from stage to screen

8 showstopping Houston plays to stream in January

The year may have turned, but Houston theater and performing arts remain in a remote world at least until spring. Yet, local companies prove determined to stream on, offering new programming and some classic shows to continue to bring drama, comedy, and music to audiences as they distance at home.

The stages may have moved to our televisions and laptops, but theater plays on in January. Once again, some of these shows are free and others ticketed, but most of these organizations and theater companies have been offering free performances and entertainment since having to close last year, so please remember to give back as they continue to give to Houston.

Tamarie Cooper’s Holiday Super Show! from Catastrophic Theatre (now through January 31)
While we might have careened into 2021, Houston’s grand dame of the avant guard, Tamarie Cooper is still celebrating the holidays. In a bit of 2020 new abnormal, Catastrophic, which usually counter-programs absurdist or experimental plays for the December season, decided to counter, counter-program, and create an original musical, warm-hearted, but satirical (it’s Catastrophic after all) Christmas show. If you could use some holiday cheer in January, the Cat gang’s all remotely here to offer up joy tidings until the end of the month.

The Drowning Girls from Mildred’s Umbrella (Streaming through February 6)
Mildred releases a filmed recording from 2015 of one of the company’s most haunting — and acclaimed — productions. This dark, true tale of the murdered wives of bigamist George Joseph Smith silences the killer while giving the women voice to tell their own stories. The show also reminds audiences what wonders local acting talent like Patricia Duran, Courtney Lomelo, and Miranda Herbert and direction from Jon Harvey and his design arts can create — with a bit of stage floor and three water-filled bathtubs.

The Stronger from Alley Theatre (Streaming January 15 – February 7)
The Alley begins its free digital season, a mix of classics and brand new plays with the first of three works by Swedish master playwright, August Strindberg. In this one-act about two rival actresses who meet and have a war of words, one stays silent. Alley company members Elizabeth Bunch and Melissa Pritchett battle it out as the strong actresses.

Random Acts from 4th Wall Theatre (Streaming January 20 – February 7)
Fourth Wall has a tradition of bringing in other innovative acting companies and projects for local audiences to experience, and they’ll continue with this one-woman show written and performed by Renata Hinrichs and directed by Jessi D. Hill. Hinrichs recounts true stories from her childhood as a minister’s daughter on the front lines of the Civil Rights movement in the South Side of Chicago. Viewers will also have the opportunity to interact directly with the creatives behind show on January 14 during 4th Wall’s interview series, “Beyond the 4th Wall.”

A Half-Sheet of Paper from Alley Theatre (Streaming January 22-February 14)
In another short work from Strindberg, as translated by Melrose, company member Chris Hutchison plays a man moving from his apartment. In a last sweep before he goes, he finds that paper from the title that triggers a tide of memory to carry him into the past and a love swept away.

Ann from Stages (Streaming January 26 - February 7)
Holland Taylor’s tribute to the great Ann Richards debuted in Galveston before finding audience and critical success in Washington D.C, New York, and around the nation. It quickly became a beloved show for Texas audiences in local theaters. Stages favorite Sally Edmundson gave Ann a down-home, regal air in the 2018 production of the show. Last year, she reprised the role for TheatreSquared in Arkansas. The pandemic closed the production early, but they managed to film Ann, so now audiences can invite the good governor into their homes for a special steaming visit.

Giving Voice: Lawrence Brownlee and Friends Sing Opera, Gospel, and Standards from Houston Grand Opera (Streaming January 22)
One part of the great pandemic performing arts pivot has created a rise in remote concerts, especially for opera and musical performing arts. With its HGO digital programming, the opera company has quickly become a forerunner in remote concert making. This month, international star tenor Lawrence Brownlee returns to the stage, joining HGO Studio alumna, and frequent HGO collaborator Nicole Heaston. The pair brings in an all-Black group of opera stars for a new digital installment of this celebration of diverse voices.

Evil Dead: With Live Commentary from Bruce Campbell from Society for the Performing Arts (Livestream January 23 and on demand for a limited time)
Sure we’re stretching our theater definitions with this one, but come on, we can’t get much more theatrical than living legend Bruce Campbell offering live commentary while watching Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead with a nationwide, live audience. During the show, Campbell will share memories, stories, and anecdotes from the classic 1981 film that changed the nature of horror films. For a few lucky viewers, Campbell will even answer questions from the chat.

Sally Edmundson stars as Ann Richards in Ann, presented by Stages.

Photo by Wesley Hitt

Sally Edmundson stars as Ann Richards in Ann, presented by Stages.

concerts theater opera

A Roman Holiday (Season)

All roads lead to Houston museum's blockbuster exhibit of Imperial Rome

Photo courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston presents "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times" ("Statue of Trajan" Minturno, Italy, 2nd century, marble, National Archaeological Museum, Naples)

Houston's holiday season will have a distinctly Roman feeling this year, as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is bringing the glory of the Gladiator era to Texas. On November 2, 2025 through January 25, 2026 the MFAH presents the monumental new exhibition “Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times.”

Featuring 160 objects of antiquity, including marble sculptures, frescoes, mosaics, delicate glass vessels, and exquisite bronze artifacts, the exhibition will transport visitors back in time to the Roman Empire during a flowering of art and architecture. The MFAH partnered with the Saint Louis Art Museum to organize the exhibition, which will showcase many pieces that have never been on view in the U.S.

While Emperor Trajan might not be the most famous — or in some cases, most infamous — of the Roman emperors, he ruled between 98 and 117 C.E. during the empire’s height and was the second of the so-called “Five Good Emperors” of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. He was also the first emperor born outside of present-day Italy, in what is now Andalusia, Spain. During his reign, he granted citizenship and rights to some peoples from conquered lands. The exhibition will explore how this time period expanded what it meant to be a Roman and how art reflected Rome’s power and promoted the empire’s values and ideals.

$\u200bThe Museum of Fine Arts Houston presents "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times"$

Photo courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston presents "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times" ("Statue of Trajan" Minturno, Italy, 2nd century, marble, National Archaeological Museum, Naples)

From statues of prominent men and women of the era, including Trajan, to vivid frescoes and furnishing from the villas of Pompeii, the objects in the exhibition will tell fascinating cultural and political stories of life in imperial Rome. To add context to the artworks and objects of antiquity, the MFAH will recreate a section of Trajan’s Column, which was a towering pillar with a spiraling narrative frieze, one of the few monumental sculptures to have survived the fall of Rome.

“Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times” brings such a wealth of objects to Houston thanks to unprecedented loans from the renowned antiquities collections of Italian museums including Museo Nazionale Romano, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, the Parco Archeologico di Ostia, and the Musei Vaticani. It would would likely take months of travel across Italy to see this much art.

“This is truly a rare opportunity for U.S. audiences to experience spectacular objects from this glorious era of the Roman Empire,” said Gary Tinterow, director and Margaret Alkek Williams chair of the MFAH, in a statement. “We are enormously grateful to our colleagues in Rome, Naples, and Vatican City for lending these treasures to us and broadening the appreciation of Italy’s cultural heritage.”

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