best november theater

12 best November performances no Houston theater fan should miss

Blue Man Group's colorful act is coming to town.

Photo by Lindsey Best

While some Halloween spirit remains in November — including ghost stories (4th Wall Theatre), friendly sea monsters (the Alley) and possible zombies (Rec Room) — it’s beginning to look a lot like holiday shows for much of this month.

Look for a brand-new Christmas Carol, holiday cabaret, Christmas Motown, Panto and our favorite Nutty prince. Those whose plans are to Bah Humbug until December can stay in a holiday-free zone with some blue men, singing queens, farcical French servants, and the Catastrophic gang.

Blue Man Group from Performing Arts Houston (November 5 and 6)

If you’re already feeling a bit blue as the holidays approach, Performing Arts Houston has you covered (possibly in cannon confetti) with an all-new show from the bluesy trio. While the Blue Men are famously tight-lipped when it comes to spoilers, we’ve heard to expect their signature drumming, colorful moments of creativity and quirky comedy for all ages, with a message that “the men are still blue but the rest is all new!” Get ready for pulsing, original music, custom-made instruments, surprise audience interaction and hilarious absurdity.

The Six from Broadway at the Hobby Center (November 8-20)

Six queens take the stage to have (and belt) it out over who had a worst marriage — to the same husband. With those marriage outcomes being: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived, they’ve got a lot to sing about. Yes, the wives of Henry VIII finally get to tell their own side of the story in this theatrical concert extravaganza, a West End, Broadway and beyond hit.

The Marriage of Figaro from Classical Theatre Company (November 10-26)

The company that only performs works over a 100 years old, yet still manages to find intriguing new spins on the classics, has decided to focus on comedies for their entire 22-23 season. They begin with the original French farce by Pierre de Beaumarchais, the work that Mozart later turned into one of the most beloved operas. This sequel to The Barber of Seville follows the hijinks of the clever Figaro and his duplicitous master, the Count Almaviva, as the servant gets ready to marry the love of his life. Classical artistic director John Johnston translated the original 18th-century play into English and also directs this new production.

A Motown Christmas at Ensemble Theatre (November 17-December 24)

The midtown staple celebrates the holidays with this festive holiday revue. It’s the perfect blend of traditional Christmas carols paired with the soulful sounds from such Motown celebrities as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, and The Jackson 5. This soulful play promises to bring back good memories and deliver a delightful Christmas treat for the entire family.

They Do Not Move from Catastrophic Theatre (November 18-December 10)

Always a company to counter the holiday rush with something a bit weird, the avant-garde company will present a world premiere collaborate work from director Brian Jucha with the Catastrophic acting ensemble. Using found text, music, stylized physicality, and an abundance of pop culture references, the show will depicted a future dystopia, but perhaps whimsical one, where a disorganized band of vagrants, waifs, and strays are hunted by monarchist forces. With beauty pageants, sitcoms, horror movies and conversation therapy woven into the work, Catastrophic says to be ready for “frenetically funny love letter to our city.”

Houston for the Holidays with DeQuina Moore at Stages (November 18-December 24)

Uber fresh off playing Lauren Anderson in Plumshuga, which closes 5 days before this one opens, Houston native and Broadway star DeQuina Moore brings her own unique voice to the holidays. Look for this cabaret show to highlight Moore’s personal nostalgic stories including Broadway backstage memories. Written by Moore and rising Houston playwright ShaWanna Renee Rivon, Stages says this cabaret will deck your halls with nostalgia, joy, and cheer.

A Christmas Carol at Alley Theatre (November 18-December 30)

For decades, the Alley has kept its holiday tradition of producing a A Christmas Carol, and for many of those years that Carol was their ghostly adaptation by Michael Wilson. Then came the pandemic and two years of scaled-down productions that celebrated the art of theater-making. This year, they offer a big world premiere Carol adaptation, as artistic director Rob Melrose has gone back to Charles Dickens original novella for inspiration. David Rainey is back as Scrooge with the rest of the resident acting company and Alley regulars playing all the ghosts and Dickensian characters, but also look for Victorian costumes by Raquel Barreto, magical elements created by illusionist Jim Steinmeyer, and holiday carols arranged by John L. Cornelius II,

Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical from Garden Theatre (November 18-27)

In another bit of counter-programming for this very busy November theatrical week, one of Houston’s newest theater companies will present the off-Broadway jukebox musical based on the Sarah Michelle Gellar/Reese Witherspoon film that was itself based on the play Dangerous Liaisons (based on the French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses). Love is the most dangerously cruel liaison of all in this show featuring the ultimate '90s numbers with music from Boyz II Men, Counting Crows, The Verve, Christina Aguilera, REM, 'NSYNC, and, of course, Britney Spears.

The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley at Main Street Theater (November 19-December 18)

Main Street has found their own holiday tradition in recent years by spending Christmas with the characters of Pride and Prejudice. The first hit sequel to P&P, Christmas at Pemberley written by contemporary playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, gave Bennet middle sister, Mary, time to shine. In this sequel to the sequel, the comedy heads downstairs on the same Christmas to see how the Pemberley servants handle the crisis when the conniving Wickham shows up to see his estranged wife, Lydia. Expect ensuing comic chaos likely seasoned with Christmas renewal, romance and family forgiveness.

Panto Snow White and the Seven Dorks at Stages (November 25-December 24)

Buttons and a whole crew of fairytale characters are back for the long-running Stages tradition of taking U.K holiday Panto and giving it a decidedly Texas twist. In this world premiere, Snow White finds herself banished by the Evil Queen and her high-tech virtual assistant mirror. As she fumbles through Silicon Valley in search of help, she finds a team of dorky hackers. Together, they overthrow and out-code the forces of tech tyranny using brains, algorithms, and some Panto magic. Buttons gets a reboot as he is reinvented as head of Tech Support for the Evil Queen.

The Nutcracker from Houston Ballet (November 25-December 27)

While Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch’s glorious vision leaped back to live performances at the Wortham last year. This year, HB levels up to its magical giant-Christmas-tree-scale. All 61 Company dancers will perform during the production’s run, joined by over 300 young dancers — students from Houston Ballet Academy as well as locals from the annual open audition. Dancing to the beloved Tchaikovsky score, all our favorites — the Nutcracker Prince, Sugarplum Fairy, Rat King and the international ambassadors — will take a turn at the magical winter court. In Welch’s imagining, Clara becomes the hero of this enchanting story where the all the animals dance as well as the weather, in the form of the loveliest snowflakes in HB company.

A Texas Carol at A.D. Players (November 30-December 23)

Get ready for holiday family-time laughs with the new outrageous and very Texan comedy from A.D. Players executive artistic director Jayme McGhan and artistic producer Kevin Dean. The whole family is on the way to Mee-Maw Jane's East Texas ranch for what might be her last Christmas. The only problem--when the first group arrives, Mee-Maw is already gone! Now, how to keep that fact (and her body) from the rest of the family and save Christmas? A.D. Players promise a hysterical and heart-warming story about all things Christmas and all things Texas that ultimately brings us straight to the true meaning of Christmas.

best july art

MFAH celebrates America 250 and 7 more must-see art openings for July

Photo courtesy of Art Club

Orkhan Mammadov’s “Visions” at Art Club

The middle of summer is traditionally a time for Houston art galleries, museums, and institutions to take a bit of a breather, allowing art lovers a chance to catch up with spring exhibitions in cool art spaces. But this July keeps the art openings coming as the month brings several celebratory shows and intriguing exhibitions of local artists. Let’s enjoy a sizzling summer of art as the MFAH honors our nation’s big 250; Art Club unveils a new lineup of exhibits; and Avenida Houston expands our art horizons.

Art Club’s New Season at POST (ongoing)
When Art Club, the immersive space and DJ venue opened over a year ago, it promised Houston art lovers and club goers this techno art museum would continue to change and evolve over time with new artists and large-scale installations. Now with 12 fresh, radical, and cutting edge, gallery-sized works for the summer, it has certainly delivered on that promise. Created by individual artists, collectives, and international design studios, the new exhibits send visitors into kinetic light space and beguiling soundscapes. Many of the installations merge ancient cultures and practices with some of the most high tech art mediums, taking visitors into a different strange, alien world with each gallery, but ones that always echo with human connection.

One highlight of the new season is Lina Dib’s “Here and Now,” where beautiful yet eerie flower descend from a darkened sky, blooming to a soundscape of migratory bird sounds made by human immigrants to Houston. Art Club’s mirrored "infinity room" gets a new resident in Orkhan Mammadov’s “Visions,” which merges a thousand years of art history with machine learning.

Light artist Sasha Kojjio processes large bodies of text through sorting and generating algorithms, spinning the results into light until meaning dissolves and only movement remains. For Sphere³ II, international design studio Radugadesign, explores ancient Greek geometry through light, mirrors, and sound, creating an object that feels as if it could transport humans across space and time.

“This season, we’ve continued to bring new media art from around the world to Houston with digital art ranging from the Islamic world to the Incan traditions of the Andes,” said Kirby Liu, founder and curator of Art Club Houston and managing director of POST. “The theme is the conviction that the binaries we use to see the world – whether analog versus digital, human versus machine, or tradition versus technology – are no longer doing the work we ask of them.”

“Horizon” at The Plaza at Avenida Houston (now through September 7)
Outdoor art gets expansive with these new interactive installations set between George R. Brown Convention Center and Discovery Green. Created by acclaimed multidisciplinary artist and set designer, Olivier Landreville, in collaboration with sound and light designer, Serge Maheu, “Horizon” invites Houstonians to take a seat inside these domed art structures and contemplate the sculpted skies. Gently rocking the chairs within the pieces will trigger a series of light and soundscapes.

Houston First Corporation has partnered with international public art producers Creos and Init to present Horizon with the hope it gives Houstonians and all the national and international visitors we’ve had this summer to slow down, unwind, and enjoy one of our favorite community spaces.

“George Washington: America's Enduring Icon” at Bayou Bend (now through November 22)
The MFAH celebrates America's first president with this fascinating decorative art exhibition at its Bayou Bend house museum. “Enduring Icon” includes objects from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries featuring images of George Washington during his lifetime, as well as many that mourned or honored him after his death. The exhibition examines the many ways that Americans have recognized, honored, celebrated, memorialized, and appropriated Washington as both a man and icon.

“America 250” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (now through January 3)
The 4th of July might have passed, but Houstonians and visitors from around the world can continue to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday by taking this special marked journey through the MFAH. Instead of a contained exhibition, museum curators have chosen over 70 artworks from the collection across the campus to tell a uniquely American story through art.

From golden antiquities to Native American pottery to vast painted landscapes to large-scale installations of futuristic cities, these pieces reflect the complexity and diversity of the American experience, while drawing connections between our nation and the MFAH's history as a collecting institution. As visitors explore the museum, indoors and out, they’ll find guides to the artworks, along with newly created audio stops and labels that discuss each artwork from these historical and cultural perspectives.

"On the occasion of the nation’s 250th anniversary, we saw a singular opportunity to look at our collections and select objects that reflect the multitudes of individuals who have contributed to the identity of our nation,” describes MFAH director, Gary Tinterow. “The curators’ choices will allow our visitors to experience our collections framed within a series of illuminating and sometimes surprising narratives.”

"Representation of Form" at MATCH (July 9-12)
Photography and choreography dance together as Group Accord and photographer Christopher Peddecord collaborate in the creation of this multidisciplinary art event. Peddecord has taken photographs of Group Acorde dance artists and layers the images with one another. Those photographs will then be displayed and projected throughout the MATCH Box 1 space. During live performances, the dancers will move within the images of themselves. Audiences will also be free to move about the space, immersing themselves within the installation.

“Casa de Cultura: The Living Archive” at the Fresh Arts Gallery in Winter Street Studios (July 9-August 22)
Fresh Arts’ ongoing Space Taking Artist Residency invites traditionally underrepresented local artists to experiment and “take over” Fresh Arts’ gallery space at Sawyer Yards. The initiative has produced some stunning and surprising artwork and live performance experiences over the past few years.

For “Casa de Cultura,” Violeta Alvarez, an award-winning local photographer, will present work inspired by her mother’s life and journeys. Alvarez will create a “Living Archive” exploring cultural identity, migration and collective memory. The project will feature two photography exhibitions: one a curated selection of Alvarez’s music photography, including her early work with Justice Records, and the second built entirely from open-call live portrait sessions of individuals with ancestral ties to Mesoamerica. Several live events and performances will take place throughout the residency, including community photo sessions, panel discussions, a podcast recording, Aztec dance performances, Chicanx artist vendors for Second Saturdays, and community drives.

"World of Color” at Laura Rathe Fine Art (July 16-August 14)
This exhibition brings together a group of artists working in different mediums and producing very distinct imagery, but all their art explores vivid colors and manifests a sense of wonder and play. "World of Color" explores color as both a meaningful and nostalgic force, brought to life through Miriam Fitzgerald’s intricately folded paper, Gian Garofalo’s flowing stripes of pigmented resin, Pablo Dona’s miniature figures swimming within teacups, and Lynn Sanders' layered colorscapes. Exhibition organizers note that through curious and intuitive explorations of color, each artist engages with combinations that create a childlike sense of discovery.

"Learning Curve 18” at Houston Center for Photography (July 16-August 16)
This annual exhibition celebrates the HCP students’ work over a given year, and for the 18th iteration, the exhibition will showcase students from various programs at the Center doing a range of photographic work from digital to alternative processes. Jessi Bowman, the Houston-based photographer, curator, and founder of FLATS, a community darkroom and photo lab, is this year’s juror. Bowman has intentionally selected pieces exploring photography from a multitude of approaches, subjects, and perspectives in order to create an show that reveals artists working in community.

“As a juror, I was drawn to work that embraced curiosity and possibility. The strongest images often reflected a willingness to take risks,” explains Bowman in a statement about the selections, adding “Many of these photographs show artists pushing beyond technical proficiency toward a more personal visual voice.”

$\u200bOrkhan Mammadov\u2019s \u201cVisions\u201d at Art Club$

Photo courtesy of Art Club

Orkhan Mammadov’s “Visions” at Art Club

openings visual-art museums