Uptown Players is begging for money again, but that’s good news because it means the return of Broadway Our Way. A star-studded night of local theater peeps combine their talents to bring an evening of fab showtunes, but with some major twists. Because we all know Uptown Players isn’t gonna play it straight — and that’s a good thing.
DEETS: Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd. Through May 15. $40. UptownPlayers.org.
Burleigh John “B.J.” Smith, 62, of Dallas died March 29 from complications due to liver cancer.
Born in Shreveport to the late Bernard Cyril and Gwendolyn Smith, B.J.Smith worked 20 years for Cinemark Theaters as a film buyer before retiring in early 2010. He had a very outgoing and uplifting personality and he never met a stranger. His hobbies and interests included singing with the Turtle Creek Chorale for 11 years, movies, traveling, cooking and enjoying food and wine with friends.
He is survived by his partner of 31 years, Dennis Bellotto,; his sister Lynn Norton and family of Flower Mound; his brother Barney Smith and family of San Antonio; and his cherished cat Lance.
In lieu of flowers, Smith requested that memorial donations be made to AMFAR www.amfar.org or The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society www.lls.org. No formal memorial service is planned at this time.
The following arrived in our Inbox this afternoon from Oak Lawn crime watch volunteer Nancy Weinberger:
I got email from [DPD's] central [division] about BMVs … 2008 Chevy SUV parked on Sale street 3100 block (Sale is a block off Turtle Creek towards Oak Lawn–it is a very short street) … had all 4 tires and rims removed while left parked on street.
WATCH for vehicles driving slowly through your neighborhood … probably a truck … looking to do the same to parked vehicles …
PLEASE REMEMBER TO REPORT ANYTHING THAT LOOKS SUSPICIOUS TO YOU. If it doesn’t look right, it probably isn’t. … I know 911 gets tired of hearing from me … but I call any time I see anything that looks funny just in case.
Better safe than sorry.
John Tesar has been flitting around a bit since he left the Mansion on Turtle Creek, but he seems to be settling down with a new concept, set to open in February. The Cedars Social is being described as a “cocktail den” and kitchen serving “modern comfort food.” Drinks will be designed by mixologist Michael Martensen for the lounge, developed by restaurateur Brian Williams.
The Turtle Creek Chorale, on the heals of its successful holiday concerts last month, is looking for new blood — though Edward Cullen isn’t involved. The chorale will hold open rehearsal and orientation at the TCC’s offices in the Sammons Center for the Arts at 3630 Harry Hines Blvd. on Tuesday, Jan. 4, from 7 to 10 p.m., and prospective members are asked to attend and participate. The actual auditions for any singers interested in joining the gay men’s chorus will occur on Sunday, Jan. 9, from 3 to 6 p.m. an the Grace United Methodist Church at 4105 Junius St.
All vocal parts (tenor, bass, baritone … even countertenor if you got the chops) are open. To view a video sample of an actual audition, go here, or to learn more about the chorale, go to TurtleCreek.org.
The Turtle Creek Chorale will perform from noon to 1 p.m. today at the Adolphus Hotel to kick off WRR 101.1 FM’s weeklong Caroling at the Adolphus series, a live program of seasonal choral music. You can watch the TCC’s performance in person while enjoying complimentary coffee, cider and cookies, but you may want to head out soon because seating is limited and on a first-come, first-serve basis. And of course if you can’t make it just tune in to WRR in about 40 minutes.
It’s great to see TCC as part of Caroling at the Adolphus this year, especially since the series has helped land the hotel on First Baptist’s Church’s “Nice List.” Given that our submissions to the list for the Round-Up’s Christmas decorations have been rejected, this may be the closest we come to beating the system. Unfortunately Caroling at the Adolphus will become slightly less gay-affirming on Tuesday when the Highland Park Presbyterian Church Chorale performs.
The Turtle Creek Chorale just sent over the below notice in which board member Brian Rogers talks up family and tradition. It’s sweet. In it, he proposes a pretty original idea — sponsoring a carol as a sort of glorified dedication. For a $500 donation to the chorale, you can dedicate “Silent Night” to your parents, partner, children, etc. Kinda cool, right? Well, if you have that kinda change, definitely. To sweeten the pot though, Rogers is matching every single donation until Nov. 30. Your dedication will appear in the program, and you’ll get a framed version of it.
This can be tough, though. My favorite carol changes every year, and so far, I haven’t hunkered down with my Christmas music yet. Does Weezer’s “Holiday” count? The Turtle Creek Chorale performs its annual holiday show, O Holy Night, Dec. 15, 20 and 22 at the Meyerson. For tickets, click here.
The other day we told you about two straight allies from Dallas, Chris Linville and Justin Snider, who are training for a cross-country bicycle ride next year to raise money for the Human Rights Campaign.
Linville and Snider are currently wrapping up their first training ride, a four-day, 400-mile trek from Dallas to Austin and back.
Carl Andrews, of HRC’s DFW Federal Club, informs us that there will be a brief ceremony to welcome the pair back at 7:45 p.m. today at the Vendome, at Lemmon Avenue and Turtle Creek Boulevard. But if you can’t make it, you can at least send them an e-mail thanking them. For more info, go here.
Dr. Timothy Seelig, for 20 years the artistic director of the Turtle Creek Chorale and of late head of the Resounding Harmony chorus and Art for Peace & Justice project, has accepted a position as the new artistic director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. He will take over the baton on Jan. 1, 2011.
Before that, he’ll lead Resounding Harmony one final time, for a concert at the Meyerson on Nov. 10.
This week, we reported on the Turtle Creek Chorale’s Night for Peace event, which brings together many local choral and religious organizations to sing about faith and harmony and tolerance. The fact it’s organized by a gay group and also features Catholic, Baptist and other general conservative Christian groups speaks well of everyone.
Even better is Jonathan Palant’s news that the evening will also feature an “It Gets Better” video. By now, everyone knows of this initiative, which includes Fort Worth Councilman Joel Burns’ impassioned personal account to give hope to gay teens contemplating suicide. Surely a united message from religious organizations should quell anyone who disparages such a project … not that anyone can after seeing Burns’ video.
