Email Author Mandy Oaklander

2011 Stories by Mandy Oaklander

• Capsule Stage Reviews: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, A Christmas Story — A Ghost Story of Christmas, Fruitcakes, The Nutcracker, The Santaland Diaries

  published December 22, 2011

  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever A substitute pageant director has (gasp!) to cast six unruly children to tell the story of The... More >>

• Capsule Stage Reviews: Anna Bella Eema, A Christmas Carol, Cinderella, Fruitcakes, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, The Nutcracker

  published December 15, 2011

  Anna Bella Eema The world of the surreal and the real is fashioned into bold theatrical relief by playwright Lisa D'Amour, composer... More >>

• Shchelkunchik

  published December 1, 2011

  This year Suchu Dance gives dance fans an exciting alternate to the traditional Nutcracker with Shchelkunchik. It’s a... More >>

• Cover Story: Uncle Charlie Is Houston's Poster Boy

  published Dec 07, 2011

  Uncle Charlie isn't just a Houston legend. Ask anyone in the poster-art scene the world over, and they'll know his work. Charlie Hardwick, the subject of this week's cover story, designs posters adver... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Tenderina from FrenetiCore: Plenty of Confusion, Not Enough Striptease

  published Dec 07, 2011

  When I heard that Tenderina, a new production by FrenetiCore, was a play, a dance performance, a film work, a poem and a striptease, I was skeptical. This sounded like a show with an identity crisis. ... More >>

• Jubilee of Dance

  published December 1, 2011

  Every year, Houston Ballet serves up Jubilee of Dance, a sampler of some of the company’s finest works, both revivals and sneak peeks... More >>

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  COVER STORY

  Poster Boy

  published December 8, 2011

  Like what you see? Be sure to check out our slideshow of More >>

• Capsule Stage Reviews: Anna Bella Eema, A Contemporary American's Guide to a Successful Marriage @ 1959, The Grand Manner, Museum of Dysfunction IV, The Nutcracker

  published December 8, 2011

  Anna Bella Eema The world of the surreal and the real is fashioned into bold theatrical relief by playwright Lisa D'Amour, composer... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Houston Ballet's The Nutcracker: A Magical Production

  published Dec 06, 2011

  Even if you've seen The Nutcracker 100 times, you've probably never seen it like this. This is the choreography of Ben Stevenson, former dancer with the Royal Ballet and artistic director of the Hou... More >>

• Touring Taste of Dance Salad Festival

  published December 1, 2011

  Nancy Henderek has a great gig: The artistic director of Dance Salad Festival, which is now in its 17th year, she travels the globe in search of... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Houston Ballet Jubilee of Dance: A Tribute to Cecil C. Conner Jr.

  published Dec 05, 2011

  I've learned that as a general rule with the Houston Ballet, "one-night-only performance" means go, or you'll wish you would have. Jubilee of Dance was every bit the rule. The performance honored 69... More >>

• Suchu Dance's Shchelkunchik: Dancing You Won't See Anywhere Else

  published Dec 02, 2011

  It's officially Nutcracker season, the time of year when everyone and their mouse jumps aboard the Sugar Plum Express, but can't actually tell you what a sugar plum is. The production is so widespread... More >>

• Chef Chat, Part 3: Sophie Elhage of Skewers Mediterranean Cafe & Grill

  published Nov 25, 2011

  Fresh from chef chat parts one and two with Sophie Elhage of Skewers, welcome back to the best part of chef chat: part three, the food. We begin our culinary journey through Sophie Elhage's Lebanon w... More >>

• Chef Chat, Part 2: Sophie Elhage of Skewers Mediterranean Cafe & Grill

  published Nov 24, 2011

  We're back from the first installment of chef chat with Sophie Elhage and her husband and co-owner, Hadi of Skewers. EOW: So I hear you had a fire here...SE: We had started the restaurant, and then ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Chef Chat, Part 1: Sophie Elhage of Skewers Mediterranean Cafe & Grill

  published Nov 23, 2011

  Sophie Elhage is the lovely 26-year-old chef and co-owner of Skewers Mediterranean Cafe & Grill. The sexy Lebanese fusion joint on Richmond is the Saturday-night hotspot for belly-dancing (and belly-p... More >>

• red, black and GREEN: a blues

  published November 3, 2011

  Spoken-word artist and environmental activist Marc Bamuthi Joseph spent three years hosting environmental festivals in African-American... More >>

• Chef Chat, Part 3: Kaiser Lashkari of Himalaya Restaurant

  published Oct 28, 2011

  This week we have been talking with Chef Kaiser Lashkari of Himalaya Restaurant (see the rest of our chat here and here). served up the special: a cafeteria tray-sized portion of several entrees.In t... More >>

• Chef Chat, Part 2: Kaiser Lashkari of Himalaya Restaurant

  published Oct 27, 2011

  Between disappearing into the kitchen and answering phone calls at his prominent desk, owner and chef Kaiser Lashkari continues our chat from yesterday about Himalaya Restaurant. EOW: When you go ho... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Chef Chat, Part 1: Kaiser Lashkari of Himalaya Restaurant

  published Oct 26, 2011

  In a special Diwali version of Chef Chat, we visit Kaiser Lashkari of Himalaya Restaurant, a North Indian and Pakistani refuge in the Mahatma Gandhi district. The chef and owner, a colorful character,... More >>

• Chef Chat, Part 3: Susan Molzan and Liz Walsh of Petite Sweets

  published Oct 14, 2011

  My personal circle of life is made out of sugar, and Petite Sweets -- helmed by Susan Molzan and Liz Walsh from chef chats 1 and 2 -- seems to agree. Clockwise from the lime green circle, here's a pis... More >>

• Chef Chat, Part 2: Susan Molzan and Liz Walsh of Petite Sweets

  published Oct 13, 2011

  Today, we continue our chat with Susan Molzan and Liz Walsh, the sugar queen chefs behind Petite Sweets. EOW: So, is it better to bake or be baked forr LW: I think it's better when you bake it your... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Chef Chat, Part 1: Susan Molzan and Liz Walsh of Petite Sweets

  published Oct 12, 2011

  Susan Molzan stirs a bowl of thick chocolate cooking over low heat in the back of Petite Sweets, a new bakery in Upper Kirby. Co-chef Liz Walsh sorts a tray of red velvet macarons. Like everything els... More >>

• 10 Texas Answers to a High School Sex-Ed Test

  published Sep 16, 2011

  Public schools in Washington D.C. are going to start administering a new standardized test to elementary, middle school and high school students. And this one's all about sex. It's the first of its k... More >>

• Chef Chat, Part 3: Nicole Hudson of Conscious Cafe

  published Sep 16, 2011

  We're back today at Conscious Cafe (be sure to check out part 1 and part 2 of our chef chat), but enough talking. Time to start eating. Thank goodness someone at Hudson's mosque was willing to share t... More >>

• Chef Chat, Part 2: Nicole Hudson of Conscious Cafe on the Time a Customer Accused Her of Not Liking White People

  published Sep 15, 2011

  Yesterday we chatted with Nicole Hudson, chef and co-owner of Conscious Cafe (see here for part 1.) Each of the dozen tables is equipped with a deck of cards, some with dominoes. It's a prime neighbor... More >>