By Lynn Venhaus
LIVE STREAMING: NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test Spacecraft (DART)
DART is set to collide with a small asteroid that is the moon of a larger space rock, Dimorphos. NASA launched the DART mission last year to see if this technique could one day be used for planetary defense.
DART is set to crash into Dimorphos at 14,000 miles per hour at 6:14 p.m. Central time on Monday.
NASA Television will broadcast coverage of the end of this mission beginning at 5 p.m. You can watch it here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfg
If you want to watch a stream of photos from the spacecraft as it closes in on the asteroid, NASA’s media channel will begin broadcasting those at 4:30 p.m. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA9UZF-SZoQ
From the New York Times:
The DART mission isn’t like the movie “Armageddon.” Blowing up an asteroid generally would not be a good thing to do. Rather, the mission is a proof-of-principle demonstration that hitting an oncoming asteroid with a projectile can nudge it into a different orbit.
For a dangerous oncoming asteroid, that nudge could be enough to change the trajectory from a direct hit to a near miss.
TV: “tasteMAKERS,” PBS Nine, 8 p.m.
In an hour-long documentary, “Winemaking in Missouri: A Well-Cultivated History,” Emmy-winning producer and host Catherine Neville (cover photo, above) dives deep to uncover the roots of one of the U.S.’s most storied wine regions, which at one time was the second largest wine—producing state in the country.
The documentary traces the nearly 200-year history of Missouri’s rich winemaking past and discusses its present as one of the state’s leading industries.
The series “Taste Makers” explores the local food movement, and the show can also be found on Amazon Prime.
(Besides Monday, it will be on Sept. 27 at 10 p.m., Oct. 1 at 2:30 p.m., and Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. on Nine PBS)
LIVE THEATRE: “A Chorus Line,” Stages St. Louis, Kirkwood Performing Arts Center.
Stages St. Louis closes out its ground-breaking 36th season with “A Chorus Line,” ending on Oct. 9. The show is not performed on Mondays, but you can see it Tuesday through Sunday (with 2 shows on Wednesday, a matinee at 2 p.m. and an evening show). It’s directed by Stages’ artistic director Gayle Seay, who knows that story well – she’s appeared in Broadway shows and on tour, including several stints in “A Chorus Line.”
Here is my review in the Webster-Kirkwood Times: https://www.timesnewspapers.com/webster-kirkwoodtimes/a-vibrant-theater-masterpiece/article_83dc9972-3a8d-11ed-8b9c-ff2eebcd1693.ht
Tasty: Sugar Fire Smokehouse is celebrating its 10th anniversary
In a space in a strip center in Olivette on Sept. 26, 2012, Charlie Downs and chef Mike Johnson opened Sugarfire Smoke House, and it didn’t take long before the lines formed.
They eventually opened 12 more in Missouri and Illinois, and have three more in Colorado, Iowa and Texas. To see the locations and hours, visit: https://sugarfiresmokehouse.com/locations/
Their RIBBLE ME THIS special today had pulled rib, mac and cheese, fried pickles, and honey badger sauce in a flour tortilla.
Check out their Facebook page and Instagram for their daily specials and what’s happening.
ON THIS DAY: “West Side Story” debuts at the Winter Garden Theatre, 1957
The Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim-Jerome Robbins’ musical “West Side Story” premiered in Broadway. The original, directed and choreographed by Robbins, was Sondheim’s Broadway debut. It ran for 732 performances before going on tour.
Nominated for six Tony Awards, it won two (lost to “The Music Man” for Best Musical).
It ran in London’s West End, has had a number of revivals. The 1961 movie was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning 10. The 2021 film, nominated for seven Oscars, features Oscar winner Adriana DeBose as Anita.
Spielberg’s film is currently available streaming on HBOMax.
Fun Fact: The 2021 film features several Muny alums, including: Sean Harrison Jones as Action (Mike in “A Chorus Line” 2016, “Newsies” 2016); Jonalyn Saxer (Peggy Sawyer in 2017’s “42nd Street”); Eloise Krupp (Minnie Faye in 2014’s “Hello, Dolly!”); Halli Toland (), Kyle Coffman (“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”2021, “Newsies”2016, “West Side Story” 2013); Garrett Hawe (“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”2021) and Gaby Diaz (“West Side Story” 2013.
My review of 2021 “West Side Story”: https://www.poplifestl.com/west-side-story-brims-with-vitality/
Playlist: TV Theme Songs
The popular sitcoms “The Beverly Hillbillies” (1962, featuring Belleville’s own Buddy Ebsen), “Gilligan’s Island” (1964) and “The Brady Bunch” (1969) premiered today. Their theme songs are among the most iconic. Here they are:
The Beverly Hillbillies: https://youtu.be/OvE9zJgm8OY
Gilligan’s Island: (Second season here) https://youtu.be/-fqXcKFg08w
The Brady Bunch: https://youtu.be/d2JooUMsDdA
Words for Today
From Paul Newman, who died on this date in 2008 at age 83:
“If you don’t have enemies, you don’t have character.”
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.