The Movie Cricket

Movie reviews by Sean P. Means.

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The older March sisters — clockwise from top, Amy (Taylor Murphy), Meg (Melanie Stone), Jo (Sarah Davenport) and Beth (Allie Jennings) — read old notes by their younger selves, in director Clare Niederpruem's modern-day adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women." (Photo courtesy Pinnacle Peak Pictures)

The older March sisters — clockwise from top, Amy (Taylor Murphy), Meg (Melanie Stone), Jo (Sarah Davenport) and Beth (Allie Jennings) — read old notes by their younger selves, in director Clare Niederpruem's modern-day adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women." (Photo courtesy Pinnacle Peak Pictures)

A rookie director creates a love letter to Louisa May Alcott, by making a 'Little Women' for the modern era

September 26, 2018 by Sean P. Means

it takes some gumption, and a lot of heart, to dare to make a movie adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” and move the beloved story to the 21st century. That’s what first-time director Clare Niederpruem has done, and the resulting film (shot in summer 2017 in Utah) opens on some 600 screens nationwide this Friday.

I interviewed Niederpruem, and actors Sarah Davenport (who plays the heroine, Jo) and Lea Thompson (who plays Marmee), about updating Alcott and rediscovering the emotional core of a classic story 150 years after it was publshed.

Read my article on sltrib.com.

September 26, 2018 /Sean P. Means
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Israeli diplomat Uri Savir (Ben Cherry, left) makes an agreement with his Palestinian counterpart, Ahmed Qurel (Demosthenes Chrysan), in a scene from Pioneer Theatre Company's production of J.T. Rogers' Tony-winning play "Oslo." The play runs at Pioneer Memorial Theatre from Sept. 14 to 29. (Photo courtesy Pioneer Theatre Company)

Israeli diplomat Uri Savir (Ben Cherry, left) makes an agreement with his Palestinian counterpart, Ahmed Qurel (Demosthenes Chrysan), in a scene from Pioneer Theatre Company's production of J.T. Rogers' Tony-winning play "Oslo." The play runs at Pioneer Memorial Theatre from Sept. 14 to 29. (Photo courtesy Pioneer Theatre Company)

Pioneer Theatre starts a new season, after surviving 'Hamilton' mania at rival Eccles

September 17, 2018 by Sean P. Means

After its 2016-17 season, Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Theatre Company reported an “all-time low” in ticket sales — prompted in part by the arrival of the shiny new Eccles Theater, home to touring Broadway musicals, and a new venue for the family-friendly Hale Center Theatre.

Last season, PTC bounced back, playing through the mania of “Hamilton” at the Eccles and scoring a hit with “Mamma Mia!” As the new season begins, with the Tony-winning play “Oslo,” PTC’s artistic director Karen Azenberg talks about the challenges of balancing crowd-pleasers with challenging fare.

Read the full story at sltrib.com.

September 17, 2018 /Sean P. Means
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Singer/guitarist Dallin McAllister performs under the skybridge at Salt Lake City's City Creek Center, one of many buskers working around the city. (Photo by Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune)

Singer/guitarist Dallin McAllister performs under the skybridge at Salt Lake City's City Creek Center, one of many buskers working around the city. (Photo by Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune)

Street performers add to Salt Lake City's 'urban environment'

August 20, 2018 by Sean P. Means

What does it take to be a successful busker?

The ability to follow a crowd. A good "hat line," to cajole spectators into giving up their money. And for dancers on the sidewalk, comfortable shoes.

It also requires living in a city that welcomes street performance as part of the urban atmosphere. Organizers of the first SLC Busker Fest are trying to make Salt Lake City one of those cities.

Here's a look at Salt Lake City's street-performance scene, from sltrib.com.

August 20, 2018 /Sean P. Means
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A mural, by Swedish artist Johanna Burai, of TV characters George Costanza and Jon Snow on a tandem bike is one of the items of "street art" inside the new headquarters for the web development company Podium, in Lehi, Utah. (Photo by Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune)

A mural, by Swedish artist Johanna Burai, of TV characters George Costanza and Jon Snow on a tandem bike is one of the items of "street art" inside the new headquarters for the web development company Podium, in Lehi, Utah. (Photo by Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune)

Utah tech companies offer up some unusual perks

August 20, 2018 by Sean P. Means

Would you want to work in an office that had a giant mural of Jon Snow, the tortured hero of "Game of Thrones," and George Costanza, the misanthropic nebbish from "Seinfeld," riding a tandem bike? Who knew that was even a thing?

Utah's up-and-coming tech and lifestyle companies are including perks like that in their offerings to recruit new employees. At Podium, which sells software products to help businesses improve their online presence, a newly opened office building in Lehi includes street art, a spacious cafeteria, soft-serve Dole Whip by the reception desk, and a pickleball court outside.

Read more about this trend at sltrib.com.

 

August 20, 2018 /Sean P. Means
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Robert Redford plays a career bank robber in "The Old Man and the Gun." (Photo by Eric Zachanowich / courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Robert Redford plays a career bank robber in "The Old Man and the Gun." (Photo by Eric Zachanowich / courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Robert Redford, movie icon and Utah's Sundance Kid, says he's done with acting

August 08, 2018 by Sean P. Means

Robert Redford announced this week that he's going to retire from acting — with his final performance, as a career criminal in director David Lowery's "The Old Man and the Gun," arriving in theaters in late September.

Redford, who turns 82 on Aug. 18, will leave a powerful movie legacy, playing outlaws, journalists, athletes, strivers and outsiders in 46 movies. He also has directed nine films, winning an Oscar for his first directing effort, "Ordinary People." And as founder and guiding light of the Sundance Institute, he's had a hand in the revolution of independent filmmaking.

Read about Redford's announcement here, on sltrib.com. And check out this timeline of Redford's career, also on sltrib.com.

August 08, 2018 /Sean P. Means
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