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Despite Tuxedos Being MIA, Center Stage 2010 was a Class Act

Creative types just know how to party. And when the Wyly Theatre is the setting, it’s a dead giveaway that it’s going to be a memorable event. That’s what happened Saturday night for “Center Stage 2010″ celebrating the Dallas Theater Center.

The invitation set up the scene with a killer line — “Anything But Black Tie.” No doubt gentlemen guests breathed a heavy sigh of relief that their tuxedos would have the night off, but then the problem of what to wear to a gala forced men to debate the answer in their closets. Evening honoree Ted Enloe (pictured), Justin Blumoff, Wyly Theatre namesake Charles Wyly, Chad Vose (pictured), Don Carty, Ken Menges, DTC angel Hal Brierley, and others opted for the “if-I-don’t-have-to-wear-a-tie, I’m-not-gonna” look.

The ladies, on the other hand, had no problem in their selection. From tight, short cigarette skirt with killer heels to one-shoulder, to-the-floor gowns, the gals like Allison Laros (pictured) had their way.

For those in lightweight silks, they did have a bit of a challenge upon arrival as Mother Nature and her buddy Mariah literally blew into town. The twosome must have been upset that they hadn’t been invited. As guests arrived, gauzy skirts looked like tethered kites. Even the sturdiest hairsprays were challenged, but after a quick powder room visit, every hair was back in place. Gals like Lisa Runyon (pictured) looked just picture perfect despite the blustery breezes.

Due to the breeze, plans for using the esplanade for the cocktail hour were readjusted for the reception to take place in the lobby. Yes, it was a bit crowded, but, shoot,

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Bacall And The Fonz Will Be Just A Block Away On March 11

March 11 is going to be a very busy day for people who like Hollywood types. Within a block of each other will be two legends — one of the silver screen and one of the plasma screen.

Lauren Bacall will be the Nasher Salon featured speaker at the Nasher Sculpture Center for lunch and evening chats. Married to Humphrey Bogart and Jason Robards, Bacall at 85 has appeared in over 60 films including The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, Key Largo, How To Marry A Millionaire, Written on the Wind, Murder on the Orient Express, The Shootist, and Dogville to name just a few. Known as “Betty” to her friends, she made famous the line, “You know how to whistle, don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow” (To Have and Have Not). Sorry, but the evening segment is sold out and there are only a handful of tickets available to lunch with Lauren.

Across North Olive at the Belo Mansion, Henry “The Fonz” Winkler (pictured) will be part of the St. Philip’s School and Community Center‘s 2010 Destiny Awards Luncheon.  Besides being the legendary “Fonzie” of Happy Days, Henry is a producer, director, and best-selling author of over a dozen children’s books. You probably know Henry majored in drama and studied child psychology at Emerson College, and earned his Masters of Fine Arts from Yale School of Drama. But did you know that he didn’t realize that he suffered from dyslexia until he was in his 30′s? Heavily involved in various children’s projects, he co-founded the Children’s Action Network in 1990, which provides free immunizations to children. For additional info, call Anyika McMillian-Herod at 214-421-5221, Ext. 238.

Folks, get your autograph books out and give them a real work out on March 11.

UPDATE: Henry has just been added to the cast of “Royal Pains.”

Boo (Hoo) Radley Is Done Deal

Photo provided by the Nasher Sculpture Center

If you had planned on personally wishing a belated birthday greeting or tangoing with Robert Duvall at the Nasher Salon on January 21, send him a card and put away your dancing shoes. Both of Bobby’s salons sold out in a matter of nano-minutes. He’s come a long way since he rescued Jeb and Scout.

Learn from this lesson. Bogie‘s widow, Lauren “Betty” Bacall‘s visit is March 11, but tickets will not be available to the public until February 7. And remember, proceeds benefit the Nasher Sculpture Center!

If you want an insider’s track on these chats, remember patron members of the Nasher get advanced notice.

Pat on the backs to presenting sponsor Fidelity Investments and fellow sponsors Rosewood Crescent Hotel and Carey Limousines.

Art Groups Welcome the Newest Kids on the Block

It’s real neighborly to do something for folks who have just moved into the block. But when your neighbor is the AT&T Performing Arts Center and the move in has taken decades to accomplish, you’ve got to do it up big time. So, the artsy neighbors have designated this Sunday as “Spotlight Sunday” and are opening their venues free. (Hey, we’re always thinking of you and your pocketbook.) For instance:

• Cathedral Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe- A concert will be performed by the 40-voice choir from Cape Cod at 6 p.m. and with a pre-concert lecture at 5 p.m.

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  Art by Pamela Nelson

  The Catholic Foundation Plaza – Yes, it’s open year-round and always free for the standing and sitting, but the newest art wall, Music on Parade (pictured) was just unveiled last week.

• The Crow Collection of Asian Art (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) - Its amazing Asian collection including music, dance, theater, and art activities for artists of all ages. There is a $10 charge if you want to observe the Tibetan monks dismantle the sand mandala, that they’ve been constructing for the past six days. Why tear it apart? Because it represents the impermanence of all that exists.
• Dallas Center for Architecture (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.)– A living museum featuring important buildings of civic history plus the work of PAC architects Norman Foster and Rem Koolhaas.
• Dallas Museum of Art(11 a.m. to 6 p.m.)– Three exhibitions tell the remarkable history of the Arts District, illustrating the dynamic connections between all the arts. Did you know that it was just 25 years ago that the DMA opened in its downtown location?
• Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center (2:30 p.m.)– Hustle on this one since there’s a limited number of tickets. A free performance of Beethoven’s Symphony #9 under the direction of Jaap van Zweeden.
• Nasher Sculpture Garden(11 a.m. to 6 p.m.)– Numerous activities highlighted by Foster + Partners: The Art of Architecture, the first major U.S. retrospective to explore Foster’s major architectural achievements in the past four decades. Remember, class, they’re the ones who designed the Winspear.
• One Arts Plaza (6 to 10 p.m.) – A concert by Hunter Sullivan and his 14-piece jazz band. They’ll take a break during the fireworks show.

Now, that’s what we call a neighborly welcome to the ‘hood.

AT&T PAC is a Real Free For Absolutely All This Weekend

Free is a favorite four-letter word around here and this weekend the AT&T Performing Arts Center is making a great first impression for one and all with free activities. Since you always need examples, here goes:

This afternoon at 4, a jazz concert featuring David Sanbornwill take place in Sammons Park. We’re not telling you to leave work early, but if there is an errand that needs running. . . well. Suggestion: bring a chair and perhaps a sweater. We always want you prepared.

On Sunday everything from family-friendly activities, venue tours, and indoor and outdoor “spotlight performances” by the the finest dancers, musicians, and theatricals types will take place from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. You just might catch a performance by Aaron Kurz, ACME Swing Company, Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico, Arts District Chorale, Ballet Center of Fort Worth, Ballet Ensemble of Texas, Bloom – Dallas Black Dance Academy Jr. Performing Ensemble, Chamberlain School of Performing Arts, Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas, Dallas Ballet Center, Dallas Black Dance Academy Ensemble, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Dallas Black Dance Theatre II, Dance Industry Performing Arts Center, Dallas Uptown Youth Orchestra, Fine Arts Chamber Players, Flame Foundation, Gocha & Shorena Center of Dance, Kitty Carter’s Dance Factory, Maguire Academy of Irish Dance, Mistura String Quartet, Revelation Dance Studio, Rhythm Junkies, Richmond Punch Jazz Quartet, Texas Ballet Theater, Texas Ballet Theater School Dallas Academy, Texas Ballet Theater School Fort Worth Academy, Turtle Creek Chorale, and Tuzer Ballet.

And what would a celebration be without Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts? So, expect to experience the African Dance Ensemble, LunaSol Folklorico Dance Company, Rhythm and Blues Band, African Dance Ensemble and Drums, Mimes Troupe, Austin Goodwin & Ida Saki Dance Duet, Repertory Dance Company I, Repertory Dance Company II, and Bailey Mason-Harpist.

The evening will finish off with a fireworks display launched from the rooftop of the Wyly and Winspear. Watch out below!

Jaap Conducts Magic Moments Off-Stage on Opening Night

There was a murmur through the crowd gathered in the East Loge of the Meyerson last night. Surely DSO maestro and international musical hottie Jaap van Zweden would not make an appearance at the cocktail reception on the opening night of the 2009-2010 Texas Instruments Classical Series. After all, in minutes he would be leading his troops, or rather musicians, into the new season of musical magic and trying to outdo his own international reputation as the man of the baton. He was probably meditating or doing warm-ups with his fellow orchestra members.

But, no, there among the crowd of board members, media types and sponsors was a very jazzily-attired Jaap (FYI: Jaap rhymes with “lap,” not “pop”) being just  as sociable as a freshman at a rush party. The only sign that he was the BMOC was his bodyguard, or rather escort, or rather handler, blonde DSO staff member Stacie Adams (pictured with Jaap, left, and a reporter). Seamlessly she maneuvered him through the crowd, allowing him to chat long enough to be charming but not long enough to keep him from his appointed duties on stage.

Unlike his image leering down from banners and signage around town, the man in the flesh is refreshingly charming. Whether he’s being prodded by a nosy journalist about his international lifestyle or admitting that he has neither a “Blackberry nor iPhone. I just have a simple cellphone with no special ringtones,” he made each person feel like he was theirs for the evening.  But then Stacie would smile and ease him along his way to the next eager guest-in-waiting. Then all too quickly the maestro disappeared to his night job.

But never fear, the sociable types managed to carry on without JvZ. For instance, fresh new DSO board member Cathy Manning admitted that retirement has become a full-time job, thanks to her involvement on various boards. Cathy’s husband/Jones Day lawyer George Manning confessed that despite being tone deaf, he found the symphony to be inspiring. . . . DSO headman Doug Adams went over his notes about a change in the evening’s program. Instead of opening with the originally-planned  Medea’s Dance of Vengeance, the symphony would perform Adagio for Strings in memory of Dallas Symphony Chorus Director David R. Davidson, who died September 5 after a two-year battle with cancer. . . . Angus Wynne advised folks that brother Shannon Wynne’s recent engagement to longtime girlfriend Kimberly Daulton didn’t mean that wedding invitations would be mailed immediately. . . . And , while Robert Miller gave an enthusiastic though abbreviated review of Anna Karenina, he admitted that not all Russian writers were to his liking: “I tried to get through Dostoevsky, but just couldn’t.”

Dallas Opera Will Present Former First Lady and Winspear Opera House With “Ovation!”

Photo by Peter Ross

Pity the poor folks at the Dallas Opera who were cranking out the release on its inaugural plans for the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House in the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. No sooner had they hit the “send” button than it was announced that AT&T had gotten the branding rights to the center. Make note: It’s no longer the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. It is the AT&T Center for the Performing Arts.

But back to the Opera’s plans. And make that big plans. Heaven knows Dallas opera lovers have waited long enough for this moment. Organizers have managed to land former First Lady Laura Bush as the honorary chair of “Ovation!,” the multi-faceted, grand-opening celebration chaired by Joyce and Harvey Mitchell. All the hoopla starts on Friday, October 23, with a champagne toast and opening ceremonies. Immediately following the inaugural performance, there’ll be a sumptuous black-tie dinner for VIPs and cast members.

On October 25, 28, 31, and November 5 and 8, Carol and Don Glendenning have arranged for “Champagne Dessert Celebrations” following each performance of the new Dallas Opera production of Verdi’s Othello.

But don’t put away the tuxedos yet–as if they ever stay in the closet too long around here. On November 7, the Ted and Shannon Skokos Foundation will present “OnStage Gala with Deborah Voigt (pictured).”  Guests will dine on the Skokos stage and be cabareted by soprano Voigt.

Even if you don’t understand or like opera, the acoustics at the Winspear will be a musical epiphany. Somewhere in the wings will be the spirits of Juanita Miller, Larry Kelly, Nicola Rescigno, John Rosenfield,  Virginia Nick, and John Ardoin shouting “Bravo. . . finally.”

TACA And DSO Harmoniously Work Together To Pull Off Three-Day Mega-stravaganza

Things don’t magically happen.  The upcoming days of TACA Proscenium and Dallas Symphony Orchestra 20^th Anniversary Gala had all the earmarks of a gala tsunami.  But somehow they seamlessly came together with the TACA events on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning and the DSO’s gala on Saturday night.

Ah, but it had nothing to do with magic.  Rather, it was the two art groups working together to pull off this back-to-back three-day period.

According to Lynn McBee, chairman of the TACA Board of Directors, “We had originally planned to hold our gala on Saturday but moved our date to Thursday after the DSO planned their 20th anniversary gala for the same date. Becky Young (TACA president and executive director) met with Doug Adams to see what we could do to resolve the situation. Because the DSO had booked their talent and had signed contracts, the best solution was for TACA to move off its date. Fortunately the Mansion was flexible, too. TACA is pleased to launch the fall social and performing arts season on Thursday (instead of Saturday!).”

To reciprocate, the DSO purchased a table from TACA that DSO President Doug Adams and his wife, Pamela, are hosting tonight. And musical wunderkind Jaap Van Zweden and his wife will be arriving just in time from Amsterdam to join the Adams at the TACA Party on the Green Friday.

And the cherry on the artistic sundae is TACA’s and the DSO’s teaming up “with a ‘priceless’ live auction item – dinner in the Mansion’s wine cellar for 12 with Maestro and Mrs. Van Zweden in attendance. This package includes an overnight for the hosts at the Mansion.”

The Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House Opens Saturday with Hundreds of Monarchs, Swallowtails, and Zebra Longwings

Photo by Janet D. Smith

The late philanthropist Rosine Smith Sammons loved butterflies. So much so that her daughter Mary Anne Sammons McCree arranged for a $3 million lead gift funded in part by the Rosine Foundation Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas to create a year-round tropical butterfly house at the Texas Discovery Gardens in Fair Park. 

This Saturday, Texas Discovery Gardens President Barbara Hunt Crow and WFAA co-anchor Gloria Campos (just back from a chat with Oprah in Chicago) will cut the ribbon at 9:45 a.m. to officially open The Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House and Insectarium. Fluttering around will be hundreds of free-flying monarchs, swallowtails, and zebra longwings. To ride herd on the mariposas is “butterfly wrangler” John Watts, who just joined the Gardens last week. 

Admission for this weekend’s grand opening is half price with sponsors including Calloway’s Nursery, Dallas Child Magazine, El Centro College, Half Price Books, Preservation Tree Services, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, Wendy Krispin Caterer, and WRR 101.1 FM.

Van Cliburn-Autographed-Steinway Up For The Bidding To Benefit Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Even after this weekend’s gala is history, the Dallas Symphony is still offering opportunities to support its musical mission.  It’s upping the ante by auctioning off a Music Room Grand Piano from the Steinway & Sons’ Van Cliburn Signature Collection.  What makes this grand even grander is the fact that it was personally autographed by the man himself, Van Cliburn, following the 13^th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in June.

Online bidding closes at 10 a.m on Sept. 24. The top bidders will then be invited to participate in a live auction on Sept. 26.