Theater review: ‘Waitress’ at the Majestic Theatre

waitressmusical — ‘Waitress’ is playing at the Majestic Theatre through Sunday January 13. Photo: Broadway in San Antonio, used with permission.

Tuesday was opening night of ‘Waitress,’ now playing at the Majestic Theatre until Sunday January 13 with showtimes at 7:30p.m. through Thursday; 8p.m. Friday; 2p.m. and 8p.m. Saturday and 2p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $40 and are available through Ticketmaster online, by calling 800-982-2787 or by visiting the Majestic box office. With music by six-time Grammy Nominee Sara Bareilles and inspired by Adrienne Shelley’s beloved movie, ‘Waitress’ is an uplifting musical celebrating friendship, motherhood and the magic of a well-made pie. Recommended age is 13 and older as it deals with mature subjects.

After Sara Bareilles’ version of the ‘please turn off your cellphones’ message plays overhead, ‘Waitress’ begins with Jenna, a waitress and expert pie maker at Joe’s Diner whose method of dealing with difficult situations is turning them into pie ingredients for her famous pies “What’s Inside.” Her fantasy scene is interrupted by her boss Cal and so begins another work day with co-workers Becky, a sassy and tough waitress and Dawn, an overly anxious yet loveable waitress. On this particular day, Jenna is distracted by a possible pregnancy and after taking a home pregnancy test in the restroom, she is dismayed when it comes out positive “The Negative.” Due to her abusive marriage to Earl, she decides not to tell him about the baby and when she goes to her OB/GYN, she meets and is instantly smitten by the young and handsome new doctor, Dr. Pommater. When Jenna finds out about a local pie contest, she decides to enter and use the winning prize money to start a new life on her own. Her plans are disrupted when Earl finds the money she has been hiding to use for the pie contest and she is dismayed by her new reality “She Used to Be Mine.” Not content with being “happy enough,” she ends her on again/off again affair with Dr. Pommater when she has the baby. She ends up inheriting the diner from Joe, the old man she befriended and becomes the owner and head chef of “Lulu’s Pies,” named after her daughter.

Pies, the ingredients used to make them, and baking, play a central role in ‘Waitress’ since they are used as coping mechanisms and substitutes for lost loves and emotions. It is refreshing to see the live band onstage, rather than underground, like in most musicals, so the musicians are seen as part of the cast, rather than totally forgotten, albeit important, members of the production. Christine Dwyer does a splendid job of portraying the lonely and downcast Jenna but Jeremy Morse steals the show as Ogie, Dawn’s love interest. His scenes, especially on “Never Ever Getting Rid of Me,” provide the necessary comic relief from some of the more serious scenes. Show highlights include “When He Sees Me” when Dawn is excited about a potential love match and “Take It From an Old Man” when Jenna bonds with Joe, the owner of the diner. Despite being based on a movie, it is not required viewing beforehand since the characters are all relatable and deal with issues almost everyone can relate to, even if at the end Jenna does not “get the guy.” Overall, the setting, costumes and singing are impressive but there is some colorful language and mature subject matter, so ‘Waitress’ is more in league for a girls night out.

Culinary Institute of America announces new restaurant in San Antonio

savorinterior — SAVOR is coming to the Pearl this January. Photo: Clayton & Little, used with permission.

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in San Antonio is excited to announce SAVOR, a brand-new restaurant coming to Pearl this January. The seasonal Modern-American concept is based on the CIA’s curriculum which teaches cuisines and techniques from around the world. The college’s world-class chefs and hospitality instructors will lead the students, who will prepare and serve dinner as part of their associate degree studies. Upon graduation after this class, students may go on to pursue their bachelor’s degrees in management, culinary science or applied food studies at the college’s New York campus. SAVOR is the newest member of the CIA Restaurant Group. (The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, 2018)

Before students join SAVOR, they have studied the cuisines and cultures of the Americas, Asia, the Mediterranean and Europe. Most menu items at SAVOR will be locally sourced and the CIA team relies on relationships with farmers and producers to create an array of fresh dishes. SAVOR’s menu style allows guests to build a customized three or four-course meal, including options such as honey-chili roasted chicken with fat rice and Asian lime; grilled Gulf shrimp with polenta, olives, and tomato; and Berkshire pork schnitzel with a sunny egg, chamomile apple and red sauerkraut. The purpose of this menu format is to educate both students and patrons on various cuisines. CIA faculty overseeing SAVOR are Chef Uyen Pham and service instructor Samantha Fletcher.

The bar and lounge area will feature a menu of smaller and shareable plates such as caviar, potato and soft egg with leeks and pumpkin seeds; roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts with toum garlic dip and chicken cracklings; and crisp-fried wings with miso-chili paste, pickled cucumber and toasted sesame. The beverage program will feature classic cocktails like a Negroni, a Manhattan and a dirty martini along with New World and Old-World wines and local favorite craft brews. The restaurant will be open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday.

SAVOR’s 2,500 square feet and 62-seat layout ensures that the ingredients, learning and great food are the focal points of the restaurant. Clayton & Little are the lead architects on this project and designed the modern industrial interior to highlight the open kitchen.

“We are thrilled to have SAVOR join the Pearl community. As a graduate of the CIA, I understand the hard work these students put in to make this a special experience for the guests, and I am excited the restaurant will bring flavors from all across the globe to our city.” – Shelley Grieshaber, culinary director for Pearl and previously director of education for the CIA in San Antonio.

SAVOR
200 E Grayson St., Suite #117
San Antonio, TX 78215

Artist Gary Sweeney launches book based on installation

sweeneyartinstallation19 — ‘Manhattan Beach Memoir: Artist Gary Sweeney Says Goodbye to His Childhood Home’ is now available everywhere. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Gary Sweeney, a San Antonio-established artist known for his humorous text-based work and art installations throughout the United States, debuts his new book, ‘Manhattan Beach Memoir: Artist Gary Sweeney Says Goodbye to His Childhood Home,’ based on his most popular art installation, A Manhattan Beach Memoir: 1945-2015. (Gary Sweeney, 2019)

‘Manhattan Beach Memoir’ documents the installation at 320 35th Street in Manhattan Beach, California, made as a tribute to his family as they owned and occupied the home for over 70 years. The site-specific installation pays homage to his upbringing, family and the Manhattan Beach of the past. The photography exhibit consisted of 112 large-scale graphics of personal family photos, which were printed on MDO plywood and covered the entire outside of the artist’s childhood home. The installation was featured in national and international publications, including the Daily Mail UK, People.com, ABC News, Dwell, Architecture Lab, and more.

The project was on display to the public during the entire month of February 2015, after which the photos were removed and the home was replaced by a new development. The collection of photographs were originally taken by Mike Sweeney, Gary’s father. He took hundreds of pictures documenting family events and even built a dark room located in the upstairs of the home where he developed most of the photos. Gary selected images that tell a story of a family and a home across 70 years.

Writers of the book, Wendy Weil Atwell and Neil Fauerso, also discuss the social and economic factors that shaped Sweeny’s childhood, the astronomical increase in real estate values, the meaning of home, photography’s role in society and the Southern California art movements that inspired and influenced Sweeney’s art. ‘Manhattan Beach Memoir: Artist Gary Sweeney Says Goodbye to His Childhood Home’ is available for purchase on Amazon and on the publisher’s website, Material Media.

Gary Sweeney is an artist who works in many forms—from photography to painting to sculpting, resulting in a body of work ranging from neon signs, billboards and murals to wooden furniture, books and flower arrangements. Born into the fertile artistic climate of 1950s Southern California, Sweeney was surrounded by art and artists. He has become known for his appealingly nostalgic and humorous artwork and gained notability for his project Post-Obsessive, where he mailed more than 20,000 personalized, handwritten postcards that were altered with witty images, clippings and quotes taken from newspapers around the country. He also has permanent collections on view including America, Why I Love Her at the Denver International Airport, which is inspired by family road trips and bizarre monuments and roadside attractions, and Nostalgia, Texas at the San Antonio International Airport, where Sweeney designed neo-retro tourist posters with tongue-in-cheek slogans.

Television adaptation: ‘The Passage’ by Justin Cronin

Justin Cronin is an American author who has written five novels: ‘Mary and O’Neil,’ ‘The Summer Guest’ and the vampire trilogy consisting of ‘The Passage,’ ‘The Twelve’ and ‘City of Mirrors.’ He has won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, the Stephen Crane Prize and a Whiting Award. ‘The Passage’ is the story of Amy who was abandoned by her mother at age six and is now being pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. The television adaption will premiere on Fox on Monday January 14 and stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Brad Wolgast and Saniyya Sidney as Amy Bellafonte.

‘The Passage’ focuses on Project Noah, a secret medical facility where scientists are experimenting with a dangerous virus that at best is a cure-all for all diseases and at worst has the potential to wipe out humanity. When Amy Bellafonte is chosen as a test subject, Federal Agent Brad Wolgast has to bring her in to Project Noah but instead bonds with her as a surrogate father and vows to protect her at any cost. Their journey will force them to confront Project Noah’s lead scientist, Major Nichole Skyes and the hardened ex-CIA operative in charge of operations Clark Richards, whom Brad trained. It also brings them face-to-face with a dangerous new race of beings within the walls of Project Noah.

Television adaptation: ‘A Discovery of Witches’ by Deborah Harkness

discoveryofwitches Deborah Harkness is an American scholar, novelist and wine enthusiast best known as a historian and the author of the All Souls Trilogy. The series consists of The New York Times’ best-selling novel ‘A Discovery of Witches’ and the sequels ‘Shadow of Night’ and ‘The Book of Life.’ The story centers around Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches. It was adapted into a television series by Sky One, a British network, and will premiere on Sundance Now on Thursday January 17. Cast includes Matthew Goode, Alex Kingston and Teresa Palmer.

In ‘A Discovery of Witches,’ Diana Bishop discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont. Despite a long-held mistrust between witches and vampires they form an alliance and set out to protect the book and solve the mysteries hidden within while dodging threats from the creature world.

The Public Theater and the San Antonio Area Foundation announce scholarship opportunities

publictheaterscholarship — Registration is now open for the Joe Salek Scholarship for the Theater Arts Trust. Photo: The Public Theater, used with permission.

Scholarship opportunity announcement courtesy of the San Antonio Area Foundation:

The Public Theater of San Antonio in partnership with the San Antonio Area Foundation are pleased to announce Scholarship Opportunities for the 2019-2020 academic year through the Joe Salek Scholarship for the Theater Arts Trust. (San Antonio Area Foundation, 2019)

The Trust was created in honor of Joe Salek, whose years as Executive Director of the San Antonio Little Theater from 1949-1976 demonstrated his dedicated leadership and artistic inspiration and enriched the lives of all San Antonians.

Scholarships are available to students graduating from, or who have already graduated from, any public or private high school in Bexar County. Prospective student applicants must major or concentrate in one or more of the following subjects related to the theater arts: Acting/Performance, Playwriting, Directing, Scenery and Costume Design and Theater Management. Scholarship recipients will be selected based on academic achievement, experience, community involvement and career goals. A minimum 3.0 GPA, sample theater work attachments and a letter of recommendation are required. Scholarship application is now open and will close March 23, 2019.

For application questions or technical assistance, please email Bernice Uresti or call (210) 225-2243. Anyone interested in making a charitable contribution to the Joe Salek Scholarship for the Theater Arts Trust, please visit The Public Theater online.

Teatro Audaz’ ‘The Taming of the Shrew’

tamingshrew — ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ will be playing at Palo Alto College’s Performing Arts Center Auditorium. Photo: Teatro Audaz, used with permission.

Teatro Audaz San Antonio’s next production is William Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’ Teatro Audaz gives this classic battle of the sexes tale a Latinx twist. Set in a Texas border town in 2018, this production cautions audiences to be careful what they wish for and invites them to come and find out who is taming who. In collaboration with Teatro Palo Alto. Thursday January 10 through Saturday January 12 at 7:30p.m. and Sunday January 13 at 2:30p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available online. It is directed by Laura T. Garza and stars Victoria Gutierrez as Grumio, Olivia Guerras as Bianca, Ruby Lopez as Wife/Kate and Gabriel Itzcoatl Luera as Sly/Petruchio.

Palo Alto College
Palo Alto Performing Arts Center Auditorium
1400 W. Villaret Blvd.
San Antonio, TX 78224

Fast Eddie’s ‘Let’s Get Physical’ anniversary party

fasteddiephysical — Fast Eddie’s next anniversary party is this Friday January 4. Photo: Fast Eddie’s, used with permission.

Mark your calendars to join Fast Eddie’s Billiards & Sports Bars on Friday, January 4 from 7p.m. to 2a.m. for another 20th Anniversary Party featuring high-dollar giveaways. There will be cocktail specials and the staff will be serving them in their favorite workout gear to go along with the “Let’s Get Physical” theme. Come enjoy the festivities and be sure to grab a finalist ticket, which will be handed out every hour on the hour from 9p.m. to midnight, at this event for a chance to win a brand new 2019 Chevy Camaro. One lucky winner will also be selected on this night to receive a $3,000-valued prize. Do not miss out on this evening of fun, drinks, games, pool and giveaways. (Fast Eddie’s, 2019)

Fast Eddie’s opened its first location in San Antonio in August 1998 by hospitality experts and bar veterans, Bob Wilson, Mark Beyer and Mark Lewis. These talented entrepreneurs created a neighborhood gathering place with more entertainment options than were available at any other billiards halls. With large, comfortable environments that feature multi-dimensional entertainment, high-end audio-visual equipment, top of the line pool tables, dart boards, video games, music, comfort food, a full bar, themed events and charity benefits, Fast Eddie’s has drawn a loyal following. The single pool hall on Culebra Rd became so successful, it spurred the growth of Fast Eddie’s to 15 locations in Texas and Louisiana.

Fast Eddie’s Billiards & Sports Bar San Antonio locations:

9910 W Loop 1604 N Suite 113
San Antonio, TX

7616 Culebra Rd #103
San Antonio, TX

502 Embassy Oaks
San Antonio, TX

11221 Perrin Beitel
San Antonio, TX

Book review: Tug Wyler Mystery series by Andy Siegel

Andy Siegel is a graduate of Tulane University and Brooklyn Law School and a personal injury and medical malpractice attorney in New York City. His many trial successes have regularly placed those outcomes among the “Top 100 Verdicts” reported in the state annually. After sharing a trial story with a mom at his kids’ baseball game, he was encouraged to write them down, which led to the Tug Wyler Mystery series. The series consists of ‘Suzy’s Case,’ ‘Cookie’s Case,’ which was selected as a Conversations Book Club Top 10 Beach Read, ‘Nelly’s Case,’ ‘Elton’s Case’ and ‘Jenna’s Case.’ At the heart of each is Tug Wyler, a colorful, cocky and self-deprecating personal injury lawyer.

‘Jenna’s Case’ is about Jenna Radcliff, a teenager who is the victim of a cosmetic surgeon willing to put greed above his oath to do no harm. It begins as she is going in to surgery and has flashbacks of how she got there. She is a competitive double-Dutch rope-jumper who is self-conscious about being big-breasted and agrees to a reduction surgery set up by her con-man step-father. Instead, she gets a total breast reduction that leaves Jenna not only physically scarred but a shell of the bright and energetic teenager she used to be. Her scheming step-father will do anything to get the money Jenna has inherited, including putting her life at stake.

The client in ‘Nelly’s Case’ is Nelly Rivera, a young woman who, because of dental anxiety, goes to Dr. Grad, know as the Painless Dentist, who uses general anesthesia. Shortly after being hooked up to the IV, she stops breathing and is rushed to the hospital where she falls into a coma. Eventually she comes out of it, but Dr. Grad insists that it was an unfortunate anaphylactic reaction. Rather than drag litigation out and risk his career and family, he settles out of court but ends up being sued by the city for negligence. The money trail targeted Nelly who was recently set to inherit a large sum of money from her father’s life insurance after he died in a house fire.

‘Elton’s Case’ is the case involving Elton Jerome Cribbs, who was wrongly convicted of a crime. His situation goes from bad to worse when he is injured during a prison transport and left paraplegic. Now in a wheelchair, he is seeking justice for his wrongful imprisonment while rejecting any kind of pity. The City of New York offers him millions to settle but maintains their stance that he is faking his injuries. It turns out they were right and Tug is stuck in the middle, struggling to distinguish the bad guys from the guys and truth from fiction.

Personal injury lawyers tend to get a bad reputation and their efforts to get justice often goes unnoticed, until Tug Wyler came along. This is a fascinating series centered around a flawed, but charming lawyer who frequently admits his mistakes and schemes and simply says “at least I admit it.” His lies frequently catch up to him and he is haunted by his past but in his mind he does what he has to do. He has been kidnapped, assaulted, held in contempt of court and blackmailed into taking cases he does not want. The novels start with ‘The Unfortunate Event’ and are written in the first-person point of view of Tug in plain English and are easy to understand and follow. There is courtroom drama with details of the cases including medical backgrounds and insight into Tug’s mind and analysis of his actions. The characters are well developed and sometimes other cases are mixed in to emphasize how lawyers usually handle more than one case at a time. These page-turners and are recommended for fans of courtroom dramas similar to John Grisham as well as mysteries and medical dramas.

“It’s common to diss personal injury lawyers-ambulance chasers they call us. But just remember: anyone, in an instant, can become a victim. Even you.” – Andy Siegel

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Book review: ‘Becoming Starlight’ by Sharon Prentice, PhD

becomingstarlight Sharon Prentice, PhD is a Licensed Clinical Pastoral Counselor and a Board-Certified Spiritual Counselor. Soon after completing her graduate studies in psychology, Dr. Prentice found the world of secular psychology lacking – her patients needed “something more.” She set out to investigate and explore alternative methods in the field of mental health that would incorporate that “something special” she believed existed in each and every individual soul. Because of her unusual experience with death, she developed an interest in death and dying and investigated and interviewed patients who were in the dying process and people who had experienced Near Death Experiences or Shared Death Experiences. Her new book “Becoming Starlight: A Shared Death Journey from Darkness to Light” is a thought-provoking book that opens the conversation regarding the afterlife, including NDEs and SDEs.

A Near Death Experience is defined as a personal experience associated with death or impending death that includes feelings of detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, total serenity, security and warmth, among others. A Shared Death Experience is similar, but occurs not to the person dying, but to someone who is physically well and completely unaware that a loved one is close to dying. They witness the aftermath of death via powers outside their control. The author experienced such an SDE which was tied to the passing of her husband.

“Becoming Starlight” begins with A Note from the Author and a Foreword by Dr. Raymond Moody where he explains that, aside from discussing NDE and SDE, “the book will also bring comfort to those who are feeling unrelenting grief over lost loved ones.” The Introduction serves to define what NDEs and SDEs are and how they are similar. There are fifteen chapters in all and the first few chronicle her personal life and the deep losses that brought her to the point where she was angry at God and viewed death as cold and inflexible. Chapter 11: Becoming Starlight describes her Shared Death Experience that changed her perspective on life, death and God.

In this deeply personal book, Sharon Prentice shares her long and difficult journey to find inner peace and cope with the death of her daughter and husband, all while trying to reconnect with God. Even though the subject matter may be difficult at times, including the details of her husband’s illness and deteriorating health, some readers may find solace in knowing that others, like themselves, have also experienced such hardships. The language is easy to understand and the story flows from chapter to chapter and makes it a page turner for the target audience. In this case, it is the religious community that may find themselves questioning their faith and are looking for reassurances that in the end, their faith is not in vain. Sometimes the tone is unforgiving to scientists, science and those who do not believe in the afterlife and may turn off some readers. Regardless, the highlight is definitely the author’s description of her Shared Death Experience as it comes across as a beautiful experience that surrounded her with love, hope and comfort when she needed it most. “Becoming Starlight” is recommended for readers who are genuinely interested in the afterlife and need the comforting words of someone who, despite heartbreaking losses, came out a better person.

“Becoming Starlight is….an account, my account, of a Soul’s journey that leads to an unraveling of a lifetime of beliefs about God and our very existence in this universe.”