Tag archives: Granada

2018 Granada Legends
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 23, 2018

It was only a matter of time before publisher-philanthropist Sara Miller McCune received the honor of being named a Granada Legend. The only question was how long it would take. After all, Miller McCune is not only one of the best-known and enduring of the Performing Arts Center’s patrons, she was also one of the […]

Santa Barbara’s Symphony
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 23, 2018

The concept of the Granada Theatre as the acoustic jewel that the city of Santa Barbara deserves gets no argument from Kevin A. Marvin, the executive director of the Santa Barbara Symphony, which is also receiving a Granada Legend Award at this year’s gala. Marvin took over the orchestra’s reins in December 2016 after an […]

Rodriguez Returns
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 16, 2018

Like just about every other community across the nation and around the world, Santa Barbara had to wait 40 years to see the singer-songwriter Rodriguez perform in concert in town – something they didn’t even realize they were missing until the movie Searching for Sugar Man appeared five years ago – when he performed at […]

Broadway Legend Audra Mcdonald
By Lynda Millner   |   June 7, 2018

My favorite kind of music is Broadway, so I was in heaven at UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) last Granada performance for the season highlighting the world-renowned soprano Audra McDonald. She is the winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy Award, not to mention being named one of Time […]

Patron Party
By Richard Mineards   |   May 24, 2018

Social gridlock reigned when attorney Michael Bollag and his wife, Tracy, hosted a super sunset soirée at their stunning aerie near Hope Ranch for Granada Premier Patrons. “It has just gone from strength to strength over the past few years and is a vital part of the theater’s fundraising,” says Craig Springer, who retires next […]

$50K: How Sweet it is
By Richard Mineards   |   May 3, 2018

The Rape Crisis Center, now renamed Standing Together to End Sexual Assault, threw its 10th annual Chocolate de Vine event at the Greek Orthodox Church, attracting more than 250 oenophiles and chocaholics, raising around $50,000 for the worthy charity which has an annual budget of $950,000. Eight chocolatiers and nine wineries participated, and for the […]

Voice of Joyce
By Richard Mineards   |   April 26, 2018

Multi-Grammy Award winner Joyce DiDonato wooed in her Santa Barbara debut at the Granada. The mezzo-soprano flew in from New York, where she started a new production of Massanet’s Cendrillon at the Met just 72 hours earlier, specially for the UCSB Arts & Lectures recital, and returned to the Big Apple to be back at […]

Let It Be As It Might Have Been
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 29, 2018

More than 55 years since The Beatles booked their first gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, and nearly half a century since John, Paul, George, and Ringo played their famous last concert together on the roof of Apple Records in London, Beatlemania shows no signs of disappearing. There are Beatles tribute bands all over […]

Musician Bringin’ Love at 81
By Joanne A Calitri   |   March 29, 2018

Buddy Guy gave an over-the-top, full-on performance at the Granada Theater on March 16 to a sold-out crowd, as part of the UCSB Arts and Lectures program. At 81, with the energy of an 18-year-old, he shared his passion and music genius with a non-stop, 2-hour gig.  Here in our midst was a wise respected […]

Dance Stance
By Richard Mineards   |   March 15, 2018

Superlatives are not sufficient to describe the Spanish National Dance Company’s performance of Swedish choreographer Johan Inger‘s Carmen at the Granada. The 39-year-old Madrid-based troupe, who last dazzled us six years ago, showed why the quintessentially Spanish work has become one of the most talked-about new ballets of the decade with Japan-born Kayoko Everhart dazzling […]

Anniversaries Abound at Grand Granada
By Richard Mineards   |   March 15, 2018

Social gridlock reigned at the venerable Granada for a 20/10 celebration, marking the 20th anniversary of the first Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts board meeting and the 10th anniversary of the iconic theater’s grand re-opening with founding, former, and current board members. The McCune Founders Room was packed as Hal Conklin, Frank Goss, […]

Ain’t Love Granada
By Richard Mineards   |   February 22, 2018

The venerable Granada threw its second annual Love Your Theater event for 80 members of its Premier Patron Society, when the inner workings of the stage, basement, and upper gantries were open to all and sundry. Champagne and comestibles sated the guests as they toured the labyrinth of corridors and dressing rooms as flamenco guitarist […]

Look Who’s Talking
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 8, 2018

Anthony Giardina‘s 2010 play The City of Conversation has proven to be even more prophetic than even he might have imagined. Set in Washington, D.C., during three important periods in recent American politics, the play spans nearly 30 years, from Fall of 1979 to January 2009, and traces the evolution of 1960s-raised Hester Ferris from […]

Youth Served with $500K
By Richard Mineards   |   January 25, 2018

It was child’s play when Kids Helping Kids, the 10-year-old organization launched by students at San Marcos High School, raised a record $501,251 to help local children in need with two sold-out concerts at the Granada. The group, headed by economics teacher James DeVries, has raised more than $2.5 million since it started. Singer-songwriter Andy […]

Pilobolus Returns to the Granada
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 25, 2018

When your company is named after a fungus that grows on cow poop, clearly you’re involved with an outfit that loves playfulness as well as metaphors. Pilobolus formed at Dartmouth back in 1971 but has grown more explosively than its light-seeking namesake, now numbering more than 120 dance works in its repertoire, including three entities […]

Black Thursday: Comedian Ready to Rant and Roll
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 4, 2018

Grammy-winning standup comedian Lewis Black has been working more than 200 nights a year for nearly two decades, ever since his early appearances on The Daily Show led to comedy specials on HBO, Comedy Central, and Showtime. His gigs have taken him across the world, with shows throughout Europe and North America, selling out such […]

Musical Youth
By Richard Mineards   |   December 7, 2017

It was all too beastly for words when the Santa Barbara Symphony, under guest conductor Lara Webber, held its second annual family concert Carnival of the Animals at the Granada. With tickets a mere $10, the 1,500-seat venue was packed with parents and children as the ubiquitous Andrew Firestone hosted and narrated the show with […]