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.

David Sedaris brings his dry, rapier wit.

Photo courtesy of David Sedaris

David Sedaris brings his dry, rapier wit.

dance comedy music

King George dethroned

Judge rules Texas Renaissance Festival owner must sell his kingdom

Amid scandals covered by multiple documentaries, the nation's largest Renaissance festival opens for its golden season.

Photo courtesy of the Texas Renaissance Festival

undefined

A Grimes County judge ruled on Wednesday, May 7 that Texas Renaissance Festival owner George Coulam must honor an agreement he made in 2023 to sell the fair. The judgement and sale, if upheld, are not expected to affect the fair's operations in the fall.

"Our commitment remains unchanged: to deliver a safe, vibrant, and memorable experience for the hundreds of thousands of guests who visit each year," spokesperson Tyler Moyer tells CultureMap in a written statement. "Festival operations are moving forward as planned for the 2025 season."

The case stems from business dealings depicted in the HBO docuseries Ren Faire. Over the show's three episodes, Coulam is shown engaging in negotiations with a party referred to as "The Greeks," but the deal falls through. Those parties, a group that includes RW Lands, Texas Stargate, and Royal Campgrounds, sued Coulam to compel him to honor the contract.

Judge Gary W. Chaney sided with the plaintiffs in a brief judgment against Coulam. Not only is he ordered to abide by the original contract to sell the festival grounds and adjacent properties for $60 million, he has to pay $22 million in damages as well as $1 million in attorney fees. Coulam has not commented publicly about the ruling, and it is not known at this time whether he plans to appeal the decision.

King George's History

For more than half a century, George Coulam has reigned as king of the Texas Renaissance Festival in Todd Mission. Not only is it the largest and one of the earliest incarnations of such festivals, it codified the concept to such a degree that its model is replicated all over the world. There is no doubt that Coulam has been the Walt Disney of renaissance events.

However, that long reign has come with accusations of bad business dealings and sexual harassment. Multiple former employees have sued Coulam for hostile work environment related to his conduct. In addition to depicting the sale negotiations, Ren Faire exposed the backstage politics surrounding Coulam's business practices. The show dealt with the possibility of Coulam finally selling the festival to retire, while also highlighting his desire to remain "king," with all the privileges that entails.

Former performer reacts

As Coulam's management of the festival grew increasingly capricious, many longtime employees and visitors stopped associating with the fair. Niki Korontona was an employee until 2019 when she decided to leave, partially because of her health and partially because of the toxic environment. She says that if Coulam is truly out, she could see returning.

"If the sale goes through as it says it's going to, I'll go back," she said in a Facebook message. "While my time with the performance company was its own b----, if the new owners are who I've heard, it will be going into... I don't know... less toxic hands?"

Few renaissance festivals survive a change of ownership, but it's not unheard of. In fact, Coulam was a part of one of the bigger ones. Before starting the Texas Renaissance Festival in 1974, he founded the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in 1971. The investor of that enterprise, lawyer Jules Smith Sr., then sold his shares and opened a new festival in Maryland in 1977. These days, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival is one of Texas's main rivals.

That was long before the institutions were cemented into their current forms, worth tens of millions of dollars. Still, Korontana says that a change in management that doesn't mess with what works should succeed.

"[It's] an ironclad business." she said. "Even recessions didn't break it. It's so commercial that it doesn't matter who owns it as long as tickets aren't too expensive and turkey legs exist."