News Roundup, Sept.9, 2021
Good News: The Public Theater of San Antonio, the company that resides at the San Pedro Playhouse, is launching its new season with a live, in-person, musical, like in the “good old days” before the pandemic. The show has a somewhat awkward title – tick, tick… BOOM! – and a cast of only three actors, but it sounds like the right show to propel us forward, beyond the dark days of COVID.
New York-based director Ken Urso, who directed a couple of shows at the Public in years past, said he was happy to return to San Antonio to work on BOOM, which is really the story of the man who created it, composer Jonathan Larson. The main character, Jon, is an aspiring composer who dreams of writing a successful Broadway musical but few doors are opening for him. Meanwhile, his good friend, Michael, who abandoned showbiz for a more predictable occupation, is making good money, and his girlfriend Susan would like Jon to do the same, and leave New York to start a family. So, Jon has to make a big decision. The musical is about 75% song – rock style songs, noted Urso.
“I had the CD of the show and I listened to it all the time. There was something about the message that I just loved, and the message of the show is this: You can either choose love of fear,” said the director. “Do you follow what you love or do you stop pursuing what you love out of fear, and opt for just making money?
“It’s the right musical for this time,” he added. “We have all learned about our own mortality from this pandemic. We don’t know what is going to happen; tomorrow is not guaranteed. So, we should take advantage of the moment and follow what we love.”
Urso also pointed out that if Larson had given up his dream at that crucial moment in his life, he would have never had a second chance because he died five years later on the very day that his other successful musical, “Rent,” had its off-Broadway premiere.
BOOM, which preceded Rent was, running in New York when the attacks of 9/11 occurred, recalled Urso, “and now we are marking the 20th anniversary of 9/11. It feels like a full-circle moment,” he observed.
In another interesting coincidence, the actor who is portraying Jon in San Antonio, Chaz Ingraham, is an old chum of Urso’s from their young years in Madison, Wisconsin. The other two actors are Lauren Campion as Susan, and Justin Forward as Michael. The two also play a plurality of other characters. A live band on stage will accompany the singers. Choreography is by Andre Abrams, and music direction by Billie Whitaker. (Sept. 10 – Oct. 17; Thursday-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.; San Pedro Playhouse, 800 W. Ashby, 78212, 210-733-7258; for tickets go to www.thepublicsa.org)
More good news: A lot is going on at the Overtime Theater, as well.Currently running is “Golden Age,”
a show that brings three classic radio tales to life on the Overtime’s stage: Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Sherlock Homes and Frankenstein. Drama, comedy and suspense, all in a one evening of entertainment courtesy of playwright Scott McDowell. Performers include Elise Hernandez, Sharon Beales, Jessica Roberts, Matthew Roberts, Priscilla Issac and Gideon Njoroge. (Sept. 10 – Oct. 2, Fridays-Saturdaysat 8 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 19th at 3 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. tickets $15)
For extra laughs, the Overtime has comedy improv shows Fridays at 10:30 p.m., and the comedy improv group “The Denials” Saturdays, also at 10:30 p.m. (Friday tickets are $5 at the door; Saturday tickets are $8, also at the door; reservations are not available.) The Denials have been in the improv business for 12 years and have a large local following, so get to the box office early. Should you want to learn the ropes of improv comedy, you can join free Monday night workshops at the theater, and maybe end up appearing on stage with the pros. (Overtime Theater, 5409 Bandera Rd., Ste. 205; 78238; 210-557-7562; www.theovertimetheater@gmail.com)
The Classic Theater of San Antonio has just launched its 14th season with Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”
performed at the Botanical Garden, which is the perfect environment for this particular play since most of the action takes place in the Forest of Arden. Unhappy and disenfranchised characters hide in and wander through the forest where they meet each other. “The result is a hilarious conglomeration of cross-dressing, foolery, songs, questionable poetry, and laughs aplenty” says the press release. (Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays at 7:30 p.m., through Sept. 26; 555 Funston Place, 78209; safety protocols followed with social distancing for both actors and audiences. To contact the box office call 210-589-8450; You have to bring your own folding chairs; www.classictheatre.org)
We also want to remind you that “Cinderella” is still dancing the night away at the Woodlawn Theater – or the afternoon, as will be the case this Saturday at 2 p.m. Music by Rodgers & Hammerstein and libretto by Douglas Carter Beane. (Regular performances Friday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with an additional 7 p.m. show on Sept.16; Woodlawn Theater, 1920 Fredericksburg Rd., 210-267-8388; info@woodlawntheatre.org)
On September 10 & 11, the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, will host comedienne Heather Land who is on the road with her The Age Gap Tour. Her videos are hugely popular as she talks about her life and her path to becoming a comic. Opening for her will be Jennifer Fulwiler. (Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, Tobin Center, 100 Auditorium Circle, at 8 p.m. both nights; tickets $35-$45, Meet & Greet tickets $100 -arrive at 6:30p.m.; 210-223-8624; tickets@tobincenter.org)
The locally popular comedian, Carlos Mencia, will once again make San Antonians laugh this weekend at the Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club. (Sept.10 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; Sept. 11 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., and Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m.; LOL Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410; tables are sold for two, four or six people, $60 – $180.
Another big event that was scheduled to take place at the Tobin has been turned into a virtual showcase. Five arts organizations came together for this Celebration Gala that involves and benefits the following companies: Ballet San Antonio, The Public Theater of San Antonio, The San Antonio Chamber Choir, YOSA, The Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, and The San Antonio Museum of Art. In fact, this collaborative effort was conceived by SAMA’s chief development officer, Mary Burch. Performances by the four performing arts organizations can be watched at: KENS 5, Sept. 18 at 11:30 a.m.; Fox 29 KABB, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m.; and News 4 WOAI, Sept. 19 at 10 a.m.
Since this was meant to be a fundraiser for the five partners, the organizers are now selling raffle tickets for four big prizes, including a $50,000 H-E-B gift card. And there are also items that you can bid on. You can find more information at www.samuseum.org/celebration.
On the visual arts front, the San Antonio Art League and Museum (SAALM) has big news. The oldest art organization in the city has just announced the name of its 2021 Artist of the Year: Raul Rene Gonzalez, a San Antonio-based painter and multidisciplinary artist whose solo exhibition will officially open this Sunday, 3-5 p.m. Gonzalez’s themes are unusual as are some of his materials and methods of creating art. In addition to painting, sculpting and creating installations, he is also a performance artist and dancer. More about Gonzalez in an upcoming article. (SAALM, 130 King William St., 78204; 210-223-1140, www.saalm.org. The exhibit closes Oct.16.)
Artpace is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a big auction and art sale. Collector and Artpace board member, Janet Lennie Flohr, has donated 65 works by 27 artists from her Hare & Hound Press collection in support of Artpace. Hare & Hound Press has a sterling reputation for its printmaking expertise, and it has worked with many, many San Antonio artists and others, including Artpace’s artists-in-residence. Proceeds from the sale will start an endowment for the residency program. The two-part event consists of an online benefit auction Sept. 18-28, via Sotheby’s website, and an art sale at Artpace, both online and in-person. The art can be viewed Sept. 16-19. A public reception is scheduled for Sept. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m., to launch the fundraising effort. (Artpace, 445 N. Main, 78205; 210-212-4900; info@artpace.org)
In music, two events have attracted our attention. The first is an appearance by Earth, Wind and Fire at the Majestic Theater Sept 15 at 8 p.m. The group hardly needs an introduction. They’ve been around for 50 years, won all the awards, including the Kennedy Center Honors, recorded multiple albums and sold millions of them, not just in the U.S. but all over the globe. (Majestic Theater, 224 E. Houston St., 78205; 210-226-3333; tickets $69.50; www.majesticempire.com/earth-wind-and-fire)
The other is definitely more local in character. Americana artist, Garrett T. Capps, that we introduced to you weeks ago, is having an album-release party Friday, Sept. 10, to mark the release of his “I love San Antone” record. Participating artists include Santiago Jimenez, rocker Mitch Webb & the Swindles, and country singer Madelyn Victoria. (Sept 10 at 6 p.m. at Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s, free; www.papertigersatx.com)