Tag: Theatre Memphis

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Theater Theater Feature

Till We Reach That Day

The cast of Ragtime shines. (Photo: Carla McDonald)

The final production of Theatre Memphis’ 100th season is Ragtime, a Tony-winning musical with themes relevant to contemporary audiences, though the show is set at the turn of the 20th century. All aspects of this production shine, from the meticulously cultivated details of the set and costumes to the ensemble and individual performances of the cast.

Ragtime, based on the novel of the same name by E.L. Doctorow, is an emotional journey through topics of racism, classism, and sexism. Though the subject material is somber, the musical is rife with humor and hope. The multifaceted story is told through the eyes of a variety of characters with varying backgrounds living in the United States sometime just before the onset of World War I. It follows characters ranging from Tateh, a Jewish widower immigrating to America with his young daughter, to Booker T. Washington to Evelyn Nesbit, a vaudeville performer and 20th-century sex symbol.

I was afforded the opportunity to speak with the assistant director of Ragtime, Claire D. Kolheim, over the phone. Kolheim is a former resident company member of Playhouse on the Square, and in 2011 she played the role of Sarah in Ragtime. As part of the directorial team, Kolheim pointed out to me that no detail was left to chance. I mentioned that I appreciated the effect of having the orchestra present on the balcony of the set. “Having the orchestra exposed was an intentional move on the production team’s part,” Kolheim says. This decision was cleverly worked out in order to create the poignant moment where a coffin is fully lowered into the orchestra pit.

Despite the heavy themes of injustice explored in Ragtime, hope for the future generation permeates the show. Ragtime returns again and again to an idea that every parent will recognize: We must build a better tomorrow for our children. Emphatically sung by Coalhouse, played by Justin Allen Tate, “Make Them Hear You” highlights the importance of sharing true stories of injustice. When I ask Kolheim her thoughts on the motif of hope in the show, she replies with a poignant thought. “My friend, he always says that ‘We are our ancestors’ dreams realized.’ And, as Black people, you think about the injustices of slavery and the injustices of segregation and the lynchings and the mobbings and the hosing down, and you never think in that moment there’s going to be a glimmer of hope for tomorrow, but when you realize how far we have come as a people, there is hope for tomorrow. We may never see it in our lifetime, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible. … That’s something that’s inherent in the show.”

Another central thread running throughout the musical is sexism. This is mostly realized through the character called simply “Mother.” As Kolheim describes her, “She’s in her own prison. She’s in a society where a woman is seen and not heard. … She’s stuck in a patriarchal society that undermines her intelligence.” Mother is a dynamic character, who at the beginning of the show is content with her place both in her community and in her own household. We see that contentment change throughout the course of the musical, and again, Kolheim highlights the importance of details in this play. “Throughout the show, her hair and her attire start loosening up.” So the audience is able to see Mother quite literally loosening the restraints that have been systematically placed on her.

With performances ranging from witty and humorous to powerful and emotionally raw, the cast of Ragtime delivers a solid show that will leave audiences with something to think about long after the final bow is taken. During intermission, one bartender remarked to me, “That last one always gets me. I cry every time.” The “last one” she was referring to was the number, “Till We Reach That Day.” As I myself had teared up during the song, I knew what she meant.

This show is just as relevant in 2022 as it would have been 100 years ago. Thankfully, the ending is one of uplifting promise. As Kolheim puts it, “Together, we are stronger than we are apart, and I think that that is what the playwrights were hoping that any production of Ragtime would help us see.”

Ragtime runs through Sunday, June 26th, at the Lohrey Theatre (Theatre Memphis).

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Creative Aging Closes This Season’s Senior Arts Series at Theatre Memphis

Courtesy Creative Aging
Gary Beard

At 16, you get your driver’s license. At 18, you are an “adult.” At 21, you can drink. And then what are you supposed to look forward to when it comes to age-determined milestones? Surely not that, at 45, you’re due for a colonoscopy. At least, here in Memphis, once you turn 65, you are eligible for Creative Aging’s programming, which, through partnerships with local artists, arts organizations, and senior communities, offers affordable arts classes and special performances and events just for seniors.

“There’s a lot of scientific evidence that active arts engagement can do amazing things to stimulate the mind and improve vitality, the sort of social-emotional outlook in older adults,” says Creative Aging director Mia Henley, who adds that older adults with an active arts engagement, when compared to those without, are less likely to be hospitalized, less likely to experience falls, and less likely to have a decline in motor skills like strength, speed, and dexterity.

With Shelby County’s population above the age of 65 predicted to grow from 135,281 in 2020 to 161,747 by 2030, programs offered by Creative Aging are becoming more and more vital to what will be 17 percent of the total population by the next decade. “Being a senior today is not what it used to be,” says Henley. “It’s a long time. It’s 65 to 105. That’s 40 years, and you’re changing, and your interests and your abilities and maybe your health and family situation continue to change during that period. … We have these wonderful assets in Memphis. And a lot of times they’re busy in the afternoon with kids, but they’re silent during the day, and that’s when seniors want to do things.” Currently, the nonprofit has more than 120 artists, all of whom are paid, teaching classes and workshops, ranging in topics from creative writing to playing the dulcimer to learning tap dance. 

In addition to classes, the group sponsors performances in various senior communities and throughout Memphis. For Wednesday, June 15th, Theatre Memphis and musical director Gary Beard have put together a musical revue with performers from past and present productions singing tunes from shows performed during Theatre Memphis’ 100-year history. This show will mark the last in Creative Aging’s sixth season of the Senior Arts Series of theatrical and musical performances on the Theatre Memphis stage. The 2022-2023 season is set to begin in August with a performance by Swingtime Explosion Big Band.

For more information on upcoming events or how to volunteer and donate, visit creativeagingmidsouth.org or check out the nonprofit on Facebook (@camemphis) and Instagram (@creativeagingmidsouth). 

Curtains Up! Theatre Memphis Celebrates 100 years & Beyond, Theatre Memphis, Wednesday, June 15th, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m., $5.

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Priscilla Presley to be Honored at Theatre Memphis

Priscilla Presley (Credit: Christopher Ameruoso)

Priscilla Presley will be honored at a black tie celebration, “Priscilla Presley: The Artist, The Woman,”  July 22nd at Theatre Memphis.

“This is a community thank you to Priscilla for all she has done for the Memphis community,” says Dabney Coors, Theatre Memphis board member and a friend of Priscilla, who was married to Elvis Presley.

The evening will include a formal presentation in the theater with music followed by a dinner and music in the lobby.

 “I truly am honored by this,” Priscilla says in a phone interview. “Gosh. I’m a little overwhelmed because I love Memphis. I love the city. I love Tennessee.”

And, she says, “I never expected this. It’s just taken me back a bit.”

Coors, immediate past president of the Theatre Memphis board, came up with the idea for the celebration. “The idea has been in my head for the last eight years,” Coors says. “I said to Priscilla when she opened the Guest House (at Graceland), ‘Priscilla, you give and give and give to Memphis.  And one day we’re going to turn this around and we’re going to give to you.’”

Why this year? “Because this is the 40th anniversary of Priscilla opening Graceland,” Coors says. “She saved Graceland from being sold. When she was 34 years old and she became the executor of the estate, it fell to her to decide what to do with Graceland. And the bankers, the lawyers, and the IRS told her she had one option and that was to sell.

Says Priscilla: “When I was told that, I made a comment: ‘That will never happen.’ And those were fighting words for me. I searched for someone who could help me. I had a lot of people to choose from.”

She looked “from New York to Kansas City to here in Los Angeles. And Jack Soden (president and CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises), for me, was the best as far as helping me open it up. And here we are today.  And thank God he is still with us and a wonderful partner.”

 “She has brought 22 million international tourists to Memphis,” Coors says. “And impacted our Memphis economy more than six billion dollars over 40 years. Every queen, president, and rock and roll star who comes anywhere close to Memphis wants to go to Graceland. Graceland is considered the second most famous home in America after the White House.”

 Priscilla says, “When we opened Graceland, I never thought it would be the success that it is today. And people of all ages are coming to Graceland.”

One of her missions is to bring younger people to Elvis, she says. “You know our generation loved and cared for Elvis. My concern was that the younger generation learn and know who Elvis Presley was.”

Now, that generation is “passing it down to the next generation. Keeping the Elvis tours at Graceland certainly helped. People can’t believe his accomplishments.”

She and Elvis had “a wonderful relationship,” Priscilla says. “We never had the normal divorce. We still remained friends and cared for each other very much.”

Priscilla now lives in California, but she says, “I do not really consider California a part of me. Both my kids were born here and they live here. That’s the only reason I stick around. If I had my choice, I would be there in a minute. I would. I miss Memphis. I miss my friends. I miss the laughs. I miss the stories.”

 When she comes to Memphis, Priscilla likes to “go over to The Peabody hotel and hang out a little in there. Get a bite to eat and go over to Lansky’s. Check in and see how they’re doing. It’s always nice to keep the friends you had from the beginning.”

As a non-profit, Theatre Memphis has to raise money for the event, Coors says, and they already have 50 sponsors. “Memphis has stepped up.”

Debbie Litch, Theatre Memphis executive producer, says, “Theatre Memphis is privileged and honored to pay tribute to Memphis’ national and international ambassador Priscilla Presley.”

And, she says,  “As Theatre Memphis celebrates our 100th anniversary on May 20, 2022 as one of the nation’s most recognized and oldest community theaters in the nation, we want to recognize an extraordinary lady who has championed our Memphis community for over a half century.

“We are also excited to establish the Priscilla Presley Theatre Memphis Scholarship that will be awarded annually in honor of this outstanding woman to help an established or aspiring artist to achieve their artistic dream.”

Tickets are $300 apiece. Other seats will be reserved for the “community member status” section.

Among the entertainers taking part in the event will be Gary Beard, John Paul Keith, and Mario Monterosso. A special VIP area will be included.

For tickets and more information, call Theatre Memphis at (901) 682-8323.

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Art Art Feature

Dixon and Theatre Memphis Host Women in the Arts

(Photo courtesy The Dixon Gallery & Gardens)

With March as Women’s History Month, The Dixon Gallery & Gardens and Theatre Memphis are bringing together dynamic Memphis women in the arts for a day of performances, demonstrations, and discussions. 

“The Dixon and Theatre Memphis are two very established organizations,” says Claire Rutkauskas, Theatre Memphis’ director of outreach and engagement. “We have access to a lot. Part of our mission with this is to make sure we are reaching artists who are trying to get started and provide them with a network and a way to celebrate their work and to be seen and be heard.”

This will be the second time the two organizations have hosted this event, called Women in the Arts, with the first time being in March of 2020 right before lockdown. “Our objective is to have it every first weekend in March moving forward,” Rutkauskas says. Unlike its inaugural year, which, due to renovations at Theatre Memphis, was hosted solely at the Dixon, this year Women in the Arts will be celebrated at both campuses. Admission to the family-friendly event is free, and shuttles will be available to travel to and from the locations.

At Theatre Memphis, guests can view a costume design exhibit; sample lunch and treats from Good Groceries Mobile Dining, Dim Sum Mem, Cousins Maine Lobster, El Mero Taco, and MemPops; and shop from local artists and makers at the artist market (the list of vendor booths can be found here). At 11:30 a.m., Marianne Bell from the Hot Foot Honeys will lead an all-levels tap class (no tap shoes required), and throughout the day, local women filmmakers will screen shorts, with most presenting a Q&A following their film. (A schedule for film screenings can be found here.) Plus, the members of the technical team at Theatre Memphis will have a half-hour panel discussion about the intersection between technical theater and gender. “Most of our technical team is women and that’s not usual for theater,” Rutkauskas explains.

Meanwhile, throughout the day, the Dixon will have pop-up performances throughout its galleries and artist demonstrations in its education building, and guests can get a little creative, too, at the Make and Take Art station. At 10:30 a.m., Mia Henley, the executive director of Creative Aging, will moderate a panel discussion celebrating women in the arts, during which Amanda Willoughby from Indie Memphis, Bethania Baray from Opera Memphis, sculptor Brittney Boyd Bullock, and artist/actor/dancer/youth Harper Steinmetz will speak about the tools they’ve used to navigate the arts world in Memphis.

“We just wanted to make sure we were providing a visible platform for women in the arts,” Rutkauskas says. “A lot of what we believe in is collaboration. We’re definitely stronger in numbers.”

A full schedule of Women in the Arts can be found here. 

Women in the Arts, Saturday, March 5th, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., free. The Dixon Gallery & Gardens, 4339 Park Avenue | Theatre Memphis, 630 Perkins Extd.

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Memphis Gaydar We Recommend We Recommend

La Cage aux Folles

In 2010, Randall Hartzog and Jonathan Christian co-starred in Theatre Memphis’ La Cage aux Folles as Georges and Albin, a couple who’ve lived together happily for years in San Tropez. Twelve years later, the two actors, finally at the right age to play the middle-aged pair, have returned to these roles, now under the helm of director Cecelia Wingate.

The musical is derived from the 1973 play of the same name, turned 1978 French film, which was adapted into the 1996 American film The Birdcage, starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. In all its various forms, Georges and Albin’s son returns home with news that he is engaged. The catch: The prospective in-laws are an ultra-conservative bunch while Georges runs a drag nightclub, at which Albin is the star entertainer. As Georges and Albin try to impress their son’s love and her parents, madness and hilarity ensue.

“The fact is that it’s really funny,” Wingate says, “but at the end of the day, it’s a really beautiful and charming love story. A love story between family and who we call family.”

Though Theatre Memphis has performed this musical before, audiences can expect a fresh take, even with the same leads. The original telling is set in the ’70s, but this production is set today. “We wanted to show that things have changed a little bit since the ’70s, but there’s still [anti-LGBTQ] prejudice,” Wingate says. “We also knew it would open us up to different styles of choreography and color palette. … Visually, it’s going to be stunning. The choreography is really exciting.”

Another reason for change in era, Wingate explains, “Drag is so different today than it was in the ’70s.” From the hair to the makeup to the costuming, drag is even more elaborate these days. To that effect, the production brought on local drag performers Wednesday Moss (Austin Wood), Iris LeFluer (Joseph Grant), and Justin Allen Tate.

To purchase tickets or to view the full schedule of performances, go to theatrememphis.org or call (901) 682-8323. Evening performances will begin at 7:30 p.m., with matinees at 2 p.m.

La Cage aux Folles, Theatre Memphis, 630 Perkins Extd., opens Friday, March 4, with performances through March 27, $35.

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Cover Feature News

2021: Here’s Looking at You

If 2020 was the year of despair, 2021 appears to be the year of hope.

Wanna see what that could look like? Cast your gaze to Wuhan, China, birthplace of COVID-19.

News footage from Business Insider shows hundreds of carefree young people gathered in a massive swimming pool, dancing and splashing at a rock concert. They are effortlessly close together and there’s not a mask in sight. Bars and restaurants are packed with maskless revelers. Night markets are jammed. Business owners smile, remember the bleak times, and say the worst is behind them. How far behind? There’s already a COVID-19 museum in Wuhan.

That could be Memphis (once again) one day. But that day is still likely months off. Vaccines arrived here in mid-December. Early doses rightfully went to frontline healthcare workers. Doses for the masses won’t likely come until April or May, according to health experts.

While we still cannot predict exactly “what” Memphians will be (can be?) doing next year, we can tell you “where” they might be doing it. New places will open their doors next year, and Memphis is set for some pretty big upgrades.

But it doesn’t stop there. “Memphis has momentum” was Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s catchphrase as he won a second term for the office last October. It did. New building projects bloomed like the Agricenter’s sunflowers. And it still does. Believe it or not, not even COVID-19 could douse developers’ multi-million-dollar optimism on the city.

Here are few big projects slated to open in 2021:

Renasant Convention Center

Throughout 2020, crews have been hard at work inside and outside the building once called the Cook Convention Center.

City officials and Memphis Tourism broke ground on a $200-million renovation project for the building in January 2020. The project will bring natural light and color to the once dark and drab convention center built in 1974. The first events are planned for the Renasant Convention Center in the new year.

Memphis International Airport

Memphis International Airport

Expect the ribbon to be cut on Memphis International Airport’s $245-million concourse modernization project in 2021. The project was launched in 2014 in an effort to upgrade the airport’s concourse to modern standards and to right-size the space after Delta de-hubbed the airport.

Once finished, all gates, restaurants, shops, and more will be located in a single concourse. The space will have higher ceilings, more natural light, wider corridors, moving walkways, children’s play areas, a stage for live music, and more.

Collage Dance Collective

The beautiful new building on the corner of Tillman and Sam Cooper is set to open next year in an $11-million move for the Collage Dance Collective.

The 22,000-square-foot performing arts school will feature five studios, office space, a dressing room, a study lounge, 70 parking spaces, and a physical therapy area.

The Memphian Hotel

The Memphian Hotel

A Facebook post by The Memphian Hotel reads, “Who is ready for 2021?” The hotel is, apparently. Developers told the Daily Memphian recently that the 106-room, $24-million hotel is slated to open in April.

“Walking the line between offbeat and elevated, The Memphian will give guests a genuine taste of Midtown’s unconventional personality, truly capturing the free spirit of the storied art district in which the property sits,” reads a news release.

Watch for work to begin next year on big projects in Cooper-Young, the Snuff District, Liberty Park, Tom Lee Park, and The Walk. — Toby Sells

Book ‘Em

After the Spanish flu epidemic and World War I came a flood of convention-defying fiction as authors wrestled with the trauma they had lived through. E.M. Forster confronted colonialism and rigid gender norms in A Passage to India. Virginia Woolf published Mrs. Dalloway. James Joyce gave readers Ulysses. Langston Hughes’ first collection, The Weary Blues, was released.

It’s too early to tell what authors and poets will make of 2020, a year in which America failed to contain the coronavirus. This reader, though, is eager to see what comes.

Though I’ve been a bit too nervous to look very far into 2021 (I don’t want to jinx it, you know?), there are a few books already on my to-read list. First up, I’m excited for MLK50 founding managing editor Deborah Douglas’ U.S. Civil Rights Trail, due in January. Douglas lives in Chicago now, but there’s sure to be some Memphis in that tome.

Next, Ed Tarkington’s The Fortunate Ones, also due in January, examines privilege and corruption on Nashville’s Capitol Hill. Early reviews have compared Tarkington to a young Pat Conroy. For anyone disappointed in Tennessee’s response to any of this year’s crises, The Fortunate Ones is not to be missed.

Most exciting, perhaps, is the forthcoming Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda prose anthology, expected February 2nd. The anthology is edited by Memphis-born journalist Jesse J. Holland, and also features a story by him, as well as Memphians Sheree Renée Thomas, Troy L. Wiggins, and Danian Darrell Jerry.

“To be in pages with so many Memphis writers just feels wonderful,” Thomas told me when I called her to chat about the good news. “It’s a little surreal, but it’s fun,” Jerry adds, explaining that he’s been a Marvel comics fan since childhood. “I get to mix some of those childhood imaginings with some of the skills I’ve worked to acquire over the years.”

Though these books give just a glimpse at the literary landscape of the coming year, if they’re any indication of what’s to come, then, if nothing else, Memphians will have more great stories to look forward to. — Jesse Davis

Courtesy Memphis Redbirds

AutoZone Park

Take Me Out With the Crowd

Near the end of my father’s life, we attended a Redbirds game together at AutoZone Park. A few innings into the game, Dad turned to me and said, “I like seeing you at a ballpark. I can tell your worries ease.”

Then along came 2020, the first year in at least four decades that I didn’t either play in a baseball game or watch one live, at a ballpark, peanuts and Cracker Jack a soft toss away. The pandemic damaged most sports over the last 12 months, but it all but killed minor-league baseball, the small-business version of our national pastime, one that can’t lean on television and sponsorship revenue to offset the loss of ticket-buying fans on game day. AutoZone Park going a year without baseball is the saddest absence I’ve felt in Memphis culture since moving to this remarkable town in 1991. And I’m hoping today — still 2020, dammit — that 2021 marks a revival, even if it’s gradual. In baseball terms, we fans will take a base on balls to get things going before we again swing for the fences.

All indications are that vaccines will make 2021 a better year for gathering, be it at your favorite watering hole or your favorite ballpark. Indications also suggest that restrictions will remain in place well into the spring and summer (baseball season). How many fans can a ballpark host and remain safe? How many fans will enjoy the “extras” of an evening at AutoZone Park — that sunset over the Peabody, that last beer in the seventh inning — if a mask must be worn as part of the experience? And what kind of operation will we see when the gates again open? Remember, these are small businesses. Redbirds president Craig Unger can be seen helping roll out the tarp when a July thunderstorm interrupts the Redbirds and Iowa Cubs. What will “business as usual” mean for Triple-A baseball as we emerge from the pandemic?

I wrote down three words and taped them up on my home-office wall last March: patience, determination, and empathy. With a few more doses of each — and yes, millions of doses of one vaccine or another — the sports world will regain crowd-thrilling normalcy. For me, it will start when I take a seat again in my happy place. It’s been a long, long time, Dad, since my worries properly eased.— Frank Murtaugh

Film in 2021: Don’t Give up Hope

“Nobody knows anything.” Never has William Goldman’s immortal statement about Hollywood been more true. Simply put, 2020 was a disaster for the industry. The pandemic closed theaters and called Hollywood’s entire business model into question. Warner Brothers’ announcement that it would stream all of its 2021 offerings on HBO Max sent shock waves through the industry. Some said it was the death knell for theaters.

I don’t buy it. Warner Brothers, owned by AT&T and locked in a streaming war with Netflix and Disney, are chasing the favor of Wall Street investors, who love the rent-seeking streaming model. But there’s just too much money on the table to abandon theaters. 2019 was a record year at the box office, with $42 billion in worldwide take, $11.4 billion of which was from North America. Theatrical distribution is a proven business model that has worked for 120 years. Netflix, on the other hand, is $12 billion in debt.

Will audiences return to theaters once we’ve vaccinated our way out of the coronavirus-shaped hole we’re in? Prediction at this point is a mug’s game, but signs point to yes. Tenet, which will be the year’s biggest film, grossed $303 million in overseas markets where the virus was reasonably under control. In China, where the pandemic started, a film called My People, My Homeland has brought in $422 million since October 1st. I don’t know about y’all, but once I get my jab, they’re going to have to drag me out of the movie theater.

There will be quite a bit to watch. With the exception of Wonder Woman 1984, the 2020 blockbusters were pushed to 2021, including Dune, Spielberg’s West Side Story remake, the latest James Bond installment No Time to Die, Marvel’s much-anticipated Black Widow, Top Gun: Maverick, and Godzilla vs. Kong. Memphis director Craig Brewer’s second film with Eddie Murphy, the long-awaited Coming 2 America, will bow on Amazon March 5th, with the possibility of a theatrical run still in the cards.

There’s no shortage of smaller, excellent films on tap. Regina King’s directorial debut One Night in Miami, about a meeting between Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown, premieres January 15th. Minari, the stunning story of Korean immigrants in rural Arkansas, which was Indie Memphis 2020’s centerpiece film, lands February 12th. The Bob’s Burgers movie starts cooking April 9th. And coolest of all, next month Indie Memphis will partner with Sundance to bring the latest in cutting-edge cinema to the Malco Summer Drive-In. There’s plenty to be hopeful for in the new year. — Chris McCoy

Looking Ahead: Music

We usually highlight the upcoming hot concerts in this space, but those are still on the back burner. Instead, get a load of these stacks of hot wax (and streams) dropping next year. Remember, the artists get a better share when you purchase rather than stream, especially physical product like vinyl.

Alysse Gafkjen

Julien Baker

One of the biggest-profile releases will be Julien Baker’s Little Oblivians, due out on Matador in February. Her single “Faith Healer” gives us a taste of what to expect. Watch the Flyer for more on that soon. As for other drops from larger indie labels, Merge will offer up A Little More Time with Reigning Sound in May (full disclosure: this all-Memphis version of the band includes yours truly).

Closer to home, John Paul Keith’s The Rhythm of the City also drops in February, co-released by hometown label Madjack and Italian imprint Wild Honey. Madjack will also offer up albums by Mark Edgar Stuart and Jed Zimmerman, the latter having been produced by Stuart. Matt Ross-Spang is mixing Zimmerman’s record, and there’s much buzz surrounding it (but don’t worry, it’s properly grounded).

Jeremy Stanfill mines similar Americana territory, and he’ll release new work on the Blue Barrel imprint. Meanwhile, look for more off-kilter sounds from Los Psychosis and Alicja Trout’s Alicja-Pop project, both on Black & Wyatt. That label will also be honored with a compilation of their best releases so far, by Head Perfume out of Dresden. On the quieter side of off-kilter, look for Aquarian Blood’s Sending the Golden Hour on Goner in May.

Bruce Watson’s Delta-Sonic Sound studio has been busy, and affiliated label Bible & Tire Recording Co. will release a big haul of old-school gospel, some new, some archival, including artists Elizabeth King and Pastor Jack Ward, and compilations from the old J.C.R. and D-Vine Spiritual labels. Meanwhile, Big Legal Mess will drop new work from singer/songwriter Alexa Rose and, in March, Luna 68 — the first new album from the City Champs in 10 years. Expect more groovy organ and guitar boogaloo jazz from the trio, with a heaping spoonful of science-fiction exotica to boot.

Many more artists will surely be releasing Bandcamp singles, EPs, and more, but for web-based content that’s thinking outside of the stream, look for the January premiere of Unapologetic’s UNDRGRNDAF RADIO, to be unveiled on weareunapologetic.com and their dedicated app. — Alex Greene

Chewing Over a Tough Year

Beware the biohazard.

Samuel X. Cicci

The Beauty Shop

Perhaps a bit hyperbolic, but the image that pops into my head when thinking about restaurants in 2020 are the contagion-esque geo-domes that Karen Carrier set up on the back patio of the Beauty Shop. A clever conceit, but also a necessary one — a move designed to keep diners safe and separated when going out to eat. If it all seems a little bizarre, well, that’s what 2020 was thanks to COVID-19.

We saw openings, closings, restrictions, restrictions lifted, restrictions then put back in place; the Memphis Restaurant Association and Shelby County Health Department arguing back and forth over COVID guidelines, with both safety and survival at stake; and establishments scrambling to find creative ways to drum up business. The Beauty Shop domes were one such example. The Reilly’s Downtown Majestic Grille, on the other hand, transformed into Cocozza, an Italian ghost concept restaurant put into place until it was safe to reopen Majestic in its entirety. Other places, like Global Café, put efforts in place to help provide meals to healthcare professionals or those who had fallen into financial hardship during the pandemic.

Unfortunately, not every restaurant was able to survive the pandemic. The popular Lucky Cat Ramen on Broad Ave. closed its doors, as did places like Puck Food Hall, 3rd & Court, Avenue Coffee, Midtown Crossing Grill, and many others.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Working in the hospitality business requires a certain kind of resilience, and that showed up in spades. Many restaurants adapted to new regulations quickly, and with aplomb, doing their best to create a safe environment for hungry Memphians all while churning out takeout and delivery orders.

And even amid a pandemic backdrop, many aspiring restaurateurs tried their hand at opening their own places. Chip and Amanda Dunham branched out from the now-closed Grove Grill to open Magnolia & May, a country brasserie in East Memphis. Just a few blocks away, a new breakfast joint popped up in Southall Café. Downtown, the Memphis Chess Club opened its doors, complete with a full-service café and restaurant. Down in Whitehaven, Ken and Mary Olds created Muggin Coffeehouse, the first locally owned coffee shop in the neighborhood. And entrepreneurial-minded folks started up their own delivery-only ventures, like Brittney Adu’s Furloaved Breads + Bakery.

So what will next year bring? With everything thrown out of whack, I’m loath to make predictions, but with a vaccine on the horizon, I’m hoping (fingers crossed) that it becomes safer to eat out soon, and the restaurant industry can begin a long-overdue recovery. And to leave you with what will hopefully be a metaphor for restaurants in 2021: By next summer, Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman’s Hog & Hominy will complete its Phoenician rebirth from the ashes of a disastrous fire and open its doors once again.

In the meantime, keep supporting your local restaurants! — Samuel X. Cicci

“Your Tickets Will be at Will Call”

Oh, to hear those words again, and plenty of arts organizations are eager to say them. The pandemic wrecked the seasons for performing arts groups and did plenty of damage to museums and galleries.

Not that they haven’t made valiant and innovative efforts to entertain from afar with virtual programming.

But they’re all hoping to mount physical, not virtual, seasons in the coming year.

Playhouse on the Square suspended scheduled in-person stage productions until June 2021. This includes the 52nd season lineup of performances that were to be on the stages of Playhouse on the Square, The Circuit Playhouse, and TheatreWorks at the Square. It continues to offer the Playhouse at Home Series, digital content via its website and social media.

Theatre Memphis celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2021 and is eager to show off its new facility, a major renovation that was going to shut it down most of 2020 anyway while it expanded common spaces and added restrooms and production space while updating dressing rooms and administrative offices. But the hoped-for August opening was pushed back, and it plans to reschedule the programming for this season to next.

Hattiloo Theatre will continue to offer free online programming in youth acting and technical theater, and it has brought a five-week playwright’s workshop and free Zoom panel discussions with national figures in Black theater. Like the other institutions, it is eager to get back to the performing stage when conditions allow.

Ballet Memphis has relied on media and platforms that don’t require contact, either among audience members or dancers. But if there are fewer partnerings among dancers, there are more solos, and group movement is well-distanced. The organization has put several short pieces on video, releasing some and holding the rest for early next year. It typically doesn’t start a season until late summer or early fall, so the hope is to get back into it without missing a step.

Opera Memphis is active with its live Sing2Me program of mobile opera concerts and programming on social media. Its typical season starts with 30 Days of Opera in August that usually leads to its first big production of the season, so, COVID willing, that may emerge.

Courtesy Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Dana Claxton, Headdress at the Brooks earlier this year.

Museums and galleries, such as the Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, National Civil Rights Museum, and the Metal Museum are functioning at limited capacity, but people can go and enjoy the offerings. The scope of the shows is limited, as coronavirus has put the kibosh on blockbuster shows for now. Look for easing of protocols as the situation allows in the coming year. — Jon W. Sparks

Politics

Oyez. Oyez. Oh yes, there is one year out of every four in which regularly scheduled elections are not held in Shelby County, and 2021 is such a year. But decisions will be made during the year by the Republican super-majority of the state legislature in Nashville that will have a significant bearing on the elections that will occur in the three-year cycle of 2022-2024 and, in fact, on those occurring through 2030.

This would be in the course of the constitutionally required ritual during which district lines are redefined every 10 years for the decade to come, in the case of legislative seats and Congressional districts. The U.S. Congress, on the basis of population figures provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, will have allocated to each state its appropriate share of the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. And the state legislature will determine how that number is apportioned statewide. The current number of Tennessee’s Congressional seats is nine. The state’s legislative ratio is fixed at 99 state House members and 33 members of the state Senate.

Tennessee is one of 37 states in which, as indicated, the state legislature calls the shots for both Congressional and state redistricting. The resultant redistricting undergoes an approval process like any other measure, requiring a positive vote in both the state Senate and the state House, with the Governor empowered to consent or veto.

No one anticipates any disagreements between any branches of government. Any friction in the redistricting process will likely involve arguments over turf between neighboring GOP legislators. Disputes emanating from the minority Democrats will no doubt be at the mercy of the courts.

The forthcoming legislative session is expected to be lively, including holdover issues relating to constitutional carry (the scrapping of permits for firearms), private school vouchers (currently awaiting a verdict by the state Supreme Court), and, as always, abortion. Measures relating to the ongoing COVID crisis and vaccine distribution are expected, as is a proposal to give elected county executives primacy over health departments in counties where the latter exist.

There is no discernible disharmony between those two entities in Shelby County, whose government has devoted considerable attention over the last year to efforts to control the pandemic and offset its effects. Those will continue, as well as efforts to broaden the general inclusiveness of county government vis-à-vis ethnic and gender groups.

It is still a bit premature to speculate on future shifts of political ambition, except to say that numerous personalities, in both city and county government, are eyeing the prospects of succeeding Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland in 2023. And several Democrats are looking at a potential race against District Attorney General Amy Weirich in 2022.

There are strong rumors that, after a false start or two, Memphis will follow the lead of several East Tennessee co-ops and finally depart from TVA.

And meanwhile, in March, the aforesaid Tennessee Democrats will select a new chair from numerous applicants. — Jackson Baker

Categories
Cover Feature News

Give Memphis! Great Local Gift Ideas for the Holidays

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

Greg Cravens

If 2020 has proven anything, it’s that we need to come together to support our community — the health, happiness, and longevity of our fellow Memphians count on it now more than ever. While we may not be able to gather with friends and family for gift exchanges like we have in the past, we can still lift their spirits with thoughtful presents that help our local restaurants, retail outlets, and entrepreneurs keep doing what they do. Think local this season!

A Box of Magic

Have a giftee in your life who seeks to better understand their own power, to look within and outside for growth and restoration? Give them a box of magic, or as Sami Harvey, owner of Foxglove Pharm, calls it: a Coven Box.

“I’ve always been amazed by Mother Nature’s ability to heal, and I love finding new ways to use her ingredients to solve my problems,” Harvey says. “I started Foxglove Pharm in 2017 because I wanted to share some of those solutions with my community.”

Each subscription box ($40/month) includes a rotating variety of handcrafted herbal “remeteas” (About Last Night: Hangover Tea, Out of the Blue: Third Eye Tea, and others), scented oils, Resting Witch Face skincare products, rituals, and more special items that “honor the moon, the current astrological phase, and a featured plant.”

Sami Harvey

Each month, she partners with another local maker or small business to spotlight their wares. For her Foxglove offerings, Harvey is “the only witch in the kitchen,” so the products are small-batch and made with “ethically sourced, organic, sustainable ingredients.”

Regarding the rituals included in a box (or separately on the website), Harvey says, “These aren’t like supernatural spells that will destroy all your enemies and turn Michelle Obama into your BFF. But they’re ways to meditate and channel your energy into manifesting a better reality for yourself. The real magic ingredient is you and your intention.”

Visit foxglovepharm.com to order a Coven Box and shop products. — Shara Clark

Feed an Artist

The old cliché about “starving artists” has seldom been more true. Buying art is often the last thing folks are thinking about during tough times like these, but our Memphis painters and sculptors and photographers — and their galleries — have bills to pay, just like the rest of us. That’s why this might be a great year to put a new painting on your wall, or gift someone a work of art so they’ll be reminded of you every day.

Courtesy Jay Etkin Gallery

Untitled by John Ryan

There are many fine galleries in Memphis. Here are just a few: L Ross, David Lusk, Jay Etkin, Crosstown Arts, Orange Mound Gallery, Art Village, Cooper-Young Gallery, and B. Collective. Artists featured include Matthew Hasty, Jeanne Seagle, John Ryan, Mary Long, Roy Tamboli, Eunika Rogers, Cat Pena, Yancy Villa-Calvo, Hamlett Dobbins, Anne Siems, Tim Craddock, and many, many more. In addition, many galleries are featuring special holiday shows.

End what has been a nightmarish year on an upbeat note: Buy a piece of art. It’s good for your heart. — Bruce VanWyngarden

Let Them Eat Cake

I’d be happy to receive a Memphis Bourbon Caramel Cake from Sugar Avenue Bakery, either in or out of my stocking. This is the Sugar Avenue collaboration with Old Dominick Distillery.

Just listening to Sugar Avenue owner Ed Crenshaw describe the six-inch cake makes me crave a slice or three: “The cake is four layers. Each layer is literally soaked in a bourbon caramel sauce. And then our caramel icing, which we make from scratch.”

Courtesy Ben Fant

Sugar Avenue cake

Sugar Avenue worked with Old Dominick’s master distiller/senior vice president Alex Castle to come up with the perfect blend of cake and bourbon. Old Dominick’s Huling Station Straight Bourbon Whiskey was chosen for the cake, which has “a great hint of bourbon flavor,” Crenshaw says. “We add bourbon to the icing and ice the cake with it.”

To help you get even more into the holiday spirit, Sugar Avenue Bakery recently began adding two-ounce jars of extra caramel sauce with every bourbon-flavored cake.

Memphis Bourbon Caramel Cakes are $55 each, and they’re available at sugaravenue.com. — Michael Donahue

Accessorize in Style

When Memphians need to give the gift of stylish living, they turn to Cheryl Pesce, the jewelry and lifestyle store in Crosstown Concourse. The store takes its name from its owner, Cheryl Pesce, a jewelry maker, entrepreneur, and all-around style guru.

This month, Pesce opened a second store in the Laurelwood Shopping Center, giving Bluff City-area shoppers double the chances to find — and give — stylish accoutrements. “I’m banking on Memphis,” Pesce explains. And Memphis seems ready to support Pesce. “We had a grand open house, social distancing into the parking lot, and it went well.”

Courtesy Cheryl Pesce

Handmade jewelry from Cheryl Pesce

The store opening story is just the tip of the breaking-news iceberg, though. Pesce tells me excitedly that she’s been in touch with fashion designer Patrick Henry, aka Richfresh, about his newly designed Henry Mask. “I spoke with him today and — drumroll — we will now be carrying his masks in my Laurelwood store.”

But wait! That’s still not all. The ink is still fresh on a deal for Pesce to carry Germantown-produced Leovard skincare products. “I will be his only brick-and-mortar store in the country,” Pesce says. “So there are a lot of cool things happening, most of them local.”

In the smaller store in Crosstown, Pesce sells hand-sewn baby items, masks, Christmas ornaments, and anything with the Crosstown logo — she’s the official source for Crosstown-brand goods. Laurelwood is larger and a little more deluxe. “One of the focuses for that store is local and regional artisans,” Pesce says. She carries Mo’s Bows, Paul Edelstein paintings, and, of course, hand-crafted jewelry. “That’s really my wheelhouse.

“My studio is at Laurelwood,” Pesce says, “so not only is it made in Memphis, made by me, but it’s all under one roof now. The store, the studio. You can literally come pick out your own pearls — ‘I want this pearl on that earring’ — and then I craft it for you right there.”

Cheryl Pesce is located at 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 125, and at 374 Grove Park Road South, Suite 104. Find out more at (901) 308-6017 or at cherylpesce.com. — Jesse Davis

Good Reads

There’s something that comes from holding the edges of a book and being taken to a distant land or wondrous world. Whether it’s due to happenstance or the crazy and confusing world in which we find ourselves now, I have been reading more and more as the months drag on. To fuel my ever-growing hunger for words and phrases completed on the page, Novel has been my go-to place.

Novel is proof that when you are doing something you love, the results will follow. The bookstore, founded in 2017, is the go-to for other local book enthusiasts, too — and with good reason. Their staff will go to the moon and back to help you find the book that fits you just right, and if you’re looking for something specific, chances are they will be just as excited about it as you are.

Matthew J. Harris

of what gift to give this season.

Many of their aisles have felt like a second home to me the past few months. And with books in every genre, it is often easier to ask them what they don’t have, rather than what they do. Personally, I love their new-this-year home delivery option, which offers a safe way to give the gift of literature this holiday season. — Matthew J. Harris

Hit the Boards

This year has given us plenty of time to learn new skills. And what better way to get your mind pumping in both a constructive and competitive fashion than with a game of chess?

The Memphis Chess Club recently opened its new café/headquarters Downtown at 195 Madison Avenue, and the three levels of annual memberships make for a great gift, whether someone is looking to seriously pursue an interest in the game or just learn a few tips and tricks.

Samuel X. Cicci

A Memphis Chess Club membership isn’t as risky a move as the Queen’s Gambit.

The social membership ($50) allows members to play chess in the café area at any time, with tables, pieces, and clocks all provided. The full membership ($100), meanwhile, affords all of the social perks but provides unlimited and free access to all classes and tournaments, which are held at the club weekly. It also offers discounts on merchandise, and members are able to check out materials from the club’s chess library, which contains old magazines and strategy books.

For whole families looking to kickstart an interest in the game? The family membership ($150) contains all full membership benefits and includes two adults and all the children in a household.

And, hey, if chess isn’t your thing, the spacious café is a great space to just hang out or study while sipping on some brewed-in-house coffee or munching on one of chef Grier Cosby’s specialty pizzas.

Visit memphischessclub.com/join for more information. — Samuel X. Cicci

The Gift of Grub

Food is fun and helps define Memphis culture. Those who make that food and fun are in trouble.

Restaurants have maybe suffered more than any small business during this pandemic. Restrictions on them have come and gone and may come again soon. Memphis restaurateurs have shown amazing resilience in these ups and downs. They’ve shifted business models, adapted to the latest health directives, and adjusted staff levels (laying off workers and hiring them back) to match it all.

Memphis Restaurant Association/Facebook

Support local restaurants — so they can stick around.

However, we forever lost some Memphis favorites, like Lucky Cat and Grove Grill. The National Restaurant Association said nearly 100,000 restaurants across the country closed either permanently or for the long-term six months into the pandemic. Nearly 3 million employees have lost their jobs. Help restaurants out and have food fun, too. This holiday season, buy gift cards from our local restaurants.

At the pandemic’s beginning in March, we told you about a national push to buy “dining bonds” or “restaurant bonds.” Many Memphis restaurants jumped in — many selling gift cards at deep discounts. For restaurants, gift cards are quick infusions of cash, helpful in tough times.

So instead of that scarf you’re kind of on the fence about, spend the same amount on a restaurant they love. It’ll be unexpected and, yes, come with some delayed gratification — delicious delayed gratification. Present it not as a gift card but as that dish they love from that place they love.

Sing it with me: “Everybody knows, a burger and some mistletoe help to make the season bright. Memphis foodies, with their eyes all aglow, will find it hard to sleep tonight.”

Gift cards are available at almost every restaurant and for almost any amount. Check websites and socials for details. — Toby Sells

Music to Their Ears

Remember when giving music was a thing? Physical things like LPs, CDs, and cassettes could be wrapped. But now that everything’s ethereal, there’s still a way to give the gift that keeps on giving: Patreon. Musicians are embracing this platform more and more, and it’s working for them. A subscription to their accounts may just be the perfect gift for the superfan in your life who already has everything.

Mike Doughty (Soul Coughing, Ghost of Vroom) relies on his Patreon subscribers for both income and inspiration. As he told the Detroit Metro Times, “Doing a song a week is amazing, and that is really what, if I had my druthers, I’d do for the rest of my life.” Patrons can subscribe at different levels, each with premiums like CDs and T-shirts, but everyone paying at least $5 a month can access Doughty’s song-a-week and more.

Greg Cravens

Other Memphis-affiliated singer/songwriters like Eric Lewis, J.D. Reager, and (coming in December) Marcella and Her Lovers also have accounts. And last month, label and music retailer Goner Records began offering Patreon subscriptions that include access to the Goner archives and exclusive music and videos.

Patreon’s site notes that “there isn’t currently a way to gift patronage,” but if you get creative, you can search for an artist on patreon.com and buy a subscription in a friend’s or family member’s name — and they can thank you all through the year. — Alex Greene

Support Arts and Culture

“A plague on both your houses!” cried the dying Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, and it seems the COVID-19 pandemic took that sentiment to heart, emptying out our theaters and concert halls and thinning out attendance at museums. But still they persisted. The organizations behind the arts we love are still at work online, virtually, distancing, and striving to keep the arts alive — especially in programs aimed at young people.

You can help the old-fashioned way by getting season subscriptions and memberships for whenever the lights come back on — and they could use that support right now. Or make a simple donation. Help keep Memphis culture alive by giving gifts on behalf of the following, but don’t be limited by this partial list — if you have other favorites, give them a cup o’ kindness as well.

Jon W. Sparks

Spring, Summer, Fall at the Brooks Museum by Wheeler Williams

Performing arts organizations:

• Playhouse on the Square (playhouseonthesquare.org)

• Theatre Memphis (theatrememphis.org)

• Opera Memphis (operamemphis.org)

• Ballet Memphis (balletmemphis.org)

• New Ballet Ensemble (newballet.org)

• Cazateatro (cazateatro.org)

• New Moon Theatre (newmoontheatre.org)

• Hattiloo Theatre (hattiloo.org)

• Tennessee Shakespeare Company (tnshakespeare.org)

• Memphis Black Arts Alliance (memphisblackarts.org)

• Emerald Theatre Company (etcmemphistheater.com)

Museums and galleries:

• Memphis Brooks Museum of Art (brooksmuseum.org)

• Dixon Gallery and Gardens (dixon.org)

• National Civil Rights Museum (civilrightsmuseum.org)

• Metal Museum (metalmuseum.org)

• Stax Museum of American Soul Music (staxmuseum.com)

• Pink Palace Museum (memphismuseums.org)

• Children’s Museum of Memphis (cmom.com)

• Fire Museum of Memphis (firemuseum.org) — Jon W. Sparks

Basket or Box It for a Gift That Rocks It

Need something sweet for your honey this holiday season? Thistle & Bee has the gift that gives twice. A relaxing gift box contains raw Memphis honey, a milk and honey soap bar, and a pure beeswax candle ($20). Every item is handcrafted and directly supports women survivors to thrive through a journey of healing and hope.

Social enterprise director at Thistle & Bee, Ali Pap Chesney, drops a stinger: “We partner with other businesses, too. Feast & Graze uses our honey.”

Feast & Graze/Facebook

Feast & Graze

The cheese and charcuterie company Feast & Grace is co-owned by Cristina McCarter, who happens to co-own City Tasting Box. Boxes are filled with goodies promoting local Black-owned businesses like Pop’s Kernel and The Waffle Iron. An exclusive limited-quantity holiday gift box, Sugar and Spice, just rolled out for the season in two sizes — regular ($74.99) and ultimate ($124.99).

Memphis Gift Basket is owned by Jesse James, who says he is rolling out a new logo this week. Along with the new logo are new products for baskets ($55-$100) that focus on diversity by including more women- and minority-owned businesses, in addition to local items with iconic names like The Rendezvous and Memphis magazine. Guess what else you might find in a Memphis Gift Basket? Thistle & Bee honey.

Now that we’ve come full circle, check out these gift box and basket businesses, as well as partnering companies, for errbody on your holiday list — including that corporate gift list.

Visit thistleandbee.org, citytastingbox.com (use code SHIP100 for free shipping on orders over $100), and memphisgiftbasket.com for more. — Julie Ray

Lights, Camera, Action

A lot of businesses have been hard-hit during the pandemic, and movie theaters have been near the top of the list. With social distancing-limited theater capacity and Hollywood studios delaying major releases into next year in the hopes a vaccine will rekindle attendance, theater chains like Memphis-based Malco have been in dire straits. The exception has been drive-in theaters, like the Malco Summer Drive-In, which have seen a renaissance in 2020.

If you want to support this local institution and give a treat to the movie-lover in your life, you can buy them a Malco gift card. Available in any denomination from $10 to $500, the gift cards can be used for movie tickets and concessions for any film now or in the future. You can also enroll in the Malco Marquee Rewards program, which allows frequent moviegoers to earn points toward free tickets and concessions.

Greg Cravens

Malco has taken extraordinary steps to ensure the safety of its patrons, including mandatory masks, improved air filters, and non-contact payment options. And if you’re not comfortable sharing a theater with strangers right now, there’s a great option: The Malco Select program allows you to rent an entire theater for a screening of any film on the marquee — and that includes screenings in the massive IMAX theaters at the Paradiso. Prices start at $100, which works out pretty well if you want to watch Wonder Woman 1984 with your pod this holiday season. And if the person you’re buying for is a gamer, Malco has a brand-new option. With Malco Select Gaming, you can bring your system to the theater and play Call of Duty or The Last of Us on the biggest possible screen. — Chris McCoy

Categories
We Recommend We Recommend

Theatre Memphis Resident and Scenic Designer Hosts Fall- and Halloween-Themed Photo Sessions

CREDIT: Facebook/Theatre Memphis

Are you a nerdy librarian by day, sexy schoolgirl by night? Corporate executive during the work week, but a weekend Hell’s Angel? Here’s the perfect holiday photo opportunity for you. Bring the family in for a sweet autumn photo, then get your nobody-understands-me emo gear together to memorialize your first Halloween pandemic experience.

How great is it? According to local creative Falon Karcher, “I think this is just a super-cool idea. It just shows that when the going gets tough, theater people build their way through it. This does my heart good and I can’t wait to be back on that stage.”

Facebook/Theatre Memphis

Season 3 of What We Do in the Shadows looks lit.

What Karcher and others are talking about is the work of Theatre Memphis resident and scenic designer Jack Netzel-Yates, who has created a Fall Harvest theme (great for families) and the Haunted Victorian (great for costumes) to create your next frame-worthy portrait. These photos will also look snazzy on the annual holiday cards that you’ll be sending in the next few months. Costumes are encouraged, and the whole gang can be in the shot, as this is a pet-friendly event. Whether you choose to come in costume or in classic autumnal attire, you’re sure to capture a delightful memory with this specialty Halloween photo shoot.

Hallowdaze: Photo Ops & Lollipops, Theatre Memphis, 630 Perkins Extended, Friday-Saturday, Oct. 23-24, by appointment, $10-$20, $5 additional person.

Categories
Intermission Impossible Theater

The Envelope Please: The Ostranders Must Go On

CREDIT: Jon W. Sparks

Carla McDonald

Crystal Brothers and Travis Bradley in the musical Cats at Theatre Memphis last year. Brothers won an Ostrander on Sunday for best featured performer and Bradley won along with Jordan Nichols for best choreography in a musical.


The annual celebration of Memphis theater was Indecent several times, had lots of Cats, savored Jelly’s Last Jam, and though it had no direct Shakespeare, it made much ado over the Book of Will.

The 37th Ostrander Awards Sunday evening was like no other. That’s not hype, it’s just fact, thanks to 2020 being, well, 2020. The annual event was virtual, with attendees watching on Facebook or YouTube. Theater people were not crowding into the Orpheum Sunday evening, not thrilling to one energetic musical production number after another, not casting admiring/envious glances at gasp-worthy fashions and not participating in multiple toasts. Presumably some of that went on anyway, but with much diminished clusters and, one prays, appropriate social distancing.

Furthermore, there was not the usual quantity of productions to judge since the coronovirus shut down all stages mid-March, truncating seasons everywhere that would usually have run into the summer.

But the shows that did go on gave much to applaud, and the Ostrander Award judges gave particular love to Cats from Theatre Memphis (TM) with six awards, Indecent from Circuit Playhouse (CP) with five, and Jelly’s Last Jam from Hattiloo with four. Playhouse on the Square (POTS) earned three each for Book of Will and the musical Memphis.

Also winning were TM’s Next Stage (Next) with two awards for A Few Good Men, Germantown Community Theatre’s (GCT) double for Next to Normal, Hattiloo’s two for Eclipse, and single awards for Mamma Mia! at TM and On Golden Pond at POTS.

In the Collegiate Division, seven awards went to Hissifit at the McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College (Rhodes), four plaques to Inherit the Wind at the University of Memphis (U of M), and four awards to Raisin in the Sun at Southwest Tennessee Community College (SWTCC).

Jon W. Sparks

Dennis Whitehead Darling won for best direction the second year in a row.

Dennis Whitehead Darling won the Ostrander for direction of a musical for 2019’s Jelly’s Last Jam, his third directing honor in two years. This time last year, he picked up two awards for directing, one in the community division, one in collegiate. 

Winning for best direction of a drama was Dave Landis for helming Indecent. Supplementing that was a special award given this year for Seamless Integration of Direction, Choreography, and Music Direction. That went to the trio of Dave Landis, Daniel Stuart Nelson, and Tammy Holt for Indecent at Circuit Playhouse. 

Ann Marie Hall, winner of the 2020 Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award

Ann Marie Hall was this year’s recipient of the Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award. Hall got her start in theater in grade school when she was a frequent visitor to the principal’s office for talking too much and doing impressions from TV shows. The solution came when she got into a play in the eighth grade. “I realized I could be really silly and people would laugh at me and I wouldn’t get in trouble,” she recently told Memphis magazine. Her devotion to the stage never stopped after that and she’s become, in her words, “the consummate community actor.”

Sunday’s event, despite being forced to be virtual, was pulled off with considerable energy as Elizabeth Perkins, Ostranders program director, determined several weeks ago that the show would go on, pandemic or no. Up until the end of June, the hope was to have it old style at the Orpheum, but when it became evident that was a no-go, it was decided to have it online and celebrate the truncated season with virtual gusto.


Here are the winners of the 2020 Ostrander Awards:

COMMUNITY DIVISION

  • Excellence in Set Design for a Drama: Tim McMath, On Golden Pond, POTS
  • Excellence in Set Design for a Musical: Jack Yates, Cats, TM
  • Excellence in Costume Design for a Drama: Lindsay Schmeling, Indecent, CP
  • Excellence in Costume Design for a Musical: Amie Eoff and André Bruce Ward, Cats, TM
  • Excellence in Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design for a Musical: Karen Reeves and Brooklyn Reeves, Cats, TM
  • Excellence in Props Design for a Drama: Eli Grant, Book of Will, POTS
  • Excellence in Props Design for a Musical: Eli Grant, Memphis, POTS
  • Excellence in Sound Design for a Drama: Carter McHann, Indecent, CP
  • Excellence in Sound Design for a Musical: Carter McHann, Memphis, POTS
  • Excellence in Lighting Design for a Drama: Mandy Kay Heath, A Few Good Men, Next
  • Excellence in Lighting Design for a Musical: Mandy Kay Heath, Mamma Mia!, TM
  • Excellence in Music Direction: Tammy Holt, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo
  • Excellence in Choreography for a Musical: Travis Bradley and Jordan Nichols, Cats, TM
  • Best Supporting Actress in a Drama: Raven Martin, Eclipsed, Hattiloo
  • Best Supporting Actress in a Musical: Katy Cotten, Next to Normal, GCT
  • Best Leading Actress in a Drama: Donita Johnson, Eclipsed, Hattiloo
  • Best Leading Actress in a Musical: Dawn Bradley, Memphis, POTS
  • Best Supporting Actor in a Drama: John Maness, Book of Will, POTS
  • Best Supporting Actor in a Musical: Willis Green, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo
  • Best Leading Actor in a Drama: Stephen Garrett, A Few Good Men, Next
  • Best Leading Actor in a Musical: Johann Robert Wood, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo
  • Best Featured Performer: Crystal Brothers, Cats, TM
  • Best Ensemble in a Drama: Indecent, CP
  • Best Ensemble in a Musical: Next to Normal, GCT
  • Best Production of a Drama: Book of Will, POTS
  • Best Production of a Musical: Cats, TM
  • Excellence in Direction of a Drama: Dave Landis, Indecent, CP
  • Excellence in Direction of a Musical: Dennis Whitehead Darling, Jelly’s Last Jam, Hattiloo
  • Best Original Script: When We Get Good Again, POTS@TheWorks
  • Special Award — Seamless Integration of Direction, Choreography, and Music Direction: Dave Landis, Daniel Stuart Nelson, and Tammy Holt, Indecent, CP
  • Best Original Script: When We Get Good Again, POTS@TheWorks
  • Otis Smith Legacy Dance Award: Jared Johnson
  • Larry Riley Rising Star Award: Jason Eschhofen
  • Behind the Scenes Award: Christina Hendricks
  • Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award: Ann Marie Hall


COLLEGIATE DIVISION

  • Excellence in Set Design: Brian Ruggaber, Inherit the Wind, U of M
  • Excellence in Costume Design: Bruce Bui, Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Excellence in Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design: Juliet Mace, Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Excellence in Sound Design: John Phillians, Inherit the Wind, U of M
  • Excellence in Lighting Design: Jameson Gresens, Inherit the Wind, U of M
  • Excellence in Music Direction: Eileen Kuo, Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Best Supporting Actress: Raina Williams, Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Best Leading Actress: Mary Ann Washington, A Raisin in the Sun, SWTCC
  • Best Supporting Actor: Joshua Payne, A Raisin in the Sun, SWTCC
  • Best Leading Actor: Toby Davis, Inherit the Wind, U of M
  • Best Featured Performer: Syndei Sutton, A Raisin in the Sun, SWTCC
  • Best Ensemble in a Musical: Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Best Ensemble in a Drama: A Raisin in the Sun, SWTCC
  • Best Production: Hissifit, Rhodes
  • Excellence in Direction: Joy Brooke Fairfield, Hissifit, Rhodes
Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Cooking & Crooning: Nick and Lena Black’s Facebook Show

Nick Black and his wife, Lena, are cutting up in the kitchen.

While Nick sings, his wife chops onions and other vegetables as she prepares vegetarian dishes. In between, they joke back and forth.

When they’re not doing this in real life, the couple does it weekly on Cooking & Crooning, which airs at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays on Facebook Live.

“I love cooking,” Lena says. “I think I’m probably a good cook. Nick says I’m a great cook. I come by cooking naturally. My mom is the biggest feeder in the world. She taught me to cook and to have a stocked pantry.

“I have a lot of grains, a lot of ‘cheater’ things — boxed things, flavored rices, pastas, canned beans. Some things are better canned. Canned corn. Canned tomatoes. Some recipes you can’t do without canned tomatoes.”

Lena came up with the idea for the cooking/singing show when the quarantine began. Nick, a pop/soul artist who recently released his new single “IRL,” was “making it a priority to figure out different live streams and reach people. I said, ‘Hey, maybe I can help him.'”

She told him, “We can do a live stream together. You sing. I cook. We call it Cooking & Crooning. I can make interesting meals just with what we’ve got on hand, which is great for quarantine. Nick can sing songs off the top of his head.”

What goes on in Cooking & Crooning, now in its 10th week, isn’t much different from what goes on at home. “That’s life with us,” Lena says. “When I’m in the kitchen, he’s making up songs about me chopping potatoes.”

Nick demonstrates by coming up with a song on the spot: “You got a friend in me. You got a friend in me. When the road gets rough and you’re miles and miles from your nice warm bed, she’s cooking onions. And that’s what I said.”

“I thought it would be fun every now and then if people could get a little slice of what it’s like to live with him,” Lena says. “He makes a little song that pretty much narrates things around the house. That’s a daily phase. It can be about the most banal thing. It can be about dusting.”

Viewers sometimes suggest dishes, but everything must be vegetarian. “I’m a staunch vegetarian. And Nick is basically an at-home vegetarian. We don’t buy meat anymore. But he won’t refuse it if he goes somewhere.”

Lena made Buddha Bowls on one show. “Typically, it’s a bowl of some kind of grain,” she says. “Lots of fresh vegetables and some cooked vegetables with some sort of bean or sauce and nuts or seeds.” She made “crabless crab cakes” on another show. “It’s made from palm hearts instead of crabmeat. And it’s delicious.”

“We had a pretty epic Cinco de Mayo episode where she made vegetarian tacos with homemade tortilla chips,” Nick says. People comment, cook along with them, and ask for song requests from Nick, who plays his originals as well as cover songs and impromptu material.

They also raise money for Edible Memphis, No Kid Hungry, and other groups.

Nick recently began live streaming Nick Black’s 30 Day Twitch Sample Challenge (twitch.tv/nickblackmusic), where he asks viewers to give him a riff, which he then uses in an original song.

Lena is Theatre Memphis’ director of education and outreach. “While she’s working, sending emails, and sending content for Theatre Memphis, I’m kind of just always around the house singing to myself,” Nick says. “I thought it was a good idea to hole myself up and channel that energy. It’s definitely helped with my musical ADD.”

Cooking & Crooning usually lasts an hour and a half. “She may have a few more minutes on the dish, and I’ll do my last song and we’ll say goodnight, play the theme one more time, and put up the photo of the meal on Instagram — @lenawallaceblack — and Facebook,” Nick says.

Then what do they do? “We sit down and watch Netflix and eat,” Lena says. “Leave the kitchen a complete disaster and come back and clean later.”

To watch the next show, find them at facebook.com/nickblackmusic.