 The Stage is Set
By TAYLOR TEMPLETON
Why isn’t August 31st New Year’s Eve? When you think about it, September is truly the month of beginnings, so why aren’t its first 24 hours called New Year’s Day? It is at this time of year that our “internal” life calendar kicks in with thoughts of back-to-school, fall in all its glory and joyful preparation for holidays that lie ahead.
September brings with it the renewal of structure to our
lives and sets the stage for the coming year. It is not by coincidence that all performing arts seasons start during this pivotal period. Season 2006-07 in San Antonio provides an exciting example. Organizations from around the city and surrounding area invite you to master plan your performing arts agenda through the purchase of season tickets. It’s an entertaining thought that will lead to a Happy New Year of music, theatre, dance, opera and more.
Let’s take a peak into your performance future.
This year, the San Antonio Symphony Classical Series is a 12-concert offering featuring such internationally known musicians as the Van Cliburn Piano Competition winner Alexander Kobrin, violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, cellist Alban Gerhardt, and pianists Awadagin Pratt, Robert Levin and Lilya Zilberstein. Concertmaster Stephanie Sant’ Ambrogio will solo with the orchestra again this year in November, playing Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ violin concerto. Music director Larry Rachleff is scheduled to take the podium for six classical performances (two nights each), with resident conductor David In-Jae Cho and five guest conductors sharing the remainder.
The Symphony Pops Series begins with The Three Broadway Divas (Jan Horvath, Christiane Noll and Debbie Gravitte) and continues with the return of Pink Martini. It concludes with Lyn Dillies in Magic At The Symphony, Bugs Bunny On Broadway and Tito Puente, Jr.
Symphony Special Event selections include Balanchine’s The Nutcracker over the Thanksgiving weekend, Twist and Shout with Flash Cadillac, A Benny Goodman Holiday Tribute and A Night In Old Vienna at year’s end, plus The 5 Browns in January.
Performances by five quartets and a trio fill the 2006-07 season for the San Antonio Chamber Music Society. All concerts are on Sunday afternoons with four staged at Temple Beth-El and the additional two at McAllister Auditorium on the campus of San Antonio College. Highlights include the Jupiter String Quartet, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and the Amadeus Trio.
 The Tuesday Musical Club presents its 84th season in 2006-07. Soprano Heidi Grant Murphy is featured in the first program of the year in October followed by pianist Mihaela Ursuleasa in November and violinist Baiba Skride in February. The final concert of the season in March showcases the talents of the Kavafian, Schub, Shifrin Trio.
All performances are held on Tuesdays, of course, at Trinity Baptist Church. For exact dates and times, check their Web site.
Camerata San Antonio has announced a season of six programs to be held from September through April at Travis Park United Methodist Church. Four of these concerts will be duplicated in Kerrville at First Presbyterian Church. Notable Camerata players include Kenneth Freudigman - cello, Emily Watkins - viola, Stephanie Sant’ Ambrogio - violin, Kristin Roach - piano, Ertan Torgul - violin and Jeff L. Garza - French horn. The Camerata Web site holds exact details.
Other classical music purveyors with wonderful seasons are the Mid-Texas Symphony led by music director David Mairs, and the Symphony Of The Hills under the baton of Dr. Jay Dunnahoo. Mid-Texas performs six shows shared by Seguin and New Braunfels venues, while the Hill Country orchestra performs on four occasions at Kerrville’s Kathleen C. Cailloux Theatre.
The newly named San Antonio Opera (formerly Lyric Opera of San Antonio) has three operatic performances on tap for area audiences, beginning with Verdi’s La Traviata Sept. 8-10 at the Lila Cockrell Theatre. Gilbert and Sullivan’s masterpiece, Pirates of Penzance, is the second offering, Feb. 9-11, also at the Lila. An Evening with Frederica Von Stade and Friends willgrace the samestage and cap off the season June 16.
Broadway Across America has unveiled an exciting eight-show package at the Majestic for the 2006-07 season. Opening night is Sept. 12 with two of America’s most beloved actors, Tom Bosely and Michael Learned, starring in On Golden Pond. Next up is The Rat Pack, starting Oct. 3, with Frank, Dean and Sammy look-and-sound-alikes. This rousing musical revue takes you back to the Sands Hotel in 1960 Las Vegas.
Staying with the retro theme, All Shook Up, the Elvis-inspired musical, comes to the Majestic Oct. 31. You might want to dust off your blue suede shoes for this one. Chicago, the razzle-dazzle tale of sin and celebrity, plays again this year starting on Dec. 12. Feb. 6 brings with it opening night of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Reviewers give this Tony Award-winning musical gold stars all around. Rent rolls in for a short run beginning on March 2. It is followed by the highlighted show of the season, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, April 10-15. Molly Ringwald comes to town June 19 to star in a one-week run of Sweet Charity, the eighth show of the year.
The Crown Royal Latin Kings of Comedy, hosted by Paul Rodriguez, is the initial offering for 2006-07 from Arts San Antonio. This evening of Latin levity is scheduled for Sept. 29 at the Municipal Auditorium. October holds three Arts SA events, starting with Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway at the Lila Cockrell Theatre on the 14th, followed by Lyon Opera Ballet at the Lila on the 17th, and Taipei Folk Dance Theatre at the Empire on the 28th. The Nutcracker with the MoscowClassical Ballet is next in line for this presenting organization. See it at the Lila Cockrell Dec. 7-9. The Arts San Antonio season ends Feb. 5 with a performance of Swan Lake by the Moscow Festival Ballet, also at the Lila Cockrell.
Savion Glover, called by Gregory Hines “the best tap dancer who ever lived,” headlines a banner Carver Community Cultural Center season. Glover will astound on successive evenings, Oct. 26-27, at the Carver’s Jo Long Theatre. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band, Stanley Clarke and George Duke, the San Francisco Jazz Collective, Drummers of Burundi, the Mambo Kings and Philippine National Dance round out the Carver’s performance year.
 Local theatre companies offer substantial seasons as well. San Pedro Playhouse will entertain with Aida, Once Upon A Mattress, Hair, Victor/Victoria, Brigadoon and otherquality performances. The Boys Next Door, Lend Me A Tenor, Visiting Mr. Green and Urinetown The Musical are the marquee shows atthe Sheldon Vexler Theatre. The lineup for Steven Stoli Playhouse includes My Son Is Crazy…But Promising, The Nun Before Christmas, Menopause The Comedy, The Honky Tonk Angel and Her Cowboy, Snoopy The Musical and Seven Nuns South of The Border. The San Antonio Theatre Coalition (SATCO) Web site can keep you up-to-date on all shows at all member theatres. This is a welcome service for local theatregoers.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Children’s Fine Arts Series. Now in its 24th season, CFAS continues to positively affect youth by exposing them to the performing arts at an early age. No doubt many of the children who attended Children’s Fine Arts Series shows over the years are now season-ticket-holders of performance organizations as adults. Consult the CFAS Web site for a complete schedule of shows, dates and times.
The stage is set for Season 2006-07. By all accounts, it promises to be a new year of great performances.
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