August tends to bring darkened stages across Houston theaters as our favorite local companies prepare for the big fall season. But this month, Houstonians still have lots of summer theatrical shows and musicals opening.
Many of these productions spotlight family relationships and dynamics. From long lost twins to bickering sister Muses to awkward meet-the-parents family dinners, Houston stages show us families at their most dramatic and comic. In addition, Stages takes us to Vegas with a nun tour guide and Miller Outdoor brings us dance and acrobatics amid visual art masterpieces.
The Tempest at Miller Outdoor Theatre (now through August 7)
As one of Shakespeare’s final plays, this story of magic, regret, revenge, and forgiveness has always been a favorite of directors. After years exiled on an enchanted island with his daughter, the aging magician, Prospero, settles the score on those who put him there, including his brother. In this production, Prospero becomes Propera, and director Sharon Ott, who is also the UH director of the School of Theatre and Dance at University of Houston will emphasize themes of motherhood.
“There have been many productions of this play with women playing the role, so it's not a novel idea of mine,” Ott says. “But as a woman, I read this play very personally. It's even more personal as I get older because the play was written at the end of Shakespeare’s artistic life. Our design team, choreographer, and composer/sound designer will bring Shakespeare's visual and aural magic to the Miller Outdoor Theatre.”
Comedy of Errors at Miller Outdoor Theatre (now through August 8)
The Shakespeare Festival alternates Tempest with one of Shakespeare’s first comedies. Hijinks will ensue, interlaced with scenes of shenanigans, in this mistaken identity comedy. With warring cities, an imprisoned father, two sets of adult twins who were separated by a tempest at sea as infants, angry wives, a lost bag of money, and a very confused town who’s going to blame all the madness on witchcraft, the story could not get much more convoluted on its way to a happy ending. According to Errors director, Jack Young, this Miller production will lean in on the farcical nature of the play with a 60s “vibe” and a “cap tip” to classic television sitcoms of that era, like The Honeymooners.
A Nice Indian Boy from Aerial Roots Theatre Company (now through August 9)
A new Houston theater company makes an auspicious debut with this delightful twist on the “bring the fiancé home to meet the parents” plot. In fact, playwright and noted screenwriter Madhuri Shekar’s regional hit play was recently adapted into a critically acclaimed Desi rom-com. Shy and unlucky in love, gay American Indian engineer Naveen, meets the man of his dreams, Keshav, at his local Hindu temple. The only hitch is that his new love is white, though adopted by a nice Indian family. When Naveen finally takes Keshav home to meet his traditional parents, his sister arrives to bring her own drama to a most awkward dinner. The Asia Society hosts this inaugural production from Aerial Roots.
Late Nite Catechism Las Vegas: Sister Rolls the Dice! at Stages (August 4-16)
This is one habit Houstonians just can’t break. Yes, Denise Fennell as Sister is back with another audience participatory adventure from the Late Nite Catechism theatrical universe. In this one, the church needs a new roof, so Father Murphy has decided that Sister, with her extensive gambling experience running the church sanctioned bingo game for the last 25 years, will organize a Las Vegas Night. Sister will tackle topics ranging from magicians to show girls, all the while reminding audiences that what happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but God sees and remembers everything.
Mean Girls at Queensbury Theatre (August 6-16)
Keeping with this summer's trend of musical fun, Queensbury brings audiences this fetching Broadway adaptation of Tina Fey’s most quotable and meme-able blockbuster comedy from the early 2000s. As a reminder, the musical introduces the naive Cady on her first day of American high school as she tries to break into the mean girls clique who rules the school. This production showcases a great local cast with some Texas musical theater heavy vocal hitters, like Abigail Bensman, Sara Sachi, Teresa Zimmermann, and Holland Vavra.
Xanadu from Garden Theatre (August 14-30)
The 2007 jukebox musical adaptation of the cult classic '80s hit Broadway tells the story of a Greek muse who descends to Earth to inspire a young painter and a former '40s big band musician-turned-real estate mogul to partner in opening a roller disco night club, plus added subplots involving sibling jealousy and demigoddess pranks among the muses. (Houston connection fun fact: Theatre Under the Stars artistic director, Dan Knechtges, was nominated for a Tony Award for his choreography of the original Broadway production of the show.) Since then, Xanadu has become a campy hit for regional theaters across the nation. Next up, Garden Theatre slips on the roller skates and weaves some “Strange Magic” for end of summer fun in the intimate Matchbox 3.
Holly Street at A.D. Players (August 19-September 6)
The Houston theater company that specializes in family-friendly productions with spiritual themes opens its 26-27 season a little early with this world premiere drama about a unique kind of love geometry. Set in the 1940s after World War II, the play tells the story of two sisters ,Virginia and Martha, as they prepare for a Christmas pageant in rural Kentucky. But the holidays are not so joyful, as Virginia recently lost her fiancée, Paul, during the war. As life sputters forward, two veterans and friends of Paul arrive unexpectedly having also fallen for Virginia through her letters when Paul read them aloud at the front. As Christmas nears, hidden truths surface, loyalties are tested, and affection and grief collide in surprising ways.
Cirque-tacular: The Art of Circus at Miller Outdoor Theatre (August 28)
Still celebrating its reopening, Miller Outdoor brings in Cirque-tacular, the New York based aerial and ground acrobatic performing arts company with a history of lots of off-Broadway and internationally touring hits. Its Art of Circus show surrounds performers with sets that recreate some of the greatest art masterpieces. From Van Gogh’s swirling skies, to Da Vinci’s all perceiving genius, Warhol’s pop images, and O’Keeffe’s beguiling natural forms, these colors, movements, and stories inside the paintings inspire the performers into dance, acrobatics, and aerial artistry.
