The secret world of yoga.

Stephen Brown, the mastermind behind SBDance, is nothing if not fearless.  He's always pushing ideas and boundaries.  Maybe it's piles of newspapers as costumes.  Maybe it's asking his dancers to perform in the nude.  Maybe it's embracing stage musicals, or hand puppets, or steel troughs floating on a sea ping pong balls, or experimental specimens.  Or maybe it's abandoning the "dance" in SBDance and embracing your inner playwright.  That's pretty much the case in his latest work, Yoga Confidential: A Rat Bastard's Inside Guide to Yoga and Surrounding Regions.  And while I miss the dancing, Yoga Confidential is a good show.

The play was part of Salt Lake Acting Company's first ever Fearless Fringe Festival. Yoga Confidential qualifies as fringe (although Stephen Brown has been delightfully on the fringe of Utah's art scene for sometime).  It's a rewarding play.  Funny, strange, and all about yoga.  I know Stephen Brown as a choreographer and that's where I've appreciated his work most.  But he's a good writer too.  And for the first time I can remember, Stephen worked with a director (Winnie Wood) who brought extra clarity and intrigue to the story.

You've got to know a lot more about yoga than I do to understand all the intricacies of this story.  But what I love about the play is that Stephen (who is an established yoga instructor) treats the subject with both love and hatred.  He laughs at the silliness of the whole affair while still respecting the traditions.  He asks us to wonder whether or not the whole things is a sham, yet still recognizes the benefits it brings to life.  All in all, it's an even-handed take on yoga, particularly from a guy who's using the playbill to promote "an affordable winter get-away for all levels of surfer and yoga practitioner" in Playa Grande, Costa Rica.  I love a showman.

I can't end this post without noting the cast.  Stephen was joined on stage by Daniel Beecher and Tracie Merrill both of whom were excellent.  I particularly enjoyed the charm and humor of Mr. Beecher. 

As always, SBDance performances are fleeting.  But you still have two more chances to catch this show.  It's playing at the Sugar Space on September 10 and 11.

Oh, and one more thing; while Stephen is a good writer, I still like him best as a choreographer.  So Stephen, consider this my vote to bring back the dance in SBDance.

Ballet goes modern.

I'm not the biggest ballet fan.  While I love the precision and athleticism.  I don't generally care for the endless stories that just get in the way of the dancing.  But Ballet West's artistic director Adam Sklute seems bent on convincing me that ballet can be as interesting as contemporary dance.  Since he arrived three years ago, his Innovations programs have ended each Ballet West season.  


Innovations is dedicated to showcasing new, challenging ballet works choreographed by Ballet West dancers or other notable choreographers.  And this year's program once again makes me want to see more ballet.


The evening starts with a work by Ririe-Woodbury's artistic director Charlotte Boye-Christensen.  She brings a startling new energy to Ballet West.  Her work titled Row hits hard.  While most ballet choreographers seem intently focused on defying gravity, Boye-Christensen embraces gravity, driving the dancers into the floor.  The women's quartet is particularly stunning with the women frozen en pointe.  This is fresh, physical ballet.


Aiden DeYoung offers a dazzling work (Outward) that is notable for its Fosse-like formations. (Yes, I made a Bob Fosse reference in regard to ballet, get over it.) Extra kudos to the costumes and lighting.


Selcoutheries by Megan Furse is a little ethereal and confusing for my taste. Well, until the end.  Then things get interesting. Surprisingly, it's a duet that captured my emotions. (I suppose I should say pas de deux.)  It's modern, beautiful, and powerful. 


I was prepared to hate Michael Bearden's Descent because it starts with heavily costumed characters bogged down by some intended story.  It's like a mash up of True Blood and Swan Lake.  Turns out that the mash up results in some brilliant dancing with sinister, dizzying waltzes that are as romantic as they are nightmarish.


The last piece on the program is But Never Doubt I Love by Helen Pickett.  This feels like traditional ballet but with a decidedly modern intention. It is dancing so lush, so ripe, that it would be embarassing if it weren't so damn beautiful. 


Ballet West will absolutely get me to return for the next installment of Innovations.  And if they can convince me they've programmed other modern works focused more on the beauty, skill, and artistry of the dancers, and less on stories and tradition, they might even get me to show up for other programs on the season.


You can still see Innovations.  It continues May 26 through 29.

The All New, Updated, Complete Polaroid History of Leslie Hall in Salt Lake City.

Leslie Hall returned to Salt Lake City last weekend and she just keeps getting better.  She's slimmer and sexier than ever and her show sparkles with even more glittery sounds.  And while you may have recently seen The Complete Polaroid History of Leslie Hall in Salt Lake City, that slide show is now out of date.  So here is the revised version, complete with six new Polaroids of the Gem Diva herself, resplendent in gold spandex and with hair that's bigger and better than ever.  One note: I'm now down to using Polaroid film that is years past the expiration date so the color just isn't as good as with fresh film.  But I'm hopeful that with Lady Gaga using an old school Polaroid in her most recent video with Beyonce, that we'll see the return of my favorite photo technology. Thanks to Felix for scanning and color correcting which made the new photos look a lot better.


And now, The All New, Updated, Complete Polaroid History of Leslie Hall in Salt Lake City. 

Wallace (Squared).

Plan B Theatre Company's production of Wallace is the story of two famous Utah Wallaces.  The play, written by Jenifer Nii and Debora Threedy tells the story of Wallace Stegner (Pulitzer Prize winning writer, environmentalist, and graduate of the University of Utah) and Wallace Thurman (American novelist during the Harlem Renaissance who was born in Salt Lake City).  While the two were born within ten years of each other, Thurman died at the young age of 32 while Stegner lived well into his 80s.

Strong performances by the actors (Carleton Bluford as Stegner and Richard Scharine as Thurman) couldn't save this play from tedium.  To be fair, that may be more because of my lack of knowledge than the actual performance.  Maybe I needed a greater knowledge of the central characters to truly understand the material.  And while I've often said that the only way to really enjoy opera is to study up before the performance, I'm not sure I think I should be expected to do homework before attending a play.

Additionaly, I waited the entire performance for the two stories to come together in some meaningful way.  For me, it never happened.  Possibly a conversation with the playwrites would have helped to shed some light on the intention.  Although I suspect that just because two guys with Utah ties, born in a similar time period, and who share the name may not have as much in common as you might hope.

I don't want to sound like a total negatron, so I'll once again commend both actors for strong performances.  And the staging was also commendable, which is no small feat in the tiny studio theater at the Rose Wagner.  I've seen a lot of performances in that space that faulter.  Plan B always uses the space brilliantly even when the production is minimalistic like this one.

The show runs through March 14.  But tickets may be hard to come buy.  Even when I purchased mine last week the run was nearly sold out, a testament to Jerry Rapier's dedication and smart marketing.

A related note: Trent Call's paintings collectively called Uconoclasts are currently on display in the main lobby of the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. A departure from the style I associate with Call's painting style, these small portraits somehow feel historical and contemporary at the same time.

Die snow mommy, die.

I just saw someone rip the guts out of a snowman.

I went to a Vancouver Cultural Olympiad performance called Nix. It was held in a snow theater by Lost Lake near Whistler. During the performance, the girl character thrusts her hand into the guts of a snow woman and literally rips out her frozen entrails. Later the girl pulls out the snowy creature's blue and frozen heart. All because the girl has issues with her mom.

There was also a tuba that belched flames as it was played. Oh, and a woman who was 10.5 months pregnant. And an arsonist who can't start fires anymore because in a post apocalyptic world it's just too cold.

And it was cold. But I guess it has to be when your entire set is built from ice and snow. At least there were sheepskin seat covers and white fleece blankets to help fight the chill.

Too bad they didn't allow photography. I guess we can't have such violent images of snow-person mutilation getting out in the world. Who knows what might happen?

Objects with mass attract one another.

I have a feeling that Charlotte Boye-Christensen is responsible for a lot of bruises and friction burns on a lot of dancers. I've always thought her choreography was physical, but experiencing Ririe-Woodbury's most recent performance forced me to understand what Charlotte requires from her dancers. The performance was titled Gravity. And I'm pretty sure the dancers now understand the principle like very few others.

The show was in the black box theater and we sat on the front row. That means our seats were basically on stage, and we regularly felt the impact of the dancers as they hit the floors with impact that rattled our chairs.

Choreography is only as good as the dancers who perform it and I'm sure Boye-Christensen is proud of her dancers. I've seen several of these works before. And they just seem to get better. Take Interiors (2008), which features video art from local Utah artist Trent Call. The first time I saw this work it was just OK. But the most recent performance was riveting. Part of it may be due to editing by the choreographer which she talked about after the performance. But I also think it's a result of the dancers having the opportunity to live with the choreography.

I've also seen Turf (2009) before. I liked it then. And I liked it even more now. I have to give a shout out to one of the newest dancers in the company. Prentice Whitlow absolutely shines in this work. Yes, you can tell he's new to the company. He certainly doesn't have the effortless precision of veterans like Erin Lehua Brown and Caine Keenan, both of whom are stunning. But it's been a long time since I've seen drama and power on a Utah dance stage like that brought by Prentice. You can't take your eyes off him. I can hardly wait to see what he brings in the future.

I should probably focus on the centerpiece of the evening, the world premiere of Charlotte Boye-Christensen's Gravity performed with live music provided by the Danish new music group Figura. This is a work I hope to see again. Because there was a lot to watch. And when you're in the tight confines of the Rose Wagner black box theatre, it's hard to take it all in. Figura demands attention, particularly the percussionist who is almost a dancer in his own right. I loved the use of the plastic office water bottle as instrument. But watching the musicians means you frequently forget the dancers. However, they regularly remind you of their presence as gravity forces their bodies to crash into the stage with extreme force. Gravity felt frenetic. But that might be the point. Hopefully, I'll see this work again, possibly on a bigger stage, so I can offer a more informed opinion.

One last note on Figura. The group also performed two works without dancers. The first, Hit Upon by composer Steingrimur Rohloff was performed by Jesper Egelund. I didn't like this piece. Oh go ahead, tell me I just don't get new, academic music. But let me remind you that I spent much of my college career performing the newest of music. I've performed works for vacuum cleaner and microphone feedback. What I didn't like about this work is that it was so processed. I'm pretty sure there were a bunch of Intel processors working at least as hard as the musician. Contrast that with Thracian Sketches by composer Derek Bermel and performed by Anna Klett. This work drew "a connection between Bulgarian fold music and a cosmopolitan, modern sensibility." It was spectacular. And Klett gave a clarinet performance that absolutely dazzled.

All in all, Ririe-Woodbury, under the creative direction of Charlotte Boye-Christensen continues to bring a fresh, challenging viewpoint to contemporary dance in Salt Lake City. And as long as they do that, I plan to be there supporting and watching some of the best art in town.

Welcome to Wonderland.

This last summer, I wrote a post about the SBDance performance, Drosselmeyer, Inc. After that review, SBDance founder Stephen Brown contacted me to ask if he could give my contact information to Jerry Rapier, the producing director for Plan B Theatre. I agreed and soon received an e-mail from Mr. Rapier saying he’d read my post and wanted to know if he could add me to his press list. Since almost no one takes my blog seriously (in fact is any body even reading this), I was flattered by the request. That means I intend to attend as many Plan B performances as possible and to write about every single one.

That said, I have to admit that Plan B has visited the pages of Viva Variety before. About a year ago, I wrote about Radio Hour Frankenstein. So it’s fitting that a year later, I’ve returned to the Rose Wagner for this year’s Radio Hour, Alice—an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

Let’s get the bad out of the way first. This was a lot of story to cram into 60 minutes. Because of that, some moments in the show were confusing and hard to follow. But I’m not sure what I would have cut. It’s hard to present a version of Alice in Wonderland without all those classic characters like the White Rabbit, the March Hare, the Chesire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and the Caterpillar. That’s a lot of character to develop in 60 minutes.

On the flip side there was a lot of good. The story really got going with the arrival of the Queen of Cups. You forget how truly scary this story is. And the Queen of Cups brings on the horror. I loved the way the story built to demands for beheading just about everyone. And Mathew Ivan Bennett’s adaptation ended big, with chilling effect.

All the performers are to be commended but I’ll call out two in particular. David Evanoff’s music is fantastic. If you were to listen to this show on the radio, you’d swear there was a whole band of musicians performing the soundtrack. Sure Evanoff is using a lot of computers, but he’s still working hard. And it’s fun to see him perform live.

Even more fun than Evanoff’s performance is that of Foley artist Daisy Blake. The sound effects make the story more exciting, but watching how it’s done is well worth the price of admission. And sound engineers Mark and Eric Robinette get big kudos for the brilliant audio.

I’ve heard a rumor that this may be the last Radio Hour from Plan B. If it is, that will make me sad. All the more reason to see this show live. It runs through October 31. At the very least, you can hear it broadcast live on KUER (90.1) on October 30 at 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Kiss today goodbye.

Wow. Who knew a regional production of an American musical could overwhelm me with so many memories and emotions. But Pioneer Theater Company’s production of A Chorus Line did just that.

On the way to the theater I remembered how much I wanted the original cast recording when I was in high school. That was 1976 and I lived in Worland, Wyoming. Not only could you not download the album on iTunes. You couldn’t even find the LP anywhere near my home town. But that’s what I wanted for Christmas and my mom is all about delivering on what one wants for Christmas. So she called my aunt in Denver and asked her to buy the album. My aunt bought the album and sent it to my mother with a warning that A Chorus Line was immoral and featured all kinds of objectionable material. To my mom’s credit, she still gave me the album.

During Pioneer Theater Company’s performance, I was also reminded how much I love the songs, maybe because as a member of the Polyphonics (Worland High School’s answer to Glee), one of my favorite Polyphonic performances was a medley from the show.

Thank god PTC delivered. This was a great cast. With spectacular dancing, great singing, and some powerfully emotional performances, this was a production that hit me hard. Probably because A Chorus Line presented so many great gay characters at a time when being a gay teenager was just plain impossible.

“The sweetness and the sorrow.” I couldn’t agree more.

My original cast recording (on vinyl no less) of A Chorus Line.

I went to a dance performance and all I got was this lousy PowerPoint.

These days I hate writing bad reviews because more people have started paying attention to my blog. And I’m not the type of person that likes to talk smack. But sometimes you gotta tell it like you see it.

At least I can start with the good: The first half of Repertory Dance Theatre’s (RDT) recent program, Elements. It was a nifty little review of dance from the past 40 years. Earth (1969) by choreographer Paul Sanasardo is surprisingly current. Created especially for RDT, the work “explores the gradual evolution of man’s technology and asks to what extent man’s intricate technology will evolve?” I don’t think you could ask a question more relevant to 2009. And kudos to guest dancer Robert Goodman. Usually the outsiders seem distanced. But Goodman was spectacular.

Rainwood (1977) by choreographer Ze’eva Cohen used the sounds of birds, frogs, and insects to create a backdrop for some sterling movement. The strangeness of the soundtrack melded with the dance to create an ecological postcard, a reminder of our responsibility to the environment. Once again, it was a perfectly current statement.

And then there was The Lady of the Lake (2004) choreographed by Francie Lloyd and performed by M. Colleen Hoelscher. Let’s start with Hoelsher. Wow! This was a performance, stunningly danced with controlled athleticism and precision. I loved the moments danced on the razor thin edges of the water tank. And it can’t be easy dancing on a wet stage. Which brings me to the water. I’m not sure why we don’t see more dancers splashing around on stage because well-lit moving water is a great effect. And combined with great choreography, it’s down right spectacular. [A side note: I was disappointed to see the three front rows of the theater empty. As a former performing-arts marketer, I would have made a big publicity deal out of the splash zone. After all, the only other shows I’ve been to with splash zones are Cirque du Soleil’s O and the Blue Man Group. And this splash zone didn’t just feature water, there was rice too. See below.]

Then things took a turn for the worse. The second half of the show started with Artistic/Executive Director Linda C. Smith offering a PowerPoint presentation. Yes, I said PowerPoint presentation. And this wasn’t even a good PowerPoint presentation. The opening slide featured the RDT logo with absolutely zero clear space and it was so pixilated it would have been more at home in a game of Pac Man. And there was plenty of clunky type and awkward wording. I know I work in advertising and I’m probably more sensitive to this stuff than most. But representing your organization this poorly is just plain unprofessional.

Even the content was lackluster. This was all part of RDT’s Green Map Project: A new community building initiative choreographed by Zvi Gotheiner (Zvi, say it isn’t so!) and RDT Dancers. When you have to spend this much time trying to explain a performance, it’s a good sign that you might want to reconsider the whole project. Save these boring, instructional lectures for the fifth graders. No wait, don’t show this to the school kids, they may never attend another dance performance. Maybe the dancing that followed was OK, but I was so stunned by the PowerPoint presentation (yes, I said PowerPoint presentation), that it all left me cold to the point of shivering.

The final work on the program was Ghost Ship (2007) choreographed by Eric Handman. The staging for this work was beautiful and involved 120 pounds of rice falling from high above the stage, like an hourglass counting down the minutes. Neither the choreography, nor the dancing lived up to the theatrical staging. But I’m guessing dancing on rice in bare feet isn’t a whole lot of fun.

I’m a fan so I’ll be back for RDT’s next performance. Hopefully without the PowerPoint.

So you know you can dance.

This review is a little late but it’s been a busy couple of weeks. However, we can now say that the performing arts season is officially in full swing. And for me it startedwith Ririe-Woodbury’s opening show, Equilibrium. And if this show is any indication, we’re in for a great year.

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The show opened with It’s Gonna Get Loud, a world premiere by Karole Armitage. I saw a preview of this work at an open rehearsal earlier this summer. I enjoyed the rehearsal but the work was better fully staged and lit. In fact, this whole show was a reminder that lighting really matters. Armitage demanded a lot from the dancers with her rock and raging style. And the dancers delivered with strong, physical performances.

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Next on the program, a choreographoff. Four choreographers from Utah Universities were invited to create short, humorous works based on the idea of social change. The audience was invited to vote for their favorites. The winner received $1,000 and a place in Ririe-Woodbury’s repertory.

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The four works were a reminder that Utah has a seriously high level of dance talent. Two works in particular stood out. Kay Anderson (Southern Utah University) delivered on the humor requirement with Flavor of the Day, a witty, accurate assessment of the male need to get the girl. Erin Lehua Brown sparkled as the lone female resisting the advances of three men. Brown was a highlight on the entire program. It’s hard to take your eyes off a dancer this good.

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For me, the easy winner of the contest was Erik Stern’s (Weber State University) Unlikely Ritual. Stern denied gimmickry in favor of solid choreography, good dance, and style. This is the work I want to see again with its strange mob mentality punctuated with manic outbursts. It felt like a reference to all the mobiness/craziness of the modern world with its Facebook and its Twitter. I’m guessing Flavor of the Day will win based on audience reaction. But Stern’s work should be part of the company’s repertoire.

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The first half ended with the world premiere of Charlotte Boye-Christensen’s Turf. I’m sure glad the leadership team at Ririe-Woodbury invited Charlotte to be part of the artistic staff. Because her works are always smart, exciting, and captivating. Not to mention physical. And congratulations to the dancers (particularly newcomer Prentice Whitlow who's off to an awfully good start) for keeping up with the choreography.

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My favorite piece on the program was a piece we’ve seen Ririe-Woodbury perform before. But it’s definitely worth a second see. Down By the River was choreographed by Carolyn Carlson, inspired by the American Poet A.R. Ammons. This work is theatrical, demandingly precise, and a pleasure to watch, something you don't often about contemporary dance. Here again, the dancers were brilliant.

The most beautiful, worst show I've ever seen.

On my recent trip to Vegas, we decided to get some last minute show tickets and since Felix refused to see Donnie and Marie, we ended up seeing Chris Angel Believe at the Luxor. The show is another spectacle imagined by the wizards of Cirque du Soleil. And as is the Cirque way, this show is beautiful right from the moment you walk through the doors. The halls are lined with amazing lenticulars featuring Angel and other characters from the show appearing to change mystically. Lenticulars are used even more effectively behind the bar in the theater. Here a rich red curtain appears to part revealing magical rabbits.

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Then there’s the stage with one of the best red curtains I’ve seen, all surrounded by a gilt proscenium sculpted with more magic rabbits. And as you’d expect with Cirque du Soleil, there was an amazing cast of dancers dressed in a spectacle of costumes.

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Even with all that, this show still sucks. Why? Well, because of Chris Angel. Angel performs a whole bunch of standard, boring magic tricks that you’ve seen a million times before. Not once during the show did I find myself asking, “Wow, how did he do that?” (Except maybe when he showed the video clip from his TV show.) Sure, I may not know the particulars of the tricks, but I had a pretty good idea about the general principles for each trick.

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I know it sounds harsh, but Chris Angel Believe would be a whole lot better without Chris Angel. Maybe Donnie and Marie wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

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Dance is back.

With the arrival of fall, it’s not just school that’s back in season. The local arts groups are back at it. And that means preseason performances that get us ready for the official start of the performing arts season. So here are two quick reviews of early dance performances.

Momentum Elevated

This is the Ririe-Woodbury alumni performance bringing several past dancers back for works choreographed by many of the dancers. This year’s show left me a little cold. It felt more like a school dance recital than a professional contemporary dance performance. One big reason? The casting. There were 20 female dancers (many of whom were students) with only three male performers. That’s a ratio you usually find at a high school dance recital, where real men don’t dance.

But I’ll focus on the positive. Like two works by current Ririe-Woodbury dancer Caine Keenan. He’s the dancer I love to hate. I’ve been watching him for years and he always comes across as a snob. So I could hardly wait to tear his works apart. But damn you Cain Keenan, you’re work was some of the best on the program. His self-choreographed solo Elre was athletic, beautiful, and surprisingly humble. And Act 4, Scene 7 Line 180 featuring “six fierce Ophelias” demonstrated a surprisingly mature perspective.

The other pleasant performances came courtesy of Jill Voorhees Edwards. She choreographed and performed two works. Les Filles started with Jill facing away from the audience back muscles (beautifully lit) were a character in themselves. And Shed performed by Jill and Jillian Harris was brilliant.

An open rehearsal from Ririe-Woodbury.

A more exciting preview performance was a recent open rehearsal for Ririe-Woodbury’s reconstruction of Alwin Nikolais’s Kaleidoscope Suite. I’m a longtime Nikolais fan, mainly because Ririe-Woodbury is something of an official repository of Nikolais choreography. This is the 14^th Nikolais work to be set on the company. You’d be hard pressed to find many other companies in the world that know so much Nikolais choreography.

Kaleidoscope was choreographed in 1956. And as is the case with most of Alwin’s works, it is surprisingly current. The evening featured four segments from the full work.

The excerpts featured the expected props, lighting, original music, and costumes that you expect from Alwin Nikolais. But what surprised me more were the themes that now seem so evident. Themes that explore tension and balance. Take the opening excerpt performed almost entirely on one leg. I’m still not sure how the dancers did it. Or the beautiful male trio featuring dancers constrained by elastic bands, reminiscent of Tensile Involvement.

The fourth excerpt lampooned the fashion industry, a devious demonstration of the futility of trying to keep up with current trends.

Unfortunately, we won’t get to see the full-length work any time soon. That’s because the work will premiere in New York City in May of Next year as part of the international Alwin Nikolais Centennial Celebration. But I suppose that’s to be expected. I’m always surprised at how popular Ririe-Woodbury is in the rest of the world. Their shows sell out in cities everywhere, from New York to Paris. But there are always plenty of seats here in Salt Lake City. Let’s hope we’ll get to see the full Kaleidoscope performance during the 2009-10 season.

He’s back. And he’s just crazy enough to take on The Nutcracker.

That’s right. It’s the return of Stephen Brown and SBDance. And this year for his annual dance/theater/performance event, he’s taking on The Nutcracker in Drosselmeyer Inc.: The Untold Story Behind the Nutcracker Ballet. Stephen delivers a show that’s unexpected, inventive, irreverent, and laugh-out-loud funny.

Here’s the idea as explained by Stephen: “So last Fall I was driving to Wendover to teach yoga at a chicken ranch when I ran out of gas and had to hike across the Salt Flats for more fuel. Some would say it was destiny; others would say chance; a few would say a dirty lie. But in any case, I stumbled across a major archaeological find—the Prequel to the Nutcracker Ballet. Long story short, it's now June, a perfect time for a Christmas show, and my translation is complete.”

That translation results in a story that is light on dancing but has plenty of humor and story. As a big dance fan, I miss the dance spectacles of SBDances past. But it turns out that Stephen is almost as a good a writer as he is a choreographer. Almost.

There are only four performers in this year’s show but the clever addition of sock puppets (yes, I said sock puppets) makes the cast feel bigger. And don’t get hung up on the sock puppet idea. If you’d told me about this part of the show before hand, I would have rolled my eyes and suggested that SBDance had jumped the shark. But the sock puppets are charming in a creepy sort of way and they give the show a fun, bed-timey vibe.

The abbreviated plot: A group of Drosselmeyer’s dolls work through personal issues leading up to the annual Clara competition, where the winning doll gets to spend the night with Clara in what one is led to believe is The Nutcracker Ballet. Ham (brilliantly short for Hamlet) is the suspiciously gay, naughty thespian who shares the spotlight with the other “special” doll Frenchie, who regularly breaks into song. Tex is the cowboy who gets no respect. And even Mikhail Baryshnikov makes an appearance.

The cast includes Stephen as sexy Tex, a cowboy doll complete with chaps and hat. (Stephen is also writer, director, and choreographer.) Paul Mulder handily plays Hamlet and one of the sock puppets. Kim Cote is perfect as Frenchie and the other sock puppet. And Ballet West’s Kate Crews gives the best hip-hop ballet performance I’ve ever seen. More hip-hop ballet please.

As a dance geek, my favorite moment of the show is the inventive, dimly-lit pas de duex danced by Tex and T-Rot. It all happens in the shadows while Frenchie steals the spotlight serenading the audience. This is classic Stephen Brown, where he forces you to see something by obscuring that very thing.

I also loved the first time we see T-Rot. It’s a fleeting moment but completely iconic—something I expect from every SBDance performance.

Two other people deserve a shout out: Chris Larson’s costumes are stunning and Stephanie Slade’s lighting is nearly perfect, helping to make the sock puppets brilliant when they could have been stupid.

Sure Drosselmeyer, Inc. has some rough edges. But I think that’s because Stephen, as usual, is exploring boundaries. This is a perfect evening out. But hurry. Of all the art in Salt Lake City, nothing is more ephemeral than the works of Stephen Brown. While you’ll likely never forget the performances (remember those amazing newspaper piles in Scampdance?), you’ll get very few chances to see this show again.

Drosselmeyer, Inc. is a bargain at $15 a ticket and can be seen for only three more performances on June 19, 20, and 21.

How much is that artist in the window?

Westminster College entered the world of performance art this weekend with unravel, REVEALED. This live performance spanned 24 hours. Yes I said 24 hours. It started Friday night at 9:30 p.m. and ended Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. I wasn’t ready to invest 24 hours for a college performance art project but I did try and stop by numerous times during the performance to see what was going on.

The project took water ecosystems as its theme re-creating the birth and gradual death of a natural environment and its inhabitants. The work took place outside on 1700 South just west of 1300 West. For the most part, I found the work tedious. The choreography felt improvised but I suppose it would be hard to create 24 hours of dance without asking the dancers to improvise much of it.

My favorite moment came during a portion of the work entitled topographical contours distort (butoh). It involved a near-naked man rising from an old bathtub and dancing about the walls and landscaping. The traffic on 1700 South slowed to barely a crawl. I’m sure there were a lot of confused drivers wondering what was going on.

Much of this work was just boring. In fact there were many times that if I hadn’t known something was going on, I would have thought that it was just people cleaning the windows. But I applaud the artists (choreographer Corrine Cappelletti and visual artists Jim Frazer and Suzanne Simpson masterminded the project) for attempting such an ambitious idea.

Broadway smackdown: witches vs. bitches.

Two nights. Two Broadway shows. It’s the battle of the triple threats. In the Gershwin Theatre corner the witches of Wicked. In the Marquis, the bitches of 9 to 5. And in this Broadway smack down, the bitches walk away with the crown.
Yes, Wicked is a big-budget, techno spectacular with flashy sets and dazzling lights. The costumes are fantastic, particularly the flying monkeys and Glinda’s hyper-sparkling gowns. The cast is super talented with Nicole Parker as Elpheba and Alli Mauzey as Glinda turning in exceptional performances.

But even with all that Broadway firepower, the show (and I’m about to upset you rabid Wicked fans) fell flat. The plot line tries so hard to tell the story that it feels like work. The lyrics are fine, but they seldom surprised me. And this is a score for the hardcore show tunes fan, with complex melodies that refuse to follow you out of the theater.
Compare all that with the power women of 9 to 5. With just a few tweaks to the original story, the producers have created a Broadway classic that seems at least as relevant today as it did when the movie was first released. Let’s start with the best part of the show: music and lyrics by Dolly Parton. This is music that not only follows you out of the theatre, it practically invites you to the after party. Dolly lives up to her reputation as a first-rate songwriter and poet.

The sets are a clean take on the modern office with just enough retro to remind you of the original. And the scene transitions, while nowhere near as glitzy as those of Wicked, are so clever they left me giddy. The performances are good too. Allison Janney as Violet may not be the best vocalist in the group, but her performance is so strong that you don’t really notice. Megan Hilty as Doralee is the perfect update to Dolly Parton’s original performance. And naïve Judy is played perfectly by Stephanie Block.

But maybe the reason I liked the show so much is because it still delivers powerful messages. The show reminds us that we have a long way to go when it comes to treating women equally, and I like that. Even more interesting is the way this show takes on corporate fat cats. In this era, when corporate big wigs have screwed us all, 9 to 5 makes it clear that it’s time for each and everyone one of us to demand more from those in power. So take note overpaid and underperforming corporate executives. Because the rest of us have had it. And we’re armed with rat poison and garage door openers.