Arts Alive San Antonio

The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts will be alive with the sound of music and laughter in the next few days. First up is “Blood and Holly: Christmas West of the Pecos” featuring one of San Antonio’s favorite stage personalities, Jaston Williams of the Greater Tuna fame. In this new one-man show, “Jaston Williams remembers Christmas in childhood as a warped hybrid of Toyland and Franco’s Spain.” Yes, that’s how the show is being promoted. And he “will leave you in stitches.” We believe it. (Dec. 4 at 8 p.m.; Dec. 5 at 5 and 8 p.m. Alvarez Theater; tickets $35-$40; www.tobincenter.org/box-office/2020-12/blood-and-holly

The music will follow with San Antonio jazz master Doc Watkins and His Trio performing music from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and other holiday tunes, cabaret-style, also in the Alvarez Theater. The Tobin wants you to know that the tickets are “extremely limited.” Fortunately, there will be 18 performances. (Tickets are $55, $260 for a table of four; Dec. 8 – Dec. 22,  times vary, so check the Tobin site www.tobincenter.org, or call 210-223-8624.

And while we are talking about the Tobin, there is another fun event you should know about – the outdoor Holiday Art Market scheduled for this Saturday, Dec. 5. We checked out the offerings and it looks like there will be something for everyone, from artisan pottery and unusual leather goods to artsy jewelry. Foods, too! (10 a.m.- 6 p.m., free; free parking in the Tobin Center Parking Garage and surrounding streets.) Masks are required.

This is also a good time to visit the San Antonio Museum of Art and see the current special exhibit: “Exquisite Adornment: Turkmen and Miao Jewelry,” a show of mostly silver jewelry from ethnic groups we know little about – the Turkmen people of Central Asia and the Miao people of southwestern China. There are also examples of traditional adornments made by the Hill Tribes from the border region of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. This is not casual jewelry. The pieces are mostly large and ornate and worn for special occasions and ceremonies.  What attracted our attention, in particular, were the intricate and heavy dorsal ornaments. (More about the show in a later article.) SAMA, 200 West Jones Avenue, 78215, www.samuseum.org; closed Mondays.

Let us remind you that you can still see the new “Nutcracker” this weekend and beyond. To minimize stage crowding, Ballet San Antonio has essentially reinvented the beloved Christmas classic, seamlessly incorporating live dancing with computer generated effects to once again tell the magical story set to the beautiful Tchaikovsky score.  (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 13, at the Tobin Center, Check last week’s NEWS ROUNDUP for times and tickets.)

Also continuing are virtual performances of “Fully Committed” at the Public Theatre, as well as access to the filmed version of “A Christmas Carol” that benefits the Classic Theater.  (Check last week’s NEWS ROUNDUP for details.)

Another classical work, Mozart’s “Magic Flute” has also been newly filmed and it will be in movie theaters starting Dec. 5. This is an abridged, English-language version of the opera produced by the Metropolitan Opera. Tony-Award winner Julie Taymor “conjures a spellbinding staging replete with kaleidoscopes of color and parades of puppetry,” says the press release. To find a theater in your area go www.fathomevents.com/events/the-magic-flute-1 and type in your location. For a preview, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j0xKCTm1x0

At the Woodlawn Theater, you can enjoy Winter Wonderland performances in their Holiday Cabaret Series, both in-person and virtually for the next three weekends. This weekend’s performers are Mike Parisi, Melissa Gonzalez, Myles Harris and Sami Serrano. (Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m. for tickets go to www.woodlawntheatre.org) The clever Woodlawn folks have also created a Virtual Giving Tree through Amazon and they are hoping you’ll be generous. Go on the company’s site to find the tree and see what they hope to get. Could be fun!

This is also the time for the last monthly mini-fest presented by the San Antonio Film Festival. Offered in this final round are five feature films and blocks of short films dealing with, respectively, culinary themes, growing up, family dynamics, and foreign language shorts. Because of COVID, all screenings are virtual. To find out more about the films and how to watch go to www.safilm.vom

News for artists: Contemporary Art Month is inviting artists to submit their work for the 2021 CAM Perennial Exhibition. Bexar County artists working with digital and video media, and those who have an interest in the moving image, should submit their entries by Dec. 30, 2020. Apply at www.contemporaryartmonth.org.

And the San Antonio Art League & Museum has also issued a call for artists to submit their work for the 2021 Juried Exhibition; Deadline is Feb. 26, 2021. Entries should be submitted through Entrythingy.com.
To find out more check out www.saalm.org/91.html.

And there’s this: The City of San Antonio is launching a campaign, named What Will It Take, to convince citizens to take “simple actions to slow the spread of COVID-19.” It’s a multi-media campaign that, among other things, will feature original songs from San Antonio performers, such as Alyson Alonzo, Santiago Jimenez, Azul Barrientos, Shelly Lares, Michael Carrillo and the current city poet laureate Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson. Expect to hear them on radio, TV and digital advertisements.