best may theater

Dragons, drag queens, 'Mad Men meets Sex in the City,' and more star in Houston's top theater for May

Thankfully, May has 31 days, as could spend nearly every one catching all the theater and performing arts shows this month.

Fans can expect world premieres, contemporary classics, fairytales, Sci-Fi, and shows that are quite a drag — in all their high-heeled glory. With pirates, matadors, Elvis impersonators and hippies as our guides, May makes for quite the theatrical adventure.

Tooth & Tale from Mildred’s Umbrella (through May 13)

This new play from Houston playwright Elizabeth A.M. Keel had almost as much of a dramatic fairytale story as what will go on stage in this world premiere production staged at the historic Deluxe Theatre. The show went through several workshop with Mildred’s originally scheduled to produce it in 2020.

Finally, this story of princesses, dragons, pirates and amazing adventures will have its happy ending, a life onstage. Here’s hoping that ending will just be the beginning.

Catholic School Girls from On the Verge Theatre (through May 28)

For their last show, On the Verge staged a play about competitive swimming at an indoor pool facility. Now, the company is back staging this Casey Kurtti memory comedy in a church, specifically Bering Memorial Church.

Set in the '60s, the play showcases the versatility of this cast of four, mostly local actresses who play both the the school girls from the title and the occasional nun. The girls experience bonds of friendship, reprimands from authority figures, and pressure from home, growing up in a time of the Beatles and the election of a Catholic president.

The Legend of Georgia McBride at Stages (through July 2)

A down-on-his-luck Elvis impersonator with a wife and baby finds he can no longer pull audiences in. When the club where he performs makes some programming changes, this Elvis must trade in his white, Rhinestone-studded jumpsuits for something a bit more subtle—namely drag.

He soon learns he has more talent as a performing queen than impersonating the King. With humor and fabulous numbers, playwright Matthew Lopez’s story challenges our perceptions of identity and classic gender roles with humor and depth.

Brother Toad at Ensemble Theatre (May 11-June 4)

In this all-too-timely play, Black high school student Marques recuperates at home after surviving being shot by a white man while he was just sitting in a car with a friend — who was killed.

As the show begins, Marques’s uncle Randall a sport-radio host want the family to attend a community march against gun violence. The family’s reluctance to attend seems to stem from other, unclear concerns, but it’s that fear, in its many forms that is a thread throughout this powerful play from screenwriter and playwright Nathan Louis Jackson.

1968: The Whole World Is Watching from Open Dance Project

Houston’s driving force for world premiere, immersive dance works that are always theatrical in the extreme is back. This latest work that will transport us back to the history-making ’68 Democratic Convention in Chicago.

Breaking down conventional barriers between audience and stage, this immersive experience situates audience members directly in the center of the action, where they walk through and engage with the interdisciplinary, multimedia performance as it mines iconic photographs, news media, music, art, actions, and events of 1968 for a deeper understanding of our conflict-ridden, intensely mediated here and now.

Torera at Alley Theatre (May 12-June 4)

One young woman attempts to break through the red glass cape (capa de brega) in this coming-of-age story. In the world premiere play by Monet Hurst-Mendoza, previously workshopped at the Alley All New festival, Elena Ramírez wants to enter the almost exclusively man’s world of bullfighting.

With the help of her best friend, a matador’s son, Elena begins secretly training to compete with the greatest. When she discovers her seemingly inherent talent can beat even the most accomplished toreros, this young woman must choose between accepting society’s limits or breaking boundaries.

The Best of Everything at Main Street Theater (May 14-June 18)

In what MST describes as Mad Men meets Sex and the City, this comedy chronicles the lives, loves, and careers of a set of ambitious women at a New York publishing company.

One catch to their climb up the corporate ladder: the time is the 1950s and our female heroes are trapped in the steno pool. (Yeah, we had to look up the word steno, too.) We’re guessing this Julie Kramer contemporary adaptation of the Rona Jaffe 1958 novel will have something of 21st century look-back sensibility, as these women try to figure out if they really can have the best of everything.

Rent from Theatre Under the Stars (May 16-28)

The season of love arrives for the final TUTS in-house production for their 22-23 lineup. Jonathan Larson’s show redefined what a musical could be in the late 20th century, all the while inspired by the 19th century operatic heights of La Bohème.

We heard early rumors that director Ty Defoe's vision for this production might include a new focus on documentarian character of Mark and perhaps weaving a multimedia component to the show. Is this Rent for the social media/citizen journalism age? Either way, the core story about love, death, art, and friendship remains timeless.

Drag Wonderettes at Stages (May 19-July 2)

It’s a drag, drag world — at least at Stages — as the company offer this drag version of one of their most popular shows and Off-Broadway smash, The Marvelous Wonderettes.

Stages will actually world-premiere the jukebox musical about the friendship and bond of a '50s girl group conceived as a drag show. Drag Wonderettes will run in repertory with Legend of Georgia McBride, giving audiences the opportunity to see both show a day apart or even on the same night.

The theatre hopes audiences will think of the two shows in conversation with each other about drag as a performance art form. No matter which show we see first, we’re betting the Stages costume designers and assistants will be the hardest working show people in the city this month.

Sin Muros Festival at Stages (May 25-28)

Stages isn’t done in May, as they’ll also bring back their new play festival for its sixth year. See tomorrow’s theatrical works today with stages readings of four new works, including: Hotel Puerto Vallarta: A Legitimate Work of Dramatic Theatre by David Davila; 619 Hendricks by Josie Nericcio; parts per million & prophets by Ricardo Dávila; and a river, its mouths by Jesús I. Valles.

Along with this glimpse of new work from up and coming playwrights, the fest includes the annual presentation of the Premio Puente (Bridge Award) to an individual or organization who has demonstrated great skill/talent/drive/care in serving the Latinx art community in the Houston area.

Other fun includes theater and education workshops and an arts market featuring local vendors, artisans, food trucks, and non-profit organizations.

Divergence from Houston Ballet (May 25-June 4)

The last of HB’s mixed rep productions of their 22-23 season features some very Houston-centric works, including a world premiere from a rock star of the dance world, Justin Beck.

First up, HB brings back Aszure Barton’s Angular Momentum for the first time since its premiere in 2012. This homage to Houston as Space City features otherworldly costume design by Fritz Masten, a Houston-inspired set by lighting and scenic designer Burke Brown and Mason Bates’ hybrid score of orchestral-electronic melodies and archival NASA recordings. The performance will also include the long anticipated return of HB artistic director, Staton Welch’s, Divergence, which hasn’t been seen on stage as a complete work since 2012.

Finally, HB world premieres Tony Award-winning choreographer Justin Peck’s Under the Folding Sky, a dance inspired by the monumental, only-in-Houston artwork, James Turrell’s Twilight Epiphany Skyspace at Rice University.

Peck uses the music from Philip Glass's opera "The Photographer" for his dance, with costumes designed by duo Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung of Reid and Harriet, lighting by Brandon Sterling Baker and scenic design by Rice University alum Karl Jensen.

Divergence will feature the full HB company.

August: Osage County from Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. (May 26-June 10)

When the patriarch of the Oklahoman Weston family disappears, the younger generation — including the three Weston sisters — return to the homestead. Accusations, recriminations, secrets, lies, and bitter truths are revealed.

The large cast of regular Dirt Dog players, as well as veteran Houston actors, will dig their teeth into this Tracy Letts’ darkly comic contemporary classic with shades of King Lear. The show contains so many strong and complex women roles, we’re looking forward to some of our local acting favorites to reveal these dogs as some bad bitches.

A Maroon’s Guide to Time and Space from Catastrophic Theatre (May 26-June 17)

Photo by Melissa Taylor

The cast of Theatre Under the Stars' new production of Rent.

Houston theater artist and filmmaker, Candice D’Meza, is back partnering with Catastrophic for this new, multidisciplinary, immersive theatre piece that merges live performance, music and video.

D’Meza most recent film work has explored Afrofuturism, and it looks like Maroon’s Guide will take further theatrical leaps into strange new worlds, while time traveling into multiple pasts and futures.

When the audiences enter this play — that’s not a play, and much more than a play — they’ll climb aboard a Harriet Tubman time traveling spaceship to transcend science as we understand it, escape their own linear timelines to experience true, abiding, and eternal access to freedom.

Fairview from 4th Wall Theatre (May 26-June 17)

Jackie Sibblies Drury’s 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning play finally gets its first Houston premiere in 4th Wall’s intimate Studio 101. All the better to see (and be seen at) this twisty, layered comedy that has garnered so many awards.

What begins as a situational comedy about the party pressure experienced by a middle-class Black American family preparing for Grandma’s birthday celebration turns into something quite different: a commentary on race, identity, and the power of perception and storytelling.

Best October Art

9 must-see October art openings at Houston museums and galleries

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents "American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection”

Houston falls into new art realms this month as intriguing new exhibitions open that take art lovers from Earth’s elements, specifically silver, all the way to the Moon.

The Blaffer showcases provocative contemporary artists, and the CAMH gets back to the land. For those looking to start their own art collection, October is also the month for art festivals. Then, in keeping with the collecting theme, the MFAH brings Houston the world class Modernism collection from a true Texas original, Charles Butt.

“Maria Gaspar: We Press Our Hands to the Steel Curtain” at Blaffer Art Museum (now through November 21)
In her artwork, interdisciplinary artist Maria Gaspar considers the concept of walls not just as physical structures but as barriers that can influence individual psyches and even societies. Growing up in Chicago in the neighborhood near the Cook County Correctional Facility, Gaspar became interested in jails and prisons and how they impact communities within those wall and outside of them.

The exhibition brings together sculpture, sound installations, video, archival materials, and participatory projects that draw from Gaspar’s years of collaborative research inside and beyond the jails. A highlight of the exhibition is Clamour, a 60 hour video documenting the demolition of one of Cook County Correctional Facility’s housing blocks.

"Singular Visions” at The Silos at Sawyer Yards (now through November 21)
Sculpture Month Houston celebrates its 10th anniversary with this special exhibition in one of Houston’s most unique art spaces, the Site Gallery housed within the decommissioned former rice silos complex at Sawyer Yards. Participating artists have each taken over one of the cylindrical silo spaces, which allows visitors to enter and engage directly with the art in a truly immersive experience.

Look for work that intrigues as it challenges ordinary ideas of reality from some of Houston’s most dynamic artists, including: Tom Bandage, Michael Bhichitkul, Christie Blizard, Steve Brudniak, Alton DuLaney, Jonathan Durham, Alicia Eggert, Tim Glover, Stephan Hillerbrand + Mary Magsamen, Beili Liu, Steve Murphy, Steve Parker, Gladys Poorte, Chris Powell, Margo Sawyer, Amy Scofield, Zulma Vega, and Ed Wilson.

“Adriana Corral: As Long as Life Endures” at Blaffer Art Museum (now through December 5)
Texan interdisciplinary artist Adriana Corral uses a research-based practice to explore themes of memory, loss, human rights abuses, natural disasters, and hidden histories. Corral’s art installations, sculptures, drawings, and films attempt to unearth and preserve those histories.

The exhibition will feature the new film by Corral, Terrebonne, created as part of her research in coastal Louisiana, where she worked with members of the Pointe au Chien Indian Tribe. The film examines how land loss, rising waters, and ecological collapse disproportionately threaten Indigenous communities. Also on view is a large scale transparent bullet resistant polycarbonate sculpture that references above-ground mausoleums often found in places like New Orleans. The juxtaposition of the material with the form asks viewers to ponder questions of who can afford to buy environmental safety and who cannot.

“A Material Inheritance” at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (now through January 30, 2027)
In celebration of its 25th “silver” anniversary, HCCC presents this once-in-a-generation exhibition that examines silver as material and metaphor. Giving both a bit of a science and art history lesson, the exhibition will explore how, as the Earth’s most reflective element, Silver has changed human cultures. Silver’s unique properties, along with human ingenuity, led to advances in mirror-making, photography, and scientific instrumentation, while its weight, density, and malleability established it as a prime medium for currency, ceremonial objects, jewelry, and treasured heirlooms.

The exhibition will showcase artists who work with silver in a multitude of ways, including: Shane R. Hendren, Edward Lane McCartney, Jaydan Moore, Leah Ying Lin, and Anjali Srinivasan. The selected pieces will span a range of ways to work with silver as a medium, from traditional metalsmithing and jewelry making to experimental glass, ceramic, and kinetic media practices that reveal silver’s remarkable conceptual and material range.

“Divination: Beverly Buchanan & Dionne Lee” at the Contemporary Art Museum Houston (now through February 14, 2027)
This is the second in a series of new exhibitions from the CAMH to bring together the work of artists across decades as a way to open up new interpretations. “Divination” finds thematic and art-making commonalities between photographers Beverly Buchanan (1940–2015) and Dionne Lee (b. 1988, New York City). CAMH senior curator Rebecca Matalon notes that though the artists come from different generations, they both explore relationships between Blackness and the land, share an interest in survivalist practices, and have unique relationships with their environment and landscapes.

The exhibition will showcase Buchanan’s photography of her large-scale environmental works that she began in the 1970s, placing stone-like fragments in remote locations across the Southeast. "Divination" organizes Buchanan’s work in conversation with Lee’s 21st century photography and films that examine what it means to honor the land on which we live. The CAMH notes that the exhibition’s title comes from the idea that both artists created work to uncover hidden histories, but they were are also committed to letting these histories remain out of focus and elusive.

“Wall Drawing Series: Jitish Kallat” at Menil Drawing Institute (now through August 8, 2027)
Since 2018, the MDI has commissioned a contemporary artist to create a new work on an interior wall within the building. Art, Cold War history, and even state secrets merge in “Wall Drawing / Redux: A119,” the latest Wall Drawing Series installation by acclaimed multidisciplinary Indian artist Jitish Kallat.

The time-based wall drawing grows out of Kallat’s interest and research into Project A119, a U.S. Air Force plan in the late 1950s to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon. Of course, the plan was never carried out, but the report on the project was only partially declassified at the turn of this century. For “Redux: A119,” Kallat has layered pages from the A119 report, titled “A Study of Lunar Research Flights - Volume I” with his own drawings and watercolors. The piece was then sheathed in laminated glass, and Kallat and the Menil team collaborated with researchers at Rice University on an electrical system so that the glass changes degrees of transparency every 500 seconds, which is approximately the time it takes sunlight to travel from the Sun to the Moon creating what we see as moonlight.

“Bayou City Art Festival” at Memorial Park (October 9-11)
The annual festival always gives art lovers and collectors a chance to meet artists, view original pieces, and purchase artwork from more than 270 creators across 19 disciplines, including world-class paintings, prints, jewelry, sculptures, and more, at prices for everyone. The fest will feature more than just visual artists, as a wide range of musical artists and bands take the festival stage, and look for roaming entertainment throughout the festival area. The three days also boast a wide range of interactive and educational activities for kids and adults.

Affordable Art Fair at George R. Brown Convention Center (October 15-18)
Presented in Houston for the first time, this fair's name sums up the mission, for the Affordable Fair is set to bring thousands of artworks from around the world. The prices, ranging from $100 to $12,000, will likely entice both the experienced and novice collector.

The fair will feature work from 55 galleries, including 17 Houston favorites, as well as 22 U.S from the U.S and 16 prestigious international galleries. Affordable Art Fair organizers have programmed many special events over the weekend, such as a spotlight on Hispanic and Latin American artists from Houston, Mexico, and Argentina, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month; special installations by artists Kayla Powers, Dan Trelenberg, and Brendan Flores; and a print workshops with PrintHouston. Look also for family hours with KIDO Preschool, Art After Hours evenings, and a Fair Director's Tour.

"American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection” at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (October 25-January 18)
As Americans continue to celebrate the nation’s 250th year, the MFAH offers up one Texan’s extraordinary collection of some of America’s greatest artists of the 20th century. While Charles Butt is well admired across the state for his philanthropy, especially when it comes to education, the H-E-B chairman also has a passion for collecting and wants to share that art with other Texans.

The exhibition will give MFAH visitors new insights into the extent of American artistic diversity in the 20th as it showcases over 80 works of art by such greats as Stuart Davis, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jacob Lawrence, Thomas Hart Benton, Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell, and Andrew Wyeth, as well as Texas artists like Everett Gee Jackson and Mary Bonner. "American Modernism" will likely also give attendees a glimpse into Butt’s own vision and focus, as it is organized into five intriguing thematic sections reflecting Butt’s life-long passions including: Intimate Perspectives, The Language of the Sea, Land Progressions, Geometric Utopias/Dystopias, and New Directions.

“More than a textbook survey of American modernism, the Charles Butt Collection shows many of the artists at turning points in their careers, with signature works and intimate sketches that encompass a remarkable range of expression and achievement,” MFAH curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Alison de Lima Greene said in a statement.

$The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents "American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection\u201d$

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents "American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection.”

affordable art fair bayou city arts festival festivals museums openings visual-art