• Princess Mongo Halloran

"It is often said that people always resemble or look like their dogs," Halloran wrote in an off-topic and weirdly redundant intro to what was, ostensibly, an acknowledgement of his 29-years as President of the Memphis Development Foundation. "If that is the truth, then I must look like Princess Mongo," he concluded before bragging about the 150 Broadway shows, thousands of concerts, and countless other performances that have brought 10-million people through the Orpheum's doors. In the top right hand corner of the page there was a photo of a goggle-wearing pooch, presumably Princess Mongo standing in for her master. By the time I looked up there was already some guy on stage juggling devil sticks about as well as some of the red-eyed hippies I've seen in Overton Park on 4/20. I thought about staring at my program some more, then quickly put it away to avoid the temptation.

I have mixed emotions about the evolution of the modern circus. In theory I should like all the innovation that's taken place since the 1980's when a struggling Canadian company called Cirque du Soleil changed things forever.

Congratulations are due to Ekundayo Bandele, the founder and Executive Director of Memphis' Hattiloo Theatre. Bandele's organization is $5000 richer after receiving a General Mills "Feeding Dreams Community Champion Award."

• André Bruce Ward

André: Costume Designs at Theatre Memphis is on display at Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery in Nashville from Nov. 19, 2009 — Jan. 8, 2010

Gallery hours are Monday — Friday, 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. For more information on the exhibit, call (615) 532-9798

This is usually the time of year when all the holiday shows start opening and, humbug that I am, I have nothing to get excited about. But man, what a great week for going to the theater this is!

But here's the good news: It's all online. Part one can be found here. And here's part two.

If you liked those you might want to re-visit Chatterbox's 2008 Halloween broadcast. And the group's more recent adaptation of James Joyce's The Dead.

• Natalie Wilder

"She’s enthusiastically foulmouthed so her best lines can’t be repeated here," Gates wrote.

That last bit of course caught our attention right away and we had to ask our old friend what sorts of nasty lines she'd been repeating and whether or not she'd be up for playing a little game of Three Questions. Thankfully, she was.

• The Elephant Man

Let's all cross our fingers and hope that Theatre Memphis takes good care of itself this weekend and doesn't break a hip. This enduring organization—quite literally born in a stable— is pulling out the stops to celebrate its 90th birthday. There's a concert by Kallen Esperian on Friday evening and dancing into the late bright. Then There are kid's events on Saturday afternoon.

But what does all this shindigging mean for people who actually want to see a show? The choices are slimmer than usual to be sure, but there's still plenty to choose from.

• Kallen Esperian

I've just heard from Theatre Memphis' communications guru Randall Hartzog that Robert Glazier, the "Steinway artist" scheduled to play TM's 90-Years Young party on Friday, November 6th has the flu and won't be able to perform. But the show must go on, as they say and in lieu of Glazier playing Memphis' very own diva Kallen Esperian will be SINGING selections from the Great American Songbook. 90-Years-Young runs from 6:30-9:30 and everybody who attends this $90 event gets a wrist band insuring complementary drinks throughout the evening. There will be dancing on Theatre Memphis' main stage until midnight dontcha know, and everybody who comes to see Kallen gets into the second event free.

“Club 90”, is Theatre Memphis' second birthday event starting at 9:30 p.m. on the Lohrey Stage. DJ Glenn Miller will spin contemporary dance tracks until the last stroke of twelve. There will be snacks and a cash bar. Admission is $25 at the door.

Theatre Memphis will also host a kids' celebration with a performance at 2 p.m. of Rikki Tikki Tavi by ShoWagon on Saturday, November 7th, along with crafts, scavenger hunt, and birthday cake. Tickets to the kids' event are $5 per person, but a family pack of six tickets can be purchased for $20. Call 682-8323 for reservations.

• Tricky Dick

FROST/NIXON, which was eventually developed as a film by director Ron Howard, is about a series of explosive interviews between British journalist David Frost and President Richard Nixon.

The theater is looking for 8 male actors, and 2 female actors, Ages 21 and Up. All roles are currently available. Guest director Rob Satterlee is asking for one prepared monologue of 2-minutes or less.

For more information, please contact Courtney Oliver via email at courtney@... or by phone, 901.725.0776.

Tonight at Playhouse on the Square there will be a memorial service honoring the life of Memphis theater patron Mr. Bill Young. The service runs from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Food & Wine will be available.

• Jim Ostrander

"I've had 33 years of doing something that I was really good at," he said. "I was wholly realized as an artist, in full possession of my powers And I used them with full knowledge of what I was doing. You can't ask for more than that. You can't ask for that to go on forever."

Of course he was right, you can't ask for that to go on forever. But there are a lot of people who loved Jim and want his memory, not just his name, to live on. So I suppose this was inevitable. There is now a Facebook page for friends of Jim Ostrander with lots of pictures archived there for fans to pore over. So if you do the FB thing, and you loved Jim, drop by, sign up, and share what you've got.

If you prefer tales of the undead the New Moon Theatre Company opens Look Away: A Civil War Zombie Tragedy tonight. Or if you just want something creepy, kookie, and altogether ookie you might want to check out Gorey Stories, a somewhat troubled musical based on the stories and illustrations of Edward Gorey.

Theatergoers looking for something a bit more substantial may want to wander on down to the Hattiloo theater to take in a performance of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf.

Colored Girls—a poem in 20 parts performed by seven nameless black women dressed in every color of the visible spectrum—is one of those plays I always expect to have aged badly. For having been created in 1975, at the apogee of women's liberation and “black is beautiful”— Ntozake Shange's stories of trial, triumph, and tribulation is always disconcertingly up to date.

Personally, I've always thought the characters' ultimate flight into religion was something a cop out for an author who needed to tidy up her more interesting ambiguities but on most occasions even that can't dull the edge of this groundbreaking piece of non-linear dramatic literature.

Also opening at Playhouse on the Square this Halloween weekend,: The Toymaker's Apprentice. Yes, a Christmas show. And that's all I have to say about that.

• August Wilson

The August Wilson Center for African American Culture, which opened last month in Pittsburgh, has announced its first theatrical event in the newly completed center: The Aunt Ester Cycle. The show, which runs from November 10 - 22, 2009 "explores the dramatic impact of this legendary character" through productions of Gem of the Ocean, Two Trains Running, Radio Golf and The Women of the Hill, a new work by choreographer and performance artist Ping Chong.