parties

Ribbon Dancing and Gourmet Wine Pairings Highlight Successful ‘Wonderland’ Gala at Stages

Priscilla Dickson, Quy Tran
Ribbon Dancing and Gourmet Wine Pairings Highlight Successful ‘Wonderland’ Gala at Stages

Tom Herrick, Allison Pfeiffer, Ashley Coombs, Michael Hogan

ONE OF THE CITY'S favorite performing arts orgs — Stages theater company — threw its typically intimate and fun annual gala recently, on its own premises at the still-new Gordy theater complex, raising well more than half a mil to further its creative mission.

This year’s ball boasted the world-premiere of a cirque-style Alice in Wonderland-inspired show — ribbon dancing, acrobatics, even a burlesque-y partial striptease-while-juggling number — to delight the 180 guests of chairs Alicia and Garrett Gordy (yes, that same Gordy family) between cocktail hour and dinner.

The meal, which featured wines chosen by ardent Stages supporter Chris Shepherd, included melon ball gazpacho with jumbo lump crab and cucumber ribbons. The soup was followed by medallions of beef tenderloin with cabernet-caramelized shallot glaze, mascarpone polenta and wilted greens.

Popular items in what turned out to be a record-breaking silent auction included “a True Yellow Experience with a stay at Double Arrow Ranch nestled between the Crazy Mountains and the banks of the Yellowstone River, an authentic cattle drive, and plenty of trout fishing,” per a Stages rep. “Other top items included an 18K Gold necklace from acclaimed jewelry creator Robert Wander; a private dinner at the home of James Beard Award-winning Chef Chris Shepherd; and a VIP Astros experience.”

Notable guests included Glenda and Russell Gordy, George Lancaster; Charles Walker, Stages board chair Myrtle Jones, James and Nicole Lassiter and Marnie Greenwood.

In all, the gala raised $550,000 for Stages’ important mission.

Alicia Gordy, Christopher Mitchell, Glenda Gordy

Brandon Weinbrenner and Mauri Oliver

Cabrina and Steven Owsley

Charles and Kerry Walker

Garrett Gordy, Chris Shepherd, Russell Gordy

George Lancaster, Myrtle Jones

Jerry Barnett and Michael Byars

Jill Roth and Ben Lipson

Kalinda Campbell and Sledge Leonidas

Katie Maltais, Beth Lane, Lindsey Brown, Stacy Soefer Gomar

Lauren and Bob Hagerich

Marnie Greenwood, Alicia Gordy, Alexandra Bruskoff

Rick Pasqualone and Denise Fennell

Rina and Ryan O'Malley, Garrett Gordy, Rich Bruskoff

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Leadership in Action: John Kuykendall Traded Newcaster Dream for Success in Luxury Retail

Leadership in Action: John Kuykendall Traded Newcaster Dream for Success in Luxury Retail

John Kuykendall, Showroom Manager, Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove

How did you get to where you are today? Growing up I had envisioned myself as a news anchor, living in NY and enthusiastically saying into the camera “Good Morning America!”. To this day, I am still a news/political junkie. My mother owned fur salons so specialty retail, luxury retail was in my blood through the family business. Eventually, mom shuttered the stores and I was recruited to a large specialty retailer. Over the next 30 years, I was in commissioned sales on the sales floor, became a department manager, worked my way up to buyer and store manager. Although I never became a newscaster, I did live in NYC for a few years. But Texas is home and with aging grandparents, I felt the pull to come back to my roots. A headhunter approached me. I never envisioned myself in the high-end appliance market, but there are so many similarities. Clients want a memorable experience; whether shopping for diamonds and fur or remodeling their kitchen.

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parties

Contemporary Clout: Rousing Modern-Day-Set ‘Il Trovatore’ and Posh Tented Dinner Open HGO Season

Lady Stephanie Kimbrell, Cory McGee, and Butler Studio artists, Ani Kushyan, Alissa Goretsky and Elizabeth Hanje (photo by Michelle Watson)

ALL OF THE top performing arts organizations in Houston have now officially opened their 2024-2015 seasons, now that Houston Grand Opera has bowed with a stirring performance of Verdi’s Il trovatore at The Wortham followed by a lavish al fresco dinner in a tent on the plaza out front.The Houston Ballet and the Houston Symphony held their own grand opening night festivities earlier in the fall.

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Art+Culture
music

HGO's First-Ever 'Family Day' Features a Production of 'Cinderella' and More!

Photo by Lynn Lane

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA’S second fall repertoire production is Gioachino Rossini’s Cinderella. The colorful, commedia dell'arte-inspired production opens Friday, Oct. 25, and stars Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard — a breathtaking brunette beauty, even when doused in soot — in bel canto role of Angelina, known to her mean step-sisters as “Cenerentola.”

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Art + Entertainment