Brooke Taylor will wed Neal Balog in November.

Mr. and Mrs. Timothy G. Taylor of Fort Worth announce the engagement of their daughter, Brooke Lee Taylor, to Neal Howard Balog, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Balog of Carrollton.

The nuptials are set for Nov. 21 at The McDavid Studio at The Bass Performance Hall.

A graduate of Western Hills High School, Miss Taylor attended The University Texas in Arlington where she received a degree in exercise science.

The future bridegroom was a graduate of Newman Smith High School in Carrollton. He attended The University of North Texas in Denton where he earned a degree in strategic management. He received his MBA from Texas A&M Commerce. He is now employed with Travelers Insurance in Dallas.

Becky Gulsvig stars as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Omigod, you guys. I just saw the coolest show in Dallas.

Legally Blonde, the touring show that was on Broadway and before that was that movie Reese Witherspoon did, came to town, and even though I had to put down my iPhone for about three hours, it was totally worth it. Totally.

Like I had to get my highlights touched up because, wow, as if I would show up at a musical where the star–her name is Becky Gulsvig–is the only one with blonde hair. But, ohmigod, she has blonde hair and she can sing. And dance, in the cutest clothes. I think I hate her!

She starts out in a sorority, alot like Theta or Kappa, only goofier. And then she gets this idea to follow her boyfriend to Harvard Law School, but it’s okay because she still takes all her bling. Even though those other kids wear really uncool clothes, Elle–that’s her name–still wears a lot of pink.

Anyway, she gets all up in this other girl’s business working on her trial. Coleen Sexton is the one who plays that girl, Brooke. And she does this wicked jump-rope routine, and she is all over it. While she’s singing! Like, rock on.

And then one of my other favorite parts is this totally cool guy named Jeff McLean who plays Warner. He sings and he reminds me of this guy my mom used to like. I think his name was Donny Osmond. Oh, and this other girl, her name is Natalie Joy Johnson and she plays Paulette, she was pretty hilarious for someone almost as old as the parental units.

And the show is really funny  other times, too, like when there’s a courtroom trial. And they sing and dance some more, and it’s like really funny, you know?

The part I didn’t like too much were these girls, the back-up singers. Actually, they could sing but they couldn’t dance so much. Why would they vote them in? Our sorority would never make the varsity revue, if we weren’t more together than they were. I mean totally.

But even if we wouldn’t let them in our sorority, the show really gets you pumped, even if you’re a brunette. You know, the story just goes to show you that just because a girl likes to have her nails done and maybe wears pink doesn’t mean she’s stupid. You know?

The show is only here until Aug. 2, but then it moves to Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. It’ll be there Aug. 4 though 9th, so you can chillax, if you’re going to see this show. Yeah, mom says it was nominated for seven Tony Awards, whatever that is, so I think that means the music is good or something.

Peace out.

Nick Blaemire plays Seymour and Gina Milo portrays Audrey in the current Casa Manana summer Broadway series production. Photographed by Eric Younkin.

Little Shop of Horrors, the current offering at Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall, could be renamed “Little Musical of Delights.”

The musical, which opened Tuesday night, owes its success to the happy melodies in what should be a downright grisly tale, if it were judged only by the story line. Seymour, a flower shop employee, has an exotic new plant that has brought a surprising amount of business to the once-declining shop owned by Mr. Mushnik. While doing what it takes to cultivate the plant, the dweeby Seymour also hopes to cultivate his co-worker, the worldy Audrey. 

As it turns out, the plant, which brought an enormous amount of success to the flower shop, demands payment in blood. Audrey’s boyfriend eventually ends up in the jaws of the flesh-eating plant, which just complicates Seymour’s life, even if he does get his girl.

Although it sounds like a pretty ugly story, Little Shop of Horrors features plenty of campy comedy and happy music. It makes for an amusing evening of entertainment, no matter who gets swallowed up in horticulture homicide.

A part of Casa Manana’s 2009 Summer Season, this show owes a huge amount of its success to the tight harmonies and clever choreography of the trio of street girls, Crystal, Ronnette and Chiffon, played by Natalie Renee, Rebecca Covington and Adrianna Hicks. Leads Nick Blaemire as Seymour and Gina Milo are standouts in their roles as Seymour and Audrey.

The lone disappointment was Edward Staudenmayer, who takes on several roles. He handles them all deftly, including some that require a quick change, but as the dentist, he seems miscast as a leather-wearing, violent-prone boyfriend.

Opening night crowds received a bonus performance at intermission. On the same day as the late Michael Jackson’s memorial, zombie-costumed dancers filled the stage and theater aisles and danced to the singer’s Thriller.

The main show remains, with or without the intermission bonus, a slick production worth seeing. It runs through Sunday. For tickets, visit www.casamanana.org.

Silver medalist Yeoul Eum Son, left, is pictured with gold medalists Nobuyuki Tsujii and Haochen Zhang.

A tie was announced Sunday for the winners of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. 

The 2009 Cliburn winners are Nobuyuki Tsujii, 20, of Japan, and Haochen Zhang, 19, of China. Famed pianist Van Cliburn made the announcement Sunday at the awards ceremony which followed 17 days of fierce competition among the world’s top pianists.

The Gold Medal prize includes a cash award of $20,000; international and national concert tours for the three seasons following the competition, coordinated by the Van Cliburn Foundation in conjunction with IMG Artists Europe; a CD recording on the harmonia mundi usa label; performance attire provided by Neiman Marcus; and a contribution toward domestic and international air travel on American Airlines during the three-year tour.

Tsujii and Zhang were the two youngest pianists in the 2009 Competition, and they were the first to tie since 2001 when Stanislav Ioudenitch and Olga Kern took home gold medals.

Silver medalist was 23-year-old Yeol Eum Son of South Korea.

The second prize includes a cash award of $20,000; U.S. concert tours and career management for the three concert seasons following the competition; and a CD recording on the harmonia mundi usa label.

The crystal award was not given this year.

The remaining finalists were Evgeni Bozhanov, 25, of Bulgaria;  Mariangela Vacatello, 27, of Italy; and Di Wu, 24, of China.

More information is available at www.cliburn.org.

The six pianists selected to advance to the final round of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The announcement was made Sunday from the stage of The Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth.

The six finalists, in alphabetical order, are: 

Mr. Evgeni Bozhanov, 25, Bulgaria
Ms. Yeol Eum Son, 23, South Korea
Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii, 20, Japan
Ms. Mariangela Vacatello, 27, Italy
Ms. Di Wu, 24, China
Mr. Haochen Zhang, 19, China

Each pianist will select two concerti of his or her choice to perform with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of American conductor James Conlon. In addition, each finalist will perform a 50-minute solo recital of works not performed in previous rounds.

The Final Round will be held Wednesday through Sunday, and every concert will feature three artists. There will be one concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; concerts at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and a 1:30 p.m. concert Sunday. The awards ceremony will follow at 5 p.m.

Individual tickets to the competition are on sale at the Bass Performance Hall box office or by phone at 800-462-7979. Prices range from $30 to $140 for the final round and from $20 to $75 for Sunday’s awards ceremony.

Soyeon Lee performs during the preliminary round of the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth.

Twelve young pianists have been selected to advance to the semifinal round of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (www.cliburn.org) being held at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth.

John Giordano, chairman of the jury for the Cliburn 2009, announced the names Tuesday of those advancing from the stage of the performance hall. The twelve competitors, in alphabetical order, are:

Mr. Evgeni Bozhanov, Bulgaria, 25
Mr. Ran Dank, Israel, 27
Mr. Alessandro Deljavan, Italy, 22
Ms. Kyu Yeon Kim, South Korea, 23
Mr. Eduard Kunz, Russia, 28
Ms. Andrea Lam, Australia, 27
Mr. Michail Lifits, Germany, 26
Ms. Yeol Eum Son, South Korea, 23
Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii, Japan,20
 Ms. Mariangela Vacatello, Italy, 27
Ms Di Wu, China, 24
Mr. Haochen Zhang, China, 19

Twenty-nine pianists representing 14 countries competed in the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition’s preliminary round, which was began May 22. The competitors performed a variety of works by composers including Albeniz, Bach, and Boulez, to Carter, Debussy, and Ginastera, as well as Liszt, Haydn, Mozart and Schumann.

During the second round, each pianist will perform a 60-minute solo recital with music of his or her choice, along with one selected contemporary work from the winning compositions of the third American Composers Invitational. Each competitor will also perform one of the designated piano quintets in a separate concert with the Takács Quartet.
 
On May 31, Giordano will announce the six pianists advancing to the final competition. Each will choose two concerti to perform with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of renowned American conductor James Conlon. Each finalist will also present a separate 50-minute solo recital of works not performed in the preceding rounds. The Final Round is scheduled for  June 3 through 7.