List-Mania: Music from Musicals

Two List-Manias in one week? I have always wanted to do this one during my 365 Challenge but I never got around to it. I found these type of columns to be the most taxing but now since I am well-rested, I have the energy to put this one together.

5) My Friends (from Sweeney Todd)

I don't think I was prepared when I first listened to Sweeney Todd and even that didn't prepare me to seeing it live. Sweeney Todd himself is such a tragic figure, here you have a cold-blooded killer and yet you feel for the man. This song is just so haunting and yet beautiful as well. And I love the line "And we'll do wonders, won't we?"

4) Skid Row (from Little Shop of Horrors)

I remember seeing this movie with my family in the movie theaters. This was the first time I was exposed to musicals that went to the beat of a different drum. And I knew I loved it as soon as this song was finished. Playing Seymour would be my dream acting job.

3) Quartet (from Secret Garden)

I had never heard of the Secret Garden before I went and saw it. This musical surprised me in its dark tone. All of the songs had a hint of sadness and this one really hit me. Archibald is one of those characters that steals the show to me and he is the most human out of all of them. Can you really blame him for acting the way he does?

2) One Day More! (from Les Miserables)

I get goosebumps every time I hear this song. It makes me want to stand up for something and fight.

1) Pity the Child (from Chess)

Again, the bad guys win out again. Three of the songs I have picked are sung by those that are villainous or have some hidden agenda. One Night in Bangkok made me pick this CD up but this song is what won me over. The audience is made to hate this guy but he bears his soul in this song and you can see why he is the way he is. I remember watching a girl cry outright when this song was performed when I was apart of this musical. I love this rendition the best although the rocking guitar solo at the end was cut dramatically short.

Random Ramblings: Da-Doo

Shivering: I rather would have cold weather than I would having it unbearably hot. But then I would like to live in a place that has a decent furnace. Our place gets soooo cold. It is nice in the summer because it stays pretty cool most of the time. We finally turned on our heater the other day after trying to go through days without it on.

Watching Part 1: Speaking of shivering. I watched the 2nd episode of the Walking Dead. I cannot recommend this show enough if you like your TV a bit spooky.

Writing: You are going to see this every Random Rambling I do. The Nanowrimo competition starts this Tuesday and I am looking forward to cranking out the first couple thousand words. Reaching 50,000 words really is not that bad when you average out how many words you should do a day. You need to do 1,667 words a day, I like to do more on an average because I like to take Sundays off from writing. Seriously, if you can blog for 365 days in a row, this is a walk in the park!

Meeting: I am meeting with my writer's group here in a couple of hours. Unfortunately I cannot stay to long but I look forward to getting some motivation going.

Watching Part II: Last night Kristy and I went and saw a production of "Little Shop of Horrors" put on by Utah State University. Now I love the movie a lot and I absolutely love the music. But I have not seen the original Broadway musical. This production was set in this small and tight theatre and it was a blast. We sat only a few rows from the stage and I was amazed at how detailed this small production was. The sets and costumes were absolutely perfect and the plant was surprisingly detailed and animated. It actually felt like it was its own person. I know an actor was in the plant giving its motion but the plant felt like it had its own emotion. I won't spoil the ending here if you have not seen the musical and have only seen the movie. It is a lot darker than the movie but a whole lot more entertaining. I would love to see this again.



Singing: Last Sunday I joined the Logan Community Choir with a friend of mine. He asked if I like to sing Christmas songs (which I love to do) and said that this choir is a lot of fun. We sat in the tenor section and I was overwhelmed. Luckily we were sitting by a guy that knew the music. I am really looking forward to tomorrow's session when we are introduced to a couple of new songs that we will perform. Last Sunday we started to learn "Still, Still, Still", "The Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy" and the main chorus from the Messiah. Tomorrow we learn some sort of song heavily influenced by gospel music and he expects us to dance and really go to town. Should be a lot of fun.

Saturday's Warrior

Last night our Stake put on Saturday's Warrior. What I like about Stake productions is that while the talent may not all be there (there still was a lot of talent, don't get me wrong) the heart is there. These actors/actresses have sacrificed a tremendous amount of time to put on this show and it certainly shows.

Some members of our ward were in it and a lot of the Young Men and Young Women were in it. So Kristy, Logan and I had to attend to see and support them.

I have not seen the show or heard the music in years. Seriously, YEARS. I don't think I have heard the music since I was a toddler. My mom had helped produce this musical for our Stake in Edmonton years and years ago and the music must have been beaten into me. Once the opening song hit I immediately remembered it. And some of the songs I surprisingly remembered the words.

Our YM/YW were the bad guys.

The musical was fantastic and the cast did really well. I was especially proud of those that I knew that were in the play. I wish I had tried out (I knew it was a musical but I didn't know it was Saturday's Warrior) but there is always next time.

Afterwords, I treated the family to some Wendy's Frosties. What a nice ending to a nice evening being with friends and listening to some fun (and sometimes cheesy) music.

Turn Off the Dark

I have always been a bit curious about this musical ever since I caught wind of it. I like musicals, I like U2 and I like Spider-Man. How can this be wrong?

I wish I still lived in New York because I would catch this show as soon as possible. Now I have heard negative reviews and heard bad things about this but after watching this preview, I am really intrigued.

This could be bad. But it could be Flash Gordon bad. And that could be a good thing.

One thing for sure is that the music is really good. I previewed the songs in iTunes and more than likely I will make a purchase shortly.

30 Day Song Challenge: Part II

The last few days of my blog have been a little heavy so I wanted to do something fun today. I still have 25 days to go to complete the 30 Day Song Challenge so I thought I could crank a couple of them out.

Day 7 - A Song That Reminds You Of A Certain Event

Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz

This was the last CD that I bought before going on my 2-year LDS Mission and I must have listened to this song thousands of times. Now many years later, I am taken back to those special last days before I left whenever this song comes up on the radio or iPod or iTunes. It takes me back to cruising around in my mom's red Laser with some friends and going out and visiting other friends. It especially takes me back to the time my cousin Jeremy and I went cruising the day before my mission farewell.

Day 8 - A Song That You Know All The Words To

Handle With Care - Traveling Wilburys

I have always loved this song but I really never knew the words so much. This is one of the first songs that I wanted to learn on the bass guitar and now I am at the point to where I can sing it while playing. And I guess I didn't know the words as well as I thought. After repeated sessions, I can now say that I know all the words to this song.

Day 9 - A Song That You Can Dance To

One Night in Bangkok - Chess

Many years ago I took a part in a musical called Chess. It is my favorite Broadway musical, I highly recommend that you check out the music. Back in the 80's there was this quirky song that would come on the radio and I loved it then. I had no idea that it was from a musical until much later in life. Now this is the radio version, the one that I think most people are familiar with. But the American version from Broadway is a lot faster and more upbeat. And then reason I dance to this song is because I still remember my dance moves that I had to learn and master for when I starred in the musical. I played one of the guys at a bar drinking away. Even though this is a slower version, I still dance to it.

Day 10 - A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep

The Revolution - Brian Tyler

This peaceful instrumental song comes from the Children of Dune soundtrack. My friend Zack turned me on to this awesome soundtrack and I would listen to it over and over again. Some nights when I couldn't sleep, I would play this on my iPod and I usually would fall asleep just a few minutes into the album. If you like classical music and soundtracks, I highly recommend this one.

Day 11 - A Song From Your Favorite Band

Tie Your Mother Down - Queen

I have to admit that this song has grown on my quite a lot over the years. It was not a huge favorite of mine really until recently especially since I am trying to learn this on the bass. Logan really likes this song too.

List-Mania: Movie Guilty Pleasures

Day 104

At first I thought these columns would be easy to come up with but every Friday I struggle with it. During the week I will get ideas on what to blog about but then Friday arrives and zilch!

I was going through my blog and I came across a column about my favorite comic book movies and I mentioned Flash Gordon as an honorable mention and I called it one of my guilty pleasures. And thus an idea was born. I can list movies from my collection that for some strange and unknown reason I just love. They are cheesy and at times horrible but I can't get enough of them. These are not in any particular order.

Highlander 2
Every time I get ready to watch this movie I think to myself that this wasn't that bad of a movie. And every time I watch it I remember how horrible this movie is. The story itself was not all that bad but there were a TON of points that made absolutely no sense. The acting was phoned in and at times excruciating to watch. I normally like Michael Ironside but his villain here was just over the top. When a special edition of Highlander 2 was released on DVD I jumped on it hoping that this was the version that should have been in the theatres. And it was a little better, more tolerable. I think one reviewer said it best when he said "You can pour perfume all over poop to make it stink less but in the end it is still poop!" It is so bad that I will watch it at least once a year.

Homeward Bound
I don't know why I like this movie but I do. I can watch this anytime. I really should introduce this movie to Logan.


Moulin Rouge
I admit it, I like musicals and I heard that a Queen song was featured so I decided to give this movie a try. I will say that Ewan was the best part of this movie. There was a lot that I liked, aside from Ewan. I really liked how they featured popular music throughout the movie, I was surprised to hear Nirvana, the Police and others. I also really liked the costume and sets, this was a real pretty movie to look at. Very vibrant colors and detailed sets. Nicole Kidman on the other hand I just couldn't get into. At times her performance was extremely annoying but there were a few moments that were perfect. I also enjoyed the story, even though it was predictable. Musicals are hard to translate into movies. I have seen most of the musical movies that were based on live plays and I prefer them a lot more. Very rarely will I enjoy the movie more but I am glad that this was a movie. It would be difficult to shift this into a live musical with all the sets and the play within the play.


The Impostors
My dad loves this movie and he begged and begged me to watch this movie and I finally relented. It was late at night and my family was gone so I decided to give this movie a whirl. I laughed and laughed throughout the whole movie. I watched it again when it was not so late at night and I laughed through it again. It is hard to explain what this movie is about but it is a clever, well-acted, fun little movie. Here is a trailer of it:


Little Shop of Horrors
I know what you are thinking, another musical? There is so much I love about this movie even though the ending was not as great as the rest of the film. The sets were fantastic and it just seemed like this was a fun production to be a part of. I think this movie introduced me to black humor. I knew I shouldn't be laughing at some parts but I was. I remember one time after a Chess practice, the cast and crew went over to a friend's house and watched this movie and we all sang throughout it. I wish they would re-release this on DVD with the darker original ending.

Now I totally want to watch one of those tonight.

Each Game of Chess...

Day 97

I love musicals. There is just something about them that really captivate me. So this column is devoted to my all-time favorite musical called Chess.

My love of Chess started a long time ago before I got into musicals. There was a pop song that came on the radio when I was in elementary school that I adored. I remember recording the song off the radio onto tape. (remember when you had to do that?) It was One Night in Bangkok by Murray Head. I had no idea that came from a musical, as it was not a true musical at the time. It was a concept album but it was made with the intent that it would be made into a musical or concert. That song stuck with me all throughout my life. Later in life I spent 2 years on an LDS mission to New York and it was at that time that I began to love musicals. After I returned home from my mission, I quickly looked for a copy of the musical (the London version) and fell in love with it.


But then the unthinkable happened. Chess was not a very successful musical at all so the chances of me seeing a live production were extremely slim. But then my friend Lared and I got some dates and we went to see the StageStop’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which was a very funny and very nice production. I saw on the back of the Playbill that they were planning to produce Chess the next year. I was extremely interested and enthused. The StageStop was a local theatre company so I knew I wouldn't see the complete version but at least I would see Chess and understand what Broadway attempted to do so many years ago.

Later in the year my friends and I got together and saw The Secret Garden also produced by the StageStop Theatre. I sat beside David Weekes (whom I would get to know much later) and we spoke about musicals and we laughed at how they would put the furniture props on the sick boy who was in bed. Which we all thought was pretty unprofessional. During intermission I brought up the subject of Chess to David and that I might try out for a production next year. David was also excited, he loved that musical as well and we both decided to try out when the time came. A few weeks later, on the way home from school one day, I dropped by the StageStop Theatre to find out when tryouts were. I spoke with Andrew Barrus and he was impressed that I knew the musical. I told him that my dream part would be the Arbiter and to sing the "Arbiter’s Song". Andrew said he loved that song as well and would do everything to keep it in the production. He told me when tryouts were and what to expect (because I have never done any performing arts) and I came home excited.

I called my good friend Lared Hansen and we worked on what would be best for me to audition with. We both decided that "Any Dream Will Do" would be a fun one to do. I also told a new friend of mine, Curtis about this. He was interested and both him and his wife tried out too. I practiced with Lared for a couple of weeks and I went to my audition and I was soooo nervous. David Weekes was also there and it was fun to speak with him again. He really boosted my confidence. Right before I auditioned, this kid went in there and slaughtered "Pity the Child". David and I looked at each other and we both knew that he was not going anywhere and David joked that it was good that I was next. Before I went in, to my surprise, Lared came. He had gotten off work and made the trek over to Smithfield to support me. What a good friend. When I got into the audition I noticed that Anne Campbell was playing the piano. She was a friend of mine back in high school and she was happy to see me. That helped ease my apprehension but I must have been more nervous than I thought because I totally missed a verse when I sung my song. I didn’t stop, I just kept going. Luckily Andrew liked my voice well enough that he told me to come back Saturday morning to try out again. I was elated! I walked out and David remarked that I had a soft and gentle voice but was very sweet and surprising. I stayed to listen to David and then Lared and I took off.


(If you look closely, you can see my name in the credits even though they spelled my name wrong.)

I had about a week to find another song to sing and practice. I wanted to do something completely different than the normal songs that people used to try out. I wanted to show my depth and I wanted to show what I was capable of. So I decided to go with "Grow for Me" from "Little Shop of Horrors". I again practiced with Lared and Saturday finally came. I sat with Curtis, whom I was happy that he had made it to Saturday as well, and I was called up to sing. And I personally gave one of my best performances. It made Andrew's mom laugh and she clapped when I was done. I stayed through the whole audition and took Curtis home and lent him my Chess Cd’s. I think Andrew was impressed at my dedication and enthusiasm for going for this that he called me later that night to tell me I got the job. Unfortunately I was not the Arbiter but I was the lead Merchandiser. I quickly called Lared and told him the good news. But I foresaw a problem. My job at MotorCargo was every night and I needed some evenings off to work. So I took the part as the Merchandiser and quit my job at Pepperidge Farms and worked for my dad at Dutro. It gave me a good schedule so I could go to school during the day and could work at night but I was also able to practice and put on live performances in Chess. My role was not as good as I wanted. They cut the Merchandiser song because of time limits and I didn’t have any speaking roles and I had only one solo during "Endgame". But honestly it didn’t matter, I was in a production of my favorite musical.

In addition to being the Merchandiser, I was also assigned other acting jobs. I was one of the lead reporters, the waiter at the restaurant, drunk frat guy at a bar in Bangkok‚ and a CIA agent. And I had a hoot doing each of them. We started to practice and sing parts of songs and to figure out how we can move the set around. The StageStop was a unique theatre because it was "theatre in the round". Meaning the stage was in the center of the theatre and was surrounded by audience members. We had some room up on the stage but not enough to really make a scene out of it. Practices were a lot of fun. There was a lot of the music that I was not as familiar with. We used a mix of the American version and the London version. To prepare even more, I purchased the American version of Chess.

February was soon approaching and we stayed very late to get things up and going. They painted the floor in a black and white chessboard which we revealed after intermission. They also made chess pieces that were large (about up to your knee) for the dramatic finale.

The first scene I was in was the reporter scene where we questioned Florence and Freddie. I made a lewd comment that pissed Freddie off and he would confront me. He would come right up to me and throw his glass of water in my face. Then I would sing my first solo "Well, what did I say? He’s out of his tree!" That was one of my favorite parts to do. Opening night came and went and my family came and so did my friends to support me. There were times I was a little frustrated because the main Merchandiser part was not totally within my voice range. But all in all I had a fantastic time doing this and I regret nothing. I met a lot of great people. There were a lot of funny moments that happened during the 2-3 months we staged this. Hopefully I will remember them all here.

The most exciting part of the play for me was the Night on Bangkok scene. I played one of the guys at the bar that was drinking away with a gal beside me. One time we sang it and I took a sip of the fake beer I had (usually there was water in it) and this time we forgot to empty out the apple juice we had used before. It hit my lips and I spit it right out. It was so gross. It took ALL evening to get that taste out of my mouth. Andy was always pushing us to go all out during that song. Daniel (our Arbiter) did a fantastic break dance scene (we even extended the song to include it) and it was hilarious to watch everyone in the audience watch as he pointed and danced right to a couple of front row seats. One time, Andy really wanted us to go all out and I remember getting off my chair and swinging my arms right out that I smacked Rebecca’s tray of drinks. They came crashing to the floor and I didn’t miss a beat, I sang and danced and picked up the shards of glass from the floor. Another time, I hopped on top of the bar and did my best impression of Saturday Night Fever.

Daniel replaced David (who was cast as Freddie) for a couple of nights and his first performance and opening scene was one to remember. I was supposed to get water in the face but he was so nervous that he threw the water clear over my head and it splashed one of the patrons on the first row. This wasn’t the first time we had the audience participate unwittingly. After the second scene I along with Daniel (different Daniel) was supposed to go and grab a heavy couch. As I headed towards the exit, he yelled quietly that there was a guy in a wheelchair that we needed to avoid and be careful with. I backed Dan right on to the guy’s lap and he was pissed. I couldn’t stop laughing though.

One of my other responsibilities was to be the waiter. This was an easy role, all I had to do was escort then Russians to there table and then walk over and intervene during a tense moment between Anatoly and Molokov. Some people in the audience didn’t notice me (I was WAY off the stage) and that became more apparent when I saw a girl *ahem* mess around with her boyfriend in the back row. They realized I could see them when I walked on stage during the confrontation. After the play we would meet the audience in front of the theatre and talk with them. That couple came up and wanted to shake hands. Oh boy.


Another one of my favorite moments was during "Nobody’s Side". There was a real cool dance scene and Florence would sing while they danced around them. During the chorus we would sing from the background. Kristy’s mom and younger sister Renae attended one evening and she saw me march behind (all dressed in black) the audience. She turned around to see where I went and saw that I was DIRECTLY behind her. She quickly whirled around in embarrassment. At that point I would go and dance on stage. This part always made me a bit embarrassed because I am not a singer at all. During practices they would play the music and Andy and Angela would dance. Sometimes I would go out and sing the song for them (which was horrible because it was well out of my range). One time Angela split her pants during rehearsal. I decided to be funny and I changed the words I was singing to "Maybe I should change my pants!" She didn’t find it as funny as I did.

The CIA agent I played was even easier. All I would do is escort Florence (Katie) on stage and watch for Walter to come. I would also run on stage in another scene and run them out off of stage. I came up with the idea to jump from the balcony (sometimes right over the top of people) and run down to the stage. This was fun because it would startle the patrons. I remember one time I escorted Katie on stage and Walter (David) came running in the scene and he tripped and fell right into me. I tried not to laugh but it came right out. He yelled at me in character and I replied I was sorry sir in character. I really tried hard not to laugh but he looked so silly trying to keep his balance.

Endgame was the big finale. This was where I had a chance to sing all by my lonesome. All the chess pieces were on the board. My part was right in the beginning. I would march out on the board and tell the Arbiter that I was displeased that the game was not started. "Does the player exist in any human endeavor? Who’s been known to resist, sirens of fame and possessions? Threaten to cut off supplies and he’ll come out to play!" Then I would watch the match. I also decided that it was best for me to support Freddie because he was making me the most money. After watching the match, I was supposed to go out and celebrate with Freddie by raising his hand in victory and then lifting him on our shoulders and chanting USA! This didn’t always go right, about 90% of the time it would work but one night we blew it big time. Dan and I counted off and we lifted him up and he fell flat on his face. He remarked "Let’s try that again boys!" and we got him up that time. But this time it FELT different. I realized that he had split his pants and my hand was on his bare thigh. He was showing his tighty-whities to everyone. I wanted to die. Freddie about did. Part of the fun is when the unexpected happens.

We had a fun scene we called the "Yogurt Scene" because it was a funny exchange between Anatoly and Freddie about how they didn’t trust each other because Freddie thought Anatoly was getting secret messages through yogurt. One evening the lights came on and Freddie was no where to be seen. We all looked at each other and waited and waited. We could hear this rustling sound and then we all came to the realization that Freddie was backstage changing. He totally forgot about the scene. Florence improvised and went backstage to get him. Then we heard this small whispered word over the mike. "Sh**." Then Freddie busted on stage with his pants wide open and his belt flying all over. He tucked his shirt in and was mad that he was interrupted during his sabbatical in the restroom. The audience I think believed it. We were very lucky.


(I wish I had more pictures of the cast. This was my only clear one and it didn't have everyone.)

It was also fun backstage. One time I was in the dressing room by myself and I thought it would be good to quickly get dressed in my tux ahead of time. I stripped down to my underwear when one of the girl stagehands came busting in. I was up against the wall with no pants on and she walked right past me. She didn’t even know. When she was out of site, I quickly put my pants on and she came back and was startled to see me. She said she was sorry and I replied "What about the first time?" And then she realized that she came in when I had no pants on.

I will never forget the fun time I had. I made some good friends and I am extremely lucky and fortunate that I can say that I was in my favorite musical. Hopefully other funny memories will come back and I will comment on this blog.

Sunday Confessional: The Musical Matt

Day 15

I love musicals. I absolutely love them. It combines my love of acting with my love of singing. I don't care if they are cheesy (and some of them are) I just find the whole genre captivating.

I discovered musicals while I was serving my LDS mission in New York. My first one that I started to listen to was Phantom of the Opera and I was lucky enough to see this musical while I was living in New York. I was swept away by the music and the lyrics, it was just magical. There is just something about seeing a musical live. I then purchased the Complete Les Miserables and loved it and I was lucky enough to see that musical in New York as well. And that is where I got addicted.

I quickly picked up various other musicals and CD compilations. I love to sing and would sing along all the time. I still like to do this even though I do not listen to them as much anymore. I have seen quite a few musicals.

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: Like I said, I saw this in New York. I was amazed at what was able to be done on stage. The music was absolutely beautiful and the set and costumes were amazing. So glad that I was able to see this live in New York. One day I would like to see this again. The great Tracy Shayne was Christine when I saw this.

LES MISERABLES: I saw this also in New York and was blown away. A very touching musical that really made me appreciate musical theatre. I saw this a second time in Salt Lake when I took Kristy while we were dating. I would see this again for sure. I have the complete recordings on CD and I have the whole thing memorized. I went on a date with a girl named Brenae and saw Gary Morris (he was Valjean on the Cd’s I had) in concert. After the concert was over, we were heading back to the car and Mr. Morris was outside of the building having a smoke. I wasn't about to go and approach him but Brenae made me do it. We went up and spoke to him. He was a very kind man and she even got him to sign my little libretto of Les Mis. Very cool.



You know what makes me feel old? I saw Lea Michele play the young Cosette. For those that don't know (and shame on you if you don't!) she is Rachel on the fun TV show Glee! Cosette's mother Fantine was played by Paige O'Hara who is most know for being the voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Both were in the New York performance.




RENT: I saw this in New York when I went back with Joel. Great musical, what I liked was that the band was on the stage the whole time as part of the background and set. I have not seen the movie but I want to check it out. Rent was still a new musical when I went and saw it so much of the original cast was still performing it. I am a fan of Adam Pascal who would eventually become Freddie in the recent Chess in Concert.

MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: This was a compilation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Greatest Hits. This was fantastic. It was in Ogden and I went with Kristy and my mom and Shirley Whitman. This was the first time that Kristy had met either of them. We ate at Maddox’s and all I remember is laughing and laughing. Very fun company indeed.



SWEENEY TODD: Jennifer saw this dark macabre musical and I borrowed the CD and LOVED it. Angela Lansbury (the old lady from Murder She Wrote) was on the CD. Basically it is about a man who seeks revenge‚ he kills them in his barber shop and she makes them into pies. Kristy, Jennifer and I went and saw a production of this in Ogden and saw it very recently here at Utah State. One of my favorite musicals. Poor Kristy, Jennifer and I sang the whole time down and back the first time we saw it and that will be a column all unto itself. The movie was great but unfortunately it didn't contain the ending ballad of Sweeney Todd, which is pretty creepy the way they all come back to sing in the end.

CHESS: My all-time favorite musical. I didn’t see this musical but I was extremely lucky that I was able to play in it. I played the main Merchandiser. I will cover this extensively in a separate column altogether.

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLORED DREAMCOAT/THE SECRET GARDEN/FIDDLER ON THE ROOF: I saw all of these productions with Kristy at the StageStop Theatre. This is when I learned that Chess was in production. All of them were fantastic and very enjoyable. I really like local theatre and I am sad that the StageStop Theatre is no more.



STARLIGHT EXPRESS: This musical was FUN! I saw this in Las Vegas when Joel, Justin and Jonathon did our whirlwind temple trip. The fun thing was that all of the singers were on roller-skates. And we were also told to vote for "Greaseball" and cheer for me. I would have anyway, he was the best character in the whole show. One song we were watching and I had this feeling like I was being watched. I turned around and one of the cars with Electra was dancing and looking right at me. What a fun production, I would see this again in a flash.

MAMMA MIA: This was the last musical that I have seen. Kristy and I, mom, Jennifer and Justin went to Salt Lake to see this musical. If you are a fan of ABBA, I would definitely go see this musical. It was funny, had great music and was very enjoyable. After the show, the actors came back on stage in loud 70's costumes and sung more songs and invited the audience to sing along. Not sure if Justin liked it but the rest of us loved it!

There are a ton of other musicals that I have not seen in person that I listen to all the time. From Evita to Little Shop of Horrors to Grease to We Will Rock You; the list just goes on and on and on.

Now most of these shows have had movies made of them too. Most of them are pretty good but I highly recommend you see these shows as they were intended, on stage.