Luxiere - Oklahoma Lifestyle & Real Estate // Edition 48

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NICHOLS HILLS PLAZA | SUN VALLEY RESORT

48 ON THE COVER: VIEWING COSTUME COUTURE HEAD ON

Years in the making and custom-designed in exacting detail, Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibit Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer pays glamorous tribute to one of cinema’s brightest offscreen stars.

STORY BY ALEXANDRA BOHANNON

32 ART IN PROGRESS

OKC’s Nonesuch is an unconventional restaurant from the concept up, and given its emphasis on seasonality and constant influx of new local ingredients, change is always on the menu.

STORY BY GREG HORTON

40 KNIT SAFE FOR WORK

It may look like a sweater, but fiber artist Kendall Ross considers the form more canvas than clothing — her sardonic, text-filled knitting has evolved into art not meant to be worn.

STORY BY ALEXANDRA BOHANNON

56 FASHION IN BLOOM

The Oklahoma Fashion Alliance is working to make Tulsa fertile ground for sustainable self-expression, and forging creativity into a supportive community.

STORY BY ALICIA CHESSER

68

Ryan Jude Tanner, Jay Krottinger and Pat Chernicky form Tanninger Entertainment, star producers bringing an Oklahoma coming-of-age classic to the Broadway stage.

STORY BY CHRISTINE EDDINGTON 16

86 THE AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION

A digital photo, a jersey, a blank sheet of paper … fans of all ages seek OKC Thunder players’ signatures, but the items are often less important than the memories involved.

STORY BY MICHAEL KINNEY

FROM THE PUBLISHER 48 EDITION

New York in the springtime is magical. Central Park is blooming, Fifth Avenue is booming and the weather is perfect for window shopping, rooftop cocktails and dining al fresco. And this spring, the Big Apple will have a decidedly Oklahoma flavor, as the musical adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s quintessential coming-of-age novel The Outsiders, set in Tulsa, debuts on Broadway. Three Oklahomans, whose company Tanninger Entertainment has produced it and nearly two dozen other shows, sat down with Luxiere to talk about what they do — and how they manage to create hit after hit.

Speaking of Broadway, Michael Andreaus, who grew up near Moore, made his way to the street of musical dreams in his mid-30s. Always a singer in church choirs, Andreaus had a lifechanging epiphany in 2006, while sitting in a movie theater watching Dreamgirls. This experience ultimately led him to New York, where after more than 150 auditions, he got his break, and never looked back. Writer Michael Kinney brings us his story.

And while we’re on the subject of doing the unexpected, our Woman of Influence this edition is none other than the Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson. Hailing from the small Oklahoma town of Maud, Jackson broke barriers throughout her career, never more so than when — at Elvis Presley’s suggestion — she switched musical styles from country to rockabilly, at the time a male-dominated genre. Decades later she’s revered by the best of the best musicians worldwide, and she’s as amazing as ever.

Dolores Purdy, a Caddo artist, is another woman who broke into a previously males-only art form: traditional ledger art, historically considered to be “warrior art.” She tells writer Valentina Gutiérrez that tradition had dictated that only men were allowed to draw representational figures, while women were allowed to draw abstract forms. Early in her career, she

found herself questioned occasionally about whether she had the right to draw figures, but she continued undeterred, paving the way for the next generation of women ledger artists.

In this issue we’ll take you to Tulsa’s Noche Woodfired Grill & Agave bar, the brainchild of drummer, bagpiper and thirdgeneration restaurateur Sheamus Feeley and Chef Marco Herrera. Its aguachile, crushed tamale queso and tenderloin tampiquena impressed our food guru, writer Greg Horton.

Back in the 405, a can’t-miss exhibition of eight-time Academy Award-winning designer Edith Head is making its way to Oklahoma City Museum of Art, running June 22-Sept. 29. It’s the largest exhibition of Head’s work in the United States, and we are extraordinarily excited to see it.

Perhaps we’ll see you there.

Until next time,

STACY D. JOHNSON Publisher, Owner

ALL HAIL QUEEN WANDA

BY CHRISTINE EDDINGTON

Maud, Oklahoma, by some stroke of cosmic genius, is the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll royalty.

Wanda LaVonne Jackson was born on Oct. 20, 1937, the only child of Tom and Nellie Jackson. Her dad, an amateur musician, held a variety of jobs — delivery driver, gas station attendant and cab driver among them. In the early 1940s the Jackson family moved to California in search of work opportunities, part of the exodus of so-called Okies who fled the Great Depression, Dust Bowl and limited opportunities of their home state. During the period between the 1930s and ’40s, it’s estimated that Oklahoma experienced a net loss of some 440,000 people.

By the time our heroine was 9, the family had made its way back to Oklahoma City. She’d already been playing music for three years at this point, having been given her first guitar by her dad when she was 6. Her mother, in a clever whereaboutstracking maneuver, had encouraged the girl to sing when she was out of sight.

In an interview with “Voices of Oklahoma,” Jackson elaborated. “She was a workaholic, is the best word to describe her. I don’t remember anything but chasing Mother around the house if I wanted to talk to her. Now, if I could catch her ironing, then I could sit down and we could talk. She was very pretty, rather short in stature, but very slim. When you work that hard, you’re gonna be slim. Very jovial, you know, she sang as she worked a lot. I remember her smile; great big smile. A very happy person,” Jackson said. And her father? “Oh, I think of Daddy as being very laid back, real cool — he loved music, he loved to dance,

he loved to tell jokes, that sort of thing. Just about everybody that knew Daddy liked him. He was just that type of person.”

By the time Jackson was in junior high, she was singing in church, and at friends’ houses after Sunday evening services. She told “Voices of Oklahoma” that that was how she learned to sing in front of people. “Mother said, ‘You never had to ask Wanda twice to sing.’ If somebody just mentioned it, I’d run and get my guitar because I liked to perform in front of people.”

Today, after decades of performing in front of people en route to becoming a musical legend, Jackson’s overarching vibe is one of good-natured happiness. She just seems amused by all the fuss, cheerful and filled with gratitude. She’s funny and smart as a whip. Her stories are wonderful to hear, told in an elegant, somewhat soft-spoken style so different from her gutsy, growly singing style. The contrast is so great that a documentary film about her was titled The Sweet Lady with the Nasty Voice.

Jackson dated — who else? — the King himself, Elvis Presley. The two were part of an extended package tour during 1955 and ’56, just as Presley was becoming a full-blown superstar. In an interview with James Sullivan for Rolling Stone, she said demurely, “Our dating amounted to what we could do on the road” — not to mention what they could do with her father, her manager, in tow. “If we got in town early, we might take in a matinee movie. Then after shows we could go places with his band — and my dad, of course.”

Presley certainly helped to propel her career into the stratosphere when he advised her to make her mark in the

Wanda Jackson in Nashville’s White Avenue Studio in November 2017

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID MCCLISTER FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

wild, male-dominated musical genre of rockabilly. She talked to Rolling Stone about the epiphany he triggered with his suggestion, saying “He broke into my train of thought and made me realize I could stretch myself. I could do more than I thought I could.”

Some people are born for the world’s stage, and Jackson is one of them. She’s revered by musicians Elvis Costello, Jack White and Bruce Springsteen. She kept up a relentless touring schedule, performing 120 shows a year well into her 70s. She’s been written about, obsessed over, discovered, rediscovered and celebrated.

In 2011, a New York Times feature about her had this to say: “... through it all she has become a shimmying emblem of female independence in a male-dominated industry, testing boundaries with her forward style and lyrics about mean men and hard-headed women (and those are the love songs).”

Jackson’s well-deserved accolades have been numerous: She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009 as an early influencer, and served as a spokeswoman for its “Women in Rock” exhibition. Terry Stewart, then president and CEO of the institution, said of her, “She’s still working sort of a wildcat sound, and she had it as a young lady, which was pretty much unheard of at the time.”

In 2018 she was named Oklahoma’s 13th Cultural Treasure, sharing that distinction with writers, poets, performers and artists including John Hope Franklin, Ed Ruscha, N. Scott Momaday and Te Ata. The Oklahoma Arts Council bestows that high honor only to a select few individuals who are “considered especially precious or valuable by a particular period, class, community or population … must be 70 years of age or older, be a bearer of intangible cultural assets and have outstanding artistic or historical worth.” In 2023, a portrait of her by award-winning artist Tracey Harris was dedicated and will be permanently displayed at Oklahoma’s State Capitol. •

THE SOUND OF SENSATION

For those uninitiated to the power and the glory of Wanda Jackson, do yourselves a favor and take a truncated YouTube tour of her incredible career. Start here:

“Hard-Headed Woman,’’ which she cheekily referred to as “one of the most beautiful love songs ever written” on a 1958 television appearance

“Shakin’ All Over,’’ which she featured on her 30th studio album, 2011’s The Party Ain’t Over, a collaboration with Jack White

“Let’s Have a Party,’’ is a rollicking showcase of her signature growly vocals

“Pick Me Up on Your Way Down,’’ a pure honky-tonk tune

“In the Middle of a Heartache,’’ Jackson’s biggest hit in 1961

“Cool Love,” on which her guitar style is described as “badass”

“Right or Wrong,’’ a 1960 return to Jackson’s country roots

“Fujiyama Mama,’’ recorded with Jack White, which hit No. 1 in Japan

“Thunder on the Mountain,’’ also in collab with White and originally recorded by Bob Dylan — a high-energy great time.

LUXIERE’s Woman of Influence is presented by First National Bank of Oklahoma

PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF FASANO

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LEAP OF FAITH

Carly Jump’s rapid rise from Edmond to NYC sensation

BY MICHAEL KINNEY

Carly Jump didn’t think she would like New York. Like many people who pay a visit to the city that never sleeps, she thought it was a great place to drop in for a quick trip, but could never imagine herself living there.

Nevertheless, the Edmond native made the biggest decision of her life in 2018 when she bought a one-way plane ticket to New York City with the intention of finding her way in the world.

That choice led to a life Jump could never have foreseen in a place she never thought she would grow to love. Now she is the executive director and co-owner of Funny Face Bakery, one of the most distinctive eateries in NYC. And she hasn’t even turned 25 yet.

“I am building this life that’s better than I imagined, and I’m more successful at this age than I thought I would be,” the 24-year-old Jump says. “And that’s not to say it in a bragging way or anything. It was just like I never expected myself to become a businesswoman. I’m proud of myself.”

However, Jump admits none of what she has accomplished was planned. When the former Edmond North student graduated from Epic Charter in 2018, her original plan was to go to art school in Portland.

But at the last minute, the thought of incurring student loans changed Jump’s thinking.

“I just continued to work at my job at Walmart throughout the summer with no plan for the fall,” Jump says. “I was just sitting in my room one day and decided I wanted to move somewhere. I didn’t have an exact idea, but I kind of played around with some big cities. I had visited New York once before, and when I visited, I remember so distinctly saying, ‘I love it here, but I would never live here.’ And for some reason, I kind of brushed that out of my mind.”

Yet, that proved to be an impossible chore. The thought of New York City had burrowed itself into Jump’s subconscious and she was unable to let it go.

“I booked a one-way plane ticket to New York that night; did not think about it at all,” Jump says. “Did not have any plan for where I was going to live, how I was going to make money there, and told all my family afterward.”

It didn’t seem to occur to Jump that what she was doing was adventurous or impetuous.  For her to reach the next phase in her life, she had to make a bold move.

“I have been fiercely independent my whole life, and so I just always loved the idea of picking up myself and building my own life,” she says. “I love Oklahoma. I love going back to visit, but I’m a very strong believer that everyone has to leave their hometown, at least for a little bit. You can go back, but you’re not going to figure out who you are [while] being surrounded by the people you depend on. I think that was just my main motivator, wanting to go out there and create something for myself that didn’t depend on anyone else.”

Two weeks after booking her $102 plane ticket, Jump flew to New York. She stayed at a Brooklyn hostel and was living with 12 other strangers when she first arrived. Her rent was $672 a month, which she said was a good deal.

Jump happened to know one person in the city, who suggested she apply for a job at a small bakery called the Cupcake Market.

“They did cupcakes and they painted faces on cookies, which I thought was such a fun thing,” Jump says. “I’ve always loved art and baked goods. It was two of my favorite loves put together. I went in for an interview as a counter girl and the owner (Sarah Silverman) told me, ‘I like your vibe.’ She didn’t look at my resume and hired me on the spot.”

A week after moving, Jump was gainfully employed, and quickly began to love her job and the people she worked with. That enthusiasm for her new career showed through and her customers took notice.

Jump was soon promoted to manager at the rebranded Funny Face Bakery, and she kept building relationships and getting to know the regulars. That included a venture capitalist, whom she told about their dreams of expanding the business.

Once the pandemic hit and everything was shut down, Jump came back to Oklahoma for two months.

“The venture capitalist customer reached out to Sarah, and said, ‘We’ve heard from Carly about all your goals for the bakery. We would love to invest,’” Jump recalls. “So they were kind of our saving grace throughout the pandemic. And after that, Sarah brought me on as one of her partners, and then our other partner, Olivia Nickel, was brought on shortly after. And the three of us spent every day during COVID figuring out ‘How are we going to reopen this business?’”

Once again, it was Jump’s infectious personality that opened doors to opportunities for her. It’s a trait that has always been part of her persona.

“I give a lot of that credit to Oklahoma. People here love that I’m from Oklahoma,” Jump says. “They think it’s a charming thing to be and people love my accent. But even my boyfriend, when we started dating, he was like, ‘I just love that you’re from Oklahoma.’ To them, it’s just so foreign and exciting.”

Since reopening the Funny Face, Jump and her partners have increased the company’s brand awareness. That includes being featured on BBC News, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, “The Today Show” and the final episode of “The Kardashians.”

But Jump’s biggest highlight so far has been overseeing the expansion of Funny Face Bakery, which now has two locations in NYC.

“Opening both of our storefronts was a major moment,” Jump says. “That was something that was just weeks and weeks of no sleep for the three of us partners, and we put so much work into it. We designed them. We had an interior design team for the second one, but we gave all our creative advice. Just to be able to see something come to life in front of you — now when we go in there and we see a line of customers it’s like, ‘Oh, we built that.’”

Jump’s journey from an unemployed teenager living in a hostel to a successful business executive is as improbable as it is fantastic. But she isn’t done. By most accounts, she hasn’t even reached the prime of her young adult life.

When Jump looks at her future, she now sees opportunities she couldn’t have imagined before taking that first bodacious step.

“This is something that I’m still not quite sure about. I love the bakery, and that’s definitely in my future, but personally, I am still kind of trying to figure out what I want my growth to be,” Jump says. “I am also trying to not put too much pressure on it, reminding myself that I’m only 24.” Plenty of time to take stock, enjoy the journey … and perhaps one day take another leap. •

LEFT: Funny Face Bakery’s NoHo location at 319 Lafayette Street in New York City

BELOW: Executive Director and co-owner Carly Jump

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WHAT MAKES A PURDY PIECE?

Dolores Purdy infuses personal style and humor into traditional ledger art

BY VALENTINA GUTIÉRREZ

Caddo artist Dolores Purdy clearly creates in the legacy of traditional ledger art, but just as clearly adds her own vividly colorful style to the historically male-dominated form. Her work has been shown in exhibitions from San Diego to Buffalo, and can be found locally at OKC’s Howell Gallery. She spoke with us about her heritage, inspirations and distinctive sense of humor.

How have your diverse cultural backgrounds and moving frequently as a child influenced your art?

I grew up as an Air Force brat; I was born at Langley and moved to Puerto Rico as a small child. From there, we lived in many places, and I attended 10 different grade schools from kindergarten through 6th grade. One of our longest stays was spending six months in Oklahoma, living a couple of blocks from my father’s relatives. My mother’s side were emigrants from Germany and Sweden, and my father was born and raised in Oklahoma as a member of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. I guess I was a history buff back then, and enjoyed listening to my relatives on both sides reminisce or talk about family stories.

As a child whose family moved, making friends was difficult. My little sister and I spent a lot of time together and I was quite content to play by myself or with her. I would draw and color or just doodle every time I got my hands on crayons, colored pencils or any form of writing utensil. I still doodle to this day. Of course, art was my favorite subject in school. Just like every other little girl, I wanted a pony, and I became quite adept at drawing ponies.

What drew you to explore ledger art, and why did you decide to focus on this genre?

Working on a family tree many years ago, and going down a great many rabbit holes, I discovered a fellow by the name of Hu-wah-nee or “Influential man,” a middle-aged Caddo man. He was not related to my family, but I did discover he was arrested in Oklahoma in 1875 and sent to Fort Marion, in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. I was surprised that someone in Oklahoma would be in prison in Florida and had to find out about him. I discovered there were 71 other people imprisoned with Hu-wah-nee; the other prisoners were Kiowa, Arapaho, Cheyenne and Comanche tribal people. The U.S. government, afraid of uprisings, arrested some of the important men in the different tribes and sent them to Fort Marion to keep the others under control.

After much research I came across a book titled The Art From Fort Marion and discovered the drawings the prisoners made. They were reminiscing about life back home and drawing the strange scenes they saw en route to Florida. These men were ledger artists in their own right before their arrest. As young warriors, they would use their pictographic storytelling to draw scenes of their war deeds on their tipi linings. Some of the artwork was quite sophisticated, and I was amazed how an entire scene could be drawn with only four colors … and no erasing.

As ledger art is traditionally male-dominated, what challenges did you face bringing a female perspective to it?

So much has changed in our lives—just like all people—with changing roles within the family’s or workplace’s structure that were not allowed in the past. Many native male artists are now potters, basket makers or weavers, all historically female art forms. The men bring to these art forms a male perspective. Ledger art is historically considered “warrior art.” Historically, men were allowed to draw representational figures while women were allowed to draw abstract forms. There were a couple of women before me, but after many years of working with watercolors and my discovery of ledger art in the late 1990s, I too became one of those early women breaking down gender barriers and bringing feminine perspective to the forefront of the ledger art genre. In the beginning of my work with old ledgers, occasionally a Native male would question my right to draw and color representational figures. Now there are many new female ledger artists, and I am no longer questioned.

ABOVE:

“ BELLS OF JOY ARE RINGING FOR ME ” colored pencil on hymnal paper

“

RIGHT:

BEAUTIFUL MORNING” colored pencil on antique Indian Territory ledger paper

How do your varied influences, like Peter Maxx and Japanese textiles, blend together in your work?

As a child of the late ’60s, Peter Maxx and the beginning of the psychedelic art movement, I found the bright colors were so amazing and could light up a room. The colors would immediately draw your eye to the poster on the wall in every college dorm room. Later in life, I attended a museum exhibit with Asian textiles and the beautiful jewel-like silks and embroidery fascinated me. I studied the way the colors were laid next to each other, and how that would bring a pop and almost three-dimensional effect if done properly. I am also drawn to the minimalist designs in furniture and furnishing, and the Art Deco movement with the clean straight lines has a calming, elegant effect. Somehow, I end up working all three influences into my work and I’m not sure how it happens. It just does.

Can you discuss the significance of humor in your artwork?

Laughter is the best medicine. I believe everyone should have at least one piece in their home that brings a smile to your face. It could be humorous or bring a favorite memory to life again. Actually, everyone should have many such pieces of art.

Pickup trucks, “Caddo-lac” babes and warriors riding horses with sarcastic expressions are some of my favorite themes to draw. I strive to bring a lighthearted sense of whimsical humor. My methodology is to veer far from the normal imagery that is typically seen in ledger art and bring my own narrative to stand out from the other contemporary ledger artists. I want people to be able to look at my work and know it is a “Purdy piece.”

How is your philosophy “Happy Art Makes a Happy Home’’ reflected in your work?

I want my home to be happy — I want everyone to have a happy home. Our home is our sanctuary, and we need to make sure the negativity stays on the doorstep. To keep that happiness, we must be diligent to bring into our homes those items that give us a peaceful feeling. I had a painting professor in college who painted dark, forbidding scenes, some almost violent. To be able to pass her class, a student needed to paint with the same techniques and deep, dark paintings. This professor actually complained she sold very few of her pieces! I wanted to tell her that her work was deeply disturbing and creepy and no one wants creepy art, but I also wanted to pass the class. •

RIGHT: “ THEN JUST CRUISING” 13x16” colored pencil on antique paper

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GOING TO THE DANCE 16” x 13” colored pencil, silver leaf & India ink on antique Indian Territory ledger paper DOLORES PURDY

ART IN PROGRESS

The ongoing dining evolution at Nonesuch

BY GREG HORTON PHOTOGRAPHY BY RACHEL MINICK

If any one thing defines the process of menu creation at Nonesuch, the exceptional restaurant at 803 N. Hudson Ave. in OKC, it’s best summarized by executive chef Garrett Hare: “We’re not bound by any rules.”

For a chef with a creative impulse, this is at first glance the best news possible. No requirements to always have a beef dish or fish dish, no restrictions on ingredients, no dish too weird or too common, no style of wine nixed, no serving dish prohibited — it’s a creative free-for-all. But as with one of those promises like “all your dreams will come true” that doesn’t take nightmares into account, unlimited freedom has its own Pandora effect. Imagine if in the course of preparing the story you’re reading the writer decided he wasn’t bound by the rules of grammar, spelling or syntax, and the other edge of the sword starts to come into focus.

Sometimes rules help to create order, and in the case of food, quality. So it’s not that Nonesuch has no rules; its chefs just get to choose the rules that matter for their restaurant, so they’re free to ignore conventions that insist Oklahoma diners need items X, Y and Z on the menu.

“A few years ago I watched a video about tasting menu restaurants,” Hare says, “and the chef said you need a few items that are familiar to diners, and then you have two or three that allow you to experiment.”

The Nonesuch menu is both seasonal and weekly in terms of its cyclical evolution, which is to say the ingredients are chosen for their seasonality but dishes rotate on and off the menu during the season as well. There is a course template the chefs have followed from the early days: snacks, salad, palate cleanser, protein, custard, vegetable, protein or bread with protein, tea and snack, dessert, dessert. It’s not a normative rubric in any philosophy of restaurant service — and yes, that sort of thinking does exist — it’s more like a best practice to ensure the chaos of “no restrictions” is somewhat … restrained.

Within that array of courses, the team of chefs and general manager Chad Luman, who is also tasked with wine pairings, decide how best to showcase their creativity, skill, experimental approach and locally sourced ingredients, of which there are hundreds (see below). The ingredient matrix is astounding compared to other more conventional restaurants, where a pizza joint might have 30 total ingredients in the kitchen, and an upscale casual restaurant 200 or so. The matrix at Nonesuch might contain 200 for a single season, and it’s likely more.

“We get young chefs in here, and they’ve never worked with any of these ingredients, so we aren’t just training them to cook the dishes; we have to train them to prep the ingredients,” Hare says.

“We’re not bound by any rules.”

CHEF GARRETT HARE

Seasonality means quarterly menu planning, but it’s a broad-brush, not atomistic, approach. The availability of ingredients sourced from local farms, farmers markets and specialty suppliers helps to reduce and refine the actual possibilities. As Hare puts it, they “plug and play” with different ingredients, and ideas are shared freely via text ahead of the regular Tuesday meeting at which final menu decisions are made.

“We’re not changing the whole menu every week,” Hare says. “Sometimes one dish goes and we add a replacement, and sometimes it’s two, but we’re not making wholesale changes, so it evolves slowly. The goal is for guests to ‘eat the season’ as the season slowly changes.”

Alongside the chefs, Luman meets with a smaller subset of the back-of-house team that includes Hare, to discuss wine pairings. He too is limited in his sourcing, preferring familiar varietals from smaller or emerging wine regions, as well as less common pairings like Tokaji or sherry.

“We’re lucky because we have a lot of trust from our guests,” Luman says. “They come here for something different, and they’re open to trying things. Like Chef Garrett, we take into account that not everyone will like everything.”

That isn’t a dismissive statement. They take customer input very seriously, but both acknowledge they won’t swap a pairing or take a dish off the menu because one customer hates it. Taste is always subjective, and tasting menu restaurants are designed with the adventurous eater in mind — and those guests, more than suburban, weekly, middle American diners, expect to encounter things they don’t like in the course of the tasting. That is at least part of the point: finding the edges of your culinary preferences.

One dish should serve as an example from the menu that was current as of this writing: smoked beet granita infused with local Woodworks gin and served with a creme fraiche mousse, dill and spinach puree, and gelee made from beet juice with pickled elderberry liquid and pickled habanero. Luman calls it “the weirdest thing I ate this year.” At Nonesuch, that is an observation, not a criticism, since “weird” means you’re still thinking about it, are still unsure if you like it or not and probably want to try it again just in case.

That’s partly a result of Hare still trying to find his own culinary voice, something he forthrightly admits, and then follows up by saying, “I love to make pasta,” an ingredient that only rarely appears at Nonesuch. With so many ingredients, so many possibilities and so many creative minds at work, something as comparatively simple as pasta won’t be able to assert itself as often. The culinary adventure continues. •

HOME-GROWN IN OKLAHOMA

The chefs at Nonesuch work with dozens of suppliers across the course of a seasonal calendar, an approach that requires a tremendous amount of intentionality, planning, and pivoting — farming is always a risky business, and suppliers will have good years and bad. Other than staples like oil, salt and pepper, nearly everything else in the kitchen comes from Oklahoma producers, which is why you won’t find items not from Oklahoma, like sea bass or oysters, on Nonesuch’s menu. Below is a partial list of those suppliers and their products.

COMANCHE BUFFALO

Lawton, Oklahoma | Bison

FUNGUS FAMILY FARMS

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Mushrooms

LEATHERWOOD FARM

Yukon, Oklahoma | Produce

TESA LINVILLE

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Produce, and cut and edible flowers

LWJ CATFISH

Spencer, Oklahoma | Catfish

PLEASANT VALLEY FARMS

Coyle, Oklahoma | Chicken

PRAIRIE EARTH GARDENS

Lawton, Oklahoma | Produce and specialty products; Nonesuch has access to grow specialty items

ROCKIN’ HD RANCH

Wayne, Oklahoma | Wagyu beef

ROOTED FARM

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Microgreens

WARD FAMILY FARMS

Pawnee, Oklahoma | Pork, lamb and chicken

Nonesuch general manager Chad Luman

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CASTEL SANTANA, MD/IFMCP

Fiber artist Kendall Ross

KNIT SAFE FOR WORK

I’d Knit That’s Kendall Ross knits the thoughts we’re afraid to say

BY ALEXANDRA BOHANNON

Fiber artist Kendall Ross originally posted her knitting to Instagram to share with friends during lockdown, not to become Instagram-famous. As she quips, “It was like people who have an Instagram for their dog with 12 followers.”

On the other hand, people, the algorithm and large-scale cataclysmic world events are often impossible to predict. COVID hit. Ross didn’t know that she would be finishing her junior year and her senior year too not in person at Pepperdine, but in her childhood bedroom in Oklahoma City.

Between Zooming for class and shelter-in-place rules, she found herself knitting and posting a lot. As most experienced during the pandemic, hobbies were her mainstay, and knitting was jumping into the popular zeitgeist.

As Ross explains, “Knitting was having its moment, people needing stuff to do in quarantine. So I started getting a lot of traction there.”

Her first sweater to go viral was knitted as her final project for a beginning art class for her undergraduate degree. The sweater went so viral that it ended up being purchased and worn by the actress Auli‘i Cravalho, known as the voice of Disney’s Moana and a star in the recent Mean Girls remake.

However, unlike many who picked up crochet or knitting during the pandemic (The Guardian reported a 140% increase in people learning crochet during quarantine), Ross didn’t acquire this level of skill due to COVID-19 isolation. It was a long journey to arrive here.

KNIT TOGETHER

Ross first encountered knitting and fiber arts through her female relatives. She remembered her mother and grandmother crafting around her since childhood — and it was her grandmother who introduced her to working with yarn by teaching her to crochet as a child.

In middle school, Ross took her first knitting class, and by the time high school rolled around, she was working at the very same company where she took her first class, a now out-of-business yarn shop called The Gourmet Yarn Company.

But when it was time to make a college decision, Ross had a completely different vision for her life: teaching middle school history.

Becoming a history major at Pepperdine, Ross largely kept knitting separate from her studies. That is, until it was time to prepare her undergraduate thesis, which examined the racism Black female knitters experienced in wartime knitting efforts during World War I.

So, with her thesis subject related to knitting, Ross was left with her knitting needles and some soul-searching questions about what she truly wanted for her future — and how knitting might weave into that.

“Then I think being away from [Pepperdine], I was like, ‘If I could do anything, I would just knit,’” recalls Ross.

Despite her confidence in the decision, though, she wasn’t sure what being a “professional knitter” would look like.

“YOU CALL ME ART, BUT KEEP ME IN THE GIFT SHOP’’

Many of the major ways people “made it” in the knitting space didn’t appeal to Ross: She didn’t want to design patterns, she didn’t want to sell knitwear at craft shows and she didn’t want a knitted fashion line. So what was left? That’s when her current approach hit her.

“I think for me when it really clicked was taking an artistic approach and viewing every piece as an art piece — and that was a very conscious decision that I made,” says Ross. “What changes with a sweater when someone wears it or you hang it on a wall? Nothing has changed except for the situation.”

Despite positive online acclaim, Ross sometimes faces pushback from not just Instagram commenters but even galleries or art spaces, being questioned about whether what she does should be considered art or craft.

Many of these themes show up in Ross’ older works. A blue and pink sweater vest reads, “It’s just a craft until a man calls it art,” and a black, white and pink v-neck sweater reads, “Is this considered art? I’m not 100% sure! Let me know what you think.” with a phone number knitted on the bottom hem.

THE ART OF CRAFT

After her first brush with going viral, Ross continued to post cardigans and more traditional sweaters. But starting in the spring of 2021, her work began to incorporate single words into her knits. By the end of that year, her knits almost exclusively featured phrases as part of their design.

By 2022, her sweaters became knitted collages of imagery and words. Sardonic, sarcastic, poignant and often brutally honest, Ross’ knitted work reflects some of her deepest thoughts, often reading like diary entries or poetry excerpts. The shift in her intricately knitted work struck a chord (or pulled a thread, rather) in the consciousness of her growing online audience, amassing a significant follower base due to their relatability.

“It’s interesting to hear people’s take on the text. Because, for me, they’re very narrative and personal. But no, it’s funny because I’ll do something that I think is devastating to me and someone will put five laughing emojis in the comments,” says Ross. “And I’m like, ‘We’re all seeing these things a little bit differently.’”

Ross is cognizant that how she posts her knits changes people’s perception of the work, which is also explored in her art, like in her sweater vest with a knitted replica screenshot of a sweater she posted to Instagram.

She eschews models wearing her knitted art in pictures, and has done so for the past few years — and the choice is intentional. She said these days she never imagines one of her knitted pieces being worn, allowing her the space to create. In fact, over time, her work has gotten intentionally larger, making it more difficult to wear … seemingly on purpose.

In a recent piece posted with the comment “I repeat all the same patterns,” Ross presented what appears to be nine folded sweater vests, all with a front, back, neckline and hem. However, the secret is they’re all actually knit together to form a feet-long, virtually unwearable square.

“THIS IS THE ONLY THING I KNOW HOW TO DO’’

Currently, Ross is a full-time fiber artist, knitting 8 to 12 hours per day. When she’s not knitting, she’s gridding, planning future pieces or teaching knitting classes at Oklahoma Contemporary.

She’s also applying to more residencies, galleries and museums and taking the occasional commission. Just last year, an A-list, Oscar-winning actress purchased two custom sweaters from Ross.

On her current docket, she’s knitting eight pieces for the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s Momentum show on April 5-6 at the Yale Theater in Oklahoma City. Add a 30-piece solo exhibition (her first of this size) at the Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum in La Conner, Washington, starting July 31.

But in addition to her full-time artistic knitting endeavor, Ross is trying to balance how her art fits with her life and the demands she’s experiencing as she settles into life post-college. While she admitted to knitting most of her waking hours, she stressed that “Kendall has a vibrant social life” (with a sarcastic smirk).

“I also get kicked off my parent’s insurance in a year,” says Ross wryly, workshopping classified ad pitches. “So I need some sort of reality show in between ‘The Bachelor’ and ‘Love Is Blind.’”

But when asked (in seriousness) what her plans are for the future, Ross admitted she’s not sure — but that it’s a good thing. •

To find Kendall Ross’ work online, follow her on Instagram at @idknitthat or visit idknitthat.com.

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VIEWING COSTUME COUTURE HEAD ON

The golden age of Hollywood is back in OKCMOA’s Edith Head exhibit

BY ALEXANDRA BOHANNON

When eight-time Academy Award-winning costume designer Edith Head attended fittings with Hollywood’s brightest female stars, she dressed conservatively so they could focus on their reflections, not her. As she once purportedly said, “Audiences should notice the actors, not the clothes.”

However, in Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s newest exclusive exhibit, Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer, she is taking her rightful place in the spotlight.

Running June 22-Sept. 29, this exhibit, organized by OKCMOA and presented by the Ann Lacy Foundation, will feature 70 costumes from Head’s 50-plus illustrious years in the movie-making business. To date, it’s the largest Edith Head exhibit in the U.S.

But why is there so much fanfare over Head’s career? While she certainly was prolific, with over 400 costume design credits to her name and 35 Academy Award nominations, some theorize that she had something special that many of her contemporaries, such as Howard Greer and Travis Blanton, did not; Greer and Blanton wanted the focus of their designs to be on their personal design style and flourishes.

“Edith Head liked being recognized for her designs, but she was more interested in designing what fits the actor the best and what fits the role the best,” says Catherine Shotick, guest curator for Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer.

“And so she had this magical power of creating the perfect costume for the film for who was wearing it.”

CHALLENGES AHEAD

The last Hollywood costume exhibit at OKCMOA was 2010’s Sketch to Screen, also organized by the museum. This exhibit explored Hollywood costuming in various film genres and was one of the most highly attended in the museum’s history. Unlike Sketch to Screen, which explored costuming across film history, this exhibit will mostly focus on the golden age of Hollywood (1927-1960).

Even if attendees can’t name a single Edith Head film, they’ll be greeted by the costumes worn by the elite of old Hollywood including Audrey Hepburn, Olivia de Havilland and a selection of costumes from two Alfred Hitchcock films Head worked on. Plus, there will be displays of sketches and film stills from the films featured, along with three of her Oscar statuettes.

So, what does it take to put on a never-before-seen exhibit like this? Time to pull it all together — it’s been years in the making — and a lot of work.

Shotick and her team first explored public and private collections from which the museum could source costumes and other materials. The team worked with Paramount Pictures and the private collections of Greg Schreiner and Larry McQueen of The Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design.

Next, Shotick selected costumes and categorized them by major themes, such as gowns, musical performances or historical or period pieces. With those themes in mind, the exhibition designer built a vignette so each section could have its own look and feel.

OKCMOA then called in the services of textile conservator Cara Varnell of the Textile Arts Conservation Studio, who worked on the 2010 Sketch to Screen exhibit. Shotick said the curator for that exhibit strongly recommended Los Angeles-based Varnell for her deep knowledge of textiles and conservation. For Shotick, selecting her was a “no-brainer.”

ABOVE:

OPPOSITE:

Costume worn by Grace Kelly as Lisa Fremont in the Paramount Pictures production of Rear Window, 1954.

Designed by Edith Head.

Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design: Larry McQueen

Costume worn by Olivia de Havilland as Catherine Sloper in the Paramount Pictures production of The Heiress, 1949.

Designed by Edith Head.

Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design: Larry McQueen

THE

“I want my work to last 500 years. Obviously it won’t, but the goal is to help this object last as long as possible,” says Varnell. “I have to understand my materials from the molecules out — and I have to understand how they age and how they will interact with any other materials or substances that I introduce to them.”

Indeed, to work as a conservator, one needs extensive knowledge of not only art history and historic fashion but also organic chemistry. Varnell emphasized that she handles each piece as if it’s the last time, considering the unpredictability of how textiles react to stresses like movement, display and cleaning treatments.

“The challenge of putting up a costume exhibition is that you’d have to put it on a human form. In order to understand it, you have to have it on a human form,” says Varnell, who explained that since Hollywood costumes were all custom-fitted perfectly to the actors who wore them, each dress form has to be individually made to perfectly support the specific costume — otherwise it causes stress and strain on the fibers and ultimately damages the garment.

To complete 70 custom dress forms, Varnell is working with Melinda Kerstein, a frequent collaborator of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, to prepare the individual dress forms and mounts for exhibition. Fellow conservator Claudia Iannuccilli will join Varnell onsite to prepare and install the 70 costumes in their vignettes.

When it is time for the exhibit setup to begin in May, each costume with its perfectly fitted mannequin or dress form will be delivered to OKCMOA. Varnell will fly out to OKC to supervise and set up each of the 70 costumes on display while the rest of the OKCMOA team works on gallery signage and vignettes that will take up the entire third floor of the museum.

“Edith Head liked being recognized for her designs, but she was more interested in designing what fits the actor the best and what fits the role the best.”

CATHERINE SHOTICK

PHOTO CREDIT: THE COLLECTION OF MOTION PICTURE COSTUME DESIGN: LARRY MCQUEEN

AN OVATION FOR OKLAHOMA

During the exhibit’s run, OKCMOA will also offer additional ways for museum-goers to interact with it through curated educational and film programming.

While the exhibit itself will have two video viewing areas that will air documentary excerpts and screen tests from films on which Head worked, the film team will also program a slate of curated features for OKCMOA’s Noble Theater, one of two remaining 35mm theaters in Oklahoma. The final list of films has not been released yet due to securing distributor rights, but the 14-week-long film retrospective will take place as matinees on Saturdays during the exhibit’s run.

Another way to get involved with the exhibit is to support the museum through membership. In addition to all the perks the museum offers, members are eligible to attend an exclusive event on June 18. Additionally, all members are invited to attend the members’ preview and kickoff party on June 21, the day before the exhibit opens to the public.

The team behind the exhibit is grateful and excited at the museum community’s outpouring of enthusiasm.

“For me, this exhibition is absolutely a dream come true. I feel like I’m just so fortunate that Oklahoma City, they were excited about it from the beginning,” says Shotick. “From the staff, from the board members, from everyone, just full support for this exhibition — and I think it shows.”

The glitz and glamor of the silver screen wouldn’t have shone as brightly without the work of Edith Head — and thanks to the team at OKCMOA, for just a few short months, visitors can bask in the limelight, too.

“If it wasn’t for the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, this exhibition would never happen in Oklahoma. The community should be really proud of the museum and that the team and staff worked so hard in order to bring this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition to the city and into the state,” says Shotick. “I think people are going to come from around the world to see this exhibition, because it is that special.” •

ABOVE:

Costume worn by Caroll Baker as Jean Harlow in the Paramount Pictures production of Harlow, 1965.

Designed by Edith Head.

Collection of Motion Picture

Costume Design: Larry McQueen

OPPOSITE:

Edith Head. ScreenProd / Photnonstop / Alamy Stock Photo

Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer runs June 22-Sept. 29 at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. To purchase a ticket to the exhibit or a museum membership, visit okcmoa.com.

PHOTO CREDIT: THE COLLECTION OF MOTION PICTURE COSTUME DESIGN: LARRY MCQUEEN

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FASHION IN BLOOM

How Oklahoma Fashion Alliance is forging creativity into a supportive community

BY ALICIA CHESSER PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN “FIVISH” CASS

Ask the core team members of the Oklahoma Fashion Alliance what the fashion scene is like in Tulsa right now, and you can feel the energy buzzing right away. “Blooming.” “Budding.” “Vibrant.” “Young.”

“It’s like freshly poured cement,” says OFA wardrobe director and assistant producer Logann Mclain Little-Randall, who goes by the artist name Lolly Mclain. ”Everyone’s wanting to put their handprint in it. You don’t really know how it’s going to settle or what it’s going to look like when it dries, but it’s kind of fun to see everyone put their mark on it, you know?”

Founded in early 2023 by Tulsa stylist and designer Parker D. Wayne, OFA (oklahomafashionalliance.com) is changing the game when it comes to underground fashion in a city known for its radically individual style.

“There are a lot of people who take the time to really curate and design their own clothing here, as kind of a pushback against the very red, Midwestern place that we come from. So there’s a lot of DIY self-expression going on,” says OFA producer and creative/media director Atlas Fielding. True to that spirit, OFA is working to develop a sustainable, mutually enriching fashion ecosystem that reflects and supports the authenticity of the place.

“I think how we fertilize the soil will dictate the way in which the flower grows,” Wayne says. “I think our seed has probably germinated; it’s in the ground, but we’ve got to get some vitamins in the soil to make sure it pops up pretty.”

If OFA’s most recent show cycle — its third in just over a year — is any indication, Tulsa is more than ready to receive what these creatives are cultivating here. A crowd of hundreds showed up in February for “Is the Earth Just a Body Too?” which featured nine local designers, 16 models, a runway soundtrack by The Links, spectacular lighting by Dreamspace Lab and a massive team of volunteers for one epic night at Artisan Hall, an abandoned church in the Kendall Whittier district that’s being reclaimed as a community space.

“With the political and social climate here in Oklahoma, it can be hard to feel safe in your own self-expression—whatever that may be,” Mclain says. “The main thing I hear from event-goers is that they become inspired to be more authentic and more outwardly expressive after experiencing our shows. I think that’s what we need more of here: people being free to be themselves — regardless of what that might look like.”

“Parker’s a great example of that,” says OFA model lead Zee Carter. “They’re always telling a story. They’re a moving art piece.” And it’s weirdly perfect that the calling Wayne found in fashion has ended up packing out a church. A theatre kid who dropped out of high school after being bullied, they trained for a while to be a youth pastor. When a church fired them because of their queerness, they started a journey toward becoming a fully out, fully authentic artist. The letters “LPBP” tattooed on Wayne’s body stand for “Let Parker Be Parker” — or, alternatively, “Let People Be People.”

ABOVE:

The future of fashion: supporting growth, building community

RIGHT:

Hair by Liv Cassie and makeup by Kenna Marshall adorn model Rayus Wallace in a look by Rayven Andalio

“I think that’s what we need more of here: people being free to be themselves — regardless of what that might look like.”

LOLLY MCLAIN

DIY self-expression meets focused organization as OFA builds out its dreams

“If I can unapologetically and authentically be myself, I want that to inspire others to do the same and to have the confidence that who they are is valuable enough for them to be responsible for that effort,” Wayne says. “You are worth the work. You are worth the organization. But to show you how to do that, let me first come to the plate and say, ‘Listen, I believe in you. I see it in you. Come be a part of what we have so you can realize that you have what it takes.’ It’s literally my life mission to bring that confidence to everyone I encounter.”

As OFA visualizes its future, sustainability moves center stage. “We’re a relatively young organization with vast knowledge and experience from different walks of life in our core team, and we’re taking steps to operate more efficiently,” says OFA small groups director Laura Landers, founder of Engulf: The Label, who recently moved to Tulsa from Los Angeles. That team — which also includes Michael Yarborough (graphic design, photography), Lana Knight (communications), Kenna Marshall (lead makeup artist), Erin Hall (lead hairstylist) and Alex Hayes (model lead) — boasts members from places like Chicago and Austin, as well as longtime Oklahomans. All of them emphasize how powerful it is to be part of a group that offers opportunities to grow in a diverse, welcoming space.

The “alliance” in OFA’s name is key to the long-term growth of this garden that’s blossoming vibrantly today. The ultimate dream? To keep the talent thriving here, funneling individual and collective success back into the local scene for the next generation and making Oklahoma a must-watch fashion hub. “We want to prove to the community that you don’t have to skip town and move to the big city to have access to certain resources or pursue a career in fashion, so we’re actively working to find the funds to make that all possible,” says Mclain.

“My goal is that OFA outlasts me,” Wayne says. “Hopefully, even when I’m gone, there can be a kid in high school that’s fresh out and doesn’t know what to do, but is like, ‘Oh, it’s fashion! I know that I have an opportunity in Oklahoma. I know where to go.’” •

ABOVE:

“Let

LEFT: Storytelling through style: Evan King in a look by Becs Burroughs, with hair by Erin Hall and makeup by Emmy Pollak

People Be People”: Parker D. Wayne (left) backstage with OFA models at “Is The Earth Just A Body Too?”

LIMITLESS

Oklahoma’s Michael Andreaus on the pursuit of Broadway glory

BY MICHAEL KINNEY

It was a surreal moment for Michael Andreaus. As he scanned the packed house at Oklahoma City’s Civic Center and took his bows, it was hard for him to believe what he was looking at.

Andreaus had just concluded a six-night summer 2023 run as the lead in the musical Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations back in his home state.

More than 15 years earlier, the thought of making such a triumphal return would have been inconceivable. In fact, just being on stage performing seemed like a far-off dream.

“That was such a full-circle moment for me because up to that point I had performed on that stage once before with Lyric, but to especially lead this show when I came back to Oklahoma … ” Andreaus says. “I can remember the best I could do was buy a ticket way up at the top of the balcony to see Lion King. To go from that to leading the show and getting standing ovations — it was a dream come true.”

Michael Andreaus [center] performs in the Broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations.

Michael Andreaus

Portraying Berry Gordy and later Otis Williams, Andreaus has been the face of Ain’t Too Proud since 2021 when the show began its U.S. tour. Being the lead on a major production for three years has proven something he couldn’t even have imagined early in life.

A spark was ignited in 2006 when Andreaus found himself sitting in a movie theater near his home in Moore and watching the film adaptation of Dreamgirls

“I had always been a singer,” he says. “I kind of grew up singing in the church and doing little singing in choirs and stuff like that. I didn’t really ever think of musical theater as a viable job for me until I saw Dreamgirls at the movies and saw some people that looked like me on the screen singing and dancing and acting. Then it just kind of clicked for me that that was the way that I could kind of express myself in all those ways.”

Seeing the likes of Jamie Foxx, Beyonce, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson perform in the film adaptation of the highly successful musical ended up being the inspiration Andreaus needed. At the time the then 34-year-old was languishing, and admitted he didn’t know which direction to take his life and career.

“I had a lot of odd jobs. The thing that I was kind of banking on building my career on was education. At the time I had been a teacher’s assistant and coached track and field at Moore High School,” Andreaus says. “I was kind of deciding whether I wanted to go back to school to get my teaching certificate or try to pursue something else. I was actually all the way through the process of joining the Air National Guard. So that was kind of just at the point where I feel like I needed to make a step in a direction toward actually being fully accredited at something.”

But after seeing Dreamgirls, he knew what he had to do. The longdormant dream of being a performance artist had woken back up and was pulling him toward the stage.

While performing locally at places like the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Andreaus went back to school and finished his degree in musical theater from the University of Central Oklahoma.

“I then wanted to take the biggest step I could take, and so I moved to New York the fall right after I graduated and just started auditioning heavy and just trying to be a part of things as much as I could,” Andreaus says. “I hate to call it an act of desperation because I don’t think it was quite that drastic, but it was something that was just necessary, I felt like. So it didn’t really feel like it was a bold step as much as just something that I had to do.”

In his mid-30s, Andreaus didn’t seem to fit the mold of the freshfaced teenager who takes a bus to New York right after high school to make it on Broadway. But he was no less determined to make his mark.

“I don’t know that I thought of it as bold at the time,” he says. “I think that I just looked around and just wanted more. I knew I was talented, and I knew that I kind of felt like I knew what I was capable

of and didn’t want to look back and not have taken that chance. I had put it on hold for such a long time and I knew I was just kind of up against it. I just knew my personality and knew that if I didn’t do it now — ‘You’re going to get settled. You’re going to get comfortable and it’ll never happen.’”

However, Andreaus didn’t find success right away. In fact, he said he went on 150 appointments in his first year in New York without locking down a part. While that might have driven younger artists out of the business in frustration, he had steeled himself in advance for the constant disappointment.

“I knew it was going to be hard. I really am grateful that I went when I did because I didn’t feel the need to rush,” Andreaus says. “I feel like I knew what I wanted. I knew from other people’s experience that it was going to take time, and so I kind of settled myself in and just knew that it was going to be about building relationships and showing consistent good work in the audition rooms and things like that before people would trust me with their projects. That’s the one thing that I’m able to recognize, is that it’s a business. Oftentimes it doesn’t have anything to do with how talented you are when you go into these rooms.”

His first official role came in the off-Broadway musical Love and Yogurt. He got the part when he showed up to the audition despite not having an appointment, but he knew the casting director.

“I just showed up. I was like, ‘I know this person. I don’t know if there’s a role that’s right for me in this show or not, but I’m going to show up and I’m going to sing and show them what I can do,’” Andreaus says. “And turns out that the role that I was eventually cast in was actually written for a woman, but they enjoyed what I did so much in the room that they changed the role so that I could be a part of the project. And so that’s how I was able to be cast in my first thing in New York, which led to me being cast in my first Broadway show, which was A Soldier’s Play.”

Since then Andreaus’ credits include  Songs of Fire and Ice, Ragtime, Rock of Ages and even Dreamgirls . He also made his film debut with Finding Carlos

With Ain’t Too Proud wrapping up in early March, Andreaus plans to take some time off and plot his next course. While he is looking at other roles, he is also not sitting back waiting for something to fall in his lap. He wants to create and perform in his own Broadway musical, and also get into television as well.

After waiting years to go after his dream, he is not holding back anymore.

“I have learned to not put limits on myself because at one point I thought Broadway was unattainable for me. I thought being a part of a first national tour was a pipe dream, and now I’m getting the chance to not only be in it but be in the lead role of it,” Andreaus says. “So I’m taking the limiters off and just believing that the sky is literally the limit for me.” •

FROM BROADWAY INSIDERS TO ‘THE OUTSIDERS’

The strategic minds behind Tanninger Entertainment from the outside in

BY CHRISTINE EDDINGTON

This is a story about what happens when a talented trio of friends carefully mines the sweet spot that exists between audacity and humility. It’s a multilayered story within a story. You might think the big, giant, momentous story here is that the tour-de-force partnership behind Tanninger Entertainment is producing the super-buzzy Broadway musical The Outsiders with Angelina Jolie, which just opened in New York’s historic Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, which is absolutely very cool.

Or maybe the big story is that they’ve just announced another phenomenal venture, a musical production of The Queen of Versailles, starring Tony and Emmy Award winning superstar and fellow Oklahoman Kristin Chenoweth, who is also serving as a producer.

Remember that documentary? No? Make some popcorn, queue it up and let the glory of seeing Chenoweth sparkle in the upcoming musical sink in. By the way, you heard it here first — quite a scoop!

While these high-profile projects are certainly huge, splashy, exciting news, the real story is the thoughtful, painstaking, strategic work undertaken by Tanninger Entertainment’s partners, spouses Jay Krottinger and Ryan Jude Tanner, and their pal Pat Chernicky, who have been friends and producers for decades. The Outsiders is the 22nd and Versailles is the 23rd production our trio of geniuses has undertaken together, and their track record is sterling. Since 2012, Tanner and Krottinger’s Broadway productions have grossed over $400 million in ticket sales.

Luxiere caught up with Team Tanninger just as a huge story in the Sunday New York Times broke — which followed along as the show’s young cast members, along with Jolie, toured Tulsa, visting the Outsiders House and lunching with the notoriously private S.E. Hinton, who wrote the internationally revered coming-of-age novel while still in high school herself.

The book, set in Tulsa, has been a groundbreaking read for generations of young people. It’s part of the English curriculum at countless high schools around the world. The Outsiders has experienced a boom in the last two decades, now selling upwards of 300,000 print copies a year. Before that, it was adapted into a beloved movie by Francis Ford Coppola in 1983, starring — and launching the careers of — Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze.

Its plot centers around the Curtis brothers, who find themselves orphaned after a car crash kills their parents. Ponyboy, the narrator, is almost 14. He, along with older brothers Darrel and Sodapop, form a tight-knit bond with other kids from the wrong side of the tracks, the so-called Greasers. The story is anchored around the Greasers conflict with the Socials, or Socs, who are the “haves”: think letter jackets, nice cars and pretty girlfriends.

What made it revolutionary is that Hinton deals with some pretty tough themes, unheard of in books for young people at the time, like drug addiction, class struggle, economic disparity and violence. The kids also smoke cigarettes copiously.

That Tanner, Krottinger and Chernicky chose to produce The Outsiders was a careful calculation, although the Tanninger process for selecting projects feels organic. How, precisely, do they choose what to work on and what to pass? Each person brings forward ideas, and as Chernicky says, because there are three of them, there’s always a tie breaker.

“First and foremost, the three of us are great friends,” Krottinger says. “I have the great pleasure of having been introduced to Pat by my husband, Ryan. Pat and Ryan have known each other for going on 20 years.”

“We really need to see, understand and believe that our projects are meant for a general audience,” Tanner says. The story must be approachable for most people to pass muster for Krottinger, Chernicky and Tanner. The team isn’t swayed by big names or the razzle-dazzle of Broadway.

OPPOSITE:

RIGHT: Emma Pittman as Cherry

Jason Schmidt and Daryl Tofa as Sodapop and Two-Bit

Joshua Boone and Brent Comer as Dallas and Darrel

Chernicky, a business impresario, concurs. “When I first started investing with Jay and Ryan, I looked at it as a contribution to the arts, because you have to be able to walk away from every investment you make.” She invested in every production that Krottinger and Tanner did, and soon came to a realization. “Even with a couple that didn’t do well, I still ended up making a good return, over 20 percent.” They decided that Pat would join Tanninger Entertainment and start a fund, which is far more efficient than raising money one show at a time. Broadway shows bring about $1.7 billion (gross) to the American economy.

“I don’t know nearly as much about the entertainment business as they do. But I approached it from the business side. I always start at the bottom line and work my way up. That’s what I bring to the table, being able to tell people that this is really a legitimate investment, handled like any other managed fund that you would

get from Wall Street, with any kind of a broker. It’s a huge business, and there’s a lot of dollars that go through it. And it’s just like anything else. If you spread it across multiple products, then you have a much better chance at succeeding,” Chernicky says.

“We don’t want to be in a scenario where we’re taking people’s investments, just for the sake of saying we were really fortunate enough to work with a big name,” Tanner says. In other words, no one will care who was involved if the show tanks.

Fortunately, in the case of The Outsiders, the story is universally beloved, the cast is extraordinary and working with Jolie, the show’s lead producer, is the cherry on top. In fact, we can thank Jolie’s daughter Vivienne for enticing her mother into joining the project. She’s seen the show multiple times during its premiere at California’s La Jolla Playhouse and persuaded her mother to see it on closing night — and here we are. •

THE TANNINGER TEAM

PAT CHERNICKY is a native Oklahoman, and an OSU alum. She is a force of nature. A CPA with an entrepreneurial spirit, she’s enjoyed a remarkable career. From 2009 through 2018, she served on the board of directors of Patriot Bank in key leadership roles, co-owned Tulsa’s WNBA basketball team, the Tulsa Shock, from 2009 through 2015, and last year joined the board of directors of Blue Sky Bank. She is principal and managing partner of TPC Studios, Tulsa’s only hybrid creativity firm dedicated to events and branding, and serves as managing partner of Endeavor Holdings, a commercial development firm. Endeavor’s properties include the former Swinney Hardware building in the heart of Tulsa’s KendallWhittier Square and commercial real estate in Downtown Tulsa.

For nearly two decades, she has dedicated her time and resources to non-profit organizations including Philbrook Museum of Art, Alzheimer’s Association, Mental Health Association of Tulsa, Tulsa

Area United Way, Tulsa CARES and the Tulsa Ballet. In 2016, the Tulsa CARES board of directors established the Patricia Chernicky Luminary Award to honor her lifetime achievements and dedication.

JAY KROTTINGER has produced entertainment for nearly a decade. His long-time passion for live entertainment started as a child, watching the Tony Awards and dreaming of one day becoming a Broadway orchestra conductor or stage director. His dreams quickly materialized as a producer, assisting in bringing to life some of Broadway’s blockbusters, now international hits. His participation as a producer has garnered multiple nominations, accolades and critical acclaim and he is now the recipient of the Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards. His civic involvement includes integral board positions with Theatre Tulsa as interim-artistic director and his alma mater’s advisory board for its college of fine arts and design, school of music. He was the first graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma’s School of Music to be recognized with a distinguished alumni award.

RYAN JUDE TANNER , an Illinois native, moved to Tulsa in 2003. In 2008, he co-founded IQ Surgical, an orthopedic healthcare firm; eight years later, he co-founded Neuro Dynamics, an ambulatory diagnostic electroencephalogram firm. Both firms are based in Tulsa. Tanninger Companies, of which Tanner is CEO, serves as the parent company. His civic and philanthropic work is his proudest achievement. He has served six terms on the board of Tulsa CARES, which delivers social services to people affected by HIV/AIDS. Tanner holds the singular distinction of serving as a board director, executive vice president, Red Ribbon Gala host and two-time chairman of the agency’s key fundraising event, Red Ribbon Gala.

During his 12 years of service to the organization, he’s helped raise over $8 million in critical funds for the life-saving agency. He is a trustee at the Philbrook Museum of Art and a board director at the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation, both in Tulsa.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Ryan Jude Tanner, Pat Chernicky and Jay Krottinger

THE MOON & BARS

Lunar Lounge, Barkeep Supply and the story of Julia McLish

BY GREG HORTON PHOTOGRAPHY BY KENNON BRYCE

Some stories have details that seem completely extraneous, like the friend who can’t remember if he got the burger on Tuesday or Wednesday, and after 30 seconds of his stammering, you just have to ask if it matters. On the other hand:

It’s 2011, and Julia McLish is driving through Edmond on her way to or from a pizza delivery. Yes, once upon a time, today’s undisputed cocktail queen of Oklahoma City was driving around beneath a Pizza Hut cartopper.

“I saw a sign at The Garage on Bryant and 2nd: ‘Hiring bartenders. No experience required,’” McLish remembers.

Why that matters is important in the past and present, because of who she has become, and because she and her college friend — and now business partner in Lunar Lounge — Zach Armfield had been sitting at The Hi-Lo having drinks and discussing their planned future as bar owners a couple of years before she saw the sign. Neither had ever worked as a bartender, but they very much wanted to own a bar. The audacity would be comical and perhaps sad if they had never gone on to be bar owners … but here we are.

“I was wearing my Pizza Hut delivery uniform the first day, and I just walked in without thinking about how I looked,” she says. “Somehow I got a second interview, so I dressed more like someone who isn’t delivering pizzas all day, and I got the job.”

This is where we normally insert “and the rest is history” or some other trope, but the truth is the path from “no experience required” to Barkeep Supply and Lunar Lounge, McLish’s two concepts in Midtown, is not a straight line. The year she got her first bartending gig was also the same year she lost her father; they were very close. He was an entrepreneur, like his daughter has turned out to be, and a father who encouraged his very curious, very bright daughter to try sports, science and entrepreneurship with equal enthusiasm.

“I didn’t know I would love bartending,” she says. “I tried sports before high school, and really enjoyed them. And like a bunch of kids, I wanted to be a marine biologist because I loved animals. My childhood in Norman was great. On game day I got to use parked cars in the yard — we lived near Campus Corner — for extra money. But deciding what to do with my life was hard. I changed majors three times in college, because I think I was crippled by the finality of the decision.”

She took to bartending, though, thanks in large part to two skills she likely didn’t know she had at the time: a remarkable palate and the rare ability to abstract flavors. The latter is something that great chefs have, too. They don’t need to cook every iteration of a recipe; they simply “taste” the flavor combinations as abstract concepts. Truthfully, it’s a combination of a natural ability combined with tasting hundreds or thousands of ingredients over a career, but the former has to be there to make the most of the latter.

McLish’s career put her behind the bars at The Garage, Drum Room, VZD’s and The Criterion, but ultimately she wanted her own thing. She was pregnant with her daughter Luanna (now 6) at VZD’s, when the “What am I going to do now?” moment set in. It was actually her father’s early death that made possible her path to ownership of Barkeep Supply.

Her paternal grandfather had played, coached and taught in Major League Baseball from 1944 to 2005 — and for the baseball fans: Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish, or “Bus” to his friends, at one time had the longest name in MLB history — and he set aside some of the money he made for his kids. The portion that would have gone to Julia’s father was suddenly left to her at his death.

“It was a struggle to know what to do with that money, but I believe my dad would be happy with what I did with it,” she says. “It allowed me to open Barkeep without taking on outside investors.”

ABOVE: Lunar Lounge bar in Oklahoma City

OPPOSITE: Barkeep Supply and Lunar Lounge owner Julia McLish mixes up one of her signature concoctions

Barkeep Supply opened at 1121 N. Walker in Midtown in July 2018, and the shop was busy right away, both the four-seat bar and bar supply store.

“I knew nothing about merchandising or retail,” McLish says. “I had to teach myself that part. Bartending I knew, but running a store was different.”

She still doesn’t love that part. She didn’t say that, but wander in on a Wednesday, and you’ll notice right away that she loves people way more than merchandising. She has a huge cast of regulars — full disclosure: I am one of them — and like every Cheers-esque ensemble, they are an assortment of types, some of whom get along and some of whom barely tolerate each other’s presence at the bar. (Four stools do not allow much isolation.) McLish sees what’s good in them, so she never referees, choosing instead to emphasize each person’s good attributes. Hang out at the bar long enough, and you start to view them through her lenses, even if you don’t want to.

She opened Lunar Lounge in the same building two years ago this July. She and Armfield finally got their bar together, and it’s become one of the city’s drinking destinations, with cocktail competitions, Taylor Swift Night, Emo Night, Western Wednesday and so on, based on the creative team McLish has assembled. She’s a collaborator at heart, so her team gets to put cocktails on every menu, and they get a great deal of input into the processes.

“I don’t have to worry much about either spot now,” she says. “Zach and the team do a great job with Lunar, and while it feels good that they don’t need me to be there, I also still feel a little guilty about it. Ultimately, though, I’m happy the two spots have become what they are.” •

SHEAMUS FEELEY’S JOURNEY TO NOCHE

The restaurateur elevates Tulsa’s cuisine, spirit selection and vibe

BY GREG HORTON

Tulsa restaurant Noche’s owner Sheamus Feeley has such a wide range of talents it’s hard to believe he finally settled on a single career. The native of Fayetteville, Arkansas, studied journalism at the University of Arkansas, taught English in Peru, played soccer and learned to play drums and bagpipes, which put him in a band — the drums, not the bagpipes. Oh, and he “successfully worked every position in a restaurant except bartender.”

“My dad insisted I learn to play the bagpipes,” Feeley says. “Music was very important to my family. We weren’t a family of musicians, but we loved music. I lost my parents when I was young, and one of my favorite memories of my parents was the sound of their feet sliding across the floor while they danced to Willie Nelson’s ‘Stardust.’”

More to the point where Noche — his “Woodfired Grill & Agave Bar” at 110 N. Elgin Ave. in Tulsa — is concerned, he’s a third-generation restaurateur on his father’s side, and his mother came from a multigeneration farming family. “I started working for my dad when I was 15,” he says. “I cleaned the restaurant before school, and eventually did prep work. I loved it, but decided on journalism, thinking I might do law school — but I knew that law school was not an academic or financial reality.”

So he went to Peru to teach English, and that’s where he fell in love with public markets, the huge, sprawling, raucous enterprises that shape South American food culture. “I went to the market every morning,” he says. “They were like nothing I’d ever seen. I decided I wasn’t going to finish my program at UA, and headed to culinary school.”

The culinary school adventure lasted until he did what he calls an ROI analysis while in Denver. Rather than finish school with loan debt, he decided he’d work for people who could teach him what he needed to know.

“I was fortunate right away, because Wolfgang Puck was moving into Denver, and so I worked for him, and did some stage work in California.”

Noche Woodfired Grill & Agave Bar at 110 N. Elgin Avenue, Tulsa

Noche owner Sheamus Feeley

“Growing up in Fayetteville, Tulsa was the big city. We came here to shop, eat at Polo Grill for special occasions, and Philbrook and Gilcrease for field trips.

I’m convinced it’s the most underrated city in the country.”

SHEAMUS FEELEY

His career ultimately led to him becoming the vice president and executive chef of Hillstone Restaurant Group, founding chef at Farmstead Restaurant and executive chef at Rutherford Grill. He even had time in the kitchen of Michelin-starred La Coupole with Chef Michel de Matteis in Monaco.

Given all that, why Tulsa? “Growing up in Fayetteville, Tulsa was the big city,” he explains. “We came here to shop, eat at Polo Grill for special occasions, and Philbrook and Gilcrease for field trips. I’m convinced it’s the most underrated city in the country.”

Now, with Chef Marco Herrera, the team is delivering remarkably good food, with options for beginners and more adventurous eaters. “We wanted a place where you can trade up or trade down depending on your day. Want a margarita and great queso? Maybe they want to try the agave program and try raicilla and sotol.”

The highlights of the menu include aguachile, crushed tamale queso and tenderloin tampiquena. The eye-popping, colorful, whimsical interior by Denver’s Maximalist and Tulsa’s Duvall Atelier makes Noche as much a vibe as it is a restaurant.

Noche falls within Feeley’s hospitality company Food is Family, which also includes Southland Burrito Company in Las Vegas, and the new SuperFly Golf Lounge, located adjacent to Noche. It’s the second location for the golf simulator concept; the first is in Littleton, Colorado. •

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THE AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION

Thunder fans treasure the opportunity for pregame sightings and signings

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL KINNEY

Chris Zoski tries to get the same spot every time: the front row of section 116. Even though it’s not always possible to be in the same position for each Oklahoma City Thunder game, the 39-year-old is usually somewhere in the vicinity with a paper and marker in hand.

For the past 16 years, Zoski has been a Thunder season ticket holder. And for just as long, he has been collecting autographs from his favorite players. The Oklahoma City native has built up quite a collection of signatures and collectibles over that time — so much so that he had to find a special place for them.

“I’ve got several tubs of autographs locked away,” Zoski said before a game in February. “I just kind of keep them and eventually I may give them out to people. I don’t know yet.”

Zoski is one of many Thunder and NBA fans who flock to the Paycom Center to catch more than just the action on the court. They are on the hunt for autographs.

“I think one of the things that it shows is that there’s a new fan here,” Thunder Vice-President Brian Byrnes says. “There are new fans, there’s new families, there’s new kids, and they’re excited about the team. They’re excited about being here, being in the arena, and they want to connect to the team. So seeking autographs, getting here early — those kinds of things are, I think, a reflection on how the fans are connecting to this team.”

The fans seeking signatures are a varied mix. On the day 8-yearold Jonah Bodine was there with his father and siblings, he was just a few spots away from an elderly woman holding a jersey.

Bodine has collected more than 40 autographs from members of the Thunder and 77 from across the sports world. He said he plans to keep them forever … but in his next breath said he’ll give one of his nine Shai Gilgeous-Alexander autographs to his friend Brett.

The reason the autograph area has become such a valuable property this year is largely due to Gilgeous-Alexander, who has made it his nightly ritual to walk along the sections before games and sign almost anything and everything put in front of him. That includes basketball trading cards, NBA jerseys, photos and even scraps of paper that just happened to be in someone’s pocket.

This has been a part of the Thunder culture from the very early years. Former Thunder player and fan favorite Steven Adams was also big on going through Autograph Row and meeting fans.

“My favorite autograph ever has been Steven Adams,” Zoski says. “He always stuck out to me because he’d always make people say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ before giving him the autographs. Chet (Holmgren) and (Russell) Westbrook are another one that never signed for me. I’ve almost tripped down the stairs a couple of times trying to get to him to sign, and he just never did.”

For many fans the autograph is only a small part of what they can get out of the brief 5- to 10-second encounter.

“Honestly, I just like getting closer to the players,” says 27-year-old Brian Lafferty. “Having the experience of having a small conversation or getting to congratulate a player on something personal. A lot of times people congratulate them if they just had a baby or something like that, or got married, which is just a cool little personal experience you get to have with a player that you don’t get from watching up in the seats or even watching on TV.”

Lafferty, who is from Norman, has been a season ticket holder for the past two seasons. But he’s been a sports fan collector since the age of 11 when he and his father would use it as a way to bond.

“It’s something that me and my father used to do together, so it’s something that I like to continue to do so I can remember him a little bit,” Lafferty says. “Other than that, just honestly having a bunch of things that have been touched by professional athletes in my room kind of seems cool. So I have a bunch of balls signed by the Thunder players, jerseys, cards, hats, shoes, literally everything I could imagine to get signed by a person, and just slowly but surely added to them. Once I got the first one, it felt so cool. And so just kind of steamrolled from there.”

While some are dedicated fans like Lafferty, who are at every game rain or shine, others are in town just visiting and hope to be lucky enough to be in the right position to catch a brief encounter with an NBA player.

In December, 18-year-old Felix Yang said he traveled 20 hours and 14,000 miles from Hong Kong just to see Shai. He was able to catch the attention of one of the team’s security personnel who pointed him out to Gilgeous-Alexander. After his pregame shootaround, SGA went over to Yang and signed a pair of sneakers and other items before taking a photo with the very excited fan.

“It was a dream come true,” Yang says. “And those signed items were all worn by Shai on the court. I’m definitely going to keep them forever.”

Sadie Ryder didn’t have to come as far as Yang: The 10-year-old from Yukon has been coming to Thunder games since she was 4 years old and said the first autograph she ever received was Russell Westbrook’s. But now, with this new crop of players, Ryder and her family have stepped up their game. They have started bringing digital paintings of the players and having them signed. When she got Jalen Williams to sign the artwork of himself, it was the fourth autographed painting that she’s been able to collect.

The one-of-a-kind autographed memorabilia, like the paintings and jerseys, tends to draw the biggest interest when it comes to the open market. It is not uncommon to see adults in the middle of section 116 handing multiple items down to kids in the front row. As of early March, a quick search on eBay found 154 GilgeousAlexander jerseys, 717 basketballs and nearly 50 photos purportedly autographed by the Thunder star.

According to one arena usher, the reason Westbrook stopped signing autographs before games was due to an overzealous fan, who was known to sell signed memorabilia online, pushing kids out of the way and exchanging terse words with Westbrook.

Lafferty, who carries around a thick notebook full of signatures, said that’s not why he shows up to each game, and has collected a stack of autographed jerseys from each of his favorite players.

“I think it’s just a great experience, especially for people who can’t ever get this close to the court [themselves], getting to see the players up close and personal, getting to watch them work out for the game,” says Lafferty. “It’s definitely an experience, for sure, that I think everybody should take advantage of.”

That is what 19-year-old Timothy Aadland thinks, too. The native of Florence, Italy, and Oral Roberts University student was at his second-ever Thunder game when get was able to get GilgeousAlexander to sign the shirt he was wearing.

“I’m a Thunder fan. Basketball has been a dream. Being in the NBA, it’s just something that doesn’t really happen for Italian boys,” Aadland says. “Coming here and seeing a dream come true, seeing Shai signing my T-shirt, it was really cool. I think I’m just going to keep it just for memories. One day tell my kids about it and let them experience it.” •

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort signing memorabilia for young fans

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joy.baresel @ evrealestate.com

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