Among my recommendations for this weekend are a here now, gone tomorrow restaurant, a feel good 1980s musical, the start of a classical music feast, the opening of a glowing art exhibit, a walking tour and a dark play teeming with themes of the supernatural, murder and redemption.
Try clicking on the links below each event suggestions. You'll find a page with helpful features, like the ability to download the deets to your electronic calendar, alongside suggestions on where to eat, drink, shop and crash for the night nearby your final destination.
Brave Kitchen Project's First Pop Up Dinner Service
You may know the long-haired friendly lad James Nelson as one of the chaps behind Bravado Spice Co., a local business dedicated to adding a touch of this and a touch of that to boring meals lacking zest. Or you may recognize him as one of the Top 20 contestants of MasterChef.
That guy, with the help of chef Vicente Blasco, is on yet another mission: The Brave Kitchen Project, a series of pop-up dinners that promise bold cuisine with regional flavors, the first of which includes dishes for those following vegetarian, vegan and gluten free diets. Don't chicken chicharrones, squash blossom and nopal masala and black bean and chickpea Mexican dosas sound appetizing?
Some of the ingredients will be sourced from Last Organic Outpost. That's as fresh as it comes.
The skinny: Thursday, 6 to 10 p.m.; Mango's; pricing is a la carte.
Theatre Under The Stars presents Flashdance – The Musical
I have never been, nor will I ever be, the kind of fellow who frolics around gaily at the thought of the latest spirit fingers musical. I am more into Mahler and Shostakovich — or any kind of classical tune that encourages raging head banging. Call me a maniac — I deserve that sort of moniker anyway.
But I do get nostalgic for "What I feeling," "Manhunt" and "Gloria," specially when I consider what other '80s dance anthems Laura Branigan may have made famous had it not been for the brain aneurysm that claimed her life at 47. For purists, know that Flashdance the film and the musical aren't exactly a match. So don't be getting all huffy and puffy because of the differences.
The skinny: Runs through June 16; Hobby Center for the Performing Arts; tickets start at $25.
2013 Texas Music Festival
The month-long musical binge at the University of Houston has already started this week with faculty concerts, rehearsals, master classes and on and on. Yet the big musical bang happens on Saturday with the first of four large orchestra concerts. "Festival Orchestra 1: Celebratory Opening" includes Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty and a genre-defying double percussion showcase written by Mark Anthony Turnage.
Although if you like the more intimate side of classical music, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artists Competition final round is on Sunday — with none other than yours truly serving as emcee and as a judge.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opens James Turrell: The Light Inside
You've done it. I've done it. Everyone's is done it. The Wilson Tunnel at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is a popular destination for sci-fi-esque photography perfect for your Instagram feed. The artist, illuminati James Turrell, will be focus of a retrospective exhibit, titled The Light Inside, that opens this weekend.
The collection — a partnership between the MFAH, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City — includes many never-before seen works in a public exhibition.
The skinny: Sunday through Sept. 22; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; free with museum admission.
Preservation Houston Walking Tour: University of St. Thomas & Menil Campus Architecture Walk
Preservation Houston is your go-to org when you're intrigued to learn the back story behind the story of how Houston's neighborhoods and buildings came to be. Every month, astute guides escort groups through an area of town and offer insightful intel about the architecture and its history.
Without question you know something about the University of St. Thomas and the Menil Collection. But here's your opportunity to be an expert.
The skinny: Sunday, 6 p.m.; meet at the Link-Lee Masion; tickets are $7-10.
Arts smarty pants and happy-go-lucky gal Nancy Wozny's pick: Stark Naked Theatre presents Macbeth
Nancy says: "It's just like Stark Naked Theatre Company to end their season with Macbeth, a play so storied that it's considered the Voldemort of the theater world. Curse aside, it's full steam ahead for co-directors Philip Lehl and Kim Tobin, who play Mr. and Mrs Macbeth, for this bold theater troupe.
"Shakespeare's unblinking look at the psychology of human ambition is always a timely topic, so it makes perfect sense for Stark Naked to tackle the Scottish play. Stark Naked is also sponsoring a related art exhibit, Haunted, curated by award-winning local artist dianne k webb."
Stark Naked Theatre Company's Kim Tobin and Philip Lehl in rehearsal for Macbeth
Another view of the garden. Photo by Brian Austin, courtesy of Rothko Chapel.