• 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

    New Cutting-Edge Performances

    Houston hits the arts jackpot as new entertainment company showcases cutting-edge performing artists

    Tarra Gaines
    Nov 19, 2015 | 12:45 pm

    Several hours before Bridget Everett, one of New York’s hottest cabaret stars and an Inside Amy Schumer frequent guest, took the stage at the MATCH, Kathryn Lott and Allison Lott, founders of Lott Entertainment Presents, were supervising the pre-show preparations of Matchbox 3, worrying over a string of light bulbs falling and a logo misprint in the programs. Of course, once showtime arrived and Everett entered singing songs of all-sized titty pride and using her own ample bra-less breasts as weapons of cabaret comedy terror, no one in the audience was paying much attention to the logos in the programs.

    There’s a new performing arts presenting company in town and with Everett as their first show, beautifully bellowing for us all to “Fuck Some Shit Up” as a kind of rallying cry, the Lott partners are making it clear that this is definitely not your grandma’s performing arts series, unless Gammy is really into bizarre and sexual explicate cabaret and off, off Broadway innovated and interactive plays.

    A Houston void?

    I went to talk with Allison and Kathryn as they did their debut show preparations, and soon found their fill-the-void philosophy for bringing acts to Houston was more than a motto.

    “Our goal is to be different and our goal in programming is to bring something that wouldn’t be here otherwise. That’s the first question we ask ourselves when we’re looking at shows,” explained Allison Lott.

    No, they’re not related, but the women became friends while working at Society for the Performing Arts. They later left to start their own consulting and special events firm, but still their performing arts experience kept calling them to do something alongside Lott Entertainment. A trip to New York to see the off Broadway play The Other Mozart and to catch shows at the iconic Joe’s Pub nightclub at the Public Theater made them realize that Houston is missing out on some great performing art.

    “We just couldn’t stop talking about how Houston doesn’t have this sort of thing,” described Allison Lott. After wondering why no one was bringing these kind of cutting-edge acts to Houston, they began to ask: Why not them? And so was born the non-profit offshoot of Lott Entertainment, Lott Entertainment Present.

    They were first determined to bring the one-woman play The Other Mozart, the little known true story of musical prodigy Nannerl Mozart, the sister of Wolfgang Amadeus. But early on they also started talks with some of the people behind the programming of Joe’s Pub.

    Opening their own pub

    Joe’s Pub has brought so many international-know and up and coming singers and performing artists to its intimate stage, while cultivating new acts and helping them to develop their work, that its gained a reputation as THE showcase for new talent. What Joe’s Pub does has never been completely duplicated outside New York, but now Allison and Kathryn are ready to see if it could possibly be loosely franchised with their Joe’s Pub Series. They’ll bring in some of the venue’s staple artists within the Lott Entertainment Presents season.

    “We started the conversation with Joe’s Pub thinking: No Way. But they actually bit really easily. They were really excited about it, and thought Houston was a great market,” explained Kathryn Lott, and adding “I think it’s going to a huge claim to our company and to our city to have the first Joe’s Pub outside from New York City.”

    The new year will bring the rest of this debut season, starting with The Other Mozart on January 7 and continuing with two more from the Joe's Pub Series with Daniel Koren (Feburary 18-20) and Bridget Barkan (April 7). The Method Gun (May 26-28) rounds out the 2015-2016 lineup. The shows of this first season don’t have any striking themes in common, but Team Lott promises they’ll all be “high quality art.”

    “The thought behind the first season is go really big and bold and show you what the brand is from the very first show, hoping you’ll trust me after that and you’ll have such a good time you’ll take even more risks with me,” said Kathryn Lott of her programming strategy.

    A Texas Method to the Madness

    They’ll end this inaugural season in May not looking to New York for inspiration but to some real Texas grown theater with the Austin based Rude Mechs and their joyous comedy The Method Gun, a work that’s part play, part dance and all weird tribute to acting and the volatile and inspirational student/teacher relationship. (I saw The Method Gun in Austin in 2014 and it was my favorite live performance of that year.) This last production will take place on the larger and more traditional Matchbox 4 stage.

    The Lott not-sisters are pleased with their fit into the MATCH and how easily Matchbox 3 could be turned into a Joe’s Pub-inspired space. Of the MATCH Kathryn Lott finds, “It was new. We were knew. They had this space which was just perfect, and we knew we could turn it into Joe’s Pub.”

    Still, the team is committed to “fluidity” in the future, explained Allison Lott. They want the freedom “to add and not be tied to that traditional model” of a set season like many performing arts organizations. Looking, hopefully, to coming years, they plan to explore putting shows in other venues around town.

    “There are going to be times when you won’t know where we’re going to pop up next. There eventually will be a big element of surprise,” promises Kathryn Lott, the woman who has just brought Houston a brimming eye-full of the faux-leopard-skin panty covered crotch of Bridget Everett. Here’s to seeing what’s next.

    The season resumes in January with The Other Mozart.

    The Other Mozart
      
    Courtesy Photo
    The season resumes in January with The Other Mozart.
    theatercomedy
    news/arts

    most read posts

    Houston chef Tristen Epps dishes on his Top Chef victory — and what's next

    Intimate Houston cocktail lounge adds European-inspired outdoor patio

    Award-winning Houston cocktail bar diverts to new home in Montrose

    Hodge Podge

    Houston artist bids farewell, for now, with career-spanning new exhibit

    Craig D. Lindsey
    Jun 18, 2025 | 10:29 am
    Robert Leroy Hodge Sanman Studios
    Courtesy of Robert Leroy Hodge/SANMAN Studios
    The exhibit shows a range of the artist's works.

    Artist Robert Leroy Hodge is saying goodbye to Houston – well, not exactly.

    The Houston-born multidisciplinary artist recently debuted his latest exhibit, Diamonds That Fall from the Treetop, at SANMAN Studios. Known more for his eye-catching, pop-art collages (in 2023, he collaborated with Austin artist Tim Kerr for the No Kings But Us exhibit at Blaffer Art Museum), this mini-retrospective will feature selected works from his two-decade career – including the early stuff.

    “A lot of kids think I only make collages,” Hodge tells CultureMap. “And, also, I'm not making collages anymore like that. So, it's like the end of an era. I show where I started with these portraits and real paintings and drawings and how I kind of got into collage. It's a wide range of things I do, not just collage.”

    Diamonds will also be his last exhibit in Houston, but he’s not moving away. Hodge will cut down on doing local exhibits and focus more on getting his art and his name out there in other parts of the world. He’s out to prove that serious art can come out of this place.

    “When I interact with politicians and people in higher positions, they treat local artists like they're secondary, they're not good enough,” he says. “[They say] ‘They're in Houston because they can't be in New York and LA,’ and that's not the case. I could be anywhere, and I chose Houston.”

    But Hodge wants to be known as an artist from Houston, instead of just in Houston. “There’s nothing wrong with being a local artist in your city, but that’s not what I want,” he says. “I live here, but for me to get to the next space I wanna get to, I need to be showing more in New York, LA, out the country. And it's nothing personal – when you do a lot of stuff here, you just can't keep doing the same thing. You start to feel stagnant.”

    As much as he loves both the city and its art scene, Hodge knows that the visual arts isn’t a high priority around here. “We are an oil-and-gas city,” he says. “And because that's the main way money is being made, arts and culture is not primary. And, then, the new mayor is not really into art. So, it's like it all depends on who loves art and who's in office.”

    Within city limits, Hodge says he will be more of a curator and mentor, helping young artists and working with galleries and studios on creating showcases for those artists and others. He also wants to continue collaborating with fellow art enthusiasts of color, like the folks at SANMAN.

    “I wanted to do it with SANMAN because it's owned by two young Black men,” he says. “They got a staff of Black creatives, and I wanted to really show cohesiveness between Black men.”

    But Hodge isn’t completely hanging up the idea of doing another big solo show in his hometown. “This is the last one for a while,” he says, “unless the Menil calls or something crazy happens.”

    -----

    Diamonds That Fall will be on display through Saturday, July 26.

    Robert Leroy Hodge Sanman Studios
      

    Courtesy of Robert Leroy Hodge/SANMAN Studios

    The exhibit shows a range of the artist's works.

    artistsgalleriesvisual-artinterview
    news/arts
    Loading...