broadway is back

Tina Turner, MJ, and can't-miss classics headline Broadway at Hobby Center's thrilling new season

For performing arts lovers, the real most wonderful time of the year has just begun with season announcement season.

Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center has revealed its lineup with nine shows to keep our musical theater calendar filled. With new Broadway and West End blockbusters returning classics, bio-musical and lots of '80s inspiration, we’re anticipating one “Thriller” of a 2023-2024 season.

“The 2023-2024 Season delivers on the promise to our audiences to bring the very best of Broadway right here to Houston. The Broadway series is as hot as ever with Houstonians filling Sarofim Hall for performance after performance,” said Hobby Center president and CEO, Mark Folkes in a statement announcing the season. “We are inspired by the enthusiasm we've experienced from audiences in recent months and look forward to another blockbuster season with eight spectacular diverse productions.”

MJ (November 14-19, 2023)

This one doesn’t even need a full name in the title: we know that sound and silhouette of Michael Jackson. The hottest show on Broadway right now makes its Texas debut in Houston bringing the music, moves and story of Michal Jackson. With a book by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage, we expect to go deeper into the rise of the king of pop.

The song list includes global hits like “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and “Man in the Mirror” but also real surprises like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Climb Ev'ry Mountain.” the Broadway at Hobby season is gonna Be Startin’ Something with this one.

Tina-The Tina Turner Musical (January 2-7, 2024)

The new year opens with simply “The Best” and all round queen of rock, R&B, soul, pop and really the musical universe. Another Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, this time, Katori Hall wrote the book on Turner’s extraordinary, no holds barred story.

The musical follows her from childhood singing in the church to her rise to stardom, marriage and divorce to Ike Turner and her triumph second, third and beyond acts as a international rock superstar. Who needs another hero when we’ve got Tina Turner.

Les Misérables (January 23-28)

Do you hear the people sing, singing the songs of the show that began a Broadway revolution? Dream a dream and storm the barricades once more with this revival of the Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony-winning phenomenon.

Beetlejuice (March 5-10, 2024)

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. (BTW, that film now could be seen as a 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 still have us dancing in our Hobby Center seats, listen for brand new songs written for the show by Eddie Perfect.

Girl from the North Country (April 30-May 5, 2024)

While by definition a jukebox musical, this Girl tells a poignant tale as acclaimed Irish playwright weaves the songs of Bob Dylan into story of lives changed one faithful night. Though Dylan originally wrote many of these songs in the '60s and '70s, they set an authentic mood for this depression era saga.

In Duluth, Minnesota (Dylan’s birthplace), we meet a group of wayward travelers whose lives intersect as they take shelter in a guesthouse one stormy night. The Tony-nominated show reimagines 20 Dylan’s songs as they’ve never been heard before, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” and “Like A Rolling Stone.”

Hairspray (June 4-9, 2024)

The musical based on the '80s John Waters film that was later made into a movie musical is back on tour with an all-new production that reunites Broadway’s award-winning creative team led by Director Jack O’Brien and Choreographer Jerry Mitchell.

This dance revolution will be televised as '60s high schooler Tracy Turnblad’s ambition to take her big hair and curves onto the Corny Collins Show opens her eyes to segregation and racial injustice. Filled with some big comedy, the show still packs powerful emotional punch.

Disney’s The Lion King (July 11-August 4)

Long live the king of Broadway with this family-favorite becomes an add on to the lineup. This version of Hamlet as depicted by big cats keeps enchanting each new generation with its music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi and most of all its stunning costumes, set and choreography.

Funny Girl (August 20-25, 2024)

The revival that’s been on everyone’s musical radar for the past year takes to the road in 2024, and we won’t rain on this parade. Featuring one of the most beloved, and sing-along-able scores of all time by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, an updated book from Harvey Fierstein, Funny Girl was one of the first Broadway shows about Broadway.

The show follows the indomitable Fanny Brice climbs her way from vaudeville to musical stardom. For decades she’s reminded us that people who need theater people are the luckiest people in the world.

Photo by Matthew Murphy

Naomi Rodgers channels Tina in a can't-miss musical.

Start Me Up

Immersive Houston art venue rocks out with new Rolling Stone experience

Photo courtesy of Artechouse

“Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified, The Immersive Rock Experience!” opens at Artechouse in May.

A new art exhibit puts viewers into the heart of rock and roll. Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified, The Immersive Rock Experience opens this Thursday, May 15 at Artechouse, the immersive art venue that opened last year in the Heights. With its 270-degree, floor-to-ceiling digital canvases in 18K-resolution and state-of-the-art surround sound, viewers will feel they’ve stepped into some of music’s most iconic moments.

Narrated by Kevin Bacon, Amplified includes 1,000 photographs, 200 videos, 1,300 Rolling Stone covers, and features more than 300 artists whose music changed the world. Using sight, sound, and motion, this dynamic exhibit makes music history approachable and immediate for viewers. Here's a sneak peek:

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Houstonians know our city has its own deep connections to genre-shaking music history. From The Beatles at the Sam Houston Coliseum, to Elvis at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Bob Dylan’s “Night of the Hurricane” in 1976, and being the hometown of Beyoncé, Bun B, ZZ Top, Megan Thee Stallion, and many more, Houston has cultivated and welcomed artists with choruses of boisterous cheers and applause.

"Given Houston’s deep connection to the evolution of rock and pop music over the decades, we were thrilled to partner with Rolling Stone to bring Amplified to Houstonians and continue the city’s tradition of supporting and celebrating musical acts from around the world," says Sandro Kereselidze, co-founder of Artechouse. "This exhibit aligns perfectly with our mission to connect the public with cultural and artistic storytelling through cutting-edge technology. We’re excited for guests of all ages to experience the history of rock ‘n’ roll like never before."

The show was originally produced by Illuminarium Experiences and created by Brand New World Studios in partnership with Rolling Stone. Viewers who attend the Artechouse experience can keep their immersive experience going at the venue’s Reality (XR) Bar, serving cocktails and mocktails that dovetail with the exhibit. Blending cutting-edge XR technology with craft mixology, drinks come to life through exclusive XR activations, which are accessible via Artechouse’s XR mobile app. Guests can downtown the app from the App Store or Google Play.

“Music imagery is about experiences,” said Jodi Peckman, executive producer and former creative director of Rolling Stone. “It’s about the unbridled joy of concerts and our connection to our favorite artists. Every picture tells a story and Rolling Stone Presents: AMPLIFIED has hundreds of stories to tell.”

Timed tickets are available online and at the venue, and advanced reservations are strongly encouraged. Admission starts at $39 plus fees for adults and $29 plus fees for children, ages 17 and under. Tickets are currently available through August 31.

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