Theater blooms this month in Houston as we welcome stellar touring shows to town, from a celebrity ghost to Broadway and screen stars. We’ve also got homegrown world premieres popping up on local stages, as well as contemporary classic dark dramas, new satires, and one raparetta. Plus, the Houston Ballet has a bespoke ballet just for dance-lovers.
Here are our March must-sees.
Beetlejuice presented by Broadway at the Hobby Center (March 5-10)
Say his name, say his name, say his name and prepare for chaotic, ghostly fun in this musical based on the 80s Tim Burton film, which when you think about it was a dark, timely exploration of property rights and home renovations when the previous owners won’t move on (because they’re dead). While the two movie showstoppers “The Banana Boat Song” and "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)” will have people dancing in the Hobby Center's seats, listen for brand new songs written for the show by Eddie Perfect. Besides recently getting a reputation as the ultimate show for a hot date night, the film sequel is set for release this fall, so now’s the perfect time to welcome Beetlejuice to Houston.
Alan Cumming Is Not Acting His Age at Hobby Center (March 6-7)
Before his film and television stardom and even before his career-making performance as the MC in Cabaret, Cumming wrote his own comic cabaret shows back in his university days. He returns to his roots with this touring stage show that tackles the aging process – and our cultural resistance to it – with humor and classic and contemporary songs. We even hear he’s written his own number about plastic surgery. It's also the second show of the Hobby Center’s new presenting series Beyond Broadway. Read our interview with Cumming here.
Bespoke from Houston Ballet (March 7-17)
A diversity of dance blooms for this spring mixed rep production of three works, including Bespoke by Houston Ballet artistic director, Stanton Welch, which has never been performed by the company. HB’s commitment to bringing internationally acclaimed Czech choreographer Jiří Kylián’s work to Houston audiences makes the now contemporary classic Overgrown Path one to see. Welch set Bespoke to a series of Johann Sebastian Bach’s violin concertos. The ballet explores dancers’ love for their art form and the fleeting cycle of being a performer, with motifs of time present throughout the piece. Another highlight of the performance will be Australian choreographer Tim Harbour’s rhythmic, aggressively present, and fast-paced Filigree and Shadow — described when it first premiered as modern ballet pushed to the physical extremes.
The Pillowman from Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. (March 8-23)
One of award-winning screenwriter, director, and playwright Martin McDonagh’s most disturbing yet riveting works, Pillowman merges fairytale and naturalist horror. Set within a nameless and bleak totalitarian state, the play begins with Katurian, a writer of gruesome short stories being arrested for a series of brutal murders that mimic his stories. Trying to protect both his vulnerable brother and his life’s creative work, he must make life and death choices. Meanwhile a pair of cops are faced with questions of right, might, and truth. Dirt Dogs has a tradition of tackling risky material, so we look forward to their vision of this live-wire story.
The Thanksgiving Play from 4th Wall Theatre (March 8-23)
Acclaimed Sicangu Lakota playwright Larissa FastHorse’s send up of performative wokeness became a Broadway hit play last year. Now for its Houston debut, 4th Wall has cast local actors with lots of comic cred to bring this satire to hilarious life. Trying to balance historical accuracy, cultural sensitivity, age-appropriate learning outcomes, and a holiday show for kids, an elementary school teacher, with theater-making aspirations, assembles a group of well-meaning “creatives” to write and produce a Thanksgiving play. Of course, their attempts to do so are repeatedly foiled by their own ignorance and lack of understanding of Native American culture and history.
Kingdom Undone at A.D. Players (March 13-30)
The beloved Houston company embraces its identity as a Christian organization with this play that envisions the crucifixion story from the point of view of Judas Iscariot. Playwright Jeremiah Gamble uses a theory by some historians that Judas was a member of the Zealots movement hoping to incite an uprising against Rome. From this inspiration, the show posits a dramatic retelling where Judas believes Jesus to be a conquering Messiah who will fight Roman rule. Kingdom Undone merges earthy drama and soaring music with the passion of Jesus’ final days and the messy justice that turned the world on its head.
Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes at Hobby Center (March 21)
Once again, Hobby brings in a stage and screen legend for their new Beyond Broadway series. Three-time Tony Award winning performer Patti LuPone will vocally travel through time to evoke multiple musical eras. Billed as something of musical memoir, LuPone performs music with personal relevance, especially numbers that are touchstones and reflections on her life growing up in America. The songs range from her youth during the burgeoning rock and roll scene of the fifties, to coming of age in the politically and socially turbulent sixties, to eventually achieving success with both career and family.
Beatbox: A Raparetta at Ensemble Theatre (March 22-April 14)
The Ensemble’s first major venture into the continuously evolving Hip Hop Theatre genre brings a new kind of beat (and rhythm) to Houston. Written by Hip Hop Artist Dan Wolf and Grammy Award winner Tommy Shepherd, this Raparetta blends hard-hitting lyrics with the sounds of reggae, jazz, funk, and Latin music to tell the story of two step-brothers. As they make their way through life as hip hop street performers, they find themselves in conflict over art and life choices. This Ensemble staging will be the first production that is not being performed by Dan Wolf’s and Tommy Shepherd’s Hip Hop crew, Felonious. To give it a Houston take, director Rachel Hemphill Dickson has pulled from a broad history of hip hop culture, including some Southern hip hop influences. Ensemble hopes to create a show for hip hop fans and non-fans alike, as its story and music reveal fundamental human ties and connections.
The World Is Not Silent at Alley Theatre (March 22-April 14)
The Alley almost always has a few world premieres in its yearly lineup and their 23-24 season is no different, as all of their intimate Neuhaus stage works are either brand new or new adaptions of classics. Originally workshopped at the Alley All New Festival, this moving story from playwright Don X. Nguyen also contains a unique comic sensibility. The play explores the relationship between a son, Don, and his estranged father as they try to reconnect in the wake of his father’s recent hearing loss. As Nguyen’s story weaves together accounts of the evacuation of Saigon with discussions of astrophotography and Vietnamese sign language, the characters, and perhaps audiences, learn that the key to communication and connection is speaking from the heart.
The Outsider at MATCH (March 28-April 7)
From many of the same local favorite artists who brought us the lovely theatrical treat last year, Almost, Maine, comes this contemporary political satire that’s been a hit for regional theaters across the country. After a political scandal forces a governor to resign, the lieutenant governor, Ned Newley, is unexpectedly thrust into the governing hot seat. A complete unknown, with no political instincts, Ned seems destined to fail. But his political consultants see things a little differently: Ned might be the worst candidate to ever run for office — unless that is exactly what the public is looking for! Billed as both sharp satire and an inspirational tribute to democracy, The Outsider might just be the show we all need this election year.
Stagolee and the Funeral of a Dangerous Word at Main Street Theater (March 30-April)
Local playwright and Texas Southern University professor, Thomas Meloncon, penned this world premiere play that tells the story of a small East Texas town where the local NAACP chapter is planning a funeral for the “N word.” At the same time, a bigoted white man is on his way to that same office to have a frank discussion with the legendary Stagolee, a Black man known for his swagger. The two men have had a fight at their workplace, and this “conversation” is actually a court-ordered intervention, facilitated by a visiting Jewish psychologist. MST says Stagolee will examine different points of view along the racial divide and does so without judgement, ultimately bringing its characters into a better understanding of each other. Veteran Texas stage and screen director, Errol Anthony Wilks helms this world premiere with a cast of some of our favorite local actors.
