Coach Ginger

I was attending to my backstage duties at Ballet Austin's Nutcracker performance yesterday. Since 1997 when we started the program, I've recruited the celebrity Mother Gingers. These good sports (who have included Michael Dell, Lance Armstrong, Ann Richards, Kay Bailey Hutchison, E.D. Hill from Fox News, Augie Garrido, Ray Benson, Marcia Ball, Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, John Paul DeJoria, and Kinky Friedman, among many others) get made up and are rolled onstage atop a huge red and white dress.

Yesterday's VIP Mother Ginger was UT women's basketball coach Gail Goestenkors. She was very gracious and friendly backstage and she got a lot of laughs out of the whole experience. Here's a shot I took of her in the costume before she went out in the second act.

Hook 'em!

By the way-- if you'd like to see The Nutcracker, performances are happening until Dec. 23rd. For more information, click the Ballet Austin link.