As fate would have it, in 2024 there will probably be a change of tradition at two leading Bay Area theaters, with classic miser Ebenezer Scrooge saying, “Bye, humbug.”

But fear not, lovers of foggy London. American Conservatory Theater's popular version of “A Christmas Carol,” adapted by former artistic directors Carey Perloff and Paul Walsh, was canceled a yr ago. This 18-year tradition has given method to a brand new retelling by Craig Lucas (“Prelude to a Kiss,” “Paradise Square”).

The world premiere of ACT's “A Whynot Christmas Carol,” running through December 24, will not be the Charles Dickens classic produced at every level of the theater, however it remains to be based on the identical source material.

While ACT has had multiple versions of “A Christmas Carol” running since 1976, with Perloff and Walsh's version bowing out in 2023, latest adaptations have the chance to maintain the story fresh and connect multiple generations to Dickens' original novella, which was published in 1843.

“The source material is timeless and fantastic, and it is an incredible, stirring and emotional story,” said ACT artistic director Pam MacKinnon, who also directed the show commissioned by ACT in 2019. “I love a good ghost story, and this is it.” Basically, that’s sort of what “A Christmas Carol” is. But you realize, at a certain point you would like an adaptation that feels fresh.”

Over on the east side of the bay, Center Repertory Company in Walnut Creek is preparing for the swansong of its own version of “Carol,” which ends its nineteenth yr on Dec. 22. Matt M. Morrow has served as Artistic Director of Center REP since May 2023 and has been tasked with guiding the corporate through several vital upcoming milestones, including the thirty fifth anniversary being celebrated on the Lesher Center for the Arts. Since Morrow was named a thought leader, he was chargeable for planning the corporate's transformation with “Carol,” which is able to transition to a new edition in 2025.

One equation that modified considering across the industry was the pause in theater programming in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses large and small saw a decline in audience revenue, making fundraising events a staple for a lot of arts and theater organizations.

Morrow spent the last yr immersed in Center REP's beloved Christmas tradition and sees this moment as a possibility to expand on such a wealthy a part of the corporate's history.

“The world is a very different place post-COVID, and that means we're different too, you know?” Morrow said. “The way we invite people into our organization and participate in these traditions has inherently changed. And as much as we need to focus on traditions and what makes “A Christmas Carol” and any form of holiday program engaging and attractive to our community, we must all the time be occupied with how we are able to expand and construct upon that tradition.”

This tradition of seeing the identical play yearly could seem static to some observers, but MacKinnon and Morrow disagree with that opinion. It's vital to revisit the teachings of Scrooge's story in the course of the holidays. People just like the gentle Bob Cratchitt and his hopeful child Tiny Tim offered them to an audience craving a seasonal comfort meal that offered a brand new perspective on humanity. There's nothing static about it.

“It's very easy to relate to this story because everyone can understand that it's about a second chance and redemption, and it's a story that's deeply human,” Morrow said. “Within the story you can see yourself and the struggles you have gone through. “Scrooge is confronted with his mortality and changes as a result.”

With this familiar story, change is a profound metaphor for what is occurring within the region. While a certain brand of theatrical Scrooge has moved and continues to maneuver through each firms' pasts, the transition to a brand new and vibrant holiday story that remains to be steeped in familiarity is exciting. For ACT, MacKinnon noted that she was encouraged by the early and enthusiastic returns outside the preview houses, which included many children and families able to restart their holiday traditions.

“I'm thinking in particular of some people I know who literally grew up with the previous adaptation and are now in their mid-20s,” MacKinnon said. “Some will certainly feel lost, but I hope that when they see this play, because it adapts the same source material, they get the fantastic hit of a well-known story as well as an additional perspective on that well-known story.”

“A WHY NOT A CHRISTMAS CAROL”

By Craig Lucas, presented by American Conservatory Theater

Through: Dec 24

Where: Tony Shore Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco

Duration: 2 hours with a break

Tickets: $29-$151; www.act-sf.org

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“A CHRISTMAS CAROL”

Adapted by Cynthia Caywood and Richard L. James, presented by Center Repertory Company

Through: December twenty second

Where: Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek

Duration: 2 hours with a break

Tickets: $37-$89; www.centerrep.org

Originally published: December 13, 2024 at 10:30 am PST

Legend has it that Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini was at his restaurant in Tijuana on a very busy day when he quickly whipped up a salad using ingredients he happened to have readily available.

This week, Tijuana is hosting a four-day centenary celebration for the enduring dish once celebrated by the International Society of Epicures in Paris as “the best recipe to emerge from America in the last 50 years.”

“It's a recipe that has traveled all over the world,” said famous Tijuana chef Javier Plascencia, whose family now runs the eponymous Caesar's restaurant. “Everyone loves it, and the fact that it comes from Tijuana makes us proud. It's also a duty to continue promoting its history.”

But as with every legend, there are various versions.

Over the years, many names have been floated because the salad's inventor, including Cardini, his brother Alex Cardini, and Livio Santini, a young chef at what was then Caesar's Place who some imagine brought his mother's salad recipe from Italy. There's also chef Giacomo Junia, who is claimed to have invented the salad in Chicago in 1903. And there are more.

Tijuana historian Fernando Escobedo de la Torre and businessman Armando Avakian Gámez add their very own well-researched interpretation to the lore in a brand new book published to mark the centenary. They conclude that the unique salad was created by Caesar Cardini in Tijuana on July 4, 1924. Their book relies on witness testimony, historical archives and eight years of research, they said.

One of the famous American chef and tv personality Julia Child's earliest restaurant memories is the day she visited Caesar's restaurant in Tijuana as a teen.

Tijuana enjoyed a thriving out-of-town tourist attraction throughout the Prohibition era, also attracting Italian immigrants like Cardini to town's food and wine scene.

“People flocked from the Los Angeles area to eat at the restaurants; they drank forbidden beer and cocktails while they roamed the city's bars; they strolled through the flower-filled courtyard of Agua Caliente and listened to the marimba band, and they gambled sinfully at the casino,” she wrote in her 1975 book, “From Julia Child's Kitchen.” “The word got out about Tijuana and the good life, and about Caesar Cardini's restaurant and about Caesar's salad.”

Her parents ordered the much-talked-about dish. “Caesar himself rolled the big cart to the table, tossed the romaine lettuce into a big wooden bowl, and I wish I could say I remember every move, but I can't,” she wrote. “The only thing I see clearly again are the eggs. I can see him cracking two eggs over the romaine lettuce and rolling them in it, the greens getting all creamy as the eggs pour over them. Two eggs in a salad? … And garlic croutons and grated Parmesan cheese? This salad was a sensation from coast to coast, and there were even rumors of its success in Europe.”

This original version of the salad was noticeably devoid of anchovies.

It was the regulars themselves who spread the word to other parts of the United States and even Europe. Celebrities and other personalities became endorsers of the salad, Escobedo said. “It went viral,” he said. “To the point that today you can find it on every menu in every country in the world.”

Around 1930, in response to an original menu on display at Caesar's Restaurant, the salad was offered as “Romaine Parmigian Dressing” for 50 cents.

Controversial origins

This simplified origin story appears to have been promoted, but additionally questioned, by Cardini's family over time.

“I don't care how many times this story has been published and repeated,” Rosa Cardini said in a 1995 interview with The Daily Breeze. “My father was an incredibly professional restaurant and hotel owner. It is absolutely impossible that he ran out of food. He was just a little short of food, that's all.”

“Also, there are reports all the time that he would run into the kitchen like mad, just pick up whatever was there, and make the Caesar salad,” she continued. “Well, my father had professional training in food preparation. The reason this salad has lasted so long and been so successful is because it really is a masterpiece.

She added: “Every ingredient was chosen to pair perfectly with the others. They were not only chosen arbitrarily because he ran out of food.” Rosa Cardini, a native of San Diego, died in 2003 at the age of 75.

The story goes that Caesar's brother Alex Cardini, a chef and former Italian Air Force pilot in World War I, added anchovy paste to a crostini and named it Aviator's Salad in honor of the pilots at Rockwell Field Air Base in San Diego. This version of the salad – which was later called Alex's Caesar Salad – was created in 1927, according to Escobedo.

Years later, Santini, a young chef who began working with the brothers in late 1924, also gave the salad his own twist by adding paprika to the croutons, according to research by Escobedo and Avakian, the owner of the property where Caesar's now stands.

Martin Lindsay, chairman of the nonprofit Culinary Historians of San Diego, has been researching the story for more than five years and believes it ultimately comes down to the Cardini brothers and Santini.

“People kept saying 'no, it was him,' 'no, it was him,'” Lindsay said. “People on the West Coast, in San Diego and Tijuana, say it was Caesar. People in Texas say it was Alex, because Alex's sons and a few of his family still live in Texas. And then there's Livio Santini and his family.”

But Lindsay believes that “all three were involved in one way or another in the birth of the Caesar salad.”

“I can say with certainty that it came from Tijuana,” Lindsay said.

Escobedo and Avakian claim that the salad was created at Cardini's previous location, Café Alhambra, where he operated from 1922 to 1925. The restaurant was also located on Avenida Revolución for a time, but was destroyed in a fire. He later opened Caesar's Place (1926-1930) on Second Avenue and moved to its current downtown location on Avenida Revolución.

The ingredients

At Caesar's Restaurant, the salad is still prepared tableside, just like Child's. The waiter, dressed in a tie and vest, prepares the current version of the original salad in a wooden bowl in front of the guests.

First, the dressing ingredients are mixed together – anchovies, garlic, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, lime juice, egg yolk, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. The dressing is then mixed with large pieces of romaine lettuce, more cheese and a crostini. The dish is ready in about three minutes.

Between 8,500 and 9,000 Caesar salads are prepared at the restaurant each month, said salad master Efraín Montoya, and people travel to the restaurant from across Mexico, the United States and beyond to try them.

“We must not lose the tradition of preparing the salad on the table,” said Plascencia. “It is a real art that every one our waiters and salad preparers are very pleased with.”

The restaurant has been run by the Plascencia family since 2010. Juan José Plascencia, who is also currently president of the Tijuana chapter of the National Chamber of Restaurant and Condiment Food Industry, said they took over the restaurant when they realized it was going to close.

Plascencia said his grandfather used to be a bartender at Caesar's, so the family has a special connection to the place. “It's an iconic restaurant,” he said.

In the restaurant, guests are given the recipe for the current version of the original on cards in English and Spanish.

Birthday party

The salad will be the star of the city's centenary celebrations.

The celebrations include two sold-out dinners with renowned chefs. The release of the 100th anniversary book and a commemorative Casa Magoni wine will take place on Friday; admission is free.

And on Sunday, Avenida Revolución will host a 1930s-style festival featuring gastronomic offerings from celebrity chefs. Tickets are available online for around $75. For more information, visit TijuanaCaesars.comPart of the proceeds will go to the Tijuana Without Hunger Foundation, organizers said.

The Knights Templara legendary monastic military order forged in the fireplace of the Crusades, still captivates twenty first century audiences.

From their founding in 1119 AD until their dissolution in 1312 AD, the Templars' mission was to beat Christian kingdoms within the Holy Land against the assorted Muslim powers that desired to bring the region back under Islamic rule. To fulfill this mission, the order united two formative institutions of the early Middle Ages: the mounted knight and the pious monk.

At the time, the Templars were a mystery. How could someone be each a pious monk and a fierce warrior? The Templars themselves tried to reply this query of their symbolism, which proved to be as enigmatic because the order itself.

One of essentially the most mysterious symbols of the Templars was her wax seal – two knights on a horse. In the Middle Ages used seals to guard necessary messages from forgery and acted as a signature. Everyone, from individuals to organizations, had their very own unique seal.

While the photographs on seals may very well be relatively easy and simple, they often conveyed more subtle messages. The message of the Templar seal was at all times open to interpretation.

Interpretation of the Templar Seal

When researching Medieval geopolitics and the Third CrusadeI got here across several interpretations of the Templar seal.

The hottest connection of the common horse to the Templars Vow of povertyEven though the order was not literally financially constrained, the symbol was probably intended to point out that the Templars took their vows seriously.

Another connects to the Gospel of Matthewwith one figure representing a knight and the opposite Jesus Christ. This interpretation comes from a biblical passage wherein Christ says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” The idea is that the 2 knights on a single horse embody Christ's ever-present companionship with the Templars who had gathered in his name.

As a part of a campaign to discredit the Templars, some suggested that the 2 knights symbolized homosexuality It is alleged that these are widespread inside the order.

Some consider that the 2 knights represent a Duality inside the Order itselfThe single horse could symbolize the union of their seemingly opposing roles as warrior monks.

The Seal inscription adds one other layer of intrigue. Originally, the inscription read “Sigillum Militum Christi” – Latin for “Seal of the Soldiers of Christ”. In the mid-Thirteenth century, the nineteenth Grand Master of the Order modified the inscription to “Sigillum Militum Xpisti”, replacing the Latin word for Christ with the Greek one. Some scholars argue that using the Greek letters “XP” Instead of the Latin “CHR”, Emperor Constantine’s vision was to be Battle of the Milvian Bridge In 312 AD, his victory ended the official persecution of Christians within the Roman Empire.

Multiple meanings

The exact meaning of the seal stays a mystery, but there may be little doubt that it was powerful symbol of the knights’ commitment to their ideals.

The seal's many interpretations appeal to different audiences. For some, it represents Christian soldiery and unwavering brotherhood. For others, it evokes the enigmatic nature of the Templars. And for still others, it suggests corruption and sexual misconduct.

The seal serves as a window into the identity of the Knights Templar and their influence on medieval Christian history. It is a logo that can likely proceed to arouse curiosity for hundreds of years to come back.

By Jordan Valinsky | CNN

New York (CNN) – The Mirage Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip and its immediately recognizable volcano will soon close after greater than three many years in business.

The 3,000-room resort will stop operations on July 17 because it undergoes a three-year renovation that can remove all traces of the Mirage and its tropical theme.

Opened in 1989 by casino mogul Steve Wynn, the Mirage ushered in an era of luxury resorts on the Strip and, with its volcano, was the primary resort to feature a sidewalk attraction, prompting the Bellagio and the Venetian to switch the Mirage with its dancing Fountains and canals, respectively.

“We look forward to embarking on an exciting journey into a new era as Hard Rock Las Vegas lights up the Strip with entertainment, innovation and world-class hospitality,” the Mirage said on its website Facebook accountwhich was flooded with memories within the comments.

In addition to the volcano, the Mirage was also home to other quintessential Las Vegas features reminiscent of the White Tigers of Siegfried and Roy show and a Cirque du Soleil show featuring Beatles music.

MGM Resorts purchased the Mirage in 2000 from Wynn and sold it in 2022 to Hard Rock International for greater than $1 billion. It is the second time Hard Rock has a presence in Las Vegas, having previously owned the brand now Virgin Hotel off the strip.

Starting in July, greater than 3,000 Mirage employees might be laid off. The Hard Rock announced it will pay a settlement of greater than $80 million. The Culinary Workers Union, which represents about half of the Mirage's employees, said in a opinion that affected staff will receive $2,000 for every year of employment and have the chance to return when the hotel reopens.

Mirage guests who’ve reservations beyond July 14th might be canceled and issued a refund. Casino chips must even be used at Mirage by this date, but can still be redeemed at neighboring Treasure Island for 120 days after the resort closes.

The CNN Wire
& © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery company. All rights reserved.

Red Sox

Richard Fitts' career-changing evening in December didn't start with a warning. It didn't start with a dramatic, movie-like reveal for him, nor did it start with a sense or suggestion that his life was about to vary.

It began with a sudden phone call.

And yet that decision was enough for Fitts to know something was flawed. The pitching prospect within the New York Yankees organization wasn't much of a conversationalist, so it was rare for him to feel his phone buzzing in his pocket. But the phone just kept buzzing. And it hums. To the purpose where he distracted himself from the dinner he was eating at a Christmas party with among the pitchers he had trained with within the offseason.

Fitts pulled out his phone and skim who was calling him. He knew immediately that this wasn't a typical phone call. His dinner would should wait just a few minutes.

He left the party to reply the decision. The other players on the party noticed Fitts' sudden departure and wondered what he was being told, otherwise his face wouldn't light up.

With wide eyes and an open smile, Fitts pointed directly at Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock, who was perhaps probably the most confused person within the room. Whitlock asked his friend what he desired to say, but Fitts just kept pointing. No one had any idea what was occurring until he hung up.

When Fitts returned to the clubhouse, not a single eye looked away from him. He took a moment to gather his thoughts and blurted out the words that had turned his baseball life the wrong way up.

“I’m a Red Sox!”

The news spread shortly afterwards. The Red Sox had acquired Fitts and two other players in a trade that sent outfielder Alex Verdugo to the Yankees. In this manner, Fitts was now a member of the Yankees' arch-nemesis.

It wasn't long before Fitts' phone began buzzing even louder.

“I was really excited,” Fitts told Boston.com. “The Red Sox wanted me here and that made me feel really good.”

That one call gave Fitts, who currently plays at Triple-A Worcester, a chance that the majority baseball players never get. There is a brief list of players who played for considered one of the Red Sox or the Yankees and experienced the bitter, century-long rivalry between them.

Whether it's the motivation to perform well in front of 1000’s of spectators or the will to see probably the most hated team lose, the players on these two teams take the games between one another very seriously.

“Both teams think that way,” said WooSox reliever Lucas Luetge, who had two saves against the Red Sox during his time with the Yankees. “It's a historic rivalry of the game that is usually shown on prime television… I know from that perspective, we're looking forward to it.”

There is a fair shorter list of baseball players who’ve played for each organizations. Fitts joined this list when he placed on a Worcester Red Sox jersey for the primary time. Despite never having played under the brilliant lights of the Bronx, he was drafted to the Yankees and shortly worked his way as much as grow to be considered one of the team's top 20 prospects in the complete organization. Now he's in the highest 20 of the Red Sox, where his latest team's biggest fans resent the organization that welcomed him to the game.

“You look at ESPN, you look at everything, and it's all 'Yankees-Red Sox: the huge rivalry!'” Fitts said. “It’s really cool to kind of have both perspectives.”

Although he's had a number of time playing baseball from the Yankees' perspective, Fitts admits it took a mental adjustment to see himself in a Red Sox jersey. However, that doesn't matter because he embraces the change.

“I sometimes look in the mirror when I'm wearing red and think, 'That's a little weird!'” Fitts said. “But I enjoy it. I like that. I try to incorporate a little bit of red into my shoe game and all that kind of stuff.”

Although it is going to take a while to get used to, taking up a historic rivalry is nothing latest for Fitts. He grew up an avid fan of the University of Alabama – his mother's alma mater – as did many individuals from his hometown of Helena, Alabama. Where he comes from, college sports reign supreme, and few other teams can match the Crimson Tide's stranglehold on the state. Fitts spent much of his childhood under the spell of the flood.

Until his older brother Trevor began playing college baseball at Mississippi State University and have become a campus hero. Trevor Fitts' Bulldogs made it to the College World Series when he was a sophomore in 2013, and he began two games on the mound at prestigious Charles Schwab Field (then generally known as TD Ameritrade Park).

Fitts, 9, was allowed to travel to Omaha with the remaining of his family and witness Trevor's starts in person, and as he cheered on the Bulldogs in the course of the tournament, he moved from one team wearing crimson to a different. There was something concerning the lights and atmosphere of this field that completely fascinated him.

“I was like, '” Fitts said. “How can it get any better?”

This field would proceed to fascinate him as he began to dream of becoming a university baseball star and playing within the College World Series like his brother. This dream haunted him the complete time until he was sufficiently old to comprehend it. Now all that was left to determine was where to play.

He selected the University of Auburn.

Fitts and anyone who cares about college sports knows how much Alabama and Auburn hate one another. The two schools' athletic programs have battled for dominance over the state of Alabama since 1893, and that zeal has not waned with time. A fan of 1 team would almost never wear the opposite team's colours for some reason.

But Fitts was willing to make the move if it meant it will profit his baseball profession. And it did. Fitts began his college profession with a College World Series appearance as a freshman — he even pitched on the identical mound as his brother before him — and finished it as considered one of the Tigers' best and best arms as a junior.

Fitts thrived after moving from one competitive team to a different. He's able to do it again.

“[When] You hear 'the greatest rivalry in sports' … Yankees and Red Sox are at the top and then Auburn and Alabama are pretty close there too,” Fitts said. “It's funny to go from these two different things, but I think it kind of helped me a little bit.”

Fitts' experience moving to those two contrasting teams reflects a reality most players fear: Everything can change right away. There is nearly no way for a player to understand how long his locker might be his, or when he might be asked to wear a brand new, possibly competing uniform shortly after his current one starts to look right.

Lütge, who has played for 3 major league teams and plenty of more within the minor leagues, knows this fear all too well and has developed a mindset that makes it a bit of less scary.

“I tell the boys never to fall in love with a team, otherwise you could be gone the next day,” Luetge said. “For me, whatever uniform you wear, you wear it with pride no matter where you are.”

So that's what Fitts does. He embraces his latest team and wholeheartedly takes on every hitter, whether it's a team he's played for before or a team he knows little about. Fitts shows them just as much mercy: none in any respect.

“First class boy. Incredible competitor,” WooSox manager Chad Tracy said. “We have people [from] The Yankees here who knew him before said he was a guy [that] You want to have the ball in your hands and have him out there because he loves to compete and those are all things that I noticed here.”

That competitiveness, combined along with his and Luetge's attitude of treating all teams equally, made Fitts wish to “win us some games for the Boston Red Sox.” He could have began his profession with the Yankees, but he has since switched sides in baseball's best rivalry, and he has done so with glee.

Fitts has big dreams for his baseball profession, similar to becoming an ideal pitcher, winner and role model for kids. He had those dreams when New York drafted him, and he's able to make them come true, not as a Yankee but as a member of the Red Sox.

“Ultimately I feel like I adjusted pretty well and I feel like a Red Sox at heart,” Fitts said.