It's one thing to see the original Broadway cast of the season's hottest musical in New York City on the fabled Great White Way. It's another thing entirely to see those star performers in a solo concert here in Houston. And that is exactly the experience the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is looking to create in its new Beyond Broadway series, a collection of concerts by some of musical theater's hottest stars.
Come January, 2024, Houston audiences have the chance to see native Houstonian Renée Elise Goldsberry, along with Alan Cumming, and Patti LuPone in solo performances in March.
"We're always looking for ways to continue to create dynamism in the arts ecosystem and in our city," Hobby Center president and CEO Mark Folkes tells CultureMap. "Beyond Broadway is a way for audiences to have an experience that is unique and special for just one night. That's something that can't be replicated."
Folkes points out that the Hobby center's core audience is for the Broadway series, which brings touring shows of big musicals to Houston. Rarely, however, are the stars who originated the roles in those shows part of those tours. Beyond Broadway allows audiences to see star power in concerts that blend Broadway numbers with performers' backstories and other selections from across their varied careers.
“Beyond Broadway extends the Hobby Center's commitment to presenting the very best of Broadway by showcasing dynamic musical theater artists in concerts in both Sarofim Hall and the more intimate Zilkha Hall," Folkes said in a press release announcing the shows. "This is just the beginning of new programming initiatives that we will be unveiling for Houston audiences in the months and years ahead as we build programming presented by the Hobby Center.”
Houston native Renée Elise Goldsberry, who won a 2016 Tony Award, along with a Drama Desk Award and a Grammy Award for her portrayal of Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, kicks off the series on January 20, 2024 with Renée Elise Goldsberry in Concert. Houston audiences may recall her performing on Bayou City stages in shows with HITS Theatre. But she was also Nettie Harris in the original Broadway cast of The Color Purple, and Mimi Marquez in Rent. Goldsberry also had a recurring role on Ally McBeal and performed on the soap opera One Life to Life.
She currently stars in Marvel Studios television hit She Hulk, and in Tina Fey’s Emmy-nominated series, GIRLS5EVA, which is moving to Netflix in 2023.
"It's so exciting to welcome her," Folkes adds.
The series continues with Alan Cumming Is Not Acting His Age March 6 and 7, which The Telegraph hailed as "a sometimes touching, often funny and disarmingly frank theatrical evening." The Scottish television, film and theater actor has performed around the world and won a Tony Award for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret. He's performed on The Good Wife and presents the introductions to PBS' Masterpiece Mystery!
His solo show covers sex, death, and bacchanalia, with a set list as eclectic as he is. Audiences who love insider dish will enjoy his takes on discusses the effects of gravity, the time the mum from The Brady Bunch punched him, and what his dog taught him about the quality of life, not to mention his revelation that "I am literally the only person on American TV who has not had botox!"
"And he's never been to Houston," Folkes shares.
March 21 brings Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes. Conceived and directed by Scott Wittman with musical direction by Joseph Thalken, the show features one of Broadway's most-beloved and most-honored stars. Theatergoers know LuPone for her star-making tour in the original Broadway cast of Evita, for which she won her first Tony Award. She'd win two more, for her role as Rose in the 2008 revival of Gypsy and as Joanne in the 2022 revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company.
She was Fantine in the original London production of Les Miserables, and was nominated for an Emmy for her work on the 1990s TV series Life Goes On. She's appeared in American Horror Story, Frasier, Witness, and countless other film and TV series, along with performing in concerts around the world.
"If there's an owner of the musical theater world, it's Patti LuPone," quips Folkes, who notes the star's appearance here should be a particular thrill for Houston audiences.
Folkes anticipates that these concerts are just the beginning of something special for those Houston audiences.
"We want to ensure that we're always innovating, always creating an experience that feels relevant and central to Houston audiences," he says. "We're going to see happens with these shows, how the appetite for this kind of entertainment is, and build on it."
Goldsberry and LuPone will perform in Sarofim Hall, while Cumming's performance takes place in the smaller Zilkha Hall. Tickets start at $44 for Renée Elise Goldsberry, at $54 for Alan Cumming, and at $44 for Patti LuPone, plus applicable fees. They go on sale at 10 am Friday, October 27, and will be available online at and in person at the Hobby Center box office.
Justin Bettman
Tony, Drama Desk and Emmy Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry kicks off the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts' new series Beyond Broadway on January 20, 2024.
