Schools are shutting down for the summer and parents are looking for ways to keep kids engaged and excited. Fortunately, Houston’s theater companies are ready for culture-seeking families, presenting an array of shows that can spark everyone’s thinking and creativity.
In June, the Theater District offers the indescribable experience of Blue Man Group and the fantastic ballet Peter Pan. In the Museum District, musicals take center stage: the beloved Alice In Wonderland and the popular Disney’s High School Musical. Finally, the Houston Symphony will perform celebration songs in its family concert series tour of the Bayou City.
Scooby Doo Live! Musical Mystery
When: Saturday; two shows 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Where: Jones Hall, Presented by Society for the Performing Arts, 713-227-4772, www.spahouston.org
Story line: Scooby-Dooby-Doo! Why is a ghost haunting a local theater? Who is this ghost haunting the local theater? Scooby and friends Shaggy, Daphne, Velma and Fred try to crack the case of the trouble-making ghost in this musical mystery. With the help of the Mystery Machine and Scooby Snacks, the gang solve one puzzle after another so the ghost stops frightening everyone out of the theater. Scooby-Doo is one of television’s longest-running animated series.
“This is a timeless classic that multiple generations can enjoy,” says Karen Watassek, director of public relations for the Society for the Performing Arts. “Many parents and grandparents can remember watching the cartoons. It’s a fun family theatrical event.”
Length: 90 minutes with a 15-minute intermission
Ticket price: $18 - $48, Family Four-Pack for $99 by using promo code FAMILY
Blue Man Group
When: June 4 to 9 at 8 p.m.; June 8 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; June 9 at 2 p.m.
Where: Jones Hall, Presented by the Society for the Performing Arts, 713-227-4772, www.spahouston.org
Story line: Three bald and blue characters, accompanied by a live tribal rhythm band, somehow entrance the audience from start to finish in this multi-media performance. Guests of all ages, from toddlers to grandparents, are delighted in different ways on the Blue Man journey.
“We say that no matter how high-tech things get, there’s still something human there. We’ll always need others, always need to collaborate. People still need to come together and look each other in the eye,” says Blue Man Group co-founder Philip Stanton. “Through the Blue Man’s connection with the audience, we hope to encourage this human-to-human interaction, while helping people reconnect with their own sense of wonder and discovery, with their own sense of what is possible in their lives.”
The first Blue Man Group performances were staged in 1987.
Length: 100 minutes – No intermission
Ticket price: $35 - $80
Sounds Like Fun
When: June 6 – July 10, Various times
Where: Various locations around the Houston area, 713-224-7575, www.houstonsymphony.org
Storyline: Conductor Robert Franz and the Houston Symphony orchestra perform nine family concerts in different neighborhood schools, churches and halls throughout the Houston area. Venues include Pershing Middle School, Methodist Hospital, The Centrum, Atascocita High School, United Methodist Church and Miller Outdoor Theatre.
"Come join the Houston Symphony and me as we celebrate our 100th birthday this year. From Mardi Gras to Egypt to the final scene of Star Wars, we will perform some of the greatest celebration music ever written. I hope to see you at the party," says conductor Franz.
Families can arrive up to one hour before the start of each concert for the instrument petting zoo. Kids are encouraged to touch and try instruments in the four instrument families: the strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion.
Length: 1 hour
Ticket price: Free
Alice In Wonderland
When: June 8-July 28, Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Select weekdays at 1:30 p.m.
Where: Main Street Theater, Chelsea Market, 713-524-6706, www.mainstreettheater.com
Story line: This delightful musical is based on the beloved book by Lewis Carroll. Alice falls down a rabbit hole and discovers a world with strange creatures including the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Queen of Hearts.
“Alice in Wonderland is a story about wonder and nonsense. It is absurd, extravagant and whimsical, and our production is all of that and more,” says Vivienne M. St. John, Main Street Theater for Youth producing director. “Our earnest heroine Alice, the Mad Hatter and his wacky antics, the very silly White Rabbit. Producing Alice in Wonderland is a chance to bring to life an enduring classic that allows patrons of all ages the chance to forget for awhile where and who they are and just enjoy a tale of frivolity!”
Length: 1 hour 30 minutes with intermission
Ticket price: $12 - $16
Disney’s High School Musical
When: June 12, 13 and 14 at 11 a.m.; June 14 and 15 at 8:15 p.m.
Where: Miller Outdoor Theatre, Presented by Theatre Under The Stars’ Humphreys School of Musical Theatre, 832-487-7102, www.milleroutdoortheatre.com
Story line: At East High, the students socialize in their own cliques: the Jocks, Brainiacs, Thespians and Skater Dudes. The groups come back from winter break and recount their vacations. Basketball star Troy Bolton met a girl on a ski trip during the break, and soon discovers that the girl, Gabriella Montez, is enrolled at East High. They both audition for the school musical and rock the social status quo.
Talented local students play all the favorite characters in this popular Disney movie musical. “An essential part of TUTS' mission is to further musical theater education in the Greater Houston community, and we believe there is no better way to excite future fine arts audience members than to offer a popular Disney musical at Miller Outdoor Theatre,” says Bob Lawson, TUTS director of education at Theatre.
Length: 50 minutes
Ticket price: Free
Peter Pan
When: June 13, 15, 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m.; June 15, 16 and 23 at 2 p.m.
Where: Brown Theater, Wortham Theater Center, Presented by Houston Ballet, 713-227-ARTS, www.houstonballet.org
Storyline: Based on the popular story by Sir James M. Barrie, this magical ballet features flying sequences, giant puppets, sword fights, colorful masks, punk fashion costumes and lavish sets – all to capture the adventures of Peter Pan, Wendy, John and Michael on the island of Neverland. Peter Pan is the boy who can fly, the leader of the lost boys and the target of Captain Hook. Choreographer Trey McIntyre received rave reviews when Houston Ballet premiered Peter Pan in March 2002.
Length: 2 hours 15 minutes with two intermissions
Ticket price: Starts at $19
Bernadette Verzosa is founder and editor of ParentsPost.com
Students rehearse for TUTS' Disney's High School Musical.
