photography courtesy memphis botanic garden
Holiday Wonders at the Garden
Memphis Botanic Garden
Select nights November 24th – December 30th, 5 – 8:30 p.m.
Happy Thanksgiving to one and to all. I hope it was merry and bright, and I don’t care if you think “merry and bright” only applies to Christmastime. You’re allowed to be merry and bright whenever you want, hate to break it to you. What you can’t be is in the “holiday spirit” whenever you want. That, I believe, is solely reserved for the day after Thanksgiving until December 31st. That’s just how I roll. I know not everyone agrees, and we’re allowed to have our own opinions, and I’m thankful for that, truly. But I’m also thankful that Memphis Botanic Garden waited until the day after Thanksgiving to bring back its annual Holiday Wonders at the Garden.
The unique exhibition of holiday lights and displays is a delight for all ages. Guests can enjoy signature cocktails and hot chocolate, warm up by a fire, twirl beneath falling snow, play light-up games, and so much more. The 24-night run includes everyone’s favorite nights, including the dog-friendly Paw-liday Wonders evenings and Santa Sundays with the big guy himself, plus fun and festive theme nights, which you can learn more about here.
For opening night on Friday, November 24th, 5-8:30 p.m., Santa will offer season’s greetings from his sleigh in Northern Lights. Advance tickets are $15 for members and $17 for nonmembers. Same-day tickets are $20. Purchase them here. Children under 2 are free.
photography courtesy Cirque Dreams Holidaze
Landers Center
Friday, November 24, 7 p.m.
You know, I have to say I’m grateful I can touch my toes. I mostly say that because my sister can’t, and I’ve always loved being able, in any argument, to say, “At least, I can touch my toes,” because that’s how you win arguments. Now, I wouldn’t want to face off anyone in the cast of Cirque Dreams Holidaze in a spirited debate — especially if “At least, I can touch my toes” is the only ground I have to stand on. They’re the real deal with an ensemble of aerial circus acts, sleight-of-hand jugglers, fun-loving skippers, breath-catching acrobatics, and much more.
This Friday, the Cirque Dreams Holidaze show comes to the Landers Center to present a whimsical, Broadway-style musical infused with contemporary circus artistry into the ultimate holiday gift for the entire family. An original music score includes new twists on seasonal favorites such as “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “Carol of the Bells.” Singers, dancers, penguins, toy soldiers, and reindeer invoke the dreams behind a child’s eye on the most magical of nights.
Tickets are $42 and can be purchased here.
Three Peonies, oil on acrylic, 24x24, 2023
“Dictates” Artist Talk
David Lusk Gallery
Saturday, November 25, 1 p.m.
I could never get behind the hand turkey, the ones where you’d write whatever you’re grateful for on the fingers. I just couldn’t get behind it, not after I saw what a real live turkey looks like — or I guess, I would’ve seen a photo of a real live turkey, I don’t think I’ve seen a turkey in person before … doesn’t matter. The hand turkeys just weren’t realistic for my sensibilities. I understood that we were supposed to be grateful and not shame the hand turkey for what they were, but they just weren’t real enough for my real gratitude for my parents, my dog, my grandparents, mac-and-cheese, and my sister who can’t touch her toes.
All this to say that when I come across realism, like really good realism, I take note, and I’ve been taking note of Jared Small’s work, most recently his exhibit at David Lusk Gallery, on display through December 23rd. Small is known for his hyper-realistic subjects, usually depicting historic homes, delicate flowers, and Black women. This show, featuring Small’s newest body of work, features decaying houses and flowers “to explore the intangible layers of human experiences, offering viewers a unique opportunity to engage with the realities of people and nature, while being transported to a dreamlike world.”
Small will give an artist talk on Saturday.
photography courtesy Nakatani Gong Orchestra
Tatsuya Nakatani Gong Orchestra
Off the Walls Arts
Sunday, November 26, 7 p.m.
Gratitude is something you practice, they say. You have to make it a part of your routine. It’s like learning a new instrument, unless you’re learning to play the gong for Tatsuya Nakatani Gong Orchestra. You don’t get to practice too much before you play in Nakatani’s large ensemble touring contemporary sound art project. The musician, during his stay in Memphis, will train locals in his technique for playing his adapted bowed gong before the performance on Sunday. There is no expectation of previous experience playing a gong, so anything can happen, which means each performance is unique. Our writer Alex Greene interviewed Nakatani for the Memphis Flyer before last year’s orchestra’s performance; read what he had to say here.
Tickets for the show are $22.53 and can be purchased here.
photography by joan marcus
SIX
Orpheum Theatre
Performances through Sunday November 26
I’m grateful for King Henry VIII. It’s a controversial take, I know, and I’m not saying he was like a cool guy or whatever ’cause he was not — by any means. I’m not a fan of him; I just like the women around him ’cause they were cool, so cool that they’re now taking the Orpheum’s stage for the Broadway show, Six.
The new original musical remixes 500 years of historical heartbreak into a euphoric celebration of 21st-century girl power. And, let me tell you, the show has been insanely popular, having won 23 awards in the 2021/2022 Broadway season, including the Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical.
Remaining performances of Six are Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Following Saturday’s matinee performance, all audience members from this performance will be invited to join in a question-and-answer session with the cast and crew at no additional cost.
Tickets ($35-$150) can be purchased here.
