Marian Luntz, longtime head of the film and video program at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and probably the most knowledgeable person in town about cinema history, was surprised by her mother the other day.
Helen Luntz, 87, noticed that a movie with Orson Welles’ name in its title (Me and Orson Welles) was playing at the museum as the opening night selection for the Cinema Arts Festival Houston. That jogged a memory for her, and, for the first time ever, she told her cinephile daughter that she had actually met the great man.
Marian was shocked, mostly because this was the first time she’d heard about it. Then she asked Helen how she’d come to meet him.
“My English teacher (in New York) took our class to see his play. What was the name of it? Oh yeah, Julius Caesar."
The teacher had taken her to see the very production that is the subject of Me and Orson Welles.
“Afterward he came over to talk to us,” Helen Luntz went on. “He was very nice, and very handsome.”
Just like Christian McCay, who portrays him so uncannily in the film.
Well, the handsome part, anyway.
Christian McCay, left, does an uncanny impression of the cinematic legend in "Me and Orson Welles."
Legendary rockers Styx and Kevin Cronin, lead singer of REO Speedwagon, will team up to co-headline the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour in 2025, which will include a stop at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands on Friday, June 6.
The large, 40-city tour will take place over three months, starting in Greenville, South Carolina on May 28, and wrapping up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 24.
In addition to Houston, the tour will go to Austin on June 4 and Dallas on August 1. It will include special guest Don Felder, former lead guitarist for the Eagles, at all dates.
Fans can expect some of the greatest rock anthems of all time, including “Renegade,” “Keep On Loving You,” “Come Sail Away,” “Can't Fight This Feeling,” and “Hotel California.”
Styx and Cronin (as part of REO Speedwagon) first toured together in 2000 and in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, coming together to form the Rock to the Rescue 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. This will mark their sixth time joining forces on the road.
2022 was the 50th anniversary of Styx's self-titled debut album, but they have yet to slow down. The band released their 17th album, Crash of the Crown, in 2021. Of course, not everyone is a fan, as this classic clip from The Simpsons illustrates.
REO Speedwagon's recording days appear to be done, with their last album coming out in 2009, but the main group of five has been together since 1989. On this tour, Cronin will be joined by REO's lead guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt.
General tickets for the tour will go on sale starting on Friday, December 13 at 10 am at LiveNation.com.
Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets in the U.S. beginning on December 9 at 10 am through the Citi Entertainment program.
Styx and Kevin Cronin will be offering VIP packages via their own exclusive pre-sales beginning on Tuesday, December 10 at 10 am, as well as at LiveNation.com.
