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 December theater

The Nutcracker and holiday classics lead Houston's 10 best shows this month

Photo by Alana Campbell (2025). Courtesy of Houston Ballet

Houston Ballet presents The Nutcracker.

Whether you’re looking for something naughty or nice, Houston theater companies have a show in their bag of musical, dramatic, and comic goodies for you. December brings a diversity of shows for all ages, from an inebriated version of A Christmas Carol or an adult comedy about the highs and lows of holiday dating to dance and acrobatic spectaculars for the whole family. As 2025 draws to a close, every Houstonian deserves some theatrical treats.

The Nutcracker from Houston Ballet (now through December 28)
One of Houston’s most beloved traditions returns, as Houston Ballet invites us to a very magical night at the bustling Stahlbaum Christmas party. And one adventurous girl will receive a rather mysterious food preparation gift, in Houston Ballet co-artistic director Stanton Welch’s sugarplum dreamy Nutcracker Ballet.

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 lovely snowflakes. With hundreds of characters, a 39-foot Christmas tree, a two-story Georgian mansion set, and 75 pounds of falling snow, this Houston-born production is renowned as one of the grandest versions of The Nutcracker ever staged.

Drunk Christmas Carol at Emerald Theatre (now through December 28)
From the inebriated crew that brought us Drunk Shakespeare, and just a month ago Drunk Dracula, comes this latest experiment in acting while sloshed. One thespian takes five shots of whiskey and attempts to take part in an epic retelling of one of the greatest holiday stories of all time. When one humbug-uttering, but still hot, silver fox is visited by three ghosts, will he change his ways, or get totally scrooged? The Drunk Shakespeare Society is decking the halls with a tipsy and twisted toast to the big Dickens himself, and the season of spirits (the alcoholic kind). Will the drunk actor be playing a ghost of Christmas, Tiny Tim, or even the grumpy Scrooge himself? We can’t predict, but we’re pretty sure it will be a night of caroling like we’ve never seen before.

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play at Stages (now through December 28)
In this retelling of the classic Frank Capra film, as adapted by Joe Landry and based on the story 'The Greatest Gift' by Phillip Van Doren Sternad, some of our favorite Houston stage actors play 1940s radio actors attempting to broadcast a live radio performance of the It’s a Wonderful Life story. Six stage actors will play radio actors portraying dozens of Bedford Falls characters, while also creating live foley effects, from thunder and walking in snow to ice breaking, doorbells, and slamming doors, all layered with period-inspired design. Stages artistic director, Derek Charles Livingston, helms the staged and heartwarming radio chaos.

The Night Shift Before Christmas at Alley Theatre (now through December 28)
In this very contemporary Texas take on A Christmas Carol, we spend Christmas Eve with a lonely night owl taking a late night shift at a burger joint. The company gave the show a world premiere in 2022, but last year the script and name went through some changes from playwright Isaac Gómez to keep the laughs timely and story emotionally poignant.

In this very 21st century twist of a Carol, Scrooge becomes Margot. Flipping burgers and women-ing the drive-thru mic, Margot is about to find out the usual grumpy customers and an equally grumpy robotic Santa are the least of her worries. To bring a bit of Christmas spirit into her life, her dead friend Jackie Marley stops by with a gaggle of ghostly customers. Briana J. Resa, who originated the role of Margot with gusto, is back playing all the characters in this one-woman show.

Margaret Alkek Williams Jubilee of Dance from Houston Ballet (December 5)
For 20 years, this annual one-night-only celebration always brings back some of the HB highlights from the last few season, while also offering a peek of what’s to come. The lineup of short works and excerpts from epic ballets also gives dance lovers a chance to relive the highlights, while the performances showcase the artistry and athleticism of HB’s stellar company. The Jubilee also gives audiences a chance to see the occasionally revival of rarely seen works pulled from the vault.

Some works to look forward to will be Vasily Vainonen’s rarely performed Flames of Paris and a premiere by emerging choreographers Ilya Kozadayev, who will be debuting his work Echoes. And to celebrate the work of former HB executive director James Nelson and his retirement, Stanton Welch has choreographed a special piece to “Dream A Little Dream.”

A Long Night from Cone Man Running Productions (December 5-20)
For those looking for some sugarplum-free thrills, here’s a world premiere psychological twisty tale, perfect for December’s long, dark nights. A Long Night is the story of a family harboring relationship-ending secrets and devastating truths they’ve hidden from one another. But when unexpected visitors arrive on Christmas Eve, the façade begins to crack, and what spills out is anything but festive. Cone Man says this brand new play by Matt Elliott and Debra Schultz explores themes of the terrifying cost of silence, the bleak consequences of greed, and the sometime dangers of trust.

White Christmas from Theatre Under the Stars (December 9-24)
TUTS always makes its holiday show one of the biggest, most joyous of the year, and this season is no different with this classic Irving Berlin musical. In this story, two tapping army buddies, Bob and Phil, turned song-and-dance sensations, team up with a pair of talented sisters to save a snowy Vermont inn. Inspired by the beloved 1954 film, this festive Broadway musical sparkles with romance, nostalgia, and show-stopping numbers like “Blue Skies,” “I Love a Piano,” and “White Christmas.” Along with a huge cast of local favorites actors and nationally-acclaimed performers, look also for a very talented teen ensemble made up of students from TUTS Humphreys School and The River. With a full orchestra and Broadway-worthy sets and costumes, it wouldn’t be a surprise if a bit of “snow” falls upon audiences with this family favorite.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas at Stages (December 12-28)
'Tis definitely the season for comic one-woman shows, as Stages rings in the holidays with the hilarious heartbreak of modern dating. After seeing her fiancé kiss another woman at the televised Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mary’s life falls apart. Over the next year, she stumbles back into the dating world, where “romance” ranges from weird and creepy to absurd and comical. It seems nothing can help Mary’s growing cynicism, until the charm and innocence of a five-year-old boy unexpectedly brings a new outlook on life and love. This charming one-woman play offers a comic and modern alternative to the old standards of the holiday season. Dynamic local actor Jaime Rezanour plays Mary, and staged in the very intimate Levit Stage, audiences will be up close for all the failures and wins of this show’s romance hijinks.

Who's Holiday! from Garden Theatre (December 18-21)
In honor of their fifth anniversary, Garden Theatre is bringing back some audience favorites, including this decidedly adult holiday show, an irreverent parody about the aftermath of the Dr. Seuss Grinch Who Stole Christmas classic. Cindy Lou Who, the adorable tike who saved Christmas from the Grinch in the original story, has reached adulthood, lives in a trailer on Mount Crumpit, and boy has she seen some Seussicial – let’s say – stuff in her time. Local fav Chaney Moore, who has appeared on many a Houston stage, plays the bawdy, outrageous Cindy Lou as she prepares to host a tell-all Christmas party. “She’s got a martini in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and she’s ready to finally tell you her side of the story,” says Garden Theatre AD, Logan Vaden.

Cirque Dreams Holidaze presented by Performing Arts Houston (December 23-24)
Take a break from the holiday pace with this show perfect for visiting family and friends of all ages. This whimsical family holiday spectacular wraps a Broadway-style production around an infusion of contemporary circus arts, including soaring aerial acts, tumblers, dancers, and clowns. With a child’s perspective, a fantastical cast of holiday storybook characters come to life on stage in a production that features an original musical score, twists on holiday classics sung live, new sets, scenery, and storylines.

$\u200bHouston Ballet presents The Nutcracker$

Photo by Alana Campbell (2025). Courtesy of Houston Ballet

Houston Ballet presents The Nutcracker.

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