The Art of Celebrity

Surprise! Beyoncé, Solange & Tina Knowles take a tour through The Menil, talk ofnew album

Tina Knowles and Beyoncé toured The Menil Collection and fell in love with YvesKlein's blue paintings.
Yves Klein, Requiem, 1960 — part of The Menil Collection works stored in thetreasure rooms.
The Menil Collection
The treasure rooms were opened for the Knowles group.
Photo by Paul Hester
Solange Knowles joined mom and sis at The Menil Collection.
Photo by Dave Rossman
The Menil Collection is a must-see on the itineraries of A-listers, some of whomstop over in Houston just to see the museum.
The Menil Collection/Facebook

Joining an impressive coterie of A-list stars including Gwyneth Paltrow, Mick Jagger and Tilda Swinton, Beyoncé has just finished her first tour of The Menil Collection.

No horde of excited fans were in her wake as is usually the case on the music superstar's Houston touchdowns. Beyoncé, who was accompanied by sister Solange Knowles, mom Tina Knowles and three young friends, apparently didn't know the museum is closed on Tuesday and showed up at the back entrance. A worker recognized them and called her supervisors and, soon afterward, Menil curator Toby Kamps escorted the group through the museum before Menil communications director Vance Muse took over and escorted the ladies to the upstairs treasure rooms.

Kamps, who used to be a curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum, was familiar with Solange, because she celebrated her 21st birthday at the CAM in 2007.

Beyoncé told Kamps that she is about to start recording a new album but not before her merry band visits Marfa.

Muse reports that they were particularly taken with Yves Klein's blue paintings. A happy coincidence, "Celebration in Blue" is the theme of The Menil's 25th anniversary gala in November and Klein's blue paintings will be on view.

The women also focused closely on Magritte’s surrealist paintings, Max Ernst bronzes and zeroed in on work by lesser-known surrealist Victor Brauner.

Beyoncé told Kamps that she is about to start recording a new album but not before her merry band visits Marfa to view the Donald Judd and Dan Flavin works at the Chinati Foundation.

Among the stars that have visited The Menil are Ethan Hawke, Val Kilmer, Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Stockard Channing and Drew Barrymore.

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taking center stage

Stage adaptation of iconic Black movie Jason's Lyric to debut in Houston

Courtesy of Jason's Lyric

Most of the movie's cast will appear in the play.

Next year, Houston writer/producer/director/promoter Je’Caryous Johnson will be bringing another beloved Black movie to the live stage.

Jason’s Lyric will join New Jack City and Set It Off in the lineup of ‘90s Black-movie favorites that Johnson has adapted for the stage. The 1994 made-in-Houston drama stars Allen Payne and a pre-Will Smith Jada Pinkett as young lovers trying to maintain a relationship as conflicts and obstacles keep getting in the way.

Jason’s Lyric Live will go on a nationwide, 22-city tour, premiering right here in H-Town on Thursday, February 13 — just in time for Valentine’s Day.

“Houston is my home, and bringing Jason’s Lyric Live to life here first is my way of paying homage to the city and its people who inspired this story,” Johnson said in a statement. “This is more than a play; it’s a love letter to the community.”

Payne will reprise his role as Jason, with actress/model Eva Marcille stepping in Pinkett’s role as Lyric. Naughty by Nature rapper Treach, who played Lyric’s criminal big brother Alonzo in the movie, will also return to the role for the stage production. Tyrin Turner (Menace II Society), K. Michelle (Love & Hip Hop), and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Welcome Back, Kotter) will round out the cast.

"Jason’s Lyric is one of the films that defined my career as an actor,” Payne said. “To bring it to life on stage for audiences who loved the movie — and a new generation experiencing it for the first time — is an incredible honor."

Marcille is also psyched for the show, taking on the role that Pinkett memorably brought to life. "Lyric is a character who embodies resilience and hope, and I’m honored to bring her story to life on stage,” Marcille said.

Tickets will go on sale this Friday, December 13, at 10 am. For a full list of dates and ticket information, visit the website.