september-october 2010 issue

John BrandBen BrewerKathy MillerMatthew DruttSeason 2010-11Fall Art FestivalsCandace AndrewsPlus 15 Additional Articles

John BrandBen BrewerKathy MillerMatthew DruttSeason 2010-11Fall Art FestivalsCandace AndrewsPlus 15 Additional Articles

ON THE TOWNON THE TOWNSeptember/October 2010September/October 2010

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com

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September-October 2010 | On The Town 3

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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.

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Features2010-11: A Season of 10Big-Time Performances

Kathy Miller 22Leads Children’s Fine Arts SeriesInto its 28th Year

The Overtime Theater 28Is Very Original

On Stage Now! 34September and October Are Very Entertaining

Kaitlin Hopkins 40Directs Texas State’s New Musical Theater Program

Exceptional Exhibits 70Highlight the Fall Season

Mathew Drutt: 80Keeping Pace With Art

Candace Andrews 84Managing Director of SanAntonioBotanical Garden Society

Wild About Harry 88World-Famous Photojournalist Harry Benson to Speak at TLU on October 18

Artpace’s Free Family Festival 94Is Made in San Antonio

John Brand 102Sustainable Success

John Besh 108Brings Lüke to the River Walk

Book and Author Luncheon 118Features Alton Brown

Ben Brewer 122Heading Up Downtown Allianceand Centro San Antonio

Fall Art Festivals in San Antonio 127

Viva Huevolution! 128San Anto Cultural Arts’ HuevosRancheros Gala and Silent Auction


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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.

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Departments ContributorsJulie Catalano

Cynthia Clark

Thomas Duhon

Chris Dunn

Dana Fossett

Sharon Garcia

Vivienne Gautraux

Greg Harrison,staff photograpaher

Melinda Higgins

Ditte Isager

Matt Johns

Michele Krier

Christian Lair

Kay Lair

Susan A. Merkner,copy editor

Marlo Mason-Marie

Mikel Allen,graphic designer

Hector Pacheco

Diane Powell

Chandler Prude

Angela Rabke

Sara Selango

Claudia Maceo-Sharp

Shannon HuntingtonStandley

M. Yvonne Taylor

Janis Turk

Jasmina Wellinghoff

Linsey Whitehead

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

Portfolio: Brenda Kingery 76Dream Weaver of Stories

Pinch Pennies & Dine Well: 106Upscale is On Sale!

Book Talk: Diana Lopez 114Teacher, Writer and Young Readers’ Novelist

Artistic Destination: Art Is 130The New Cool in New Braunfels

Picture This: Mosaics In The 134Center City

Front Cover Photo: Sebastian Lang-LessingPhoto by Marks Moore

Performing Arts Cover Photo: Jersey BoysPhoto by Joan Marcus

Events Calendar Cover Photo: Yeol Eum SonCourtesy cliburn.org

Visual Arts Cover Photo: Greg Harrison

Culinary Arts Cover Photo: © Lockstockbob/ Dreamstime.com

Literary Arts Cover Photo: Greg Harrison

Eclectics Cover Photo: Greg Harrison


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Performing Arts

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Performing Arts

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2010-11: A Season of Big-Time Performances!

By Sara Selango


2010-11: A Season of Big-Time Performances!


B

roadway super-hit Jersey Boys opens Sept. 8 at the Majestic and runs for three weeks! Sebastian Lang-Lessing makes his debut

as the new music director of the San Antonio Symphony Oct. 2. This is big stuff at the beginning of what can only be described as an exceptional new performance season.

Coming after Jersey Boys in the Broadway Across America series is Beauty and the Beast Oct. 12-17, followed by Cirque Dreams Illumination Oct. 26-31. The Majestic then hosts 9 to 5: The Musical Dec. 7-12 with Diana DeGarmo of American Idol fame playing the Dolly Parton role. Seasonal favorite A Tuna Christmas, starring Joe Sears and Jaston Williams, is a holiday gift to us all Dec. 21-26. That’s five great shows in this series before year’s end with four still to come. Legally Blonde: The Musical gets 2011 off and running Jan. 18-23, then it’s mega-musical Wicked on the Majestic stage for an extended run Feb. 16 to March 6. The incredible revival of West Side Story rolls in March 22-27, followed by season finale Rock of Ages, featuring American Idol’s Constantine Maroulis, May 10-15. That’s nine shows

over the course of nine months. Big-time Broadway comes to town in a huge way!

The Sebastian Lang-Lessing era with the San Antonio Symphony begins opening night at the Majestic Oct. 2, an evening appropriately titled Meet Your New Maestro. Without a doubt, this performance will make the season highlight reel before what I expect to be a packed house. Sixteen classical concerts follow with Lang-Lessing conducting on 10 occasions, including four concerts in the new Tchaikovsky Festival from late April to early May. In addition, he will take the podium Jan. 12 for what promises to be a magical evening featuring Lang Lang, the world’s foremost pianist, as he performs Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. I expect a packed house again. Year one of Lang-Lessing in San Antonio appears to be an absolute winner.

Other classical series conductors include Ken-David Masur, Christopher Seeman, Tito Munoz, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Jean-Marie Zeitouni. Featured performers throu-ghout the season are pianists Jeffrey Swann,



Ryo Yanagitani, Lilya Zilberstein and Freddy Kempf, plus violinists Elena Urioste and Robert McDuffie. Guitarist Richard Cobo and clarinetist I lya Shterenberg also perform.

The symphony pops season offers six performances, leading off with A Tribute to the Music of John Denver. Holiday Pops, Cirque de la Symphonie, Simply Sinatra with Steve Lippia, Braswell on Broadway and Fiesta Pops round out the series. Handel’s Messiah and The Nutcracker with San Antonio Ballet are scheduled as special events.

Staying classical, Musical Bridges Around the World enters its 13th season Oct. 3 with a performance called Baroque Opera With Salsa Sauce at McAllister Auditorium on the campus of San Antonio College. Four other presentations are included in its season with pianist Lilya Zilberstein and trumpeter Nicholas Payton as featured performers. Six free concerts, known as Musical Evenings at San Fernando Cathedral, also are scheduled by this organization from November through August. The Musical Bridges Web site has all needed details.

San Antonio Chamber Music Society once again offers a five-performance season beginning with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Oct. 10 and continuing in subsequent months with Imani Winds, Cypress String Quartet, Quatuor Ysaye and Lafayette String Quartet. Tuesday Musical Club, another local classical music presenter, celebrates its 88th season with concerts by Perlman/Schmidt/Bailey Trio, pianist Spencer Myer, cellist Scott Kluksdahl and soprano Jeanine De Bique.

I also recommend consulting the Web sites for several local chamber groups composed of symphony musicians, including Camerata San Antonio, SOLI Chamber Ensemble, Musical Offerings, San Antonio Brass and Olmos Ensemble. Full seasons of wonderful musical opportunities are offered by all.

Before leaving the classical genre, it must be mentioned that the legendary Yo-Yo Ma will visit the city March 31 with the Silk Road Ensemble courtesy of Arts San Antonio. Five other performances are included in the Arts San Antonio season, with


14 On The Town | September-October 201014 On The Town | July-August 2010

highlights being Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker in mid-December, Vince Gill Jan. 26 and Vienna Boys Choir in concert Feb. 19.

Carver Community Cultural Center has posted selected performances on its Web site for 2010-11. Included are musical offerings from Jennifer Holliday, Sol y Canto, Angelica Kidjo, Terri Hendrix and violinist Regina Carter, plus dance from Ragamala, Complexions and Tango Buenos Aires. The Carver scores big again!

Another of the city’s longtime presenters, the Children’s Fine Arts Series, is set for the season with eight performances for little ones shared between Charline McCombs Empire Theatre and Laurie Auditorium at Trinity University. For details, check the very informative Web site for this organization.

Community theater has its collective act together as well for the upcoming season, starting with the Sheldon Vexler Theatre at the Barshop Jewish Community Center. Shows at the Vex include Extremities, The Arabian Nights, Unnecessary Farce and Assassins.

At San Pedro Playhouse, an “all musicals” season is set for the Russell Hill Rogers Theater. First up is A Chorus Line in the fall, followed by A Christmas Carol: The Musical during the holiday season. Mame, A Light in the Piazza, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The King and I come to its main stage in 2011. Five shows also are offered at the Cellar Theater.

The Renaissance Guild, performing at the Little Carver Civic Center, offers Black Nativity, Steel Magnolias, ActOne Series XVII and The Wiz during its 2010-11 season.

The Classic Theatre San Antonio actually began its season in August with a successful run of Much Ado About Nothing. Coming next is Blithe Spirit, then The Lion in Winter and Hedda Gabler. All performances are at the Sterling Houston Theater in the Blue Star Complex.

The Overtime Theater, also in the Blue Star Complex, has finalized plans through the end of the year, offering Broken Record in September, Doctor S Battles the Sex Crazed Reefer Zombies: The


September-October 2010 | On The Town 15 July-August 2010 | On The Town 15

The Musical in October and Christmastime at the Overtime during the holidays.

The Woodlawn has three to see before the end of the year as well. Hairspray rocks this historic house through early September, followed by The Rocky Horror Picture Show in the fall and Annie between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The Cameo Theatre, currently featuring Red, White and Tuna, has announced Murder at the Howard Johnson’s as its next main stage presentation from Sept. 25-Oct. 17. Check their Web site for more coming attractions. As a matter of fact, go to the San Antonio Theatre Coalition Web site (www.satco.com) for the big picture of what’s happening at most local and area live theaters.

Don’t worr y, I haven’t forgotten about opera! Pagliacci / Suor A ngel ica in September, Marriage of Figaro in Februar y and H.M.S Pina fore in June represent the 2010-11 offer ing from San Antonio Opera.

Now let’s take a road trip with the first stop being New Braunfels. Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an eight-show season highlighted by Pat Hazell’s The Wonder Bread Years, Celtic Blaze, Jim Witter: The Piano Men, Abracadabra-The Ultimate ABBA Concert and the Bronx Wanderers.

Two area symphony orchestras of note are based in Kerrville and Seguin. Symphony of the Hills, under the direction of Dr. Jay Dunnahoo, will perform four classical concerts from October to April at the Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater in Kerrville. David Mairs celebrates his 15th season as music director of Mid Texas Symphony in Seguin. The orchestra will present six programs this season at Jackson Auditorium on the campus of Texas Lutheran University and at various venues in New Braunfels.

Up the road in Austin, just south of downtown on Lady Bird Lake, is Long Center for the Performing Arts, home to Long Center Presents, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Austin and Austin Lyric Opera. Season 2010-11 performances here


www.satco.com

www.satco.com


are obviously too numerous to mention in total. A Long Center Presents sampling includes Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Tommy Tune: Steps in Time, Bowfire, A Ride With Bob – The Bob Wills Musical, Vienna Boys Choir, The Capitol Steps, Jaston Williams’ Cowboy Noises and Drumline Live.

Austin Symphony Orchestra opens the season with acclaimed pianist Andre Watts as its special guest. Violinist Ann Akiko-Meyers and pianists Benedetto Lupo and Jon Kimura-Parker will also appear with the orchestra this season, but the biggest moment of all is an evening with Itzhak Perlman in April. Ballet Austin features Carmina Burana, The Nutcracker, La Sylphide and The Magic Flute this season while Austin Lyric Opera brings La Traviata, The Italian Girl in Algiers and Flight to the Long Center stage.

Just a few blocks north on Congress Avenue is the historic Paramount Theatre with its extremely loaded annual schedule. Incredible evenings of entertainment await with performances by Bernadette Peters, Gladys Knight, Penn and Teller, Garrison Keillor and John Lithgow. Stage

presentations such as Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Ed Asner as FDR, A Tuna Christmas and Ann with Holland Taylor portraying Ann Richards are also included in the Paramount season. Kodo Drummers, An Evening with Nora Ephron and Cocktails with Larry Miller bear mentioning as well.

Between September and December, a partial list of performers coming to One World Theatre on Bee Caves Road includes Don McLean, B.J. Thomas, Little River Band, Benise, Earl Klugh, Oleta Adams, Nneena Freelon, Los Lobos, Sinbad and Jose Feliciano. In 2011, enjoy Dave Mason, Arturo Sandoval, the Chieftans, Ray Price, Steve Tyrell and more.

The Broadway in America series in Austin is presented by Texas Performing Arts at the Univer-sity of Texas. Jersey Boys, which concluded a three-week run in August, is followed by Shrek: The Musical and Cirque Dreams Illumination in November, Radio City Christmas Spectacular in December, Blue Man Group in February and West Side Story in March. Most of the shows at staged at Bass Hall on the UT campus with the exceptions being Blue Man



Group and Cirque Dreams Illumination, which will be presented at Long Center. Other highlighted performances in the Texas Performing Arts season include Delfos Danza Contemporanea, pianist Emanuel Ax, Momix: Botanica, Miro Quartet, National Theatre of Scotland: Black Watch, Merce Cunningham Dance Company and the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma, to name a few.

A quick trip down south takes us to Corpus Christi, where Broadway in Corpus Christi at Selena Auditorium gets things started Sept. 18 with Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight. Other shows in the series are Cirque Dreams Illumination Oct. 23, Riverdance Jan. 12 and Cats April 5. Corpus Christi Ballet brings The Nutcracker to the Selena in December and Sleeping Beauty in April.

The Performing Arts Center at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi is home to three organizations, including the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra, which has four classical and two pops concerts scheduled in this grand hall from October through April. Three Fergason Bravo! Series performances

can be seen here too, beginning with Michael Martin Murphey’s Cowboy Christmas Dec. 7. After that comes Glenn Miller Orchestra Feb. 12 and pianist Jeffrey Swann April 1. Corpus Christi Live! is next with five shows at the PAC highlighted by the appearances of John Davidson Nov. 7 and Destino Jan. 22.

The next time you head to South Padre Island, remember that Broadway in McAllen has four shows scheduled this season, three at McAllen Civic Center and one at State Farm Arena. Riverdance is the arena show Jan. 11. Legally Blonde: The Musical plays the Civic Center Jan. 24, as does The Color Purple Feb.7 and Mamma Mia May 7-8.

2010-11 is a season of big-time performances. Get some tickets and go!



Photo Credits:

Page 10-11

Jersey BoysPhoto by Joan Marcus

Page 12 (L-R)

Mary Delgado in Jersey BoysPhoto by Joan Marcus

Lang LangCourtesy San Antonio Symphony

Elena UriosteCourtesy samnyc.us

Page 13 (L-R)

Helen Yorke and Marcie Dodd In WickedCourtesy Majestic Theatre

Cirque Dreams Illumination, AerilistsCourtesy Majestic Theatre

Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road EnsembleCourtesy Texas Performing Arts

Page 14 (L-R)

Tango Buenos AiresCourtesy Carver CommunityCultural Center

West Side Story(Original Broadway cast shown)Courtesy Majestic Theatre

Carlos Miguel PrietoCourtesy San Antonio Symphony

Page 15 (L-R)

Alfred Hitchcock’sThe 39 StepsPhoto by Carol Rosegg

Itzak PerlmanCourtesy imgartists.com

Merce CunninghamDance CompanyCourtesy Texas Performing Arts

Page 16 (L-R)

Blue Man GroupCourtesy blueman.com

Andre WattsCourtesy cmartists.com

BowfireCourtesy bowfire.com

Page 17 (L-R)

Tommy TuneCourtesy tommytune.com

CatsPhoto by Joan Marcus

RiverdanceCourtesy Majestic Theatre

(L-R)

The Color PurplePhoto by Paul Kolnik

Mamma MiaPhoto by Joan Marcus

Bernadette PetersCourtesy imdb.com

18 On The Town | September-October 201018 On The Town | September-October 2010


http://artssa.org/


“


Leads Children’s Fine Arts Series Into its 28th Year By Susan A. Merkner Photography Dana Fossett

A lthough some arts organizations may be put off by the idea of attracting a small audience, the Children’s Fine Arts Series makes a habit

of it.

The area’s only presenter of performing arts exclusively for young children now is charming its second generation of pint-size audience members, along with their parents, many of whom grew up attending CFAS shows.

Executive director Kathleen Cuny Miller pours her heart and soul into the organization which she started in 1982 as a fundraiser for Judson Montessori School. Through the years, the CFAS has entertained approximately 150,000 audience members.

“Live performances are so different from everything else,” Miller said. “It really engages an audience. Even very young children can sit through live shows because they are so mesmerized.”

For many young audience members, a CFAS show is their first exposure to live theater. Miller wants to make sure it’s a good experience so children and their families will return, and each season she works with a booking agent to select productions that offer children ages 3 to 10 innovative, educational and entertaining shows.

Performances are limited to one hour in length – the better to keep youngsters from wandering physically and mentally. Some performers, such as


Kathy Miller


Austin-based musician Joe Scruggs and puppeteer Paul Mesner return every season, to the delight of families who enjoy seeing new presentations by familiar artists and sharing the experiences with younger children.

“Your audience always changes,” Miller noted.

Most of the performances are staged by national and international professional children’s theater touring groups specializing in music, dance and drama. Many shows are based on popular children’s literature; others address issues relevant to children in today’s society. The productions also help expose audiences to new expressions of culture from other countries. Groups from Austria, Canada, Korea, the Netherlands and Viet Nam have been among the touring groups featured by the CFAS.

One change Miller has seen in the past two decades is the growth in the number of touring children’s theater productions. “There is so much more to choose from than when I first started booking performances,” she said.

One thing that hasn’t changed is Miller’s commitment to making the performing arts available to under-served children. Each season, she provides free tickets to daytime shows for school-age children, including those attending inner-city schools, Title 1 schools, organizations that serve special-needs children, family shelters and others. Miller said she provided about 5,000 children with free performances last year. Funding comes from underwriters, including corporations, foundations, government agencies and individuals, as well as numerous volunteers.

The number of CFAS shows in a season varies slightly from year to year, depending on the availability of funding. In the past, there have been as many as 11; this year there are eight, beginning Oct. 15 with “Giggle, Giggle, Quack” by the Dallas Children’s Theatre.

Funding has declined due to the weak economy, Miller said, adding, “But I don’t panic now.” Over the years, she has mastered the fine art of fund-raising. “Every year, it’s like starting from scratch. What is frightening is when they give you nothing. It’s a leap of faith every year. I have to believe it will work out.”



CFAS has used a variety of local venues in the past. “Laurie Auditorium at Trinity University was our first and only home for a long time,” Miller said. Some performances also were held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral and the San Antonio Museum of Art. Now the group calls the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre home.

“Las Casas supports us every year. We couldn’t be there without them,” Miller said, adding, “Downtown theaters are where people want to be.”

Like his audiences, the CFAS mascot, Rollie Rupert Rabbit, drawn by artist Susan Russell, has grown up, too. Russell initially designed him as a little rabbit, but then he got bigger and started wearing costume pieces and props that coordinate with each season’s shows. Miller speaks of him fondly. “He has the cutest expression on his face.”

Several years ago, Miller started offering guidelines for parents on each performance’s age-appropriate content. A 3-year-old may be frightened at a puppet or a character or even a sound effect that would elicit laughter from a 10-year old, Miller said.

Technology has brought about changes in the way Miller markets the CFAS. She no longer mails out a three-piece printed brochure; now she sends a large postcard directing audiences to the organization’s Web site, which she set up five years ago. Visitors can go online to see schedules and order tickets. “It’s very good for parents, as it’s available 24/7, and it fits into their often-harried schedules,” she said. Miller sends out an e-mail blast the week before a show to remind ticket-holders of the upcoming event. Parents also can post reviews of performances online.

Miller is a San Antonio native, born at Santa Rosa Hospital. She attended St. Mary Magdalen Elementary School and Providence High School, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. Her first job was working at Olmos Theater. “I started when I was 15, working as a candy girl, and eventually moved over to the box office.”

She has two older brothers, two younger brothers and one younger sister. As the oldest girl in her family, she often babysat her siblings and other

children in the neighborhood. “I was such a tomboy,” Miller said. One of her favorite pastimes was staging puppet shows in her backyard, hiring neighborhood children to help.

“I love all that puppet stuff,” she said with a laugh. “Everybody knows that about me. Puppets are a wonderful teaching tool.”

Miller’s two sons, ages 33 and 25, are musicians, and she is a grandmother. After her husband, Joe, passed away in 1998, she took a more active role in the company they started 30 years ago, M-Tronics, which sells batteries for business, individual and communications needs through its Web site, www.BatteryTex.com.

From helping with the company’s books years ago, her role has expanded to CEO, and Miller now works alongside one of her brothers. “After my husband died, I had to step into the business more, and I found out I can do this. I learned to stand my ground when I talked to bankers. If you feel confident, it shows, and people buy into that.”

That same self-confidence helps her in running the CFAS, which she calls very rewarding work. “There is no down side.”

For more information on the CFAS, call 340-4060 or visit www.childrensfineartseries.org.


Giggle, Gaggle, QuackOctober 15

Pigeon PartyNovember 12

Joe Scruggs Holiday ConcertDecember 7

Anne of Green GablesFebruary 11

Room on the Broom March 11

Leo Lionni Stories:Swimmy, Frederickand Inch by InchApril 29

Pippi LongstockingBy American Family TheatreMay 5

The True Story of theThree Little PigsJune 10

Children’s Fine Arts Series 2010-2011 Season

www.BatteryTex.com

www.BatteryTex.com

http://www.childrensfineartseries.org


http://www.majesticempire.com/


http://brauntex.org/


The Overtime Theater Is Very Original by Michele Krier


T he Overtime Theater is an original in more than one sense of the word. For starters, the troupe is dedicated to producing original

works along with creative adaptations of old classics. At home in the Blue Star Art Complex, next to the Blue Star Brewery, the Overtime is working overtime and then some, to bring innovative shows to the stage. Artistic director and actor James Hartz has had the acting bug since it bit him in his early teens. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in theater at the University of the Incarnate Word and started working at local theaters, ultimately discovering the Overtime. “I really enjoyed the idea of doing original works and original interpretations. So I started acting in shows here and helping out when I could,” Hartz said.

Now he is responsible for reading the scripts, choosing the shows and planning the season. As artistic director, he has a major job simply going through the submissions to choose the 10 shows

a year that will grace the Overtime stage. That is an impressive schedule since a new show opens nearly each month. “It ’s our mission to present original works or older works with a strong point of view,” Hartz said.

Equally at home in theater or film, Hartz, a self-confessed avid reader and nerd from Anoka, Minn., also made a couple of short films with a friend and won several contests with their efforts.

With a seating capacity of about 50, the Overtime shows play to an appreciative audience who enjoy the tongue-in-cheek vintage approach. “We’ve found San Antonio is very responsive to musicals,” Hartz said. “They really are the bread and butter for theater. We’ve done at least one a year for the past few years.” The Overtime opened for business in 2006 and is set to celebrate its fifth anniversary next year.

Also on the horizon is attaining official nonprofit status which will help in attracting donations and



financial support. Season and individual tickets are available now. Christie Beckham is in charge of fundraising and is also one of the company’s leading actresses.

In just three short years, the Overtime produced nearly 30 new shows, including three original musicals: Sheer Bloody Lunacy!, Pirates Vs. Ninjas, and The Brain That Wouldn’t Die: A New Musical. Additional productions were The Good Samaritan, Poet Faustus, Sob! Choke…LOVE!, What Will Happen, and most recently, the world premieres of Buddha Swings, Action Philosophers! , The Hard Bargain, The Happy Couple, The Life and Death of the Amazing Captain Piledriver, and The Last Broadcast of Bailey and Long .

Broken Record, running through Sept. 18, is a new full-length production which tells the failed story of a couple in reverse -- from their current bickering back to when they first fell in love. The play, written by James Venhaus and directed by Catherine Babbitt, asks the powerful question: If

you could go back and re-play your entire failed relationship over again, would you?

More proof that this is a play not to miss, San Antonio Express-News theater critic Deborah Martin wrote, “Playwright James Venhaus and the folks at the Overtime Theater...have another winner in Broken Record.”

A happy camper with the opening night success, playwright Venhaus blogged, “There was a full house and the show rocked! The cast was fantastic and the audiences really seemed to enjoy it. There were laughs in all the places I had hoped there would be... I’m thrilled with the outcome and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the run goes.”

A few more shows on the horizon include a fun musical called Doctor S Battles the Sex Crazed Reefer Zombies in October and a ’60s-style variety show at Christmas time.

The Overtime is truly a labor of love for its



volunteers and supporters. “There’s nothing else like it in town, to be honest with you,” Hartz said. “You won’t see any of the shows we do here anywhere else. And then the very next month will offer something completely different.”

Local visual artists also have a friend in the Overtime, which gives them a prominent display space in the Blue Star Complex.

“One of the best aspects is getting to know the artistic community on a deeper level. Seeing the Overtime concept work is very, very rewarding. We’re injecting more fun into the theater scene. New artists and local bands play inside the theater. We host a lot of events like Mystery Science Theater 3000, an improv group, film screenings, all done by local people you know -- original and different. There’s a lot of heart in each of our shows,” Hartz said.

For more information, visit www.theovertimetheater.net.


The Overtime Theater Operational Board and Board of Directors photos by Cynthia Clark and Hector Pacheco.

Photo Credits:

Pages 28-29The Life & Death of the Amazing Captain Piledrivercast photo by Cynthia Davila

Page 30Overtime Operational Board

Standing (L-R) Jon Gillespie, James Hartz and Rob Barron

Sitting (L-R) Rigel Nunez and Christie Beckham

Page 31Overtime Board of Directors

Back (L-R) Michael Burger, Rigel Nunez and Chuck Wiggington

Front (L-R) Jules Vaquera and Scott McDowell

The Last Broadcast of Bailey and Long cast photo by Chris Champlin

www.theovertimetheater.net


http://www.thecarver.org/


On Stage Now! September and October Are Very Entertaining By Vivienne Gautraux


P erforming arts patrons can look forward to grand evenings of live entertainment during the first two months of the new season. Broadway

musicals, symphony concerts, opera, arena and music hall shows, dance, comedy and community theater are all on tap, and in many cases, in abundance.

Jersey Boys opens Sept. 8 and promises to thoroughly entertain Majestic Theatre crowds for the duration of its three-week run. After having been thrilled by this show in New York and Houston, I can tell you it has my vote as a bonafide must-see. Beauty and the Beast follows in the Broadway Across America lineup at the Majestic, running Oct. 12-17. Cirque Dreams Illumination completes the triple play Oct. 26-31.

There is a distinct air of excitement at the San Antonio Symphony these days. The Sebastian Lang-Lessing era as music director begins Oct. 2 with Meet Your New Maestro. After this historical evening, Lang-Lessing will conduct 11 more concerts during the season beginning in January. Two additional classical concerts are scheduled in October, with the first being Oct. 8-9 featuring Christopher Seaman conducting and piano soloist Jeffrey Swann performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto 2. Ken-David Masur, the resident conductor of the symphony, takes the baton Oct. 22-23 in a program titled Italian Splendors, which will not only showcase the orchestra but the San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers, as well.

Chamber music concerts in the first two months of the new performing arts season are plentiful starting with Camerata San Antonio’s program of Beethoven and Dvorak Sept. 16-17 and 19 at venues in Kerrville, Boerne and San Antonio. Up next is Musical Bridges Around the World’s Baroque Opera With Salsa Sauce Oct. 3, to be performed at McAllister Auditorium on the campus of San Antonio College. Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center inaugurates the San Antonio Chamber Music Society season Oct. 10 at Temple Beth-El, while Tuesday Musical Club follows suit with its opener featuring Perlman/Schmidt/Bailey Trio at Laurel Heights Methodist Church Oct. 12. Camerata concludes things with Brahms Clarinet Quintet Oct. 14-15 and 17 at the same locations mentioned above.

Two performances from Arts San Antonio during this time are the acoustic-metal rock guitar duo Rodrigo



y Gabriela Sept. 4 at the Majestic, followed by David Krakauer’s Acoustic Klezmer Project in Concert at Barshop Jewish Community Center Oct. 17.

The Carver Community Cultural Center gets its season off to a magnificent start on Oct. 23 with a performance by two-time Grammy winner Jennifer Holiday at their Jo Long Theatre. More great shows in the Carver 2010-11 season will be announced soon.

Opera takes center stage at Municipal Auditorium Sept. 17-19 when San Antonio Opera presents two of opera’s most powerful one acts: Pagliacci and Suor Angelica. Other selections in their season include The Marriage of Figaro in February and H.M.S Pinafore in June.

On the popular music front, AT&T Center offers a six-pack of performances in September and October, kicking off with the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato Sept. 10. Then in a row comes Kiss Sept. 19, Rush Sept. 23, Shakira Oct. 2, Carrie Underwood Oct. 7 and Vicente Fernandez Oct. 22. Other featured musical performances include Kansas with the UTSA Orchestra Sept. 17 at Laurie Auditorium on the campus of Trinity University, Bryan Adams at the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre Oct. 1 and B.B King at the Majestic Oct. 10.

Great, and I do mean great, live country and western music is available throughout early fall at such places as Gruene Hall, John T. Floore Country Store and Cowboys San Antonio. Visit their Web sites for headliners.

From the comedy world, check out Chelsea Handler at Municipal Auditorium Oct. 1 and Daniel Tosh at the Majestic Oct. 3. Also, nationally known standup comedians perform weekly at Rivercenter Comedy Club and Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club. Check their Web sites for details.

This brings me to community theater, a subject too large to take on here. Many super organizations throughout the area produce great works, including the Sheldon Vexler Theatre, Cameo Theatre, the Overtime Theater, Woodlawn Theatre, San Pedro Playhouse and the list goes on. The best way to keep track of their happenings (other than consulting the events calendar in this magazine) is to go to the Web site for San Antonio Theatre Coalition. SATCO is all



things local and area theater; a wonderful source.

Before closing, I want to sweep a broad brush across the surrounding area for more outstanding entertainment opportunities, mentioning only the super-highlights. Pat Hazell’s The Wonder Bread Years plays the Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre in New Braunfels Oct. 9 and 17. The Long Center in Austin is loaded with September-October performances of note. A Ride With Bob –The Bob Wills Musical is first Sept. 17-18, then it’s Tommy Tune’s Steps in Time the next evening. The legendary Frankie Valli appears Oct. 17, and Drumline Live marches in Oct. 20. Also at the Long Center, Austin Symphony Orchestra opens its season with Andre Watts Sept. 10-11. Other ASO concerts are Oct. 8-9 with violinist Judith Ingolfsson and a pops performance of Cirque de la Symphonie Oct.23. Ballet Austin welcomes audiences to Carmina Burana at the Long Center Sept. 24-26.

Comedian Margaret Cho takes over and makes you laugh at the Paramount in Austin Sept. 12, and John Lithgow follows up exactly one month later with his Stories by Heart. Don McLean and B.J. Thomas

highlight performances at One World Theatre in September, with Benise and Little River Band being notables in October. September at Bass Concert Hall on the UT campus brings the last week of Jersey Boys ending Sept. 5. Other featured shows at the Bass include Delfos Danza Contemporania Sept. 23, Daniel Tosh Oct. 1 and Momix: Botanica Oct. 28.

Rounding out area performances are Martina McBride Sept. 16 at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi and Shakira at the same venue Oct. 5. Selena Auditorium at American Bank Center welcomes Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight Sept. 28. Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra officially opens its 2010-11 season Oct. 9 at the Performing Arts Center at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. At the same venue, Corpus Christi Live! presents The Great American Songbook Oct. 22.

Oops! I just have to mention a few more before exiting the pattern. Martina McBride appears in Hidalgo at State Farm Arena Sept. 15. Shakira travels South Texas too with shows at Laredo Energy Center Oct. 5 and Hidalgo’s State Farm Arena on


September-October 2010 | On The Town 39 September-October 2010 | On The Town 39

Oct. 9. “Fluffy,” Gabriel Iglesias, brings merriment to McAllen Civic Center Sept. 30 and follows with hilarity at Laredo Energy Center Oct. 2.

That’s what’s on stage in September and October. Many grand evenings of entertainment are yours to enjoy.

Photo Credits:

Page 34Beauty and the BeastPhoto by Joan Marcus

Page 35Jersey BoysPhoto by Joan Marcus

Page 36 (Above) Sebastian Lang-LessingPhoto by Marks Moore(Below)Carrie UnderwoodCourtesy AT&T Center

Page 37(Above)Cirque Dreams IlluminationCourtesy Majestic Theatre(Below)Rodrigo y GabrielaCourtesy Arts San Antonio

Page 38 (L-R)Frankie ValliCourtesy The Long CenterA Ride With BobCourtesy The Long CenterMomix: BotanicaCourtesy cami.com

(L-R)Margaret ChoPhoto by Austin YoungThe Wonder Bread YearsCourtesy Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre Drumline LiveCourtesy The Long Center


Kaitlin Hopkins Directs Texas State’s New Musical Theater ProgramBy M. Yvonne TaylorPhotography Chandler Prude

B orn to acting, producing and playwriting parents, Texas State University’s new musical theater director Kaitlin Hopkins was

a show-business baby. The art of acting, the songs of the stage and the business of Broadway run through her veins. And it is that familial connection with the world of musical theater that helped her give birth to one of the most innovative, challenging and relevant musical theater programs in the country.

“I’m actually designing and running a whole program,” said an animated Hopkins, who looked like she wanted to pinch herself in amazement and disbelief when asked about the new program. “One of the things that is so exciting is that we are creating it from the ground up. Between Robin Lewis, Jim Price and me, we have

over 60 years of combined professional Broadway experience in the industry. I think that informs our program in a way that is really unique.”

Something else that Hopkins feels is unique about the program is the fact that the entire faculty consists of working Broadway professionals. “I spent a lot of time researching all the other programs, and there are professionals at other universities,” she said, “but not the entire faculty and not working on a Broadway level the majority of their careers.”

In her research, she also looked at what other programs are doing and how they are doing it. She also interviewed Broadway casting directors and professionals who have come out of the top



programs in the past five years, wanting to find out the things they learned — and what they wish they had learned.

She found the responses consistent: Most wanted more real-world experience and knowledge to use when entering a demanding and dynamic career. So she took that information and used it to create a boutique musical theater program — a small program that focuses on quality over quantity. She also decided to help students learn about the business of Broadway through the expertise of the professional faculty, as well as the contacts and relationships she has built over her years growing up in a professional performing family. Students receive the practical and relevant knowledge they need to succeed in a highly competitive, creative arena.

“Theater arts in particular have to be passed on from generation to generation,” Hopkins said. “What I love about Texas State is that they get that. Everyone here has been so supportive in creating what young artists actually need to succeed in their profession. We teach both the business and the craft.” “So much of what we do is dependent upon passing the torch, sharing our life experiences, telling students what it’s really like to be a professional performer rather than leaving them with the romantic notion they have in their heads. I was raised by and among the people who virtually ushered in a new level of artistry in the theater, and I want to continue that tradition.”

For example, Hopkins designed a whole series of business labs for juniors and seniors. “I can teach them to sing and dance their faces off,” she said, “but that does them no good if they don’t know how to read a contract or what to expect in terms of how to behave as a professional or what the expectations are when they walk into a Broadway rehearsal for the first time. And how would they know all that unless we pass it on?”

The guest artist program helps students learn from the pros. “Because I’ve been fortunate enough to work in and grow up in this industry, I bring a lifetime of relationships with me, which allows me to create unique opportunities for my students,” she said. “Transitioning them into this industry is an important aspect of what they get at Texas State, but they also get to work with some of the top Broadway



creative teams in developing new musical work.” Because the Texas State program accepts only 10 to 12 students a year, it can do things larger programs can’t, Hopkins said. “Our small size allows us to customize the curriculum, designing it specifically to the individual artist. Every artist is unique. Some candidates are highly experienced in an area like dance; others have had very little dance, but have incredible voices. I can’t stick both those kids in a beginning ballet class. It makes no sense.” So the program she has designed will help nurture the strengths of individual students and will build expertise in the areas that need more development. “I’m really interested in the artists who are going to define the musical theater of the future. I’m interested in the kid who says, ‘Yes, I want to perform, but I’m also interested in being a choreographer, or I’d love to direct, or I’m a composer, too.’ They need to be trained in every area of the industry — film, television, recording — and we are covering it all. And I want the people who are thinking bigger picture — not just about themselves.” To that end, Hopkins is looking for exceptional qualities in the students she is recruiting for the program. She believes what theater does best is serve the community at large. “I feel very strongly as we continue to define the program that part of its mission involves the community and how we serve it. I’m attracted to the artists who think globally, the kids who by their nature and character are people who are of service.”

Thanks to word of mouth, the Internet and people plugged into the theater world, the program is “getting slammed” with applicants — a good thing, Hopkins said. “My goal was to make this program the top musical theater program in the state by the end of our first year and keep the talent in Texas from going out of state, but word got out, and we are already being hailed as one of the top programs in the country, and the top talent is following.” So how is Hopkins handling her new bundle of joy? “This is far more exciting to me than anything I’ve ever done in my life, and that’s saying something. My husband says that I’m talking in my sleep every night. I think it’s just my subconscious trying to process it all,” she said with a smile.


http://thetwig.org


http://santikos.com/


Events Calendar46-68

Events Calendar46-68


Music NotesBart Crow Band with Rob Baird9/1, Wed @ 6:30pmCounty Line BBQ on IH-10

Foreigner9/2, Thu @ 7pm (gates open)Whitewater Amphitheater,New Braunfels

Blue October9/3, Fri @ 7pm (gates open)Whitewater Amphitheater,New Braunfels

Luke Olson9/3, Fri @ 8pmGruene Hall

Mike McClure Band9/3, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

RockBox Theaterin Fredericksburg9/3-10/31, Fri @ 8pmSat @ 4:30pm & 8pmSun @ 1:30pm

San Antonio Rose Live9/3-10/31, Fri @ 7:30pmSat @ 2pm & 7:30pmSun & Mon @ 7:30pmAztec Theatre

Clay Walterwith Emilio Navaira9/4, Sat @ 7pm (gates open)Whitewater Amphitheater,New Braunfels

Rodrigo y GabrielaArts San Antonio Presentation9/4, Sat @ 7:30pmMajestic Theatre

Aaron Watson plus Scott Wiggins Band9/4, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Charlie Robison9/4-5, Sat @ 9pmSun @ 8pmGruene Hall

Spazmatics9/5, Sun @ 7pm (gates open)Whitewater Amphitheater,New Braunfels

Emory Quinn9/8, Wed @ 6:30pmCounty Line BBQ on IH-10

Jonas Brothers with Demi Levato9/10, Fri @ 7pmAT&T Center

Casey Donahew Band9/10, Fri @ 7pm(doors open)Cowboys San Antonio

Justa Touch of Soul9/10, Fri @ 7:30pmJo Long Theatre at CarverCommunityCultural Center

Leon Russell9/10, Fri @ 8pmGruene Hall

Eleven Hundred Springs 9/10, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Vox Audio9/11, Sat @ 7:30pmBrauntex Performing Arts Theatre,New Braunfels

Slim Roberts and the Texas Weather Band9/11, Sat @ 8pmKendalia Halle

The Ultimate AC/DC Tribute9/11, Sat @ 8pmBackstage Live

Bruce Robison9/11, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Jason Boland and the Stragglers9/11, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Mid-Texas Symphony:Piano Pizzazz9/12, Sun @ 4pmDavid Mairs, conductorYeol Eum Son, pianoJackson Auditorium at Texas Lutheran University, Seguin

Sunday Jazz at the Witte:Hard Bop Project9/12, Sun / 4-7pmWitte Museum

September-October 2010 Events Calendar


September-October 2010 | On The Town 47May-June 2009 | On The Town 47 May-June 2010 | On The Town 47

http://childrensfineartseries.org/


Two Tons of Steel9/15, Wed @ 6:30pmCounty Line BBQ on IH-10

Camerata San Antonio:Beethoven and Dvorak9/16, Thu @ 7:30pmKerrville First Presbyterian Church9/17, Fri @ 7:30pmBoerne First United Methodist Church9/19, Sun @ 3pmTravis Park United Methodist Church

Joe Nichols9/17, Fri @ 7pm (doors open)Cowboys San Antonio

Kansas with UTSA Orchestra9/17, Fri @ 8pmLaurie Auditorium,Trinity University

Doug Moreland9/17, Fri @ 9:30pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Warrant9/18, Sat @ 8pmBackstage Live

Billy Mata9/18, Sat @ 8pmAnhalt Hall, Spring Branch

Reckless Kelly9/18, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Kyle Bennett Band9/18, Sat @ 9:30pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Kiss9/19, Sun @ 6:30pmAT&T Center

Texas Renegade9/22, Wed @ 6:30pmCounty Line BBQ on IH-10

Rush9/23, Thu @ 7:30pmAT&T Center

Tracy LawrenceFri, 9/24 @ 7pm (doors open)Cowboys San Antonio

Ray Price9/24, Fri @ 8pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Gardens By Moonlight: Raul Malo, Colao, Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats, Deadman and Rosie Flores 9/25, Sat @ 6pmSan Antonio Botanical Garden

Slayer and Megadethwith Anthrax9/25, Sat @ 7pmAT&T Center

Honeybrowne9/25, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Los LobosGuadalupe Cultural Center Presentation9/25, Sat @ 7pmPlaza Guadalupe

Musical MentorsYouth Orchestra of San Antonio Presentation9/25, Sat @ 7pmCoker United Methodist Church

Max Stalling9/25, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Supple Folk Music: John Kirk and Trish Miller with Mark Cosgrove and Rick WoodEncore University Performing Arts Series Presentation9/28, Tue @ 7:30pmPrice Senior Center @ Texas State University, San Marcos

San Antonio Symphony:San Fernando Concert9/29, Wed @ 7:30pmKen-David Masur, conductorJohn Carroll, trumpetSan Fernando Cathedral

Ecos de Puerto Rico: An Evening of Music from Puerto Rico and Latin America9/30, Thu @ 7:30pmJackson Auditorium,Seguin

Bryan Adams10/1, Fri @ 8pmCharline McCombsvEmpire Theatre

Granger Smith10/1, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore ountry Store

Montgomery GentrySat, 10/2 @ 7pm (doors open)Cowboys San Antonio

San Antonio Symphony:Meet Your New Maestro10/2, Sat @ 8pmSebastian Lang-Lessing, conductorMajestic Theatre

Shakira10/2, Sat @ 8pmAT&T Center

Micky and the Motorcars10/2, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Baroque Opera withSalsa SauceMusical Bridges Around The World Presentation10/3, Sun @ 3pmMcAllister Auditorium, San Antonio College

UTSA Guest Artist Series: Tommy Igoe, Percussionist10/5, Tue @ 7:30pmUniversity III – BallroomUniversity of Texas at San Antonio – Main Campus



http://thelongcenter.org/


Carrie Underwood10/7, Thu @ 7pmAT&T Center

Symphony of the Hills:Concert I – Opera Highlights10/7, Thu @ 7:30pmDr. Jay Dunnahoo, conductorKathleen C. Cailloux Theater, Kerrville

Aaron Watson with PRCA Rodeo10/8, Fri @ 7pmSeguin Fairgrounds

Stoney LaRue10/8, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Jack Ingram10/8, Fri @ 9pmGruene Hall

San Antonio Symphony:Chopin Piano Concerto10/8-9, Fri-Sat @ 8pmChristopher Seeman, conductorJeffrey Swann, pianoMajestic Theatre

Kevin Fowlerwith PRCA Rodeo10/9, Sat @ 7pmSeguin Fairgrounds

Cactus Country10/9, Sat @ 8pmKendalia Halle

Tanya Tucker10/9, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Texas Style Music Fest10/10, Sun / 1-5pmGruene Hall

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln CenterSan Antonio Chamber Music Society Presentation10/10, Sun @ 3:15pmTemple Beth-El

Sunday Jazz at the Witte:Hot Sauce Jazz10/10, Sun / 4-7pmWitte Museum

B.B. King10/10, Sun @ 7:30pmMajestic Theatre

Perlman/Schmidt/Bailey TrioTuesday Musical Club Presentation10/12, Tue @ 7:30pmLaurel Heights United Methodist Church

Stars of Texas: Randy Rogers, Walt and Tina Wilkins, KathleenO’Keefe and The Trishas,Encore University Performing Arts Series Presentation10/12, Tue @ 7:30pmGlade Outdoor Theatre @ Texas State University, San Marcos

Streets of Gold Tour: 3oh!3featuring Hellogoodbye10/14, Thu @ 6pmLonestar Pavilion atSunset Station

Camerata San Antonio:Brahms Clarinet Quintet10/14, Thu @ 7:30pmKerrville First Presbyterian Church10/15, Fri @ 7:30pmBoerne First United Methodist Church10/17, Sun @ 3pmTravis Park United Methodist Church

Music of the French CathedralSan Antonio Chorale Society Presentation10/15, Fri @ 7:30pmSt. Mark the Evangalist Catholic Church10/17, Sun @ 4pmBoerne First United Methodist Church

Delbert McClinton10/15, Fri @ 8pmGruene Hall

Chris Knight10/16, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Mid-Texas Symphony:In City and Country10/17, Sun @ 4pmDavid Mairs, conductorPatty Esfandiari, English horn, Andrew Gignac, trumpetNew Braunfels Civic Center

Mark ChesnuttFri, 10/22 @ 7pm (doors open)Cowboys San Antonio

Vicente Fernandez10/22, Fri @ 8pmAT&T Center

Nick Lawrence10/22, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

San Antonio Symphony:Italian Splendor10/22-23, Fri-Sat @ 8pmKen-David Masur, conductorSA Symphony MastersingersMajestic Theatre

Jennifer Holliday10/23, Sat @ 8pmJo Long Theatre at Carver Community Cultural Center

Bleu Edmondson10/23, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Charlie Robison10/23, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

San Antonio Symphony:Halloween Spooktacular10/24, Sun @ 2:30pmTroy Peters, conductorJohn Clare, actorLaurie Auditorium,Trinity University



Billy McLaughlin10/24, Sun @ 6pmMajestic Theatre

Wade BowenFri, 10/29 @ 7pm (doors open)Cowboys San Antonio

Dwight Yoakam10/29, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

On StageGod’s Favorite9/2-4, Thu-Sat @ 8pm(Dinner @ 6:15pm)Harlequin Dinner Theatre

Extremities9/2-12, Thu & Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 2:30pm(no show Thu, Sep. 9)Sheldon Vexler Theatre

Broken Record9/2-18, Thu-Sat @ 8pmSun (9/12) @ 3pm(no show on Fri, 9/3)The Overtime Theater

The King9/3-4, Fri-Sat @ 7pmJo Long Theatre at Carver Community Cultural Center

The O9ers Return9/3-4, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmRose Theater Company

Red, White and Tuna9/3-5, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3pmCameo Theatre

The Carpetbagger’s Children9/3-26, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pmCellar TheaterSan Pedro Playhouse

Hairspray9/3-12, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 3pmWoodlawn Theatre

Jersey BoysBroadway Across America Presentation9/8, Wed @ 8pm9/9, Thu @ 2pm & 8pm9/10-25, Tue-Fri @ 8pmSat @ 2pm & 8pmSun @ 2pm & 7:30pm9/26, Sun @ 2pmMajestic Theatre

Once Upon A MusicalAllegro Stage Company Presentation9/9 & 12, Thu @ 6:30pmSun @ 2pmLeeper Auditorium,McNay Art Museum

The Complete History of America (Abridged)9/9-10/3, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2pmCircle Arts Theatre,New Braunfels

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland9/9-25, Thu-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 2pmKathleen C. Cailloux Theater

The Diary of Anne FrankFredericksburg TheaterCompany Presentation9/10-26, Fri-Sat@ 7:30pmSun @ 2pm(no show Fri, 9/17 – additional show Thu, 9/23 @7:30pm)Steve W. Sheperd Theater

Jade Esteban EstradaPerforms Icons: The Gay and LesbianHistory of the World, Vol. 49/16, Thu @ 8pmThe Overtime Theater

Harvey9/17-10/2, Thu @ 7:30pmFri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pmBoerne Community Theatre

A Chorus Line9/17-10/17, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pm(no show 9/19)Russell Hill Rogers TheaterSan Pedro Playhouse

Lupe’s Art Blend9/21 & 28, Tue @ 7:30pmGuadalupe Theater

Lettice and Lovage9/24-10/16, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 2pm(no show Sun, 9/26)Elizabeth Huth Coates Theatre at Hill Country Arts Foundation,Ingram

Murder at the Howard Johnson’s9/25-10/17, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3pmCameo Theatre

810/1-3, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pm10/6-9, Wed-Thu @ 7pmFri-Sat @ 8pmThe Stieren Theatre,Trinity University

The Frankie Stein Show10/1-30, Fri-Sat @ 9pmZumbro Lounge at Cameo Center

The Renaissance Guild:10th Season Opening Gala10/2, Sat @ 8pmLittle Carver Civic Center

A Nice Family Gathering10/7-24, Thu-Sat @ 8pm(Dinner @ 6:30pm)Sun @ 3pm(lunch @ 1:30pm)S.T.A.G.E – SpotlightTheatre & Arts Group, etc.,Bulverde


September-October 2010 | On The Town 53 May-June 2010 | On The Town 53

The Rocky Horror Show10/7-11/6, Thu @ 8pm Fri-Sat @ 10pm (Nov 5-6 @10:30pm)Special Show Sun, Oct 31 @ 8:00pm Woodlawn Theatre

Dr. S Battles the Sex Crazed Reefer Zombies: The Movie, The Musical10/8-11/6, Thu-Sat @ 8pmSun (10/24) @ 3pm(no show Fri, 11/5)The Overtime Theater

The Wonder Bread Years10/9, Sat @ 7:30pm10/17, Sun @ 2pmBrauntex Performing Arts Theatre,New Braunfels

Beauty and the BeastBroadway Across America Presentation10/12-17, Tue-Fri @ 8pmSat @ 2pm & 8pmSun @ 2pm & 7:30pmMajestic Theatre

Blithe SpiritThe Classic Theatre San Antonio Presentation10/14-31, Thu-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3pmSterling Houston Theatre at Blue Star

The Dollman10/15-30, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmThe Rose Theatre Company

I’ll Remember For YouJump Start Performance Company Presentation9/17-26, Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3pmSterling Houston Theatre at Blue Star

The Arabian Nights10/21-11/13, Thu & Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 2:30pmSheldon Vexler Theatre

http://sahearts.com/

54 On The Town | September-October 201054 On The Town | July-August 200954 On The Town | July-August 2009

Home Grown Tomatoes10/22-11/21, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pmCellar TheaterSan Pedro Playhouse

Cirque Dreams IlluminationBroadway Across America Presentation10/26-31, Tue-Fri @ 8pmSat @ 2pm & 8pmSun @ 2pm & 7pm Majestic Theatre

Harry Potwurst 10/29-11/7, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2pmCircle Arts Theatre,New Braunfels

At The OperaPagliacci & Suor Angelica San Antonio Opera Presentation9/17-19, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2pmMunicipal Auditorium

La BohemeUTSA Lyric Theatre Presentation10/8 & 10, Fri @ 7:30pmSun @ 3pmRecital HallUniversity of Texas at San Antonio Main Campus

The Dance

Bellydancer Superstars: Bombay Bellywood10/9, Sat @ 8pmCharline McCombs Empire Theatre

Das Avatar9/11, Sat @ 7pmJo Long Theatre at Carver Community Cultural Center

Stand Up

Joe Devito9/1-5, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Cleto Rodriguez9/1-5, Wed-Thu @ 8:30pmFri-Sun @ 8:30pm & 10:30pmRivercenter Comedy Club

Hypnotist Peter Kingsley9/4, Sat @ 5pmRivercenter Comedy Club

Thursday Night Laughs with Cleto Rodriguez…..on Wednesday9/8, Wed @ 8pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Shane Mauss9/8-12, Wed-Thu& Sun @ 8:30pmFri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pmRivercenter Comedy Club

LOL All-Stars9/9, Thu @ 8pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Tony Rock9/10-12, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Sun @ 8pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

LOL All-Stars9/15, Wed @ 8pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Tennessee Tramp9/15-19, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8:30pmFri-Sat @ 8:30pm& 10:30pmRivercenter Comedy Club

3 Non Juans9/16-18, Thu @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Chris Fonseca9/19, Sun @ 8pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Greg Vaccariello9/22-26, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8:30pmFri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pmRivercenter Comedy Club

Steve White9/23-26, Thu & Sun @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Rachel Feinstein9/29-10/3, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Cristela Alonzo9/29-10/3, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8:30pmFri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pmRivercenter Comedy Club

Chelsea Handler: Chelsea, ChelseaBang Bang10/1, Fri @ 8pmMunicipal Auditorium

Daniel Tosh: Tosh Tour Twenty Ten10/3, Sun @ 7pmMajestic Theatre

Ron Shock10/6-10, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club



Gemini10/6-10, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8:30pmFri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pmRivercenter Comedy Club

Greg Giraldo10/15-17, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Sun @ 8pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Tom Segura10/13-17,Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8:30pmFri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pmRivercenter Comedy Club

Loco Comedy Jam with Mike Robles and Friends10/20, Wed @ 8pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Jim Dalaikis10/21-24, Thu & Sun @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Ryan Stout10/21-24, Thu & Sun @ 8:30pmFri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pmRivercenter Comedy Club

Magician / VentriloquistAndy Gross10/27-31, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pmLaugh Out Loud Comedy Club

For The KidsA Year with Frog & Toad9/1-4, Wed @ 10:30am, Fri @ 7pm, Sat @ 2pm9/7-25, Tue-Fri @ 9:45am & 11:30amFri @ 7pm, Sat @ 2pmMagik Theatre

http://rosariossa.com/


Curious George Live!10/1-3, Fri @ 7pmSat @ 11am & 3pmSun @ 1pm & 5pm

Petite Rouge10/6-11/6, Tue-Fri @ 9:45am & 11:30amFri @ 7pm, Sat @ 2pmMagik Theatre

Giggle, Giggle, QuackChildren’s Fine Arts Series Presentation10/15, Fri @ 6:30pmCharline McCombs Empire Theatre

MiscellaneousBellator MMA Fighting Championship9/2, Thu @ 6pmMajestic Theatre

2010 Alzafar Shrine Circus9/9-12 Thu @ 4:30pm & 7:30pmFri @ 10am & 8:15pmSat-Sun @ 10am, 3pm & 7:30pmFreeman Coliseum

Mexican Cuisine Boot Camp: Appetizers and Hors d’Oeuvre9/27-28: Mon-Tue, 7:30am-1:30pm Culinary Institute of America at Pearl Brewery

Mexican Cuisine Boot Camp: Puebla and Oaxaca9/29-10/1, Wed-Fri / 7am-1:30pmCulinary Institute of America at Pearl Brewery

Taste of CIA Cookbooks: The Italian Table10/2, Sat / 9:30am-2:30pmCulinary Institute of America at Pearl Brewery

Taste of CIA Cookbooks: Bistros and Brasseries10/23, Sat / 9:30am-2:30pmCulinary Institute of America at Pearl Brewery

On Exhibit

ARTPACE

Hudson (Show)Room On The Road: Robert Adams,Ant Farm, John BaldessariWalker Evans, Robbert Flick, Mary Heilmann, Roger Kuntz, Danny Lyon, Catherine Opie, Allen Ruppersberg, Ed RuschaStephen Shore, Alexis Smith, Kon Trubkovich, Andy WarholThru 9/5

Window WorksKen LittleThru 9/19

International Artist-In-ResidenceNew Works: 10.2Jamal CyrusCorey McCorkleMonika SosnowskaCurated by Patrick CharpenelThru TBD

Hudson (Show)Room Matthew Ronay: Between The Worlds9/23-1/2/11

Window WorksLeonardo Drew9/23-1/2/11

BIHL HAUS ARTS

Raul Castellanos: Recyling & RecoveryThru 9/11

Roy Pittman: Between the LeavesOpens 9/17

BLUE STAR CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER

ArtSmart Students:New Crew WorksThru 9/25

Laurel Gibson: Mater TerraCurated by Alex RubioThru 9/25

I’d Rather Get Fired Than QuitBryson Brooks, Derek Allen Brown, Kerri Coar, Lisa Corradino, Joe De La Cruz, Bryan De La Garza, Beto Gonzales, Jake Zollie Harper, Nicholas Hay, Daniel, Saldana, Gabriela Santiago & Jeremiah TeutschCurated by Justin Parr & Ed SaavedraThru 10/2

Kemp Davis: Kathy Drive9/2-25

This Is Not a Photo Show:Ben Aqua, William Betts, Helen Maurene Cooper, Thomas Cummins, Michael Eddy, Matthes Noel-Tod & Yumi Janairo RothCurated by Kimberly Aubuchon9/2-11/6

Kathy Coiner: You Appear to Me to Be Someone Whose Life is MeaninglessCurated by Chuck Ramirez9/2-11/6

Hills Snyder: The Casual Observer9/30-11/6

Christopher McNulty: Days9/30-11//6


CENTRO CULTURAL ATZLAN

A Tale of Two Cities: A Photographic Essay 9/2-30

GUADALUPE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER

Fantastic Fuerzas/Forces David Almaguer, Albert Alvarez, Rafael Fajardo, Xavier Garza, Jaime Higa, Nadin Ospina, Dulce Pinzón, Angel Rodríguez-Diaz, Gustavo Higuera, Juan Felipe Salcedo Curated by Patty Ortiz9/16-11/20

INSTITUTO CULTURAL DE MEXICO

FotoSeptiembre USA 2010 Exhibits:

Slanted Glances: Idiosyncratic Interpretations of Independence & Revolution in Mexico Arturo Betancourt, Luis Delgado-Qualtrough, Anely Guerrero, Ajejandro Jurado Prieto, Bela Limenes, Michael Mehl, Nydia Mejia Zavala, Eliseo Mendoza-Altamira, Cesar Ochoa, Stanley Shoemaker, David Silvan, William Villafana Curated by Michael Mehl Opens 9/4

Oyeme Con Los Ojos: Josephine SacaboCoordinated by Michael Mehl and Jennifer Shaw of New Orleans Photo Alliance Opens 9/4

Halfway Child:Josefina NiggliOpens 9/4

McNAY ART MUSEUM

Ellen Phalen: Theme and VariationsThru 9/5

Neither Model nor Muse:Women as ArtistsThru 9/12

Janet Lennie Flohr:Learning to Say Good-ByeThru 9/12

Gary Lang: Dividing TimeThru 10/3

You’ve Got Mail: The Greeting Cards of Richard Anuskiewicz9/8-1/2/11

Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism10/6-1/16/11

http://jccsanantonio.org/

http://www.vexler.org/



SAN ANTONIO BOTANICAL GARDEN

Albert Paley: Art In The GardenCurated by Bill FitzGibbonsThru 9/30

Playhouses & FortsThru 10/24

George Schroeder: Art In The GardenCurated by Bill FitzGibbons10/30-3/30

SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF ART

Season Four of Seasons of Beauty: Yoshitoshi’s Thirty-two Aspects of Daily LifeThru 10/31

Tierra, Libertad y no Re-Eleccion!Photography from the MexicanRevolution9/4-2/13

To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasuresfrom the Brooklyn Museum10/16-1/9

SOUTHWEST SCHOOL OF ART & CRAFT

Carra Garza: Ordered KingdomThru 9/11

All School Exhibition 2010Thru 9/12

Sara Katherine Boyd and Mark Crutsinger:Certificate Student ExhibitThru 9/12

Teen Studio Intensive Program: Bee NationThru 9/12

Kent Rush: In Choate and Sublime9/23-11/28

Amanda Stark: The Astral and Tellurian9/23-11/28

Ramin Samandari: Veils of Nephele9/23-11/13

Alan & Blake Weissling: A Generational Influence9/23-11/28

Family10/15-31

INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES

Lone Star & Eagle: An Exploration of German Immigration to TexasThru 9/19

Texas Contemporary Artists Series:Henry CardenasThru 10/15

Buffalo Soldiers: Discovering Heritage on the Texas FrontierThru 1/3/11

Play: An Interactive Exhibit for the Whole FamilyOpens 10/9

WITTE MUSEUM

Dinosaurs UnearthedThru 9/6

Feathered Fossils: The Latest Dinosaur DiscoveriesThru 9/6

A Royal GardenThru 9/15

Don Yena: Painting the South Texas HistoryThru 1/2011

1910: A Revolution Across Borders9/18-2/27/11

Backyard Monsters9/25-1/2/11

Beautiful Bugs: Specimens From the Witte Museum Collection9/25-1/2/11

Festivals &Celebrations

First Friday Art Walk9/3 & 9/1, Fri / 6-9pmSouthtown / Blue Star / King William

Taste of the River Walk9/8-9, Wed-Thu / 6:30pm-11pmRiver Walk

Jazz’SAlive 20109/18-19Travis Park

2010 Taste of San Antonio Expo10/3, Sun / 12pm-6pmPearl Stable

2010 Taste of San Antonio ExpoShowcase Dinner10/5, 6pm-10pmPearl Stable

24th Annual Gruene Music & Wine Festival10/8-10Gruene Hall

Chalk It Up10/10, Sat 10am-5pmHouston Street

10th Annual InternationalAccordion Festival10/15-17, Various TimesLa Villita


July-August 2010 | On The Town 59

Junior LeagueHoliday Olé Market10/20-23, Wed-Sat @ 8amAlzafar Shine Temple

BOOtanica! Fall Festival10/24San Antonio Botanical Garden

Area Performance Highlights

Austin

Jersey BoysBroadway Across America Presentation9/1-5, Wed-Fri @ 8pm,Sat @ 2pm & 8pmSun @ 2pm & 7:30pm

Metamorphoses9/1-12, Wed-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pm & 7pmWhisenhunt StageZachary Scott Theatre

The Intergalactic NemesisLive-Action Graphic Novel9/3-4, Fri-Sat @ 8pmMichael and Susan Dell Hall at The Long Center

Jean PicheTexas Performing Arts Presentation10/9, Thu @ 8pmMcCullough Theatre,University of Texas

Punch Brothers Featuring Chris Thile and Loudon Wainright IIITexas Performing Arts Presentation10/10, Fri @ 8pmBass Concert Hall,University of Texas

Austin Symphony Orchestra9/10-11, Fri-Sat @ 8pmPeter Bay, conductorAndre Watts, pianoMichael and Susan Dell Hall at The Long Center

http://bistrovatel.com/bistrovatel/index.html


Margaret Cho9/12, Sun @ 8pmParamount Theatre

Operacion Clown: Callete! (Shut Up)Texas Performing Arts Presentation9/15, Wed @ 8pmSpanish Version9/16, Thu @ 8pm(English Version)McCullough Theatre,University of Texas

Tommy Emmanuel9/16-17, Thu-Fri @ 7pm One World Theatre

Rent9/16-11/28, Wed-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pm Kleberg StageZachary Scott Theatre

A Ride With Bob9/17, Fri @ 7:30pmMichael and Susan Dell Hall at The Long Center

Ballet Austin: Not Afraid of the Dark9/18-19, Sat-Sun @ 2pm & 4:30pmParamount Theatre

Austin Symphony Orchestra:Wind Ensemble (Free Concert)9/19, Sun @ 5:30pmMexican-American Cultural Center

Don McLean9/19, Sun @ 6pm & 8:30pmOne World Theatre

Tommy Tune & The Manhattan Rhythm Kings9/19, Sun @ 7:30pmMichael and Susan Dell Hall at The Long Center

Mike Daisey: The LastCargo CultTexas Performing Arts Presentation9/21-22, Tue-Wed @ 8pmMcCullough Theatre,University of Texas

Delfos Danza ContemporaneaTexas Performing Arts Presentation9/23, Thu @ 8pmBass Concert Hall,University of Texas

BJ Thomas9/24, Fri @ 7pm & 9:30pmOne World Theatre

Ballet Austin:Carmina Burana and Kai9/24-26, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3pm Michael and Susan Dell Hall at The Long Center

The University of Texas Wind Ensemble with Joseph Alessi and the Jim Cullum Jazz BandTexas Performing Arts Presentation9/26, Sun @ 7pmBass Concert Hall,University of Texas

Andrew Heller9/28, Tue @ 7:30pmOne World Theatre

Nikki Yanofsky9/30, Thu @ 7pmOne World Theatre

Suzanne Vega10/1, Fri @ 7pm & 9:30pmOne World Theatre

Daniel Tosh: Tosh Tour Twenty Ten10/1, Fri @ 7:30pm & 10:30pmBass Concert Hall,University of Texas

Patton Oswalt10/2, Sat @ 8pmParamount Theatre

Jordi Savall, Hespèrion XXI & TembembeTexas Performing Arts Presentation10/3, Sun @ 7pmBates Recital Hall,University of Texas

Jaston Williams’ Cowboy Noises10/6-17, Wed-Thu @ 7:30pmFri @ 8pm, Sat @ 3pm & 8mSun @ 2pm & 7pmRollins Theatre at The Long Center

Buena Vista Social Club’s Omara Portuando10/7, Thu @ 8pmParamount Theatre

Austin Symphony Orchestra10/8-9, Fri-Sat @ 8pmPeter Bay, conductorJudith Ingolfsson, violin

John Lithgow: StoriesBy Heart10/12, Tue @ 8pmParamount Theatre

Billy Cobham10/13, Wed @ 7pmOne World Theatre

Chris Isaak10/13, Wed @ 8pmParamount Theatre

Brian Culbertson10/14, Thu @ 7pm & 9:30pmOne World Theatre

Benise: The Spanish GuitarOne World Theatre Presentation10/15, Fri @ 8pmRiverbend Centre

Straight No Chaser10/16, Sat @ 8pmMichael and Susan Dell Hall at The Long Center

My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m Still in Therapy featuring Steve Solomon10/17, Sun @ 5:30pm & 8:30pm


http://broadwayincorpuschristi.com


Frankie Valli10/17, Sun @ 7pmMichael and Susan Dell Hall at The Long Center

Aziz Ansari: DangerouslyDelicious Tour10/17, Sun @ 7:30pm Paramount Theatre

Guy Clark10/19, Tue @ 7:30pmParamount Theatre

Sufjan Stevens10/19, Tue @ 8pmMichael and Susan Dell Hall at The Long Center

Drumline Live10/20, Wed @ 8pmMichael and Susan Dell Hall at The Long Center

Gorillaz10/22, Fri @ 8pmFrank Erwin Center

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with Jonathan Biss, pianoTexas Performing Arts Presentation10/22. Fri @ 8pmBass Concert Hall,University of Texas

Austin Symphony Orchestra:Cirque de la SymphonieSarah & Ernest Butler Pops Series10/23, Sat @ 8pmMichael and Susan Dell Hall at The Long Center

Austin Symphony Orchestra:Halloween Children’s Concert10/24, Sun @ 2pmMichael and Susan Dell Hall at The Long Center

California Guitar Trio10/24, Sun @ 6pm & 8:30pmOne World Theatre

Luciana Souza TrioTexas Performing Arts Presentation10/25, Mon @ 8pmHogg Memorial Auditorium,University of Texas

Cyro Baptista: Villa-Lobos/Vira-LoucosTexas Performing Arts Presentation10/26, Tue @ 8pmHogg Memorial Auditorium,University of Texas

Momix: BotanicaTexas Performing Arts Presentation10/28-29, Fri-Sat @ 8pmBass Concert Hall,University of Texas

Little River Band10/29, Fri @ 7pm & 9:30pmOne World Theatre

Corpus Christi

Devil Driver9/3, Fri @ 7pmOld Concrete Street Amphitheater

Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida9/3-26, Fri-Sat @ 7pmSun (9/19 & 26) @ 2pmHarbor Playhouse

Blue October9/4, Sat @ 7pmOld Concrete Street Amphitheater

Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival with Disturbed and Avenged Sevenfold9/11, Sat @ 3:15pmOld Concrete Street Amphitheater

Martina McBride9/16, Thu @ 8:30pmAmerican Bank Center Arena

Hal Holbrook inMark Twain Tonight9/18, Sat @ 8pmSelena Auditorium atAmerican Bank Center

Flyleaf9/24, Fri @ 7pmOld Concrete Street Amphitheater

Daddy Yankee9/25, Sat @ 7:30pmAmerican Bank Center Arena

Stone Temple Pilots9/27, Mon @ 6:30pmOld Concrete Street Amphitheater

Shakira10/5, Tue @ 8pmAmerican Bank Center Arena

Jason Aldean10/8, Fri @ 8:30pmAmerican Bank Center Arena

Evil Dead: The Musical10/8-23, Fri-Sat @ 8pm10/24, Sun @ 8pm10/25-31, Mon-Sun @ 8pmHarbor Playhouse

Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra: 65th Season Premier10/9, Sat @ 8pmJohn Giordano, conductorNobuyuki Tsujii, pianoPerforming Arts Center at Texas A&M Corpus Christi

Repent & Let’s Have Church10/16, Sat @ 7pmSelena Auditorium at American Bank Center

Gary Allan10/21, Thu @ 7pmOld Concrete Street Amphitheater

The Great American SongbookCorpus Christi Live! Presentation10/22, Fri @ 7:30pmPerforming Arts Center at Texas A&M Corpus Christi


Halloween Hootenanny: Gruesome Twosome with Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper10/24, Sun @ 6pmOld Concrete Street Amphitheater

Curious George Live!10/28-29, Tue @ 7pmWed @ 10:30am & 7pmSelena Auditorium atAmerican Bank Center

Black Label Berzerkus: Black Label Society, Childen of Bodom and Clutch10/29, Fri @ 6:30pmOld Concrete Street Amphitheater

Laredo

Daddy Yankee9/24, Fri @ 8pmLaredo Energy Arena

Gabriel Iglesias10/2, Sat @ 8pmLaredo Energy Arena

Shakira10/6, Wed @ 8pmLaredo Energy Arena

Rio Grande Valley

2010 Alzafar Shrine Circus9/4-5, Sat @ 3pm & 8pmSun @ 1pm & 5:30pmState Farm Arena,Hidalgo

Martina McBride9/15, Wed @ 8:30pmState Farm Arena,Hidalgo

TambucoThe Arts Center Signature Series Presentation9/17, Thu @ 7:30pmThe Arts Center,Brownsville

Noche de Box Bicentenario9/18, Sat @ 7pmState Farm Arena,Hidalgo

http://www.theovertimetheater.net/


Valley Symphony Orchestra:Opening Night9/30, Thu @ 8pmPeter Dabrowski, conductorUTPA Fine Arts Auditorium,Edinburg

Gabriel Iglesias9/30, Thu@ 8pmMcAllen Internacional Civic Center

Luna Negra Dance Company and Turtle Island String QuartetThe Arts Center Signature Series Presentation10/1, Fri @ 7:30pmThe Arts Center,Brownsville

Houston Rockets vs.Orlando Magic10/5, Tue @ 7:30pmState Farm Arena,Hidalgo

WWE Smackdown10/6, Wed @ 7:30pmState Farm Arena,Hidalgo

14th Annual BrownsvilleLatin Jazz Festival10/8-10, Fri-SunVarious venues–info atwww.brosociety.org/jazz

Shakira10/9, Sat @ 8pmState Farm Arena,Hidalgo Valley Symphony Orchestra Ensembles: Music Among the Stars10/16, Sat @ 8pmNeuhaus Tower -17th floor,McAllen

Sesame Street Live:Elmo’s Green Thumb10/21-24, Thu-Fri @ 7pmSat @ 2pm & 5:30pmSun @ 1pm & 4:30pmState Farm Arena,Hidalgo

Casting Crowns10/29, Fri @ 7pmState Farm Arena,HidalgoAmerican Bank Center Arena

Photo Credits

Page 46 (L-R)

Luke OlsonCourtesy lukeolson.com

San Antonio Rose Live!Courtesy Aztec Theatre

Clay WalkerCourtesy cmt.com

The SpazmaticsCourtesy thespazmatics.net

Page 48 (L-R)

Eleven Hundred SpringsCourtesy liveatfloores.com

Jason Boland and the StragglersCourtesy thestragglers.com

Two Tons of SteelCourtesy twotons.com

Yeol Eum SonCourtesy cliburn.org

Page 50 (L-R)

David MairsCourtesy Mid-Texas Symphony

Billy MataCourtesy billymata.com

Reckless KellyCourtesy recklesskelly.com

RushCourtesy AT&T Center

Page 52 (L-R)

Tracy LawrenceCourtesy tracylawrence.com

Ray PriceCourtesy liveatfloores.com

HoneybrowneCourtesy liveatfloores.com

Los LobosCourtesy loslobos.org

Page 53 (L-R)

Max StallingCourtesy maxstalling.com

Ken-David MasurPhoto by Greg Harrison

Bryan AdamsCourtesy Charline McCombs Empire Theatre

Sebastian Lang-LessingPhoto by Marks Moore

Page 54 (L-R)

Carrie UnderwoodCourtesy carrieunderwood official.com

Dr. Jay DunnahooCourtesy Symphony of the Hills

Stoney LaRueCourtesy stoneylarue.com

Jeffrey SwannCourtesy melodybunting.com

Page 55 (L-R)

Kevin FowlerCourtesy kevinfowler.com

B.B. KingCourtesy bbking.com

Navah PerlmanCourtesy imgartists.com

Ilya ShterenbergCourtesy Camerata San Antonio

Page 56 (L-R)

Andrew GignacCourtesy Mid-Texas Symphony


www.brosociety.org/jazz

lukeolson.com

cmt.com

thespazmatics.net

thespazmatics.net

liveatfloores.com

thestragglers.com

thestragglers.com

twotons.com

cliburn.org

billymata.com

recklesskelly.com

tracylawrence.com

tracylawrence.com

liveatfloores.com

liveatfloores.com

loslobos.org

http://www.maxstalling.com

carrieunderwoodofficial.com

carrieunderwoodofficial.com

stoneylarue.com

melodybunting.com

melodybunting.com

kevinfowler.com

bbking.com

imgartists.com


http://www.oneworldtheatre.org


Jennifer HollidayCourtesy playbill.com

Charlie RobisonCourtesy liveatfloores.com

Troy PetersCourtesy Youth Orchestra of San Antonio

Page 57 (L-R)

Dwight YoakamPhoto by Ed Rode

Broken RecordCourtesy The Overtime Theater

Page 58 (L-R)


Beauty and the BeastPhoto by Joan Marcus

Cirque Dreams IlluminationPhoto by Joan Marcus

Alzafar Shrine CircusCourtesy alzafar.org

Page 59 (L-R)

Joe DevitoCourtesy Laugh Out LoudComedy Club

Tony RockCourtesy Laugh Out LoudComedy Club

Rachel Feinsteinourtesy Laugh Out LoudComedy Club

Ron ShockCourtesy Laugh Out LoudComedy Club

Page 60 (L-R)

Buffalo Soldiers ExhibitCourtesy Institute of Texan Cultures

Georgia O’Keeffe(1887-1986)Pink and YellowHollyhocks, 1952Oil on canvasBequest of Helen Miller Jones© Georgia O’KeeffeMuseumCourtesy McNayArt Musuem

Art in the GardenCross Cut by Albert PaleyCourtesy albertpaley.com

Taiso YoshitoshiJapan (1839-1892)Strolling: The Appearanceof an Upper Class Wife of the Meiji Era, 1888Woodblock print on paperOn loan from Lenora and Walter F. BrownPhotography by Peggy TenisonCourtesy San Antonio Museum of Art

playbill.com

liveatfloores.com

albertpaley.com

http://hcaf.com/


Page 62 (L-R)

Dinosaurs UnearthedCourtesy Witte MuseumWoman TrainPhoto by Augustin CasasolaWitte Museum Collection


Andre WattsCourtesy cmartists.com

Page 63 (L-R)

Margaret ChoPhoto by Austin Young

Operacion Clown CalleteCourtesy Texas Performing Arts

Tommy TuneCourtesy tommytune.com

Daniel ToshCourtesy danieltosh.com

Page 64 (L-R)

BeniseCourtesy One World Theatre

Little River BandCourtesy One World Theatre

Momix: BotanicaCourtesy Texas Performing Arts

Drumline LiveCourtesy Long Center

Page 66 (L-R)

Academy of St. Martin in the FieldsCourtesy Texas Performing Arts Gabriel IglesiasCourtesy www.fluffyguy.com

(L-R)

Jason AldeanCourtesy jasonaldean.com Nobuyuki TsujjiCourtesy Corpus ChristiSymphony Orchestra The Great American SongbookCourtesy Corpus Christi Live! Turtle IslandString QuartetCourtesy turtleislandquartet.com

cmartists.com

tommytune.com

danieltosh.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com

www.fluffyguy.com


Visual Arts70-100

Visual Arts70-100


MUSEUM ART CENTERFP EDITORIAL


Exceptional Exhibitions Highlight the Fall SeasonBy Shannon Huntington Standley



Exceptional Exhibitions Highlight the Fall SeasonBy Shannon Huntington Standley


T he fall season in San Antonio always brings a breath of fresh air—marking the change of seasons, the change of temperatures and the

change of world-renowned art and culture available at this city’s fine institutions.

Buzz on by the Witte Museum this fall for bugs, bugs and more bugs. The fall blockbuster, Backyard Monsters: The World of Insects, is invading the Witte on Sept. 25, featuring six gigantic robotic insects, world-class specimens of exotic insects and invertebrates, hands-on insect interactives and robo-bugs the visitor can control. To complement the exhibition and also opening Sept. 25, the Witte is presenting Beautiful Bugs: Specimens From the Witte Museum Collection. Drawn from their extensive collection of insect specimens from around the world, this exhibit focuses on the beauty, strangeness and complexity of insects. In conjunction with the bug theme, the Witte worked with artist Cakky Brawley’s sculpture class at Palo Alto College, which spent the spring 2010 semester creating found-object sculptures reflective of an insect. Art in the Yard: Insect Innovations will land in the Witte front yard Sept. 25.

The fall exhibitions at the Southwest School of Art & Craft, all opening Sept. 23, are must-sees. Well-known photographer and professor Kent Rush presents In Choate and Sublime, a show of new works taken around South Texas; Michigan artist Amanda Stark presents complex glass and metal sculptures in The Astral and Tellurian; and adjunct faculty member Ramin Samandari investigates the forces of time, place and history through digital photographs in Veils of Nephele.

Dreamy landscapes will grace the walls of the McNay Art Museum beginning Oct. 6 through Landscapes From the Age of Impressionism. Chronicling the evolution of this 19th century French technique up to its influence on early 20th century American artists, this exhibition includes many of the Brooklyn Museum’s finest works from this period. Recently, the McNay announced the addition of two important paintings to its collection of works by the great Spanish master Pablo Picasso, Reclining Woman on the Beach and Crouching Woman of 1958. In celebration of this gift, Pepe Karmel, Ph.D., will highlight the two oil paintings as part of the distinguished lecture series with Picasso’s



Nudes: Sex, Lines and Decoration at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11. Karmel, associate professor and chair of the department of art history at New York University, holds a distinguished position among academic and museum Picasso scholars.

Also tapping into the Brooklyn Museum’s holdings is the San Antonio Museum of Art, presenting To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures From the Brooklyn Museum on Oct. 16. Explore ancient Egyptians’ beliefs about death and the afterlife through more than 100 objects tracing the myths that shaped Egyptians’ expectations about the afterlife and the proper preparation of body and tomb that were essential to survival in the underworld. On Sept. 4 the San Antonio Museum of Art will open two exhibitions in honor of Fotoseptiembre: Tierra, Libertad y No Re-Elección and No Escape: Photographs of the Brothers Montiel Klint. The first features 25 rarely seen photographs from SAMA’s permanent collection boasting vivid imagery chronicling some the most poignant and defining moments in the history of Mexico. No Escape features large-scale color photographs of staged scenarios with provocative narrative content by the Mexico City-based Montiel Klint brothers.

October marks the last chance to see two of the Institute of Texan Cultures’ exhibitions. The Texas Contemporary Artists Series featuring Henry Cardenas closes Oct. 15. Don’t miss the opportunity to pay homage to artists who call Texas home. The nod to a historic military unit, Buffalo Soldiers, closing Oct. 31, takes a look at the African-American regiments of the U.S. Army established in 1866. Focusing on the experience of individuals serving with the 9th U.S. Cavalry between 1866 and 1875, visitors can explore who these soldiers were, why they joined the Army and what daily life was like during their service in Texas. Keep an eye out for Leaving Home, Finding Home: Texan Families Remember the Mexican Revolution, opening Nov. 6, for in-depth look at families affected by the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

With the change of the seasons, the galleries at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center change as well. On view through Oct. 30, the ARTsmart/MOSAIC program features ceramics by students who learned techniques by local ceramicist Laurel Gibson. Gibson also exhibits works of her own, featuring



new fiber-based work in Mater Terra. The Blue Star Lab and Flight Gallery collaboration, “I’d Rather Get Fired Than Quit,” is on view through Oct. 2; and through Nov. 6 is This is not a Photo Show, which pays homage to Magritte, exploring the tension between the photographer and the photographed, between the picture and its viewer, between the art and the artist. Kathy Coiner’s You Appear to me to be Someone Whose Life is Meaningless, also on display through Nov. 6, is an intimate look into the hardships of the women who have experienced domestic abuse. Kemp Davis’ Kathy Drive, on view through Sept. 24, is an ongoing photographic project and collection of the artist’s childhood memories. The Casual Observer, by Hills Snyder, is the fourth in a series derived from his 1997 murder ballad “Song 44” and is on view through Nov. 6. Exploring the limitations of reason, Christopher McNulty’s Days is also open until Nov. 6. A Texas Photographic Society exhibit opening Oct. 13, Captivar la Luz: A Latino Experience, explores Latin life, culture, conflict, and social and economic issues. Finally, the biannual Art in the Garden is back at the San Antonio Botanical Garden beginning Oct. 14. This year’s artist, George Schroeder, is known for his physicality, rawness and remarkable elegance.

Bihl Haus Arts presents Danville Chadbourne in Retrospective Part II: The Artist’s Collection, Wood Reliefs 1980-1999, opening Oct. 22. Primarily a sculptor in clay and wood, Chadbourne works in a range of materials and in both two- and three-dimensional formats. Over the years he has created a complex body of work unified by a primal iconography and artifact-like quality, emerging from a very personal and consistent formal, aesthetic and philosophical sense.

San Antonio offers an amazing array of choices in art and culture. No matter the taste of the observer, there really is something for everyone.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Photo Credits:

Pages 70-71

To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures fromthe Brooklyn MuseumCourtesy San Antonio Museum of Art



Page 72

(Above) Giant Beetles from Backyard Monsters: The World of InsectsCourtesy Witte Museum

(Below)Frederick Childe Hassam, Poppies on the Isles of Shoals (detail), 1890. Oil on canvas. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mary Pratt Barringer and Richardson Pratt Jr. inmemory of Richardson and Laura Pratt.

Page 73

(Above)Henry Cardenas: Texas Contemporary Artist SeriesCourtesy Institute of Texan Cultures

(Below)The Astal and TellurianAn exhibit by Amanda StarkCourtesy Southwest School of Art and Craft

Page 74

(Above)False History of DeceptionDanville Chadbourneacrylic on wood, fiber 47 x 53” 1982-88 Photo by Conan ChadbourneCourtesy Bihl Haus Arts

(Below)Frankie Made Me Do ItKemp Davis, 2010Courtesy Blue Star Contemporary Art Center

(Above)Iminente Caida del Ciego No Escape: Photographs of the Bothers Montiel Klint Courtesy San Antonio Musuem of Art

(Below)Casual ObserverHills SnyderCourtesy Blue StarContemporary Art Center


Portfolio:


B renda Kingery has assumed many roles in her extraordinary life – teacher, artist, goodwill ambassador, historian. But first and foremost,

Kingery is a story teller of the most remarkable kind. Through her artwork, which she describes as “narrative symbolism,” Kingery has been able to capture the very essence of her subjects and the worlds they inhabit. Her paintings offer a textural snapshot of distinct native cultures, capturing the movement and passion of rich ceremonial traditions. Whether depicting the rhythmic dance of a Native American celebration, the crafting of Okinawan pottery or the haunting portraits of women from Uganda and Guatemala, Kingery’s art offers a visual biography of a 40-year artistic journey that took her around the world. In 1968, Kingery and her husband, Tom, a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, were transferred to the island of Okinawa, where they would spend a total of seven years. “A lot of my interest in folk art and indigenous cultures started there,” Kingery said. “I visited villages and small islands where artists were doing pottery and textiles exactly the way they had 600 years ago. I was amazed at the history I was witnessing.”

Her first-hand experience led years later to a master’s thesis in Ryukyuan folk art and the opportunity to return to Okinawa as a professor with the University of Maryland’s Far East division. Years of extensive travel throughout Asia followed. There is clearly an influence of Oriental patterns and perceptions in much of Kingery’s work from this period. Returning to the United States, Kingery and her husband settled in Texas, but she felt drawn to revisit her native Oklahoma and reconnect with her own cultural heritage. She found this inspiration through her grandmother, a former housemother at Bacone Indian College and member of the Chickasaw nation. For the next eight years, her work reflected a rediscovery of her past with a focus on American Indian imagery and tribal traditions. The result of this introspection can be found in Kingery’s lively Pow Wow Series, in which vibrant hues and intricate patterns combine with images of ceremonial feathers and elements of the earth. Threads of Blessing By 1995, Kingery had already gained notable success as a visual artist and educator. Little did she know that a chance meeting with the Episcopalian bishop

Brenda Kingery: Dream Weaver of Stories By Sharon GarciaPhotography of Brenda Kingery by Dana Fossett



of Honduras would lead to a whole new chapter in her pursuit of cultural story telling. At the invitation of the Honduran bishop, Kingery and a small mission team of women from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church traveled to the small village of Villanueva with materials to teach the women of the community embroidery and appliqué design techniques. “Women from all cultures learn how to sew – a practical skill passed down through generations,” Kingery said, “but they had never used this skill to create art.” Kingery’s group came together with women from the village to create a 4-foot-by-6-foot banner commissioned by the bishop. She recalls “having only a car port and a light bulb” as their studio and “the days and hours spent sharing stories, fellowship and working together to create something of beauty, all by hand.” With the success of this first workshop, the Hands of Hope organization (later called Threads of Blessing), was formed. Soon after, Kingery helped organize similar trips to Mexico, Uganda and Honduras where women in remote communities began creating fine art textiles, wall hangings and tapestries with the skills and supplies provided by Threads of Blessing. The workshops not only encourage women to gather as a community and learn organizational skills, the proceeds from each work of art go directly back to the women artists. These funds have been used to open a day care, pay for school fees for their children, buy seed for crops and provide medical care. Her mission work also has given Kingery a new source of inspiration for her own art. Her “Women Without Voices” series captures the intense beauty and dignity of the women she met, sharing expressions of thread and fabric. The Artist An avid painter since the age of 19, Kingery describes her own artwork as “a visual translation of weaving and textiles” onto canvas. She carefully combines textures and as many as 20 layers of paint to evoke a multidimensional feeling of movement and space.

In 1993, Kingery was named Artist of the Year by the San Antonio Art League Museum. In addition to



her tenure at the University of Maryland, she also has taught drawing, painting and art history at institutions such as Texas Tech University, San Antonio College and at the Center for Creativity and Spirituality in Kerrville. Her work has been included in many private, corporate and public collections in the United States and abroad. She has had major exhibits in Okinawa and Tokyo, Chicago, Indianapolis, Santa Fe and Washington, D.C. A voting member of the Chickasaw nation, Kingery became a 2007 presidential appointee to the board of trustees of the Institute of American Indians and Native Alaskans in Art and Culture in Santa Fe. At this point in her career, Kingery continues to be inspired by the diverse world around her and is always open to whatever new adventure might be waiting around the corner. “I didn’t write a list down to say this is what I’m going to do in life… It’s sort of like painting abstractly. You just go in and let it happen.”

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Photo Credits:

Page 78

(Above)Joseph’s Egyptian Robe52 x 52”Acrylic on CanvasGenesis Series

(Below)First Light48 x 48”Acrylic on CanvasNew Work Series

(Above)The Gift40” x 40”Oil on CanvasWomen Without Voices Series

(Below)Ataloa and Blue Jay52 x 52”Acrylic on CanvasPow Wow Series



Matthew Drutt: Keeping Pace With ArtBy Julie CatalanoPhotography Greg Harrison

Matthew Drutt doesn’t hesitate when identifying the turning point for Artpace during his stint as its executive director since 2006: the

sudden death a year later of Pace Foods heiress Linda Pace, founder of what has become one of the most successful and respected contemporary artists residency programs in the country. “I don’t think it gets any more pivotal than that,” Drutt says quietly, sitting in his office at a former Hudson automobile dealership in downtown San Antonio and now home to rotating exhibits created by regional, national and international artists. His eyes cast downward as he remembers the question that hung in the air in the days that followed: Could Artpace survive without Linda Pace?

Drutt had heard about Artpace almost from the minute it opened (“Word spread like a brush fire”) as a place where contemporary artists could be free to focus only on their art. “Artpace became the place where the impractical and the unconventional became the model.”

Each year, nine artists are invited to live and work at Artpace’s 18,000-square-foot facility for eight weeks to conceive and create. Three are from Texas, three

from elsewhere in the United States and three from other countries. Afterwards there is an eight-week exhibition (“Everything we do here is free,” Drutt says) complete with full-color brochure of each artist’s work. Artists cannot apply; they are chosen by an invited guest curator.

“We not only foster the creation of the work and the completion of it, but we often lead people to another place in their work. It encourages you to take risks,” Drutt says.

In a way, that is also the story of his own career. Drutt, 47, comes by his artistic leanings both environmentally and genetically. His mother, a Philadelphia art dealer, used to “drag” the youngster to openings. “My earliest memories are of people’s legs. I couldn’t see past their kneecaps.” He attended New York University with a double major in art history and Russian studies, and immediately got a job at the Whitney Museum of American Art (“one of the most exciting places in New York in the 1980s”) as a curatorial assistant intern. He left for East Berlin in 1989 to do research for his doctorate.

Back in New York, he saw an ad for a curator at the Guggenheim and was “ecstatic” when he got the job. At



the same time, he was adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Art (“My college professors had convinced me I needed to teach”).

By all accounts, senior curator Drutt had reached the top, and was just about to settle into a “very comfortable, long-term career in a big New York museum” when a call came from Houston.

The director of the Minil Collection was looking for a chief curator. Was he interested? The Minil, says Drutt, is viewed as “the Pantheon in my field. It’s a place where it’s all about the experience of art.” After some soul-searching, Drutt concluded that “if I didn’t take that job, I might never leave New York. And if I never left New York, I might never do a lot of things I wanted to do that I couldn’t do in New York,” including shows that “weren’t necessarily tourist attractions or popular hits.” He had to buy a car again, but “that was fine.” Indeed – it was an Audi TT roadster convertible sports car. Happily ensconced at the Minil, here came another call – this time from Linda Pace. Familiar with Artpace, Drutt said yes. Used to working with collections, he theorized that he would be “involved in the creation of work that might not otherwise get made, creating different kinds of legacies.”

Married for six years to Claudia Schmuckli, director of the Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston, Drutt says he loves Texas, especially Marfa, West Texas and Big Bend. An extensive traveler who speaks Russian, French, German, Swiss-German and Spanish, his favorite cities are Mexico City, Bogota, Berlin and Sao Paulo.

As for whether Artpace could survive without its iconic founder, all one needs to do is watch kids carrying out their work on the last day of Teen Camp, observe the lunchtime crowd enjoying weekly Taco Friday in the courtyard before an exhibition tour, and listen to Matthew Drutt: “I wish Linda had lived to see that Artpace has become something that a lot of people have a stake in – the city, the National Endowment for the Arts, the artists. It was something once only viewed as ‘her thing’ that became something that belongs to everybody.”

For more information, visit artpace.org.


artpace.org


Candace Andrews:Managing Director of San AntonioBotanical Garden SocietyBy Diane PowellPhotography Greg Harrison

I was delighted when the Botanical Garden entered my life almost 20 years ago,” said Candace Andrews, who has been managing director of the San Antonio Botanical Garden Society for the last 12 years. “It felt like somewhere I belonged from the start.”

Andrews, a descendant of the pioneering Cunning-ham family of Texas Rangers, gained her passion for nature as a child growing up on her family’s farm and ranch in Central Texas. Her Botanical Society “job” started on a volunteer basis, when Andrews, who has a master’s degree in English, joined the Botanical Society board, especially enjoying her newsletter work. When asked in 1998 to become managing director, Andrews resigned from the board (she was then development chair) and followed her passion for the Botanical Garden, but no longer from her desk at home.

For two years, she was the sole staff person, but she said, “It was never the job of just one person – the board members were integral to the success of the nonprofit – and still are!” Nancy Zachry was board president at the time, and Andrews said the two women “still have a special bond to this day from those early days when we surprised ourselves with all our successes.” Her desk today is still nestled inside the historic Carriage House, but the staffing encompasses four full-time employees handling the garden’s development needs.

Once known as “Rattlesnake Hill,” the Botanical Garden acreage originally belonged to George Washington Brackenridge, who deeded it to the city in 1899. “What a long way it has come,” Andrews said. Shortly after the Botanical Garden opened in 1980, its nonprofit partner, the San Antonio Botanical Garden Society Inc., was chartered to raise the money to steward the garden’s development needs. Today, the garden welcomes more than 100,000 visitors annually through its daily admissions and special-event offerings. Andrews said the Botanical Society boasts membership of more than 3,000. “We’re also proud to support the education initiatives at the garden – that’s how children first discover the world of plants and learn to become good stewards of our environment.” “Every garden is about growing – and that couldn’t be more true than at the Botanical Garden this year, with an exciting new master plan just completed,” she said. It took 18 months of diligent effort and careful planning to prepare the comprehensive and thoughtful vision for the garden. “We want this to be the finest regional garden in the United States – and I know that can happen,” Andrews said.

The new master plan will take the garden to new levels, with a new entrance sequence, a paseo ribbon of walkways flowing through the garden, classrooms, a family adventure garden, and indoor

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event space for seminars, exhibits and rentals. “At last, the garden can have a rain plan,” she said. “We are ecstatic about having that option.” “The Lucile Halsell Conservatory and the Texas Native Trail already set this garden apart. These are exceptional settings. That we have an Emilio Ambasz-designed glass conservatory is an amazing architectural achievement. Filled with exotic plants from around the world makes it unmatchable. And as a setting for sculpture, it couldn’t be more dramatic.”

Especially close to her heart is the Texas Native Trail, with its native plants and historic cabins, its beautiful lake and wildlife. “It delights me every time I take that walk across Texas,” she said. Completed in 2006, this four-year Botanical Society-funded project updated the native area. “Our native plant collection is a major strength of this garden, and it’s an amazing story. Did you know that the East Texas Pineywoods area was once just a barren hill with a quarry? Now it’s surrounded by towering trees and a pristine lake that’s home to turtles and ducks – and a magnet for children to visit.” Andrews said a trip she made to Pedernales State Park a few years ago led to the latest addition to the Texas Native Trail, a new bird watch this spring that “connects us to the birding world.” She added, “The mirrored-glass front is a wonderful window to the world of nature. I’ve loved seeing a painted bunting take its morning bath.”

“Connecting people to the plant world is our daily business at the garden,” Andrews said. In fact, if you’ve enjoyed seeing dinosaurs or big bugs or playhouses (currently on display) at the garden, then you’ve enjoyed something that the Botanical Society makes possible. In 2002, the Botanical Society created the garden’s first exhibit, Dinosaurus Tex. It was “a watershed event – and we had so much fun doing it,” Andrews said. “The children’s favorite toy from the gift shop was a dinosaur clacker. The sounds could be deafening inside the Carriage House, but it was music to our ears to know that so many children and their families were discovering the garden.”

“I think it’s critical that today’s children find a connection to nature early in their lives,” she said. Whether it’s a beautiful garden in San Antonio or, for Andrews, a beloved creek in Bell County, those early experiences imprint us for life.



http://catrinasattheranch.com/


WILD ABOUT HARRYWorld-Famous photojournalist Harry Benson to speak at TLU on October 5

By Janis Turk

E veryone is wild about Harry, and Harry Benson is wild about San Antonio. Though you may not recognize his name, you’ll certainly recognize the

world-famous photographs taken by Benson, who I’m fortunate to have as my brother-in-law and as a frequent San Antonio visitor.

One of the most highly acclaimed photojournalists of our time, with 13 books, 45-plus solo exhibits (including a lifetime retrospective at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in D.C.), the title of Commander of the British Empire (CBE) bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth, medals of honor, lifetime achievement awards and work in Vanity Fair, Life, Architectural Digest, Newsweek and more to his credit, Benson says he’s a lucky man. Perhaps, but this talented Scot, who began as a beat photographer on London’s Fleet Street, and whose wife, Dian “Gigi” Daniels Benson, hails from Seguin, has an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time. Call it luck, or just keen instinct, but when anything important happened in the world, Benson just happened to be there: at the Berlin Wall when it went up and when it came down; with the Beatles on the plane when they first came to America and alone with them in a Paris hotel room for a

pajama party pillow fight, Benson got the picture. At the Watts riots in Los Angeles and in Ireland for I.R.A. hunger strikes, there he was. Marching with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement and with Robert Kennedy as he blazed the campaign trail, Benson kept pace. Later, he would stand near Bobby Kennedy at the moment he was shot. Benson was there when Nixon resigned, and he has photographed 11 sitting presidents. He has snapped pictures in the Neverland bedroom of Michael Jackson, in a locker-room shower with O.J. Simpson, and in the hospital with Elizabeth Taylor. He even has shots of Willie Nelson in a bubble bath in a big red tub. Benson was in New York when the Twin Towers fell and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. With chameleon-like facility, Benson and his photographs have blended themselves into the landscape of our culture and sharpened our focus on the past half-century.

Benson also is lucky in love—he’s been married for 43 years and is the proud father of two beautiful daughters, Tessa Benson, who is the West Coast editor of Self and editor-at-large for the Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine, and actress Wendy Benson Landes, who appeared in several episodes of Desperate Housewives last season but prefers playing

Photo of Harry Benson by Gigi Benson


mom to Mimi, 6, and Dominic, 3. Wendy’s husband, Michael Landes, is a film and stage star best known as the star of Final Destination II, the TV series Special Unit 2, and for appearing in the recent Queen Latifah movie, Just Wright. He is also starring in the world premier of David Mamet’s new play, House of Games, at the Almeida Theatre in London beginning Sept. 9. Benson’s brother-in-law is former city councilman and long-time movie theater owner Dan Daniels. With wife Gigi growing up in Seguin and San Antonio, Benson considers the San Antonio area a second home and is always pleased to be a guest on San Antonio Living and to speak at local venues such as Texas Lutheran University, have a book signing at The Twig, or even a photo exhibit at the Southwest School of Art & Craft, as he has in the past.

When Benson speaks at TLU in October, he’ll be signing and selling books after the show, and he’ll be taking questions from and talking with audience members.

When we last spoke, Benson was precisely where he wanted to be — on assignment for Architectural Digest, doing a cover shoot of Cher in her living room, and then on to see New York Yankees pitcher

C.C. Sabathia for a shoot. Though he is a little bit older than the Beatles, Benson still has striking good looks and an intoxicating charm as he explains how he always manages to get his shot.

Q&A With Harry Benson

• Almost by accident, you were assigned to travel with and cover the Beatles when you, and they, were first starting out. What was that like?

Beatle mania was just beginning. They were smart and talented and having a good time. They were as surprised by the enormity of their success as much as I was. It all started when I got a call late one night from the picture editor in London, and he said, “You’re going tomorrow on an early morning flight to Paris to cover the Beatles.” And I said, “No, I’m not. I’m going to Africa for the anniversary of independence,” and I thought, you know, “I’m a serious journalist. I want to do the big story.” I hung up the phone and thought that was that. Five minutes later the phone goes again. The editor says, “You’re going to Paris.” So I went. When I heard the music, it was sensational, and I was completely sold. When we got to America, I stepped off the plane with the Beatles, I knew I was never going back… except to


The Beatles Arrive New York © Harry Benson 1964 Queen Elizabeth II of England @Harry Benson 1966-7


show off to my mother.

• You’ve photographed every president since “Ike.” Which did you most like to shoot?

When you’re the only one in the room with the president, it’s very special. Each president has been interesting in his own way, but President Richard Nixon was the most fascinating. There was always some drama going on. I remember I photographed the President and Mrs. Nixon on the Truman balcony at the White House one afternoon. The President was delayed. When he arrived, he seemed troubled and in a very bad mood. It turns out to have been just two days after the Watergate break-in — maybe he’d just heard that there was a problem — so those pictures took on a new meaning for me. Then, later, I went to San Clemente shortly after his resignation. I spent two or three days with him, and I said afterward, “I want to thank you, Mr. President.” I told him I knew it was a very difficult time for him to be photographed and thanked him for seeing me. He replied most kindly, “You must allow a professional do his job.”

• You were steps away from Sen. Robert Kennedy in the Roosevelt Hotel ballroom in Los Angeles

when he was assassinated. What happened, and what was going through your mind in that terrible moment?

It was June 4, 1968, and Bobby had just won the California primary. He gave the victory sign to the hoards of happy supporters and said, “And on to Chicago!” As I neared the kitchen door to follow him out, I heard a scream and knew at once what had happened. We had walked out of happiness into hell. I kept thinking, “Stay at the center. Don’t mess up. This is for history.” There was complete chaos. The room was swaying with screaming people. Bobby was on the floor with blood coming out of the back of his head. His eyes glazed over, and a rosary was placed in his hand. Ethel was brought in and kneeled down beside him. I kept stuffing exposed rolls of film in my socks so the police wouldn’t find them and take them from me. It seemed like a long time before an ambulance arrived. There was crying, screaming — complete bedlam in the kitchen. Afterward, I noticed five other people had been shot around me. I was bruised all over from being shoved around. Afterward, I felt a kind of numbness that you feel after coming through violence, and I wanted to be alone. A campaign worker placed her straw boater on the pool of blood left where Bobby


Queen Elizabeth II of England @Harry Benson 1966-7 Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, New York @Harry Benson 1964


had lain. That image tells the story of the tragedy.

• What assignment was your most challenging?

I could say photographing the starving children in Africa or the Gulf War, but I think it would have to be both photographing Sen. Robert Kennedy’s assassination and marching with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement. I’m very proud and pleased that I did cover the civil rights movement. Not many of us are left that did. It was exciting, and in some ways it was one of the best parts of my life, but it was dangerous. Awful things happened. You can’t imagine. We’d get threats late in the night from the Klan, too. Once I got up from the table in a Mississippi diner to go get some camera equipment I’d left in car, and when I came back I found the journalists I had just been sitting with had been terribly beaten during the few moments that I had stepped away.

• Your life story seems to epitomize the American dream — what has becoming a United States citizen meant to you?

The American dream — I think it is simply having the opportunity to work at what makes you happy. Your

goal can be achieved if you are willing to work for it. Nothing is just handed to you. Living in America [since 1964] has allowed me to do just that. I feel America is my home now. That is why I became a U.S. citizen. My wife, Gigi, is a Texan, and our two daughters live in Los Angeles. I like to visit Glasgow, my hometown, whenever I am on assignment in Europe. But I can’t wait to get back to New York after four days. And I love coming to Texas and having Mexican food at El Ranchito in Seguin. It’s the first thing we do when my wife and I land in Texas—we drive straight to El Ranchito from the airport.

• Which is your favorite photograph you have taken?

The Beatles’ pillow fight. We were in Paris in the George V Hotel when they found out “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was No. 1 on the American charts and they would be going to America to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show, and I was going with them. I asked them to have a pillow fight like the one they had several nights before. John said, “No, that will make us look silly.” Then John sneaked up behind Paul and hit him in the head with a pillow, and they were off. The pillow fight photo is my favourite, even today.

Janis and Tina, Madison Square Garden, New York City @Harry Benson 1968 President John F. Kennedy, Paris @Harry Benson 1961


• Is there anyone that you still haven’t photographed and want to some day?

The Pope propped up in bed reading the Sunday papers.

• Have you gone digital yet—or are you still a darkroom kind of guy?

About two years ago, I started using a digital camera, the Canon Mark IID, and it has changed my career. Digital is magic. My first book in digital was Tivoli Gardens, and all the photographs were taken with my digital camera. There are nuances you just can’t get with film.

• What’s the best thing about your job?

I travel the world taking photos and get paid for it. That is what most people do on holiday. I don’t know what I would do if I had to work for a living.

• What’s next for you?

I am only as good as my last picture. I think that attitude keeps me on my guard and keeps me from slacking off. Taking pictures is fun. I love what I do, and

I am not slowing down. I’m shooting for Architectural Digest now, and I’ve got a new book in the works. My wife, Gigi, is a tremendous help in all I do.

• Any advice you can share with other photographers?

Photography is not a team sport. And don’t dress like a maintenance man if you want to be asked back. Also, I think you need an inherent love of photography, a strong determination to succeed and a willingness to put everything else second to your work. You also need a sense of history, an awareness of human behavior, physical stamina, an interest in world events, a survival instinct, a sense of humor, a naïve belief in yourself … and a bit of luck.

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NOTE: World-famous photojournalist Harry Benson will present a digital slideshow of his work, with a discussion of the back-story behind his photographs of the Beatles, U.S. presidents, celebrities, world leaders and more, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5, in Jackson Auditorium on the campus of Texas Lutheran University in Seguin. To view an extensive collection of his photographs, go to www.harrybenson.com.

President John F. Kennedy, Paris @Harry Benson 1961 President Richard M. Nixon Resigns@Harry Benson 1974

www.harrybenson.com


Artpace’s Free Family Festival is Made in San AntonioBy Matt JohnsPhotography Courtesy Artpace


K ick up some colorful dust with Artpace from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, at Chalk It Up, the seventh annual chalk art festival, held

on Houston Street downtown.

Every year, Artpace, a local nonprofit dedicated to the creation and advancement of contemporary art, transforms downtown into the site of its biggest annual community outreach event. Named best arts and cultural project by the Best of Downtown San Antonio Awards for its 2004 launch, this year’s festival theme is “Made in San Antonio,” placing an emphasis on the vibrant local art community and showcasing the talent that exists within the city limits. With a goal to make art accessible to as many people as possible, Chalk It Up: Made in San Antonio is expected to bring

some 13,000 people downtown.

Among the crowd of onlookers, more than 40 premier San Antonio artists will transform Houston Street sidewalks into amazing works of art rendered in chalk at this free, family-friendly event. Everyone is invited to help complete a super-sized street mural, and a variety of family activities will be offered in the Kidzone, a space where imaginations soar. This convivial street scene continues the city’s efforts to help return the downtown area to a place where locals come to shop, dine, relax and be entertained.

For more information about participating, volunteering or involving a school or community group, contact Artpace at 210-212-4900 or [email protected].

[email protected].


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http://cappysrestaurant.com/

http://cappyccinos.com/

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Culinary Arts 102-112

Culinary Arts 102-112


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John Brand Sustainable Success

By Chris DunnPhotography Greg Harrison

We can’t tell you the name of the town in Nebraska where John Brand is from, because there isn’t one; just a couple of back roads

and a rural mailbox mark the spot where Brand was raised.

But a childhood spent in the rural Midwest had a profound impact on Brand’s philosophy as a chef, as well as his continued success. “I don’t think I saw the influence of growing up on a farm until cooking years later when I realized that there’s an obvious connection,” he says.

Brand and his five younger siblings grew up working in the fields and helping their mother in the kitchen—nurturing, preparing and eating locally raised

seasonal food. “It wasn’t something I was taught out of a book,” he says. “It was something we did.”

He credits his mom with starting him on the path to becoming a chef. “She taught me how to cook. I give her a lot of credit for introducing us to food, and I just kept with it. She taught me an enjoyment as well as how to eat and how to prepare food.”

Brand’s culinary journey began at the age of 16 as a dishwasher, followed by various positions at the Hyatt Regency Beaver Creek Resort and Spa in Colorado, then as executive sous chef at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort at Gainey Ranch in Arizona and at Little Nell in Aspen, executive chef at Keswick Hall in Virginia, chef de cuisine at Charles


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Court restaurant Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, and now, as executive chef at two award-winning San Antonio hotels.

His career path would appear to have been a vertical, straight line, but in a sense, it has been a circular journey, back to his roots in rural Nebraska. At the AAA four-star Las Canarias restaurant in the Omni La Mansión del Rio and at Pesca on the River in the Forbes four-star Watermark Hotel and Spa, Brand emphasizes locally sourced, seasonal and sustainable food.

He admits sometimes it’s a challenge. “Trying to find a balance is an ongoing thing—it never lets up,” he says. To illustrate, he says he is currently using blueberries from Texas, California and Mexico to support local farmers while still providing for the needs of his customers. “You want to support the heritage of the local area; for instance, the (Gulf ) fishermen, who are obviously under duress right now. But the other side of the coin is I have to support the customer,” he says, adding, “I like to think wherever I got it from, somebody was practicing some sort of ecological responsibility.”

I don’t think I saw the influence of growing up on a farm until cooking years later when I realized that there’s an obvious connection.” - John Brand

Brand looks upon these challenges as a good thing, explaining that every day should give you “something to make you pause; it’s the pursuit of excellence, the question of quality, the chance of quality.” He pauses, and asks, “Is this the best I can do?” revealing an angst that he attributes to his German Lutheran heritage. “I like to think I can relate to that work ethic, or maybe that style.”

When asked how food service at a hotel differs from that in other restaurants, Brand says, “’Range’ sums it all up. I have the range to do some really good food…but also range knowing that I have to have chicken fingers back there in the freezer somewhere for somebody that wants chicken fingers.”

According to Brand, the needs of the guest always take precedence. “There’s no room for ego in the


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kitchen,” he says.

However, he does not believe pleasing a guest precludes educating him. At Las Canarias, he has introduced a wide variety of wild game and buffalo. “As a service to the customer, we should celebrate more of the other animals we have,” he says. “Our taste should be much more educated than just beef tenderloin. There is more to the world than just beef.”An example of this is his version of buffalo flank steak. “You wrap that in bacon, put a nice sauce on it, and you’re able to keep the moisture, and balance out the flavor,” he says.

Country-fried quail is another popular entree. Brand has prepared it numerous ways and keeps coming back to a straightforward breaded and fried approach. He has served the quail with various accompaniments, from pickle relish to apricot aioli, and it is always a hit.

He has also introduced native grains to his menus, such as amaranth, quinoa and chia seeds. “I do think we should recognize what grasses or what grains were once here before we got here—what grew in this area and this climate,” he says.

The menu at Pesca on the River emphasizes “wholesome lifestyle versus spa cuisine.” He explains the difference by saying, “Generally, most cooking would be cook light and finish heavy, but at Pesca we don’t use any thickeners…no roux, corn starch -- things that make you feel heavy. It’s more ingredient driven, flavor driven.” And, as the name implies, the focus is on the freshest seasonal and sustainable seafood he can find.

Brand says, “I appreciate the environment that I have. My draw to San Antonio is food as well as culture, and I see the opportunities in that.” He’s taken full advantage of those opportunities -- Tripadvisor rates Las Canarias as No. 1 out of 1,392 restaurants in San Antonio, and it was voted Readers and Critics Choice for Best Hotel Restaurant by the San Antonio Express-News for 2009.

Brand reacts to these accolades with his characteristic humility and introspection. “Every moment we could be doing something better,” he says. “It’s great, thank you very much, but now the work starts, now it’s maintaining it.”

http://acenar.com


I need to enlist in a physical training regimen at this very moment because I plan to take advantage of the abundance of offers from

great restaurants that arrive in my e-mail box on a nonstop basis. Gracious, what’s the deal? Why all of the sudden am I being treated to $50 in food at incredible eateries for only $25, or $40 for $20? What has happened to cause this blitz of discounted epicurean opportunities?

Competition for the dining dollar is obviously one of the reasons, while the online existence of Living Social, Groupon, Deal of the Day SA (KSAT), Great Day SA Great Deals (KENS), WOAI 4Savers and San Antonio Discount Deals is still another. These purveyors of half-pricing have successfully driven their “let’s make

a deal” vehicles directly into our daily lives by way of the Internet. In doing so, the art of the dining deal has been refined. Who am I to complain?

This bandwagon is really rolling, and it’s attracting some very fine dining establishments. Upscale is on sale! Pardon me for name dropping, but here goes. In the very recent past I’ve been able to buy into half-price (or better) deals at Biga on the Banks, Barbaresco Restaurant and Bar, The Gazebo at Los Patios, Milano Ristorante Italiano, Las Canarias at La Mansion del Rio Hotel, Grey Moss Inn, Le Midi Restaurant and Bravo Cucina Italiana.

I have also pinched pennies on markdowns offered by the aforementioned Web sites and will eventually

Upscale Is On Sale! By Marlo Mason-Marie

Pinch Pennies & Dine Well:



dine extremely well at The Vineyards Restaurant, Luce Ristorante e Enoteca, Acenar, Quarry Hofbrau, Sazo’s Latin Grill at Marriott Rivercenter, Auden’s Kitchen, Ounce Steakhouse and Pesca on the River.

Other quality restaurants which have participated with one or more of these deal-maker programs include Roaring Fork, Crumpets Restaurant and Bakery, Tomatillos Café y Cantina, Meson European Dining, Oro Restaurant and Bar at the Emily Morgan Hotel, Coco Chocolate Lounge and Bistro, Maggiano’s Little Italy, El Chaparral Mexican Restaurant and The Grill at Leon Springs.

I was about to say I’m sorry for listing one restaurant after another, but I won’t do so because the real

point of this article is to depict the large number of noteworthy places available at delicious prices. The upscale dining market is especially competitive at this point in time, a fact that puts scores of frugal foodie possibilities right at your fingertips. Just sign up for the online services I’ve discussed (they’re all free), then select the offers you prefer.

Twenty-five highly respected restaurants have been mentioned here. The question becomes: Who is next? Who will join this list tomorrow, the next day or the next?

Get dressed up and go out. It’s an affordable endeavor if you know how to maximize your dining dollars, and now you do.


108 On The Town | September-October 2010By Janis Turk

John BeshBrings Luke to the River Walk

. .


You can almost taste the excitement in the air downtown—and smell the food from the kitchen—as San Antonio welcomes New

Orleans celebrity chef John Besh’s restaurant Lüke to the River Walk at the new Embassy Suites Hotel.

Besh is becoming something of a household name with his new TLC channel television food show Inedible to Incredible and his successful family of restaurants, including New Orleans’ Restaurant August, Besh Steak, American Sector, Domenica and Lüke, as well as a Lacombe, La., restaurant La Provence. He’s also appeared on popular food network hits Top Chef and Iron Chef, and though he’s a Louisiana boy, born and bred, he says he always had an affinity for the Alamo City and has long been eager to open a restaurant here.

Now San Antonians and Besh don’t have to wait any longer. Lüke opens Oct. 15 at the new Embassy Suites Hotel on Houston Street, catter-corner from the Majestic Theatre, at River Walk level. Besh also is scheduled to speak at a symposium on food at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 4 in Jackson Auditorium at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin.

Besh’s executive chef from the first Lüke in New Orleans, Steven McHugh, moved to downtown San Antonio with his wife this spring to get the restaurant ready for opening this fall. McHugh moved here permanently to ensure that he and Besh’s high standards for great food carry over to their new restaurant on the River Walk. The cuisine will be German/Alsatian and American in theme—with bits of Louisiana and Texas thrown in for good measure. You’ll find the best burger and fries in town at Lüke, but you also can order fresh seafood, German fare and fabulous dishes you can’t find anywhere else but the South.

Lüke’s vibe is casual and laid back, yet glowing and gleaming—just picture a happening neighborhood brasserie or bistro—and best of all it will open early and close late. You can walk in after a show at the Majestic, as late as 11 p.m., and no one will look at you like you’re keeping the kitchen open or that the staff wants to go home. Want lunch at 3 p.m.? OK. A late dinner after 10 p.m. will be OK, too. McHugh will be there to ensure the quality is consistent any time of day.

Besh is a busy man who considers himself richly

blessed. When I spoke to him three weeks ago, he was signing his cookbook, My Louisiana, at a Tales of the Cocktail book-signing event at the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans. He was warm, friendly and self-deprecating, as always, but it ’s clear he’s enjoying his success. He’s already looking ahead to the holidays, too, where everyone in the bustling Besh family household has a job to do. We sat down over bread pudding last winter as he told me stories of holiday meals at his house in Mandeville.

While wife Jenifer is busy making cranberry sauce, John and their four young sons are getting their hands messy making the good stuff —the dressings — up to their elbows in dirty rice, shrimp and mirlitons, crawfish andouille, cornbread and oysters, too—while humming along with a Neville Brothers’ holiday CD. Besh’s mom and younger sister are at work making ambrosia, pies and pralines, divinity and other deserts. Even his brother-in-law is pouring over a pot of poule-d’eau gumbo as dad prepares shrimp rémoulade, crabmeat ragoût and a pâté or two. (It ’s a big kitchen). Then Jenifer checks on the two turkeys she and her mother are making because there has to be enough left over tomorrow for turkey gumbo and sandwiches with cranberry sauce.

“It takes a village to do our holiday dinners,” Besh says with a grin. At Thanksgiving, the family enjoys an enormous buffet; at Christmas, it ’s a seated and plated celebration with a standing rib roast, bubbling popovers and all the trimmings for 40-plus family members and friends. And though New Years’ Eve will find Besh at one of his restaurants, two days later, he’ll spend his anniversary with the woman he’s known since they lived down the street from one another as children in Slidell. Besh knows he’s a lucky man. He has a lovely wife, four healthy young sons and a stellar career as one of America’s most popular, award-winning chefs. Born in Meridian, Miss., and raised in Slidell, Besh is partner and executive chef in six highly successful restaurants in New Orleans. Add a hearty helping of friends, loyal business partners and staff, a large extended family and time to hunt, fish and cook with his kids, and you have the recipe for a pretty sweet life.



And then there’s the bread pudding. As it ’s set before us, Besh tells me it ’s his son Brendan’s favorite. “I always relate bread pudding to this time of year when it ’s getting cooler outside. It was a warm, wintry dessert when I was growing up, so we make it for our kids now, too,” says Besh, a trim, unassuming guy with golden boy-next-door good looks—unassuming, that is, until he flashes what is arguably the most winning smile in the South and blinks disarming, denim-colored eyes. I haven’t even tasted the bread pudding yet, but like most women who have seen him on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America, I could eat Besh up with a spoon. Southern charm, good manners and warm bread pudding still go a long way.

But it ’s his food that has made him famous. Named one of the 10 best new chefs in America by Food and Wine in 1999, Besh also won the James Beard Foundation award for best chef in the Southeast in 2006. From his five years in the Navy, to time spent in kitchens of Germany and France, to his debut as a restaurant owner and celebrity chef on the popular Food Network, Besh has earned his stripes. He also has become something of a local hero, helping feed thousands of oil field workers, stranded citizens and folks in need in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Besh family of restaurants has grown steadily in popularity, too, winning accolades from Conde Nast, Travel and Leisure and The New York Times.

But more important than being on top in their careers is staying on top of things at home, say John and wife Jenifer, an attorney. Family comes first with four growing boys to feed: sons Brendan, 13; Jack, 8; Luke, 6; and Andrew, 5. “Our families have been friends and neighbors since we were kids, so Jenifer and I are part of this huge Catholic family, and we all get together for holiday meals,” Besh says. “I was exposed to great cooking throughout my childhood. My mother is a phenomenal baker, too. Because of her, we grew up eating great deserts, homemade Southern food and healthful food. Mom was into health food before it was cool. I didn’t even know what junk food was: I never had a store-bought brownie or cake or cookie, but we did have homemade deserts, so that still plays a huge role in our holiday feasts.” “I remember the smell of nuts and butter in my grandmother’s kitchen, too, and the sound of bacon cracking and sizzling, and my grandmother talking to her biscuits. ‘Rise, biscuits! Rise!’ she’d 110 On The Town | September-October 2010


say. She got me jazzed about cooking. She was a passionate cook,” he recalls.

Besh remains fully committed to farm-to-fork style food—using the best local ingredients, in season, whenever possible. “At home, we have blueberry and blackberry bushes and figs growing, and we pick these with our kids on Sundays and bake with them,” says Besh, who feels it’s important that kids see the whole process, as he did when he was a child. Although Besh admits he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, one of his favorite recipes came from a friend who gave him a special cake one Christmas—an act that became a tradition year after year. “It was about six or seven years ago when he first left a little note on my doorstep, ‘Bon Noël! Pêre Roux,’ with a jar of preserved figs, blue cheese and crackers, and an amazing cake. It ’s a white cake with a Bananas Foster-type filling slathered between the layers, and then the whole thing is doused with dark rum and coated in Creole cream cheese icing topped with shards of white chocolate. It ’s possibly the best desert I’ve ever had. I’ll give you the recipe—it’s in my cookbook, too,” Besh says. And he did. As he says his goodbyes, I am already looking forward to the next time I meet him and the first time I get to dine at Lüke in San Antonio.

NOTE: Meet John Besh in person when he speaks at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 4 in Jackson Auditorium at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin. The event is free and open to the public. McHugh and Besh will be at the Oct. 15 opening of Lüke on the River Walk.

For more information, visit chefjohnbesh.com.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •


Photo Credits:

Page 108

John Besh My New Orleans: The CookbookPhoto by Ditte Isager

Page 110

John BeshPhoto by Janis Turk

Crawfish Boil PoBoy at LükePhoto by Janis Turk

chefjohnbesh.com


http://lm-bookstore.com


Literary Arts114-120

Literary Arts 114-120


Diana LopezTeacher, Writer, Young Readers’ NovelistStory and Photo by Jasmina Wellinghoff


Book Talk:

Diana LopezTeacher, Writer, Young Readers’ NovelistStory and Photo by Jasmina Wellinghoff

A Corpus Christi native, Diana Lopez has always loved stories. As a child, she whispered stories to her younger sister at bedtime. So it was only

natural that she would eventually turn to writing them as well.

After graduating from St. Mary’s University with a B.A. in English, Lopez taught middle school in San Antonio for nine years, during which she also earned a master’s degree in creative writing from Texas State University. Her thesis work, a novella titled “Sofia’s Saints,” later was published by Arizona State University’s Bilingual Review Press. More recently, she turned her attention to young readers, which resulted in her second book, “Confetti Girl,” released by Little Brown in 2009.

Though she’s been teaching at St. Philip’s College for the past six years, Lopez says she wanted to reach out to young girls like her former pupils. “Confetti Girl” is told from the perspective of a sixth-grader named Lina Flores, who is dealing with growing pains, school issues, friendship and budding romance in addition to the loss of her mother and her father’s sadness. Reviewers have praised the book for its honesty, wit and warmth as well as its portrayal of a Texas Hispanic community and its culture. Spanish dichos (sayings) are sprinkled throughout the text, and cultural icons such as cascarones are woven into the story.

This fall Lopez will be moving to Victoria where she will be teaching at the University of Houston – Victoria and participating in the work of Centro Victoria, whose goal is to introduce Mexican-American literature into Texas school curricula.

JW: What made you decide to switch from writing for adults to writing for young readers?

DL: When I taught middle school, one thing I noticed is that the students weren’t always interested in the books I had to teach, so I wanted to write a book that kids like them could relate to. Reading students’ homework and their journals (as a teacher) helped me to get a good sense of what their interests and concerns were, and I wanted to tap into that emotional territory. And most importantly,

their writings gave me insight into their voices.

JW: You have lived in San Antonio for 22 years, yet you set your book in Corpus. Is it because when you think about childhood, you think of Corpus?

DL: That’s exactly what it is. It’s a challenge to write from a young person’s perspective because as you grow older you acquire all these other insights that you didn’t have when you were a child. I felt I needed to go back to my childhood setting where I actually experienced the emotions of a young girl. But that still wasn’t doing the trick for me. So I realized that I had to switch from past to present tense. That really helped me get back into a young person’s mindset.

JW: Could you elaborate on that?

DL: When you write in the present tense, you don’t have the benefit of hindsight because you don’t know what is to happen next. When you write in the past tense, you are looking back, and it was very hard for me to let go of my adult self as I looked back. The present tense helped me shed everything I’ve learned since I was, say, 13 years old. I also think that it gave the book immediacy as things are happening as you are reading about them.

JW: What other adjustments did you have to make?

DL: When I decided to write for young readers, I had to learn the conventions of writing for that age group. Scenes have to move a little faster, there should be a little more white space on the page… The vocabulary was especially hard because I didn’t want to patronize the young people but I also had to get in touch with the way they actually speak and the level of vocabulary they have. It was also a challenge to know how subtle or how obvious to be with some of the plot points and some of the symbols. Luckily, I worked with an editor at Little Brown who was excellent at picking out the places that needed fixing in that regard, and she was also great at recognizing when the adult voice crept in. So, yeah, it was a learning process for me.



JW: Cascarones are prominently featured throughout the book. Are they there simply as an element of Mexican-American culture or is there more to it?

DL: At first it was a setting detail (to describe the atmosphere in a character’s home) but as I continued to write and learn more about cascarones they became a symbol. That’s why I named the book “The Confetti Girl,” to bring out the symbolism of the confetti and the joy that you get from that activity of breaking something to reach the beauty that’s locked inside. (At readings, Lopez loves sharing the cascarones tradition with people who don’t know what they are. Kids love it.)

JW: In the acknowledgements, you thank a group of fellow writers with whom you have been meeting on a regular basis. How important is it to have that kind of support?

DL: My group Daedalus (that includes five other San Antonio writers) has been meeting once a month for about five years. So they saw and critiqued most of “Confetti Girl,” except the last couple of chapters. I think it’s important for a writer to get feedback from others who are outside of the story and who don’t have the emotional investment in it that you have. The other thing I found useful was simply knowing that I had to turn in some new pages, having that deadline. Not wanting to disappoint them, kept me writing. It’s a wonderful support system.JW: “Confetti Girl” is your debut novel for young readers. How did you go about finding a publisher?

DL: The job of a writer has three parts – writing, publishing and marketing. You have to learn the business side of writing, and I have learned a few things along the way. My first book was published by a university press and my second one by a New York publisher. With university presses you don’t need an agent; you can submit yourself. The big New York publishers, however, won’t even look at your work unless it comes to them through an agent. Finding an agent that shares your vision can be a challenge but luckily there are many ways to go about it. I think the best avenue is to attend a writers’ conference. The one I went to was the Latino Writers Conference in Albuquerque where I met my future agent face to face. I gave her two chapters of “Confetti Girl” to read, and she was very encouraging (and later agreed to represent Lopez). So my advice is: Do some research before going to a conference to make sure that agents representing your genre of literature will be there. Otherwise you’ll

be wasting your time. This past May, I had the chance to return to that same conference in Albuquerque as a success story. It was very satisfying.

JW: Is it easier to find a publisher for young readers’ literature than for adult fiction?

DL: Yes, there’s a bigger market for young fiction. In fact, publishers and booksellers are so hungry for young readers’ books. I have also noticed that when I do readings a lot of adults will buy several copies to give to their grandchildren or as presents to friends’ kids. People are more likely to buy for a child than for an adult. And then if you can get the librarians and the schools behind it, there’s definitely a good market.

JW: When you encounter your readers at readings and school workshops, what are some of the messages you want to impart to them?

DL: A lot of them tell me they want to write but they don’t have any interesting stories to tell. What I want them to walk away with when I visit them is the understanding that just being alive is a story to tell. They may not think that their experience is interesting because it is part of their everyday life but it’s a mystery to someone else. The reason we love literature is because it gives us the opportunity to live so many different lives and see so many different points of view.

JW: Do you plan to continue writing for middle- schoolers?

DL: Yes. I am finishing my next book for the same age group. It’s called “Breath Sisters” right now although that may not be the final title. It’s about the choking game. My former students would engage in this horrible game without realizing the danger. I wanted to write a book that’s kind of a cautionary tale about the choking game but also one that explores the motivations for doing risky things. Why do good kids do this type of thing? It’s been a challenging subject to write about because I need to show the appeal (of engaging in dangerous behavior) without glamorizing it. I don’t want to write a preachy book, so that’s the challenge.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • Lopez’s comments have been edited slightly for space and clarity. “Confetti Girl” is available wherever books are sold. The paperback version came out in May 2010.



http://tpr.org/


Book and Author Luncheon Features Alton Brown By Claudia Maceo-Sharp

Now in its 19th year, the annual San Antonio Express-News Book and Author Luncheon, whose proceeds benefit the Cancer Therapy

and Treatment Center’s Phase I Clinical Research Program, is set for Oct. 18 in the ballroom of Marriott Rivercenter.

In recent years, this premier literary event, organized by committees of volunteers, raises on the average $200,000 for important cancer research. Steve Bennett, Express-News book editor, once again has lined up a delectable group of authors in an assortment of genres to appeal to the discriminating palates of San Antonians, many returning year after year. Attendees will once again be in the capable and entertaining hands of maitre d’ Colleen Grissom. Highly recommended, the entre du jour is Alton Brown of Food Network fame. Those familiar with his book Good Eats: The Early Years, will be delighted to see that Good Eats 2: The Middle Years, published by Abrams, debuts in October.

The sequel picks up where the bestselling first volume left off. Showcasing everything Brown fans (and they are legion) have ever wanted to know about his award-winning television show, The Middle Years

is chock-full of behind-the-scenes photographs and trivia, science-of-food information, cooking tips, and — of course — recipes, according to the publisher.

The eclectic nature of this year’s menu of authors parallels the diversity of San Antonio. Currently residing in San Antonio, Leila Meacham complements Brown at the table. Her book, Roses, is a multigenerational novel many have compared to Gone With the Wind, set in Texas during a slightly later era. For guests’ dining pleasure, native San Antonian John Phillip Santos shares his second memoir, The Farthest Home Is in an Empire of Fire, published this spring. Plan to be surprised by Frank Deford. While he may well be recognized as a successful sportswriter, Publisher’s Weekly calls his latest publication, Bliss Remembered, a poignant historical romance. New Yorker travel writer Ian Frazier provides the exotic flare with his travel tales of Siberia. Finally, when you thought all are sated and ready for a nap, there’s always room for Bonny Becker’s fresh fare, Bedtime for Bear. After which, what more could one want than to curl up with a good book and then nap.

For more information, visit Cancer Therapy and Treatment Center’s Web site at ctrc.net.


ctrc.net


http://bradbraune.com/


http://cynthiaclarkphotos.com


Eclectics122-136

Eclectics122-136


Ben Brewer Heading up Downtown Alliance and Centro San AntonioBy Angela RabkePhotography Greg Harrison

The Downtown Alliance offices are nestled into the fabric of Houston Street—well, technically, they are under Houston Street, but a well-placed atrium fills

the space with light, and there is an optimistic sort of energy in the old Maverick Building. It’s appropriate that this organization, dedicated “to making downtown San Antonio a better place to live, work, eat and play,” is located in the first significant restoration on Houston Street. Built in 1876, it was the first Houston street building to be restored due to revitalization efforts in the 1980s.

Leading the revitalization cause is San Antonio’s longtime champion for upward and inward growth, Ben Brewer. Brewer started the Downtown Alliance in 1994.

“My training as an architect is where the passion started,” he said. “I love urban areas. That wonderful mix when you combine the buildings and people is what truly defines a city.”

His passion for downtown improvement also led to the creation of Centro San Antonio, a partner organization that supports the Downtown Alliance with three programs: Ambassador Amigos, Maintenance Amigos and Streetscaping Amigos. The group provides services and improvements as a supplement to those provided by the city of San Antonio. From the inception, Brewer and his organizations have concentrated on making the downtown area (extending from the Pearl complex to Blue Star to the UTSA Downtown Campus) the very best place to live and play in San Antonio.

“Live” is a key word in the stated mission of Downtown Alliance. Downtown San Antonio has always been a draw for tourists—the River Walk, the missions and the Alamo always have been popular destinations, and as a result, the Alamo City is the No. 1 destination in Texas, with 20 million visitors per year, most of them recreational.

The real challenge, Brewer said, is getting people who already live in San Antonio to spend time downtown. “City centers define communities, and that is why it is so important to do what we do. A lot of people have lost touch with downtown, and it has changed a lot in the last 10 years. Or maybe they only come downtown once a year for Fiesta, which is a lot of fun, but they might get frustrated about parking or crowds, and miss out on what this area offers the rest of the year.”

Keeping these folks, as well as tourists, in mind, the alliance recently began the Downtown app for smart phones. Launched in July, the app already has had well over a quarter-million hits. The application, which is populated with information from the Downtown Alliance Web site, is a first for a downtown organization. “Basically, it is a mobile Web site,” Brewer said. “You can type in a restaurant, and it will give you walking directions and tell you where to park. It’s particularly helpful for people that aren’t familiar with downtown.”

The thoughtful use of technology fits nicely into Brewer’s progressive perspective on growth; he spends a lot of time thinking about creating a San Antonio that is relevant for younger generations, like Millennials. “This



generation has always been wired, so the Downtown app is natural for them. But beyond technology, this generation is concerned about their environment, and the goal is to create a really great, relevant environment for them.” Because this generation is drawn to urban living, many projects that are in the works enhance the livability of downtown.

One such project is the establishment of a street car program. While street cars would be new to San Antonio, many cities utilize them for transportation, and Brewer has toured many operations around to country as part of San Antonio’s planning team. Local streetcars would serve River North and connect through Southtown to Pearl, and also would serve an east/west alignment from UTSA to St. Paul’s Square, making it easier to navigate downtown without hassling with a car. It’s one of many projects in the works for what Mayor Julian Castro has dubbed the “Decade of Downtown.”

During the interview, Brewer mentioned several other significant projects: a new federal courthouse; a new downtown emergency services center combining fire, police and EMS; a new home for the UTSA School of Architecture in the vicinity of the downtown campus, and a new Municipal Complex near the existing City Hall.

Reflecting on the “Millennials,” Brewer also discussed the need for affordable residential space downtown. “The master plan we are working on envisions 4,000 to 6,000 units of affordable housing, resembling the Pearl District in Portland,” he said. Additionally, the Pearl complex soon will offer more residential space. Providing residential space is critical to the maintenance of a vibrant downtown, he said.

All of these efforts will be defined largely by a visioning process called “San Antonio 2020.” The results of this process will serve as a roadmap for downtown, defining its future direction. Given the scope of the projects, strong partnerships are in order, and Brewer said he believes those relationships are in place.

“There is a great dynamic right now with our mayor and the city manager -- both are very passionate about downtown,” Brewer said. “This plan will provide great focus for downtown.” Solidifying the partnership is a new umbrella organization, the Centro Partnership, which will provide a public/private partnership to guide and shepherd growth and development of the center city.

To learn more about the Downtown Alliance or Centro San Antonio, visit www.downtownsanantonio.org.


www.downtownsanantonio.org


Fall Art Festivals in San AntonioBy Linsey Whitehead

It’s Fall again, which means cool, crisp air, falling leaves and Fall Art Festivals, an annual event celebrating the rich culture of San Antonio. Fall Art Festivals offers many

wonderful opportunities to sample the rich and diverse cultural life that drives the heartbeat of this colorful city. Visitors can find everything from photography in galleries and jazz music in the park to accordions on the river, parading calaveras and a mariachi extravaganza. Most of these festivals began as grassroots efforts and expressions by individual artists and organizations. They now define the creative, artistic and cultural character of San Antonio.

Fall Art Festivals is coordinated by the City of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs. Most events are free and open to the public. Visit the Fall Art Festivals web site at www.fallartfestivals.com for more information.

FOTOSEPTIEMBRE USASeptember 1-30, Citywide

This annual international photography festival is a unique, eclectic, month-long celebration of the photographic arts. Dozens of exhibits showing traditional photographs, digital images, photography based works, photographic installations, funky camera, and alternative processes, are presented in galleries, museums, art centers and other exhibition spaces in San Antonio, the Texas Hill Country,

and in the festival’s web galleries. All exhibits are free and open to the public. For more information please visit the festival’s web site, www.safotofestival.com.

JAZZ’SALIVESeptember 18-19, Travis Park

Jazz’SAlive presents the best local, regional, national and international jazz musicians in a two-day outdoor festival in San Antonio’s beautiful Travis Park. Local acts perform in the afternoon, and national artists are showcased in the evening. Jazz’SAlive also hosts the Starlight Salute Gala and the Jazz’SAlive Champagne Brunch, both at the historic St. Anthony Hotel, by the park. Jazz’SAlive is organized by the City of San Antonio and the San Antonio Parks Foundation. All concerts are free and open to the public. For more information please visit the web site at www.saparksfoundation.org.

INTERNATIONAL ACCORDION FESTIVALOctober 15-17, La Villita

The International Accordion Festival presents richly diverse squeezebox-driven musical traditions from all over the world. The festival also organizes workshops by master accordionists, dance instructors and accordion makers. Open-mike sessions, food booths, and plenty of dancing space make the accordion festival a wonderful


www.fallartfestivals.com

www.fallartfestivals.com

www.safotofestival.com

www.saparksfoundation.org


Fall Art Festivals in San AntonioBy Linsey Whitehead

opportunity for visitors to interact with these vibrant musical traditions. The International Accordion Festival is a free two-day outdoor festival, open to the public. For more information please visit the festival’s web site, www.internationalaccordionfestival.org.

DíA DE LOS MUERTOSNovember 2, Citywide

Día de Los Muertos is a colorful flurry of traditional and contemporary festivities that celebrate ancestral remembrance and harvest season rituals from Central Mexico’s indigenous cultures. Observed on November 2 and during most of the month; exhibits and events that include altars, ofrendas, calaveras, flores, pan de muerto, chocolate, visual arts, poetry and music are presented throughout the city. The festival is a mainstay of San Antonio’s folklore and a vivid expression of its cultural heritage. Exhibits and events are free and open to the public. For more information please visit the festival’s web site, www.sacalaveras.com.

MARIACHI VARGAS EXTRAVAGANZANovember 28 - December 5, Citywide

The Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza music festival attracts thousands of fans to the Alamo City for what is the largest

and longest running Latin music event of its kind in Texas. Included is a mariachi-inspired art exhibit, student mariachi serenades on the River Walk, workshops, mariachi group and vocal competitions and a concert featuring the world renowned Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan. For more information please visit the festival’s web site, www.mariachimusic.com.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Photo Credits:


Page 126 (L-R)

Hombre al AguaNo Escape: Photographs of the Brothers Montiel Klint Photo by Gerardo Montiel KlintFotoSeptiembre USA Exhibit atSan Antonio Musuem of Art

Dia de los MuertosCourtesy City of San AntonioOffice of Cultural Affairs

(L-R)

International Accordion FestivalPhoto by Douglas Manger

Mariachi Vargas de TecalitlanCourtesy Cynthia Munozwww.mariachimusic.com

www.internationalaccordionfestival.org

www.sacalaveras.com

www.mariachimusic.com

www.mariachimusic.com


¡Viva Huevolution!San Anto Cultural Arts’ Huevos Rancheros Gala and Silent Art AuctionBy Melinda Higgins

King Huevo Santiago Garcia and Queen Huevo Megan Kromer


Something different happens on the West Side the first Saturday in October: hundreds of people descend on the Plaza Guadalupe to buy

local art, pay homage to King and Queen Huevo, feast on Huevos Rancheros, and participate in community and economic development by reinvesting in and celebrating the cultura y vida of the West Side. In short, they participate in a Huevolution.

That’s what San Anto Cultural Arts’ (SACA) annual Huevos Rancheros Gala and Silent Art Auction brings to anyone who attends the event—a full-out Huevolution. SACA always has challenged individuals from other parts of San Antonio to take a closer look at the West Side and see it for its true beauty and dignity -- a community that values family and a neighborhood that is decorated by murals, churches, creeks and landmarks. SACA’s Huevos Rancheros Gala celebrates the deep, rich traditions of the West Side and invites people from all over to share in the

festivities and be a part of the area’s reinvestment.

Most of all, the Huevos Rancheros Gala is fun.

This parody on the traditional fundraising gala is fun for people of all ages and backgrounds, and the festivities Oct. 2 will be no exception: breakfast will be catered by Estela’s Mexican Restaurant, DJ JJ Lopez will be spinning hits alongside other great San Antonio musicians, and King Huevo Santiago Garcia (arts and West Side advocate and poet) and Queen Huevo Megan Kromer (nonprofit advocate and arts supporter) will reign over the day.

The gala runs from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 2 at Plaza Guadalupe, 1327 Guadalupe St. Admission is by donation because SACA is committed to having individuals of all fintancial means be able to attend. For more information, contact SACA at 210-226-7466. ¡Viva Huevolution!


Artistic Destination:


T hink New Braunfels, and no doubt your thoughts turn to water, water everywhere: picturesque Landa Park with its spring-fed

swimming pool, top-rated Schlitterbahn water park, and fond memories of floating down the Guadalupe River in an inner tube with an ice chest filled with frosty beverages bobbing by your side.

All very cool things indeed, but there’s another side to this small Texas town that has nothing to do with getting soaking wet. Founded in 1845 by German settlers, New Braunfels boasts an equally refreshing, eclectic blend of visual and performing arts, great museums and historic districts just 20 miles northeast of San Antonio.

Take the BraunTex Performing Arts Theatre, for

example, celebrating its 10th anniversary season this year.

“We’re a well-kept secret,” says Janet Allen, artistic director of the 578-seat historic structure that brings in professional touring groups about eight to 10 times a year. “It’s truly a step back in time once you walk in the doors because we still have the original theater seats.”

In 2000, the theater underwent an approximate $1.5 million interior renovation, but “We’ve tried to keep everything on the outside looking exactly like it did in 1942,” Allen says.

The 2010-11 season kicks off Sept. 11 with “Vox Audio,” and on Oct. 9 and 17, former Seinfeld writer

Art Is The New Cool in New Braunfels By Julie Catalano

T


Pat Hazell presents his one-man comedy, “The Wonder Bread Years.”

The theater has helped to breathe new life into the downtown historic district, Allen says, along with the addition of restaurants such as Myron’s Prime Steakhouse, Huisache Grill and Wine Bar, Friesenhaus, and the brand-new 2Tarts Bakery and Catering. “Before now, the streets pretty well curled up at night. Downtown New Braunfels is starting to get a different face.”

Food – sausage, to be exact – is the centerpiece of the venerable Wurstfest (wurstfest.com) celebrating its 50th anniversary this year from Oct. 29-Nov. 7. But art is also taking center stage with a commissioned mural by artist Brent McCarthy that covers the north end of the Wursthalle.

“We’re having some very special guests from Germany this year,” says director of Wurst relations Herb Skoog, including Johannas von Oppersdorff-Solms-Braunfels, a descendant of Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, the founder of New Braunfels. Fan favorite Freiwillige Feuerwehr Bonbaden, a volunteer fire department band from Germany, will be performing most days of Wurstfest, Skoog says.

It’s not all oompah bands and lederhosen on the music scene in New Braunfels – not that there’s anything wrong with that. Some of the best country music this side of Nashville can be heard booming out of the oldest dance hall in Texas in the Gruene Historic District. Who has played the legendary Gruene Hall? Who hasn’t? Everybody from the homegrown Wimberley Volunteer Fireants to superstars such as Jerry Lee Lewis, the Dixie Chicks, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Leon Russell, whose “Last Intimate Performance Tour” is set for Sept. 10. A complete performance calendar can be found at gruenehall.com.

For a more sedate artistic experience, the New Braunfels Art League (newbraunfelsartleague.com) offers classes and workshops in watercolor, oil, acrylics, pastel and more, in a beautiful 1913 historic home.

“Classes are for all ages and all abilities, from children to adults, and beginner to accomplished artist,” says president Kathy Perales. One of the highlights of NBAL is the 45th annual ARToberfest Oct. 3-Nov.


gruenehall.com


10, a juried, regional, all-media fine art show that expects about 60 participants this year. “It’s open to everyone,” Perales says. Submission guidelines are at newbraunfelsartleague.com.

For a relatively small town (population 51,800), New Braunfels is awash in museums – about a dozen of them. The Sophienburg museum (sophienburg.com) takes visitors through a cultural and historical journey of New Braunfels’ beginnings. The Museum of Texas Handmade Furniture is located in Heritage Village, a collection of historic structures relocated to an 11.5-acre site (nbheritagevillage.com). The New Braunfels Railroad Museum (newbraunfelsrailroadmuseum.org) is dedicated to the preservation of railroad artifacts and education.

Even heavy metal has a different meaning in New Braunfels. On Sept. 11-12, the seventh annual Texas Metal Arts Festival brings together 40 Texas artists including goldsmiths, tinsmiths, silversmiths, blacksmiths and sculptors in ongoing demonstrations of skills, tricks and techniques in transforming raw metal into fine art, jewelry, folk art and sculptures (texasmetalarts.com). The “Red Hot ‘n’ Hammered” weekend will feature red hot licks from the E Flat Porch Band and Friends. Very cool.

For more information, visit newbraunfels.com.

Photo Credits:


Page 130

Band shell and fountainIn the circlePhoto by John Mohar

Page 131

Brauntex Performing Arts TheatreCourtesy Janet Allen

Page 132

(Above)Mathis Family at WurstfestPhoto Courtesy New BraunfelsChamber of Commerce

(Below)Comal County Courthouse On Main PlazaPhoto Courtesy New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce

(Above)Gruene Water TowerPhoto Courtesy New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce

(Below)On stage at Gruene HallPhoto Courtesy New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce

newbraunfelsartleague.com

sophienburg.com

nbheritagevillage.com

newbraunfelsrailroadmuseum.org

newbraunfelsrailroadmuseum.org

texasmetalarts.com

newbraunfels.com


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As you traverse the cobblestone walkways of the River Walk or stroll the streets of downtown,

Picture This: Mosaics In the Center City



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images by greg harrison

treat yourself to magnificent mosaics at every turn.



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september-october 2010 issue

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