In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse interviews Nick and Diane Marson, a Houston couple who met on 9/11 and whose real-life story inspired central characters in the Tony Award-winning musical Come From Away.Th

Tamyra Gray and Virginia Lee Montgomery

Feb 21st, 2020 30m 2s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu heads to Lawndale Art Center to interview Houston artist Virginia Lee Montgomery about her solo exhibition Sky Loop. Incorporating video, sound, sculpture and Houston-centri

Paul Hope Cabaret and Loop38

Feb 14th, 2020 31m 37s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse chats with singer-actor Paul Hope about legendary songwriter Harold Arlen – in particular about the music he wrote in the decade after his famous “Over the Rainbow.” The Pa

Jersey Boys and Houston Chamber Choir Grammy

Feb 8th, 2020 35m 52s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu interviews Houston Chamber Choir founder and artistic director Robert Simpson and tenor Jack Byrom on what it was like to attend the 2020 Grammys and accept the award for Be

Sasson Gabay, Janet Dacal and Marlana Doyle

Feb 1st, 2020 31m 30s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse interviews Sasson Gabay and Janet Dacal, who star in The Band’s Visit, winner of 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Broadway Across America presents the North American

Dan Knechtges and Emilio Delgado

Jan 24th, 2020 31m 25s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu chats with Dan Knechtges, Artistic Director of Theatre Under The Stars, about the company’s recently-announced 2020 – 2021 season. Knechtges, a Tony-nominated director and c

Ensemble Theatre and Kinetic Ensemble

Jan 17th, 2020 28m 59s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse chats with award-winning director and veteran actor, Shirley Jo Finney. Finney talks about the art of directing and her latest project as director of The Ensemble Theatre’s

John Bolton and Madison Petaway

Jan 10th, 2020 31m 5s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu chats with Madison Petaway, Houston’s fifth Youth Poet Laureate. Appointed in November 2019 by Mayor Sylvester Turner through a joint program of Writers in the Schools and H

Mariah Lyttle and Francis T. Goodbeer

Jan 3rd, 2020 29m

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse chats with Mariah Lyttle, who stars as “Celie” in the North American-touring production of The Color Purple. Society for the Performing Arts presents the Tony Award-winning

Julie Andrews

Dec 27th, 2019 29m 6s

In this special episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse interviews Oscar-winning actor, singer and author, Julie Andrews, along with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. The mother-daughter pair have co-written 32 books,

Unwrap Your Christmas Candies Now

Dec 21st, 2019 28m 58s

In this special episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu and Ernie Manouse unwrap and share audio gifts of holiday performances by beloved singers and actors from Houston and beyond.Set list:Martha Davis – I’ll Be Home for

The Nutcracker and Elf The Musical

Dec 13th, 2019 29m 11s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu chats with Houston Ballet Principal Dancer Connor Walsh. They talk about his lead role as “The Prince,” which he originated for Stanton Welch’s The Nutcracker, as well as hi

Jay Leno and Houston Grand Opera

Dec 6th, 2019 31m 14s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse chats with longtime “Tonight Show” host, stand-up comedian, voiceover artist, author and speaker Jay Leno, known to many as “the hardest working man in show business.” Soci

Hip Hop Nutcracker and Dixie Longate

Nov 29th, 2019 29m 4s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu chats with hip hop pioneer and legendary rapper Kurtis Blow, who is the MC of The Hip Hop Nutcracker. The national-touring holiday production comes to the Smart Financial Ce

Catastrophic Theatre and Houston Symphony

Nov 22nd, 2019 29m 3s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse interviews Jeff Miller (director) and Tamarie Cooper (cast member and co-artistic director) about Baby Screams Miracle by Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Clare Barron.

Lawndale Art Center and “Dear Evan Hansen”

Nov 16th, 2019 34m 9s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu chats with Houston arts writer Pete Gershon about Lawndale Art Center’s 40th Anniversary. They discuss the center's history and impact, from its DIY beginnings in 1979 as an

“Inherit the Wind” and Writer Addie Tsai

Nov 8th, 2019 29m 4s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse interviews actor and attorney John Raley, who stars in Inherit the Wind. Cone Man Running Productions will present the classic play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, in

Bernadette Peters and Houston Early Music Festival

Nov 1st, 2019 32m 5s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse interviews Broadway superstar and stage legend Bernadette Peters, who performs in Houston on November 2 at Jones Hall presented by Society for the Performing Arts.Then, Cat

Dia de los Muertos Festival and Cats the Musical

Oct 26th, 2019 28m 59s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu chats with MECA’s Resident Curator Theresa Escobedo and Program Director Liz Salinas about the traditions associated with Día de los Muertos and the organization’s free comm

Alley Theatre’s Vietgone and Houston Fringe Festival

Oct 18th, 2019 29m 4s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse chats with Desdemona Chiang, director of Vietgone at the Alley Theatre, from Oct. 4 – Nov. 3. A mix of rom-com, road trip, hip-hop and 70s pop culture, the play by Qui Nguy

Opera on Tap and TUTS Spring Awakening

Oct 11th, 2019 29m 2s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu chats with soprano Anna Diemer, Co-Managing Diva of Opera on Tap - Houston. One of the newest chapters of the international opera non-profit, the group of local singers brin

4th Wall Theatre and MFAH Films

Oct 4th, 2019 28m 57s

In this episode of the podcast “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse chats with Philip Lehl, Co-Artistic Director of 4th Wall Theatre Company. Now entering its ninth season, the company’s 2019 – 2020 line-up opens with a reimagining of Tenn

Yoonshin Song, Houston Symphony concertmaster and Music Box Theater: Keep It Brassy 3

Sep 27th, 2019 29m 15s

In this episode of “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu interviews Yoonshin Song, the Houston Symphony’s new concertmaster, who begins her appointment this 2019-2020 season. Selected from the orchestra's extensive three-year search to fill t

A.D. Players: The Hiding Place and ROCO’s 15th Season

Sep 20th, 2019 31m 17s

In this episode of “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Ernie Manouse chats with Jake Speck, Executive Director of A.D. Players. The Christian-based theater company opens its 2019-20 Season of Hope with The Hiding Place. A World Premiere adaptation by A.

Live From Theater District Open House!

Sep 13th, 2019 28m 55s

In this episode of “Unwrap Your Candies Now,” Catherine Lu and Ernie Manouse preview the 2019-2020 seasons of eight of the major performing arts groups of Houston’s Theater District, and they chat with Mayor Sylvester Turner about the significa