the German wasn't as fun, but you get the idea.) Towards the end, while the Erlking is making his final attempt to "ensnare" the boy, I shouted louder than I expected I would and scared myself. (The line begins, Ich liebe dich...)

The spirituals set was probably the most nerve racking for me as Jennie and I hadn't had time to practice together. Swing Low (the 4th one) sounded different that what I remember doing with Sean at our rehearsals. So there were some interludes where there weren't supposed to be interludes. But oh well. Sean is amazing and filled in the emtpy space. More on that later.

Since Kennessa wasn't able to join us, Sean and I worked out a "medley" of If I Loved You and You'll Never Walk Alone. I thought we had discussed starting at the "aria" section. ("If I loved you, time and again I would try to say...") Well he started at the very beginning with the recitative, ("Kinda scrawny and pale, pickin' at my food...") So that took some quick readjustments. And than I thought we had decided to only do You'll Never Walk Alone ONCE, not doing the customary repeat that most performers do, or even the repeat that I do (basically cutting the repeat in half. The words escape me at the moment. Forgive me.) But Sean did the repeat. I was, not shocked, not confused...I guess perplexed is a good word. I was perplexed at what had just happened. And than I was so disoriented I couldn't think of the words. I was expecting that. And finally Sean realizing that I wasn't coming in did a big, grand ending. Oops.

And finally Soliloquy. this song was a lot of fun. I offended a couple of my friends because I say "hell," "damn," and "bastard." But I mean really. I say worse than that on Facebook. I told my mom that I thought it was kinda funny a couple of my friends were offended and than I got chewed out by my mom. "You coulda changed those words. It's a concert version, not a stage version of the song." Well I didnt' change them in Nampa the following week either.

And finally, the program ended with our traditional "benediction," You Have Nothing to Fear from the journey. Though your way may be burdened with thorns..." My review of the Nampa performance will be coming later. That should be interesting.