SPA's new season

Society for the Performing Arts dazzles with diverse 2019 lineup

The Society for the Performing Arts has recently announced its 2019-2020 season, and it is certainly a high-calibre list of who’s-who performers. It’s quite the power lineup from Houston's leading, multidisciplinary, performing-arts presenter, which has been around for over 50 years.

“Throughout the season, we celebrate extraordinary artistic collaborations and inspirational artists,” says Meg Booth, SPA’s new CEO. “We’re proud to present many Houston debuts as we continue to introduce the next generation of virtuosic artists.”

Here is a rundown of who and what will be performing at either Jones Hall, Cullen Theater, Zilkha Hall, and Miller Outdoor Theatre.

Drama, drums, and high-flying spectacle
Of course, SPA will offer up some serious Broadway fare. The Tony-winning musical version of Alice Walker's The Color Purple (January 3-4) will come to Houston in an all-new revitalized production, and STOMP (January 23-25) will celebrate 25 years of being in NYC with an inventive and invigorating stage show.

Internationally acclaimed percussion crew Drum TAO (March 27) returns to SPA with a new modern, high-energy show that showcases the ancient art of Japanese drumming, while The Peking Acrobats (February 22), a troupe of China’s most gifted tumblers, contortionists, jugglers, cyclists, and gymnasts, will mesmerize folks with their death-defying antics.

SPA will also have Chicago-based Manual Cinema performing, for the first time in Houston, with its multimedia production of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (October 30). Handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music will be used to create an immersive visual retelling of the monster story for the stage and screen.

Divine dance
A host of shows will wow audiences with the art of dance this season. MacArthur “genius” Kyle Abraham and A.I.M (Abraham in Motion), his phenomenal contemporary dance company in their Houston debut, will perform the world premiere of An Untitled Love (June 4-5), SPA’s first commission in five years.

Bon Iver & TU Dance will come through with Come Through (February 20-21), a fusion of contemporary dance and brand-new music, performed live by Bon Iver. Martha Graham Dance Company (October 18) returns to Houston for the first time in 15 years, performing Chronicle and other works from The EVE Project, which celebrates the hundredth anniversary of the 19th Amendment.

And Mark Morris Dance Group will present Pepperland (January 30-31), a unique tribute to the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Much music
This season's Music Series has a diverse collection of heavy hitters. The whole season kicks off with legendary, eccentric actor Jeff Goldblum performing jazz standards with his band, The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra (September 20).

Latin Grammy winner Lila Downs (March 6) will be singing songs in Spanish, English, and the languages of the Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya, and Mahuati cultures. Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will give us French Enchantment (January 16), a program that begins and ends with early works by Saint-Saëns and Fauré.

The Brubeck Brothers Quartet (May 16) will honor the centennial of their iconic father, Dave Brubeck, and Black Violin (April 7) will come with an electrifying mix of hip hop and classical music. And let's not forget that Broadway legend Bernadette Peters (November 2) will show up and woo the crowd for an evening.

Serious laughs
SPA will also bring in some funny people. Former Tonight Show host and recent John Oliver target Jay Leno (December 6) will be in town for a show. TV vets Jane Lynch (Glee) and Kate Flannery (The Office) will team up for Two Lost Souls (November 8), their comedy/cabaret show. Longtime Carol Burnett cohort Vicki Lawrence will do Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show (May 8) for Mother's Day weekend.

And for all y'all who love straight-up witty folk, famed author and essayist David Sedaris (November 1) will be discussing his latest book, Calypso.

Kids only
There will be several, elaborate shows in store for the kiddies. Wild Kratts LIVE 2.0 - Activate Creature Power! (January 26), the theatrical production based on the Emmy-nominated PBS Kids series, will bring audiences along on a wild ride with a mix of live-action and animation.

After the whole fam has celebrated Christmas, y'all can check out Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical (December 26-27). And fresh off of Broadway, the award-winning The SpongeBob Musical (June 23-28) will make its Houston debut for eight shows, ending the season on a very fun note.

---

For more information, tickets, and showtimes, visit the Society for the Performing Arts.

Ah, Jeff Goldblum will perform his jazzy set.

Photo by Pari Dukovic

Ah, Jeff Goldblum will perform his jazzy set.

dance comedy music

Movie Review

Summer camp drama The Plague proves middle school is still pure horror

Photo courtesy of IFC

Everett Blunck in The Plague.

Anybody who’s attended elementary school in the last 100 years knows the concept of “cooties,” a fictional affliction that is typically caught when touched by a member of the opposite sex. A more updated version of the same idea is featured in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, this time called the “Cheese Touch,” making anyone who touches a moldy piece of cheese on the school’s basketball court an outcast.

A much more menacing version of this “disease” is on display in The Plague, which takes place at a summer water polo camp for tweens. The film focuses on Ben (Everett Blunck), a slightly awkward boy who struggles to fit in with the “cool” crowd led by Jake (Kayo Martin). That group has no problems making fun of others that they deem to be different, especially Eli (Kenny Rasmussen), who has been ostracized because of a rash he has that the kids call “the plague.”

Ben wants to be part of the main group, but his natural empathy leads him to reach out to Eli on more than one occasion despite Eli engaging in some uncomfortable behavior. With the camp’s coach (Joel Edgerton) not much help when it comes to the bullying tactics by Jake and others, especially those that take place at night, Ben is left to fend for himself. His vacillations between wanting to be accepted and wanting to do what’s right continue until his hand is forced.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Charlie Polinger, the film has all the feel of a horror movie without actually being a horror. The staging used by Polinger gives the film a claustrophobic feel as Ben can’t seem to escape the psychological torture inflicted by Jake and others no matter where he goes. He also employs a jarring score by Johan Lenox to great effect, one that’s designed to keep viewers on edge even when nothing bad is happening.

No matter how far removed you are from middle school, the film will likely bring up feelings you thought you had left behind. Much like with Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, Polinger finds a way to tap into something universal in his depiction of tweens, an age when everyone is still discovering who they really are. Some go along to get along, others don’t even attempt to fit in, but no one truly feels settled.

Whether the plague is real or not in the world of the film is up for debate. While most of the time it comes off as something made up to underscore the feeling of otherness felt by Ben, Polinger does literalize it to a degree. He even tiptoes up to the line of body horror before wisely retreating, although what he does show will still make some viewers squeamish. However, because he seems to be leaning one way before pulling back, there’s the possibility that some will be disappointed by the tease of something more intense.

The film’s biggest success is in its casting. Finding good child actors is notoriously tough, and yet Polinger and casting director Rebecca Dealy found a bunch who sell the story for all it’s worth. Blunck, Martin, and Rasmussen get the most play, but everyone else complements them well. Edgerton is the only well-known actor in the film, but he’s used sparingly and isn’t asked to do much, leaving the kids to carry the story on their shoulders.

Fitting in as a tween is hard enough without others actively trying to find ways to cast someone out. The Plague is an effective demonstration of the dynamics that can play out in a competitive environment that also includes a group that has yet to develop into fully-rounded people. It features discomfort on multiple levels, marking an auspicious debut for Polinger.

---

The Plague is now playing in theaters.

movies film