theater district open house 2019

The ultimate guide to Theater District Open House: Amazing action, dazzling dance, and super sounds

Every August, Downtown Houston throws one of the biggest performance arts parties of the year at the TC Energy Theater District Houston Open House.

Now in its 26th year, the free day of music, drama, dance, and interactive experiences gives us a chance to preview the phenomenal year of performing arts to come and get a sneak peek at some of the international, national, and local shows that will soon hit the stages of the District.

Sunday, August 25, brings a full afternoon to immerse ourselves in the arts at the Hobby Center, Alley Theatre, Jones Hall, Wortham Center, Revention Music Center, and the plazas and streets in-between, so check out our guide to all the fun.

Get caught up in the action
Let loose your inner artist as many organizations offer hand (and feet) on classes and demonstrations. Take a dance movement or introduction to ballet mini-workshop with the Houston Ballet. Try a new accent with a dialect coach and learn some dramatic fight moves at a stage combat demo, both at the Alley Theatre.

Make your own prop, try on some diva wigs and learn about set design with the Houston Grand Opera. Get up close with the music at the Houston Symphony instrument petting zoo. For those wanting a look behind the scenes, both the Alley Theatre and Jones Hall will over some venue tours.

A peek into the future
See what’s to come for the 2019-2020 seasons, as many of our favorite performing arts institutions entice us with the flavor of their stellar lineups. Houston Grand Opera gives a sneak peek of their world premiere El Milagro del Recuerdo/The Miracle of Remembering opera in the Wortham Center.

At the Hobby Center, meet the cast and creative team from A Chorus Line, the first show of the Theatre Under the Stars 51st season. Also at Hobby, catch the Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center Musical Showcase throughout the day. Da Camera features a performance of the Walter Smith III Jazz Trio, celebrated Houston natives Walter Smith III and Kendrick Scott, along with bass player Larry Grenadier.

The grand finale of the day comes from the Houston Symphony and their free concert, as they give us a taste of their coming classical, pops and family seasons, including Schumann, Berlioz, and the king of film composers, John Williams, with music from the Harry Potter and Star Wars series.

Outdoor fun
Brave the Houston heat to create, dance, and sing along to some sizzling art in the plazas and street corners. Step into the new sidewalk art installation, Meet on the Hearts, by Joan Dodd, a flowery celebration of art in bloom downtown. Then bring your own vision to the day as you help color Magpies and Peacocks’ Color Me Theater District, a map of the Theater District that features scenes from the exciting upcoming shows of the 2019-2020 season.

Fly Dance Company will perform as their Healthy Hip Hop Squad educates on the body and mind benefits of dance. Take a Bollywood dance class with a BollyX instructor. Meanwhile Young Audiences of Houston will host several workshops and participatory demonstrations with focuses on stage makeup, recycled art and world cultures and art. Nameless Sound’s Creative Music Communities offers more workshops allowing kids of all ages play percussion instruments.

Artful discoveries
While Open House gives our megastar performing arts organizations plenty of room to shine, we also love that the day spotlights some of Houston’s mid-sized and smaller companies.

Find your new favorite dance, music and theatrical group as they put on their own shows throughout the event. Head to the Hobby Center’s Zilkha Hall to see performances from Ensemble Theatre, Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Noble Motion, Are Lyrica, Virtuosi of Houston, Texas Medical Center Orchestra, Karen Stokes Dance, and Musiqua.

The hottest deals
If you haven’t renewed that subscription and you’re wanting to fill your nights and weekends for the next year with some amazing performing arts, Open House has become the Black Friday of performance art discounts and special offers.

From SPA presenting Jeff Goldblum playing jazz to HGO’s The Magic Flute, to Common with the Houston Symphony to the Houston Ballet’s world premieres and world class dance, to a TUTS-produced new musical based on the George Strait film Pure Country, and the return of Hamilton, the Theatre District is set to deliver an epic year of arts performances, and the Open House is one of the best ways to get your tickets to it all.

A highlight of 2020 season will be Houston Grand Opera's The Magic Flute.

Photo courtesy of Houston Grand Opera

A highlight of 2020 season will be Houston Grand Opera's The Magic Flute.

concerts music dance theater

let's dance

Houston Ballet leaps into 2026-2027 with world premieres and Swan Lake

Photo by Lawrence Elizabeth Knox

Artists of Houston Ballet in Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake.

Announcing its 2026-2027 season, Houston Ballet leaps into an immersive wonderland with the world premiere ballet Where’s Alice? from co-artistic director Stanton Welch. This is just one of many dance adventures set for a season filled with spectacular story ballets, cutting edge contemporary dances, and world premieres.

“This season reflects the full breadth of what Houston Ballet is — and where we’re going,” Houston Ballet co-artistic director Julie Kent said in a statement. “We are honoring the great choreographic voices that have shaped our art form, from Balanchine and MacMillan to Lubovitch and Peck, while simultaneously opening the door to new creative possibilities through world premieres and bold collaborations.”

The season begins September 11 through 20 with a classic Texas twang for Pecos Bill, the title production of an eclectic mixed repertory program. Stanton Welch’s fun and rollicking dance follows the adventures of the folklore cowboy, Pecos Bill. The program also showcases a work from 20th century dance master, George Balanchine, with the elegant and dynamic Symphonie Concertante. And for the first time, the company will perform celebrated choreographer Lar Lubovitch’s Meadow, a piece Julie Kent herself once danced when it first debuted.

Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon returns September 24 through October 4. First performed by the company in 1994, the doomed love story between irresistibly beautiful femme fatale, Manon, and impoverished student, Des Grieux, has had audiences swooning for decades.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Houston Ballet season without the annual Margaret Alkek Williams Jubilee of Dance. And then closing out 2026, the company gifts Houston with Welch’s delightful and delectable Nutcracker Ballet.

The new year premieres Where's Alice? , Welch’s brand new work will be a re-envisioning of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, February 25 through March 7. Describing it as one of the most ambitious undertakings in HB’s recent history, the company plans for Alice to become a fully immersive theater experience that incorporates cutting-edge audio and visual effects that will take audience down the rabbit hole into a living, breathing, wondrous world.

Keeping with what looks to be the 26-27 season’s theme of blockbuster ballets from Welch, the company floats into spring, March 11 through 21, with the classic story of Madam Butterfly, a dramatic exploration of love, sacrifice, and cultural collision danced to Puccini’s heartbreaking score.

Beginning May 27 through June 6, HB offers the second mixed repertory program of the season, The Rite of Spring, and with it another world premiere. First, the company brings back the hypnotic, contemporary ballet, Reflections, a piece it originally debuted by the dance world’s reigning rock star, Justin Peck. Company member and up-and-coming choreographer Jacquelyn Long will create a new ballet for the program. Another highlight of the evening and the title work, Welch’s The Rite of Spring, offers a a visceral and elemental reimagining of dance for Stravinsky’s score that shocked the music world when it first debuted.

$Artists of Houston Ballet in Stanton Welch\u2019s Swan Lake$

Photo by Lawrence Elizabeth Knox

Artists of Houston Ballet in Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake.

The season ends June 10 through 27 with one of ballet’s most beloved stories, Swan Lake. Stanton Welch’s celebrated production was first staged by the company in 2006 and has gone on to become an audience favorite. Inspired by Pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse’s painting “The Lady of Shalott,” the production features lavish sets and costumes.

Reflecting on the whole season and his Alice in particular, Welch echo’s Kent’s belief that the programming offers a vision that connects the company’s history, present, and future.

“Where’s Alice? is an example of that vision – a production that pushes the boundaries of ballet through immersive sets and thought-provoking storytelling that makes you question, 'Who in the world am I?' as Alice did, creating an entirely new world audiences can step into,” Welch said. “It’s work like this that allows us to welcome new audiences into the theater while continuing to challenge and inspire our longtime supporters.”

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