It's Off

Coronavirus continues to affect Austin in a flurry of canceled events

South by San Jose, a spring staple for the past 21 years, is cancelled due to coronavirus fears.

Concerns about the coronavirus have led to cancellations across the Austin area. Below is a running list of events that have either been canceled or postponed. We will update the list as more information becomes available, but check before you head out.

AISD and area schools — Our content partners at KVUE have a full list of area schools and cancellations.

All gatherings of 250 or more people —On Sunday, March 15, the City of Austin banned all gatherings of 250 or more people, including weddings and religious ceremonies. Now through May 1, the city is not allowing 250 or more people at the same time in a single room or other confined or enclosed space, such as an auditorium, theater, stadium arena or event center, meeting hall, conference center, large cafeteria, restaurant, nightclub/bar, or any other confined indoor or confined outdoor space.

Austin Public Libraries — All libraries, including the Central Austin Library, are closed until March 30.

Pools, golf courses, athletic programs, recreation centers, and cultural centers — Closed until March 30. Camps and spring break activities will happen Monday through Wednesday and be suspended following the completion of activities Wednesday. Additionally meal services for kids and seniors will continue

Austin Animal Center — Closed to the public until March 30.

Luck Reunion — "Turn out the lights. The party's over."

Campfire Gathering — The inaugural Campfire Gathering is postponed and rescheduled for later this year.

Old Settler's Musical Festival — Organizers have postponed this event until the fall. An exact date was not given.

The Contemporary Austin — Both the Jones Center and Laguna Gloria are closed beginning March 14 for two weeks.

Sunset Valley ArtFest— The festival, scheduled for April 25, has been canceled.

Cirque de Soleil — Cirque du Soleil has canceled all Texas performances, including ALEGRIA in Austin, according to a release. ALEGRIA was supposed to perform April 22-May 25. No rescheduled dates have been announced.

ABC Kite Festival — The 91-year-old festival is cancelled. Organizers said they look forward to seeing everyone back at Zilker Park in 2021.

Rodeo Austin — Organizers have suspended the rest of Rodeo Austin, citing compliance with public officials. As of March 13, the rodeo is still working on a process for ticket refunds.

Austin Community College — ACC has canceled classes beginning at 10 am on March 13 and extended spring break one week, similar to UT. Once students return, classes will move online.

Puptopia — Puptopia has been rescheduled for May 23.

South by San Jose — The 21st annual event, originally scheduled for March 18-21, has been canceled.

Frank Erwin Center and Bass Concert Hall — University of Texas at Austin President Gregory Fenves announced all events scheduled at Frank Erwin Center and Bass Concert Hall are closed for at least the next two weeks, beginning on March 12. Broadway in Austin's Aladdin was scheduled to begin its Austin run on Thursday night. This also affects all upcoming concerts at the Erwin Center, including Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson.

Longhorn athletics— All games will be played without spectators. All games scheduled for the Frank Erwin Center over the next two weeks will be postponed.

Big 12 basketball — On March 12, the Big 12, the Longhorns' conference, announced the immediate suspension of all conference championships until April 15.

Blanton Museum of Art— The Blanton Museum is closed beginning Friday, March 13, and will reopen, if the situation allows, on Tuesday, March 31.

Live Fire! — Live Fire!, originally scheduled for April 2, has been postponed. No rescheduled date has been given. Check back here for updates.

Lamb Jam — Originally scheduled for March 29, Lamb Jam Austin has been rescheduled for July 26.

MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix — Circuit of The Americas has postponed MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas until November 15.

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Movie Review

Highly anticipated Wicked movie adaptation deserves to be popular

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-Butera in Wicked.

The musical Wicked is indisputably the biggest Broadway smash of the 21st century, having grossed more $1.6 billion in New York alone and achieving the rare feat of running for over 20 years. All of which is to say that the long-awaited movie adaptation of The Wizard of Oz prequel will most likely be a massive success whether it lives up to what longtime fans envisioned or not.

Part one — yes, this 2 hour and 40 minute film is merely the first act of the musical; part two arrives a year from now — introduces Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), the green-skinned witch who goes on to become Dorothy’s nemesis, and G(a)linda (Ariana Grande-Butera), the pink-garbed “good” witch, as they meet at Shiz University in Oz. Glinda is the ultra-popular one with sycophantic hangers-on, while Elphaba is shunned by almost everyone, sometimes including her disabled sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode), who’s desperate to make her own space away from Elphaba.

Her mistreatment by others leads Elphaba to get angry, which manifests itself in uncontrollable magic. Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) notices this and takes a personal interest in her, giving her one-on-one instruction in hopes of harnessing her power. In the meantime, Elphaba and Glinda attempt to go from forced roommates to actual friends, although Glinda’s entitled personality is more of an obstacle than anything else they encounter.

Directed by Jon M. Chu and written by original book writer Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, the film does a great job of distinguishing itself from the stage version while still remaining true to what made it so beloved. As Chu showed in his last film, In the Heights, he has an innate feel for how to tap into the essence of the source material while expanding it into something befitting the scope of a blockbuster movie.

In this case, he finds a way to give even greater emphasis to the bigotry that Elphaba faces simply because of her green skin; the fact that she is being played by a Black woman drives home the point even more. The story remains light and fluffy for the most part, but the ostracization/otherness that Elphaba feels is delivered in a powerful way, as is her empathy for talking animals like Dr. Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage), who are facing their own persecution.

Of course, the highlight of the film is Stephen Schwartz’s music, and while not all of the songs are equal in impact, they still make for a cohesive whole. The number of songs and order they appear in the first act is identical to the stage musical, with the standouts remaining “The Wizard and I,” “Popular,” and “Defying Gravity.” While there is some superfluous action and cutaways added to certain numbers, it’s not enough to distract from what makes the songs effective.

Oddly, the progression of the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda works better on stage when the timeline is accelerated, but Erivo and Grande-Butera make up for this slight lack with their fantastic performances. The emotion each brings to their characters fits them almost perfectly, and there’s simply no denying the strength of each of their voices. Bode, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, and more make for a solid supporting cast.

The well-known ending of the first act of Wicked is a huge high point that is so good that it almost makes up for the fact that audiences won’t see the second film for a long time. But if part one is any indication, part two should turn out to be another great musical theater adaptation in a decade that has already seen its fair share.

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Wicked opens in theaters on November 22.

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