Opera tricks
The Phantom of the Opera Jan. 9-20 Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker Ave. okcbroadway.com 405-594-8300 $32-$162 Like the disfigured sewer-dwelling organist it’s named for, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera helped mold the career of a young performer bewitched by the possibilities of a life onstage. Eva Tavares, who plays Christine…
New Year’s Eve: Bye 2018
Speakeasy 90s-00s Dance Party 8 p.m. Monday 51st Street Speakeasy 1114 NW 51st St. 51stspeakeasy.com 405-463-0470 $5-$10 DJ Ryan Drake uses “the 1990s” as shorthand to promote his monthly parties, including this month’s New Year’s Eve Dance Party, at 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St. But if you ask him about it, he thinks…
New Year’s Eve: Alpaca party
In the wide open fields near Newcastle, there is a ranch where dozens of alpacas roam under the watchful eyes of loping guard dogs, and chickens and ducks wander around their pen. At Magnolia Blossom Ranch, 2901 NW 16th St., in Newcastle, guests will soon celebrate the last day of the year with this friendly…
New Year’s Eve: Time warp
Regardless of which of Jose Rodriguez’s bars you enter on New Year’s Eve, you might feel like you’re stepping into a different time. The entrepreneur behind FlashBack RetroPub, 814 W. Sheridan Ave., Suite A, and Sanctuary Barsilica, 814 W. Sheridan Ave., Suite F, has New Year’s Eve events planned at both locations. At the videogame…
Labor pains
Twenty-six-year-old Kayla Jo Jeffries remembers the night she gave birth to her now 2-year-old daughter, Emersyn, the way most women do — as if it were yesterday. Her experience might have been memorable, she said, but it wasn’t enjoyable. Her partner wasn’t holding her hand, and the waiting room outside wasn’t filled with adoring family…
Market fresh
8th Street Market got its first full-time food vendor last month with the opening of Magasin Table, the sister restaurant to a successful New Orleans concept that aims to bring traditional Vietnamese food with a twist to downtown and Automobile Alley. Oklahoma City native Leon Hoang met Kim Nguyen in Dallas, where he was working…
New Year’s Eve: Burlesque resolutions
Adèle Wolf’s Burlesque & Variety Show New Year’s Eve Bash 10 p.m. Monday Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center 3000 General Pershing Blvd. adelewolf.com 405-673-6162 $25-$40 Adèle Wolf is deep into preparations for her annual New Year’s Eve Burlesque & Variety Show, recently returning to Oklahoma City from performances in Berlin to run one of the many…
Compassionate minds
Oklahoma State Rep. Jon Echols is a conservative Republican serving southwest Oklahoma and northwest Cleveland counties. He’s a Bible-thumping, born-again Christian who serves as a deacon in his Southern Baptist church. He’s pro-life and pro-business. And Echols is the greatest ally to medical marijuana at the state Capitol. Echols, 39, R-Oklahoma City, is co-chair of…
Signature smoke
The journey to opening the brick-and-mortar location of Cornish Smokehouse began six years ago as a trail of hickory and pecan smoke enticed people from Chris and Nicole Cornish’s neighborhood out of their homes and to their front door to place an order. After encouragement from friends and family, Chris took his hobby of cooking…
Gazedibles: Poppin’ bottles
Celebrating the New Year can be done with the masses on New Year’s Eve or even a few days before (we won’t tell anyone), and while champagne is the traditional celebratory drink of choice, we realize it’s not for everyone. Here are seven restaurants with good drinks and great environments. By Jacob Threadgill with photos…
Chicken-Fried News: Street boss
Downtown Oklahoma City was abuzz Dec. 14 when city officials debuted the city’s new streetcars courtesy of city taxpayers and the third Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) initiative. Weighing 80,000 pounds and stretching 67 feet long, a shiny pink-and-red streetcar rolled out in slow motion like a Rolls-Royce at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards. Loud music…
Clear views
American Aquarium 8 p.m. Sunday Tower Theatre 425 NW 23rd St. towertheatreokc.com 405-708-6937 $17-$33 Sometimes, the more things change, the more they keep on changing. Between recording 2015’s Wolves and this year’s aptly titled Things Change, hardly any aspect of American Aquarium frontman BJ Barham’s life has stayed the same. “Since the last record, I…
New Year’s Eve: Beats won
While many will gather this New Year’s Eve to watch a shiny ball drop, Darren King’s new tradition is to — à la Chevy Chase’s character in Caddyshack — be the ball. “I have this disco ball helmet that I created and wore the last time I was at the Tower Theatre,” said King, aka…
New Year’s Eve: Semi-charmed 2019
The Drop featuring My So Called Band 9:30 p.m. Monday The Jones Assembly 901 W. Sheridan Ave. thejonesassembly.com 405-212-2378 $35 New Year’s Eve is an important part of our modern mythology as a night when all is possible and a better life is only three … two … one away. It is a night for…
Opportunity overlooked
During his three decades as an educator, Mid-America Technology Center administration superintendent Dusty Ricks said he has seen no educational opportunity in the state that is quite as valuable yet underrated as a local career technology center. “When I was growing up, my parents, teachers and counselors preached to us about the value of a…
Come together
Revolution: The Beatles Symphonic Experience 8 p.m. Jan. 4-5 Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker Ave. okcphil.org 405-842-5387 $19-$73 Maybe orchestras aren’t for everyone. Asked to name other acts that might merit similar tributes, Robert Thompson — president of Schirmer Theatrical, the company bringing Revolution: The Beatles Symphonic Experience to Oklahoma City Jan. 4-5…
Seafood staple
Pearl’s Oyster Bar5641 N. Classen Blvd. pearlsokc.com 405-848-8008 What works:Crawfish étouffée had plenty of spice and depth of seafood flavor. What needs work:The seared tuna was not prepared correctly. Tip:Lunch service is faster than most counter-service restaurants. Since moving to Oklahoma City from Mississippi last year, I’ve been on a quest to find a great…
Keeping promises
Before 33-year-old Oklahoma State Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, made history in 2015 by becoming the first Asian-American woman elected to the state Legislature and the first Democrat to win representation in House District 85 and inspired a wave of female political newcomers in 2018, she was a starry-eyed middle school student in Lawton with…
Chicken-Fried News: Dark haze
The Rodgers and Hammerstein production of Oklahoma! is still one of the things most non-Okies associate with the state. It has no doubt made people think the state’s residents are liable to break into song at any moment and have colorful hoop skirts and overalls in their closets at all times. A new production of…
Categorizing art
The newest exhibition at Oklahoma City Museum of Art offers more questions than answers, even for its curator. Off the Wall: One Hundred Years of Sculpture, on display through May 12, 2019, at OKCMOA, 415 Couch Drive, features more than 20 works from the museum’s permanent collection. Curator Roja Najafi said the exhibit is intended…
New Year’s Eve: Opening Echo
The Allie Lauren Project Opening Night 2019 7 p.m. Monday Oklahoma City Hall 200 N. Walker Ave. artscouncilokc.com 405-270-4848 $8-$10 This month, The Allie Lauren Project returns to Oklahoma City, staging a musical performance like none other. Accompanied by an eclectic ensemble of musicians, founder and brainchild of the project Lauren Nicole Clare will deliver…
Coffee plus
University of Oklahoma’s Campus Corner in Norman just got a lot more chill thanks to the new kid on the block. Life Organics Cannafé, 588 Buchanan Ave., opened its doors in late October. The quiet cafe boasts of being the only CBD-infused cafe in the state, co-owner Jim Castor said. “When we came in, it…
Legislative malpractice
One might think that legislation to end a program that provides vital services to thousands of Oklahoma’s poorest women and children would deserve the utmost care and discernment. But with all the assiduity of a third-grader the day before summer break, Sen. Paul Scott, R-Duncan, threw together Senate Bill 40, which cuts the safety net…
