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

Parties
promoted

Thrive & Inspire: ‘Results for Clients’ in Oil and Gas Drives Michelman & Robinson’s Varnado

Thrive & Inspire: ‘Results for Clients’ in Oil and Gas Drives Michelman & Robinson’s Varnado

Lauren Varnado, Houston Office Managing Partner at Michelman & Robinson, LLP and sought-after oil and gas lawyer

WHAT WAS THE highlight of 2022 at your business? That’s easy, launching Michelman & Robinson in Houston was, for me, the absolute high point of 2022 — and that’s in a year that included so many highlights. Without question, being named the firm’s Houston Office Managing Partner is and was a professional milestone that I’m so very proud of. That I’ve already been able to expand the office to 10 of us (and growing) and significantly move the needle in terms of the firm’s reach within the energy space is icing on the cake.

Keep Reading Show less
art

This Weekend: Check Out These Intricate, Puzzle-Like Collages Packed with Personal and Societal Anecdotes

'Is that how you treat your house guest'

ARTIST KAIMA MARIE’S solo exhibit For the record (which opens today at Art Is Bond) invites the viewer into a multiverse of beloved Houston landmarks, presented in dizzying Cubist perspectives. There are ornate interior spaces filled with paintings, books and records — all stuff we use to document and preserve personal, family and collective histories; and human figures, including members of Marie’s family, whose presence adds yet another quizzical layer to these already densely packed works. This isn’t art you look at for 15-30 seconds before moving on to the next piece; there’s a real pleasure in being pulled into these large-scale photo collages, which Marie describes as “puzzles without a reference image.”

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment
food

It’s Showtime: Houston Bar Celebrates ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel with Fun Run, Specials and More

Sergio Trevino

Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian cocktail

SPOOKY SEASON IS starting early this year with the release of the Beetlejuice sequel in theaters on Friday. Houston cocktail bar and pizza joint Betelgeuse Betelgeuse is celebrating the film with two weekends of events and specials.

Keep Reading Show less
Food