Winter Texan Times

Happy 50ish: The Musical offers Music and laughs

Details: Published: Saturday, 19 October 2019 08:00; Written by Salomon

It’s a surprise party and you’re invited to Happy 50ish, the musical that proves you haven’t lived until you’ve hit middle-age. The musical will be held on October 21 and 22. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with curtain at 7:30 p.m.

Although there are several milestone birthdays most of us anticipate such as 16, 18, 21, and 30, the one that, traditionally, causes the most anxiety is the big 5-0. Mired in stigma and fear, turning 50 really isn’t what it used to be with many people actually calling it “the new 40” and a birthday that can actually be a great time to start new careers, relationships, or other adventures.

But meet baby boomer Bob. He’s facing the big five-oh with fear, beer, and a letter from AARP. His mid-life crisis is killing him, but he’s finding laughter is the best medicine.

Bob has arrived early for his surprise party; his wife is late; and the guests are waiting outside. He reads his birthday cards aloud while realizing what’s in store for him in this new era.

Much of the music has an appealing pop style and a golden oldies vibe that nicely captures the feeling of a sentimentalized past.

The musical will be held at South Padre Island Convention Centre, 7355 Padre Blvd. Call 956-943-4700 for more information.

Broadway in McAllen opens this weekend with Cats

Details: Published: Thursday, 17 October 2019 12:00; Written by Salomon

20191016 Jersey Boys 500 McAllen Convention Center will host a stellar line up of entertainment in the Broadway in McAllen and McAllen Live! Series this season. Broadway in McAllen opens this weekend with Cats. Performances will be held at 8 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The Broadway in McAllen Season includes four other spectacular titles including the wonderfully funny Blue Man Group on December 2 and 3, the spirited, nimbly staged delight Finding Neverland on January 28, the Tony & Grammy Award – Winning Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on March 15, and the original rock musical Rent on April 28.

McAllen Live! is back with its all-new series including the Queen – inspired rock musical We Will Rock You on October 26, the heartwarming classic A Charlie Brown Christmas Live on Stage on December 10, the Tony Award Winning Musical Jersey Boys on March 3, the mind-blowing spectacular The Illusionists – Live From BroadwayTM on March 6, and the timeless hits of Rain – A Tribute to the Beatles on May 1.

As always, season tickets are available. Full season packages are available, as well as savings on buying tickets to any two or more shows. Season tickets must be purchased through www.liveinmcallen.com or through their phone number at 888) 200-4036.

For information on individual tickets and show times, visit their website at www.liveinmcallen.com.

UTRGV Performing Arts has full calendar

Details: Published: Thursday, 17 October 2019 08:00; Written by Salomon

20191016 UTRGV Wind Ensemble 450x500 UTRGV Performing Arts, Patron of the Arts, is all about entertaining this year. Their calendar is quite full of music ranging from flamenco to holiday music. Their season started in early September with a piano concert and will end in the Spring with a tuba concert.

Coming up this month is flamenco guitarist Nino de Pura, or Daniel Navarro Cruz. Cruz is one of the most prize-winning guitarists in Spain. His performance will be on Friday, October 18. Saxophonist Josiah Boornazian will be performing a recital on Saturday, October 19. Boornazian is an assistant professor of music at UTRGV where he teaches saxophone and jazz studies.

On October 22, you have a chance of seeing the UTRGV Master Chorale and University Choir Fall Concert “Adventure is Out There!” The concert is inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous 250-mile walk across Germany to hear Dietrich Buxtehude play a series of concerts. Music includes Bach’s Cantata 150 Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, and Buxtehude’s cantata Jesu Meine Freude. It will also include music from Russia, France and the United States featuring composers such as Samuel Barber, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Debra Scroggins, Nathaniel Dett, and others.

Brass lovers will be able to listen to Jim Decker on Trombone on Friday, October 25, an Octubafest on Saturday, October 26, and a Trumpet Festival on Wednesday, October 30. There will be Halloflute concert on Sunday, October 27 and the UTRGV Jazz Combo will perform on Thursday, October 31.

Their concert schedule is full through the fall and spring. Check out their full schedule at http://patron.utrgv.edu/patron-calendar.

Most concerts are held at the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley Performing Arts Complex at 1201 West University Drive in Edinburg, or TSC Performing Arts Center at 90 Taylor Avenue in Brownsville. Tickets are $5 for seniors, $10 for general admission.

More information, and a full schedule, can be found online at patron.utrgv.edu or by calling 956-882-7025, or 956-665-3881.

RVHS present Hunchback of Notre Dame

Details: Published: Wednesday, 16 October 2019 16:00; Written by Salomon

The Robert Vela High School Fine Arts department is pleased to announce their 7th annual fall musical, The Hunchback of Notre Dame performed by the SaberStagers. The SaberStagers have received five Hidalgo County PALM Awards, including 2018 Best Musical.

The show will be performed December 5, 6, 7, 12, 13 and 14 at 7 p.m. and December 7, 8, 14 and 15 at 2 p.m. There will also be two ASL interpreted performances on Saturday, December 14 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for senior citizen 65+. For more information, call (956) 289-2650. RVHS is located at 801 E. Canton Rd., in Edinburg.

STC Theatre opens its 10th season October 17

Details: Published: Wednesday, 16 October 2019 14:00; Written by Salomon

20191016 STC Theater Miss Holmes 10.17 450x500 South Texas College Theatre celebrates their 10th anniversary with a season packed with classics and comedy. The Theatre invites the community to become a Season Pass subscriber for another year of fun and quality entertainment.

STC Theatre opens the season on October 17, at 7:30 p.m., with William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The opening production runs through October 20 and is followed by Rick Johnston’s farce comedy Cahoots, from November 14-17.

In the spring, the STC Theatre will sing to their hearts’ content with William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s musical favorite Cyrano de Bergerac, February 20-23. The 2019-20 season wraps up with the Cooper Cabaret – an event celebrating the theatre’s 10th anniversary by showcasing local talent May 2-5.

“We wanted to celebrate our 10th anniversary by returning to the classics and farces that were a part of our earlier production seasons,” says Drama Department Chair Joel Jason Rodriguez. “We have grown so much in the past 10 years and we want to celebrate and honor that by ending the season with the Cooper Cabaret.

“Our productions have always been a mixture of STC and UTRGV students, graduates, and community members, and we believe this is what makes South Texas College Theatre so vibrant and rich,” Rodriguez said. “What better way to end a season than to showcase the talent that brought us to where we are today?”

All Sunday matinee productions are ASL interpreted by student interns from STC’s Interpreters Training Program. Individual ticket prices for Main Stage productions are $5 for students/faculty/senior citizens/military and $10 general admission. Studio productions cost $5 general admission.

Season passes are also available, allowing patrons to attend all the productions and choose between general or reserved seating. All subscribers also receive special deals for any additional guest performances that may arise throughout the year.

General season passes are $15 for students/faculty/senior citizens/military and $25 for the community. Reserved seating season subscriptions are $25 for students/faculty/senior citizens/military and $35 for the community. Season Passes can be purchased online at https://kioskportal.southtexascollege.edu/marketplace.aspx.

For more information about STC Theatre, call (956) 872-2301. All productions will be held at STC’s Cooper Center for Communication Arts, located at the Pecan Campus, 3201 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen

Tracy Lawrence to perform at Pharr HubPhestival

Details: Published: Wednesday, 27 March 2019 11:14; Written by Carina Brunson

20190327 Hub Phest Car Show 1 The City of Pharr is set to host the annual Pharr HubPhestival this Saturday, March 30, beginning at 2 p.m. The festival will be held on the grounds of Pharr city hall, located in downtown Pharr at 118 S. Cage. Admission is free before 5 p.m., and only $5 per person after 5 p.m. when some big-name entertainers are scheduled to perform – including Country music star Tracy Lawrence.

This year’s event will feature food booths, a carnival, Car Show & Shine, Motorcycle Show & Shine, Birds of Prey, Dock Dogs, Kids Fish and a petting zoo.

Exhibits will include the Rattlesnake Roundup, Texas State Aquarium and Austin Bat Exhibit.

The entertainment lineup includes popular local bands, a well-known Tejano musician and the featured artist for the event is country super star Tracy Lawrence.

By nearly every metric, Tracy Lawrence is a mega-watt success story. Thirteen million albums sold. A collection of No. 1 singles. Twenty-two songs on the Billboard Top 10 charts. A slew of CMA and ACM awards. Even a Grammy nomination. Yes, the small- town Arkansas-bred teenager who arrived in Nashville nearly three decades ago with a guitar and $700 in his pocket has done himself proud.

The other entertainers include Sergio & Ropin’ the Wind, a popular local country music band that has performed in the Valley for the last 20 years.

Also performing will be Lauren Corzine, a local Country/Americana recording artist who loves to perform, Ruby Arroyo and The Band, and one of the legends of Tejano music, Ruben Ramos.

Lauren Corzine kicks off the live music performances at 5 p.m., followed by Ruby Arroyo, Sergio & Ropin’ the Wind, then Ruben Ramos. Tracy Lawrence will cap off the evening’s show performing from 10 p.m.-11:30 p.m.

Entertainment Schedule
5:00 – 5:45 p.m. -- Lauren Corzine
6:00 – 6:45 p.m. – Ruby Arroyo & The Band
7:00 – 8:15 p.m. – Sergio & Ropin’ the Wind
8:30 – 9:45 p.m. – Ruben Ramos
10:00 – 11:30 p.m. – Tracy Lawrence

VSO announces their season finale featuring music from The Beatles on April 5

Details: Published: Wednesday, 27 March 2019 11:01; Written by Carina Brunson

20190327 VSO Beatles Brahms and Beethoven art The Valley Symphony Orchestra presents its season finale concert, “The 3 Bs: Beatles, Brahms, and Beethoven” on Friday, April 5. Under the direction of Maestro Peter Dabrowski, the orchestra and chorale will perform Johannes Brahms’ “Academic Festival Overture,” Henry Mancini’s “Portrait of the Beatles,” and the fourth movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, the “Ode to Joy.”

“This concert features three pieces by some of the greatest musicians, classical or modern,” said Maestro Peter Dabrowski. “Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” is one of the most famous melodies ever written, and The Beatles are possibly the most iconic and well-known rock band in the world. Attendees will hear something familiar in an entirely new way at this concert, performed by the 80-member orchestra and 120-member chorale.”

The Valley Symphony Orchestra Chorale will perform as part of “Ode to Joy.” Under the direction of Dr. David Means, the Chorale is made up of 120 individuals from the community and performs with the Orchestra twice annually. Vocal soloists Soon Cho (Soprano), Christina Marie Pier (Alto), Eric Schmidt (Tenor), and David Grogan (Bass), also perform on this piece, one of the first to ever use voices along with an orchestra. The “Ode to Joy” is regarded by many critics and musicologists as one of Beethoven's greatest works and one of the supreme achievements in the history of western music.

Henry Mancini’s Portrait of The Beatles was written in 1967 and highlights six of the beloved British band’s most popular songs from the mid-1960s. Concertgoers will recognize A Hard Day’s Night, Yesterday, and And I Love Her, among other selections. Mancini was an American musician known for his movie music compositions and arrangements and his unique choice to feature jazz and popular music as a part of his works. His knack for arranging pop music and The Beatles’ exemplary songwriting skills come together in this fun, nostalgic composition that music lovers of all ages will enjoy.

“Academic Festival Overture” was written by Johannes Brahms on the occasion of receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Breslau. Written with a sense of humor and relying heavily on popular student drinking songs of the time, the piece is a favorite of concertgoers and musicians alike. It features colorful performances from the bassoons, strings, and oboes.

Tickets are on sale now for “The 3 Bs: Beatles, Brahms, and Beethoven” at the McAllen Performing Arts Center (M-F, 10 am - 5pm) and online at www.valleyorchestra.org. For more information, patrons may also call the VSO office at (956) 661-1615.