Houston theater brings some “Extra, Extra” terrific shows this month — not just because Theatre Under the Stars will let loose those dancing Newsie boys in the Hobby Center. From comic mysteries to hip hop Shakespeare, from Tony Award contenders to ghostly farces, season ending smashes, plus the world premiere of a lost Thornton Wilder play there’s plenty to choose.
Theater lovers, read on to learn more about these must-see shows in May.
Othello: The Remix at Stages (May 3-June 9)
Shakespeare’s tragedy gets set to a hip hop beat in this retelling by the innovative theater artists, The Q Brothers. In this updated spin on the play, rapper and producer, MC Othello, uses stories from his lower-class upbringing to earn his success and climbs to the top of the music industry. His music gives rhythm and voice to the lives of the people in his neighborhood. But when Othello decides to release newcomer Cassio’s next album in an effort to reach a wider audience, his friend Iago is angered by this decision. Iago vows to take Othello down. Stages’ own Eboni Bell Darcy directs a talented cast of four playing all of the roles, with former Houston poet laureate, Emanuelee “Outspoken” Bean serving as musical director.
On Midnight, Friday the Thirteenth at Ensemble Theatre (May 10-June 2)
This looks like some mysterious fun, as Ensemble Theatre continues to look to the future while honoring the past this season. The company first produced this whodunit comedy in the early 80s. In the play, audiences are transported to Redgrove Manor in Amityville, New York for the reading of the late Angus Black’s will. Every mysterious character has their own secret motives. But is murder afoot? The core mystery isn’t the only twist, as audience will have the opportunity to help solve the mystery by interacting with some of the characters.
The Emporium at Alley Theatre (May 10-June 2)
This one is making national performing arts news as the Alley offers this world premiere of an almost lost Thornton Wilder play. The two time Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Our Town spent years working on this play but never fully completed it before his death. Texas playwright Kirk Lynn discovered many drafts of the play in the Yale library, and, with permission from the Wilder estate, pulled the pieces together to complete this staged story of a young man from an orphanage who is adopted by a farmer. He runs away to the big city to find a place at the Emporium, a magical place that seems to hold all we can imagine. But perhaps it’s all a metaphor for something else. Alley artistic director Rob Melrose gives vision to the piece with a cast of Alley favorites and brilliant guest actors.
Love, Loss, & What I Wore from On the Verge Theatre (May 16-June 9)
The title tells all in this monologue-driven play by sisters Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron (Yes, that Nora Ephron). Based on the bestselling 90s book by Ilene Beckerman, this play delves into the lives of women by linking their important milestones to the clothes they wear. From high to low heals, the perfect prom dress to wedding dresses to the wonders of spandex, the women of this play use their chosen wardrobe as a way to depict the highs and lows of those extraordinary moments, as their outer fashions reflect their inner loss, love, and life.
Taking Steps at Main Street Theater (May 18-June 16)
For some spring comedy, Main Street offers up Sir Alan Ayckbourn’s classic farce that never takes a moment to breath once the comic marathon begins. In this story, a tongue-tied solicitor attempts to oversee the sale of a crumbling, possibly haunted house that used to be a brothel. On one hectic night and morning, two couples, the solicitor and realtor, each immersed in their own personal drama, end up sharing the house. The comedy might or might not be compounded by a ghost. One ingenuous tradition of this show is that all three stories of the house are staged on one level, giving set designers (in this case Ryan McGettigan) and stair-climbing miming actors (in this case some of our favorite MST alumni) a chance to get very creative and very funny.
Newsies from Theatre Under the Stars (May 21-June 2)
TUTS closes out their 23-24 season with this favorite of all the theater kids, young and old. Just like the 90s movie that became a cult favorite with musical fans, the Broadway musical was loosely based on the real newsboys’ strike at the end of the 19th century. The stage show sings the story of a band of underdog paperboys fighting powerful New York City figures like Joseph Pulitzer with stirring songs like "Seize the Day” and "The World Will Know.” This new TUTS production boasts a huge cast of talented national and local actors and a teen ensemble. The earnest tale depicts a message about fighting for what’s right and staying true to who you are.
Sin Muros: A Latinx Theatre Festival at Stages (May 23-26)
For the seventh annual play reading festival, Stages is once again showcasing a variety of voices and stories. From what sounds like an absurdist take on Colombia’s real life hippopotamus problem to a nerdy romance set in the 70s to a mother/daughter relationship complicated by chronic illness to a twist on Waiting for Godot set at the door of a Latin nightclub, this year’s festival is set to take us on a wild theatrical ride. The four-day festival also includes Q&A sessions, workshops, an art market, and award ceremony.
Mayerling from Houston Ballet (May 23-June 2)
The Houston Ballet first debuted this Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s epic ballet in 2018 as part of the Hometown Tour while the Wortham Center was still going through restoration after Hurricane Harvey. Now, this darkly beautiful tale unfolds on the Wortham’s grand Brown Theater stage. The mammoth three-act ballet tells the story of Crown Prince Rudolf, the sole heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 1880s. The work weaves a danced drama of scandal and political intrigue that leads to the tragic murder-suicide of the Prince and his young mistress, Baroness Mary Vetsera. With glamorous costumes and exquisite scenery, Houston Ballet dancers’ acting and dancing strengths are on full display in this very theatrical production.
Appropriate from Dirt Dogs Theatre (May 24-June 8)
With perfect dramatic timing, Dirt Dog produces playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Obie-winning play, just weeks after the Broadway production snagged eight Tony Award nominations including Best Revival of a Play. On the surface, the story first appears to follow that old dramatic chestnut of a plot, bickering families returning to an ancestral home to feud over a dead relative’s stuff. But after some unpleasant discoveries while rummaging through the passed patriarch’s possessions, the story leaves that well-worn path for some disturbing twists as the living family has to contend with the past. Can a lifetime of clutter disguise the true nature of what lies beneath?
A Case for the Existence of God at Stages (May 24-June 30)
Stages ends its season with what a quiet, devastating, yet hopeful play about fatherhood, loneliness, and friendship. After meeting at their daughters’ daycare, Ryan and Keith form an unlikely friendship over the terms of mortgage loans. Playwright Samuel D. Hunter, who wrote the screenplay for the Oscar winning film The Whale, brings together the lives of these two ordinary men, who, for different reasons, are outsiders to the systems that control their fate. Stages associate artistic director Mitchell Greco, who’s helmed some of our favorite musicals at Stages over the years, directs this rare play.
Photo by Eisani Apedemak-Saba/The Ensemble Theatre.
The Ensemble Theatre presents On Midnight, Friday the 13th.
