best summer theater

Houston's hottest theater openings spotlight Mean Girl summer and more

As the days heat up, we’re ready for nights of the coolest live theater. From Shakespeare to beloved musicals to comic twisty mysteries, Houston theater companies offer some of their breeziest shows of the year.

Plus, a new company’s debut, a couple of world premieres, and one mean Broadway touring smash all make this a summer theater season to remember.

Tamarie Cooper's Live In-Person Sticky Sweet Summer Show! from Catastrophic Theatre (now through August 6)
Happy 25th anniversary to a decidedly Houston summer tradition, an original musical, comedy extravaganza from Catastrophic co-founder Tamarie Cooper. The local star known as Tamarie teams with writing partner Patrick Reynolds for the laughs and weaves in original music composed by Miriam Daly, Erin Rodgers, and Alli Villines.

Starring Tamarie herself and her crew of Catastrophic regulars and favs, her latest she will tackle the joys and paradoxes of just making it whole into 2022. Highlights include feral actors, dancing egg rolls, Tamarie’s sixth grade disco dance-off nemesis Charlotte Lloyd, a sassy chair, and racist step-uncle Roy.

Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them from Thunderclap Productions (now through July 10)
Though not a new to Houston, this theater company has flown under the radar for the past few years to now unleash a one, two dramatic punch at MATCH in July.

In this first show, 12-year-old Edith makes an unfortunate, spur-of-the-moment decision with her air rifle, changing her own life as well as the lives of her older brother Kenny and his boyfriend Benji when they all find themselves suddenly at odds with the adult world around them.

The show, penned by playwright A. Rey Pamatmat, is part of Thunderclap’s John Steven Kellett Memorial Series, an annual production of a play, musical, or film dealing with equality and pushing back against LGBTQ+ discrimination.

The Sound of Music at A.D. Players (July 6-August 14)
The George Theater comes alive with the sound of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic. Culminating its return to live, in-person theater, A.D. Players highlights the indelible human spirit with that most beloved of love stories, as a never-to-be-nun novice brings music and love back to into the Von Trapp home and battles Nazis along the way.

Longtime A.D. Players fans should note Sound of Music will also becomes something of a “So Long, Farewell” swan song for its director and regular company actor and creative artist, Emily Tello Speck. She’s be leaving Houston with her husband, outgoing A.D. Players executive director Jake Speck, as the family moves back to Nashville — as CultureMap reported.

Simprov from Thunderclap Productions (July 15-24)
The second July production from Thunderclap, also at the MATCH, this world premiere futuristic comedy from Obie-winning playwright Laurence Klavan tells the story of two couples on contrasting journeys.

Middle-aged Barbara and Alan are pulled apart by her ever-increasing involvement in video and internet experiences. Meanwhile, the nameless young 20somethings Actor and Actress — suddenly fired from their TV series — find themselves thrown into a world of new technologies and plastic surgery.

The two couples paths cross in “Simprov,” a live version of Sims-like video games that use real and discardable people. They will meet again when they are unrecognizable even to themselves, before returning to completely altered.

Is God Is at Rec Room (July 14-August 6)
In this modern myth from award-winning playwright Aleshea Harris, twin sisters set off upon a vengeance journey for their own brand of justice. The show is said to merge Spaghetti Western and Afropunk genres into a dark comedy.

This intriguing mix should be in good hands with director Candice D’Meza, as the local actor, director, writer, and filmmaker’s most recent short films have delved into sci-fi and AfroFuturism. Rec Room has a habit of casting some of our favorite local actors while introducing us to new faces, so we can’t wait to see the world this cast creates.

The Real Inspector Hound at Main Street Theater (July 16-August 7)
If it’s summer, that must mean a manor house mystery, But since this is a Tom Stoppard play, expect lots of theatrical and intellectual fun in this spoof on Agatha Christie-type murder mysteries.

For decades MST has been the go-to theater for plays of ideas — and especially Stoppard plays of ideas, from chaos theater to brain science to Russian philosophy. With that, we’re looking forward to their take on this early Stoppard twist on both murder mysteries and stage criticism, something that Stoppard did himself early in his career.

(Theater criticism that is, we have no knowledge about Stoppard solving or doing crime.)

Clue at Alley Theatre (July 22-August 28)
Get ready for some summer comic chills with this madcap mystery based on the cult classic ’80s movie based on the ’40s board game. On a dark and stormy night, six supposed-strangers gather for a dinner party where murder is on the menu.

Who killed Mr. Boddy? Did the butler do it? Was it Mr. Green in the study with a lead pipe, Mrs. White in the drawing room with a rope, or Dr. Chartreuse with a catapult in topiary garden? (Okay, we might have made that last one up, but for live, comic summer theater and the Alley resident acting company likely letting loose, who knows what could happen?)

For this beloved board game-turned film-turned live theater, the real mystery we want answered is (spoiler alert) will there be multiple endings?

Dream: The Story of the Everly Brothers at Stages (July 22-September 4)
Country rock pioneers the Everly Brothers get their stage homage in this world premiere musical from Ben Hope and Eric Anthony, two of the creators of another musical bio/tribute hit at Stages, Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash.

One of the first 10 artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Everly Brothers were known for tight harmonies and steel-string acoustic guitar. Hope and Anthony play tribute to these legends as they share the music and stories of the Everly Brothers weaved among their own tales of influences, music making, and family.

With more than 25 songs, from No. 1 hits to deep cuts, Dream showcases the full humanity of the Everly Brothers and the rich legacy.

H.M.S Pinafore from The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston (July 23-31)
To celebrate its 70th anniversary, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society will launch the most operatic of parties on the Hobby Center’s Zilkha stage.

In this Gilbert and Sullivan fan favorites filled with the most memorable numbers, a sailor falls in love with the captain's daughter, but they can’t be together due to his lowly station in life. At the same time, the high-ranking First Lord of the Admiralty, played by stage director Alistair Donkin, seeks the daughter's hand for himself.

After participating in Gilbert & Sullivan’s summer productions for the last 40 years, Pinafore will be Alistair Donkin’s curtain call production, and the last chance to see the G&S veteran in one of his most famous roles.

King Lear and Cymbeline from Houston Shakespeare Festival (July 28-August 6)
After two years, one of Houston’s favorite theatrical traditions is finally back home at Miller Outdoor Theater.

Since 1975, the University of Houston Department of Theatre and Dance has partnered with the city to bring free summer Shakespeare to Hermann Park, and this year, the festival offers quite the pairing. Though King Lear is one of English theater’s greatest tragedies, the festival hasn’t staged this monumental story of family betrayal, love, loyalty and madness in 20 years.

On alternate nights, dive into Cymbeline, a fairytale romance that some consider one of Shakespeare’s most complex and occasionally perplexing comic plots. Long-lost siblings, a wicked stepmother, cross-dressing, conniving royals, (in)fidelity tests, mistaken identity, and forest shenanigans all included.

Runaways from On the Verge Theatre (August 5-21)
Houston’s newest theater company, founded by two Houston director veterans, Bruce Lumpkin and Ron Jones, begins its inaugural season with this provocative, ’70s musical based on real stories of teen runaways.

Don’t expect late-20s and 30-something actors to play the characters; instead, the roles will be performed exclusively by students from Houston area high schools and colleges — adding a layer of casting authenticity.

Structured as a collection of songs, dances, and spoken word pieces, the show might serves as an intriguing look into this new company’s mission and theatrical point of view. While On the Verge has plans for shows in unusual venues and locations, Queensbury Theatre will host this first musical.

Mean Girls from Broadway at Hobby Center (August 16-21)
In the early oughts, Tina Fey tried to make a comic/anthropology film about the cutthroat world of high school popularity wars happen, and girl, did it ever happen. The movie’s plot, characters, and cutting lines quickly became pop culture staples. In 2018, Fey partnered with husband Jeff Richmond (music) and Nell Benjamin (lyrics) to turn the story into a smash musical.

While the pandemic might have confiscated their Burn Book for a few years, no one keeps these Mean Girls down for long. Now Cady, Regina, Gretchen (played by Houston nice girl and TUTS Tommy Tune Award winner Jasmine Rogers), and the rest of the girl gang head to Hobby to sing their way to the top of the class.

The Mean Girls rule the Hobby Center in August.

Photo courtesy of Broadway Dallas

The Mean Girls rule the Hobby Center in August.

theater

Best May Art

MFAH's blockbuster modern art exhibit and 7 more openings in Houston this month

as Pablo Picasso, Woman in a Multicolored Hat, part of the MFAH's upcoming Picasso–Klee–Matisse: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen exhibit, opening May 20

Image courtesy MFAH

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Picasso–Klee–Matisse: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen (Pablo Picasso, Woman in a Multicolored Hat, 1939, oil on canvas, Museum Berggruen, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin. © 2026 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York)

May brings some of the biggest art shows and museum exhibitions of the year to town. Some fly in with patriotic fanfare, while others give us a rare opportunity to gaze at European masterworks. Whether someone is looking for irreverent performance art at the CAMH, wants to get in touch with whimsical spirits at Moody Art Center, buy art for a good cause at Silver Street, or get ready for the World Cup at Sawyer Yards, Houston artists, galleries, and museums have a show for all tastes.

“Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation” at Houston Museum of Natural Science (now through May 25)
We’ll call this one the art of democracy. This exhibition 250 years in the making might not fit the usual definition of "art," but this touring presentation of Founding-era documents at HMNS has to make this month's must-see list. The National Archives and Records Administration, in partnership with the National Archives Foundation, set aloft this flying tour of some of the nation’s most historical documents, complete with their own plane. Houston is one of only eight U.S. cities where the Freedom Plane will land. The original National Archives records featured in the exhibition are traveling together for the first time. Just some of the historic documents included in the exhibition are an original engraving of the Declaration of Independence; George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr’s Oaths of Allegiance, 1778; and the Secret Printing of the Constitution in Draft Form, 1787.

“As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, there is no more fitting tribute than bringing these original documents, leaving the National Archives together for the very first time, directly to the American people,” says Joel Bartsch, president and CEO of HMNS. “From George Washington’s oath as a Continental Army officer to the Treaty of Paris that secured our independence, these are not replicas or reproductions. They are the genuine records, and Houston will have the rare privilege of experiencing them in person this May.”

“20th Annual Empty Bowls” at Silver Street Studios (May 15 and 16)
For two decades this beloved grassroots fundraising event has given art lovers the chance to pick up one of a kind, handcrafted ceramic bowl-shaped artworks for just $25 dollars each and helped to serve up millions of meals to the hungry. Over the years, Empty Bowls Houston has raised over $1.2 million for the Houston Food Bank. The lunch fundraiser is a collaboration between Houston-area ceramists, woodturners, and artists working in all media and Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. A special ticketed preview party on May 15 will feature light bites, beer and wine, live music, a pottery throw down event with local potters, and a chance to purchase a bowl early before the main event on May 16. Archway Gallery will also host its own annual Empty Bowls exhibition throughout May.

“No Longer, Not Yet” at Art League (May 15-July 19)
This exhibition of mixed media and fiber sculptures from Houston-based artist Marisol Valencia is the culmination of Valencia volunteering at a Houston-area shelter serving migrant women and children. To create the works in the show, Valencia uses material imbued with meaning, including fibers sourced from rural Mexican communities where migration often shapes daily life; bedsheets and pillows gathered from the shelter; and porcelain pieces inscribed with collected definitions of “home.” At the center of the exhibition will be a large cascading crochet sculpture made in collaboration with women and volunteers at the shelter.

“Picasso–Klee–Matisse: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen” at Museum of Fine Arts (May 20-September 13)
Houston claims another first as the MFAH hosts the U.S. debut of this monumental touring exhibition of masterworks by Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti, and other major artists of postwar Europe. The exhibition will also tell the story of influential gallerist Heinz Berggruen and his relationship with the artists and collecting world. From the 1940s into the 1990s, Heinz Berggruen assembled a singular collection of hundreds of modern masterworks, many directly from the artists, and then in 2000, Berggruen placed the collection with the German state. The collection is now housed in the Museum Berggruen in Berlin-Charlottenburg as part of the Berlin State Museums/Foundation of Prussian Cultural Heritage.

“It is especially rewarding to introduce our audiences to the life and legacy of Heinz Berggruen — a pioneering art dealer, publisher, and collector whom I was privileged to know and work with for more than two decades,” remarks MFAH director Gary Tinterow on bringing the exhibition to Houston.

“Ballet of the Masses” at Sawyer Yards (May 21-July 25)
As Houston gets ready for the World Cup, local artists score their own kind of goals with this exhibition of artful soccer balls. Over 40 Houston artists have put a unique spin on a regulation sized fútbol — turning them into sculptural pieces. Organizers will suspend the works from the ceiling of Sabine Street Studios' North Gallery to create a kind of celestial soccer constellation. Together, these works will celebrate the dynamism and joy within sports and art.

“Never Forgotten” at Sabine Street Studios (May 21-July 25)
This powerful exhibition comes from a unique collaboration between Texas Center for the Missing, Houston Police Department Forensic Artists, and Sabine Street Studios, all dedicated to bringing the missing home. Three local forensic artists: Thurston Johnson, Bryan Bradley, and Kristen Aloysius have created age-progression portraits of missing persons in the hopes of reuniting families. Beyond showcasing real art, “Never Forgotten” was organized to shine a light on each individual case and continue raising awareness of the missing in our community. Sabine Street Studios will also host special programming in conjunction with the show, including a workshop on forensic drawing and drawing portraits based on memories.

“Mary Ellen Carroll: How To Talk Dirty and Influence People” at Contemporary Arts Museum (May 22-November 1)
Acclaimed New York-based conceptual artist Mary Ellen Carroll has spent over four decades crossing disciplines of performance art, photography, architecture, writing, video making, and public art to explore issues of environmentalism, architectural and technological infrastructure, immigration, urban legislation, and identity, as well as tackling fundamental questions of the nature of art. And some of this exploration has taken place in Houston with Carroll’s continual transformation and documentation of a post-war home in the city’s Sharpstown neighborhood.

This first major museum survey of Carroll’s work takes inspiration from legendary comic Lenny Bruce’s 1965 autobiography of the same name, and emphasizes the irreverent and honest nature of Carroll’s work. The exhibition will bring renewed focus onto some of Carroll’s larger series, for example, “prototype 180,” the Sharpstown project, and “My Death Is Pending… Because,” consisting of separate pieces like video documentation of the artist driving and destroying a 1985 Buick in a demolition derby in 2017 and video of Carroll in a polar bear suit climbing a defunct smokestack in Memphis.

“Carroll is that unique kind of artist who continually reminds you of the power of art and artists to inspire radical change, in ourselves and the world,” notes senior curator Rebecca Matalon.

"Shapeshifters, Sprites, and Spirits” at Rice Moody Center for the Arts (May 29 - August 15)
Delve into a world of whimsical wonder in this new exhibition and the first Texas solo show of acclaimed Japanese artist Masako Miki’s sculptural work and installations. Influenced by diverse artistic movements from European Surrealism to Japanese manga, Miki creates sculptures from felt layered over wood armatures. Once completed, they resemble animated and large scale forms of everyday objects infused with personality and character.

Miki’s work is also inspired by folkloric traditions, especially Shinto animism and its belief that all beings and things contain a spirit. For the site specific Moody exhibition, Miki has also created works with a focus on yōkai, supernatural entities taking the form of beings, objects, and apparitions, and particularly those that appear in the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons (Hyakki Yagyō), a legend dating to medieval Japan.

“My characters are ordinary but have extraordinary powers,” describes Miki of her sculptures. “They are secular but are attuned to sacred traditions. As a collective, they advocate for both individual and collective agency, and the importance of stories as unifying systems in today’s complex world.”

$as Pablo Picasso, Woman in a Multicolored Hat, part of the MFAH's upcoming Picasso\u2013Klee\u2013Matisse: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen exhibit, opening May 20$

Image courtesy MFAH

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