Houston theaters have some cool treats this month to sooth that summer heat. Lots of intimate cabaret and comic theater makes this month's must-see list, and many of these shows come with a full drinks menu. Broadway at Hobby invites Houstonians to the hottest party in town at the Moulin Rouge.
The Gilbert & Sullivan Society floats audiences through Venice, while the Alley chills people with a cinematic styled murder mystery. Houston will also celebrate a summer of live performing arts as Miller Outdoor Theatre reopens.
Feelin’ Groovy from Music Box Theatre (now through August 15)
The Music Box fabulous five — Rebekah Dahl, Brad Scarborough, Luke Wrobel, Cay Taylor, and Kristina Sullivan plus their live band — tend to spend summers reminiscing on love by showcasing some of the best tunes of the 60s and 70s. Interwoven with banter and comedy skits, they’ll sing classics from a multitude of musical genres of that era, including rock, country, R&B, and maybe even get down with some disco. Ride the groovy vibe with hits like, “Natural Woman,” “Taking it to the Streets,” “Heartache Tonight," ”Touch Me in the Morning," “Soul Man,” “Wichita Lineman,” and “He Ain’t Heavy.”
Drunk Pirates from Drunk Shakespeare Society (now through September)
The boozy Bard takes a break this summer as the Drunk Shakespeare players instead set sail to dig up buried theatrical booty in this adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. The real rum will flow as each night one of the cast members drinks five shots before attempting to perform one of the main characters. Pirate chaos ensues as the rest of the cast tries to keep the story going. The show becomes interactive, with no two nights the same, and some of the audience might have to walk the plank at stage-sword point. With drinks and cocktails available for order and an evening of laughs, maybe the real treasure is the pirate friends we made along the way.
Miller Outdoor Theatre Reopens at Hermann Park
A summer filled with performing arts for all ages is back with the reopening of Miller Outdoor Theatre. The Houston institution has had a very busy few years. First, it celebrated its centennial anniversary season, and then it closed last year for some needed renovations, including backstage improvements for the artists and crews. The venue's Gateway Plaza Project revitalized the northeast side of the park, as well as upgrades and repairs to the plaza picnic area.
While rain in June postponed the grand opening celebration of the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation Plaza, the theatre and grounds are now open just in time for many of the summer programming Houstonians love, including the Houston Symphony series, beginning with the Star-Spangled Salute 4th of July concert with fireworks, the annual Shakespeare Festival, international music, dance performances, and children’s theater programming.
Broadway and Beyond: From Opening Nights to Encores at Stages (July 9-26)
Musical theater artist Holland Vavra has been a longtime audiences favorite on stages throughout the city, and especially at Stages where she’s been part of 29 shows over the years. She’s also sailed the seas as a featured performer with Celebrity Cruises.
Now, for her 30th production at Stages, she’s created this special cabaret show to highlight through songs some of the productions, collaborators, and experiences that have defined her career. The company crew will also transform the Levit theater space into an intimate cabaret setting with table seating, cocktails, and of course, a live band.
Bachelor Pad Royale-An Ultra Lounge Cabaret from Paul Hope Cabarets (July 13-27)
For eight seasons, Paul Hope and his array of veteran performers have reenergized the American songbook in a cabaret setting. Though the shows usually have strong Broadway themes, when the days heat up, Paul Hope Cabaret chills out with their annual summer Ultra Lounge menu of mid-century tunes.
This July, order a cocktail with a twist of intrigue as the night features James Bond movie standards like “Diamonds Are Forever," "From Russia With Love," and "You Only Live Twice," plus other mod and sexy tunes like "These Boots Are Made for Walkin,” “Mona Lisa,” and “Windmills of Your Mind.” Paul Hope hosts as always with a stellar crooning cast including Jake Cummings, Brad Goertz, Pantelis Karastamatis, Lauren Salazar, Laura Smolik, Tamara Siler, and Whitney Zangarine, with music director, Jerry Atwood.
Moulin Rouge! presented by Broadway at the Hobby Center (July 14-19)
People who can-can-can’t resist a good medley or mashup song will enjoy this dazzling musical. Broadway at the Hobby Center takes a final bow on its 2025-2026 season with an encore presentation of this musical based on the 2001 Baz Luhrmann movie.
Filled with just as many blazing colors as the original film, the live stage version follows a doomed love story set in 1880s Paris. Composer, Christian, falls for jaded and sickly showgirl, Satine, in the bohemian wonderland of the Moulin Rouge. While their love may not be able to overcome villains, prejudice, and consumption, they do make beautiful music together.
The show takes jukebox musicals to new heights as each number packs an ever expanding selection of beloved songs across a century of songwriting. While classic pop songs like “Nature Boy” and “Your Song” shine as singles, The “Elephant Love Medley” alone encompasses pieces of almost twenty songs.
The Gondoliers from Gilbert & Sullivan Society (July 18-26)
To celebrate its 75th anniversary, Houston’s Gilbert & Sullivan Society goes back to the beginning with this favorite G&S opera they originally produced in 1952. In this melodious and convoluted comic tale, two Venetian gondolier brothers find out that one is an adopted long lost prince though nobody is sure which is which. Multiple brides and extra would-be queens are also vying for thrones.
With many chaotic twists to a happy ending, Gilbert and Sullivan also get many satirical jabs at royalty, snobbery, and, strangely enough, limit liability companies of the era. Houston native and New York–based director, Alyssa Weathersby, who also helmed last year’s acclaimed Iolanthe, returns to direct. In a statement about the show, Weathersby describes a production that “embraces a playful aesthetic that overlays the other visual elements, like Venetian structures and Spanish dance styles.”
The Girl on the Train at Alley Theatre (July 24-August 30)
The Alley kicks off its 80th season with a contemporary twist on its beloved Summer Chills tradition. Instead of a classic Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes murder mystery of past summers, audiences are invited to climb aboard this thrilling stage version of the best-selling novel by Paula Hawkins turned blockbuster film.
With most of the resident actors in the mix, the story follows Rachel, a divorced woman struggling with alcohol addiction who takes the same train everyday as she tries to put the pieces of her life back together. But a missing woman and the everyday domestic dramas she sees from the train window might just take her on a deadly journey that forces her to confront her past.
Photo by Melissa Taylor
Holland Vavra will recount some of her favorite Stages roles in Broadway and Beyond: From Opening Nights to Encores
