• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    funny girl

    Hilarious comedic actress's revolutionary performance makes Les Misérables Houston run a must-see

    Tarra Gaines
    Sep 19, 2018 | 9:37 am

    Even in the middle of a revolutionary uprising, a few laughs can help break the tension. This advice comes from someone who should certainly know, actress Allison Guinn, who plays the scheming mistress of the house, Madame Thénardier, in Les Misérables.

    Guinn heads to Houston (September 25-30) in the Broadway revival touring production of the beloved musical. She took timeout from bringing life to the innkeeper Les Miz fans love to hate to tell CultureMap why a bit of comedy makes the drama all the sweeter on stage.

    A new Paris
    The characters and songs remain as we know and love them in this revival, but Guinn says to expect some beautiful surprises in the staging. Gone is the revolving stage that helped to transport characters across space and time and instead set designer, Matt Kinley uses backdrops and projections based on the actual artwork of Victor Hugo to bring the streets of Paris to the theater.

    “They look like watercolors, landscapes of different countrysides of Paris. It’s beautiful,” says Guinn.“The moodiness of it alone is breathtaking.”

    But just because beauty is all around her, don’t expect a nicer Madame Thénardier, the conniving innkeeper and probably one of literature’s worst foster mothers, and there’s a lot of competition in that category. Guinn first saw Les Misérables when she was a preteen growing up in Tennessee and loved the character even then.

    “I thought to myself: I want to be the one that makes people laugh. She left the biggest impression on me.”

    Being a bad girl
    But why Madame Thénardier?

    “When playing a comedic villain you can lean into that deliciousness, that love-to-hate factor. If you’re playing a villain in earnest, that villain is not self-aware. They don’t know that they’re bad. You have to play for their goals and objectives. You don’t get to add the element of humor. She knows she’s bad and she doesn’t care. That’s so wonderful and freeing.”

    In fact, Guinn thinks the moments of brevity the Thénardiers bring to story and music are vital for the audience and perhaps one of the reasons we can’t get enough of the drama and tragedy.

    “It’s in the name: The Miserable Ones, and the audience is put through so much. Then they get to have this little refresher, this rest of levity. I’m grateful to provide it," she says. "I think you need that palate cleanser; otherwise, you’re in for a stressful trip. You need the full spectrum, the comedy to make that drama bearable.”

    Guinn has felt the call of drama several times in her career, especially when she was in school studying and doing scenes of Chekhov and Sam Shepard, but she found comedy an inherent gift.

    “I really delved into drama and tried to deny my natural goofiness. But I stopped trying to fight it, embraced it and that’s been a blessing.”

    From the French revolution to HBO and Amy Schumer
    That comic touch has earned her guest stints on Inside Amy Schumer and HBO’s Divorce, and it’s even led her to Houston in the past. She won the role of Poppy in an Alley Theatre production of Noises Off several years ago, her first full farce. She says she enjoyed her farcical time in Houston, finding it easy “to breathe” here, and spent time exploring the city by hitting the resale shops, something she does to both shop and get to know a town.

    “There’s this the theory that when you’re older you’re going to be either a cat person or a knick knack person," she says, admitting she's very much the latter. "I’m just going to acquire all these tchotchkes until my apartment is completely full of oddities."

    Being an acquirer of stuff instead of cats might be the one thing she does have in common with Madame Thénardier.

    “I don’t think she would suffer cats. I think she’s probably a knick knack person. As much as she can acquire, she will have.”

    Besides helping to make audiences a little less miserable, Guinn has another rather special skill. She’s a master of the autoharp, a favorite instrument of her grandmother, and says she continues to play in honor of granny. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been many Broadway parts written for comic actors with autoharp proficiency, though she tells quite a terrifying tale of trying out for the bluegrass musical Bright Star, in front of its creator Steve Martin.

    “I wasn’t prepared for him to be in the room, and I walked in with my little autoharp and there he was. I was just gobsmacked,” she describes with laughter. “I think I rambled on for too long about how much I appreciated the show. I think I said something like: thank you for representing the Appalachian culture in a positive light. I couldn’t stop talking. I played well, but I think my babbling scared him.”

    Guinn proves even in her own life a little misery can be very funny.

    ---

    Mischer Neurosciences Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Les Miserables September 25-30. Visit the official site for tickets, showtimes, and more information.

    Allison Guinn plays Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables, coming to the Hobby Center September 25.

    Broadway at Hobby: Les Mis\u00e9rables, Allison Guinn
      
    Photo by Matthew Murphy
    Allison Guinn plays Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables, coming to the Hobby Center September 25.
    theater
    news/arts

    Start Me Up

    Immersive Houston art venue rocks out with new Rolling Stone experience

    Holly Beretto
    May 15, 2025 | 2:30 pm
    ​“Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified, The Immersive Rock Experience!”
    Photo courtesy of Artechouse
    “Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified, The Immersive Rock Experience!” opens at Artechouse in May.

    A new art exhibit puts viewers into the heart of rock and roll. Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified, The Immersive Rock Experience opens this Thursday, May 15 at Artechouse, the immersive art venue that opened last year in the Heights. With its 270-degree, floor-to-ceiling digital canvases in 18K-resolution and state-of-the-art surround sound, viewers will feel they’ve stepped into some of music’s most iconic moments.

    Narrated by Kevin Bacon, Amplified includes 1,000 photographs, 200 videos, 1,300 Rolling Stone covers, and features more than 300 artists whose music changed the world. Using sight, sound, and motion, this dynamic exhibit makes music history approachable and immediate for viewers. Here's a sneak peek:


    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by Noel Y. Calingasan • NYC (@nyclovesnyc)


    Houstonians know our city has its own deep connections to genre-shaking music history. From The Beatles at the Sam Houston Coliseum, to Elvis at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Bob Dylan’s “Night of the Hurricane” in 1976, and being the hometown of Beyoncé, Bun B, ZZ Top, Megan Thee Stallion, and many more, Houston has cultivated and welcomed artists with choruses of boisterous cheers and applause.

    "Given Houston’s deep connection to the evolution of rock and pop music over the decades, we were thrilled to partner with Rolling Stone to bring Amplified to Houstonians and continue the city’s tradition of supporting and celebrating musical acts from around the world," says Sandro Kereselidze, co-founder of Artechouse. "This exhibit aligns perfectly with our mission to connect the public with cultural and artistic storytelling through cutting-edge technology. We’re excited for guests of all ages to experience the history of rock ‘n’ roll like never before."

    The show was originally produced by Illuminarium Experiences and created by Brand New World Studios in partnership with Rolling Stone. Viewers who attend the Artechouse experience can keep their immersive experience going at the venue’s Reality (XR) Bar, serving cocktails and mocktails that dovetail with the exhibit. Blending cutting-edge XR technology with craft mixology, drinks come to life through exclusive XR activations, which are accessible via Artechouse’s XR mobile app. Guests can downtown the app from the App Store or Google Play.

    “Music imagery is about experiences,” said Jodi Peckman, executive producer and former creative director of Rolling Stone. “It’s about the unbridled joy of concerts and our connection to our favorite artists. Every picture tells a story and Rolling Stone Presents: AMPLIFIED has hundreds of stories to tell.”

    Timed tickets are available online and at the venue, and advanced reservations are strongly encouraged. Admission starts at $39 plus fees for adults and $29 plus fees for children, ages 17 and under. Tickets are currently available through August 31.

    art exhibitvisual-artartechouseopenings
    news/arts

    most read posts

    Massive, German-inspired beer garden coming to new Energy Corridor project

    Houstonians will get the royal treatment at this lively new steakhouse

    4 fresh new restaurants now open in suburban Houston

    Loading...