 Mark The Dates
By TAYLOR TEMPLETON
Photography by Jenny Clock©
Blue Man
Productions, Inc., Craig Schwartz, Bill Records
Talk about a calendar loaded with
great performances! Have you
checked out what’s coming to San
Antonio and the surrounding area in the
next three months?
Let me hit some high spots and do a little
name-dropping. Sinbad, Stomp, The
Great American Trailer Park Musical, Chanticleer, JoAnn Falletta, The Police, Las
Nuevas Tamaleras, The Ten Tenors and
Mariachi Vargas are yours for the taking.
Then there’s Blue Man Group, Handel’s
Messiah, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Holiday
Pops, A Tuna Christmas, Camelot, Asleep
At The Wheel and Nutcrackers galore. This
is only the beginning of the performance
story for November, December and
January. Much more follows.
The best way to cover the subject is to
categorize offerings, starting with classical
music. The San Antonio Symphony brings pianist Jon Kimura Parker to the
stage on Nov. 2 and 3 followed by the
appearance of esteemed conductor
JoAnn Falletta on the 15th and 16th.
James Judd leads the orchestra and the
San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers as they perform Handel’s Messiah on
Dec. 14 and 15. Holiday Pops is next on
the 21st, 22nd and 23rd with Robert
Moody conducting.
January features the performance of
pianist James Serkin on the 18th and 19th.
Chanticleer entertains on Nov. 11 as a
part of the San Antonio Chamber Music
Society season, as does Trio Solisti with
pianist Alan Kay on Jan. 20. Camerata
San Antonio adds to this with Recording
Miguel: Music of Miguel Del Aguila on
Nov. 29 in Boerne and Dec. 2 in San
Antonio. The Camerata Recital with clarinetist
Ilya Shterenberg is scheduled for
Jan. 27, also in SA. Tenor James Brownlee
enhances the category as the guest of
the Tuesday Musical Club on Jan. 15.
 Continuing with classical performances, Symphony of the Hills, based in
Kerrville, offers Rising Stars, its second concert
of the season, on Nov. 29 with an
encore on Dec. 2, while David Mairs and
the Mid-Texas Symphony present their
Holiday Concert on Dec. 9 in Seguin. Musical Bridges Around The World offers Sounds of Vienna, also on the 9th. They follow
this with Russian Palaces on Jan. 20.
Romero Quartet rounds out the category
with two shows for Kerrville Performing
Arts Society on Jan. 14 and 15.
Let’s stay with music, but this time let’s
do country. At Cowboys San Antonio, the
Ford Best In Texas Concert Series features
Travis Tritt on Nov. 2,Kellie Pickler on the 9th,
Roger Creager on the 21st, Bellamy
Brothers on the 24th, Cross Canadian
Ragweed on the 30th, followed by Randy
Rogers Band on Dec. 19 and Jack Ingram
on New Year’s Eve. Other C&W performances
of note include Brad Paisley at
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on Nov. 2,
Clay Walker at the AT&T Center on the
15th, Michael Martin Murphy’s Cowboy
Christmas Ball up the road in San Marcos
at Strahan Coliseum on the 30th, Two Tons
of Steel at John T. Floore Country Store on
Dec. 31 and Asleep At The Wheel on the
same evening at Gruene Hall. For even
more appearances by great country and
western artists, stay tuned to www.sarodeo.com. The rodeo is coming — Jan. 31!
An eclectic listing of other upcoming
shows includes Hannah Montana and
Miley Cyrus at the AT&T Center on Nov. 12,
Salsamba at the Jo Long Theatre on the
16th, Anuna at the Majestic on the 18th,
and The Police at the AT&T Center on the
20th. December brings us Mariachi Vargas
on the 1st at Municipal Auditorium, Blue
Man Group at the AT& T on the 3rd, The
Ultimate Doo-Wop Show at the Majestic on
the 7th and Trans-Siberian Orchestra for
two shows at the AT&T Center on the 23rd.
The Platters at the Brauntex in New Braunfels and Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular at the Majestic, both on the 5th, are highlight
musical shows in January.
 Stomp get things started in the theater
world for the three months of November
through January. This dancing, drumming
and rhythmic extravaganza takes over the
Majestic stage from Nov. 6 to 11. Then it’s
The Ten Tenors, a Broadway Across
America presentation at the Majestic from
the 27th to Dec. 2nd. Jaston Williams and
Joe Sears bring A Tuna Christmas back to
the Majestic from Dec. 26 to 30. If you
haven’t seen this one, run to the box office.
If you’ve seen it before, run to the box
office. A Tuna Christmas is a holiday classic
not to be missed.
The final show at the Majestic during
this period is Camelot, starring Lou
Diamond Phillips. Tony-nominated for his
Broadway performance in the King and I, Phillips takes on the role of King Arthur in
this masterpiece by Lerner and Loewe.
Show dates are Jan. 22 to 27.
Theatrical performances outside the
grand environs of the Majestic include the
super-funny The Great American Trailer
Park Musical at Cameo Center starting
Nov. 8 and going through the end of the
year, holiday-themed Nuncrackers: The
Nunsense Christmas Musical at Church
Bistro & Theatre in King William from Nov. 9
to Dec. 16, and the bilingual Las Nuevas
Tamaleras at Guadalupe Theatre,where it
is sure to cause extreme laughter from Nov.
23 to Dec. 1.
A complete listing of all local theater
presentations is obviously too long to detail
in this article. The best way to get extensive
information (children’s theater too) is on
the San Antonio Theatre Coalition Web site.
It’s www.satheatre.com. Check it out.
 And now to The Nutcrackers. The first
of five is the 3rd Annual Nutcracker in
the Hills by Austin Ballet, a presentation
of Kerrville Performing Arts Society.
Two performances are scheduled for
Nov. 24th. Next up is The Original
Nutcracker, danced by Moscow Classical Ballet. Dates are Dec. 6 to 8 for four performances
co-sponsored by Arts San Antonio and the San Antonio
Symphony. Nutcrackers three and four are presented by
Alamo City Ballet Company and Ballet San Antonio.
Alamo City offers audiences three opportunities to see this
timeless work of art on Dec. 21 and 22, while Ballet San
Antonio takes to the boards four times from the 21st to the
23rd. And finally, Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker
comes to town on Dec. 30 for one show only. That brings the
total to five.
Other dance performances in the city include So You Think You
Can Dance Live Tour 2007 at the AT&T Center on Nov. 14; Historias
y Recuerdos by Guadalupe Dance Company at the Guadalupe
Theatre from the 16th to the 18th; Cinderella, a presentation of
San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet at the Lila Dec. 8 and 9; and a
double feature at the Jo Long Theatre: Kuumba Kwanzaa on
Dec. 8 and The Morgan Scott Ballet on Jan. 19.
Before I get to comedy, let me mention the hilarious opera Elixir
of Love, presented by San Antonio Opera at the Lila Cockrell
Theatre from Jan. 25 to 27. Now to comedy. Gloria Bigelow plays
the Little Carver on Nov. 3, Sinbad appears for Arts San Antonio at
Laurie Auditorium on the 16th, Rob Bell brings his The Gods Aren’t
Angry Tour to the Empire on the 17th, Gabriel Iglesias does seven
shows at Rivercenter Comedy Club from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2, and Lisa
Lampanelli takes the mic at the Empire on the 7th.
Mark the dates. Stages all over the city and surrounding
area are loaded with great entertainment for the holidays! Run
to the box office.
|
