March/April 2016

March April 2016 | On The Town 1

Debby BooneNuestra GenteJan Jarboe RussellBallet San AntonioKerrville Folk Festival Briscoe Night of ArtistsCulinaria Festival WeekPlus 10 Additional Articles

Debby BooneNuestra GenteJan Jarboe RussellBallet San AntonioKerrville Folk Festival Briscoe Night of ArtistsCulinaria Festival WeekPlus 10 Additional Articles

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March/April 2016Seventh Anniversary Issue March/April 2016

http://onthetownezine.com


2 On The Town | March/April 2016

http://tobincenter.org

http://sasymphony.org


Lair Creative, LLC would not knowingly publish misleading or erroneous information in editorial content or in any advertisement in On The Town Ezine.com, nor does it assume responsibility if this type of editorial or advertising should appear under any circumstances. Additionally, content in this electronic magazine does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the management of Lair Creative, LLC. Since On The Town Ezine.com features information on perfor-mances and exhibits, it is recommended that all times and dates of such events be confirmed by the reader prior to attendance. The publisher assumes no responsibility for changes in times, dates, venues, exhibitions or performances.

Experience the magic of incredible live 8entertainment! Big names and big shows are abundant in March and April

Ballet San Antonio: Striking a balance 14

San Antonio Theatre Coalition: 18Umbrella group covers all things theatre

Up close and personal with Debby Boone 20March 11 performance at the Tobin Center

Eat. Drink. Build a farm. 42All in the name of Culinaria

William Chris Vineyard: Sharing a piece 46 of their world

The return of a classic: Frontier Burger 50

Grayze on Grayson: The latest business 54spawned by Pearl’s success

Nuestra Gente: Celebrating people past and 58present: Exhibit featured at Centro de Artes in Market Square

Briscoe Western Art Museum draws top 62Western artists for Night of Artists

Made in Germany - Contemporary art from the 64Rubell Family Collection: McNay exhibit runsthrough April 24

San Antonio Museum of Art exhibit celebrates 68 Rodin: The Human Experience

45th Annual Kerrville Folk Festival: May 11-15 74

35th Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival: 78at Guadalupe Theatre and Rosedale Park

1212 1414 2020

Features Features Cont.

Events Calendar 24

Book Talk: Jan Jarboe Russell - Journalist 82and author

Artistic Destination: Galveston’s enduring 88treasure: The Grand 1894 Opera House

Out & About With Greg Harrison 94

Departments


Front Cover Photo:© Jonnysek | Dreamstime.com

Performing Arts Cover Photo:One Night of QueenCourtesy Tobin Center

Events Calendar Cover Photo:Peter Noone of Herman’s HermitsCourtesy Tobin Center

Culinary Arts Cover Photo:© Piotr Tomicki | Dreamstime.com

Visual Arts Cover Photo:Primos by Carolina G. Flores

Festivals & Celebrations Cover Photo:© Tomaalimos | Dreamstime.com

Literary Arts Cover Photo:© La Fabrika Pixel S.l. | Dreamstime.com

Eclectics Cover Photo:Photo by Greg Harrison

Out & About With Greg Harrison Cover Photo:Photo by Greg Harrison

Cover Credits

Lair Creative, LLC would not knowingly publish misleading or erroneous information in editorial content or in any advertisement in On The Town Ezine.com, nor does it assume responsibility if this type of editorial or advertising should appear under any circumstances. Additionally, content in this electronic magazine does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the management of Lair Creative, LLC. Since On The Town Ezine.com features information on perfor-mances and exhibits, it is recommended that all times and dates of such events be confirmed by the reader prior to attendance. The publisher assumes no responsibility for changes in times, dates, venues, exhibitions or performances.

82825050 7474

ContributorsMikel Allencreative director/graphic designer

Rudy Arispe

Olivier J. Bourgoin(aka, Olivier the Wine Guy)

Rosemary Catacalos

Julie Catalano

Thomas Duhon

Carolina G. Flores

Sharon Garcia

Mario C. Garza

Dan R. Goddard

Greg Harrisonstaff photographer

Christian Lairoperations manager/webmaster

Kay Lair

Bob McCullough

Ginger McAnear-Robinson

Susan A. Merknercopy editor

Sarah Selango

Allen Sheffield

Juan Tejeda

Jasmina Wellinghoff

OnTheTownEzine.com is published byLair Creative, LLC14122 Red MapleSan Antonio, Texas 78247210-771-8486210-490-7950 (fax)



http://musicalbridges.org


Performing Arts

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Performing Arts

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EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC OF INCREDIBLE LIVE ENTERTAINMENT!Big names and big shows are abundant in March and April.

By Sara Selango


Big names and big shows come to town in March and April. For fans of touring live theater, the Tobin Center BMW Signature Series offers Woody

Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway March 6 on the big stage followed by the 1970s disco hit Saturday Night Fever March 28. The Majestic gets into the act with an eight-performance North Park Lexus Broadway Series run of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella April 5-10. Just a few days before that, Stomp displays its rhythmic magic for three shows April 2-3, also at the Majestic. Arts San Antonio features a classic, Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight at Trinity’s Laurie Auditorium for one performance only March 24. Meanwhile, Boerne Performing Arts concludes its fifth anniversary season by presenting the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players in Pirates of Penzance April 8 at Champions Auditorium in Boerne. On the smaller stage at the Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, the Tobin Center Edge Series features Sex Tips for Straight Women From a Gay Man for five performances March 17-19.

Community theater chips in with some big-time presentations as well. From the “you better hurry”

category, shows closing on the first weekend of March are Rock of Ages at the Woodlawn, Jesus Christ Superstar at Playhouse San Antonio, The Divas of Eastwood at Little Carver and The Seagull at the Classic Theater of San Antonio. Opening nights include Legends of the Oldies at the Josephine March 4, London Calling at Harlequin Dinner Theatre March 11, Reasons to be Pretty at the Cellar Theatre March 18, Secrets of a Soccer Mom from Attic Rep April 1, Memphis at the Woodlawn April 8 and Born Yesterday by the Classic Theatre of San Antonio April 29. Check the events calendar in this issue for all community theater offerings in San Antonio and the surrounding area.

The opportunity to enjoy great music in March and April awaits. If classical is your preference, the San Antonio Symphony starts things off March 3-4 with Brahms First Piano Concerto. Sebastian Lang-Lessing conducts and Peter Serkin is the piano soloist. The orchestra follows with Rachmaninoff, an evening featuring pianist Olga Kern March 25-26. Lang-Lessing conducts these two concerts as well. In addition, the symphony, in conjunction with Opera San Antonio,



presents the concert version of Il Trovatore on March 31 and April 2. Jacques Lacombe serves as guest conductor for Mozart for Flute and Harp, spotlighting the talents of flutist Martha Long and harpist Rachel Ferris, April 29-30. All concerts mentioned are at the H-E-B Performance Hall at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

Still more classical performances are available in March and April beginning with San Antonio Chamber Choir’s performance of Mozart’s Just Desserts at the Carlos Alvarez March 5-6 and Arts San Antonio’s presentation of pianist Vadym Kholodenko at Trinity’s Ruth Taylor Recital Hall March 8. Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, under the direction of Troy Peters, offers Abbey Road Live March 14 at the Tobin, then Il Volo, the operatic pop trio, takes over the Majestic stage March 17. Next up are performances of Archduke by Camerata San Antonio in Boerne, Kerrville and San Antonio March 18-20, followed by the Dover String Quartet in concert for San Antonio Chamber Music Society April 3 at Temple Beth-El. San Antonio International Piano Competition’s Piano Series gives patrons the chance to hear pianist Sejoon Park and San Antonio

Symphony concertmaster Eric Thomas Gratz as they play Beethoven Sonata for Piano and Violin Concert No. 3 on the evening of April 9 at the UIW Recital Hall. Mid-Texas Symphony Concert 5, Tuesday Music Club’s presentation of the Kostov Valkov Duo, Camerata San Antonio’s Bold Russian and Blanco Performing Arts‘ evening with pianist Jonathan Tsay round out the classical genre.

San Antonio Symphony pops concerts at the Tobin in March and April include Bond and Beyond March 11-13 and Fiesta Pops April 15-17. Michael Krajewski conducts Bond and Beyond and Broadway star Debbie Gravitte is the guest soloist. Fiesta Pops, under the direction of Akiko Fujimoto, features the Guadalupe Dance Company and Mariachi Campanas de America. The discussion of dance begins with Shen Yun at the Tobin March 18-20 and continues with Celtic Nights at the same venue March 24. Ballet San Antonio also takes the Tobin stage for three performances of Ballet Alive! April 8-10. The same weekend, Tamara Adira’s Arte y Pasion is on the boards at the Carver’s Jo Long Theatre.



Now it’s time for some serious name-dropping. The list of famous folks and groups coming to the city and immediate area in March and April is quite impressive and includes Carrie Underwood, Anjelah Johnson, Yanni, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Jazz in Pink, Robert Plant, Lewis Black, Vocalosity, Lisa Fischer, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy, Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone, Pat Boone, Debby Boone, Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee of Urban Cowboy fame, Loreena McKennitt, Leon Russell, Leann Rimes, Mavis Staples and Nick Lowe, Steven Wright and Jay Mohr.

One final thought. There are many amazing, and in some cases historical, country and western music venues around old SA. An evening at John T. Floore Country Store, Gruene Hall, Leon Springs Dance Hall, Luckenbach Dance Hall, Blue Bonnet Palace, Whitewater Amphitheater or others nearby might just prove to be good for the soul, so to speak, not to mention a really good time.

There is so much to see and do. Get some tickets and go!

Photo Credits:

Pages 8-9:

Rogers and Hammerstein’s CinderellaPhoto by Carol Rosegg

Pages 10-11 (L-R)

Saturday Night FeverCourtesy Tobin Center

Bullets Over BroadwayCourtesy Tobin Center

StompCourtesy Majestic Theatre

(L-R)

Carrie Underwood Courtesy carrieunderwood.com

Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable GuyCourtesy Tobin Center



http://broadwayinsanantonio.com

14 On The Town | March/April 2016Jenni Colon


W.hen Ballet San Antonio was looking for new leadership at the tumultuous end of 2015, a chance meeting put communications and

marketing whiz Jenni Colon in the path of Christine Varela Mayer, chair of the professional company’s board of directors. Recalled Colon: “I told her a little bit about what I did, and she said, ‘Hmm, would you be interested in being the executive director?’”

The Puerto Rican-born Colon was intrigued. Her experience in corporate positions in Austin and San Antonio included handling public relations, marketing, strategic analysis and more. Up for a new challenge, Colon accepted the job. “The skills I have — project management, multitasking, setting timelines, overseeing various people all doing different things — I feel that that skill set transfers to the production of a ballet. In the end everything needs to come together at the same time and be this beautiful, cohesive project.”

There was just one little thing. “I let the board know right away that I have no dance background,” Colon said. It was not a problem. “They thought it would be good to have someone more grounded in other areas to balance out the organization and add that complementary element to the artistic side.”

That artistic side was handily filled by acclaimed ballet master Willy Shives, former leading dancer and later community outreach coordinator with the renowned Joffrey Ballet and now the artistic director of Ballet San Antonio. A native of Edinburg, Texas, Shives’ impressive career includes performing, choreography, teaching master classes, directing, and staging works from contemporary masters such as Gerald Arpino, George Balanchine, Lew Christensen, John Cranko and more.

Even with such disparate backgrounds, Colon and Shives instantly hit it off and hit the ground running

— Colon eager to implement her considerable administrative talents, and Shives fiercely committed to the “remarkable, talented, beautiful” dancers now in his charge. “It was love at first sight,” he said of the 32-member company.

“We haven’t yet had our strategic planning sessions,” Colon said, “but we’re certainly working on creating a three-year plan with one- and two-year marks.” Nor have they discussed the 2016-17 season, except to hint that “we are looking at doing four productions,” she said. “We want to see what the budget looks like.” Both described the board as incredibly supportive.

High on the list of priorities is community outreach. “It’s one of the things that really attracted me to the company,” Colon said, “their mission statement of making ballet accessible to everyone. We’re definitely continuing the youth performances and hope to grow them.”

Shives couldn’t agree more. “We have great outreach programs right now, and I want to push it even further. San Antonio needs to know that this ballet company is theirs.”

Artistically, Shives envisions building on the company’s existing foundation and reputation, keeping it rooted in “strong classical technique, of course the big ballets because there’s already been a precedent of doing large ballets. Audiences love their story ballets, and there’s plenty out there to do.” His goals are ambitious concerning a higher profile for the company. “I want them to be nationally recognized, and for this to be the ballet company of the Southwest,” he said.

For now, the priority is rehearsing for their final production of the season, Ballet Alive! at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts on April 8-10. The company

Ballet San Antonio:STRIKING A BALANCEBy Julie Catalano

March April 2016 | On The Town 15Photo by Greg Harrison


will perform Gerald Arpino’s lively Confetti, a nonstop tambourine-fest to music by Rossini. The repertory program also includes a pas de deux by Shives entitled Solace, set to Stanley Myers’ Cavatina from The Deer Hunter; choreographer Dominic Walsh’s The Whistling originally set on Ballet Austin; and Lew Christensen’s comic ballet Con Amore, with music by Rossini.

The duo’s energy and enthusiasm is infectious, and they both describe their new working relationship as serendipitous. Shives said they “laugh a lot, and when we get stressed out we start speaking Spanish.”

Colon may not be a dancer but she’s had no problem making the leap into the unknown. “Everybody keeps asking, ‘Have you gotten your feet wet?’ I say, oh no, I jumped right into the deep end.” She added: “Of course

we feel the pressure, but we can’t think about that. The important thing is the overall picture, focusing on moving in that direction, and taking things step by step.”

For more info, balletsanantonio.org.

Ballet Alive!April 8-10The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts210-223-8624

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Photo of Jenni Colon and Willy Shives by Greg HarrisonPhoto from Ballet Alive by Still Life Photography by Alexander Devora


Photo by Alexander Devora

http://balletsanantonio.org


http://vexler.org


Mellissa MarlowePresident SATCO Volunteer Board


F..ans of community theater productions may .applaud the San Antonio Theatre Coalition, which spotlights current and upcoming shows, audition

opportunities and paid production jobs on its website.

SATCO serves as an umbrella organization for local theater professionals. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1995 to facilitate communication and cooperation among the area’s theaters and drama professionals.

“Members of our organization help with promoting theater in the community,” said Mellissa Marlowe, who serves as president of SATCO’s volunteer board. “We like to call attention to our art form and help the public with the many choices they have among local theaters.”

A visit to SATCO’s playbill page shows many upcoming productions, which this spring include Jesus Christ Superstar, The Seagull, Memphis and others. Techs and thespians can search the e-auditions section for future opportunities on both sides of the footlights.

“We receive lots of favorable feedback from the public,” Marlowe said. “They like the fact that they can consult one website and get all the information they need. Actors like the auditions function very much. It’s basically a one-stop shop for theater.”

SATCO offers memberships to individual adults and producers, which provide benefits such as email notices of upcoming shows, discounted tickets, online advertising and other perks.

Current membership is 114 individuals and 34 producers, said Marlowe, whose“day job” is serving as program coordinator for the drama department at Northwest Vista College. She got involved with SATCO in 1996 while in graduate school.

As the San Antonio metro area has grown in recent years, it has sparked the creation of new theaters in nearby communities, such as Boerne, Bulverde and New Braunfels.

In addition to expanding the theater audiences, the new venues also have provided more jobs, although theater remains largely dependent on volunteer talent.

One measure of San Antonio’s growth in the arts is the availability of grants administered by the city’s department for culture and creative development, Marlowe said.

Like many groups, SATCO’s biggest organizational challenge is finding professionals willing to devote extra time in their already busy work schedules to volunteer on behalf of their craft, she said.

SATCO organizers hope to offer free or low-cost professional development workshops in acting and production. Marlowe said she would like to see the return of SATCO’s Theatre ASAP, last offered in September 2012. In a 24-hour span, original plays are written, rehearsed and presented in a Saturday evening performance open to the public.

One of SATCO’s founders was the late playwright and actor Sterling Houston.“He envisioned an organization of producers who would share resources and help promote theater in the community,” Marlowe said. “Raising awareness is good for everyone,” she said. “The more the theatre community is thriving, the better it is for all of us.”

For information: satheatre.com.

San Antonio Theatre Coalition: Umbrella group covers all things theatre By Susan A. Merkner Photography Greg Harrison



When talking to singer-actress Debby Boone it helps to have a family tree flowchart handy. It’s needed to keep track of her family’s

entertainment legends. Her maternal grandfather was country-western star Red Foley. Her father, Pat, is one of the most well-known entertainers in the world, with a career spanning more than 50 years. Her husband of 36 years is Episcopal priest Gabriel Ferrer, whose godfather

was Bing Crosby and parents were groundbreaking Puerto Rican actor/director Jose Ferrer and the fabled American songstress Rosemary Clooney.

“And don’t forget cousin George,” she adds. (How could we?)

The three-time Grammy winner rocketed to instant fame in 1977 when her signature song, You Light Up My Life,

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH DEBBY BOONEMarch 11 performance at the Tobin Center By Julie Catalano


March April 2016 | On The Town 21March April 2016 | On The Town 21

written by Joe Brooks, shot to No. 1 on Billboard and stayed there for 10 consecutive weeks. The record sold more than 4 million copies and became a country crossover hit. Boone has appeared in numerous musical theater productions, and in 2013 released her 13th studio album, Swing This, with songs reminiscent of Las Vegas in the 1960s.

Boone will be appearing for one night only, March 11, at the Tobin Center’s Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater as part of Tobin Studio Sessions. The 295-seat venue is ideal for what Boone calls “an intimate personal evening. What I love most is when (audiences) say, ‘We loved your stories. You have so many great stories.’”

Yes, she does.

Julie Catalano: Tell us more about An Evening with Debby Boone.

Debby Boone: I’ll be doing this show with just a trio. When I first started doing a tribute show to my mother-in-law, Rosemary Clooney, I did a more cabaret venue tour than I’d ever done before. That’s where I fell in love with the opportunity to see faces and talk to people instead of being up on a big stage looking out into a sea of black. I feel like the people who come will get to know me and hear stories that they wouldn’t otherwise hear about my family and my extended family.

JC: You perform so many different types of music: pop, country, swing, show tunes. Do you have a favorite?

DB: Even as a teenager I was a Barbra Streisand fan. I loved Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, but once I got involved with my husband and being exposed to what Rosemary did and got to work with her, that’s when I really fell in love with and started to realize that my heart is in the Great American Songbook -- just beautiful standards. I love musical theater and a lot of standards come from the shows. After Rosemary died, I inherited all of her arrangements, so I had access to all of these fantastic arrangers like Billy May, Nelson Riddle and John Oddo, who will be playing for me at the Tobin. He is now my musical director. He’s an incredible arranger -- I think one of the greatest arrangers alive today. I treasure the fact that I continue to get to work with him.

JC: Do you and your famous father ever perform together?

DB: Yes, we do. It’s very rare. It happened last year in Indiana. We love working together; it just doesn’t happen that often. He’s 81, and he still loves entertaining, but he’s not so crazy about the travel part anymore.

JC: You grew up in a showbiz family and married into a showbiz family. Are there big differences between the way you grew up and the way your own children grew up?

DB: My dad was such a megastar that we were exposed as really young kids to a lot of the Hollywood stuff even though my parents tried to keep us growing up in a normal family life, as much as they could raising kids on the corner of Beverly Drive and Sunset Boulevard.

JC: How did they accomplish that?

DB: I think the real bottom-line answer to that was their faith. It was very important that they instill their values and their faith in us. My dad was a very connected, hands-on dad. His presence was felt even when he wasn’t there because he was a serious disciplinarian, so my mother meant it when she said, “I’m going to tell your father” (laughs). Church was nonnegotiable. We went Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night unless we were ill. (With my own kids) we had a similar style of parenting with morning devotionals and goodnight prayers, and church too was nonnegotiable even though it became harder because the culture was changing so much. A lot of times sports practices and friends’ birthday parties were on Sunday. We’d think, what happened to Sunday being family day and church day? I was not as strict a parent as the ones I grew up with, but I still think there were more similarities than differences.

JC: Tell us something about you that people may not know.

DB: I still get stage fright. That’s definitely my thorn in the flesh, and I kind of thought it would go away. Opening nights are nerve-wracking, and having certain people in the audience can be really intimidating, so yeah, I’m a fairly nervous performer but I just have to move through it.

JC: Next year is the 40th anniversary of You Light Up My Life, the song that made you famous. Do you sing it at every concert?

DB: It has never been the right choice to leave it out. I realize that some people don’t know anything else about me except that song and that’s why they’ve come. It may not fit with everything else I do, but it always belongs in my show.

An Evening with Debby Boone8 p.m. March 11Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Information and tickets at tobincenter.org.



http://kerrvilletexascvb.com


Events Calendar

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Events Calendar

24-30


March/April 2016 Events CalendarMusic Notes Gerorge Thorogood & The Destroyers3/2, Wed @ 7pmAztec Theatre

Ladysmith Black Mambazo &Sweet Honey in the Rock3/2, Wed @ 7:30pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Vocalosity: The ACA-Perfect Concert Exerience3/3, Thu @ 7:30pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Experience Hendrix3/4, Fri @ 8pmMajestic Theatre

Bricks In the Wall3/4, Fri @ 8pmAztec Theatre

Houston Marchman3/4, Fri @ 8pmGruene Hall

Wagon Aces3/4, Fri @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

David Nail3/4, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

San Antonio SymphonyBrahms 1st Piano Concerto3/4-5, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSebastian Lang-Lessing, conductorPeter Serkin, pianoH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Dusty Britches3/5, Sat @ 7:30pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Marisela3/5, Sat @ 8pmMajestic Theatre

Cactus Country3/5, Sat @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Mayeux & Broussard3/5, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Stoney Larue3/5, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

San Antonio Chamber ChoirMozart’s Just Desserts3/5-6, Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 3pmCarlos Alvarez Studio Theaterat the Tobin Center

Loreena McKennitt3/6, Sun @ 7:30pmMajestic Theatre

Arts San AntonioVadym Kholodenko, piano3/8, Tue @ 7:30pmRuth Taylor Recital Hallat Trinity University

Mavis Staples & Nick Lowe3/8, Tue @ 7:30pmH-E-B Performance Hallat The Tobin Center

UTSA Festival of New Music3/8-10, Tue-Thu @ 7:30pmUTSA Recital Hall

Future: The Purple Reign Tour3/10, Thu @ 7pmAztec Theatre

Rick Cavender Band3/11, Fri @ 6:30pmO’Brien’s in Bergheim

Joe Satriani3/11, Fri @ 7:30pmLaurie Auditorium at Trinity University

A Special Evening with Debby Boone3/11, Fri @ 8pmCarlos Alvarez Studio TheatreAt the Tobin Center

Doug Moreland3/11, Fri @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Charlie Robison3/11, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

The Trishas3/11, Fri @ 8pmGruene Hall

San Antonio Symphony PopsBond and Beyond3/11-13, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2pmMichael Krajewski, guest conductorDebbie Gravitte, soloistH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

The Countrymen3/11, Fri @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Bennett & Hines3/12, Sat @ 6:30pmO’Brien’s in Bergheim

Urban Cowboy 35th AnniversaryReunion Tour: Mickey Gilley & Johnny Lee3/12, Sat @ 7pmMajestic Theatre



http://thecarver.org


Monster Energy Outbreak Tour Presents: Fetty Wap-Welcome to the Zoo3/12, Sat @ 7pmAztec Theatre

The Music of Jerry Lee Lewis and The Blues Brothers3/12, Sat @ 7:30pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

Carver Community Cultural Center Presentation: Jazz in Pink3/12, Sat @ 8pmJo Long Theatre at The Carver

Landon Dodd3/12, Sat @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Gary P. Nunn3/12, Sat @ 8:30pmKendalia Halle

Cody Jinks3/12, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

James McMurtry3/12, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Unforgettable3/13, Sun @ 3pmJo Long Theatre atThe Carver

L73/13, Sun @ 7pmAztec Theatre

The Noise PresentsCannibal Corpse3/14, Mon @ 6:30pmAztec Theatre

Youth Orchestras of San AntonioAbbey Road Live3/14, Mon @ 8pmTroy Peters, conductorH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

One Night of Queen3/15, Tue @ 7:30pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

4th Annual Two Ton TuesdaySpring Break Show3/15. Tue @ 8:30pmGruene Hall

Killswitch Engage, MemphisMay Fire, 36 Crazy Fists3/16, Wed @ 6pmAztec Theatre

Il Volo3/17, Thu @ 7:30pmMajestic Theatre

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters3/17, Thu @ 8pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Almost Patsy Cline Band3/18, Fri @ 6pmO’Brien’s in Bergheim

Leon Russell 3/18, Fri @ 7pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Pat Boone3/18, Fri @ 7:30pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

Rocky King Band3/18, Fri @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Roger Creager3/18-19, Fri @ 8pmSat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Blue Water Highway Band3/18, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Camerata San AntonioArchduke3/18, Fri @ 7:30pmBoerne First United Methodist3/19, Sat @ 3pmKerrville First Presbyterian3/20, Sun @ 3pmUniversity of the Incarnate WordRecital Hall

Mud Dauber Rock’N Billy Chili Fest(Billy Joe Shaver, Dale Watson,The Merles and more)3/19, Sat @ 12pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Nightwish with special guest Delain3/19, Sat @ 6:30pmAztec Theatre

Bobby Flores3/19, Sat @ 7:30pmKathleen C. Cailloux TheaterKerrville

Jake Hooker and the Outsiders3/19, Sat @ 8pmAnhalt Hall

Billy Mata & Texas Tradition3/19, Sat @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Johnny Bush and The Bandoleros3/19, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Fall Out Boy Wintour Is Coming3/20, Sun @ 7pmFreeman Coliseum

Tobin Center Studio SessionsHerman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone3/20, Sat @ 2pm & 7pmCarlos Alvarez Studio Theaterat the Tobin Center

Arts San AntonioSpanish Harlem Orchestra3/22, Tue @ 7:30pmAztec Theatre

Underoath3/23, Wed @ 6:30pmAztec Theatre

Patty Griffin, Sara Watkins & Anais Mitchell3/23, Wed @ 7:30pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Moon Taxi3/23, Wed @ 8pmCharline McCombs Empire Theatre



http://boerneperformingarts.com


Trout Fishing in America with Dana Louise & The Glorious Birds3/24, Thu @ 7:30pmCarlos Alvarez Studio Theaterat the Tobin Center

Phantom 46Tribute to Stone Temple Pilots3/24, Thu @ 7:30pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

Yanni3/24, Thu @ 8pmMajestic Theatre

Ben Rector: The BrandNew Tour3/25, Fri @ 7pmAztec Theatre

Band of Heathens 3/25, Fri @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Tab Benoit3/25, Fri @ 8pmGruene Hall

San Antonio SymphonyRachmaninoff3/25-26, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSebastian Lang-Lessing, conductorOlga Kern, pianoH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Randy Rogers Band3/25-26, Fri-Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Asleep at the Wheel3/26, Sat @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Granger Smith3/26, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Monster Energy Outbreak Tour Present: Issues3/26, Sat @ 6pmAztec Theatre

The Spazmatics3/26, Sat @ 8pmBlue Bonnet Palace

Jerry Jeff Wlker3/27, Sun @ 7pmGruene Hall

TobyMac’s Hits Deep Tour3/31, Thu @ 7pmAT&T Center

La Santa Cecilia4/1, Fri @ 8pmCharline McCombs Empire Theatre

Max Stalling4/1, Fri @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Hunter A. Smith4/1, Fri @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Nick Lawrence4/1, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Friends in Harmony4/2, Sat @ 2pmLaurie Auditoriumat Trinity University

Bennie Wheels & Walkin’ the LineThe Ultimate Tribute to Johnny Cash4/2, Sat @ 7:30pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

L&M Kings4/2, Sat @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Almost Patsy Cline Band4/2, Sat @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Cody Johnson4/2, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

San Antonio Chamber Music SocietyDover String Quartet4/3, Sun @ 3:15pmTemple Beth-El

Music Icons – Playing It Forward4/4, Mon @ 7pmJo Long Theatre atThe Carver

A Special Evening with Marcia Ball, Carolyn Wonderland andShelly King4/7, Thu @ 7:30pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

Los Lonely Boys4/8, Fri @ 8pmGruene Hall

Midland4/8, Fri @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Gunpowder Soup Band4/8, Fri @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Dwight Yoakam4/8, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Kirk Franklin4/9, Sat @ 6:30pmAztec Theatre

Close To YouMusic of the Carpenters4/9, Sat @ 7:30pm Brauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

Monte Montgomery4/9, Sat @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

SAIPC Piano SeriesBeethoven Sonata for Piano & Violin Concert #3Sejoon Park, pianoEric Thomas Gratz, violin4/9, Sat @ 8pmUIW Concert Hall

Johnny Mata4/9, Sat @ 8pmKendalia Halle

Cactus Country4/9, Sat @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

An Evening with Leann Rimes4/9, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Mid-Texas SymphonyConcert 54/10, Sun @ 4pmDavid Mairs, ConductorPerforming Arts Center atCanyon High SchoolNew Braunfels



http://artssa.org


Tuesday Music ClubLachezar Kostov, celloViktor Valkov, piano4/13, Tue @ 2pmLaurel Heights United Methodist

The Noise Presents Amon Amarth4/13, Wed @ 7pmAztec Theatre

Radney Foster & Friends featuring Darius Rucker and Kelly Willis 4/13, Wed @ 7:30pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Drive-By Truckers4/14, Thu @ 7pmAztec Theatre

Music for Your Eyes Tour:April in Paris4/14, Thu @ 6:30pmVilla Finale Museum & Gardens

Arts San AntonioMemories of Rio withSergio and Odair Assad with Clarice Assad4/14, Thu @ 7:30pmCharline McCombs Empire Theatre

Gatlin GospelLarry Gatlin and theBlackwood Quartet4/15, Fri @ 7:30pmKathleen C. Cailloux TheaterKerrville

Delta Rae4/15, Fri @ 8pmCharline McCombs Empire Theatre

The Merles4/15, Fri @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard4/15-17, Fri-Sat @ 7pmSun @ 6pmWhitewater AmphitheaterNew Braunfels

San Antonio SymphonyFiesta Pops4-15-17, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2pmAkiko Fujimoto, conductorMariachi Campanas de AmericaGuadalupe Dance CompanyH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Rey Lopez Entertainment Presents:Adore Delano # Queens4/15, Fri “@ 10pmAztec Theatre

Thomas Michael Riley4/16, Sat @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Rocky King Band4/16, Sat @ 8pmAnhalt Hall

Moe Bandy4/16, Sat @ 8pmBlue Bonnet Palace

Ha*Ash4/16, Sat @ 8pmAztec Theatre

Delbert McClinton4/16, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Heart of Texas BandMusic of the Alamo City4/17, Sun @ 3pmMcAllister Auditoriumat San Antonio College

Carrie Underwood: The Storyteller Tour4/18, Mon @ 7pmAT&T Center

Two Tons of Steel4/22, Fri @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Sirius XM Presents, the Jim Norton, Mouthful of Sham Tour4/22, Fri @ 8:30pmAztec Theatre

Camerata San AntonioBold Russian4/22, Fri @ 7:30pmBoerne First United Methodist4/23, Sat @ 3pmKerrville First Presbyterian4/24, Sun @ 3pmUniversity of the Incarnate WordRecital Hall

Lucinda Williams4/22-23, Fri @ 8pmSat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Blanco Performing ArtsJonathan Tsay, piano4/23, Sat @ 7:30pmUptown Blanco Ballroom Jake Worthington4/23, Sat @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

JB & The Moonshine Band4/23, Sat @ 8pmBlue Bonnet Palace

Hot Texas Swing Band4/23, Sat @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Cypress Hill: 25th AnniversaryWorld Tour4/26, Tue @ 8pmAztec Theatre

Symphony of the HillsA Night in Old Mexico4/28, Thu @ 7:30pmEugene Dowdy, ConductorKathleen C. Cailloux TheaterKerrville

Carver Community Cultural Center Presentation: Lisa Fischer4/29, Fri @ 8pm Jo Long Theatre at The Carver

Tessy Lou and the Shotgun Stars4/29, Fri @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Finger Pistol4/29, Fri @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Roger Creager4/29, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

San Antonio SymphonyMozart for Flute and Harp4/29-30, Fri-Sat @ 8pmJacques Lacombe, conductorMartha Long, fluteRachel Ferris, harpH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center



Country Music HeroesTribute to George Strait, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and Patsy Cline4/30, Sat @ 7:30pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

Victoria Symphony OrchestraHaochen Zhang, piano4/30, Sat @ 7:30pmVictoria Fine Arts CenterVictoria

Gary P. Nunn4/30, Sat @ 8pmLuckenbach Dance Hall

Landon Dodd4/30, Sat @ 8:15pmLeon Springs Dance Hall

Live Theater

Rock of Ages3/4-6, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 3pmWoodlawn Theatre

Lend Me A TenorThe Wimberley Players3/4-6, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 2:30pmWimberley Playhouse

Into the Woods3/4-6, Fri-Sat @ 7:30Sun @ 2pmFredericksburg Theater CompanySteve W. Shepherd TheaterFredericksburg

Jesus Christ Superstar3/4-6, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3pmRussell Hill Rogers Theatre at The Playhouse San Antonio

Ruthless3/4-6, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3pmPerforming Arts San Antonio Theatre

Color of Stars3/4-6, Thu-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pmSpotlight Theatre (S.T.A.G.E)Bulverde

The Seagull3/4-6, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3pmThe Classic Theatre of San Antonio

The Divas of EastwoodRenaissance Guild Presentation3/4-6, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 4pmLittle Carver Theatre

Creatures of the Night3/4-12, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 7pm3/18-20, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3pm3/25-26, Fri-Sat @ 8pmGreg Barrios Theater @The Overtime Theater

Legends of the Oldies3/4-4/3, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 2:30pmJosephine Theatre

BMW Signature SeriesBullets Over Broadway3/6, Sun @ 7pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

London Calling3/11-4/16, Thu-Sat @ 8pm(dinner @ 6:15pm)Harlequin Dinner Theatre

Tobin Center Edge SeriesSex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man3/17-19, Thu @ 7:30pmFri @ 7pm & 10pmSat @ 4pm & 8pmCarlos Alvarez Studio Theaterat theTobin Center

http://thepalm.com/san-antonio


Foxfire3/18-20, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 2pm3/25-4/2, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmElizabeth Huth Coates Indoor TheatreIngram

Reasons to be Pretty3/18-4/10, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3mCellar Theatre at ThePlayhouse San Antonio

Arts San AntonioHal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight!3/24, Thu @ 7:30pmLaurie Auditorium atTrinity University

BMW Signature SeriesSaturday Night Fever3/28, Mon @ 7:30pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Arts San AntonioPedal Punk: Cirque Mechanics4/1, Fri @ 7:30pmMajestic Theatre

Center of The Universe4/1-16 & 29-30, Fri-Sat @ 8pm, 4/10, Sun @ 3pm4/24, Sun @ 7pmOvertime Theater

Stomp4/2-3, Sat @ 3pm & 8pmSun @ 3pmMajestic Theatre

North Park Lexus Majestic BroadwaySeries at the MajesticRodgers and Hammersteins Cinderella4/5-10, Tue-Thu @ 7:30pm

Fri @ 8pmSat @ 2pm & 8pmSun @ 2pm & 7:30pmMajestic Theatre

Attic RepSecrets of a Soccer Mom4/7-17, Thu-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pmCarlos Alvarez Studio Theaterat the Tobin Center

Boerne Performing ArtsPirates of Penzance4/8, Fri @ 7:30pmBoerne Champion Auditorium

Around the World in 80 Days4/8-24, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2pmCircle Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

Is He Dead?Playhouse 2000 4/8-9, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pm4/15-24, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 3pmV\K Garage TheatreKerrville

Memphis4/8-5/8, Fri-Sat @ &:30pmSun @ 3pmWoodlawn Theatre

The Nerd4/15-5/1, Fri-Sat @ 7:30Sun @ 2pmFredericksburg Theater CompanySteve W. Shepherd TheaterFredericksburg

Good PeopleThe Wimberley Players4/15-5/8, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 2:30pmWimberley Playhouse

32 On The Town | January/February 2016

http://sabot.org


Alone Together Again4/28-5/1, Thu-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pm5/5-7, Thu-Sat @ 8pm5/12-15, Thu-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pmS.T.A.G.E – SpotlightTheatre & Arts GroupBulverde

Born Yesterday4/29-5/22, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3pmThe Classic Theatre of San Antonio

The Gingerbread Lady4/29-5/28, Thu-Sat @ 8pm(dinner @ 6:15pm)Harlequin Dinner Theatre

DanceShen Yun 20163/18-20, Fri @ 7:30pmSat @ 2pm & 7pmSun @ 2pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Celtic Nights3/24, Thu @ 7:30pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Ballet San AntonioBallet Alive!4/8-10, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 8pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Arte y Pasion Tamara Adira 4/9-10, Sat @ 8pmSun @ 4pmJo Long Theatre at The Carver

OperaSan Antonio Symphony Opera San AntonioIl Trovatore (concert version)3/31 & 4/2, Thu @ 8pmSat @ 8pmSebastian Lang-Lessing, conductorSymphony Mastersingers(John Silantien, director)Julianna Di Giacomo, sopranoDolora Zajick, mezzo-sopranoIssachah Savage, tenorLester Lynch, baritone H-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

UTSA Lyric TheatreThe Tender Land4/1 & 3, Fri @ 7:30pmSun @ 3pmUTSA Recital Hall

ComedyDrew Fraser3/2-3, Wed-Thu @ 8:30pm3/4-5, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm3/6, Sun @ 8pm Improv Comedy ClubSan Antonio Rivercenter

Nate Bargatze3/3, Thu @ 8pm3/4-5, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm3/6, Sun @ 7pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

http://bellaontheriver.com


Ladies Night Out Comedy TourJoe Torry and Friends3/4, Fri @ 8pmCarlos Alvarez Studio Theater at the Tobin Center

Kevin Downey, Jr.3/9-10, Wed-Thu @ 8:30pm3/11-12, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm3/13, Sun @ 8pm Improv Comedy ClubSan Antonio Rivercenter

Dean Edwards3/10, Thu @ 8pm3/11-12, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm3/13, Sun @ 7pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Al Ducharme3/16-17, Wed-Thu @ 8:30pm3/18-19, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm3/20, Sun @ 8pm Improv Comedy ClubSan Antonio Rivercenter

Maryellen Hooper3/17, Thu @ 8pm3/18-19, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm3/20, Sun @ 7pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

The Comedy Get Down: George Lopez, Cedric “The Entertainer” Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley and Charlie Murphy3/18, Fri @ 8pmAT&T Center

Ryan Stout 3/23-24, Wed-Thu @ 8pm3/25-26, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Aida Rodriguez3/23-24, Wed-Thu @ 8:30pm3/25-26, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm3/27, Sun @ 8pm Improv Comedy ClubSan Antonio Rivercenter

Vladimir Caamano3/30-31, Wed-Thu @ 8:30pm4/1-2, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm4/3, Sun @ 8pm Improv Comedy ClubSan Antonio Rivercenter

Lewis BlackThe Emporer’s New Clothes: The Naked Truth Tour 3/31, Thu @ 8pmMajestic Theatre

Steven Wright4/1, Fri @ 8pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

Roy Wood Jr.4/1-2, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy: We’ve Thinking Tour4/3, Sun @ 5:30pm & 8pmH-E-B Performance Hallat the Tobin Center

34 On The Town | January/February 2016


Cleto Rodriguez4/6-7, Wed-Thu @ 8:30pm4/8-9, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm4/10, Sun @ 8pm Improv Comedy ClubSan Antonio Rivercenter

Maverick Music Festival4/8-9, Fri-Sat @ 5pmMaverick Plaza in La Villita

Nikki Glaser4/8-9, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Sam Demaris4/13-14, Wed-Thu @ 8:30pm4/15-16, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm4/17, Sun @ 8pm Improv Comedy ClubSan Antonio Rivercenter

Jay Mohr4/16, Sat @ 8pmCharline McCombs Empire Theatre

Slade Ham4/20, Wed @ 8pm4/24, Sun @ 7pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Anjelah Johnson: Bon Qui Qui in Concert with Group 1 Crew4/22, Fri @ 8pmMajestic Theatre

Godfrey4/22-23, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Kristen Key4/27-28, Wed-Thu @ 8pm4/29-30, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm5/1, Sun @ 7pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

BT Kingsley4/27-28, Wed-Thu @ 8:30pm4/29-30, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm5/1, Sun @ 8pm Improv Comedy ClubSan Antonio Rivercenter

Children’sTobin Kid Series Children’s Fine Art SeriesGoodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny3/7, Mon @ 6:30pmH-E-B Performance HallAt the Tobin Center

Cat in the Hat3/9-17, Wed-Thu @ 10amPerforming Arts San Antonio

Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet3/11-4/17go to website for days/timesMagik Theatre


Magik Theatre Presents:Jungle Book3/17-20, Thu-Sat @ 2pm & 6:30pmSun @ 2pmCharline McCombs Empire Theatre

Tobin Kid Series Children’s Fine Art SeriesDaniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live!4/3, Sun @ 2pmH-E-B Performance HallAt the Tobin Center

Disney® Alice in Wonderland, Jr.4/15-17, Fri @ 10:30am & 7:30pmSat @ 2pm &7:30pmSun @ 2pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

Kidz Bop4/24, Sun @ 6pmH-E-B Performance HallAt the Tobin Center

Charlotte’s Web4/29-6/1go to website for days/timesMagik Theatre

ExhibitionsARTPACE

Spring 2016 Artists in ResidenceExhibitionDaniel GarciaWu TsangAndriana CorralJuan de Nieves, curator3/17-5/15

Hudson ShowroomCordy RymanNow thru 4/24

Window WorksChris SauterNow thru 4/24

BLUE STAR CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM

Open Call for Texas Artists3/1-31

Blue Star Ice CompanyColin Kloecker and Shanai Matteson3/3-5/8

Going on GoingJustin Boyd3/3-5/8

Do it & Do itCurated by Hans Ulrich Obrist3/3-5/8

BIHL HAUS ARTS

Necessary Work: Bryce Milligan’s World of Words and DesignOpens 4/9Independent Publishing and Book Design Panel Discussion4/23, Sat @ 2pm

Readings by Wings Press Poets & Writers4/30, Sat @ 2pm

BRISCOE WESTERN ART MUSEUM

210/West Gallery TalkCataloging the Past3/1, Tue @ 6:30pmSusanna Dickinson: Fact & Fabrication4/5, Tue @ 6:30pm

Briscoe Book ClubThousand Pieces of Gold Ruthanne Lum McCunn3/8, Tue @ 6:30pmLoteríaMario Alberto Zambrano4/12, Tue @ 6:30pm

Native Film SeriesAtanarjuat: The Fast Runner3/29, Tue @ 5:30pmBarking Water4/29, Tue @ 6:30pm

Night of Artist Exhibition4/3-5/15

Voices of the West Distinguished Lecture SeriesMichael Horse4/26, Tue @ 6:30pm

INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES

Faces of SurvivalNow thru 3/6

Sikhs: Legacy of the PunjabNow thru 4/24

Our Part of VictoryNow thru 12/7

Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and Farm Workers3/11-6/5

LINDA PACE FOUNDATION

Secondary Stories by BrazilianArtist Rivane Neuenschwander4/30-7/29

Adam (Public Artwork)By Arturo Herrera25’ h x 98’ w, Frost Bank GarageCommerce at MainNow thru 12/2016

McNAY ART MUSEUM

The Extraordinary Ordinary:Three InstallationsNow thru 4/10

Fait Accompli: Charles Dulac’s Masterpieces ReunitedNow thru 4/10

Against the Grain: Robert L.B. Tobin and the Expressionist PrintNow thru 4/10

Collecting in ContextNow thru 4/17

Made in Germany: Contemporary Art from the Rubell Family CollectionNow thru 4/24



November/December 2015 | On The Town 37

Wildcat: Kahlil JosephNow thru 4/24

My Royal Past: Cecil Beaton and the Art of ImpersonationNow thru 6/5

Dressed to Kill: Glam and Gore in TheatreNow thru 6/5

Stephan Westfall: The Holy ForestNow thru 7/31

SAN ANTONIO BOTANICAL GARDEN

Wings of the CityNow thru 6/5

Storybook Houses3/5-7/10

SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF ART

Corita Kent and the Language of PopNow thru 5/8

Roberto de la Selva: Modern Mexican Masterpieces in WoodNow thru 6/26

Rodin: The Human Experience Selections from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collections3/5-5/29

SOUTHWEST SCHOOL OF ART

Texas Draws IVNow thru 4/24Caitlin G. McCollom: The Cloud of the UnknowingNow thru 4/24

TEXAS A&M CENTRO DE ARTES

Nuestra Gente: Celebrating People Past and PresentNow thru 5/8

WITTE MUSEUM

Splendor on the Range: American Indians and the Horse3/5-8/21

MiscellaneousContemporary Art Month3/1-31 at galleries, art centers and museums citywide

H-E-B Cinema on the Plaza SeriesHoosiers3/11, Fri @ 8pmRiver Walk Plaza at the Tobin Center

Paella Challenge at Pearl3/11, Sun / 11am-4pmPearl Complex

Dyeing of the River Green3/12, Sat @ 2pmRiver Walk

The Ziegenbock Festival3/12, Sat / 2:30pm-11pmRetama Park

Murphy’s St. Patrick’s Day River Festival3/12-13, Sat-Sun 12pm-6pmRiver Walk & Arneson River Theatre

San Antonio OpenWTA Series Event3/14-19, Mon-SatMcFarlin Tennis Center


HEB Big League WeekendTexas Rangers vs. Kansas City Royals3/18-19, Fri @ 7pmSat @ 2pmAlamodome

Culinaria 5K Wine & Beer Run3/19, Sun @ 9amThe Shops at La Cantera

San Antonio Flavor3/24, Thu @ 7pmSan Antonio Museum of Art

San Antonio Book Festival4/2, Sat / 10am-3pmCentral Library

Behind the Lens with Henry Diltz and Pattie Boyd4/9, Sat @ 4pmRiver Walk Plaza atthe Tobin Center

Fiesta® San Antonio4/14-24 – for details www.fiesta-sa.org

Valero Texas Open PGA Golf Tournament4/18-24TPC San Antonio

NIOSA: A Night inOld San Antonio4/19-22, Tue-Fri / 5:30-10:30pmLa Villita

Ford Mariachi Festival4/19-22, Tue-Fri / 7-10pmRiver Walk

The Coronation of the Queen of the Order of the Alamo4/20, Wed @ 7:45pmMajestic Theatre

Listen to Your Mother: Giving Motherhood a Microphone4/23, Sat @ 2pmCarlos Alvarez Studio Theaterat the Tobin Center

Photo Credits:

Page 24 (L-R)

Ladysmith Black MambazoPhoto by Luis Leal

Sweet Honey in the RockPhoto by Dwight Carter

VocalostityPhoto by Jeremy Daniel

Peter SerkinCourtesy San Antonio Symphony

Page 26 (L-R)

Loreena McKennittCourtesy Majestic Theatre

Vadym KholodenkoCourtesy vadymkholodenko.com

The TrishasPhoto by Jeff Fasano

Michael KrajewskiPhoto by Michael Temmaro

http://littlerheinsteakhouse.com

http://figtreerestaurant.com


Page 28 (L-R)

Debbie GravitteCourtesy San Antonio Symphony

Jerry Lee Lewis TributeCourtesy Brauntex Theatre

Pat BooneCourtesy Brauntex Theatre

Sara WatkinsCourtesy Tobin Center

Page 30 (L-R)

Olga KernPhoto by Chris Lee

La Santa CeciliaCourtesy Arts San Antonio

Marcia BallCourtesy thekurlandagency.com

Radney FosterPhoto by Marshall Foster

Page 32 (L-R)

Larry GatlinCourtesy Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater

Lucinda WilliamsCourtesy lucindawilliams.com

Page 33 (L-R)

Il VolvoCourtesy Majestic Theatre

CinderellaPhoto by Carol Rosegg

Page 35 (L-R)

Bullets Over BroadwayCourtesy Tobin Center

Aida RodriguezCourtesy Improv Comedy Club

Page 36 (L-R)

Maryellen HooperCourtesy Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Jay MohrCourtesy Empire Theatre

Nikki GlaserCourtesy Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Joe TorryCourtesy Tobin Center

(L-R)Steven WrightCourtesy Tobin Center

Akiko FujimotoPhoto by Eric Green


http://childrensfineartseries.org


Culinary Arts42-56

Culinary Arts42-56


Eat. Drink. Build a Farm.All in the name of CulinariaBy Ginger McAnear RobinsonPhotography courtesy Culinaria

If San Antonio residents have one thing in common, it’s the love of a great party. When that party turns into a multi-day celebration, not only

will the community take part in the fun, but visitors will flock to the city, as well. This combination plays a role in the success of Culinaria events through the years and also helps build a farm this year.

Before the seeds are planted and the realization of the Culinaria Farm comes to life this summer, Culinaria will host the event that started it all for the organization, the Festival, May 19-22. Through the years, the festival has evolved, and organizers

have been credited with being “trendsetters” for festivals and events. Certainly not sticking to a particular format each year, but offering guests the foods, flavors, beverages and events they love or will soon learn to love has been a guiding force behind the schedule and will remain a part of this year’s plans -- with a few changes.

It is important to note that while the schedule will be changing slightly, Culinaria will definitely not be taking away some of the most popular events, such as Burgers, BBQ and Beer. In fact, what started out as a last-minute addition to the schedule



several years ago is now one of Culinaria’s biggest and most popular events and will remain as the closing activity for the festival.

Culinaria also will continue the traditional wine dinners on Thursday night, but will spice things up a bit this year. Look for some unique venues and not so classic menus that will seem a bit more l ike dinner with fr iends rather than a drawn-out dinner.

Also remaining on this year’s schedule is the popular Becker Luncheon on Friday, where the Beckers host trendy chefs with visiting winemakers. From there, the schedule changes a bit, including a new host for the weekend, as events Friday night through Sunday all take place at La Cantera Hill Country Resort.

Saturday highlights include a Culinaria Market that will feature a variety of zones including wine, beer, cocktails, chef-driven stations and demos, the Taste Test Education series, and an area for

children. The evening Grand Tasting offers guests the chance to sample bites from some buzz-worthy restaurants in San Antonio and beyond while also showcasing a variety of wines and a bigger emphasis on cocktails. Culinaria has a plan in place to add a few new elements of excitement to the atmosphere, but details are under wraps for now.

Culinaria concludes the festival with Burgers, BBQ and Beer on Sunday.

Culinaria offers a VIP ticket package that allows guests to experience every event and all of the culinary creations, with proceeds from the package directly benefiting the Culinaria Farm. The farm, a strategic educational extension of Culinaria involving the efforts of many chefs, food professionals, farmers, volunteers, sponsors and a very passionate staff, is scheduled to come to life this summer.

For information, visit culinariasa.org or call 210-822-9555.




http://operasa.org


William Chris Vineyard:Sharing a piece of their worldBy Olivier J. Bourgoin, aka “Olivier, the Wine Guy”

Growing grapes is a labor of love in itself. Starting a winery from scratch and growing one’s own grapes under the rugged Texas climate while

maintaining a high standard for producing quality wines -- and doing it while being committed to utilizing only grapes grown in Texas -- shows an uncommon level of determination and passion.

In fact, passion is one of the reasons William Chris Vineyards director of marketing Chloe De La Rosa took the job. “It’s a great place to work, very family

based,” De La Rosa said. “Originally, their story is what got me interested in the position but their passion is what made me stick.”

William Chris Vineyards is the baby of William Blackmon and Chris Brundett.

Since graduating from Texas Tech University with a degree in agriculture and economics, Blackmon has amassed more than 30 years of experience and a great reputation in the state as a vineyard


Bill Blackmon and Chris Brundett


manager, working with some of the wineries that were at the forefront of the Texas wine industry in the Lubbock area. During the 1990s, he moved to the Fredericksburg area where he planted some of the oldest vineyards in that region, including the Granite Hill Vineyard in Willow City, which is now utilized as one of the William Chris estate vineyards.

Brundett, who has a degree in horticulture from Texas A&M University, has built a reputation as a talented grower and winemaker.

The two met as professional acquaintances and soon realized they shared many of the same winemaking philosophies.

“In 2008 we both agreed to make a little bit of wine together, for other people,” Brundett said. “We thought it would be a fun thing.”

The pair quit their jobs and opened a tasting room. “We wanted to do things our way, and it took off. From 400 cases when we started in 2008, we are now up to 18,000 cases annually. It grew exponentially,” he said.

Brundett notes that 100% of the William Chris wines use Texas-grown grapes. For the sake of full disclosure, he added: “We have made a very small amount of wine from California grapes for other people, but never under the William Chris label. For our label, we use 100% grapes either grown on our property or from estate vineyards we manage, and others, we buy.”

Located in the Texas Hill Country town of Hye, the winery’s tasting room sits in a century-old farmhouse near a historic cemetery and a majestic oak grove.

Tannat and Mourvèdre, two varietals that are fairly



new to Texas, are gaining ground with help from William Chris, Brundett said.

“We are pushing at the forefront of what can be done with them,” he said. “In the past 10 years, there has been more Tannat and Mourvèdre planted in the state, and I think these have the opportunity to become the ‘Pinot’ of Texas. They grow fantastically well here. Texas can arguably make some of the best Viognier in the world, but not every year. I’m not interested in a program that we can farm only every other year.”

The winery owners don’t anticipate further expansion; instead, managing growth has been a bigger issue.

“Typically, we can see as many as 1,000 people in a week, with peaks of 400 people per day on busy

days, and we can’t allow any more,” Brundett said. “We already turn away so many people because we don’t have room. We want our patrons to get a feel for what real Texas wines taste like, and we want to be able to do that effectively so that each guest has a great experience and can be a part of our story and share a piece of our world,” he said.

“We really want to provide not just a good experience but an amazing experience.”

William Chris Vineyards10352 U.S. Highway 290, Hye 78635830-998-7654Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday www.williamchriswines.com


http://culinariasa.org

http://www.williamchriswines.com


http://culinariasa.org

50 On The Town | March/April 2016Jimmy HasslocherFrontier Enterprises

March April 2016 | On The Town 51January/February 2016 | On The Town 51Jeff Balfour

T he menu is very much the same but with some additions. The comfortable décor is somewhat familiar. About the only

thing noticeably missing is the blur of carhops delivering burgers charbroiled to per fection and irresistible onion rings.

In many ways, the eatery ’s return is a tr ibute to iconic restaurateur G. “Jim” Hasslocher, who firmly believed the time was right to revive the Frontier Burger brand. Unfortunately, “Mr. Jim” died last November at age 93 before he could celebrate Frontier ’s rebir th, but “his f ingerprints are all over this project,” said son Jimmy Hasslocher, who has now taken the reins at Frontier Enterprises. In fact, blueprints for the new Frontier Burger at Crownhill and the Loop 410 frontage road just east of Broadway sti l l sit on the coffee table in Mr. Jim’s office where he left them.

In 1947, the senior Hasslocher started out renting bicycles and sell ing watermelon slices at a stand at the entrance to Brackenridge Park on Broadway near Playland Park. He soon added charbroiled hamburgers and, in effect, launched Frontier Enterprises, which today includes 19 Jim’s Coffee Shops in San Antonio and Austin, Magic Time Machine restaurants in San Antonio and Dallas, and La Fonda restaurant in Alamo Heights. During its heyday, Frontier Burger grew to nine locations, but in the late 1970s and

early 1980s, competition from national fast-food chains caused the drive -ins to lose momentum and created an impetus to open more Jim’s Coffee Shops.

Mr. Jim believed that a new generation of hungry customers – along with fans from yesteryear – was ready for the smoky goodness of a Frontier burger along with hand-cut, hand-breaded onion rings and other Frontier favorites such as glazed apple and cherry turnovers. The menu looks much the same as it did 40 years ago, with the notable addition of tacos and other breakfast items for people on the go.

“People are in such a hurry these days,” Jimmy said, “so the challenge is to duplicate that smoky Frontier f lavor with the right ingredients and the right seasonings and do it fast. We don’t have carhops l ike we used to, so our drive -through is really going to be important to our success, especially for younger customers.”

For those who’d rather enjoy their meal at a more leisurely pace, the Frontier Burger offers 84 seats amid a ranch bunkhouse decor with watermelon red and green accents that serve as reminders of Frontier ’s beginnings. Another visual l ink to the past is the smiling cowboy-on-his-horse logo that the late San Antonio Express-News artist Bob Dale created for Mr. Jim in the 1950s for $100.

THE RETURN OF A CLASSICBy Bob McCulloughPhotography Greg Harrison



“ We also found the original recipe books for Frontier,” Jimmy said, “and we hired a former employee to serve as a consultant and teach our employees how to cook burgers, onion rings and other menu items. We’re trying to come as close to that legendary Frontier Burger flavor profile as possible.”

Since word of a Frontier revival started to spread, many former fans have shared some great memories with Hasslocher. Like the just-married couple who were so hungry that they stopped at the Frontier Burger drive -in on Austin Highway en route to their wedding reception at Fort Sam Houston. Or the former Trinity University student who generously shared half of his mouth-watering Frontier burger with his brother because money was so tight.

The shiny new Frontier Burger will rely on experienced pros from other Frontier Enterprises restaurants, especially in the early going, to tend to the stainless-steel, custom-built broilers that will cook burgers over a blend of hardwood and charcoal. Mr. Jim mandated that there won’t be any “floating patties” – meat patties cooked en masse in advance to languish in a pan awaiting a customer ’s order.

“ There are five k ids in our family, and we spent an inordinate amount of time together talk ing with my dad,” Jimmy said. “He was an avid reader, anything to do with business and especially the food business, so he had a lot of information to share. He also clearly demonstrated what he was talk ing about. As an example, he took several of us to the produce market to show us exactly what we need in terms of size and freshness to make good onion rings.”

I f the prototype for the new Frontier Burger meets or exceeds expectations, sites for three additional units exist, he said. I f promise becomes reality, it will be the culmination of plenty of Frontier teamwork and Mr. Jim’s conviction that “I ’m sti l l r ight” about the return of a classic.


54 On The Town | March/April 2016James Moore

March April 2016 | On The Town 55January/February 2016 | On The Town 55Jeff Balfour

First there was the Pearl Brewery development, and what had been a rather quiet neighborhood started to wake up. Just a few blocks east from the wildly

successful Pearl, the Government Hill neighborhood began to experience a renewal of its own.

Bakery Loraine, which eventually moved to the Pearl, led the way, followed by the short-lived Grayson Street Café. Then Jason Dady’s Shuck Shack moved in. Now, across the street from it in the same building where Grayson Street Café once stood, enters Grayze, where chef James Moore and his staff are offering patrons an eclectic but delicious assortment of tasty dishes.

By eclectic, I don’t mean anything odd or negative. I love the original menu assembled by Moore and his right arm in the kitchen, chef Pedro Cuellar, formerly of Arcade Midtown Kitchen. Both of them come to this new venture with great culinary pedigrees.

Growing up in San Antonio and a graduate of Alamo Heights High School, Moore started working at EZ’s Brick Oven and Grill when he was a teenager. After moving to Austin and then returning to San Antonio, Moore worked under chef Brian Dupnick at Pour la France. This was followed by a plethora of interesting and diversified stints in California, Italy and Santa Fe. Moore ended up back in San Antonio working as executive chef for the Houston-based Lasco group, owners of Max’s Wine Dive and the Boiler House.

“From being a private chef or being in charge of a commercial kitchen for Whole Foods Market, working in a hotel environment before that, whether it’s a large-volume retail kitchen or a small neighborhood restaurant, I like it all,” Moore said.

The term “chef-driven menu” applies to Grayze. Among the menu highlights are Cheeks ‘n’ Buns, barbacoa sliders made with cilantro ginger slaw; Fiery Red Head, blackened

redfish served with crystal remoulade and tomato relish; the So Cal, calamari frito misto with shishito chamoy and saffron aioli; Kiss My Grits, shrimp, tasso ham, shrimp butter broth, grits and pickled mustard greens; and the Belly Buns, glazed pork belly with cilantro served on steamed buns.

Center Cut Concepts is the name of a new group headed by Moore and his three associates. Moore provides the primary restaurant and hospitality experience, while his partners, all from San Antonio, are well versed in real estate, law, public relations and marketing.

“There is a growing food and beverage scene in San Antonio but not just restaurants,” Moore said. “We want to capitalize on that trend, and we plan on being active with catering events, coffee, take-out, bars.”

Moore also owns and operates TBA Lounge on North St. Mary’s Street, which he opened three years ago.

“The Pearl is the epicenter but I believe in the neighborhood spot concept,” Moore said. “Living in San Francisco and LA, it’s all about neighborhood and about being self-supportive. I believe in the revitalization of this area. The Pearl was the genesis, and it created synergy. It’s a good area. We want to be approachable, casual, like a little pocket of fun – a flavor pocket.”

With a current staff of 25 in its 2,000-square-foot space, plus additional outdoor areas, the family-friendly eatery also is pet friendly.

Grayze521 E. Grayson St., San Antonio, 78215210-481-8776Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Sunday brunch beginning in March.grayzeongrayson.com

GRAYZE ON GRAYSON: The latest business spawned by the Pearl’s successBy Olivier J. Bourgoin, aka ‘Olivier, the Wine Guy’Photography Greg Harrison


http://grayzeongrayson.com


http://pesto-ristorante.com


Visual Arts58-72

Visual Arts58-72


NUESTRA GENTE: CELEBRATING PEOPLE PAST AND PRESENT EXHIBIT FEATURED AT CENTRO DE ARTES IN MARKET SQUAREBy Rosemary Catacalos, Texas Poet Laureate 2013, and the exhibiting artists

F rom the earliest marks on cave walls to the ubiquitous selfies of today, the human figure is central to how we project, see and understand

ourselves and others.

In the compelling exhibition, Nuestra Gente: Celebrating People Past and Present, Carolina G. Flores and Mario C. Garza honor and fiercely engage the relationships between human form and being; that is, between themselves as artists and their families and communities, between daily life and history, between beauty and an ever-complex truth.

These are works that respect and celebrate la gente, the people, whether in Flores’ painterly renditions of vintage West Texas family photographs or Garza’s mixed-media portraits reflecting conversations and digital photographs from the streets of downtown San Antonio.

Going beyond semblance to essence, these images offer human context and stories, rich links from the lives of others to our own. Our capacity for committed empathy is nourished and enhanced.

Thoughts from the artists:

Carolina G. Flores

Leaving home to study art left a big hole in my heart. Two diverse worlds crashed into one another, divided by only 300-plus miles. Taking borrowed black and white photos from my abuela’s photo album, the series began over 40 years ago.

The figures and portraits are easily constructed on my canvas. Muted dark colors gave way to an intense

palette. Beyond attempting to create a likeness of the individuals, I submerge myself spiritually into their souls to try and release their spirit to the surface.

Once a visitor to my studio told me, “I don’t doubt that you have captured their likeness, but more than that, you have reached in and pulled their hearts out.”

I hope that I have delivered a sense of place and shown through my work that these are my roots, my family, las casitas. These are the memories and stories that never die. In my dreams, I travel between both worlds as if they were one. Distance evaporates, and we are all together again.

Mario C. Garza

I grew up on San Antonio’s East Side, and art was part of my childhood. Music and visual arts were abundant in our home on Gibbs Street. My parents, Jorge and Olga, allowed my brothers Jorge, Roland, Rene and me to express ourselves through music and art. Whether it was allowing us to paint large murals on our walls or practice our music with an eight-piece band ensemble in the living room, we were given room to be creative.

My inspiration for Nuestra Gente began in the early 1970s when I came across the book, The Family of Man, the 1955 Museum of Modern Art exhibit by Edward Steichen and other great photographers, such as Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock and Helen Levitt. What drew my attention was the photographic documentation of the human experience. Interested in portraiture, I began to study the works of Vermeer, Van Eyck, John Singer Sargent and Chuck Close.



I was drawn to downtown San Antonio and used photography to capture the gente as they worked and lived. I wanted to preserve the dignity of these individuals by painting them and giving them prominence.

For this exhibit I have tried to assemble a variety of mixed-media works that depict a diversity of individuals.

A celebration of the people of San Antonio, one will never know the life of the people depicted in my paintings or their reality, but it is though this exhibit Nuestra Gente that I wanted to honor them.

Nuestra Gente: Celebrating People Past and Present

Through May 8 Texas A&M University-San Antonio Centro de Artes, 101 S. Santa Rosa Ave.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Photo Credits:

Page 58:

Frankie Oil / Canvas, 72” X 48”, Flores, 2014

(L-R)

Little Man, Mi Tio Cacho Oil / Canvas,96” x 60”, Flores, 2000

Blood Wedding Oil / Canvas, 77” x 56”, Flores, 2015


http://ticketmaster.com


http://ticketmaster.com

62 On The Town | March/April 201662 On The Town | January/February 2016

F or 15 years, the Br iscoe Western Ar t Museum has been bringing together the countr y ’s leading Western ar t ists,

col lectors and ar t enthusiasts for i ts popular Night of A r t ists A r t S ale and Exhibit ion . The annual event, which ser ves as the museum’s main fundraiser, k icks off the weekend of Apri l 1-2 and features 70 of the countr y ’s most respected ar t ists of the Western genre in paintings and sculpture.

“Night of A r t ists has established itself as one of the premier showcases for contemporar y Western ar t ,” said Tom Livesay, executive director of the Br iscoe Museum. “ The cal iber of

ar t ists at this show remains exceptional, and this year we are pleased to welcome new ar t ists into the fold. The work wil l amaze.”

The exhibit ion in the museum’s Jack Guenther Pavi l ion begins with a Fr iday night ar t ist reception and preview on Apri l 1 , fol lowed by the Saturday evening ar t sale, dinner and awards on Apri l 2 . The Saturday night event wil l include the presentation of the Br iscoe Museum Purchase Award and awards for painting, sculpture, patron’s choice and ar t ists’ choice. This year marks the introduction of cash pr izes for al l award-winning ar t ists. Saturday ’s event also includes l ive music, dinner and cocktai ls.

Briscoe Western Art Museum draws top Western artists for Night of ArtistsBy Sharon Garcia




The range of subjects reflects the vastness of the great American West from dreamy landscape vistas, rugged frontier cowboys, wildlife and detailed Native American tableaus. Nationally recognized painters and sculptors include T.D. Kelsey, Cliff Cavin, Terry Kelly Moyers, Bill Nebeker, Sandy Scott, Martin Grelle, Billy Schenck, Kent Ullberg and Kim Wiggins.

“During opening weekend, the col lectors get a chance to interact with the ar t ists – that ’s real ly a key focus to our show. I t ’s cal led Night of A r t ists for a reason,” said Jessica El l iott , board chair of the Br iscoe Museum. “Because the ar t ists are actual ly there, talk ing about their ar twork , their inspiration, patrons get to k now them one on one.”

Night of A r t ists is the largest fundraiser for the Br iscoe. After opening weekend, the ar t is on display and avai lable for sale from Apri l 3 to May 15.

For more information or to purchase event tickets, visit BriscoeMuseum.org or call 210-299-4499.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • Photo Credits:

Page 62 (L-R)

High Plateau at Dawn Shawn Cameron

Center of the WorldMark Kohler

(L-R)

Saturday in San MiguelJohn Austin Hanna

The Dessert TravelerBilly Schenck


Made in Germany: Contemporary Art from the Rubell Family CollectionMcNay exhibit runs through April 24Courtesy McNay Art Museum

T....he McNay Art Museum presents an exclusive look at some of the most significant German art created over the last

35 years by masters and emerging artists in Made in Germany: Contemporary Ar t From the Rubell Family Collection . The exhibition, which opened in early February, continues through April 24. The McNay is the sole venue to host the seminal exhibition, which is the first presentation of the Rubell Family Collection’s acclaimed German holdings.

The last three and a half decades have been an especially fertile period in German art, during which large-scale works –– particularly large-scale photographs –– have notably evolved. Comprising paintings, sculptures, photographs and works on paper, Made in Germany features established greats Anselm Kiefer, Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter; sculptors Katarina Fritsch and Thomas Schütte; influential photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher, Thomas Demand and Thomas Ruff ; and up-and-coming painters Kerstin Bratsch and David Ostrowski, among others.

Organized by chief curator/curator of contemporary art René Paul Barilleaux, the exhibition reflects the unique perspective of the Rubell Family Collection, one of the world’s largest privately owned contemporary art collections first established in 1964. The Rubell family has long been key collectors of German art, but no exhibition focusing on their German holdings has ever been presented –– until now.

“ This exhibition is truly a landmark event,” Barilleaux said. “At the McNay, we have a pre-

eminent concentration of modern European art, but this presentation is our first exhibition of important European art from the last few decades. It is also worth noting that in the late 1800s, Germans made up approximately one-third of the population here in Bexar County. In those two respects, Made in Germany is directly linked both to one of the McNay’s foremost focuses and to the history of our wider San Antonio community.”

Rather than filtering the works solely through an encyclopedic lens, Made in Germany offers immediate insights into how German art has engaged collectors in recent years. The near-chronological presentation results in a compelling narrative that reveals how individual artists first gained attention; the dynamic interplay between students, teachers and peers; and the ongoing dialogue created as younger artists reflect on the achievements of the giants who proceed them. This art is provocative, often exploring German social consciousness through narrative imagery and elements drawn from the real world.

“It is a tremendous honor to collaborate with Rene Paul Barilleaux and the McNay Art Museum,” said Juan Roselione-Valadez, director of the Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation. “ The foundation of the Rubells’ collection is built on contemporary art made in America and Germany, and this exhibition is the first in-depth presentation of the latter. For the last 40 years Germany has been a wellspring for American artists, curators and collectors, and it is via visits to studios, museums and galleries in Cologne, Berlin and Leipzig that the Rubells made many of their most significant discoveries.



Thanks to the McNay, we are able to focus on and share these works with a greatly expanded audience in a world-class museum.”

Special educational events surrounding Made in Germany will include a conversation between Barilleaux and the Rubells, a Sunday afternoon family activity, a contemporary German film series, a program connecting German and Mexican cultures around polka and conjunto music, and more.

In an effort to include the entire community, the McNay also offers free school tours, a free family day that includes access to the exhibition, and free general admission and tours every Thursday evening and on the first Sunday of each month.

For more information, visit www.mcnayart.org.

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Photo Credits:

Page 64

David Schnell, Park © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

(Above)

Neo Rauch, Dikat© 2016 Courtesy galerie EIGEN + ART, Leipzig/Berlin and David Zwirner New York/London / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

(Below)

Matthias Weischer, St. Ludgeru© 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

66 On The Town | January/February 201666 On The Town | March/April 2016

http://bihlhausarts.org


http://bihlhausarts.org


SAMA EXHIBIT CELEBRATES RODIN: THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE By Dan R. Goddard

Considered the most important sculptor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, French artist Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) turned away from the

heroic tradition of ancient Greek and Roman influenced academic sculpture to create more naturalistic, psychologically complex human forms that became a hallmark of modernism.

Including works derived from his masterpieces The Gates of Hell and The Burghers of Calais, as well as portraits of the writers Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac, Rodin: The Human Experience will be on view March 5 through May

29 at the San Antonio Museum of Art.

“This exhibit celebrates the life of the most influential sculptor since Michelangelo,” said Merribell Parsons, SAMA curator of European art. “He broke the mold and set the standard for sculpture in the 20th century, and he remains influential in the 21st century. He transformed the idealized human figures of the academic tradition into a new, more expressive, realistic physiology. He revealed more of the intense emotion and pathos of the human experience, sometimes breaking down the figure into fragmentary or partial pieces. He’s



considered the first truly modern sculptor.”

The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, which has amassed the world’s most comprehensive collection of Rodins in private hands, organized the national touring exhibit. Bronx-born B. Gerald Cantor (1916-1996), who rose from hot dog seller at Yankee Stadium to prominent Wall Street financier, began collecting Rodin after seeing his Hand of God in 1947 at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Over the years, the Cantors and the foundation acquired more than 750 Rodin-related sculptures, drawings, prints and archive documents and distributed some 450 works to more than 70 museums around the world. Major donations included the establishment of the largest center for Rodin research in the United States at Stanford University, as well as significant Rodin collections at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, North Carolina Museum of Art and New York’s Metropolitan. The Cantors have been major supporters of the Musée Rodin in Paris, which re-opened last fall after three years of renovation.

“We’re lucky to join a number of museums around the globe that have benefited from Rodin exhibits organized by the Cantor foundation,” Parsons said. “This exhibit is designed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Rodin’s death in 2017.”

SAMA does not own any Rodins, although the McNay Art Museum does, including a miniature version of The Burghers of Calais, commissioned by the French city to commemorate an event in 1347 during the Hundred Years War when six leading citizens volunteered to be put to death by the English King Edward III in exchange for ending an 11-month siege. Instead of depicting the city leaders as heroic, Rodin’s figures are despondent and tormented as they are marched to their death – although they were spared at the last moment.

“This exhibit includes some large-scale studies for the figures,” Parsons said. “Rodin used local citizens of Calais for his models. We won’t be putting glass over the sculptures, so visitors will be able to walk around them and see them in detail from all angles.”


70 On The Town | March/April 201670 On The Town | November/December 2015

Rodin considered The Man With the Broken Nose to be his first major work, but it was rejected twice by the Paris Salon. Rodin used a neighborhood handyman with a broken nose as his model, combining his rough features with aspects of Greek sculpture, such as blank eyes and classically modeled hair. When the back of the wet clay head broke off after being dropped, Rodin re-titled it The Mask of the Man With the Broken Nose.

The Gates of Hell was Rodin’s most ambitious work, commissioned for the doors of a never-built museum of decorative arts. Inspired by Dante’s Inferno, the work contains hundreds of figures, including ones Rodin transformed into his most famous sculptures, such as The Thinker and The Kiss. Although Rodin never finished Gates, the Cantor Foundation had it cast in bronze and produced an award-winning documentary, The Gates of Hell.

Parsons said this touring exhibit has been dogged by some controversy because of claims the works are not authentic since they were not all made during Rodin’s lifetime.

“But Rodin never cast his works in bronze,” Parsons said. “He modeled his works in clay and then had his assistants do the casting. The bronzes commissioned by the Cantor Foundation were approved by the French government according to strict procedures and are authentic in every way recognized by museum curators and other experts. There are no fakes in this exhibit.”

For information: samuseum.org.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •Photo Credits:

Page 68Auguste Rodin, French (1840-1917)Shown among his collection of antiques

Page 69 (L-R)Bust of Young Balzac, modeled about 1893; Musée Rodin cast, 1988, Godard FoundryBronze, h. 28 1/8 in.; w. 13 3/8 in.; d. 14 5/8 in.Lent by the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Standing Female Nude Combing her Hair, after 1898; Musée Rodin cast, 1973, Georges Rudier FoundryBronze, h. 11 in.; w. 5 in.; d. 5 in.Lent by the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

(L-R)Three Faunesses, before 1896; Musée Rodin cast, 1959, Georges Rudier FoundryBronze, h. 9 1/4 in.; w. 11 1/2 in.; d. 6 1/2 in.Lent by the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Iris, Messenger of the Gods, 1897; cast after 1952, Georges Rudier FoundryBronze, h. 18 in.; w. 18 1/4 in.; d. 7 1/2 in.Lent by Iris Cantor


http://woodlawntheatre.org


Festivals & Celebrations74-80

Festivals & Celebrations74-80


45TH ANNUAL KERRVILLE FOLK FESTBy Rudy Arispe

Kerrville Folk Festival founder Rod Kennedy used to say, “We’re saving the world one song at a time.”

“I tell that to the artists all the time because what they do is important,” folk fest producer Dalis Allen said. “They write about the world, about themselves, and we can see ourselves in their songs sometimes. Rod believed their music contributes to the health and longevity of our world, and we still believe that.”

Now some 45 years later, Kennedy’s words ring true and loud and continue to beckon prominent and up-and-coming singers and songwriters from across the globe to the Kerrville Folk Festival that opens May 26 and continues through June 12 on the grounds of the Quiet Valley Ranch. An expected 20,000 to 30,000 attendees will enjoy 18 days of toe-tapping, finger-snapping music and family fun under the Hill Country sun.



This year’s lineup includes Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Judy Collins, as well as Johnsmith, Billy Jonas, Brother Sun, Ruthie Foster, Dana Louise and the Glorious Birds, Peter Rowan, Trout Fishing in America, Bill Hearne Trio, and the Kerrville Symphony Orchestra, among more than 100 artists.

“The Kerrville Folk Festival enriches the already vast arts and culture atmosphere visitors can experience,” said Leslie Jones of the Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau. “People from all over the United States and the world find their way to our beautiful city to partake in music workshops, admire one-of-kind art and enjoy live entertainment, all while being in the heart of the beautiful Texas Hill Country.”

Allen said that it was in 1972 that Kennedy, who died in April 2014, was asked to come to Kerrville to plan a music event, eventually held in an auditorium in downtown Kerrville, centered around an arts and crafts fair. “Through that first experience, he knew by the next year that his life mission was to present emerging songwriters to the music community,” she said.

The folk fest settled into its new home in 1974 at its current location at the Quiet Valley Ranch. For those who are familiar with and may be big fans of the popular folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, who produced such gems as “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Puff the Magic Dragon,” it’s interesting to note that Peter Yarrow assisted Kennedy in presenting emerging songwriters, which led to the creation of what is now the Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition.

In addition to music, a number of workshops are conducted, including the Kerrville Ukulele and Guitar Workshops and the Kerrville Harmonica Workshop. “We hire teachers who are artists, and they work with students to improve their performance on their instruments,” Allen said.

Organizing a music festival of such gargantuan proportions obviously requires much advance preparation, which is why Allen starts in October every year to plan for the next one held each spring. She and her team have to contend with logistics, selection of artists and recruiting an army of volunteers, to name a few tasks, as well as



maintaining the Quiet Valley Ranch year-round.

“We’re figuring out how the facility needs to be repaired, what supplies we’ll need, transportation and VIP for the artists, working with food and craft vendors, marketing and selling tickets,” she said.

The show couldn’t go on without the help of more than 600 volunteers, she said. “Many of them are fourth-generation volunteers. They are greatly appreciated, and the ones who are too young to do other volunteer jobs, they can serve soft drinks and smoothies.”

Although it can’t be independently verified by the Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Allen estimated that the economic impact of the folk festival to the city is more than $1 million, considering the thousands of visitors from near and far who converge on Kerrville.

But putting on the Kerrville Folk Festival each year, as Allen has since 2002, isn’t all work and no play.

“I get to see all the concerts; it’s part of the job,” she said. “I truly enjoy the new folk competition because that’s how we discover songwriters. I can’t travel to Wales, Alaska, California and all over the world to venues to see and hear musicians, so we bring them to us.”

The annual music festival is part of the Kerrville Folk Festival Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to educate the public about the benefits and characteristics of folk music.

For information and tickets: Kerrvillefolkfestival.org.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Photo Credits:

Page 74

Judy Collins

Page 75

Ruthie Foster

Page 76

Terri Hendrix

Peter Yarrow



35th Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival: May 11-15 at Guadalupe Theatre and Rosedale ParkBy Juan Tejeda

San Antonio will become the center of the conjunto music universe this May when the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center presents the 35th anniversary

celebration of the Tejano Conjunto Festival from May 11-15 at the historic Guadalupe Theater and Rosedale Park.

The Tejano Conjunto Festival in San Antonio is the “granddaddy” of all of the conjunto festivals because it was the first, and is the largest, festival dedicated to conjunto music. Conjunto is an original American musical ensemble and style of music that was created by the Texas-Mexicans during the early-to-mid-1900s using the button accordion and bajo sexto guitar as its principal instruments. It is a unique musical synthesis that combines German/European and Mexican/American instruments and rhythms, such as polkas, waltzes and huapangos, with other national and

international musical influences that includes blues, rock, jazz, Colombian cumbias and Cuban boleros, among others.

The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center created the Tejano Conjunto Festival to preserve and promote conjunto music, to honor its pioneering artists, to present the best in the genre, and to foster a better understanding and appreciation for Chicano music and culture. Over the years the festival has become a popular destination for conjunto music lovers who travel from the United States, Mexico and elsewhere to hear the best in the genre.

The 35th celebration of the Tejano Conjunto Festival will feature more than 30 of the best bands in conjunto/Tejano music, including the return of Conjunto Music Hall of Famers Flaco Jimenez, Eva Ybarra, Bene Medina,

Flaco Jimenez Dwayne Verheyden



Bernardo Martinez and Boni Mauricio.

The Conjunto Festival begins with a free seniors conjunto dance from 10 a.m. to noon May 11 at the Guadalupe Theater, 1301 Guadalupe St., with music by button accordion maestro Bene Medina y su Conjunto Aguila.

From 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. May 12 at the Guadalupe Theater, the festival will present the Alamo City premiere of Conjunto Blues, a theatrical/musical/multimedia performance piece by San Antonio-based musician and theater artist Nicolás Valdez. Through live music, poetry, teatro and documentary video footage, Conjunto Blues explores the historical and social conditions that led to the creation and development of conjunto as an original American musical ensemble and style of music, as well as an expression of cultural resistance and liberation.

The festival continues May 13-15 at Rosedale Park with performances by some of the most popular conjuntos performing today, including Ricky Naranjo y Los Gamblers, Los Texmaniacs, Roberto Pulido y

Los Clasicos, Los Fantasmas del Valle, Jaime y Los Chamacos, The Hometown Boys, Los Garcia Bros., Los Monarcas, Lazaro Perez y su Conjunto, Los Badd Boyz del Valle, and the return of the award-winning button accordion sensation from Montford, Netherlands, Dwayne Verheyden.

Among the new bands performing for the first time at the festival will be Los Clavos del Wesso, whcich features young accordion wizard Juanito Castillo, Acero, Conjunto Los Deltaboyz, Los Nuevos Chachos de Jesse Gomez and the Conjunto Cats.

Other highlights will include new inductees into the Conjunto Music Hall of Fame; a conjunto student showcase; a festival poster contest exhibit and awards presentation; an accordion tuning, maintenance and repair workshop; Tex-Mex food and beverage booths; accordion raffles; and dancing and fun for the family in a friendly park environment.

For information and schedules, call 210-271-3151 or visit www.guadalupeculturalarts.org.

Eva Ybarra Juanito Castillo


http://www.guadalupeculturalarts.org


http://simplyfinesahomes.com


Literary Arts82-86

Literary Arts 82-86


Book Talk:


JAN JARBOE RUSSELL, Journalist and AuthorStory and Photography by Jasmina Wellinghoff

For ty years ago when Jan Jarboe Russel l was a student at UT Austin and a repor ter for the student paper, she met Alan Taniguchi ,

then the chair of the architecture depar tment and a prominent Japanese -American. He was the f irst Asian person she had ever encountered, so, cur ious, she asked him where he was from.

“He looked at me and you could see that he was offended,” she recalls. “He said he was from California. Then I asked, ‘What brought you to Texas?’ and he said ‘My family was in camp here.’“

She soon learned that his family spent the years of W WII in the Cr ystal City Internment Camp in S. Texas, together with other Japanese, German and some I tal ian nationals and their American-born chi ldren. The young woman thought it “bizarre” but went on with her l i fe. Then in 2010, Russel l was in Austin one day and decided to pay a vis it to Prof. Taniguchi only to f ind out that he had died. However, she was greeted by his son, also an architect, who eventual ly handed her a f i le that contained information about Alan’s t ime in the camp and the names of his camp fr iends. “A year later, I decided to look into this matter. I felt an obligation to Alan and an obligation to histor y because I real ized this was histor y in my own backyard that had not been ful ly discovered,” says Russel l .

The result of her painstak ing investigation is a remark able book, The Train to Cr ystal Cit y : FDR ’s

S ecret Pr isoner Exchange Pro gram and A merica’s O nly Family Internment Camp D uring World War I I . The book has attracted national attention and won a spot on the New York Times bestsel ler l ist . The Dallas Morning News said “Even readers with no par t icular interest in World War I I – or t ies to Texas – may f ind it hard to put this book down.” How true!

Russel l tel ls the stor y of the famil ies corral led in the deser t camp with a sk i l l and accurac y of a seasoned journal ist and an almost cinematic eye for capturing the physical aspects of places and events. “ I write scenes,” she says. “ I f I can’t see it in my mind’s eye, I can’t write it .” She inter viewed 70 l iving sur vivors who were chi ldren in the 1940s, gained access to FBI f i les, camp documentation and other government documents which ult imately led her to discover more than she expected.

There are “two hear ts” to the book, she explains, “Sumi and Ingrid.” She is referr ing to two women, one Japanese -American, the other German-American, whose personal stor ies ser ve as the back bone of the work . Both Sumi and Ingrid were young teens when their fathers were arrested as “dangerous enemy al iens” without specif ic charges or tr ials. The same thing happened to thousands of other men, al l of whom were in this countr y legal ly but were st i l l formally cit izens of Germany, Japan or I taly. Russel l points out that Asians, including



the Japanese, were actual ly banned from even applying for cit izenship. Most of these immigrants were hard-work ing family men, loyal to the U.S. Left with no breadwinners and often deprived of their homes and scorned by neighbors, the wives and chi ldren agreed to join the men in Cr ystal City, the only exist ing family detention camp, which operated from 1942 to 1948. Though they were treated humanely, they l ived the rest of their l ives “in the shadow of Cr ystal City,” says Russel l .

Neither Sumi nor Ingrid k new why their fathers were arrested, nor did the other chi ldren. I t fel l to Russel l to discover the secret behind Cr ystal City and bring the news to the now elderly “chi ldren.” Through her research, she found out that there was a special divis ion in the State Depar tment, the Special War Problems Divis ion, that operated a pr isoner exchange program cal led Quiet Passage, and that “Cr ystal City was in the center of i t .” Indeed, toward the end of the war, Ingrid and her family were sent into war- devastated Germany, while Sumi and her parents were shipped to Japan. American-born and raised, both gir ls had a horr ible t ime tr ying to adjust to their new circumstances. After the Axis powers lost the war, star vation was common in both countr ies. Ingrid, Sumi and other detainees from Cr ystal City were exchanged for American POWs and a small number of Jews who sur vived the concentration camps. Both gir ls eventual ly found their way back to the U.S.

One of the Jews, a gir l named I rene, is “the third hear t ” of the book. When Ingrid, who has s ince died, was told that I rene gained freedom thanks to the pr isoner exchange program, she cr ied and said that maybe her family ’s suffer ing was not in vain after al l . “ That was the highest moment of my l i fe as a repor ter,” notes Russel l .

That The Train to Cr ystal Cit y has been so well received is ver y grati fying to the author who also wrote a biography of Lady Bird Johnson and has had a long career as a journal ist , editor and columnist . Writ ing Train has affected her deeply both as a person and as a writer. For one thing, she’s decided to abandon magazine

journal ism to devote herself to books from now on. “A book has staying power,” she obser ves. “ This book has opened the gates of the world to me. I have never had this much exposure and I have written a lot of things. But books are also r isky. You spend years work ing on it and you never k now how successful i t ’s going to be. That ’s why you can’t do it for f inancial gain or for glor y. You have to do it for love.”

Her t ime with the former camp k ids affected her also as an American. “My whole definit ion of cit izenship changed,” says Russel l . “ These k ids who were in that camp are so sol idly American despite ever ything they have been through. They understand that just being born here doesn’t make you an American. You have to do something for your countr y, you have to be involved, stand up to your countr y when it ’s wrong and stand with it when it ’s r ight. They are such patr iots. They always vote, help the poor and are ful ly involved in civic l i fe.”

As we s i t i n h e r “ l i t t l e h o u s e” ( h e r o f f i ce n e x t to h e r re s i d e n ce ) t a l k i n g, we c a n h e a r a t ra i n zo o m i n g by at re g u l a r i nte r va l s . I n o n e o f t h o s e s t ra n g e co i n c i d e n ce s t h at s o m e t i m e s h a p p e n i n l i fe , R u s s e l l fo u n d o u t t h a t t h e f re i g ht t ra i n s h e i s h e a r i n g e ve r y d ay t rave l s a l o n g t h e s a m e l i n e t h at t h e t ra i n to C r ys t a l C i t y d i d 7 0 ye a r s a g o. I t s h e s t raye d f ro m h e r wo r k , t h e t ra i n co u l d b e co u n te d o n to re m i n d h e r to re s u m e w r i t i n g. I t a l s o i n s p i re d t h e l y r i c a l s o u n d i n g t i t l e .

Is there anything left in Crystal City today to remind locals and visitors of the 6,000 people who lived there as prisoners for several years? I ask.

Not much. The camp itself is completely gone but two modest monuments were placed by former Japanese -American and German-American detainees, respectively. More recently, the Texas Histor ical Commission placed some interpretive panels on the site. But what surprised the author the most was that the people of Cr ystal City, even those whose parents worked in the camp, k new nothing about what went on in their town in the 1940s. “ That was astonishing to me,” she says.



http://enchiladasbook.com


Eclectics88-92

Eclectics88-92


Artistic Destination:

Galveston’s enduring treasure: The 1894 Grand Opera HouseBy Julie Catalano Photography Allen Sheffield

Even in a city brimming with history, the 1894 Grand Opera House in Galveston stands apart. A true survivor, the cherished structure lived

through the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, economic downturns, a sad life as a seedy movie house, and yet another devastating hurricane. Today it stands as a testament to stamina,

painstaking restoration, and a dedication to that theatrical battle cry: The show must go on.

Executive director Maureen Patton said it has been that way from the beginning. “The Grand was always a place where restoration was a priority because it was a place of public assembly,


March April 2016 | On The Town 89March April 2016 | On The Town 89

a nonpartisan gathering place for the community as a whole. It was also a place of economic vitality for this city just as it is today,” she said. “Through the years, I think that everyone knew that it was important to get it back.”

Built during Galveston’s heyday as the “ Wall Street of the South,” the Grand originally was designed as a theater, with a hotel and shops, four stories high on Post Office Street. Opening night was Jan. 3, 1895, and featured classical music and a play, “Daughters of Eve,” starring actress Marie Wainwright.

For almost six years the theater, and Galveston with it, enjoyed prosperity and growth until

disaster struck on Sept. 8, 1900, when the Great Galveston Hurricane took more than 6,000 lives and essentially destroyed the city. “The back wall of the stage was blown out,” Patton said, “and the entire roof was gone, along with the beautiful cupola, which has never been replaced.”

Amazingly, the theater reopened less than a year later and heralded a new live theatrical golden era. The Grand presented productions from American and European stages, and artists such as George M. Cohan, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Russell, Sarah Bernhardt, Anna Pavlova and John Philip Sousa thrilled audiences. When motion pictures entered the scene, the movies shared the stage with the Ziegfeld Follies, the Marx Brothers, and Burns


and Allen. The once-golden movie era, however, tarnished in the 1960s and ’70s, when the Interstate Theater chain owned the facility around the same time the neighborhood went downhill.

It wasn’t until the Galveston County Cultural Arts Council bought the Grand in 1974 that restoration efforts began in earnest. The ensuing years saw the reconstruction of the exterior carved stone arch, the extension of the grand staircase to the upper grand tier, and the bronze Greek goddess statue that replaced the original that could not be located. The 1986 restoration included new seating that brought the total to 1,008, with another 32 seats available over the orchestra pit.

The Grand was in yet another renovation mode when disaster dealt another blow. On Sept. 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike hit Galveston. The orchestra pit and the first eight rows were underwater, Patton said. “We ended up redoing all of the chairs

because they were due to be refurbished, and we had to replace the entire floor under the seats in the orchestra. We also had to replace the stage floor.” Fortunately, the hand-painted canvas stage curtain by Houston artist Earl Staley was spared.

One of the most touching reminders of the 2008 storm is in the Steinway conference room, so named because of its striking centerpiece — the salvaged sound board, or harp, of the original Steinway piano that had graced the theater since 1982. It originally was a gift from the parents of a daughter lost too soon, who provided funds for the restoration of the instrument bought at an estate sale.

After Ike, when the piano was discovered completely submerged in the floodwaters, the theater staff was stunned at the loss. Patton didn’t know what to do, except to declare that she would not let go of it. (“That was supposed to be



”

a permanent tribute.”) She turned to restoration artist and musician John Weber, who had done extensive restoration and construction on the Grand’s interior, telling him that there was a need for an office conference table and could he do something with this? Weber’s initial sketches showed a rectangle of glass floating on top of the restored harp. Nice enough, but Patton wanted something more. The final piece is a 600-pound glass top cut in the shape of a piano, with legs of repurposed cast aluminum fence posts. “It was perfect,” Patton said. “aIt was about honoring that couple’s commitment even though they were no longer here. It was kind of like laughing in the face of disaster.”

Today the Grand is a year-round facility, presenting a full season of bus-and-truck touring shows, concerts, comedy, a summer season, children’s programming and educational outreach. The Missoula Children’s Theatre holds a one-week

summer camp for up to 50 children ages 7 to 17, culminating in a performance by the campers at week’s end. In addition, the Grand is a favorite place for special events—weddings, parties, receptions, conferences and more.

Through it all, the work of keeping the Grand alive goes on. “We are always in renovation mode because it ’s an old building,” Patton said. “The exterior north wall was in bad shape. Mortar in 1894 was not like it is today, and it just didn’t hold up.” That wall is “essentially done,” she said, “and now we have to get started on the west wall. That’s our current restoration project.” With a 121-year-old building, “there’s always something that needs to be done. It never stops.” And neither will the people and organizations committed to preserving this grand old treasure.

For more information: thegrand.com, 409-763-7173, 800-821-1894.



Out & About with Greg Harrison94-99


March/April 2016

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