Lady Gaga recently made entertainment news after parting ways with Target stores over political contributions and gay rights. The corporation had financially backed politicians running on a platform opposing gay marriage. The pop artist disagreed, wanting Target to discontinue such support.

Fans were left without a Target-exclusive release of her new Born This Way album – at least, that’s how things looked. By the time of its scheduled May release, things will undoubtedly change. As with everything within the Haus of Gaga, the universe turns a little faster than usual, and every sight and sound is amped up beyond “acceptable” levels.

When a woman wears a dress made of shredded meat or glues pearls to her skin or covers half her face above a skimpy taped-up onesie, you can expect extreme opinions from the general public. People love her or love to tear at her for the same reason: Lady Gaga makes us a little uneasy.

How will Tulsa greet Gaga when she continues her mega Monster Ball Tour with a stop at the BOK Center, April 4? If her July reception at Oklahoma City’s Cox Convention Center is anything to go by, T-Town is about to go, well, ga-ga for the woman who is arguably the biggest music act in the world at the moment.

How can we help but get swept up in the masquerade, both beautiful and grotesque? How can we not be curious about her musicianship, displayed in crafted performances at piano.

Most importantly, how can those shoes be comfortable?

For tickets and details, go online to www.bokcenter.com

Don’t cry for me Argentina!

Oklahoma Magazine is giving away two pair of tickets to LOOK Musical Theatre’s production of Evita.

To be eligible for this prize, you must fill out the form below and correctly answer the following question:

What term, literally meaning "shirtless ones," is used to refer to Eva Peron’s working-class political base?

Two winners will be selected from the correct responses at 10 AM, Thursday, July 7. The winners will be contacted via email and must pick up tickets at the Oklahoma Magazine offices before 5 PM.

About Evita

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s extraordinary musical Evita features some of the biggest hit songs ever written, including "Don’t Cry for Me Argentina," "On This Night of a Thousand Stars," "Another Suitcase in Another Hall," "Oh What a Circus," and many more.

The story of Evita, told entirely through song and dance, follows the life of Argentina’s infamous Eva Peron. It begins in 1934 and follows the young girl from her small hometown to Buenos Aires, where she uses her feminine power to climb the ladder of success, first as a model, then as an actress and finally as the wife of General Juan Peron.

When Peron is elected president, Eva becomes the most powerful woman in South America. At the end of her life she questions whether or not she took the right path. With more than 20 major awards to its credit including a Tony award for Best Musical and Best Original Score, this production of the smash hit show promises to be the gem of the LOOK Festival’s season.

Two things draw Tulsans out of home on a frosty Saturday in December – the mad rush of Christmas shopping and the love of helping a good cause. In a way, the Tulsa Arthritis Jingle Bell Run has both Dec. 10. The Arthritis Foundation Eastern Oklahoma Chapter’s annual event is a run, a walk, parade and family fun all in one. Where else can you see people dressed as elves, wrapped presents and Christmas characters running or walking with their be-antlered canine pals? The spirit and mission is the same. The Jingle Bell run is a festive event bringing awareness to arthritis while raising money for research and public education of this common condition. What has changed, however, is the location. The run has moved to downtown Tulsa beginning at 1 p.m. at Tulsa Community College’s Metro Campus. www.arthritis.org

Is there a fashion icon or someone whose style you admire most? Sophia Loren and my grandmother. They both portray a woman of class, simplicity and elegance.

What is your favorite accessory? A great sense of humor!

You are invited to have dinner with the President. What do you wear? An evening dress inspired by the glamorous old Hollywood era.

Rebekah Tennis

Fitness Leader/Personal Fitness Trainer, St. John Health Club

What are your favorite articles of clothing? Cocktail dresses and white t-shirts – but not together.

What song best describes your fashion sense or sense of style? “These Boots Were Made For Walking” by Nancy Sinatra.

What was your first fashion moment? White go-go boots in first grade. It’s always been about the shoes for me.

Dr. Raj Basu

Vice President for Academic Affairs, OSU-Tulsa

Is there a fashion icon or someone whose style you admire most? Frank Sinatra, Gregory Peck and James Bond for their timeless elegance.

What designers/stores do you admire most? Tom Ford for his highly nuanced and understated refinement.

You are invited to have dinner with the President. What do you wear? A red, white, and blue bow tie with my tuxedo.

What was your first fashion moment? My seventh grade health teacher complimenting my fashion sense. It was the first moment that I realized that I had any.

What is your favorite article of clothing? Currently it’s a waxed denim motorcycle jacket by Nudie Jeans.

What designer do you admire most? John Varvatos. His clothes have a handsome esthetic with boyish charm. They make any guy look cool.

What song best describes your fashion sense or sense of style? “A Change Would Do You Good” by Sheryl Crow.

Dawn Upshaw is a true celebrity in every sense of the word. The American soprano of both opera and classical concert music is celebrated as one of the finest vocalists and performers today. The Grammy Award-winner, who has been on every grand stage from the Met to the Sydney Opera House, was named a fellow of the MacArthur Foundation in 2007 and awarded a five-year “genius” prize. In 2008, Upshaw became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. The renowned singer stops for an evening at Edmond’s Armstrong Auditorium with a program certain to reveal her virtuosity in ageless works of those old masters Bach, Debussy and Bartok as well as more recent works. www.armstrongauditorium.org

To call an event that involves the Flaming Lips a “block party” seems to underestimate its proportions, but when was the last time a Flaming Lips concert became nothing less than a celebration? This music festival, set for Aug. 6 in the Brady Village Arts District in downtown Tulsa, plays out at the corner of Cameron and Boulder; and, yes, it is an outdoor concert. Fans won’t even notice, however, with a line-up that includes Primus, Mute Math, Civil Twilight, AWOL Nation, Solid Gold, Particle, That 1 Guy and the Pretty Black Chains. It all leads up to the moment Lips’ ever-whimsical Wayne Coyne steps on stage and, perhaps, into his giant hamster ball amidst a shower of confetti above a craze of thrilled fans. A block party? Oh, yeah. www.bradyblockparty.com

As courting rituals go, a woman could do worse than have an entire country play matchmaker to her would-be suitors.

In 1905, when a woman’s worth often was measured in her wealth, the citizens of the small (and fictional) European country of Pontevedro conspire to save their economy from a permanent downgrade by pairing its wealthiest citizen with a native son. If she ever married someone from outside the country, she just may leave and take most of the country’s wealth with her – not that these money concerns matter much to her.

Tulsa Ballet presents the Oklahoma premiere of The Merry Widow, Sept. 23-25, at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s Chapman Music Hall.
The story of a spirited widow, her former beau and the manners and morals of Parisian high society was adapted in 1975 for the Australian Ballet and choreographed by Ronald Hynd.

Tulsa Ballet launches its 2011-12 season with this lively tale set in the gardens, ballrooms, restaurants and opulence of the Belle Epoque. As Pontevedro’s denizens find themselves involved in all kinds of romantic mischief between themselves, their beautiful patroness, Hanna, begins to reveal a more vulnerable layer beneath the sparkling social butterfly.

Will she find love with Count Danilo, the old flame who has reappeared in her life? Will money prevail this day? Can’t it be both? One thing is certain, it will all be accomplished beautifully.

For more information or tickets, go online to www.tulsaballet.org or call 918.749.6030.