St. Louis fertility expert Dr. Sherman Silber probably performs in vitro fertilization procedures several times a week. It’s not every day he does it on live, national TV, but that’s what happened recently on The Today Show. Silber, head of The Infertility Center of St. Louis, treated local patient Jessica Menkhausen at St. Luke’s Hospital while the cameras rolled. According to Today, it’s the first live IVF procedure ever done on TV.
Two contestants from our readership area, Louise Jensen and Debra Gross of Town & Country, will strut their stuff July 13 at the Ms. Senior Missouri Pageant. Sponsored by the Missouri Cameo Club, the contest is now in its 25th year of celebrating women age 60 and older. The event takes place at Florissant Civic Center Theatre. Cameo Club members and former contestants perform for local senior organizations and raise money for charity.
The Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, students from Jazz St. Louis’ middle and high school music training program, recently performed at the annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival in St. Paul, Minn. Now in its 16th year, the festival is one of the largest events in the upper Midwest, attracting more than 30,000 visitors each year. Grammy Award-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves and famed saxophonist Branford Marsalis also performed. The Jazz St. Louis All-Stars consists of (from left) Eric Grumke of Webster Groves High School, Eric Zhang of Marquette, Calahan Hemp of Lindbergh (who couldn’t make the trip), Nathan Pence of Bishop DuBourg, Carlin Black of Fort Zumwalt West, Benjamin Steger of Webster Groves, and Zach Arias of Maplewood Richmond Heights.
She’s a mom, an endurance athlete, an inspirational speaker and a cancer survivor—and now, she’s an author. While undergoing treatment for Stage 4 colon cancer, Teri Griege of Creve Coeur trained for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii—and crossed the finish line against all odds. The former nurse tells her inspiring story in Powered by Hope, now available through Two Harbors Press.
Stages St. Louis recently celebrated a major milestone, the 100th performance of Always…Patsy Cline. The record-breaking production, based on the true story of country music legend Cline and her friendship with Texas housewife Louise Seger, features 27 of Cline’s timeless hits, including Crazy, Walkin’ After Midnight, and Sweet Dreams. “We’ve never seen anything quite like it: It recouped all costs in its first month, and audiences stop the show night after night with thunderous applause,” says producer Jack Lane of Stages. Starring Jacqueline Petroccia, Zoe Vonder Haar and the Bodacious Bobcats, the production has been extended through Aug. 31 at the Playhouse at Westport Plaza.
