take the stage

10 under-the-radar Houston arts companies take a bow with new seasons

Houston has many assets, and one of them is a thriving arts community. The city is one of only a handful in the nation to be a home to a symphony orchestra, theater companies, a ballet, and an opera company. The wealth of arts options is a testament to the city's creativity and the love and support audiences feel performing arts companies.

CultureMap has previewed the 2024-2025 seasons for the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Ballet, and the Broadway series at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Here are some highlights for the upcoming seasons at 10 of Houston's small- and mid-size performing arts organizations.

4th Wall Theatre Company
Based out of Studio 101 at Spring Street Studios, the award-winning company begins its 14th season in September. The four-show series includes Swing State, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Topdog/Underdog, and Hamlet. Swing State is the newest play of the bunch, premiering in 2022. The Chicago Tribune called it "perhaps the first of the great American post-COVID plays.It explores themes of a divided American heartland. The play makes its Houston debut with 4th Wall's production. It opens September 20.

A.D. Players
The Galleria-area company launches its 2024-2025 season in August with Esther: The Heart of A Queen, starring Dancing With the Stars' Sharna Burgess. This new production is making a pre-Broadway tryout, and incorporates multiple dance forms to tell the story of a heroic woman's faith and strength. Esther opens August 30.

For the holidays, the company offers A Texas Carol Part Deux, a sequel to the audience favorite A Texas Carol. The Dinkel family is back at Mee-Maw's, with more holiday hilarity. The season also includes The Foreigner, How to Die: The Life of Dietrich Bohnoeffer, and The Wizard of Oz musical.

Classical Theatre Company
Two shows make up the company's 2024-2025 season, both on stage at the DeLuxe Theater in Fifth Ward. Bram Stoker's Dracula, directed by Blake Weir, opens the season in October. The performance commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first authorized adaptation of the famous vampire novel. Classical's artistic director John Johnson helms the company's second show, Chekov's The Three Sisters, in April 2025. It's the story of the three Prozorov sisters , who live in exile a thousand miles away from Moscow, finding ways to survive on the eve of the social and political upheaval that will change Russia forever.

DaCamera
Beloved as a presenter and incubator of chamber music and jazz, the organization's 2024-2025 season is highlighted by a world premiere and the first Houston appearance by British composer and pianist Thomas Adès.

The season opens September 26 with a performance by the Takács Quartet, entering their 50th anniversary season. October arrives with audience favorite Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and concludes with the DaCamera debut of the Chiaroscuro Quartet.

2025 begins with another Houston debut: pianist Alexandre Kantorow in an evening of works by and inspired by Liszt. In February, composer Thomas Adès and an ensemble of champions of his music explore his works for solo piano and chamber ensemble, along with two of his musical touchstones, Schubert and Janáček. Then, countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen and pianist John Churchwell include works by recently rediscovered Black composer Florence Price in their concert. Later, in April, New York Philharmonic String Quartet will perform Price’s String Quartet No. 1 in G Major.

On Valentine's Day, flutist Emi Ferguson and baroque band Ruckus are joined by visionary jazz saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins Quartet for the world premiere of Roscoe Mitchell’s "Metropolis Trilogy," produced by NYC's Metropolis Ensemble and co-commissioned by DaCamera. Other performances in the jazz series feature all of the following — Terri Lyne Carrington’s “New Standards” which shines a powerful light on music from great women composers; Grammy Award-nominated, dynamic alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin in her first DaCamera appearance; the Vijay Iyer Trio, one of the most pivotal jazz bands of the twenty-first century; and a performance from acclaimed contemporary jazz pianist Brad Mehldau and his new trio featuring both bassist Christian McBride and vocalist and songwriter Lizz Wright.

Dirt Dogs Theatre Co.
Three plays make up the company's ninth season, all of which are performed at the MATCH in Midtown. David Mamet's Race, the story of a white businessman accused of sexually assaulting a Black woman, opens the season on October 18. Blackbird, by David Harrower, explores what happens when two people reexamine an explosive relationship they had 15 years ago. The season closes with Bug, a cult classic by Tracy Letts, that tells the story of a love affair where circumstances escalate to paranoia, conspiracy theories, and twisted psychological motives.

The Garden Theatre
One of the city's newest companies opens its third full season in October with the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins. The multi-Tony Award-winning show looks at the culture of celebrity and the violent means some will use to obtain it. Houston actress Cheny Moore, who many audiences will recall from Main Street Theater's Miss Bennet Christmas at Pemberley, stars in the one-woman show Who's Holiday in December, appearing as an all-grown-up Cindy Lou Who. Two musicals complete the season: Doubt, an adaption of the play by John Patrick Shanley about a progressive priest whose conduct comes under question by a nun, and While Childhood Slept, an original musical based on the true story of the boys of Home Number One in the Nazi concentration camp Terezin.

Houston Chamber Choir
The Grammy Award-winning ensemble celebrates its 30th anniversary with eight concerts. The season launches September 21 with "The Son of Man," a world-premiere by English composer Patrick Hawes. Written for choir, soloists and orchestra, and based on iconic texts from the Old and New Testaments, it's reminiscent of Handel's Messiah and has the makings of being a favorite.

“I Just Want to Celebrate! Songs from the ‘70s” is a free concert at Miller Outdoor Theatre with the music of ABBA, the Jackson 5, Carly Simon and more. “This Sky," in November, is an evening of songs that consider the heavens, while “Glory in the Highest: Christmas at the Villa” brings together the choir, the Paragon Brass, and the Treble Choir of Houston for traditional holiday favorites. The season also incudes the 25th Annual “Hear the Future” Invitational Choral Festival, “Love Songs and Sonnets," and “From Darkness to Light." “Gather ‘Round," the season finale, honors Robert Simpson as he concludes his 30-year tenure as founder and artistic director.

Main Street Theater
Celebrating 49 years, the Rice Village company has a five-show 2024-2025 season, including two world premieres and a regional premiere. The season begins October 12 with the world premiere of Israeli playwright Noga Flaishon's Memoriam. Set in the future, it's about a company, Memoriam, Inc., that buys and sells memories. The season continues with the world premiere of Seven Assassins Walk Into a Bar by Houston actor and playwright Dain Geist. It's a dark comedy about six assassins who gather in a bar for the wake of another assassin.

The company offers the regional premiere of Kim's Convenience next May, the story of a Korean immigrant convenience store owner who must decide whether to sell to developers or convince his daughter to follow in his footsteps. The Year of Magical Thinking and The 39 Steps round out the season.

The Rec Room
Two shows remain in the company's 2024 season, which wraps up in December. Up first is Spring Awakening, opening September 7. The rock musical is the coming-of-age story of German teenagers rebelling against what they see as a repressive society, while trying to figure out who they are sexually and emotionally. The season closes with Winter Solstice, a comedy that shines a light on both liberalism and fascism, set on Christmas Eve and centering around family dynamics. The show runs November 23 through December 14.

ROCO
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, ROCO has titled its 2024-2025 season This is ROCO. Look for 11 world premiere commissions, co-commissions, premieres, and re-scores as the 40-piece professional chamber orchestra continues its mission to present innovative concerts, multidisciplinary collaborations, and engaging community-centric initiatives. Opening the season is composer-In-residence Viet Cuong's latest creation, “Constellations.” This innovative piece is a visual and auditory experience, with each movement featuring musicians positioned to mirror the stars of various constellations.

Additional commissioned world premieres include “St. John the Revelator” by Houston composer Mark Buller, an homage to ROCO's original concert home, the Church of St. John the Divine; a world premiere by Juan Pablo Contreras created specifically for the Day of the Dead; and a compelling composition titled “No Grit, No Pearl” by Jonathan Leshnoff. The season concludes with the epic “Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky, rescored by Marlijn Helder.

A.D. Players The George Theater exterior at night

Courtesy of A.D. Players

A.D. Players' 2024-2025 season includes a pre-Broadway tryout and the sequel to a fan-favorite holiday show.

performing-arts

Best March Art

9 new art museum and gallery exhibits opening in Houston this month

Ernesto Neto, SunForceOceanLife (installation view), 2020, crocheted textile and plastic balls, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund

As spring returns so does a flowering of biannual, annual, and biennial art festivals and events this month. Art blooms indoors in Houston's favorite museums but also on the city's streets, parks, and even waterways. Lots of immersive art invites viewers to journey into the picture.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston gets contemplative, and the Menil Collection displays some rare recent gifts. If that’s not enough art for one month, FotoFest celebrates a big anniversary, and the yearly “Night Light” art party heads downtown.

“Global Visions – FotoFest at 40” programming across Houston (March)
Marking four decades of photographic arts and education programming in Houston, this 2026 FotoFest looks back on key works and themes from the 20 previous biennials between 1986 and 2024. With participating art galleries and museums around the city offering special photography exhibitions over the next several month, FotoFest will feature more than 450 artists from the United States and 58 countries. Curated by FotoFest co-founder and former artistic director Wendy Watriss and FotoFest executive director Steven Evans, with co-curators Annick Dekiouk and Madi Murphy, “Global Visions” will explore some of the previous festival themes including geography, identity, war, ecology, and social change, while also celebrating FotoFest’s global reach and impact. Look for auctions, tours, conversations, art walks, and workshops as part of the programming.

“Buddha/Nature: Five Dialogues on a Shared World” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (now through May 10)
Ancient and contemporary art converse in this extraordinary new exhibition at the MFAH that explores key teachings of Buddhism centered on how we engage with the natural world. The exhibition is organized crossed five thematically focused galleries, including Samsara, Impermanence, Karma, Compassion, and Awakening. Each gallery features one of five ancient Buddhist sculptures from the Xuzhou Collection, a private collection of Buddhist masterpieces, along with works by international and Texas contemporary artists.

“This exhibition brings ancient Buddhist sculptures into dynamic dialogue with contemporary art,” explains Hao Sheng, consulting curator to the MFAH and organizing curator of the exhibition. “These sacred objects take on new resonance when paired with modern works that explore fundamental questions about existence and harmony. As we witness shifts in our natural environment, we are invited to reflect on the impact of our collective choices in order to achieve a deeper understanding of our place within a changing world.”

“Blooming Wonders: A Celebration of Spring” at Artechouse (now through May 31)
The Houston venue that acts as a greenhouse for art, science, and technology to grow together, Artechouse, brings back this hit exhibition from last year.To explore themes of growth, renewal, and sustainability, “Bloom wonders” showcases several dynamic installations, including “PIXELBLOOM: Timeless Butterflies,” a 270 degrees projection space that puts visitors in the middle of a butterfly cloud. Audiences journey with a flock of butterflies into an immense garden of flowers. In another immersive space, “BloomFall: Through the Infinite” guests enter an mirrored infinity room full of shifting floral dimensions. The installation, “Akousmaflore et Lux” creates a very different type of garden where plants transform into musical instruments. “Clay Pillar” invites visitors to sculpt new forms using clay and a little help from an AI program.

“Ernesto Neto: SunForceOceanLife” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (now-September 7)
Immersive art gets elevated as the MFAH brings back this commissioned installation that had museum goers walking on air. Looking something like a giant starfish or spiral galaxy from underneath, Ernesto Neto’s singular work floats above almost the entirety of Cullinan Hall in the Caroline Wiess Law Building. One of the largest crochet works to date by Neto, the sculpture consists of yellow, orange, and green materials hand-woven into a myriad of patterns and sewn together in a spiral formation. Visitors can enter this rising labyrinth and wander through different sections filled with soft, plastic balls underfoot that move with each step. Once they reach the center of work, they might pause to view the piece from within the art and reflect on their own journey through “SunForceOceanLife.”

“Ernesto Neto created this site-specific piece as a tribute to the life-giving forces of the sun and the ocean. Inspired by crochet, which he learned from his grandmother, the piece transforms this traditional Brazilian craft into a massive, enveloping structure that engages the body and the mind,” remark Mari Carmen Ramírez, Wortham Curator of Latin American Art on the return of the monumental installation.

True North 2026 along Heights Boulevard (now through December)
Once again, art grows on the Height Boulevard esplanade with this annual outdoor sculpture exhibition sponsored and partnered by the nonprofit Houston Heights Association. The outdoor show features the latest work of some stellar Texas and Houston artists, including Hans Molzberger, Suzette Mouchaty, James D. Phillips, Roger Colombik, Mark Nelson, Robbie Barber, Jim Robertson, Keith Crane/Damon Thomas. Since the artists don’t always install their sculptures on the same days, True North is always an artful excuse to make time for a walk along the boulevard to see what new work has popped up. This beloved tradition is once again thanks to an all-volunteer team, along with the Houston Heights Association in cooperation with the City of Houston Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments and the Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

"Rebel Girl" and “The Vanguard” at Houston Center for Photography (March 12-April 12)
Just a few days after International Women’s Day, HCP continues their historic commitment to championing women’s photographic careers as they present two exhibition exploring the complexities of female identity. “Rebel Girl” exhibits the work of Luisa Dörr, Selina Román, and Jo Ann Chaus, artists whose work challenges convention while questioning stereotypes and illuminating the evolving roles and perceptions of women today. For “The Vanguard,” HCP executive director, Anne Leighton Massoni, went through their archives and selected the work of 20 trailblazing women who exhibited at HCP within its first 20 years. Taken together their work illustrate the diversity of women’s artistic visions and creativity.

“The Gift of Drawing: Cy Twombly” at the Menil Collection (March 27-August 9)
Perhaps as a nod to the Menil Collection being the home of the only permanent retrospective exhibition of 20th century pioneering artist, Cy Twombly’s, work, last year the Cy Twombly Foundation made an extraordinary gift of 121 of Twombly’s drawings to the institute. Now art lovers around the world will get to see some of that landmark gift, as the Menil Drawing Institute presents this exhibition featuring 30 of those works. Covering three decades of the artist’s activity, from the 1950s to the 1980s, the show will feature work created by Twombly’s use of a broad range of materials, from graphite to oil paint; techniques such as drawing and collage; and themes that are fundamental to his entire practice, such as classical antiquity, eroticism, and nature. Some highlight of the exhibition will be a series of lush and unrestrained landscapes from 1986 that verge on pure abstraction; two untitled works from 1970 that are related to the artist’s “blackboard paintings” on view in Cy Twombly Gallery; and Narcissus, 1975, a collage of paper, with oil, charcoal, and wax crayon on paper. None of these works have been exhibited in the U.S. before.

“Night Light” at Allen’s Landing at Buffalo Bayou Park (March 28)
The annual free festival of video art along Buffalo Bayou moves west this year from its usual setting along the industrial and residential landscapes of the Buffalo Bayou East trails to Allen’s Landing in downtown Houston. The concrete bridges and underbellies of the major city freeways that emerge from watery bayou depths become the canvases for three site-specific installations from some of Houston most innovative video and multidisciplinary artists. Co-presented by the Aurora Picture Show and Buffalo Bayou Partnership “Night Light” puts the spotlight on new works from artist, designer, and engineer, Corey De’Juan Sherrard Jr.; video, installation, and performance artist and Rice professor, Kenneth Tam; and award winning collaborative duo Hillerbrand+Magsamen. And it wouldn’t be an outdoor Houston event of any kind without food, so expect a lively night artisan market hosted by East End District and BLCK Market at East River featuring local vendors and food trucks plus tunes from DJ Gracie Chavez.

Bayou City Art Festival Downtown at Sam Houston Park (March 28-29)
Downtown Houston continues to sprout art everywhere, as the last weekend in March also heralds the biannual Bayou City Art Fest in Sam Houston Park. Showcasing art from 250 creators from around the country, the festival always brings a wide selection of paintings, prints, jewelry, sculptures, and functional art at all price levels. Fest goers also have the opportunity to meet the art makers and hear the stories behind the art. This year’s featured artists is Lijah Hanley, a digital photographer from Vancouver, WA who first found his place behind a camera lens when he was 13. Along with a day of art, a ticket includes live music all day long on two stages, roaming performers, exciting kids areas with interactive crafts, and culinary arts demonstrations.

$Ernesto Neto, SunForceOceanLife (installation view), 2020, crocheted textile and\nplastic balls, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the\nCaroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund$