ENVIROTHON CHAMPIONS — Jeffrey Rubel, a senior at Pembroke Hill and a member of Congregation Beth Shalom, visited the White House on April 22 to participate in the White House Science Fair hosted by President Barack Obama. Jeffrey and his classmates were invited as representatives of the 2012 North American Envirothon championship team from Missouri. The Pembroke Hill team went on to become the North American champions! The White House Science Fair celebrates the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. The president hosted the first-ever White House Science Fair in late 2010 as part of his Educate To Innovate campaign to inspire students to excel in math and science.
MEL BROOKS DOCUMENTARY PREMIERS ON PBS — After 60 years in show business, Mel Brooks has earned more major awards than any other living entertainer; he is one of 14 EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) winners. Yet, the comedy giant has energetically avoided a documentary profile being made, even issuing an informal gag order on his friends ... until now. Brooks agreed to throw himself into a new documentary about his storied career, giving American Masters exclusive interviews and complete access to his film and photo archives. Premiering nationwide Monday, May 20, at 8 p.m. on KCPT, “American Masters Mel Brooks: Make a Noise” features new interviews with Brooks, his friends and colleagues, including Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Cloris Leachman, Joan Rivers, Tracey Ullman, and his close friend, with whom he created “The 2000 Year Old Man” more than 50 years ago, Carl Reiner. A DVD with bonus material will be available Tuesday, May 21 from Shout Factory.
“When they called me to say I had been chosen as the next ‘American Master,’ I thought they said I was chosen to be the next Dutch Master. So I figured what the hell, at least I’ll get a box of cigars. When I realized my mistake I was both elated and a little disappointed at losing the cigars,” cracked Brooks, who will receive the 41st AFI Life Achievement Award this June.
FREE CONCERT — Violinist Elena Urioste and pianist Gabriela Martinez will perform a free Discovery Concert at 7 p.m. Friday, June 7, at the Folly Theater (300 W. 12th St.), in downtown Kansas City, Mo. The planned program includes works by Beethoven, Debussy and Janacek. The performance will be the 25th free Discovery Concert presented by the Harriman-Jewell Series since 2004. One of the pieces they are expected to play is “Hebrew Melody” by Joseph Achron as one of their short pieces. Tickets for the Urioste and Martinez duo recital are free to the public. “Print at home” tickets are available online at hjseries.org or by phone at 816-415-5025. The David Woods Kemper Foundation sponsors this performance. The National Endowment for the Arts has partially underwritten the 2013 Discovery Concerts.