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Your weekly guide to Houston: Five (plus) don't-miss events — a love triangle in a bar included

Here's to another week teeming with plenty of outings to enrich your life. Make your days ahead adventurous with a presidentially endorsed secret documentary, a musical about love and death, an elegant and vivacious concert, an international artsy fest and a film that's explosively dramatic.

Film screening benefiting the Houston Area Parkinson Society: The Astronaut's Secret

We all think of astronauts as invincible explorers whose métier automatically ranks them as heroes. Despite passing his health screening, Lieutenant Colonel Michael "Rich" Clifford, who served in missions aboard the Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis space shuttles, knew that something was wrong — a secret he, his doctor and a handful of NASA officials guarded for many, many years.

A film by Houstonian Zach Jankovic tells Clifford's story. The 30-minute documentary, titled The Astronaut's Secret, reveals the 62-year-old astronaut's battle with Parkinson's disease. For Clifford, the film is his opportunity to help change the public's perception of a condition that's generally misunderstood.

President George H.. Bush and Barbara Bush, as honorary chairs of this screening, are scheduled to be present. The event benefits the Houston Area Parkinson Society and Parkinson's Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic, Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Neurology.

The skinny: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Edwards Houston Marq'e 23 and IMAX; tickets are $50.

TUTS Underground presents Murder Ballad

Described as a long triangle gone wrong — is there any other kind? — the Off-Broadway production that adds to the arsenal of immersive, experiential theater presentations puts the audience in the middle of the action. With the stage of Zilkha Hall set up as a fully operational bar, contemporary-minded theatergoers will feel as voyeurs amid a sticky, sultry and ultimately fatal tryst filled with betrayal.

Needless to say, this story doesn't have a "happily ever after" conclusion. But just as it is in opera and theater — think Puccini and Shakespeare — death scenes make for orgasmic, if not happy, endings. The questions is: Who dies? I am not telling.

The skinny: Thursday through April 27; Hobby Center for the Performing Arts; tickets start at $24.

Houston Symphony presents "Bronfman Plays Beethoven 4"

Pianist Yefim Bronfman is built for Rachmaninoff, his big hands and fat fingers endowing him with the muscle power to dance romantically about the ivories. Equally, his interpretation of the Prokofiev Piano Sonatas — the second in D minor is by far my favorite — has me bouncing around in tuneful mischief.

To hear Bronfman perform Beethoven is to discover the Israeli-American virtuoso's alter ego. His ability to elegantly shape melodies renders this versatile artist mesmerizing. With the vivacious Andrés Orozco-Estrada on the podium, the musical chemistry promises to sparkle in a program that also includes Smetana's Overture to The Bartered Bride and Dvorák's Symphony No. 8.

The skinny: Thursday through Saturday; Jones Hall; tickets start at $25.

Dance Salad Festival 2014

Don't let the whimsical title of the three-day performance fest distract you from the attention to detail that goes behind curating this showcase of pioneering dance companies from around the world. Dance buffs go bananas when the Dance Salad Festival comes around, each night offering a different program of inventive choreography from ensembles such as the Paris Opéra Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, Spain's Elephant in the Black Box and China's Contemporary Dragon KungFu, among many.

The skinny: Thursday through Saturday; Wortham Theater Center; tickets start at $20.

Arab Worlds film screening: The Attack

Talk about drama: An Arab surgeon finds himself treating victims of a terrorist bombing only to learn that his wife may be implicated in the tragic incident. As the plot unfolds, he learns that she's been concealing much more than he could ever have imagined.

The screening, in conjunction with the FotoFest 2014 Biennial, will be followed by a Skype interview with director Ziad Doueiri.

The skinny: Saturday, 7 p.m.; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; $9 general admission.

Houstonian Zach Jankovic's film, The Astronaut's Secret, tells the story of Lieutenant Colonel Michael "Rich" Clifford's battle with Parkinson's disease.

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Musical theater veteran joins prominent Houston company

Courtesy of Stages

Stages has named Valerie Rachelle as its new associate artist director.

A Houston theater company is adding an accomplished artist to its ranks. Stages announced that Valerie Rachelle will be the company’s new associate artistic director beginning in January 2026.

For more than a decade, Rachelle has been artistic director of the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland, Oregon, where she oversaw artistic vision and operations. That theater specializes in musical theater performances offered in a cabaret setting.

Rachelle comes to Houston with a career spanning nearly 30 years as a director and choreographer. She has extensive experience in developing new musicals and plays for regional theaters and opera companies across the United States, including the Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Sierra Repertory Theatre. She was appointed to her position at Stages following a nationwide search.

“I’m beyond thankful for this opportunity to join this incredible company, and I’m excited to be a part of a creative entity that has a strong mission and vision as Stages,” Rachelle said in a statement.

In her role with Stages, she will support artistic director Derek Charles Livingston with season planning and casting; liaise with artists, press, and staff; and coordinate day-to-day operations for the artistic department. She will also assist with crafting educational materials, direct and choreograph productions, and serve as the primary liaison with theatrical unions.

“We are thrilled to welcome Valerie to Stages in this role,” said Livingston. “I have seen her work as a director and director choreographer — she's excellent. Those skills combined with her experience as a theatre artistic director and manager only further fortify Stages' commitment to artistic excellence and community engagement.”

Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, Rachelle began her career as a dancer and apprentice ballerina with the Eugene Ballet Company before earning her BFA in acting from California Institute of the Arts. She received her MFA in Directing from the University of California, Irvine. She has held teaching and directing positions at numerous institutions, including the University of Southern California, Southern Oregon University, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and others. She has also served as a mentor through Statera Arts, an organization dedicated to gender equity in the arts.

Rachelle teaches musical theater, auditioning, and singing at Southern Oregon University when she isn’t on the road as a freelance director and choreographer. She’s also a classically trained singer and toured the world with her parents and their illusionist show as a child.

“Joining the team that has a long-standing reputation of excellence in theater is an honor,” Rachelle added.

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