The Tulsa Voice | Vol. 4 No. 17

paradise never sounded So Good.

Tickets On Sale Now

Toto and pat benatar & neil girardo fri, sept 8 Ron white fri, sept 15

steve miller band sat, sept 16 joan jett & the blackhearts sat, sept 23

jennifer nettles thur, sept 28 Chris Isaak fri, sept 29 tom jones sat, oct 7 chase rice fri, oct 27

Live music 7 nights a week, starting at 5pm

81ST & RIVERSIDE 888-748-3731 RIVERSPIRITTULSA.COM

2 // CONTENTS

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

ENJOY SOME OF THE BEST DINING TULSA HAS TO OFFER

MCNEL L IE’S w w w . m c n e l l i e s . c o m PROBA BLY T UL S A’S BES T PUB 1S T & ELGIN

YOKOZUN A w w w . y o k o z u n a s u s h i . c o m DOW N TOWN’S BES T SUSHI. 2ND & DE T ROIT

FA S SL ER H A L L w w w . f a s s l e r h a l l . c o m HOUSEM A DE S AUS AGES A ND A GRE AT BEER G A RDEN 3RD & ELGIN

EL GUA P O’S w w w . e l g u a p o s c a n t i n a . c o m

EN JOY ME XICA N FOOD A ND M A RG A RITA S ON DOW N TOW N’S ONLY ROOF TOP PATIO 1S T & ELGIN

T HE TAV ERN w w w . t a v e r n t u l s a . c o m FINE DINING IN T HE BR A DY A R T S DIS T RICT M AIN & BR A DY

DIL LY DINER w w w . d i l l y d i n e r. c o m BRE A K FA S T SERV ED A L L DAY LONG 2ND & ELGIN

EL GIN PA RK w w w . e l g i n p a r k b r e w e r y. c o m

PIZZ A, HOUSE-BRE WED BEER, WINGS, 60 + T VS ELGIN & M.B. BR A DY

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

CONTENTS // 3

4 // CONTENTS

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // Vol. 4, No. 17 ©2017. All rights reserved.

PUBLISHER Jim Langdon MANAGING EDITOR Liz Blood ASSISTANT EDITOR Kathryn Parkman DIGITAL EDITOR John Langdon ART DIRECTOR Madeline Crawford GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Georgia Brooks, Morgan Welch PHOTOGRAPHER Greg Bollinger AD SALES MANAGER Josh Kampf AD EXECUTIVE Craig Freeman EDITORIAL INTERN Mason Whitehorn Powell CONTRIBUTORS Alicia Chesser, Ty Clark, Barry Friedman, Ryan Gentzler, Jeff Huston, Crystal Kline, Joshua Kline, David Lackey, Adam Murphy, Joe O’Shansky, Michelle Pollard, Joseph Rushmore, Damion Shade, Chance Siribandan, John Tranchina, Brady Whisenhunt, Michael Wright The Tulsa Voice’s distribution is audited annually by

Member of

20

The Tulsa Voice is published bi-monthly by

22

DANCE OF LIFE

STAGE PRESENCE

PAINFUL THEATER

Ma Cong’s American dream

Your guide to the best in performing arts this fall

Wrestlers at Compound Pro go all in

BY ALICIA CHESSER

1603 S. Boulder Ave. Tulsa, OK 74119 P: 918.585.9924 F: 918.585.9926 PUBLISHER Jim Langdon PRESIDENT Juley Roffers VP COMMUNICATIONS Susie Miller CONTROLLER Mary McKisick DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Amanda Hall RECEPTION Gloria Brooks

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD Send all letters, complaints, compliments & haikus to: voices@langdonpublishing.com FOLLOW US @THETULSAVOICE ON:

BY TTV STAFF

NEWS & COMMENTARY

FOOD & DRINK 14 DINNER AND A SHOW

B Y BRADY WHISENHUNT

32 WORK IN THE SHADOWS

B Y MICHAEL WRIGHT

Prosecutorial discretion makes

Oklahoma’s justice system a roll of

the dice

The legend of Tulsa’s edgiest hibachi chef

Inside the world of the stagehands union

16 THE CHICKEN THAT STOLE THE SHOW

B Y JOSHUA KLINE

33 EXCHANGE AND CONNECT

B Y ALICIA CHESSER

Choreography festival keeps dancers on their toes

9 CUE THE SIRENS

B Y CRYSTAL KLINE

Hobby Lobby is whack

Karen Gaddis’s win and how the Tulsa Young Dems helped

A U G . 1 6 – S E P. 5 , 2 0 1 7 // V O L . 4 N O . 1 7

PAINFUL THEATER

17 HOW WAS SHE?

B Y KATHRYN PARKMAN

MUSIC

THE BEST ON STAGE THIS SEASON P22

MA CONG’S

AMERICAN DREAM HIS GROWING FAMILY, BROADWAY DEBUT, U.S. CITIZENSHIP, AND TAKING THE LEAD P20

ON THE COVER Tulsa Ballet choreographer Ma Cong and his husband,Thomas Landrum PHOTO BY ADAM MURPHY

38 THE SWEET N’ LOW DOWN

B Y TY CLARK Smoochie Wallus blends originals and covers, early jazz and blues

40 LIQUID SUNSHINE

B Y DAMION SHADE

Like watching a post-modern Vaudeville rom-com

TV & FILM 44 HELL-O-DOLLY

B Y JOE O’SHANSKY

WRESTLING BLENDS ART AND ATHLETICISM P30

PLAY DATES

Amelia’s lives up to the hype

Tornado catches Tulsa by surprise

12 BOLT FROM THE BLUE

B Y CHANCE SIRIBANDAN

BEHIND THE SCENES

ARTS & CULTURE

8 FAIR SHAKE?

B Y RYAN GENTZLER

LOCAL UNION BRINGS BROADWAY TO LIFE P32

BY LIZ BLOOD

Simon Gotch and Brian Breaker at Compound Pro Wrestling | JOSEPH RUSHMORE

10 GRIFTING FOR JESUS

B Y BARRY FRIEDMAN

FALL PERFORMING ARTS ISSUE

30

Defiance and resistance under Nazi occupation

35 THEATER FOR HIRE

B Y MASON WHITEHORN POWELL

Putting the “magic” in Magic City

‘Annabelle’ doesn’t conjure much

44 FULL STREAM AHEAD

B Y JOE O’SHANSKY Cutting the cord has never been easier

45 STAGE TO SCREEN

B Y JEFF HUSTON

34 SOCCER IN THE TORTURE STATE

B Y JOHN TRANCHINA

Five great adaptations

ETC. 36 THEHAPS 42 MUSICLISTINGS 45 FULLCIRCLE 46 BADADVICE 47 THEFUZZ + CROSSWORD

It began with an overhead projector and a spaghetti strainer

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

CONTENTS // 5

editor’sletter

T

his issue’s cover story is about Tulsa Ballet choreographer Ma Cong (pg 20), a talented dancer and Chinese immigrant who came here in the ‘90s and this month becomes a U.S. citizen. He found love in and married Tulsa lawyer Thomas Landrum, will have his Broadway debut in October, and—with Thomas—is expecting twins.

Among all the reasons I am excited for him, I am thrilled he’s chosen to be our compatriot, especially at a time in our country when hate has a loud voice.

We’ve also got an entire season of performing arts lined out for you, starting on page 22, for a brief escape.

The times do seem balls to the wall, batshit crazy—but I’m told nothing below the sun is really new. That may in part explain why many people weren’t all that surprised to see a mob of American white supremacists throwing up the Sieg Heil, waving the Nazi flag, and chanting “You will not replace us,” and “blood and soil”—among other, more profane things— last week in Charlottesville. Outraged, yes, but not totally surprised.

But the response given by Terri McAuliffe, Virginia’s governor, directly addressing Nazis and white supremacists (he told them to “go home”) did surprise me. And it got me thinking about our community.

Would Nazis and white supremacists be welcome to march here? I asked a friend this and he responded, “Well what do you mean, welcome?”

(I realize I’m getting into the muddy waters of freedom of speech.)

I mean would our leaders do as McAuliffe did, who not only told them they were unwelcome, but called them by name?

Our president didn’t … until two days later and after much criticism.

Our senators didn’t, though they did say something:

Via Twitter, I asked Mayor G.T. Bynum (and the mayors of Oklahoma City and Guymon, for good, statewide measure) for their thoughts on what happened in Charlottesville, but didn’t receive a response.

Maybe I’m picking at something that isn’t there—or here, yet. But our country’s history, and Tulsa’s history, leads me to believe that what happened in Charlottesville could be around the corner.

How will we meet, if we have to? a

LIZ BLOOD

MANAGING EDITOR

REAL COLLEGE RADIO

Tune into Tulsa’s eclectic, uniquely programmed, local music loving, commercial free, genre hopping, award winning, truly alternative music station. @RSURadio | WWW.RSURADIO.COM 6 // NEWS & COMMENTARY

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

NEWS & COMMENTARY // 7

okpolicy

A

FAIR SHAKE? Prosecutorial discretion makes Oklahoma’s justice system a roll of the dice

by RYAN GENTZLER

8 // NEWS & COMMENTARY

ll Oklahomans must abide by the same laws.

If you break the law, you’re sentenced according to the same statutes as everyone else.

In theory, this should mean that people convicted of a crime in urban Tulsa County will receive a similar punishment to those in rural Cimarron County, and those on the eastern border in Sequoyah County will be treated the same as those on the western border in Harmon County.

In practice, however, prosecutors have nearly unchecked power to decide whether to bring criminal charges against people who are arrested, what to charge them with, and, consequently, how severely they’re punished. That means the same crime can result in a lengthy prison sentence or a lenient probation period, depending on the county and the prosecutor in charge of the case. While this power—called “prosecutorial discretion”—is meant to allow flexibility in differing circumstances from case to case, new research suggests that it has played a major role in the growth of incarceration across the country.

Prosecutors can choose from a wide range of options in each case, especially when dealing with the most common low-level drug and theft offenses. If a person is caught with a small amount of drugs in a plastic baggie and a pipe, for instance, a prosecutor may choose to file misdemeanor charges or offer a deferred sentence, allowing the defendant to keep the conviction off their record if they stay out of trouble for a period of time. Alternatively, the prosecutor could pursue felony charges of Possession with Intent to Distribute, as well as Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, asking for a prison sentence of 3 years if the person pleads guilty and threatening as many as 10 years in prison if they go to a jury trial.

Data from the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the Department of Corrections reveal significant variation in how prosecutors exer-

cise this discretion. For example, counties in Southwest Oklahoma send people to prison at far higher rates than those in Northeast Oklahoma. Despite having higher than average rates of crime, Oklahoma and Tulsa counties are close to average in the rate of prison admissions.

The data shows that justice is applied unevenly throughout the state and nation. Major decisions about whether a defendant will spend years in prison are being made based largely on the personal attitudes of the prosecutor in charge of their case. That’s why justice reform efforts in many cities have turned from changing laws to changing prosecutors.

Some jurisdictions have started electing prosecutors who promise to take a less punitive approach and to address racial disparities in the justice system.

Electing reform-minded prosecutors probably remains a long shot for most of Oklahoma, but there are ways to reduce incarceration without changing the behavior of prosecutors. Opening up our broken parole system and improving access to treatment-based alternatives to incarceration are great places to start. Unfortunately, this year those ideas faced outspoken opposition from several district attorneys and were held up in committee by Rep. Scott Biggs, a former assistant district attorney.

In using their discretion to send people to prison at high rates and flexing their political muscle to scuttle reform, district attorneys have been a powerful force behind the high incarceration of Oklahomans—even though this approach is extremely expensive, unpopular with the general public, and not effective at reducing crime.

Prosecutorial discretion may be a fact of life in the justice system, but it has become a major obstacle against making our state safer. a

Ryan Gentzler is a policy analyst with Oklahoma Policy Institute (www.okpolicy.org).

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

community

E

arly on Sunday morning, August 6, 2017, heavy, low-hanging storm clouds gathered in midtown Tulsa. Thunder and rain and 40 mph winds drenched the streets, neighborhoods, and businesses that were not yet clear of Saturday night revelers. Suddenly, within 90 seconds, 40 mph winds increased to 125 mph. An EF2 tornado had formed without warning, striking the 41st and Yale area, and taking everyone by surprise—including the National Weather Service and the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency.

Weather apps and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radios did not go off until after the tornado had touched down; the outdoor warning system was not activated at all. One hundred and seventy-three businesses and 25 homes were damaged or destroyed. Thirty injuries were reported.

Roger Jolliff, director of Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency (TAEMA) and Steven Piltz, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service Tulsa (NWS) explained what happened, what didn’t happen, and why.

When it comes to tornado tracking and warning, the monitoring and warning tasks are shared between the NWS and local emergency management. The NWS monitors the radar, interprets the data, and when they put out a warning, they contact TAEMA, who then decides when and if to activate the Outdoor Warning System—emphasis on “Outdoor.”

The Outdoor Warning System is designed to warn those outdoors to take cover. For indoor warnings, keep your radio or TV tuned to your local stations, purchase a NOAA Weather Radio, or use one of the many free apps available for warnings, including the TulsaReady app and the NWS Weather Alert app.

“Every one of those meteorologists at the NWS has a degree in

Tornado damage near 41st and Yale on August 6 | DAVID LACKEY

CUE THE SIRENS Tornado catches Tulsa by surprise

by CRYSTAL KLINE meteorology,” Jolliff said. “They have training, they have experience. They live the radar. They live the interpretation of the radar.

When they issue the warning, we make our decision.”

So where were outdoor warning sirens on Sunday morning?

Piltz explained that if a storm organizes and touches down over a populated area, a better case scenario is “to have these circulations develop at 3,000–5,000 feet, and gradually strengthen. Then you can make a determination that gives 5–15 minutes of lead time.

But the tornado we had over the weekend formed quickly, over a populated area, with a line of thunderstorms that was very low to the ground, and by the time we detected it on radar, it was already doing damage.”

“When a storm blows up as fast as this one did—by the

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

time we got the warning, it was out of our city,” Joliff said. “To have sounded the sirens after the tornadic cell was outside of Tulsa would have been wrong. At that point, the damage was already done.”

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman is the national center for predicting long-term storm forecasts. Their role is to identify and to forecast atmospheric conditions days into the future.

“They did not issue a tornado watch because the science wasn’t there to support it,” Jolliff said.

But weather changes, he empathized. And sometimes it changes within seconds, making time a significant factor when interpreting weather radar.

Radar data, once received, is not cut and dry. It can have several meanings, and must be interpreted within the framework

of a number of different factors, including topography and the area covered by the Doppler radar (if the beam is too broad, a rotating cloud may appear as turbulence, and if the storm is at a low altitude, it may not be caught by the radar at all).

Radar data takes time to interpret. Perhaps 30–90 seconds to understand the data, perhaps another radar scan is needed. Once a meteorologist spots a tornado, it takes another 60–90 seconds to create the warning and develop the message.

“So in the case of this storm,” Piltz said, “if you waited three minutes to interpret your data and then form your warning message, it’s already moved four to five miles across southeast Tulsa since the time it hit 41st and Yale.”

The storm formed low to the ground over a populated area so rapidly that the NWS had no time to give a warning, and too late to activate the Outdoor Warning System. In this kind of situation, there was no fault, or failure.

“People should be able to questions us,” Jolliff said. “It’s healthy. We are always working to get better at this.”

And Jolliff hopes that the important discussion about warning systems will eventually include preparedness efforts, and what you can do to make your family safer during severe weather.

“Develop your family preparedness plan, your supply kit, have your home equipped to survive three days without power and three days without access to a grocery store. Have a safe place in your home where you go to take cover with virtually no notice. Doing these things will increase your chances of survival.”

“We want to think that weather is planned out for days, like we plan our personal schedules,” Jolliff said. “But weather can change in mere seconds.”

Warning or no, we should all be ready when it does. a NEWS & COMMENTARY // 9

viewsfrom theplains

GREG BOLLINGER

Grifting for Jesus Hobby Lobby is whack

by BARRY FRIEDMAN

W

hen we last left Hobby Lobby in 2015, the Green Family, its owners, were reveling in the Supreme Court decision1 that allowed them, on religious grounds, to refuse to cover contraceptives and finalizing their plans to fit their unmarried female employees with chastity belts.

I made up that second part.

Nevertheless, with the gals tamed, the big retailer then went on a shopping spree. Let me just say, if you’ve ever been lurking around the United Arab Emirates, looking to loot and debase Iraqi antiquities for your own personal gain, you’ll meet the most interesting people.

NPR has learned the reason for the early Sunday morning arrests: Israel’s Antiquities Authority says the dealers were invol ved in sales of antiquities—including items that U.S. authorities determined were smuggled—to Hobby Lobby, the national U.S. arts and crafts chain.2 10 // NEWS & COMMENTARY

Even before this latest announcement, Hobby Lobby had already agreed to a settlement in this case with attorneys for the Eastern District of New York in the magnificently named The United States of America v. Approximately Four Hundred Fifty (450) Ancient Cuneiform Tablets; and Approximately Three Thousand (3,000) Ancient-Clay Bullae to pay more than $3 million for its part in acquiring, many nefariously, more than 5,500 artifacts from Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.

The Greens were not planning on featuring those items as part of their Back to School Blowout Sale, rather they were acquiring the pieces to fill their new $400,000,000, 430,000 square foot Museum of the Bible that’s scheduled to open in Washington, D.C., later this year.3 During 2010 and 2011, Hobby Lobby purchased the pieces, including these cuneiform tablets mentioned in the suit.

How seedy was this?

Law-enforcement officials report that in 2010, Hobby Lobby’s president,

Steve Green, visited the United Arab Emirates with an antiquities consultant to inspect more than 5,548 artifacts. The objects— which were precious and collectively worth millions of dollars—“were displayed informally,” the complaint stated, “spread on the floor, arranged in layers on a coffee table, and packed loosely in cardboard boxes, in many instances with little or no protective material between them.” They included cuneiform tablets, which display writing used in ancient Mesopotamia, and clay bullae, or balls of clay printed with ancient seals.4

You’d think ancient tablets packed in a ratty cardboard box or under a week old Dubai News might have sent up a slew of red flags for the Green family, but apparently not, because once the purchases were made, the Oklahoma-based (so, so proud) retailer went out of its way to conceal the nature of the sale, the dealers

involved, and its own possible culpability.

Hobby Lobby wired $1.6 million to seven different bank accounts associated with five different people to pay for the items. The artifacts were shipped to the United States in multiple packages falsel y labeled “Tiles (Sample).”

They were also sent to multiple locations. As the complaint notes, “The use of multiple shipping addresses for a single recipient is consistent with methods used by cultural property smugglers to avoid scrutiny by Customs.” On customs forms, the UAE dealer supplied false invoices that substantiall y undervalued the pieces, presumabl y as a way to avoid customs inspection.

One of those shipping addresses was to its store here in Tulsa.

Lovely, huh?

Considering where these artifacts came from—considering, too, the dynamics of the

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

region—what was actually worse than the acquisitions was that the money from those acquisitions, money from Hobby Lobby, may have found its way to ISIS, which not only murders Christians, but also desires a worldwide hegemonic caliphate without, among other western niceties, sprawling arts and craft stores. ISIS profits from the theft of such treasures—when not otherwise destroying them— by re-selling them through shady figures (like the ones Israel just arrested) to companies like Hobby Lobby, good Christian companies, which, if the price is right, will toss off the tenets of Christianity for a good deal on some first-century tiles for the Mesopotamian exhibit in the new museum digs.

And what did the Greens have to say about all this?

As for the smuggling allegations, Mr. Green said in the statement that Hobby Lobby was “new to the world of acquiring these items, and did not full y appreciate the complexities of the acquisitions process.” He added that “regrettable mistakes” were made and that he should have “exercised more oversight.”

Oh, for the love of Sylvia Burwell, really, that’s what you’re going with ? “ Regrettable mistakes”? Let’s try this: You rummaged around some shop in Abu Dhabi and bought ancient artifacts from Signor Ferrari from Casablanca who swore they were all from his family’s garage, then wired payments to different bank accounts to cover the transaction—never inquiring who was getting the money—and then changed the bills of lading, dickered with the invoice, and had the shipments sent to your stores in America, including Tulsa, where they, presumably, were hidden in the backroom underneath the plastic utility organizers and the fern ball topiaries. Your explanation is “Well, we’re kind of a new at buying antiques. Oops.”

If disingenuousness and obfuscation were birds, you’d be covered in white.

You knew about the discrepancies and still tried to get away with it.

According to the Justice Department complaint,

an expert hired by Hobby Lobby’s in-house counsel warned in October of that year that such artifacts “may have been looted from archaeological sites in Iraq.”5

The company’s own expert told you this and still you proceeded.

So, while it looks like the antiques merchants are facing a decade in an Israeli hoosegow, Hobby Lobby President Steve Green, after receiving a fine that amounts to about .0069 percent of last year’s sales, was slapped on the wrist and told to return the merchandise.

Hobby Lobby has cooperated with the government throughout its investigation, and with the announcement of today’s settlement agreement, is pleased the matter has been resolved.6

Pleased? You’re the only one.

But wait, there’s more. Of course there’s more.

Our passion for the Bible continues, and we will do all that we can to support the efforts to conserve items that will help illuminate and enhance our understanding of this Great Book.

Let me give you a hand with this: Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness.

Numbers 8 and 9 in your Commandments, which are in the Bible. The museum will probably have a copy. You can get one almost anywhere. a

THE BEST TASTING WEEK OF THE YEAR BEGINS SEPTEMBER 8!

Join Tulsa’s best restaurants for a 10-day celebration of Tulsa’s culinary scene benefiting the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma’s Food for Kids program!

TulsaPeople’s 11TH ANNUAL

September 8-17

LUNCH, BRUNCH AND DINNER OPTIONS INCLUDE: • Two course, prix fixe lunch or brunch menus will include a choice of appetizer and entrée or entrée and dessert for $12.95.

• Three-course, prix fixe dinner menus will include a choice of appetizer, entrée and dessert for either $35 or $35-for-two.

Prices do not include tax, tip or beverage.

• NEW for 2017: Signature cocktails will be offered at select participating restaurants, for an additional charge, with $1 per cocktail donated to the Food Bank!

10% of Restaurant Week sales will be donated to the Community Food Bank of Oklahoma’ s Food for Kids program and donations will be matched up to $25,000 by the George Kaiser Family Foundation.

45+ PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS*: SEPTEMBER 8 PIE NIGHT ONLY

BROOKSIDE SOUTH

DOWNTOWN SOUTH

DOWNTOWN SOUTH CITY

1) scotusblog.com: King v.

Burwell 2) npr.org: Israeli Authorities Arrest Antiquities Dealers In Connection With Hobby Lobby Scandal 3) museumofthebible.org: Join us in building Museum of the Bible 4) atlantic.com: Hobby Lobby Purchased Thousands of Ancient Artifacts Smuggled Out of Iraq 5) foxnews.com: Dem rep calls for criminal prosecution of Hobby Lobby boss over smuggled ancient tablets 6) newsroom.hobbylobby.com: Artifact Import Settlement

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

at Platt College

BROOKSIDE ON THE HILL

BROOKSIDE SOUTH

CHERRY STREET SOUTH

BROOKSIDE RIVERSIDE

DOWNTOWN ON YALE

DOWNTOWN SOUTH

*As of 8/14/17

Visit TulsaPeople.com for prixe fixe menus and to make reservations with OpenTable!

Presented by: Sponsors:

Benefiting:

Fighting Hunger, Feeding Hope

Community FOOD BANK of Eastern Oklahoma

Tulsa

NEWS & COMMENTARY // 11

community

A

head of her run for state House District 75, Karen Gaddis was thought to be an underdog. The district was so solidly Republican that, for the past decade, Democrats didn’t even bother to run candidates from their party. Gaddis’s Republican opponent, Tressa Nunley, possessed a war chest (read: campaign contributions) twice as large as that of retired public school teacher Gaddis—not to mention having the support of Oklahoma’s political establishment. So it surprised many when Karen Gaddis and her grassroots team of volunteers won the election anyway—making national headlines and proving definitively that progressive Democrats can win in so-called “red states.”

Gaddis—whose platform includes more funding for public education, criminal justice reform, and permitting medical marijuana—attributed her victory to personal contact with voters and hard work.

“We knocked over 2,000 doors,” Gaddis said. “I did over 700 myself.”

After serving 40 years in public education, Gaddis retired in 2011.

Though she was relishing her time with her grandchildren, she ultimately decided to run for office after watching the state legislature neglect Oklahoma’s hardworking teachers.

“I decided, if anything was going to change, I was going to have to step in and be part of that change,” she said. “I drove to Oklahoma City and filed [to run]. The district is about 2-to-1 [registered] Republicans to Democrats, so it was unlikely I was going to win, unless I could get all the Democrats to come out. We didn’t rely on the base completely because I knew I couldn’t win unless I flipped some votes from Republicans, so, we hit indepen12 // NEWS & COMMENTARY

BOLT FROM THE BLUE Karen Gaddis’s win and how the Tulsa Young Dems helped

by CHANCE SIRIBANDAN Rep. Karen Gaddis of House District 75 | GREG BOLLINGER

dents and Republicans also. And that paid off!”

Previously, Gaddis had never considered becoming a politician.

“The only reason [I ran] was that I got tired of being mad. I’ve always been the kind of person who didn’t just complain about things. I acted.”

“One of the things I learned as a teacher is that it doesn’t matter who gets credit for the job. It’s that the job gets done. And I think

that leads over to the legislature— it doesn’t matter whether it’s the Democrats or the Republicans that get credit—it’s getting the job done that’s important.”

One particular group that helped with Gaddis’s campaign was the relatively new Tulsa Young Democrats—a group that has managed to win many David and Goliath-style victories lately. Any time Gaddis needed volunteers to knock doors, TYD

stepped up to help. The group also hosted a happy hour in District 75 where people could meet the straight-talking teacher.

TYD was created to encourage young people to run for office.

One member was recently hired by the Democratic National Committee in Washington, DC, to be an official field organizer for the eastern region of Oklahoma.

TYD President Alera Henson said TYD’s main function is to campaign for local candidates and provide young folks with campaign training.

“We volunteer at candidates’ fundraisers and put on social events for networking purposes,” Henson said. “We do our best to get [people] trained on how to run campaigns—both others’ and their own.”

“We have a general meeting once a month. We also do a happy hour once a month. Both are open to anyone that wants to come.”

This month’s meeting will be at 6 p.m. on August 23 at the Tulsa County Democratic Party Headquarters.

A typical TYD meeting opens with a speech, often by a young candidate or the leader of an issue-based federation like the Stonewall Democrats. Meetings usually involve planning new events, and one recent meeting provided an entertaining demonstration of the best way to canvass for candidates.

Henson credited Bernie Sanders with inspiring her to create her own people-focused, grassroots organization.

“We decided we wanted to keep that momentum going, where we had all these people fired up … so we picked up the sort of defunct TYD group,” she said. “If [people] really want to get involved, the best way to do that is to come to a meeting.” a

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

August 25 • 7-9 p.m. • FREE It’s Trivia Night at Gilcrease After Hours in August and your chance to show off your knowledge of art, pop culture and Oklahoma! Explore the galleries and enjoy appetizers and a cash bar. Visit our screen-printing station and take home a unique Gilcrease Museum print.

Gilcrease After Hours takes place on the last Friday of the month. Explore the museum, grab a drink, network with other young professionals, and support your local art community.

TU is an EEO/AA Institution.

www.TraversMahanApparel.com South Lewis at 81st • The Plaza • 918-296-4100

GILCREASE.ORG

We are open late!

Thursdays, 5 - 8pm

ESCAPE to the Garden

Music Night: Grazz Trio August 24, 6pm

Plant Walk

August 31, 6pm

Dog Night

September 7, 5pm

Craft Night: Nature Collages September 14, 5pm

Wellness Night: Yoga September 21, 6pm

Music Night: Erin O’Dowd September 28, 6pm

In the Garden with Wordsmiths and Their Flowers A brunch and talk at the top of the Tandy Floral Terraces Saturday, September 30, 10:30am Tickets limited | Visit tulsabotanic.org

3900 Tulsa Botanic Drive | tulsabotanic.org | 918.289.0330 THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

NEWS & COMMENTARY // 13

citybites

Tokyo Garden | DAVID LACKEY

Dinner and a show The legend of Tulsa’s edgiest hibachi chef

by BRADY WHISENHUNT

L

et’s be clear about something: Tokyo Garden has never been the coolest Japanese restaurant in town. When your first screenplay gets adapted into a major motion picture starring Casey Affleck and Anna Kendrick, you and your crew head downtown. Somewhere fancy and with an umlaut in the name, where the bartender has an ivy league degree in craft cocktails. A place with tarragon butter.

At 41st and Memorial, Tokyo Garden is far away from the places in town everyone’s buzzing about, though there are intelligent, well-appointed people who think Tokyo Garden is the only restaurant in Tulsa that matters. People who, when they want to celebrate, have one item at the top of their agenda: assemble a crew and hit Tokyo Garden.

Over the last few years, I’ve done a half dozen or so Tokyo Garden sessions. The most memorable was in March 2015 when our server—who went by the stage name “Sexy Boy”—spent 14 // FOOD & DRINK

his two hours at our table roasting the dudes and flirting with the ladies, mashing up food tricks with racy innuendos. Along with the standard, hackneyed hibachi gags (i.e. the Japanese butterfly: butter flipped through the air across the table. Butter. Fly.), he worked a constant theme into his routine.

“All the ladies love Sexy Boy. Watch Sexy Boy work his magic,” he chanted. “Fellas, look out.”

Sexy Boy was merely a hibachi chef the way Iggy Pop was merely a musician. He was a provocateur, an artist, a shaman. Sexy Boy was danger and electricity. He was hilarious, and he had us rolling.

Recently, I returned to Tokyo Garden with a new party crew. We hoped to see Sexy Boy bring the noise. Between the dining room and the waiting area, a tiny stream runs under a miniature bridge; and in this stream there are hundreds of coins. Some of those coins represent wishes, and some of those wishes actually come true.

As luck would have it he was assigned to our table, but some-

thing was different. There was no sexy talk and he never once referred to himself as “Sexy Boy,” but I was certain of the man standing before us.

At the beginning of the show he introduced us to his “sexy son,” a small squeeze bottle that squirts cooking oil out of the hole. His act had the same basic qualities—a unique brand of mischief, antagonism, and irreverence. When we asked for chopsticks, he snapped back, “Tomorrow!” After pausing for laughs he motioned to his assistant who brought us chopsticks and re-upped our sake. He seemed to be PG-13 Sexy Boy. But PG-13 Sexy Boy is still good times.

As we gulped down Sapporos and crushed our fried rice and hibachi meats, something was eating at us. There was no electricity here, no danger. He was not trying to drive a romantic wedge between the men and the women. It was unsettling. So, naturally, after about four sake bombs each, we began interrogating him.

“Aren’t you Sexy Boy?”

Our chef scoffed at our insolence and dodged the question every time, changing the subject, or tossing back a jab—“You have a big mouth. Open your big mouth!” Then he spatula-flipped a grilled shrimp into each of our gaping maws. The only hint of his alter ego was a sly smile as he sliced and diced our steaks and scallops. He was not going to reveal anything about the man behind the grill.

Perhaps Sexy Boy is less Iggy Pop and more David Bowie, expirimenting with personas and adapting his routine to an ever-changing public. The David Bowies and the Sexy Boys of this world aren’t here to read between the lines for you. a

TOKYO GARDEN 4020 S. Memorial Dr. 5 p.m.–9:30 p.m. Mon.–Thurs., 5 p.m.–10 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 5 p.m.–9 p.m. Sun.

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

Party at The Max

EVERY DAY! Funday:

THE LOOP

loop

OPEN AT NOON W/ FREE HURTS DONUTS CHAMPAGNE MIMOSA BAR LIVE EVENT BINGO @ 2pm (WIN A GAMEBOY COLOR!)

Monday: BLUE MONDAY W/ DJ ROBBO @ 9pm $1 COORS ORIGINAL

Tuesday: FREE TOKENS W/ EVERY PURCHASE Wednesday: TEAM TRIVIA NIGHT W/ QUESTIONABLE COMPANY @ 8pm (WIN A SUPER NINTENDO!)

Don’t miss the bus!

Use the real time Bus Tracker App available at Scan the QR code and keep track of the Loop with the Tulsa Transit Bus Tracker App. tulsatransit.org facebook.com/TulsaDowntownTrolley

Ando _1-2Page_Tulsa Voice_Aug16_2017_press.pdf

1

8/15/17

Thursday: LADIES NIGHT W/ DJ MOODY FREE TOKENS FOR THE LADIES W/ ANY PURCHASE

friday:

8/18 • BOO YA WITH DJ MOODY 8/25 • DJ AFISTAFACE 9/1 • DJ ALI SHAW OF 105.3 WEEKEND REWIND

Saturday: 8/19 & 8/26 • AARON BERNARD OF 105.3 OLD SCHOOL SUNDAYS 9/2 • DJ ROBBO OF 80S PROM AND THAT 90S PARTY!

11:59 AM

NOW OPEN

Layers of house made meatballs, Italian sausage, and Genoa salami.

The Clemenza: An Italian hug in food form.

“If you don’t love this pizza, you don’t pay for it.”

– Mike Bausch, Owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria andopizza.com

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

217 S. Main in The Rose District, BA Gelato • Espresso Fresh Pasta Market

Made On Site Daily: Fresh pasta and authentic gelato. Coffee & espresso from Topeca Coffee. #JustLikeItaly #STG Taste the difference our hand-rolled and extruded fresh pasta makes in your favorite Italian dishes.

100% authentic micro-batch Italian gelato. STGItalian.com FOOD & DRINK // 15

foodfile

T

ulsa’s restaurant scene has a quality control problem.

Especially downtown, local patrons and food writers tend to overpraise new establishments that are often fine but unexceptional, while ignoring symptoms of trouble, such as bad service resulting from undertrained staff, miscalculated steak temps, overseasoning, and poorly mixed cocktails—to say nothing of overpriced menus.

Over and over, a “fine dining” restaurant will open to deafening hype before dying a slow, unceremonious death as patrons grow wearied by disappointment and weekend headcounts decline.

I know, I’ve worked at many of them.

The hype, too, for Amelia’s has been loud. Opened in April in the Brady Arts district, it is, on first glance, worthy of suspicion, starting with its location—a shotgun space I cannot dissociate from its previous occupant, a strong contender for worst bar in Tulsa—and its emphasis on “wood fired cuisine,” one of those broad promises that suggests smoke and mirrors, like “flame-broiled” and “fresh-made” and “farm-to-table.”

But everything about Amelia’s is immaculate. From the elegant, unfussy décor to the professional staff—many of them recognizable veterans of Tulsa’s best restaurants—here is a restaurant that appears to be, only months into its life, a well-oiled machine.

The high standards are evident, too, in the food and drink, beginning with the starters and ending with the mezcal.

COUNTRY PÂTÉ AND CHICKEN OSSO BUCCO On a previous visit, I’d tried the Rescoldo veggies with roasted triple-crème brie, a decadent, buttery, smoky showcase of vegetables at their best (if not healthiest). This particular meal began with country pâté and sweet corn fritters.

While the fritters were respectable (perfectly fried but a little light on the corn), they were upstaged by the richness of the pâté. Executive 16 // FOOD & DRINK

MICHELLE POLLARD

THE CHICKEN THAT STOLE THE SHOW

AMELIA’S LIVES UP TO THE HYPE

by JOSHUA KLINE Chef Kevin Snell’s version is a chilled, dense roll of cured pork and pistachios, sliced and placed atop a cornbread crostini and garnished with a gerkin and mustard seed. Absent was the blackberry jam described on the menu, but it wasn’t missed.

For the main event, the Roasted Tomato Ravioli was a worthy vegetarian dish—fresh pasta pockets stuffed with tomato, garlic, and mascarpone, then tossed in housemade pesto and spinach—but the chicken stole the show.

Common wisdom holds that if a restaurant can nail its chicken dish, it can nail everything else.

Snell has set an admirably high bar for himself with the chicken osso bucco—an impossibly tender, hearty, satisfying entrée that showcased the technical finesse of Snell’s staff. The hind of a chicken, procured from 413 Farm in Adair, is stripped from the bone,

pounded out, then re-wrapped around the bone and given a sous vide bath. It’s then pan-seared and served on a bed of Carolina Gold rice and wilted spinach, covered in a rosemary tomato sauce, and garnished with micro greens and gremolata. An obligatory airline breast this is not.

THE MEZCAL The flight came at the end of my meal—an impulse order in place of dessert.

Amelia’s bar has two top shelves: one for whiskey (American, Irish, Scotch, Japanese) and one for mezcal and tequila. The latter takes center stage, commanding bar patrons’ lines of sight and dominating the rotating cocktail menu. Earlier, I’d had the Copa de Oro, a perfectly composed cocktail of reposado tequila, vermouth, grapefruit marmalade, bitters, and lime.

The bartender presented a wooden plank adorned with what looked like three miniature clay pots, each filled with the distilled essence of espadin, the common Oaxacan agave plant whose hearts are cooked in the ground to produce the exceedingly smoky spirit known as mezcal. I could see through the liquid a stamp at the bottom of each pot: “Mexico.”

“Are you familiar with mezcal?” the bartender asked.

I’m a novice.

“Oh, perfect,” he said, and launched into an eloquent lesson on the roots of the spirit, elaborating on the quirks and flavors of each of the three in front of me.

Each pot was flanked by a wedge of orange, garnished with a maroon spice: sal de gusano, or “worm salt.” A classic garnish in Oaxaca, the salt is made from the ground guts of larvae that live in the agave plant. The worm powder is then mixed with chili powder and salt and used as an appropriately smoky companion to the mezcal—like the typical citrus-salt accompanying tequila shots and margaritas, but with worms.

The mezcal itself was a revelation. The notorious smokiness of the spirit was, in each of the three brands—Del Maguey Vida, Ilegal Joven, and Bozal Ensamble—muted and smooth, and each shot was extraordinarily easy to drink. I’m partial to tequila but have, in the past, dismissed mezcal as tequila’s trendy, abrasive cousin. No more.

The quality of Amelia’s can be at least partially attributed to the legacy of another Tulsa establishment. Both Snell and owner Amelia Eesley cut their teeth at Stonehorse, the impressive, reliable Utica Square staple lorded over by Tim Inman, a restaurateur who demands perfection from his staff and has a low tolerance for mistakes.

If Amelia’s is the outcome of years under Inman, every aspiring chef and restaurateur in Tulsa should be required to work under him. a

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

downthehatch

She Theatre and Lounge at 321 E. M.B. Brady St. | JOSEPH RUSHMORE

HOW WAS SHE?

by KATHRYN PARKMAN

F

rom the sidewalk it sounded like The Bang Bang Bar. She Theatre and Lounge was oozing frantic brass melodies and percussives that pulsed like a quick heart beat. I kept walking that night, but this first impression lasted, and I stayed curious about She. She’s usually closed. Regular hours are Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., which is only 12 hours per week, though weekday private parties can be arranged. She hosts monthly burlesque shows, which typically run from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30, and more frequent aerial dance and lyra shows, which start around 10 and continue until midnight.

When I recently made it beyond the threshold, She wasn’t what She had seemed. A combination theater, lounge, and nightclub, She looks, smells, and feels like a debutante on the brink of an identity crisis. She has two bars, a stage, a dance floor, and chandeliers drooping from the ceiling. She was on nightclub mode that night, and the DJ was playing all the club favorites and banger remixes.

There isn’t a cocktail menu, but She employs some creative bartenders. I almost ordered the

$2 PBR special but asked for a Manhattan instead. The bartender said he was out of an essential ingredient and offered to make something similar.

I saw him mix Maker’s Mark, grenadine, and ice in a shaker and strain the mixture to a cocktail glass. Though nearly the color of a Manhattan, this tasted more like the Laffy Taffy flavor approximation of a Manhattan, or a little like a bizarre Negroni.

Never mind the cocktails. For a place that self-describes as “opulent,” with neon script that spells, “Check my diamonds, they’re flawless,” She feels more like Florida’s Versailles than Marie Antoinette’s.

Between the two bars, halfway from the dance floor and vacant stage, I sipped my whiskey and grenadine. I watched people have as much fun as you can in a bar with dance-y video game music. It was like watching a post-modern vaudeville rom-com.

Next round, I tried the other bar, closer to the stage. They were also out of bitters and/or vermouth. But this bartender didn’t try to mimic a cocktail She wasn’t stocked to create. She made an ambiguously boozy cherry-lime concoction, and it was the best drink I had all night. a

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

Enjoy 'A Night At The Opera' at Hideaway Pizza (every time we play "Bohemian Rhapsody")

Streaming exclusively at all Hideaway Pizza locations and online at HideawayPizza.com/Radio

FOOD & DRINK // 17

NATIONAL SANDWICH MONTH • NATIONAL SANDWICH MONTH • NATIONAL SANDWICH MONTH • NATIONAL SANDWICH MONTH • NATIONAL SANDWICH MONTH • NATIONAL SANDWICH MONTH •

BILL & RUTH’S ON CHERRY STREET

2404 E 15th St | 918.742.9842 billandruthson15th.com Family owned and operated, we’ve been providing the same jam-packed, fresh submarine sandwiches since 1980. Try one of our signature subs like the Belly Buster or 3-Cheese and Avocado, or create your own. We serve both, hot and cold sandwiches, along with fresh salads, house-made soups, hummus, tabouli, baklava and more! In a hurry? Find a link on our Web site to order online.

3334 S Peoria Ave | 918.933.4848 cosmo-cafe.com For over 12 years, Cosmo Café has been serving up unique and sophisticated sandwiches in the heart of Brookside.

Like this one: Our Turkey & Avocado Sandwich, with bacon, cream cheese, red onions, spring greens, ranch and tomatoes on your choice of bread. Large selection of soups, salads, pizzas and desserts too!

ELMER’S BBQ

HIDEAWAY PIZZA

For over 35 years, all of our “It Be Bad” BBQ has become legendary, but Tulsans know “The Famous Badwich” is in a league all by itself. It features a large sampling of our high-quality hickory smoked meats… rib, chopped beef, smoked bologna, hot links or smoked sausage…piled high on your choice of a bun or Texas toast. Enjoy it with Elmer’s “World Famous” BBQ Sauce and a pair of our homemade sides.

All for $11.99 including tax.

The Hideaway Pizza Italian Sub is stacked high with slices of ham, genoa salami and pepperoni, with red onions, black olives, banana peppers, a melted blend of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, and topped with shredded lettuce, Roma tomato slices and creamy Italian dressing on a toasted white or whole wheat hoagie. Enjoy with chips or cole slaw and a dill pickle spear!

PEPPER’S GRILL & CANTINA

PHAT PHILLY’S

4130 South Peoria | 918.742 .6702 elmersbbqtulsa.com

Utica Square | 918.749. 2163 91st & Delaware | 918. 296.0592

We invite you to come enjoy our most popular sandwich, Pepper’s Style Club, featuring bacon, turkey, ham, lettuce, tomato and mayo. It is served on your choice of sour dough or wheat berry bread or a white, wheat or onion bun, and accompanied with a choice of French fries or Spanish-style fries (fries with onions and jalapenos!), onion rings or fried okra. Come discover the reason our club sandwich is our best-seller among our selection of great sandwiches!

7 Metro locations Hideawaypizza.com

1305 S Peoria Ave | 918.382.7428 Our sandwiches are served on an Amoroso roll with a perfect blend of steak, onions, bell peppers and Cheez Whiz. But get it how you like. Want mushrooms (pictured)? Steak or chicken?

Provolone or Whiz? Vegetarian? No problem. Want it on top of your waffle fries or tater tots? Easy. We also cater.

QUEENIE’S

SISSEROU’S

Proudly serving Tulsa since 1983. We make the freshest, tastiest food using local meat and veggies. Enjoy our Famous Chicken Salad, Egg Salad, Pimento Cheese or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches or come in and check our chalkboard for daily specials. We hope to see you soon!

Tulsa’s Authentic Caribbean Cuban Sandwich. Pork shoulder marinated in a traditional Mojo (garlic,citrus) blend and slow-roasted until tender. It is then shredded and placed inside of our lightly toasted Cuban loaf drizzled with our signature habanero mayonnaise and topped with ham, Swiss cheese, sweet pickles, and country Dijon.

1834 Utica Square | 918.749. 3481 queeniesoftulsa.com

18 // NATIONAL SANDWICH MONTH

COSMO CAFÉ & BAR

Archer & Main | 918.576.6800 sisserousrestauranttulsa.com

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

A College Degree Without the Debt.

Tulsa Community College is pleased to provide up to 100 percent tuition and fees to Tulsa County high school graduating seniors who enroll at TCC. With Tulsa Achieves, you can avoid the financial burden of debilitating student loans, enjoy an excellent educational foundation, and begin your career with money in your pocket.

To learn more and complete your online application, go to TulsaCC.edu/TulsaAchieves

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

FEATURED // 19

MA CONG’S AMERICAN DREAM

BY A LICI A CHESSER PHOTOS BY A DA M MUR PH Y

W

DANCE of life 20 // FEATURED

hen Ma Cong, the resident choreographer of Tulsa Ballet, was three years old, he performed his own version of the “Dying Swan” ballet in front of 3,000 people in his hometown of Beijing.

After creating more than two dozen ballets over the last 13 years, he will make his Broadway debut as choreographer for Julie Taymor’s new production of “M. Butterfly” in October.

This month, he becomes a U.S. citizen. And in January of next year, just after their first wedding anniversary, he and his husband, lawyer Thomas Landrum, will welcome twin boys.

An unlikely journey? Not any more so than the journeys on which he takes dancers and audiences across the world. His ballets are swirls of passion, linking classical Western and Chinese dance with contemporary forms in gravity-warping lifts and intricate turns that pack an emotional punch as they play on the edges of the laws of physics. For Cong, the improbable is the everyday.

During his two decades in the States, Cong has built a distinctly 21st-century version of the American dream: a mixed-ethnicity marriage with a same-sex partner who also has a demanding, flourishing career; a loving family that’s growing with the help of surrogacy; and a goal of paying it forward into a future that’s more open and welcoming for all.

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

“Ma lives and acts,” Landrum said, “exactly as he dances and creates: full-hearted and completely honest, giving 110 percent at all times.”

“We all remember his first season with the company,” said Marcello Angelini, the Tulsa Ballet artistic director who hired Cong from the National Ballet of China and became one of his strongest supporters.

“We saw his ability to communicate with us, in spite of hardly speaking any English, his energy in the studio and his eagerness to take in as much as possible from this new culture. And he did that while being securely anchored in his own tradition.”

Did he have any training in making dances? “No,” Cong said with a rueful laugh. “I have always been a free spirit. My mom was always telling me I’d become a choreographer. It was like fate, or destiny.”

Angelini invited him to choreograph for Tulsa Ballet, and commissions from other companies followed, as did awards in competitions and recognition as one of “25 to watch” from Dance Magazine. He retired from performing in 2013.

Cong comes from what Landrum described as a forward-thinking, industrious, entrepreneurially-minded family, and success came to him quickly.

“But I always struggled with one thing,” Cong said. “I didn’t know whether I would be able to have a personal life. People would tell me they didn’t think I could find someone here in Oklahoma, because people are maybe not so open yet, especially when they know your name.

“I thought I would probably just end up by myself. Until 2011, when I met Thomas, and life changed. As soon as I met him I just knew that he was the right person to share my life with.”

Born in Edmond and raised in Owasso, Landrum grew up showing Brahmin cattle and taking creative literature classes in school. He saw Cong for the first time in a Tulsa Ballet educational outreach performance during Cong’s first year in the company, but they didn’t meet until 2011, when Landrum was in his third year of law school at the University of Tulsa.

“The first time we met, at Shades of Brown, we talked for three and a half hours,” Landrum said. “Truthfully, we’ve been together ever since.”

Within only a few years of passing the bar, Landrum was made partner and business manager at The Firm on Baltimore, where he specializes in family law and does charity work for Tulsa Lawyers for Children. He is also active on the board of Tulsa Ballet. During our interview, the two men repeatedly lifted up each other’s achievements in preference to discussing their own.

In 2012, he helped Cong through the difficult loss of his mother in China, with whom he had spoken via FaceTime more than once.

“His mom knew no English but she was so enthusiastic, warm, and welcoming,” Landrum said.

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

“I didn’t want to choreograph, I didn’t want to dance,” Cong remembered. “My body and mind just shut down. But Thomas was so kind to me. Life is always like waves. When you have the deepest moment, you start to climb again.”

That moment was a turning point for both of them.

“When you get into a real healthy relationship and get support at home as well as at work,” Landrum said, “it changes things. We gave each other permission to just dive all in.

“Ma certainly taught me how to do that. You don’t dangle your feet in the water. If you’re going to fall, you’re going to fall running.” He laughed. “Not that he’s ever done that.”

Cong and Landrum were together for six years before marrying in January.

“The arts community has been very welcoming, very loving,” Landrum said. “It may be that they don’t approve of our rela-

tionship, but that’s never been expressed.

We’re all there because we love beautiful art and that’s really what it comes down to. That’s the way it is in the professional legal realm. If you do a good job, you work hard, and you represent your clients, I’ve never been held accountable overtly for other people’s lack of approval.”

That doesn’t mean the road is always easy. Landrum recalled overhearing a group of businessmen speaking negatively (as they got progressively drunker) about homosexuality in a restaurant where he and his mother were having dinner back in June.

“She’s a traditional Oklahoman—my parents met on an oil derrick, actually—so she’s had to make significant progress in the way she feels and thinks about our relationship. I know she was conflicted, hearing them talk. It crushed me. I just bought them a bottle of wine, introduced myself, and wished them a happy Pride month.

“Ma said, in all his brilliance, that the best thing we could do is just be good people and raise a great family.

Set an example. I was like—oh, right!

And all the clouds disappeared.”

“I came home and was so torn. What if it had been a 17-year-old kid who was listening? I said to Ma, ‘We need to join a board, we need to mentor.’ Ma said, in all his brilliance, that the best thing we could do is just be good people and raise a great family. Set an example. I was like—oh, right! And all the clouds disappeared.”

There are many same-sex couples starting families, mainly through adoption or fostering; Cong and Landrum join them as part of a smaller population using a surrogate. There are no statistics on same-sex surrogacy yet, but a few clinics around the country exist to help guide couples through the complex and expensive process.

“The way we are doing it, even if you were a straight couple it would be difficult,” Landrum said.

They found an egg donor, then Surrogacy Solutions clinic in Dallas found them a surrogate—of whom they speak affectionately as already, and permanently, part of their family. She’s carrying twin boys: one with Landrum’s DNA, the other with Cong’s.

“We’ve been very blessed through this process, and we cannot wait to raise these babies in Oklahoma,” Cong said. “I believe people here are transitioning to knowing that this is really just love. We can raise beautiful babies, provide a great life, great education, and they will be a great support to the country. This is what we want to do, just like other same-sex couples. I hope that Oklahoma will be able to support journeys like ours.”

“Right now in Oklahoma, we would have to cross-adopt the children who are not biologically ours, which of course we would be happy to do,” Landrum continued, “but really, we are married. We’d love to help the community understand that a healthy and happy family doesn’t have to look a certain way, that maybe some of the ceremonial barriers put up to having a family aren’t worth the harm they create.”

“The highlight of almost 20 years of knowing Ma,” Angelini said, “was attending his wedding ceremony and witnessing how happy he was in that moment, finally marrying Thomas. Yes, they are a somewhat non-traditional family, but I bet my retirement income that they will be together for the rest of their lives. They need a bit of a help having children. I know many couples who do. We have a lot to learn from relationships like that of Ma and Thomas, as they can teach us what love is and the true reasons why we should say ‘I do.’”

For Cong, it’s been an incredible journey. Gaining U.S. citizenship is just another step in this dance.

“Plus, I get to vote,” he said, grinning.

“We’re living in America,” he said. “It’s about all of us. It’s because of other people that we have this. It’s all connected for something good.

“This was my dream, and it all came true.” a FEATURED // 21

EVERY SATURDAY THE DRUNKARD AND THE OLIO Since 1953, more than 3,000 Tulsa Spotlighters have helped produce the melodrama/temperance morality play, “The Drunkard,” which is the longest-running play in the country.

Spotlight Theatre

Yo u r g u i de to the b e st in perfo r m i ng arts this f all

BY TTV STAFF

Song and dance, drama and intrigue, laughter, and show-stopping spectacle.

Green Country’s performing arts companies and venues offer all this and more in the coming months. Don’t miss out on the enchantment.

8/18–27 NUNSENSE The Little Sisters of Hoboken discover their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 of their sisters.

Sapulpa Community Theatre 8/18–9/3 RAGTIME Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, “Ragtime” tells the story of three groups in New York in the early 20th century: African Americans, upper-class suburbanites, and Eastern European immigrants.

John H. Williams Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Theatre Tulsa 8/24–26 EXCHANGE CHOREOGRAPHY FESTIVAL Modern dance makers from around the region come together for professional development and performances.

Holland Hall’s Walter Arts Center The Bell House

“The Little Mermaid,” based on the 1989 Disney film and story by Hans Christian Andersen, splashes onstage at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, August 29–September 3. This Broadway tour is intended for the whole family, with colorful costumes, lavish set design, and music by eight-time Academy Award-winner Alan Menken, including “Under the Sea,” “Part of Your World,” and “Kiss the Girl,” plus new songs.

One of the early challenges of production was figuring out how to achieve an oceanic set on a dry stage.

Director Francesca Zambello stayed truthful to the story and created “something that was very simple in terms of the set, very translucent, takes light beautifully and is architectural and sculptural to suggest an underwater world without actually being in real water or having people swimming,” she said.

In Zambello’s aquatic jewel-box, Ariel (Diana Huey) and Sebastian the Crab (Melvin Abston) sing and swim through several twists added to the theatrical version. Playwright Doug Wright (“I Am My Own Wife,” pg. 24) focused Ariel’s story on “a world in which she feels truly realized in her own terms … her ambitions are bigger than any one man.”

22 // FEATURED

9/8 CALIDORE STRING QUARTET The quartet performs Janácek’s “Kreutzer Sonata,” Caroline Shaw’s “First Essay: Nimrod,” and Tchaikovsky’s Quartet No. 1in D Major, Op. 11.

Harwelden Mansion Chamber Music Tulsa 9/8 THE ROARING ‘20S AND ALL THAT JAZZ Signature Symphony plays hot jazz by the likes of Jelly Roll Morton, Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong.

VanTrease PACE Signature Symphony August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

PHOTO COURTESY CELEBRITY ATTRACTIONS

The Little Mermaid

TULSA PEFORMING ARTS CENTER CELEBRITY ATTRACTIONS AUGUST 29–SEPTEMBER 3

9/7–9 BLUE WHALE COMEDY FESTIVAL Eugene Mirman, Kyle Kinane, Jordan Rock, The Sklar Brothers, Naomi Ekperigin, Liza Treyger, and a whole host of locals perform throughout the weekend.

The Brady Arts District

TULSA SYMPHONY

2017-2018 S E A S O N T W E LV E

SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE ON SALE NOW!

Season and Package subscribers get the BEST SEATS at the BEST PRICES, and receive discounts to Special Events.

Visit tulsasymphony.org or call 918.584.3645, to learn more!

FREE EVENT SYMPHONY IN THE PARK SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 | 7:30 PM GUTHRIE GREEN

Classics Series GALA CONCERT: BRAHMS’ PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 featuring JON KIMURA PARKER SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 | 8:00 PM* TULSA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

TCHAIKOVSKY’S SYMPHONY NO. 6 OCTOBER 28, 2017 | 7:30 PM TULSA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

TULSA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

AN EVENING WITH ERIC WHITACRE JANUARY 13, 2018 | 7:30 PM

MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 4 MARCH 24, 2018 | 7:30 PM TULSA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

TULSA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Pops Series

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS featuring JEFF SHADLEY, TRUMPET DECEMBER 2, 2017 | 7:30 PM DECEMBER 3, 2017 | 2:30 PM

VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY: SPACE, THE FINAL FRONTIER featuring IMAGES FROM NASA APRIL 14, 2018 | 7:30 PM

**LORTON PERFORMANCE CENTER, UNIVERSIT Y OF TULSA

TULSA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

HOME GROWN featuring TSO SOLOISTS AND OTHER UNIQUELY OKLAHOMAN ARTISTS MAY 12, 2018 | 7:30 PM TULSA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

MOZART: SERENADE FOR WINDS SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 | 7:00 PM

BARTOK, BEETHOVEN, HARBISON JANUARY 26, 2018 | 7:00 PM

BEETHOVEN & BRAHMS OCTOBER 6, 2017 | 7:00 PM

BEETHOVEN & EWAZEN MARCH 9, 2018 | 7:00 PM

FLY LOFT

CHAMBER SERIES

MENDELSSOHN’S SYMPHONY NO. 3 FEBRUARY 4, 2018 | 2:30 PM

FLY LOFT

FLY LOFT

FLY LOFT

For Tickets Call 918.584.3645, x201 or visit tulsasymphony.org

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

FEATURED // 23

Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play IDL BALLROOM • THEATRE POPS • SEPTEMBER 8–17 “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play” opens with a group of survivors in the wake of an apocalyptic disaster. Alone in the woods, they piece together the plot of The Simpsons episode “Cape Feare” from memory. Over three acts, “Mr. Burns” shows how this version of The Simpsons and other snippets of pop culture (commercials, jingles, pop songs, etc.) become the foundation for a new cultural mythology.

“It shows how media changes the way we view things over time, and how time changes the way we view those things,” director Meghan Hurley said.

“Donald Trump isn’t the first president we’ve had who was famous for something other than politics before he was elected,” she added. “The current state of affairs shows how much media shapes our lives.”

“It also shows how in times of crisis people always turn to art. No matter what happens, the worst possible things happen, and people always turn back to art. It’s the thing that keeps us going,” Hurley said. “You can turn tragedy into something that becomes a form of art.”

I Am My Own Wife TULSA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER • TULSA PROJECT THEATRE SEPTEMBER 13–24 Based on the life of “Berlin’s favorite transvestite” Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, “I Am My Own Wife” is first and foremost a survival story.

Doug Wright wrote the script after lengthy conversations he had with Mahlsdorf, then 65, in the early 1990s. “I Am My Own Wife” premiered in Chicago in 2002 and, after the Broadway production in 2004, earned Wright a Pulitzer Prize. Wright is also known for the American-British-German period film “Quills” and Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” (pg. 22) on Broadway.

“She was a living history lesson, this woman,” said Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma Artistic Director Michael Baron, who is directing the Tulsa show. “There’s not many people that survived the Nazis and the East Germans and came out of the other side of the [Berlin] Wall intact.”

9/9 JWALA: RISING FLAME This performance by choreographer Mythili Prakash envisions a flickering flame as a symbol of life and spirit.

John H. Williams Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center South Asian Performing Arts Foundation

9/15–24 CREATIONS IN STUDIO K The annual tradition brings world premiere works commissioned just for Tulsa Ballet by in-demand choreographers Helen Pickett, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Young Soon Hue. Studio K Tulsa Ballet

9/9–10 CALIDORE STRING QUARTET The quartet performs pieces by Tchaikovsky, Haydn, Hindemith, and Mendelssohn.

Westby Pavilion, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Chamber Music Tulsa

9/16 GALA CONCERT WITH JON KIMURA PARKER The pianist will perform Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2, and Hungarian Dances No. 1 and No. 5 with Tulsa Symphony.

Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Tulsa Symphony

9/15 RON WHITE “Tater Salad” returns to Tulsa for an evening of his signature cigar-smoking, scotch-drinking comedy.

Paradise Cove, River Spirit Casino 9/15 CAPTAIN MARK KELLY LUNCHEON Cpt. Kelly, who commanded the space shuttles Endeavour and Discovery, presents his lecture, “To Infinity and Beyond.”

Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Tulsa Town Hall

9/16 DARREN KNIGHT’S SOUTHERN MOMMA The social media star performs as his signature character, a hysterical Southern mother.

The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Tulsa Ballet’s Signature Series

Matthew Alvin Brown, Tulsa Project Theatre’s artistic director, stars in the role of Mahlsdorf. He also plays 30 other characters, including SS officers, Mahlsdorf’s lesbian aunt, and even the playwright—all with the perfect amount of comic relief for a true story about a transwoman dodging the Gestapo and Stasi.

Faust TULSA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER • TULSA OPERA • OCTOBER 20, 22 For Faust, neither science nor faith proved to be paths to love. The longing scholar trades his soul to the devil Méphistophélès, hoping to gain a new vitality that will help him win the affections of innocent Marguerite.

Of all the interpretations of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s “Faust,” Charles Gounod’s operatic interpretation is perhaps the grandest. Tulsa Opera will bring Gounod’s “Faust” to the stage on Friday, October 20, with a Sunday matinee on October 22. Performances will be sung in French with English translations above the stage.

COURTESY TULSA BALLET

Audiences will make the descent along with Faust, in a swirl of voices and tumult. It’s not Méphistophélès’ temptation that breaks Faust in the end, but Faust’s desire for power and grandeur.

Stage designs are by Earl Staley, who painted the lush and vibrant sets in 1985, and direction is by the young Israeli Omer Ben Seadia. This modern production revitalizes “Faust” at a time when one’s desires should be compared to desires’ effects.

24 // FEATURED

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

9/19 CHITA RIVERA & TOMMY TUNE: TWO FOR THE ROAD Two Tony-winning Broadway legends perform show-stopping hits.

Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center 9/21–10/1 GREASE The original high school musical, starring Rydell High’s Class of 1959.

Henthorne Performing Arts Center Clark Youth Theatre

pirates in this swashbuckling musical.

John H. Williams Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center PAC Trust 10/6–14 TIME FOR CHOCOLATE This play, by TU Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature Bruce Dean Willis is inspired by an ancient Mexican ritual known as “flower song.”

Nightingale Theater Heller Theatre Company and Tulsa Latino Theatre Company

10/6–15 THE MOUSETRAP A group of strangers is stranded in a boarding house during a snowstorm in this mystery by Agatha Christie.

Broken Arrow Community Playhouse 10/13–14 TU DANCE Founded by former Alvin Ailey principal dancers Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands, the company is acclaimed for its versatility, drawing together modern dance, classical ballet, and

African-based and urban vernacular movements.

John H. Williams Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Choregus Productions 10/13–22 THE ADVENTURES OF RIKKI TIKKI TAVI The adventures of a valiant young mongoose, as told by Rudyard Kipling in a short story in “The Jungle Book.”

Spotlight Theatre Spotlight Children’s Theatre

9/22 CHRIS BOTTI The grammy-nominated jazz and pop trumpeter and composer performs.

Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center 35 Concerts 9/22–30 THE BAD SEED Through a series of events, Christine begins to believe her daughter, the seemingly perfect Rhoda, may in fact be a serial killer.

Muskogee Little Theatre 9/22–10/1 GREEN DAY’S AMERICAN IDIOT Fed-up suburban youths struggle to find their place in a superficial society in this rock opera based on the pop-punk band’s Grammy-winning album.

John H. Williams Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Theatre Tulsa Next Stage 9/23 FAMILY PORTRAITS Signature Symphony performs Peter Boyer’s “New Beginnings,” Prokofiev’s “Piano Concerto,” and Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations with featured pianist Horacio Gutierrez.

VanTrease PACE Signature Symphony 9/26–10/1 THE BODYGUARD Based on the smash hit movie, a superstar and her bodyguard unexpectedly fall for each other. Starring Canadian R&B singer Deborah Cox. Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Celebrity Attractions 10/6 HOW I BECAME A PIRATE Young Jeremy Jacobs joins Captain Braid Beard’s band of comical THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

TULSA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

1718 SEASON

TULSAPAC.COM MYTICKETOFFICE.COM 918.596.7111 FEATURED // 25

Yevtushenko and Shostakovich VANTREASE PACE • SIGNATURE SYMPHONY • NOVEMBER 4

Yevgeny Yevtushenko, the celebrated Russian poet and distinguished professor of literature at the University of Tulsa, died on April 1 of this year. To celebrate his life and legacy, Tulsa Signature Symphony will perform “The Execution of Stepan Razin” (1964), a collaborative work between the poet and Dimitri Shostakovich.

A follow-up to their 1962 collaboration that denounced antisemitism— Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, set to Yevtushenko’s libretto “Babi Yara” and five other poems—“Stepan Razin” looks further back in Russian history at the eponymous Cossack leader who was executed for leading an uprising against the Tsarist regime in 1671.

The Russian cantata for solo bass, male and female chorus, and orchestra, is both grand and brutal—an accurate depiction of a man beheaded for revolting against the Tsars. Yevtushenko will long be remembered for standing up to powerful leaders, fighting them with his words. This act of defiance is perfectly represented in “Stepan Razin,” as the entire chorus sings near the end: “Not for nothing! Not for nothing!”

10/14 DANISH STRING QUARTET The quartet performs Beethoven’s Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3.

Westby Pavilion, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Chamber Music Tulsa 10/15 DANISH STRING QUARTET The quartet performs Haydn’s Quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2, Schnittke’s Quartet No. 3 (1983), and Beethoven’s Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1, “Rasumovsky.”

John H. Williams Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Chamber Music Tulsa 10/20 MUSIC OF THE KNIGHTS Signature Symphony honors the musical legacies of Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber, Sir Elton John, and Sir Paul McCartney.

VanTrease PACE Signature Symphony

10/21 BETTY BUCKLEY The 2012 Theatre Hall of Fame inductee performs a revue of Broadway classics.

Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center 10/21–28 FUN HOME A middle-aged cartoonist looks back on two time periods in her life in this musical, the winner of the 2015 Tony Award for Best Musical.

John H. Williams Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center American Theatre Company 10/27 DR. BENNET OMALU LUNCHEON Dr. Omalu, the first doctor to discover and publish findings of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in American football players, speaks about his experience.

Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Tulsa Town Hall

“Beautiful: The Carole King Story”

Two other Russian works will be performed the same night: Glazunov’s “Stenka Razim” and Borodin’s “Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances.”

Shades of White TU TYRRELL HALL • ECHO THEATRE COMPANY • NOVEMBER 10–12

Writer Ilan Kozlowski and Director Machele Dill know that Tulsa has dark secrets hidden in closets—and attics. Their next production, “Shades of White,” set in 1990s Tulsa, is a comedy about how a family confronts racism and reconciles events that stretch back to 1921 and before.

Dill said the play deals with racism not flippantly, but emphasizes hypocrisy, like when a character proclaims, “I can’t tolerate intolerance.”

COURTESY CELEBRITY ATTRACTIONS/JULIA KNITEL

As with many Echo Company productions, Dill hopes if people laugh about injustice they can become comfortable talking about it. That’s how, she believes, progress happens.

“Kozlowski wrote this so people would talk to each other on both sides of the fence,” Dill said.

Though all characters in the play are fictitious, some have traces of people who existed in Tulsa. Parental guidance is recommended, mostly for language. Dill recommends parents be prepared to talk about racism with their children after the show.

26 // FEATURED

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

10/28 TCHAIKOVSKY’S SYMPHONY NO. 6 Tulsa Symphony performs Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique,” Aaron Copland’s “Quiet City,” and Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber.

Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Tulsa Symphony 11/3–4 DON QUIXOTE Don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho Panza chase after the forbidden lovers, Kitri and Basilio.

Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Tulsa Ballet

11/11 THE WIZARD OF OZ It takes an incredible journey through a strange world for Dorothy to realize, there’s no place like home.

Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center

11/16–19 MARTIN LUTHER ON TRIAL Luther is tried for igniting the Protestant Revolt against Rome, with appearances by celebrity witnesses, including Sigmund Freud, Martin Luther King Jr., Hitler, and Lucifer.

John H. Williams Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Fellowship for Performing Arts

11/11–12 MECCORE QUARTET The quartet performs pieces by Szymanowski, Grieg, and Schumann.

Westby Pavilion, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Chamber Music Tulsa

CREATIONS IN STUDIO K Sep 15-17, 21-24 | Studio K

11/18–19 HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE IN CONCERT Tulsa Symphony performs John Williams’s score for the first film in the Harry Potter series in its entirety.

Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Tulsa Symphony

STRICTLY GERSHWIN Feb 9-11 | Tulsa PAC

11/3–11 AMADEUS Envious composer Antonio Salieri seeks to destroy his brilliant rival, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, by any means necessary.

John H. Williams Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Theatre Tulsa 11/4 WILLIAM SHATNER: SHATNER’S WORLD Shatner performs a larger-than-life one-man performance, with stories, jokes, and his unique musical style.

Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center 11/8 PJ MASKS LIVE! TIME TO BE A HERO Three young friends transform into their dynamic alter egos, Catboy, Owlette, and Gekko, when they put on their pajamas and activate their animal amulets.

Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center 35 Concerts 11/9 JACK HANNA’S INTO THE WILD LIVE! Zookeeper Jack Hanna comes to town with a cavalcade of critters.

Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Celebrity Attractions

Use code TRYBALLET t o

DON QUIXOTE Nov 3-5 | Tulsa PAC

on up to

4 tickets

CINDERELLA Mar 16-18 | Tulsa PAC

to any s h o w

Call 918.749.6006 or visit tu lsaballet.o rg to order your tickets today!

THE NUTCRACKER Dec 9-10, 15-17, 22-23 | Tulsa PAC

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

s a v e

SIGNATURE SERIES May 3-6 | Lorton PC at TU

FEATURED // 27

Featuring new works by world-renowned choreographers

HELEN PICKETT ANNABELLE LOPEZ OCHOA YOUNG SOON HUE

Tickets start at $25 Seats are limited, order now!

Join the choreographers and editors from Pointe Magazine and Huffington Post for an interactive panel discussion on gender and dance, and how women are breaking boundaries.

To guarantee your seat, RSVP at reservations@tulsaballet.org

Call 918.749.6006 or visit t ul s a ba l le t .o rg for more information!

11/28–12/3 BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING STORY The inspiring story of King’s rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in pop music history.

Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Celebrity Attractions 11/30–12/10 THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER A tradition for 38 years, Clark Youth Theatre presents the story of the Herdmans, a non-churchgoing family who somehow ends up with the lead roles in the Christmas play.

Clark Youth Theatre 12/1–10 HANSEL AND GRETEL Two siblings meet a witch in the woods in the fairy tale by The Brothers Grimm.

Spotlight Theatre Spotlight Childrens Theatre 12/1–10 IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY The classic film, stylized as an old-fashioned radio play—foley artist effects and all.

Sapulpa Community Theatre 12/7–10 ELTON JOHN AND TIM RICE’S AIDA: SCHOOL EDITION An epic tale of love, loyalty, and betrayal set in Egypt, inspired by Verdi’s famous opera.

Liddy Doenges Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Theatre Tulsa

12/8–17 A CHRISTMAS CAROL Ebenezer Scrooge et al return for Tulsa’s 40-year tradition.

John H. Williams Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center American Theatre Company 12/8–17 THE REGIFTERS A couple find out the value of a gift they received when it’s too late: after they’ve regifted it.

Broken Arrow Community Playhouse 12/9 CHRISTMAS IN TULSA WITH BARRY EPPERLEY A holiday tradition for more than 25 years, vocal and instrumental ensembles perform Christmas classics.

VanTrease PACE Signature Symphony 12/9–22 THE NUTCRACKER More than 100 children join Tulsa Ballet to perform Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet.

Chapman Music Hall, Tulsa Performing Arts Center Tulsa Ballet 12/10 CHRISTMAS WITH THE ANNIE MOSES BAND The acclaimed classical crossover family band performs stunning arrangements of holiday classics.

Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center a

IN OTHER PERFORMING ARTS NEWS …

TULSA PAC WELCOMES MARK FRIE

Mark W. Frie is the new director of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, replacing director John Scott who retired on June 16 after 28 years of service. Frie, selected for the position by Mayor G.T. Bynum, will lead the day-to-day operations for the PAC and oversee its entertainment lineup and rental agreements.

“After our national search concluded, Mark was ultimately the perfect choice for Tulsa,” Bynum said. “He brings a track record of continual success and an ambitious vision. The future of the performing arts in Tulsa is bright with Mark in this crucial role.”

Prior to accepting the new position, Frie served as the executive director of the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center for eight years and as the executive director of Fine Arts for the Broken Arrow School District. He is a licensed Certified Performing Arts Executive.

28 // FEATURED

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

HALE BLUE W COMEDY FESTIVAL

HALE BLUE W HALE COMEDY FESTIVAL BLUE W COMEDY FESTIVAL Also FeaturinG

Also FeaturinG The Goddamn Comedy Jam Gina Brillon Naomi Ekperigin David Gborie Jordan Rock Byron Bowers Jacqueline Novak Late Late Breakfast Liza Treyger Nick Vatterott Sam Jay Brian Moses Josh Adam Meyers JEREMIAH WATKINS 40+ MORE COMICS!

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

The Goddamn Comedy Jam Gina Brillon Naomi Ekperigin David Gborie Jordan Rock Also FeaturinG Byron Bowers The Goddamn Comedy Jam Brillon Jacqueline Novak Gina Naomi Ekperigin David Gborie Late Late Breakfast Jordan Rock Byron Bowers Liza Treyger Jacqueline Novak Late Breakfast Nick Vatterott Late Liza Treyger Nick Vatterott Sam Jay Sam Jay Brian Moses Brian Moses Josh Adam Meyers WATKINS Josh Adam MeyersJEREMIAH 40+ MORE COMICS! JEREMIAH WATKINS 40+ MORE COMICS!

FEATURED // 29

Aaron Anders and Michael Wolf in a ladder match at Compound Pro Wrestling on July 15

PAINFUL THEATER Wrestlers at Compound Pro go all in

BY LIZ BLOOD PHOTOS BY JOSEPH RUSHMORE

30 // FEATURED

A WIDE-CHESTED, TATTOOED, BUZZ-CUT blond wearing black and turquoise tights emerged from backstage through black curtains. “Hooked On A Feeling” by Blue Swede blared out of the speakers.

Ooga-chaka ooga-ooga, ooga-chaka ooga-ooga— In front of the wrestler stood a ladder.

He bent his knees and slid underneath it in one smooth, cocky motion. His bloodred shirt said ANDERS in big white letters above a roaring lion’s head and Always pays his debts above that.

Aaron Anders ran a full circle around the wrestling ring, high-fiving fans—several of whom wore his branded shirt—left and right. Earlier, I’d asked him how he was going to get into his opponent’s head.

“Uh, I’m already in it,” he said, before turning to sell more t-shirts to waiting fans.

I’m hooked on a feeling, I’m high on believing— Michael Wolf—the clear heel of the match—was met with rounds of boos from the crowd as he came out. He glowered, looking like he might actually growl, grabbed the ladder, and slammed it shut.

Wolf walked it to the ring, slid it under the ropes, and hopped inside.

Anders and Wolf stared at one another as they came forehead to forehead, one ladder laying between them and two waiting outside the ring. The title belt for which they were about to compete hung from the rafters above.

Wolf threw an elbow across Anders’ throat. Anders yelled but wasn’t quick enough for Wolf, who threw him into the ropes and flipped him over them. Outside the ring, Anders ran to the wrestlers’ entrance and grabbed another ladder. As he finished sliding it under the ropes, Wolf picked him up and body slammed him onto the floor, then jumped back in the ring and kicked the ladder at Anders, who was just standing up.

As the ladder match increased in intensity—the two men slamming each other onto, or with, the ladders—the crowd began to chant.

Aa-ron An-ders.

This-is awe-some.

Wolf sympathizers howled in unison.

“I’ve heard it described as painful theater,” said Mitch Baxter, owner of Compound Pro Wrestling.

Sherrie Bullock, Compound Pro’s resident photographer, calls wrestling a “cool soap opera.”

“And one of the most interesting things for me is the fans,” Bullock said. “I get to laughing at these fans. Some of the things they say. They heckle. Some only cheer for the bad guys because they want to be that person.”

Teenager Harley Larrabee, whose favorite Compound Pro wrestler is Nathan Estrada (his tagline is “Fear the Fro” and his wrestling tights feature a lime green hair pick) said, “These wrestlers are nice to the fans. And even if you’re the bad guy or not, everybody still cheers for you.”

She’s been attending Compound Pro almost every weekend for a year.

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

Nine-year-old Hayden Prickett, who holds a red belt in Taekwondo, was at Compound Pro for the first time that evening.

“I love mainly the energy,” he said. “It really spreads to a lot of people. [Wrestling] is what I want to do in the future.” *** The organization, which Baxter bought in 2016, sits inside a nondescript shopping center at 51st Street and Sheridan Avenue in the back of Perfect Practice Athletic Center, behind rows of batting cages, Astroturf, and posters of little and junior league baseball players.

“We capture people’s attention with storytelling,” Baxter said. “If you can get them lost in the moment, suspending their disbelief, then you’ve got something there.

It’s an emotionally driven business. If you can get people emotionally connect, you’ve got something.”

Baxter got into wrestling as kid, first in Henrietta, when he would invite friends over to split the cost of pay per view fights.

“He’d tell them to bring $5 and a snack,” said Baxter’s mother, Martha Mitchell, of those early days. Mitchell helps Baxter with front-of-house operations like ticketing, admissions, and the snack bar.

As a teenager, over a summer in Broken Arrow, Baxter decided he wanted to do more. So he built a ring in his backyard and found some willing participants, partially through an AOL chatroom called “Backyard Wrestling.”

“It was just art at that point,” he said.

“It wasn’t a business. But I got the rhythm down—what it feels like to go through a match.”

Brian Breaker‚ who wrestles at Compound Pro (and whose real name is Ryan Collins), was friends with Baxter back then and wrestled in the homemade ring.

“If you could call it wrestling,” said Breaker. “I don’t think I was even 16. I wasn’t driving. We thought we were doing a cool thing. Looking back, it’s obvious we didn’t know what we were doing. But in wrestling you can’t do it ’til your 18, so it was a way for us to do it. Our only avenue in.

“I found wrestling early in my life, like when I was two or three. It’s kind of consumed my life in a lot of ways and I never grew out of it. That led me to the backyard wrestling. Eventually that led me to realizing I wanted to do this, so I found a reputable wrestling school in Missouri.”

Both Baxter and Breaker trained and traveled as professional wrestlers. Baxter was picked as an extra for WWE but decided that wasn’t the path for him and opted out of pursuing anything further with the organization.

“There’s not just one way to do it,” he said. “Whether it’s being a journeyman— getting exposure across the U.S.—or you might run into somebody who knows somebody. Like in music. Or, when WWE comes to town, you could be an extra, where they pick four to a dozen local talent. If they like you, they’ll offer you a tryout.”

“I was signed by WWE in 2012 with THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

their developmental system, NXT,” Breaker said.

Breaker was there for a year, but said that “things didn’t really work out.”

Since, he’s done three tours of Japan, where wrestling is huge; the most recent was last November.

“We’re trying to create enough exposure by booking outside talent to get more eyeballs on our product here,” Baxter said. “When that happens, we’ll get more national exposure. So we hope people will say, ‘Oh, wow, you work at Compound Pro?’ We’re well on our way even though we’re just in our seventh month.”

Baxter trains wrestlers five nights a week at the ring. For a new wrestler, training usually lasts seven months before they fight.

“Compound is a good place to learn what to do correctly to prepare you to wrestle anywhere. Running weekly shows like we do gives our guys a lot of time to try things out. And it’s good to get more experiences in. We prepare them for bigger companies with the experiences we throw at them—like putting the mic in their hand and having them sell a match. And we bring in a lot of talent from outside to challenge them.”

Typically, a Compound Pro show is two to two and a half hours long and will feature four out-of-towners and 12 Tulsa wrestlers in about six matches.

“People sometimes have preconceived notions of what [wrestling] is,” Breaker said. “But it’s a story. We have a hero and villain in a ring and they’re going to fight.

And it’s kind of open-ended and interactive. The crowd is screaming and yelling and that’s encouraged.

“And the worst seat in [our] building is still a good seat. It’s like watching a live stunt show with a story involved. And it’s cheaper than a movie.”

“I think [wrestling] is on an upswing again,” Baxter said. “Right now I feel like it’s a good time. It’s becoming cool again.

I notice a lot of people being more opened minded today about the arts, trying to find something unique and different. And this is all that. It’s the arts. It’s athleticism. But it’s theater at the end of the day.” *** Back in the ring, Anders re-positioned a rickety ladder underneath the championship belt and began to climb. Wolf, recovering from having just been pulled off the ladder and slammed on the ground, climbed behind Anders. Anders prevailed, sending Wolf to the ground one final time.

“Pull it, Anders, pull it! It’s just a piece of string!” one fan screamed as Anders struggled with the belt.

“Must be Superman hair!” yelled another.

Anders, sweaty and out of breath, loosened it from its tie, winning the match. He stumbled down the ladder and held the belt above his head, a champion.

Clapping and hollering fans sent white crepe paper streamers flying into the ring from all sides of the room. a

The ring and crowd at Comound Pro Wrestling

Mitch Baxter, owner of Compound Pro

Wrestlers backstage

Compound Pro Wrestling shows are every Saturday night starting at 8:00 p.m. and running until about 10:30 p.m. General admission ranges from $10 to $15 and front row seating from $15 to $25.

For more information, visit compoundprowrestling.com.

FEATURED // 31

backstage

Work in the shadows Inside the world of the stagehands union

by MICHAEL WRIGHT

I

magine 22 trucks hauling over 20 tons of props, costumes, and sound and lighting equipment for the traveling production of “Phantom of the Opera” rumbling down the interstate toward Tulsa to be unloaded and pieced together.

Who ya gonna call?

IATSE! IATSE, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (pronounced eye-YAHT-see), is the union that employs highly skilled technicians who make it possible for the Tulsa PAC to host the traveling Broadway tours booked by Celebrity Attractions.

The work of loading in the huge shows is no joke, though the time the actor playing the Beast in “Beauty and the Beast” was accidentally suspended upside down in performance still incites laughter in members of Tulsa’s IATSE union, Local 354.

Kerry Grisham, Terry Griffith, John Jack, Molly Dougherty, and Tom Poss represent over a hundred years of experience in the backstage world of the Tulsa PAC and other venues around Tulsa.

They specialize in lighting, carpentry, props and rigging, among numerous other skills—and view running a show as a play itself.

“We work in the shadows,” Grisham said. “We have our own performance going on backstage.

It’s as choreographed as the onstage show. If we do our job right the audience should never know we’re there.”

“I like to look at what goes on as similar to NASCAR,” Poss said.

“Everybody is in the right place at the right time, a well-oiled team.

The wheels pop off and right back on and you’re out the gate.”

Shows vary from relatively small convoys of four or five trucks, such as the 2017-18 season 32 // ARTS & CULTURE

Kerry Grisham and Molly Dougherty | GREG BOLLINGER

opener, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” (Aug. 29–Sept. 3) to monsters like “Phantom.” And each show brings its own crew to oversee the process.

Local 354 has provided as many as 100 people to load in a production and run it, though recent technical innovations have made shows more compact for traveling.

“When ‘Cats’ starting touring they came in with eight trucks and now there’s three,” Jack said.

“The set literally blows up. They put a metal frame up with huge pieces that inflate and become all the junkyard trash. The pieces the actors crawl on are metal platforms but the rest of the scenery is all inflatable and from the house you can’t see any difference from a normal set.”

Load-ins for shows generally begin around six a.m. Grisham provided details: “We build it as the trucks are unloaded, usually it starts with rigging. They have to get the structures up to fly things.

Wardrobe and props are the last things off the trucks and when we load out they’re the first things on the trucks.”

“We work with the traveling crew. It’s their show,” Jack said.

“We get paid ‘from the neck down’ to do what they want.”

The PAC stagehands have to possess a wide range of skills, such as knowing how to use and even fix various types of hardware or tie certain knots that are critical to safe installation.

Molly Dougherty, a 2017 TU graduate and one of six women currently in the union, recently became an apprentice in the IATSE program. She will train in all aspects of the work to become a Journeyman, or a top-level worker in the union. The approach reflects the medieval guild practices that underlie a key concept of the union: hands-on learning.

“The coolest thing for me working the ‘Matilda’ load-in,” she said, “was that while I was

on break, one of the electricians taught me a few new knots. I practiced and practiced, and by the time I went back for the load-out, I had the knots perfected.”

The IATSE members take tremendous pride in their work ethic and safety record.

“People can get killed in an instant,” Jack said. “For the opera ‘Aida’ one of the stagehands was supposed to open up the valve on a propane tank for a fire effect. He refused to turn it on because he could smell a build-up of propane fumes that would have caused a huge explosion. The stage manager was screaming for the cue to be executed but the stagehand made an in-the-moment decision that not only saved lives but probably kept the theatre from catching fire.”

“Tour crews love coming to Tulsa for this very reason,” Griffith said. “When it comes to load-out they know we’ll get them going quickly and safely. We’re known around the country for that. There’s magic that happens backstage that nobody ever sees because we’re good at it.”

In Celebrity Attractions’ upcoming production of “The Little Mermaid,” that magic will play a prominent role. The show features aerial choreography that creates the illusion of characters swimming effortlessly through the sea.

Flying the actors requires a special truss system that moves characters vertically as well as horizontally, a challenge the stagehands are looking forward to meeting. Overseeing the installation will be personnel from the legendary company, Flying by Foy, whose innovations with aerial work go back to the 1950 Broadway production of “Peter Pan”— meaning the show backstage, as always, will be as exciting as what the audience sees. a

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

onstage

“Until Home” by Valarie Alpert | MARANDA BLUMENTHAL

EXCHANGE AND CONNECT Choreography festival keeps dancers on their toes

by ALICIA CHESSER O N T H E F R I N G E S O F T U L S A’ S big-name arts organizations, there’s a population of choreographers quietly making more dance than you would ever believe. Since 2009 it’s been Rachel Bruce Johnson’s mission to help that art get seen and supported through the Exchange Choreography Festival, a weekend where modern dancemakers from around the region come together for professional development, performance opportunities, and camaraderie.

Oklahoma can be a lonely place for independent dance artists, who often struggle to connect with audiences and with each other.

“There are few venues in Tulsa for independent choreographers to present their work that are affordable,” Johnson said. “Institutions are great: they come with the gift of power to align things for you and get things done. If you’re not nestled within an institution, then you need to band together. There are great artists out there doing really nice work—not superstars, not in enormous dance hub cities—who need a way to document and further it.”

In its first year, Exchange presented the work of just a few local choreographers. This year, it accepted 23 pieces out of many more submissions from Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, and Arizona.

“Any kind of growth in small communities is always going to support

the larger field,” Johnson said. “I love the fact that artists connect with other artists at Exchange. I love that Karen Castleman got a job with Tulsa Ballet out of performing here last year. Others have gotten choreography commissions because of people they’ve connected with at Exchange.”

While Exchange is geared toward artists, arts consumers have a lot to gain as well.

“The performances show a huge spectrum of modern dance,” Johnson explained. “It’s like going to a museum and seeing traditional painting styles, abstract painting styles, a wide range of physicalities and approaches.”

The festival, held at Holland Hall’s Walter Arts Center, features two open concerts ($10 each) on August 24 and 25, during which audiences and adjudicators (professional members of the Tulsa dance community) will vote on their favorite pieces, three of which get a second performance at a curated gala on August 26 alongside works by Johnson, Shawn Rawls (based in New York), and Dominick Moore-Dunson and Kevin Parker from Cleveland’s Inlet Dance Theatre. Inlet’s director, Bill Wade, will offer a choreography workshop and a talk on “The Artist as Entrepreneur.” a Tickets for all Exchange events are available at thebellhouse.info or at the door.

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

TULSA SYMPHONY 2017-2018 S E A S O N T W E LV E

begins with…

Symphony in the Park SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 7:30 PM GUTHRIE GREEN

For Tickets, Call 918.596.7111 or www.tulsasymphony.org

ARTS & CULTURE // 33

sportsreport

SOCCER IN THE TORTURE STATE Defiance and resistance under Nazi occupation

by JOHN TRANCHINA

Nazi propaganda photo of prisoners playing at KZ-Dachau, June 10, 1933 | FRIEDRICH FRANZ BAUER

W

hen faced with such dire circumstances as imprisonment in a concentration camp, chasing a ball around might seem like the last thing anyone would be interested in.

But the photo exhibition “Soccer Under the Swastika,” on display at The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art through September 3, shows how sports can offer distraction and inspiration, even in horrible situations.

Shared from the fascinating, comprehensive book of the same name by Dr. Kevin E. Simpson, a psychology professor at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, the photographs also show snippets of life at Nazi camps across Europe.

“It arose out of my teaching; whenever I was preparing for my ‘Psychology of the Holocaust’ class, I kept coming across memoirs, testimonies, photographs of soccer being playing in ghettos and camps, and it always astounded me, confused me, because all of these places were designed to destroy,” Simpson said.

The show includes action shots of soccer games, in which some players aren’t even wearing shoes, and others where crowds of

34 // ARTS & CULTURE

thousands gathered to witness the athletic diversion.

“How could you sustain yourself through athletic competition or exertion and still make it?” Simpson asked. “And when you really start to get into the stories, you realize privilege came with the playing. For many of them, if they played, they got more food rations, they got protection, they were maybe saved from deportation.

“In one camp north of Prague (Terezin), for instance, there was a full-blown league. There was an amateur, a pro and a youth league. … The SS had an interest in maintaining it because it pacified, but they also had their favorite teams, they would bet on it, so it was interwoven into the torture state.

But it was also rebellion, survival, a way to live to the next day.”

As an act of defiance and resistance, soccer at the camps played a similar role as other higher forms of culture such as music, art, and literature, in helping the Jewish prisoners maintain their dignity and sense of identity.

“It was almost everywhere,” Simpson said. “All the names we’ve heard—Buchenwald, Auschwitz, they all played there. Sometimes it was more vibrant and consistent,

sometimes it popped up for a time and then went away. Even in the labor camps where people were worked to death, there would be leagues. It’s a strange reality, but woven together with all the other stories where maybe writers survived because they had some extra help or musicians who were part of an orchestra, or a chorus, such as the ‘Defiant Requiem,’ which was in Terezin at about the same time. It’s resistance, it’s defiance.

It’s survival.”

The game was tolerated by the Nazis because they were trying to hide the true nature of the camps from the world, and showing a thriving soccer culture promoted the idea that there wasn’t anything sinister happening.

“Culture was allowed to thrive in some places, but sometimes it served the Nazis’ interests in creating a ruse for propaganda,” Simpson said. “Terezin was such a place, as many famous Jews were sent there who were from the sciences, arts, sports, so they could attempt to fool the world that they were being taken care of through these other pursuits.”

The Nazis also allowed the photos to proliferate because they wanted to demonstrate that they were firmly in control.

“The photos themselves gave me pause because there are these poor souls running around in these tattered clothes, they’re barefoot, but yet it’s a picture that the Nazis wanted to broadcast to the German people,” Simpson said. “At first, it didn’t make sense to me because the inmates looked so disheveled and unkempt. But of course, this is the build-up of the terror state, the security state, and the Nazis wanted to show that they were the authority, that the so-called enemies of the state were being held captive.”

It is a complex, sobering subject, especially considering many of the people playing in the photos were put to death soon afterwards. That’s what haunts—not just the possibility they were facing at the time, but what we know occurred in the days and weeks after the photos were taken. a

“SOCCER UNDER THE SWASTIKA” Through September 3 Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art 2021 E. 71st St. Mon.–Fri.,10 a.m. –5 p.m.; Sat, noon–5 p.m.; Sun. 1 p.m.–5 p.m.

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

streetstage

TULSA SYMPHONY

2017-2018 S E A S O N T W E LV E

Classics Series GALA CONCERT

THEATER FOR HIRE Putting the “magic” in Magic City Capstone the Magician performing downtown for Tours of Tulsa | GREG BOLLINGER

BY THE TIME CHRIS CAPSTONE WAS 16, he was already getting paid for his passion in life—stage magic. Like many kids in the 1970s, Capstone saw Marshall Brodien TV Magic Cards commercials and bought a deck. After discovering a trunk of magician’s props in his uncle’s attic, he began pursuing magic seriously.

“I had that experience,” Capstone said. “And I got exposed to a more serious kind of magic than just what you could buy at the drugstore in the little toy section.”

Capstone is of the last generation of magicians that picked up their secrets from older illusionists in the backrooms of magic shops.

“You had to go and get to know other magicians, and then in time, if you proved yourself worthy to those magicians, then they would show you some secrets.”

While in high school, his family moved to London for about three years. He met a local magician who invited him to London’s Magic Circle, a members-only magic club. There, he attended lectures and learned their tricks. In the summer he traveled Europe and busked on the streets.

As trade secrets became publicly accessible through instructional videos and the internet, the in-person transmission of magic plummeted.

Capstone expressed frustration at these changes, remarking that people who learn magic in isolation lack training and historical knowledge—they’re hobbyists, not professionals.

“You’ve got to progress beyond that,” he said. “To me, being a magician isn’t just doing a trick. Being a magician is a performance art. There’s got to be some context, people need to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, you need to have a character, you need to have a theatrical atmosphere.”

By the early ‘90s, Capstone was self-employed and supporting his family entirely on magic shows. Currently, he works private gigs and performs at various locations, such as Tulsa City-County Libraries and the Cherry Street Farmers Market.

“Do you guys believe in magic?”

Capstone asked, beginning his street act downtown on August 11. One woman said “Sure!”

“Man, you’re crazier than I am.”

A family of three generations had crowded around, two younger girls and several businessmen approached.

Capstone worked his sleight of hand: making coins disappear and multiply, doing card tricks, causing a length of rope to divide and reconnect, and three red balls to shift and vanish underneath brass cups.

His performances are Vaudevillian and comical. And his props—either authentic or replica apparatuses invented during the “Golden Age” of magic—are only part of the act. It’s personality that makes Capstone a real magician. In his top hat, round glasses, and large mustache, Chris Capstone becomes someone else entirely.

– MASON WHITEHORN POWELL

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 | 8:00 PM

TULSA PERFORMING ART S CENTER BRAHMS’ PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 featuring JON KIMURA PARKER BRAHMS: Hungarian Dances No. 1 and No. 5 BARTÓK: Miraculous Mandarin Suite BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2 Daniel Hege, Principal Guest Conductor Jon Kimura Parker, Piano *Pre-Concert Conversation | 6:30 PM *Pre-Concert Student Recognition Concert | 6:45 PM *Post-Concert Reception – All Welcome *Childcare Available

For Tickets, Call 918.596.7111 or www.tulsasymphony.org

ARTS & CULTURE // 35

thehaps

THE SOLAR ECLIPSE

11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Outer Space Tulsa will get 89 percent sun coverage in the upcoming solar eclipse, and there are many ways to experience it (like, you know, going outside … anywhere). If you’re looking for some loony companionship, join one of these watch parties:

•

Tulsa Children’s Museum Discovery lab will offer free eclipse glasses and hands-on educational activities.

•

•

The STEMcell Science Shop’s watch party is one of only two in the state recognized by NASA.

Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area will host a midday twilight picnic.

•

Guthrie Green will offer a free SALT Yoga class at 11:30 a.m., and a listening party of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon starting at 12:30 p.m.

ART

DANCE

108 Contemporary will host an Artist Panel Discussion with filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, musician Dr. Teresa Reed, actor Pete Brennan, and photographer Eyakem Gulilat.

8/17, 6–8 p.m., 108contemporary.org

TBII: On Your Radar // Tulsa Ballet’s second company will perform three world premiere works created exclusively for TBII. 8/25 & 27 at Tulsa Ballet, 8/26 at Zarrow Performance Studio in B.A., $25–$30, tulsaballet.org

FESTIVAL

MAKERS

The India Association of Greater Tulsa hosts the annual Utsav: Discover India festival at Expo Square’s River Spirit Expo. 8/19, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., iagtok.org

See incredible contraptions and more as makers and creative people of all kinds show and tell at Tulsa Mini Maker Faire. 8/26, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Central Park Hall at Expo Square, tulsa.makerfaire.com

FESTIVAL

FIRST FRIDAY

Learn about Paganism while enjoying music and dance and browsing vendors at Tulsa Pagan Pride Day. 8/19, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., American Legion Post 1, tulsapaganpride.com

The Brady Arts District’s First Friday Art Crawl will include the opening receptions for In-Quest: Aesthetics of Research at Living Arts, When is a Quilt Not a Quilt? at AHHA, and Woody Guthrie Center’s John Denver exhibit, among many more. 9/1, 6–9 p.m., thebradyartsdistrict.com

ANIMALS

CARS

Help Tulsa Animal Welfare Clear the Shelter on 8/19, from noon to 6 p.m., when adoption fees for cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies drops to just $10. facebook.com/ TulsaAnimalWelfare

Artist Guadalupe Rosales and Goodtimes Car Club present a free Lowrider Picnic on the Philbrook Museum lawn. 9/1, 6–9 p.m., philbrook.org

DRINKS

JAZZ

Sixteen local bartenders bring their best cocktails to the table for Philbrook MIX. This year’s judges are The Daily Beast’s Noah Rothbaum, Isaiah Estell of New Orleans’s Caravan restaurant, and TTV’s Liz Blood. 8/19, Cain’s Ballroom, 8 p.m., $150, mix.philbrook.org

Postoak Wine & Jazz Festival features Oklahoma wines, food, and music from Multiphonic Funk, Cynthia Simmons Quintet, Darrell Christopher & the Ingredients, Sunky Face w/ Branjae, and more. 9/1–3, $10–$60, postoaklodge.com

BALLET

WATER

Ballet of Puerto Rico // Members of Puerto Rico’s professional ballet companies perform at Cascia Hall to raise funds to offer free arts education to Puerto Rican children. 8/24, 6 p.m., $40–$75, thebrittanydftfoundation.org

Cheer from the banks as a thousand people take to their homemade vessels to float the Arkansas River from Sand Springs to River West Festival park for Tulsa’s Great Raft Race. 9/4, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., tulsaraftrace.com

36 // ARTS & CULTURE

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

BEST OF THE REST EVENTS Shandy Shin Dig Round 2 // 8/17, 6:30 p.m., Foolish Things Coffee Company, foolishthingscoffee.com Movie in the Park: Beauty & The Beast // 8/17, 8:30 p.m., Guthrie Green, guthriegreen.com

News Junkie // 8/26, 8 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com Sunday Night Stand Up // 8/27, 8 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com

An Evening with Sandra Brown // 8/24, 7 p.m., IDL Ballroom, booksmarttulsa.com

Joan Wright - Attempting 30 w/ Jozalyn Sharp, Joe Kelley, Ethan Sandoval, Lauren Turner, Tommy Henshaw // 8/27, The Blackbird on Pearl, facebook.com/Blackbirdtulsa

Movie in the Park: The Blind Side // 8/24, 8:30 p.m., Guthrie Green, guthriegreen.com

Buddy Guy, Quinn Sullivan // 8/29, Brady Theater, bradytheater.com

Film on the Lawn: Dirty Dancing // 8/25, 7:30 p.m., Philbrook Museum of Art, philbrook.org

Open Mic and MC Evaluation // 8/30, 7 p.m., Loony Bin, loonybincomedy.com/Tulsa

Gilcrease After Hours: Trivia Night // 8/25, 7 p.m., Gilcrease Museum, gilcrease.utulsa.edu

Comedy Night // 8/30, VFW Post 577 Centennial Lounge

Burn Tulsa // 8/25, 6 p.m., Fuel 66, fuel66ok.com

Rabbit Hole Improv Jam // 8/31, 8 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com

Mochas with the Musicologist // 8/26, 10:30 a.m., Central Library, chambermusictulsa.org Poppy’s Burlesque Roulette - The Red River Stripdown // 8/26, 8 p.m., IDL Ballroom, idlballroom.com Tulsa Cycle Swap Meet // 8/29, 6 p.m., American Solera Scared Selfless: Torture to Triumph // 8/30, 7 p.m., All Souls Unitarian Church, booksmarttulsa.com Movie in the Park: Passengers // 8/31, 8:30 p.m., Guthrie Green, guthriegreen.com Vintage Tulsa Show // 9/1-9/3, Expo Square Exchange Center, vintagetulsashow.com

PERFORMING ARTS Nunsense // 8/18-8/27, Sapulpa Community Theatre, sapulpatheatre.org Ragtime // 8/18-9/3, Tulsa Performing Arts Center John H. Williams Theatre, tulsapac.com Disney’s The Little Mermaid // 8/29-9/3, Tulsa Performing Arts Center - Chapman Music Hall, tulsapac.com

COMEDY Comedy Night // 8/16, VFW Post 577 Centennial Lounge Rick Shaw’s Something Witty Super Awesome Birffday Extravaganza // 8/18, 10 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com Ralphie May // 8/18, 8 p.m., River Spirit Casino Paradise Cove, riverspirittulsa.com Blue Dome Social Club: Dog Day // 8/19, 10 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com Sinbad // 8/19, Brady Theater, bradytheater.com Sunday Night Stand Up // 8/20, 8 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com Comedy Night // 8/23, VFW Post 577 Centennial Lounge Improv Pop // 8/24, 8 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com T-Town Famous // 8/25, 10 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com Sophia Starr // 8/25, 8 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com Xtreme Fight Night 343 // 8/25, 8 p.m., River Spirit Casino - Paradise Cove, riverspirittulsa.com Comics Strip w/ Ryan Jones, Laura Cook, Thomas King, Hilton Price, Nick Birkitt, Josie Peacock // 8/26, 11:45 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com Midnight Train to Brooklyn w/ Katie Van Patten, Ashlyn Nicole Johnson, Laura Cook, Lauren Turner, MacKenzie Bryan // 8/26, 10 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com

WRITERS’ SALON

A literary gathering for all.

PRESENTED BY

THE TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP CENTRAL LIBRARY, 400 CIVIC CENTER WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 READINGS BEGIN AT 7PM

FEATURING TAF LITERARY ARTISTS

ANNA BADKHEN • MELANIE GILLMAN • SIMON HAN

Pipe Pals Comedy Hour // 9/1, 10 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com Hammered! A Drunk Improv Show // 9/2, 10 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com Ben Kronberg // 9/3, The Blackbird on Pearl, facebook.com/Blackbirdtulsa Roy Haber, Kurt Green, Patrick Keane // 8/17-8/19, Loony Bin, loonybincomedy.com/Tulsa Peter Bedgood // 8/18-8/19, 8 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com Dante // 8/23-8/26, Loony Bin, loonybincomedy.com/Tulsa John “The Ragin’ Cajun Morgan // 8/31-9/3, Loony Bin, loonybincomedy.com/Tulsa Hilton Price - Happiness in Misery w/ Michael Zampino, Ryan Green, Laura Cook // 9/1-9/2, 8 p.m., Comedy Parlor, comedyparlor.com

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

JOIN. LISTEN. BE INSPIRED. www.tulsaartistfellowship.org

Soundpony Comedy Hour // 8/21, Soundpony, thesoundpony.com

SPORTS Tulsa Drillers vs Corpus Christi Hooks // 8/16, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Tulsa Drillers vs Corpus Christi Hooks // 8/17, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Furnace 5K // 8/18, 7:30 p.m., River West Festival Park, fleetfeettulsa.com

woodyguthriecenter.org

Tulsa Drillers vs San Antonio Missions // 8/18, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Tulsa Drillers vs San Antonio Missions // 8/19, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Tulsa Drillers vs San Antonio Missions // 8/20, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Conquer the Gauntlet // 8/26, PostOak Lodge and Retreat, conquerthegauntlet.com/locations/tulsa17

RIK PALIERI SINGS PETE SEEGER MATTHEW MCNEAL SATURDAY, AUGUST 19 • 2pm THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 • 7pm

Tulsa Drillers vs Northwest Arkansas Naturals // 8/29, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Tulsa Drillers vs Northwest Arkansas Naturals // 8/30, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Tulsa Drillers vs Northwest Arkansas Naturals // 8/31, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Tulsa Drillers vs Northwest Arkansas Naturals // 9/1, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Tulsa Drillers vs Springfield Cardinals // 9/2, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Tulsa Drillers vs Springfield Cardinals // 9/3, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Tulsa Drillers vs Springfield Cardinals // 9/4, 7 p.m., ONEOK Field Escape from Turkey Mountain // 9/4, 7:30 a.m., Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area, signmeup.com/site/online-event-registration/119398

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

THE SOUTH AUSTIN MOONLIGHTERS MARLEY’S GHOST

SATURDAY, AUGUST 26 • 7pm

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 • 7pm

RHYMES & REASONS: THE MUSIC OF JOHN DENVER

JOHN DENVER EXHIBIT OPENING SARAH LEE GUTHRIE THURSDAY, AUGUST 31 • 6:30 am FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 • 7pm address 102 EAST BRADY STREET, TULSA, OK

74103

phone 918.574.2710

email INFO@WOODYGUTHRIECENTER.ORG ARTS & CULTURE // 37

musicnotes

Smoochie Wallus | GREG BOLLINGER

The sweet n’ low down

Smoochie Wallus blends originals and covers, early jazz and blues

by TY CLARK

M

y introduction to Smoochie Wallus was at the August First Friday night at Mainline. I found myself amongst the frenzy of moving nightlife in the Brady Arts District. Paintings by Zac Heimdale and others adorned the walls of the crowded venue. The audience sat anticipating the night’s headlining band, Smoochie Wallus.

Within the first few seconds of the band’s opening song, lead vocalist Delaney Zumwalt, with the controlled conviction of Nina Simone, lifted the audience to their feet singing. “The only thing you ought to do is feel the music move over you,” she said. Couples began swing dancing.

Smoochie Wallus consists of Zumwalt, Olivia McGraw on 38 // MUSIC

violin, David Hernandez on guitar, Jesus Valles on bass, and drummer Jonathan Rodriguez. They’re almost a throwback to the early jazz of the roaring ‘20s, but mixed with bluegrass harmonies, and the soul of blues greats, like, Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith.

It was like stepping into one of Woody Allen’s films that leaves you nostalgic, impressed with a particular feeling of place or time.

The five were set up in front of a large painting, titled “Breathe Rhythmically,” that resembled two souls combined in a breath. Aesthetically, the band was as much a piece of art as the painting behind them. Zumwalt was the brightest of the five: yellow top, a flower patterned red dress, and a smile that never ceased even in the blu-

est of songs. Tall and almost fragile, McGraw was draped in a dress matching the blue jazz drum kit that flat-cap-wearing Rodriguez played. Towering over the others was Valles with clothes matching his long black hair, and bearded face. Opposite Valles stood his cousin, Hernandez, wearing dark sunglasses and playing a Gretsch hollow-body guitar. He owned the musical style of great French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, but with Hernandez’s Latin heritage, he’d formed a unique style of his own.

“I really love minor chords,” Hernandez said. “The sad chords.”

“Most [of the songs] are either clave-based or swing,” Rodriguez said. “The only straight ahead bossa-nova song is our Elvis cover.”

Blending originals and covers in a Smoochie Wallus set is common practice for the group. One example is the band’s combination of “Bronx Lullaby” by Tom Waits and “Summertime” by George Gershwin.

“As cliche as it might sound, we want to make music and have fun,” McGraw said.

That evening, McGraw also sang lead on the band’s version of “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” showing her role in the band is more than just a violinist who “swoops in and plays,” as Zumwalt put it.

“Anything that I’m involved with musically is collaborative,” Zumwalt said. “We all feed off of each other.”

“I write words separately, and

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

a lot of times what will happen is David will be like, ‘send some words,’ and then David and Jon will finish a song.”

She went on to describe how the band formed just over a year ago.

“It was all David. I met him when I moved back to Tulsa. I went to his other band’s show and sang a little with them [that night].

The next day David called and asked if I wanted to come over and work on a couple songs he’d written with his cousin, and that was the first Smoochie practice.”

“At first it was just me and David,” said Valles. “We didn’t have the name yet. We said let’s get Delaney on this cause she has a really beautiful voice. Then we added Olivia and finally Jon was the last person on drums.”

“I’d been friends with David for a while,” Rodriguez said. “He plays in Brujoroots ... and they were going through a time where they were talking about taking a bit of a break, but David wanted to do something else. I mainly play guitar, and at practice I didn’t think another guitar was even necessary. I figured it needed something ... percussive, ya know?

It worked and from that point on we’ve been together. It’s been a wild ride.”

With acts of all genres coming up in Tulsa, there’s no shortage of great bands with great names: Brujoroots, Cucumber and the Suntans, Count Tutu, GoGo Plumbay. Add Smoochie Wallus to that list.

As for the story behind their name?

“We like to keep that to ourselves,” Valles said. “Google it, if you haven’t.”

His lone hint: “TV show.”

It’s less hard to dream up who the band’s influences might be, but stamping Smoochie Wallus to any one artist just isn’t possible.

“Oh my gosh, all the greats.

Aretha Franklin, Etta James,” Zumwalt said.

Those legends are apparent in Zumwalt’s style and show in the Smoochie track “Spinning.”

McGraw is also a fan of the greats, specifically Duke Ellington.

But don’t assume they’re com-

pletely immersed in the past. Local Natives and Father John Misty are influences as well.

The band has released three songs on their official website: “Sully’s Lament,” “Spinning,” and “When Ya Swing.” All were recorded in an undisclosed location in Tulsa by Brian Keller. “[Keller] has helped us out a

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

lot and asked very little in return,” Valles said. “We’re looking to have a full-length out by the end of the year.”

McGraw added that they “have been booking as many shows as possible and talking about touring.”

“We want to make it our own, ya know?” Hernandez said. He elaborated and gave credit to his

drummer, Rodriguez: “It was Jon that said if you aren’t doing something different, you aren’t doing anything.” a

Catch Smoochie Wallus on August 18 at 8 p.m. at Lefty’s On Greenwood, 10 N. Greenwood Ave.

MUSIC // 39

STAGE SPONSOR

musicnotes

STUDENT SPONSOR

MEDIA SPONSOR

LIQUID SUNSHINE Molten Sun Projections with American Shadows at the Yeti | JONATHAN ARNOLD

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

7 pm • Wine Dinner “Under the Tent”

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

NEW! Paint & Pour

3 pm • Gates Open 4-11 pm • Oklahoma Wineries

Deep Branch, TideWater, Vernost, Woods and Water, Pecan Creek

4-11 pm • Music

The Zuits, Darrell Christopher & the Ingredients, Cynthia Simmons Quintet, Mischievous Swing, Swunky Face featuring Branjae

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

10-1 pm • Champagne Jazz Brunch

TICKETS AND PACKAGES: POSTOAKLODGE.COM • 918-425-2112 40 // MUSIC

It began with an overhead projector and a spaghetti strainer

by DAMION SHADE W HEN ZACH SCHAT WAS EIGHT, he spent a lot of time with his hippie grandparents who came of age in the 1960s. From the comfort of their suburban living room, he watched performances of bands like Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Pink Floyd, and The Grateful Dead, but the music was only part of what amazed him—as the bands played, a kaleidoscopic array of images known as “liquid light” fell across the stage, covering it like some spasmodic geometric spotlight.

Schat’s little mind was blown.

Liquid light is relatively young visual art form. It was popularized by an artist named Joshua White (of the Joshua Light Show) who was the resident light artist at the renowned rock music venue Fillmore East on 2nd Street in Manhattan. White’s unique psychedelic light style was made famous by the classic ‘60s festivals Monterey Pop and Woodstock.

Schat’s grandparents brought an overhead projector and some casserole dishes into the living room for the young artist to play with, and the first notion of Molten Sun Projections was born. These days, Schat, Joshua Ricks, and Jonathon Arnold are the creators of the multimedia visual projection show of the same name.

“Everything Joshua White does is analog,” Ricks said. “He uses old over-

head projectors, oils, physical objects like dials and clock faces to create all of his images. So at first that was all we used. This all started with an overhead projector and a spaghetti strainer in Jonathan’s apartment.”

Molten Sun Projections spent hours playing with their strange light lab during band practice in the beginning.

“The first Molten Sun performance was at a going away party at Chandler Park in 2015,” Arnold said. “After that we just kept growing and adding more equipment and learning new techniques anytime we got a chance to perform.”

Molten Sun Projections became the official light show of Easter Island music festival in 2016. Running their psychedelic rock projections for local bands as diverse as Green Corn Rebellion and Count Tutu and touring acts like Helen Kelter Skelter (Norman) and Holy Wave (Texas), Molten Sun’s psychedelic aesthetic now permeates the local festival scene widely.

“After getting the opportunity to run light for the Easter Island Clubhouse Stage in 2016 and 2017, we were hooked up with the Highberry Music Festival in Arkansas where we actually ran light for Paul Benjaman Band,” Schat said. “It was an amazing experience, and I feel like these festivals have kind been a boot camp for making us get better.” a

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

MUSIC // 41

musiclistings Wed // Aug 16 Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Eicher Wednesdays On the Rocks – Don White River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Wink Burcham, Chris Blevins Soundpony – Live Band Heavy Metal Karaoke w/ Satanico and the Demon Seeds The Colony – Tom Skinner’s Science Project Vanguard – Baltic to Boardwalk, Piece of Mind, Undervalued, Drew Richardson – ($7-$10)

Thurs // Aug 17 BOK Center – Ed Sheeran – ($39.50-$89.50) Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Cabin Creek – Pumpkin Hollow Band Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - The Joint – Aaron Lewis – ($30-$40) Hunt Club – Erin O’Dowd and Chloe Johns Lefty’s On Greenwood – Faye Moffett Mercury Lounge – Paul Benjaman River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jake Flint, Caleb Fellenstein Riverwalk Crossing – Sidewalk Prophets Soul City – Grazz Duo Soundpony – Favored N Flavored The Blackbird on Pearl – The Devilish 3 The Colony – Jacob Tovar’s Thirst The Venue Shrine – Bart Crow – ($12-$16) Utica Square – Jambalaya Jazz Band

Fri // Aug 18 American Legion Post 308 – Double “00” Buck Cain’s Ballroom – Granger Smith, Earl Dibbles Jr., Mitchell Tenpenny – ($18-$33) Ed’s Hurricane Lounge – Barry Seal Ed’s Hurricane Lounge – Follow The Buzzards Fassler Hall – Paul Benjaman, Dustin Pittsley Dylan Aycock, Dylan Layton, Lauren Barth, Jesse Aycock, Levi Parham* – ($5) Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Cabin Creek – Chad Lee Hunt Club – Fuzed Mercury Lounge – Alanna Royale, Branjae* pH Community House – Alexa Dexa River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Randy Brumley, Heath Wright River Spirit Casino - LandShark Pool Bar – Myron Oliver River Spirit Casino - Volcano Stage – John Conrad & Mike Wilson Soul City – High Beams The Blackbird on Pearl – Watermelon Slim – ($10) The Colony – Planet What, Guardant, Villains The Run – Deuces Wild Band The Venue Shrine – SoBo Bike Rodeo – ($10) Vanguard – Luke Pell – ($15-$60) VFW Post 577 - Centennial Lounge – The Earslips, The Dull Drums – ($5) Yeti – Mr. Burns Presents: Watch What Happens w/ Dismondj, Baconomics*

Sat // Aug 19 Gypsy Coffee House – Marilyn McCulloch Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Cabin Creek – George Brothers Hunt Club – Tony Romanello and the Black Jackets Lot No. 6 – ResurXtion: Fast Times Summer Cookout w/ DJs Jessy James, Mike Castle, Badger Max Retropub – Aaron Bernard Mercury Lounge – Charley Crockett, Elaina Kay Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Flamenco Mio – ($12-15) River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – The Marriotts, The Hi-Fidelics River Spirit Casino - LandShark Pool Bar – Seth Lee Jones Trio River Spirit Casino - Volcano Stage – The Duo Soul City – Full Flava Kings Soundpony – Pony Disco Club The Blackbird on Pearl – Whiskey Misters Klindike5, Steve Liddell* The Colony – Grazzhopper The Fur Shop – The Captain Ledge Band 42 // MUSIC

The Venue Shrine – Red Carpet Paparazzi Party w/ Bigg Rich & Good Ground, In The Mixxx, Micah Jiles, Neno and Staxx – ($20-$50) Vanguard – Violent Affair, Joe Myside & The Sorrow, Gutter Villain, The Riot Waves, Loose Wires, Aborted Youth* – ($5) VFW Post 577 - Centennial Lounge – Sons of the Dust – ($5) White Flag – Miles Williams Woody Guthrie Center – Rik Palieri Sings Pete Seeger – 2 p.m.

Woody Guthrie Center – Kalyn Fay, Jared Tyler, John Calvin Abney* – 7 p.m. – ($15-$20) Woody’s Corner Bar – The Rumor

Sun // Aug 20 Elwood’s – Dan Martin Mercury Lounge – Dirty Soul Revival River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Ali Harter, Chris Foster Soul City – Mark Bruner & Shelby Eicher Soundpony – Zack Trash The Colony – Paul Benjaman’s Sunday Nite Thing The Fur Shop – Hopeiate Fest w/ KickTree, Stinky Gringos, The Beaten Daylights, Carlton Hesston, The Dischord, The Mules*

Mon // Aug 21 Cain’s Ballroom – Michael Franti & Spearhead, SATSANG – ($27-$42) Mercury Lounge – Chris Blevins River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jacob Tovar, The Marriotts The Colony – Seth Lee Jones VFW Post 577 - Centennial Lounge – Dave Les Smith and Friends Yeti – The Situation

Tues // Aug 22 Cain’s Ballroom – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Amanda Shires – ($35-$50) Gypsy Coffee House – Open Mic Night Mercury Lounge – Wink Burcham, Jacob Tovar Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Depot Jazz and Blues Jams River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens, Scott Musick, Dos Capos Soul City – Dustin Pittsley Band The Colony – Singer/Songwriter Night VFW Post 577 - Centennial Lounge – William Matheny – ($5) Yeti – Writers Night

Wed // Aug 23 Cain’s Ballroom – Father John Misty, Tennis – ($35-$50) Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Eicher Wednesdays On the Rocks – Don White River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Wink Burcham, Chris Blevins Soundpony – Sad Palomino Spinster Records – Thelma & The Sleaze, Planet What* The Colony – Tom Skinner’s Science Project The Venue Shrine – Calliope Musicals, Colouradio, TFM, Marie Curie – ($8-$10)

Thurs // Aug 24 Cain’s Ballroom – City and Colour, Marlon Williams – ($33-$48) Cain’s Ballroom – Blues Challenge 2017* Fassler Hall – Slow Dreamer, Matthew & The Arrogant Sea Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Cabin Creek – Time Machine Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Riffs – Paul Bogart, Travis Kidd Band Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - The Joint – Gary Allan – ($75-$85) Hunt Club – Ego Culture Mercury Lounge – Paul Benjaman River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jake Flint, Caleb Fellenstein

Soundpony – My Brother and Me The Blackbird on Pearl – Move Trio The Colony – Jacob Tovar’s Thirst Tulsa Botanic Garden – Grazz Trio Utica Square – Bop Cats

Wed // Aug 30 Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Eicher Wednesdays On the Rocks – Don White River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Wink Burcham, Chris Blevins The Colony – Tom Skinner’s Science Project

Fri // Aug 25 American Legion Post 308 – American Strings Billy and Renee’s – Sideshow Drifters Crystal Skull – The 29th Street Band Fassler Hall – Count Tutu, CAPYAC Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Cabin Creek – Bobby D Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Riffs – Chris Hyde, Uncrowned Kings Hunt Club – RPM Lennie’s Club & Grill – EverFade Max Retropub – DJ AFISTAFACE River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Randy Brumley, The Hi-Fidelics River Spirit Casino - LandShark Pool Bar – Patrick Stewart River Spirit Casino - Volcano Stage – Vashni Duo Soundpony – DJ Whunot The Blackbird on Pearl – Brad James Band* – ($5) The Fur Shop – Dirty Creek Bandits* The Venue Shrine – Kashmir Vanguard – Oh Weatherly, Beneath the Waves, Between California and Summer, Keeping Secrets, Anchorway – ($7-$10)

Sat // Aug 26 George’s Pub – Hughes Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Cabin Creek – Brandon Butler Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Riffs – The Hi-Fidelics, Big Daddy Hunt Club – Ben Neikirk Band Max Retropub – Aaron Bernard Mercury Lounge – Dallas Moore, BC and the Big Rig River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – The Marriotts, Zodiac River Spirit Casino - LandShark Pool Bar – The Morgan Band River Spirit Casino - Volcano Stage – The Duo Soundpony – DJ Sweet Baby Jaysus The Blackbird on Pearl – Porter Union – ($5) The Colony – Brad James Band The Fur Shop – Sideshow Drifters Vanguard – My So Called Band – ($10) Woody Guthrie Center – The South Austin Moonlighters – 7 p.m. – ($18-$20) Yeti – The Hermits, Alexalone, Noun Verb Adjective

Sun // Aug 27 Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Olivia Duhon – ($5-$20) River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Ali Harter, Chris Foster Soul City – Mark Bruner & Shelby Eicher Soundpony – Afistaface The Colony – Paul Benjaman’s Sunday Nite Thing The Venue Shrine – Prozak – ($10-$15)

Mon // Aug 28 Cain’s Ballroom – Ben Folds, Tall Heights – ($30-$249) Mercury Lounge – Chris Blevins River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jacob Tovar, The Marriotts Soundpony – Vacation, Duclau, Lizard Police* The Colony – Seth Lee Jones VFW Post 577 - Centennial Lounge – Dave Les Smith and Friends Yeti – The Situation

Thurs // Aug 31 Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Cabin Creek – Rod Robertson Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Riffs – Travis Marvin, Weekend Allstars Mercury Lounge – Paul Benjaman River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jake Flint, Caleb Fellenstein The Beehive Lounge – Trouble Boys, Planet What, The Stiffies – ($5) The Colony – Jacob Tovar’s Thirst Utica Square – Grady Nichols Vanguard – Bungler, Lifelink, Vessels, Undervalued – ($7-$10) Yeti – Siamese, Noun Verb Adjective

Fri // Sept 1 American Legion Post 308 – Round Up Boys Ed’s Hurricane Lounge – Follow The Buzzards Hunt Club – Outline in Color IDL Ballroom – Subtronics, Uber – ($15-$20) Max Retropub – DJ Ali Shaw Smitty’s 118 Tavern – Little Joe McLerran Soundpony – The Grits The Blackbird on Pearl – Bria & Joey, The Kayfabe Vanguard – Ironglide, Skytown, Reliance Code, Tom Heavy – ($10) Yeti – The Danner Party, Roots of Thought, Oceanaut, Carlton Hesston* – ($5)

Sat // Sept 2 Billy and Renee’s – The Alive, Oceanaut Hunt Club – Andy Adams, David Castro Band, Zunis Lot No. 6 – Pop in a Blender Max Retropub – DJ Robbo Mercury Lounge – Quaker City Nighthawks Soundpony – Soul Night The Colony – Jacob Tovar’s Birthday Bash The Venue Shrine – Tulsa Blues Project First Anniversary Bash* Vanguard – Raven, Dead By Wednesday, Hard Truth – ($10-$26) Yeti – Pade Tea Fest

Sun // Sept 3 River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Ali Harter, Chris Foster Soul City – Mark Bruner & Shelby Eicher Soundpony – Winter, Planet What The Colony – Paul Benjaman’s Sunday Nite Thing Vanguard – Piece of Mind, Homecoming, Mortality Rate, Prowl, Stepping Stone, Iron Born – ($10)

Mon // Sept 4 Mercury Lounge – Chris Blevins River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Jacob Tovar, The Marriotts The Colony – Seth Lee Jones VFW Post 577 - Centennial Lounge – Dave Les Smith and Friends Yeti – The Situation

Tues // Sept 5

Tues // Aug 29 Gypsy Coffee House – Open Mic Night Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Riffs – Almost Famous Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - The Joint – Steven Tyler and the Loving Mary Band – ($139-$199) Mercury Lounge – Wink Burcham, Jacob Tovar Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Depot Jazz and Blues Jams River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens, Scott Musick, Dos Capos Soul City – Dustin Pittsley Band The Colony – Singer/Songwriter Night Yeti – Writers Night

Gypsy Coffee House – Open Mic Night Mercury Lounge – Wink Burcham, Jacob Tovar Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame – Depot Jazz and Blues Jams River Spirit Casino - 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar – Brent Giddens, Scott Musick, Dos Capos Soul City – Dustin Pittsley Band The Colony – Singer/Songwriter Night Vanguard – Tiger Army, Dave Hause & The Mermaid, Amigo the Devil – ($15-$18) Yeti – Writers Night

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

BILLIARDS

& BAR

For ye shall go out with JOY, and be led forth with PEACE. FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST 924 S. Boulder Church & Sunday School • 10:30am Wednesday Meeting • 6:00pm

POOL with BENEFITS

3415 S. Peoria Avenue (918)742-9500

HALE BLUE W E COMEDY FESTIVAL L A H BLUE W BLUE WHALE COMEDY FESTIVAL COMEDY (No Tie Required)

HONORARY CHAIR, FORMER CONGRESSMAN AND OU QB, JC WATTS

FESTIVAL AFTER PARTY WITH

The Goddamn Comedy Jam with Josh Adam Meyers

SAT., SEP. 9TH 10:30pm - 1:30am THE YETI PATIO

Also FeaturinG The Goddamn Comedy Jam Gina Brillon Naomi Ekperigin David Gborie Jordan Rock Byron Bowers Jacqueline Novak Late Late Breakfast Liza Treyger Nick Vatterott Sam Jay Brian Moses Josh Adam Meyers JEREMIAH WATKINS 40+ MORE COMICS!

$5 COVER

OR FREE W/ FESTIVAL PASS [VIP PASSES WILL HAVE RESERVED AREA]

Also FeaturinG The Goddamn Comedy Jam Gina Brillon Naomi Ekperigin David Gborie Jordan Rock Byron Bowers Jacqueline Novak Late Late Breakfast Liza Treyger Nick Vatterott Sam Jay Brian Moses Josh Adam Meyers JEREMIAH WATKINS 40+ MORE COMICS!

BLUEWHALECOMEDYFESTIVAL.COM

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

MUSIC // 43

popradar

HELL-O-DOLLY

COURTESY PLUTO TV

‘Annabelle’ doesn’t conjure much

Talitha Bateman and Stephanie Sigman in “Annabelle: Creation” | COURTESY

“THE CONJURING” IS ONE OF THE better mainstream horror movies of the last 20 years. Refining the chilly aesthetic of 2010’s “Insidious,” writer/ director James Wan not only honed his mastery of tension and tone with an atmospheric ghost story, he also stuck the landing—where “Insidious” ultimately stumbled.

“The Conjuring” introduced real-life paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren (portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), controversial demon hunters for Christ who became somewhat famous for that Amityville Horror thing. In “The Conjuring”’s James Bond-ish cold open, we learn of the Warren’s first case: that of two terrified female roommates and their seemingly possessed, creepy-ass doll, Annabelle.

The popularity of expanded universes being what they are, we got the 2014 spinoff, “Annabelle,” a seeming origin story that was unimpressive

Tulsa’s independent and non-profit art-house theatre, showing independent, foreign, and documentary films.

44 // FILM & TV

even with the advantage of zero expectations. But these things often make bank even when they’re bad (hello, “Saw”!), so now we have the actual origin story of the demon doll with a heart of (other people’s) souls, “Annabelle: Creation.”

Anthony LaPaglia is a doll maker with a wife and young daughter (Miranda Otto and Samara Lee), who live in a bucolic, rural house in the ‘60s.

He crafts a doll, Annabelle, named for his daughter. When she dies in a tragic accident, he hides the doll in her room and closes the door for good.

Twelve years later, the couple take in a group of orphans, one of whom is suffering from polio and begins to see the long-dead Annabelle. Drawn to her old room, she discovers the doll, and all hell breaks loose.

Or at least I wish it would.

Both films in the “Annabelle” franchise are akin to dramas with horror elements. That might seem like a weird distinction, but it manifests itself in a slow, character-driven pace and a lower body count than most. Like the first, “Annabelle: Creation”’s lowered stakes feel slightly more tedious than scary.

It is, however, an improvement on the first film. David Sandberg directs with more assurance than “Annabelle’s” John Leonetti. LaPaglia and Otto, as well as Stephanie Sigman as the nun who cares for the orphans, turn in striking performances—and the R-rating allows for one gory shot.

I can’t honestly say “Annabelle: Creation” is bad. It’s just kind of there.

Gary Dauberman’s script reliably hits familiar beats that sounded better in a different song. –JOE O’SHANSKY

Full stream ahead CUTTING THE CORD HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER

by JOE O’SHANSKY

T

raditional cable—paying for two hundred channels to watch the half-dozen you like—is finally succumbing to the ala carte buffet of online choices for which beleaguered subscribers have been clamoring for years. Pay for what you want to see, when you want to see it.

Streaming services Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon inspired institutions like HBO to lead the charge of wresting paid prestige channels away from the tiered hegemony of overpriced television packages. Boutique apps such as Film Struck (which houses the Criterion Collection) among other curated services, are popping up like mushrooms. Not to mention the ten thousand ways there are to steal shit—from password coasters to torrents. (I judge you not.)

Trouble is, most of these come with a price tag.

Taken to its natural conclusion, subscribing to a bunch of apps is about as expensive—on top of your internet connection—as any antiquated cable package. And it’s getting worse.

Disney just announced it is yanking its content from Netflix to start its own service. ESPN, in the same announcement, is following suit. CBS, in a sort of a dick move, decided to make its new “Star Trek” series an exclusive hostage, forcing fans to pay

for its All Access platform. The Balkanization of entertainment is the Faustian tradeoff for the illusion of more choices.

Fortunately, most of what you really want to see is likely free.

And mostly legal.

Live, over-the-air television, a shortcoming of any streaming cable wannabe from Sling to Playstation Vue, largely due to regional programming (particularly sports), only requires a good antenna.

And if you’re willing to trade out CNN for NewsSy and Comedy Central for Funny or Die then the new streaming app Pluto TV (available online and across multiple devices) is a viable alternative to the bloat of that moribund cable subscription.

The app, basically a conglomeration of free apps, gives a slick program guide similar to that of your cable box. News, sports, weather, and music along with a surprising selection of on-demand films reside amongst a plethora of channels like Nerdist, IGN, Shout!

TV and THC (yes, a channel for stoners) that offer everything from cooking shows and vintage television to anime and MST3K. You won’t be bored.

Pluto TV marks a paradigm shift: quality programming doesn’t have to have a name brand to be worthwhile. So far they’re making a good argument. Snip-snip. a

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

STAGE TO S CREEN Five great adaptations A BRIEF RUNDOWN OF WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE CIRCLE CINEMA

Rudy Bond, Nick Dennis, and Marlon Brando in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” (1951) | COURTESY

FILMMAKERS HAVE BEEN MINING THE Broadway boards since the dawn of cinema, from beloved musicals like “The Sound of Music” and “West Side Story” to classic dramas and comedies

by Edward Albee (“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”), Neil Simon (“Barefoot in the Park,” “The Odd Couple”) and more.

Beyond the big titles that have endured, smaller efforts have also brought the power of live theatre to the movie theater.

Here are four lesser-known playsturned-movies worth seeking out, plus a landmark fifth that still sets the standard for what a stage-to-screen adaptation should be: an acting showcase from a distinctive writer’s voice, elevated by the intimate language of film.

RABBIT HOLE (2010) Following the death of their son, a couple grieves in polar opposite ways, including the wife’s connection with an unexpected confidante. Directed by John Cameron Mitchell and adapted by David Lindsay-Abaire from his play, Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart deliver gut-wrenching but hopeful performances. Dianne Wiest provides poignant supporting work, as does Miles Teller in his breakout role.

PROOF (2005) The daughter of a legendary, recently deceased mathematician may have inherited his brilliance and dementia. The discovery of a lost proof will cause her to either be consumed by her neurosis or overcome it. Gwyneth Paltrow reunites with “Shakespeare In Love” director John Madden for the kind of performance that makes you wish she’d stop goop-

ing and keep acting. Jake Gyllenhaal, Hope Davis, and Anthony Hopkins costar in this riveting adaptation of David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play.

THE WINSLOW BOY (1999) Not the David Mamet movie anyone was expecting. The “Glengarry Glen Ross” playwright adapted this G-rated period piece inspired by the pre-WWI true story of a British prep student accused of theft, and his family’s legal battle to defend his—and their—honor. From Terence Rattigan’s play, it’s about the virtues of fighting for truth even when justice seems impossible. In the words of Jeremy Northam’s lawyer: “Let right be done.”

VANYA ON 42ND STREET (1994) The “My Dinner With André” trio of director Louis Malle, Wallace Shawn, and André Gregory reunite for this “rehearsal” of Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya.” Set in an abandoned Broadway theatre, it’s a unique stripped-down staging that provides true acting showcases.

Co-starring a young Julianne Moore, this is a must-see experiment for theatre nerds.

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) Elia Kazan brought Tennessee Williams’ play, and Marlon Brando, to the big screen in a production that changed theatre and cinema forever. A tragic melodrama of cruel masculinity destroying fragile femininity, “Streetcar” stars Vivien Leigh, Karl Malden, and Kim Hunter—all of whom won Oscars. Kazan and Brando would have to wait three years for theirs, for “On The Waterfront.” –JEFF HUSTON

THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

OPENING AUGUST 18 BRIGSBY BEAR A twee indie Sundance sensation, Saturday Night Live’s Kyle Mooney plays a young man who was raised completely sheltered off from the rest of the world. When the children’s show produced exclusively for him ends, James sets out to finish the story himself and learn to cope with a world he’s never known. Co-stars Mark Hamill, Claire Danes, and Greg Kinnear.

Written by Oklahoma native Kevin Costello; his video introduction will begin each screening. Rated PG-13.

STEP From the inner city of Baltimore, an inspiring documentary about a high school dance team’s senior year. As the girls strive for success as a dance troupe, each one also tries to become the first person from their families to attend college.

This breakout hit at the Sundance Film Festival is great viewing for families and schools. Rated PG. 13 MINUTES A German-language World War II drama about the true story of Johann Georg Elser and his attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

Rated R.

OPENING AUGUST 25 GOOD TIME The new gritty crime thriller from up-and-coming New York duo the Safdie brothers, Robert Pattinson stars a bank robber on the run. Over the course of one night, he embarks on a twisted odyssey through the city’s underworld in a race against the clock to get his brother out of jail and save both of their lives.

Jennifer Jason Leigh co-stars.

Rated R.

SCORE: A FILM MUSIC DOCUMENTARY An inside look at the process of composing music for movies. Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, John Williams and many more explore the challenges and creative process of this unique art form. Not rated.

OPENING SEPTEMBER 1 MENASHE A Yiddish-language drama about a New York ultraOrthodox Hasidic Jew who struggles against tradition at a crisis point in his life. Following the death of his wife, Menashe must fight to keep custody of his son. Rated PG.

SPECIAL EVENTS FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH” (1982) Presented on 35-milimeter film, this is a special 35th anniversary screening of the landmark high school R-rated comedy starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and many more. Co-star Robert Romanus will be the event’s special guest.

A book signing with Romanus will precede the movie and a Q&A with TTV film critic Jeff Huston will follow. The event is a fundraiser for The Outsiders House Museum.

Sat., August 19, Meet & Greet with Romanus at 6pm, Screening at 8pm.

GRAVEYARD SHIFT SLUMBER PARTY! This night-long five-movie event will be a marathon of classic ‘80s comedies. Curtis Armstrong, co-star in two of the films screened, will be a guest. He will discuss his new memoir, and then introduce the first film, “Revenge of the Nerds.” The slate also includes “Better Off Dead,” “Just One of the Guys,” “Back to School,” and “Weird Science.” Tickets are $20. A $47 special ticket price includes a meet-and-greet with Armstrong, a signed copy of his book, and a photo opportunity.

Sat., August 26, 7pm.

FILM & TV // 45

OKLAHOMA STUDY OF NATIVE AMERICAN PAIN RISK RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS NEEDED

$200 compensation ($100/day)

INVESTIGATORS: Drs. Jamie Rhudy & Joanna Shadlow CONTACT: The University of Tulsa Psychophysiology Research Laboratory 918-631-2175 or 918-631-3565

A novel research study is being conducted at The University of Tulsa to identify potential markers of risk for chronic pain in healthy (currently painfree) Non-Hispanic White and Native American individuals.

This study is safe, non-invasive, and does not involve medication. Participants must be able to attend 2 laboratory sessions (4-5.5 hours/day) in which physiological and behavioral reactions to different stimuli are recorded. This is a University of Tulsa, Cherokee Nation, and Indian Health Service Oklahoma Area Office IRB approved research study.

FREE IT ’S L E G A L T IL L

Tulsa’rsee F ONLY u na Marij yaer Law

Free legal representation for first offense marijuana possession.

Tulsa District & City Courts only.

No juvenile cases.

Reasonable fees for other charges.

Some restrictions apply.

Michael Fairchild • Attorney at Large • 918-58-GRASS (584-7277)

ibas”

atn c “ t s e n i f The t a note u o h t i w t e you can g our vet! from y

bad advice BY FRASER KASTNER

Need advice?

Send your questions to voices@langdonpublishing.com with “Bad Advice” in the subject line.

I’m thinking about running for political office. I’m a registered Democrat, fiscally conservative with moderately liberal social views, but I know Oklahoma politicians are usually only elected if they have an R in front of their name. Is it wrong to switch parties so I have a better chance? —J.K. Dear J.K., On the surface, it would seem like a lot of people would agree with you.

Just because you think that the government shouldn’t spend money it doesn’t have, or that people shouldn’t be overburdened with taxes doesn’t mean you can’t also care about things like economic inequality and LGBT rights. That sounds thoughtful and reasonable.

And that is why you are screwed.

Look, man—I’m assuming you are male. If not, you are even less likely to be elected, sorry. People around here decide what college to attend based on football team performance. We suck a dwindling resource out of our land at the cost of the very ground beneath our feet. Our state vegetable is a watermelon.

If you want to get elected, you’re gonna have to change more than just your party affiliation. Are you comfortable phrasing your tweets in such a way that Nazis won’t get offended?

Do you consider certain parts of the state to be the “real” Oklahoma? How unscrupulous of a lawyer can you afford?

My advice is to radicalize yourself as much as possible. You don’t actu-

ally have to believe the rhetoric you spew, you just have to embody it in every other way.

Failing that, like if you’re not just in this for the money and prestige, you could run anyway and try to make some positive change on the ground level. It’s probably what Jesus would have you do, but definitely not your campaign manager.

How do I not make babies when I hate condoms and don’t believe in birth control? — S.H. Dear S.H., Have you tried abstinence? Much like other forms of birth control, it is effective when used correctly. Unfortunately, most humans haven’t figured out how to do it correctly, which is why a bunch of abstinent teenagers get pregnant every year.

If you wanna go the abortion route, you’re in for a challenge. It’s easier to find an untouched oil field around here than it is to find a clinic.

My dog keeps eating grass. How can I make it stop? —W.E Dear W.E., Some believe that dogs eat grass for much the same reason a human would eat a salad. It provides fiber, helps with digestion, and can even fulfill unmet nutritional needs. If your dog is male, you should shame it for being a sissy and eating vegetables. If it is female, shame it for eating literally anything else. a

1778 UTICA SQUARE • OPEN M–SAT, 10–6 DOGDISH.COM 46 // ETC.

August 16 – September 5, 2017 // THE TULSA VOICE

THE FUZZ THE TULSA VOICE SPOTLIGHTS: TULSA SPCA

2910 Mohawk Blvd. | MON, TUES, THURS, FRI & SAT, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 918.428.7722

This pretty girl’s name is MOCHA. She’s a retriever-lab mix. Her original owner wasn’t able to keep her and surrendered her to us in April. She is a year and a half old. Mocha loves people and kids but prefers to be the only pet in a house.

ACROSS 1 “Ahem!” relative 5 Reporter who travels with troops 10 Already cut, as lumber 14 Kind of bar that serves Asian delicacies 19 “... and to ___ good night!”

20 Gadget with which to point and click 21 States of anger or bad feelings 22 “Crocodile Rock” singer John 23 Five things you buy in cans 27 “Shop ’til you drop” episode 28 “What a great discovery!”

29 “And while ___ the subject ...”

30 Baby cradle?

31 Lively, agile and active 33 ___ step of the way 34 Causes to be bogged down 35 Entirely, to Caesar 39 Mythical god of war 40 Dusk, to poets of old 41 Hollow center?

43 Two things bought in boxes 50 Spooky and uncanny 51 Offhand “Didn’t see you there” 53 The O’Hara estate of literature 54 Et ___ (and others) 55 Furry TV alien 56 “And ___ we go!”

57 Theologian and pastor R.C. 59 Fisher’s gadget 60 Completely fit to drive 62 Bangkok language 63 Ruin partner (var.)

64 Four things you buy in jars 71 “This is ___!” (crimebuster’s shout)

72 Apt name for a Dalmatian 73 Thing headed for a bull’s-eye 74 Big ___ (MLB great David Ortiz) 75 Aspen hills 78 ___ into (attacks verbally) 79 “... more, ___ merrier!”

82 Common Bartlett’s abbreviation 83 Author Morrison 84 Place for gold or coal 85 Goodbye in France 87 Two things you buy in buckets 91 Alternative to premium 93 Paid athlete 94 Varied mixture of this and that 95 Urban renewal target 96 Academy Award 99 Kind of metabolism 101 Garment for Caesar 103 On leave, for a sailor 104 Word that ends a prayer 105 Deli creation 106 Theater backdrop 111 Four things bought in bags 115 A bundle of nerves 116 Participate in a hunger strike 117 Respond to a rooster’s crow 118 ___ vera 119 Nay follower 120 Skip town 121 Moisten, as grass 122 Definitely not straight DOWN 1 Common thing for a quarterback to do 2 Feed the hogs or feed for hogs 3 Derogatory remark or drunkard’s remark

The Tulsa SPCA has been helping animals in our area since 1913. The shelter never euthanizes for space and happily rescues animals from high-kill shelters. They also accept owner surrenders, rescues from cruelty investigations, hoarding, and puppy mill situations. Animals live on-site or with foster parents until they’re adopted. All SPCA animals are micro-chipped, vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and treated with preventatives.

Learn about volunteering, fostering, upcoming events, adoptions, and their low-cost vaccination clinic at tulsaspca.org.

CK MEOW is a four-and-a-half-year-old shorthair mix. His original owners were not able to care for him and surrendered him to us in March.

He’s a really friendly kitty who needs a home!

4 It’s broken at the finish line 5 Down Under fowl 6 Engine 7 Like some eyebrows or animal tails 8 Exxon before it was Exxon 9 God of Latin 10 Elegant cat 11 Tree-lined area 12 Teeny go-with 13 Grp. that monitors chatter 14 Troubadour’s six-stanza verse 15 Painful stomach problem 16 Shopper’s attraction 17 Falcon-headed Egyptian deity 18 Hotel relatives 24 Hershey competitor 25 Pearl seeker 26 2 or 3, e.g.

32 “The Raven” poet 33 “... ___ saw Elba” 35 “You got a better ___?”

36 Playwright Coward 37 Gangs protect theirs 38 Japanese kimono sash 39 Feeling sore in one’s muscles 40 Sandy shade 42 Home Depot rival 44 Impressive, airy hotel lobbies 45 “7 Faces of Dr. ___” 46 Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary 47 N.Y. city on the Allegheny River 48 Your brother’s daughter, to you 49 Like a spider’s web 52 It’s not good to be in its way 56 Mr. Lincoln, informally 57 Chases off, as gnats 58 Written agreement between two sovereigns

60 Activity done on two runners 61 Quite ancient 62 Use a word processor 63 A question of identity 64 Oblong yellow fruit (var.)

65 “Argo” film extra 66 Fixed chicken?

67 Savory meat jelly 68 Indian bread 69 Alternative to a clothesline 70 Century divs.

75 How James Bond doesn’t like his martini 76 Cuckoo, south of the border 77 ___-two punch 78 Chauffeured auto 79 Abrupt ending to a pinball game 80 Feature of summer 81 Dollar, in many places 84 Postal delivery 85 Shocked and horror-stricken 86 Payable now 88 Less populated 89 Prize ribbon’s top 90 Distinctive styles 92 Breakfast staple 96 Actor Milo 97 Like a new penny 98 Woody thicket 99 Bland or trite 100 Provide laughs for 101 Fancy word for swollen 102 Not just overweight 103 Bible book after John 105 Sun-baked, as desert ground 107 Maryland seafood specialty 108 Rouse to anger 109 Computer desktop signpost 110 Get some face time with 112 No longer attached 113 Uber alternative 114 ___ and improved

ESTER is a shorthair mix. Her original owners had to move and were unable to take her with them so they surrendered her to us earlier this year. She is two and a half years old and spends much of her day sleeping, eating, and playing with toys.

Universal sUnday Crossword BUyinG sPree

By Timothy e. Parker

© 2017 Andrews McMeel Syndication THE TULSA VOICE // August 16 – September 5, 2017

8/20 ETC. // 47

Pleas e re cycle this issue.