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    weekend event planner

    Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

    Craig Lindsey
    May 9, 2018 | 2:45 pm

    You know how it goes by now. We give you events that you could possibility attend this weekend, you ponder whether you should go or just stay home and binge-watch The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu. We’re sure these following events will have you off the couch and in the sunshine:

    Thursday, May 10

    See Houston’s top chefs at “Celebrity H-Town Chefs Against Cancer”
    This is gonna be massive. Ten of Houston’s premiere celebrity chefs are joining forces at the Four Seasons Hotel for “Celebrity H-Town Chefs Against Cancer.” This night of fundraising, food and fun is bringing out the heavy hitters: Richard Sandoval and Alejandro Di Bello from Bayou & Bottle, Chris Shepherd from UB Preserv, Chris Davies from Uchi, Rafael Gonzalez from the Four Seasons, and more. The event will raise funds for a sleepaway camp at the hotel, for kids and teenagers who have been impacted by cancer. It starts at 6:30 pm.

    Trombone Shorty closes out “Party on the Plaza”
    Avenida Houston’s “Party on the Plaza” free concert series wraps up its spring season with a headlining performance from New Orleans brass man Trombone Shorty, accompanied by his band Orleans Avenue. Shorty has shared his trombone and trumpet skills with many an artist: Madonna, Hall & Oates, Mark Ronson, Red Hot Chili Peppers. He has played the White House a record five times — and he voiced the sound of the adults in The Peanuts Movie. His opening act will be another Big Easy native, jazz saxophonist Khris Royal. It starts at 6:45 pm.

    District Art Gallery presents “Femme: A Journey Through Her Garden”
    “Femme: A Journey Through Her Garden”
    is the name of the latest exhibit featuring select artists that’ll be making its debut at District Art Gallery – and it already got us thinking about the time Quincy Jones got Barry White, James Ingram, Al B. Sure!, and El DeBarge singing about visiting a woman’s “secret garden.” If the gallery played that during the reception, it would be the cherry on top of this whole thing. (There will be live harp music.) There will also be a raffle benefiting The Women’s Home, which focuses on empowering women. It starts at 7 pm.

    Friday, May 11

    Tassels and morsels with Provocateur at The Prohibition Theatre
    Have you ever attended a sultry, titillating burlesque show and, right when you were watching a slow, scintillating striptease, you said to yourself, “Man, I wish I had dinner before this?” If you like your strip shows with a delicious meal, The Prohibition Theatre has a show that will delight many of your senses. Titled Provocateur, this neo-burlesque show also comes with a three-course, prix-fixe dinner that runs for $45. And, of course, you’ll also get some half-nekkid action from The Moonlight Dolls. It starts at 7 and 9 p.m.

    Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile at the Alley Theatre
    Steve Martin may have started his career as a white suit-wearing, banjo-playing, “wild and crazy guy” comedian but, over the years, the man has built quite a rep as a witty man of letters. He’s published sophisticated works of fiction like Shopgirl and An Object of Beauty and has churned out several Broadway plays. His first one, 1993’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile, a period piece about the possibility of Picasso and Einstein meeting at a Paris bar, will have a month-long run starting this weekend. It starts at 8 pm on Friday and Saturday. (2:30 pm on Sunday.)

    Saturday, May 12

    Bilal's “A Soulquarian Voyage” at White Oak Music Hall
    Bilal has been one of the more journeyman vocalists in black music. Since dropping 1st Born Second in 2001, the eccentric, neo-soul man has popped up on many different artists’ songs. Name any popular black artist — Jay-Z, Beyonce, Pharrell, Kendrick Lamar — and he’s done hooks for them. But he’s also been a card-carrying member of The Soulquarians, the late-'90s/early-aughts collective that included D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, and the late producer J.Dilla. This explains why he titled his latest tour “A Soulquarian Voyage,” which hits Houston this weekend. It starts at 8 pm.

    Laff it up at the H-Town Festival of Laughs
    Ever since The Original Kings of Comedy, that legendary comedy tour that made Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley, and the late Bernie Mac household names, African-American comics continue to team up and play large arenas all over the country. This weekend, the H-Town Festival of Laughs will have a bevy of Def Comedy Jam/ComicView vets hitting the stage: Bruce Bruce, Earthquake, Arnez J, Don “D.C.” Curry, elder statesman George Wallace, and the lone lady of the pack, Sommore. It starts at 8 pm.

    Sunday, May 13

    Serenade mom with Canned Acoustica at Discovery Green
    It’s time to get unplugged once again at the Discovery Green, as the Canned Acoustica concert series does another monthly show at the Transier Bandstand. There will also be another diverse lineup of Houston-based performers ready to drop the electric instruments and do some bare-bones, musical performers. This month, we have rock crew Clay Melton Band, singer-songwriter Andrew James, hip-hop duo Blaze x Black, two-man Americana/rock outfit Second Lovers and indie-pop songstress Miears. It starts at 5 pm.

    Trombone Shorty closes out Party on the Plaza on Thursday, May 10.

    Weekend events trombone shorty
      
    Courtesy photo
    Trombone Shorty closes out Party on the Plaza on Thursday, May 10.
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    Movie Review

    Houston native Wes Anderson shows off comedic side in The Phoenician Scheme

    Alex Bentley
    Jun 6, 2025 | 4:00 pm
    Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, and Michael Cera in The Phoenician Scheme
    Photo courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features
    Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, and Michael Cera in The Phoenician Scheme.

    If you were to do a poll of the best comedy filmmakers of the 21st century, writer/director Wes Anderson is not the obvious choice to come out on top, but there’s an argument to be made for him. His quirky style doesn’t yield the guffaws that more broad comedies do, but the absurd situations he creates in his films are often more consistently funny than anything else.

    Anderson’s inimitable approach is once again on full display in The Phoenician Scheme. At its center is Zsa-Zsa Gorda (Benicio Del Toro), a much-hated businessman who’s looking to complete a number of big projects in the fictional country of Phoenicia. As he seems to be the target of multiple assassination attempts, he appoints his daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), as his heir to try to ensure his legacy.

    Both she and his new assistant, Bjorn (Michael Cera), accompany him around the country as he tries to enact a scheme to have others cover the bulk of the cost for the various projects. Those he attempts to convince include Phoenician Prince Farouk (Riz Ahmed), brothers Leland (Tom Hanks) and Reagan (Bryan Cranston), fellow businessman Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric), ship captain Marty (Jeffrey Wright), his Cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), and Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch).

    Put in Andersonian terms, the film is a mix between the madcap antics from The Grand Budapest Hotel and the impenetrable storytelling of Asteroid City. If you were to try to understand every detail of what’s going on in the story of The Phoenician Scheme, it might take three or more viewings to do so. But the film is still highly entertaining because Anderson fills its frames with his typical visual delights, great wordplay, and his particular version of slapstick.

    Much of the comedy of the film derives from Anderson inserting moments that initially come as a surprise and then utilizing them as running jokes. The film features more blood than usual for the filmmaker, but each time a character gets wounded (or worse), it gets funnier. The assassination attempts get broader as the film goes along, and the matter-of-fact way in which they’re treated by Gorda and others is also hilarious.

    Of course, Anderson is the cinephile’s comedy director, so the film is also full of high-brow things like allusions to paintings, tributes to other filmmakers, and classical music. Each time Gorda has an attempt on his life, he briefly finds himself in a version of limbo, depicted in black-and-white by Anderson. The cast of characters Gorda finds there - including Bill Murray as God - could come straight out of a 1950s Ingmar Bergman movie.

    Del Toro has delivered some great performances over the years, but this one is near the top for him. This is his second Anderson film (following The French Dispatch) and he nails the deadpan method. Also great is Cera, who uses a ridiculous accent to make a big impression. Threapleton, the daughter of Kate Winslet, makes the most of her first big film role. The list of supporting actors is too deep to properly laud everyone, but they all fit in seamlessly.

    Opinions will differ, but for this critic’s money, Anderson is at his best when he fully leans into the comedy of his films. He does just that in The Phoenician Scheme, to the point that it doesn’t matter that the story is overly complex. The combination of his eye for visual detail, a witty script, and committed performances make it a success.

    ---

    The Phoenician Scheme is now playing in theaters.

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