Dish-Houston

Photo Credit: Aaron Sprecher

Lincoln, the luxury automotive brand, is putting on a multi-city cultural drive experience and it has driven into Houston. The Lincoln “Hello, Again” City Tour offers local residents an opportunity to experience their city’s neighborhoods from a re-imagined perspective behind the wheel of the 2013 MKZ.

Emmitt Smith was on hand for the media event kick off as a Lincoln embassador. 

On the Houston stop of this eleven-city U.S. tour, guests will explore River Oaks, the Heights and a DISH favorite Burning Bones Press as some of the city’s most loved areas “inside the loop”. To create a driving series that goes outside the traditional vehicle experience and showcases Houston’s cultural gems, Lincoln has partnered with local artisans in food, art, architecture and design who are providing exclusive access to how they create uniquely-designed products.

Dan Brady, Communications Marketing Manager, Lincoln. “This drive experience is an opportunity for us to reintroduce people to the Lincoln Motor Company and its fresh, new look with the 2013 MKZ. Lincoln’s commitment to individuality and design attracted some of the greatest innovators of the time. We believe it’s time to reclaim that original spirit by celebrating other visionaries, like the ones you’ll meet on the tour in Houston.”

The Houston tour includes opportunities to step out of the vehicle for customized experiences at partner locations, which include:

* Green living homes from innovative husband-wife design team, Shade House Development

* Original, limited edition prints and etchings from local  art studio,  Burning Bones Pres

* Detailed, quality leather goods from local reinvented artisan, Rugged Gnome

This one of a kind opportunity runs from now through November 10, 2013 each Thursday - Sunday

Lincoln has curated activities along a specified route, which will begin and end at:

• River Oaks Shopping Center: 2005 West Gray Street, Houston, TX 77019
• Our Lincoln Gallery location is located next to the River Oaks Theatre on the left

Reservations can be made at:  http://www.lincolnhelloagain.com/events/houston/

The Houston Zoo is preparing for a big delivery next year.  Following the back to back births of Asian elephant calves Baylor and Tupelo in 2010, the Houston Zoo is making preparations for Shanti, a 23 year old Asian elephant to give birth in January, 2014.

            “The average gestation period for an Asian elephant is 22 months,” said Houston Zoo Director Rick Barongi.  “Our nine member elephant care staff along with our four Zoo veterinarians as well as research partners at Baylor College of Medicine have been monitoring Shanti throughout her pregnancy. We’re looking forward to a successful birth and the new addition to our multigenerational herd,” added Barongi.

            The Houston Zoo’s elephant care staff along with veterinarians have been monitoring the progress of Shanti’s pregnancy with regular ultrasound procedures since the late spring of last year.  Keepers have also been monitoring Shanti’s weight and her diet and leading the expectant mother through a regular exercise program.

            In mid-November, training of a night watch pregnancy monitoring team made up of volunteers and Zoo employees will commence.  The team will observe Shanti via closed circuit TV cameras in the barn at the Zoo’s McNair Asian Elephant Habitat, monitoring and recording her behavior and watching for signs of labor.  The night watch pregnancy monitoring will begin in late November and will continue until the calf’s birth.

             In December, daily blood sample collection to monitor Shanti’s progesterone levels will begin. A steeply declining blood progesterone level typically occurs 3-5 days prior to delivery.

            The Houston Zoo is home to 7 Asian elephants including 3 males and 4 females. Shanti’s last calf was Baylor, a male born May 4, 2010.  Weighing 348-pounds at birth, Baylor was named in recognition of the unprecedented and ongoing advances made by Baylor College of Medicine’s research team to significantly reduce the threat of a potentially lethal elephant herpes virus.

About the Houston Zoo

Founded in 1922, the Houston Zoo is an exciting live animal adventure that provides a unique educational and conservation resource serving more than 2 million guests annually.  Set in a 55-acre lush tropical landscape, the Zoo is home to more than 6,000 exotic animals representing more than 800 species.  Visitors can experience the wonders of Africa at The African Forest, the new 6.5 acre, $40 million addition featuring chimps, rhinos, and giraffes.  Travel to Africa.  No Passport Required.

Mulligans and mammograms were the talk of the day as the greens of the one of the top ten private courses took on a touch of pink on October 28^th with the first ever The Rose Golf Classic at Shadow Hawk. The event, chaired by Jeanne Gillen and Ysa McKinney, both members of Shadow Hawk, raised more than $170,000 for The Rose’s mobile mammography program.

Photo Credit: Breakaway Photography 

Among the highlights of the day was an opportunity for the golfers to both see one of the newest mobile vans in The Rose’s fleet as well as an introduction to the equipment and screening procedure. Celebrity golfers Roger Clemens and Doug Dawson both agreed to undergo a version of screening – with their fists.

Also included in the day was a mini clinic with Paul Marchand, the club’s General Manager and Head Golf Professional.

“The Rose now covers 25 counties and last year provided mobile screenings for more than 7,300 women,” Dorothy Gibbons, CEO and Co-Founder of The Rose, told the crowd at the awards dinner. “The generosity of our sponsors and underwriters as well as each individual team member is so appreciated by our board, staff, and most importantly, the women we serve. Access to care is critical and our mobile vans make that access possible.”

Sponsors for the event include Marathon Oil, Pinnacle Financial Strategies, Woodforest Bank and Andrew and Isabell McKinney/Litchfield Cavo LLP. Underwriters are Buffalo Flange; Garcia Hamilton Associates; Painting with a Twist, La Marque; and Alex Rodriguez Mercedes-Benz.

The Rose is a nonprofit breast health care organization with two centers and a mobile fleet, serving nearly 35,000 women annually. The Rose Galleria is located at 5420 West Loop South, Suite 3300. The Rose Southeast is at 12700 N. Featherwood. For more information on the mobile program visitwww.TheRose.org.

What Enhance your experience of Koloman Moser: Designing Modern Vienna, 1897–1907 by slipping into Café Vienna to enjoy Austrian music, bites, coffee and wine in a café environment specially designed by Punita Valambhia Interiors in collaboration with Decorative Center Houston.

After refreshments, curators Cindi Strauss and Marissa Hershon discuss Koloman Moser’s work and invite guests on an exclusive tour of the exhibition. These special viewings take place on select Mondays, when the Museum is closed to the public.

Koloman Moser: Designing Modern Vienna, 1897–1907 is the first museum retrospective in the United States to focus on Viennese artist and designer Koloman Moser (1868–1918), a leading figure in the modern design revolution that swept Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. The exhibition surveys his career in 200 objects including furniture, jewelry, textiles, prints and designs for architectural interiors.

When: Mondays, October 28, November 4 and November 11

Seatings at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Where:  Lower Level, Audrey Jones Beck Building

5601 Main Street

Houston, Texas 77005

Details: Admission is $55 for MFAH Members and $65 for nonmembers. Find more information and purchase tickets online at www.mfah.org/cafevienna.  

BY DISH CONTRIBUTOR BILL O'ROURKE: 

Editors Note: Lizzie was written by Steven Cheslik-deMayer, Tim Maner and Alan Stevens Hewitt. Here’s an interview between them and our Bill O’Rourke.

Bill: Steven, you recently received a MacDowell fellowship to begin work on a new solo music theater piece. Will this interfere with your continuing work on Lizzie?

Steven: Not at all. The writing on LIZZIE is really done, so now we're working with other artists to bring our vision to the stage, which is demanding but it's not the same as writing. It takes FOREVER to write and develop a show, so to keep momentum going, you need a good start on the next thing as your current project comes to fruition.

Bill: Tim, which roles did you originate in Robert Wilson shows?

Tim: I originated roles in Robert Wilson’s production of Heiner Müller’s Hamletmachine, which won an Obie-award in NYC and then toured Europe (Man Leaning Forward) and his production of Richard Strauss’ Salome at Teatro alla Scala, Milan , Italy (Herod).

Bill: And your own theater. I love it’s name “tiny mythic theater.” How did you come up with that?

Tim: My co-founders and I came up with the name “tiny mythic” drunk in bar in Cambridge , MA , during a summer teaching fellow residency at Harvard.  The name definitely reflected the kind of productions we wanted to do: big ideas and high-end production quality on shoestring budgets that still allowed us to focus on the details.

Alan Stevens Hewitt – You played bass on Broadway for Lysistrata Jones. That was by Douglas Carter Beane, who is better known for Xanadu. Do you have any stories about DCB that you would like to share? Did you learn anything from doing LJ that you feel helped you in making Lizzie?

Alan: DCB was always quick with a quip and impeccably dressed--with a little bit of "zhuzh" (as he would call it) of a pocket square in his jacket.  Lyssie J was a fun show and a great group of folks to work with--the rhythm section were and are dear friends (we met playing the 1st Natl. Tour of Spring Awakening) and we still play and hang together.  I try to learn as much as possible from all of my experiences, and I think everything I do in the theatre informs everything else.  Perhaps not specific to Lyssie J, but in general I do feel that as a performing musician (coming up I will be the bass chair for ROCKY on Broadway), I have a perspective that is very useful when writing and orchestrating, and helpful in communicating with the musicians who are playing my work. 

Bill: The audience for Lizzie should be HUGE! But I know you’ve played some very small audiences.

Alan: I know both Steven and I have experience touring in bands, he in a duo (sometimes trio?) called Y'all, myself in a group called The Low Road.  I recall a couple times on the road when we played to fewer people than were on stage (TLR was a five-piece), but you play your show for the folks who are there, and you play as well and with the same commitment you would were you playing to 1500.  I think what you learn from that is to make sure the work is self-justifying.  

Bill: There have been TV shows and movies about Lizzie, but the only show on Broadway that I know of was quite a while ago. (Note: I’m not sure who answered these next questions. The interview was done by email.)

Alan: Our take on this story is so different from anything that's been done before. If anything, we feel like the fact that there have been lots of other adaptations of the story works in our favor because people are familiar with the story. One of the main reasons we chose this story to make into a musical is because it's sort of an American myth, it's a story people have a connection to even if it's only the jump-rope rhyme.

The show may seem intimate on paper because it's only four characters, but it's actually big. The music is big, the emotions are big. We'd love to see it on Broadway.

Bill: From here to Philadelphia , to Denmark , to Portland . How did you wind up going to Denmark ?

Alan: The folks at Fredericia Theatre in Denmark saw a presentation of LIZZIE at NAMT. (National Alliance for Musical Theater is an organization based in New York that puts on a big festival of new musicals every year and theater producers and presenters from all over the world come to see what's new.) We were really lucky to be included in that festival in 2010.

Bill: Who came up with the excellent idea to tell the whole story through only four on-stage performers?

Alan: Tim and Steven had the idea from the beginning that the conceit of the show would be 4 women singers in front of a rock band. We saw the Lizzie Borden story as essentially about 4 women in a house. There are men in the story, historically speaking, but they're not essential from our point of view.

Bill: Have you played Houston before? Do you have any other links to our area? How do you like it? If you’ve had time to look around, what’s your favorite thing about our city?

Steven: Years ago when we toured with a musical act, I spent time in Houston and all over Texas .

Alan: For me, traveling is always about the people you meet.  And the people of Houston have been absolutely lovely.  I am so grateful for the warm embrace and hope to be back before too long.

Tim: This was my first time in Houston , and it was a wonderful experience. The people have definitely been the standout (both the incredible staff at TUTS Underground and the audiences we got to meet).

More of Bill O'Rourke's theatre reviews and stories can be found HERE.