weekend event planner

Here are the top 14 things to do in Houston this weekend

Alvin Ailey Dance company leaps into Jones Hall.

Photo by Andrew Eccles

This weekend offers a host of events for culture hounds. Those that enjoyed the Immersive Van Gogh experience can now delight in Immersive Frida Kahlo, which brings another iconic painter's works to life. Look for other art openings and events for every taste.

Meanwhile, America's most cherished dance company makes a Houston stop for arguably its most beloved work. Film fans can enjoy a new festival, and shoppers can hit a familiar market.

Enjoy the offerings. Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, February 17

Immersive Frida Kahlo
See the Mexican-born artist’s work come to life on a grand scale, thanks to large-scale projections accompanied by a musical score. Guests will be able to discover the people, events, and obstacles that made Kahlo the extraordinary woman she was. The exhibition will use state-of-the-art technology to provide a 360-degree experience inside the colorful and vibrant world of Kahlo's artwork. Through Sunday, April 17. 1 pm (noon Friday; 10 am Saturday and Sunday).

Moody Center for the Arts presents Dimensions Variable with Conductor Jerry Hou
Commissioned by the Moody as a part of their Dimensions Variable series, conductor Jerry Hou offers an original score that considers the aural and visual components of Anri Sala's and Spencer Finch's installations, both on view in the exhibition. For this special performance, Hou conducts guest artist Lauren Jacobson and student musicians from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. 7 pm.

Sin Muros (Without Walls): A Borderless Teatro Festival
With this four-day fest, Stages celebrates the range of Latinx voices and stories reflecting the diversity of local Texas communities. As all arts communities navigate a unique time in the middle of a pandemic, this year marks the return to an in-person celebration. For Sin Muros, this means a refreshed focus on what makes the festival so engaging: the public readings of dynamic new works. The festival will feature four play readings — three in person and one virtual. 7 pm (11 am Saturday and Sunday).

Friday, February 18

To Catch a Thief at MFAH
Alfred Hitchcock memorably pairs Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in this lively 1955 thriller, set on the sunny French Riviera. The debonair Grant plays a notorious retired jewel thief who sets out to prove his innocence when accused of a string of burglaries. The radiant Kelly is Frances Stevens, an elegant socialite who gets involved with solving the crimes as romance blooms. Watch for Kelly’s fabulous costumes, designed by Edith Head. 7 pm (2 pm Saturday).

4th Wall Theatre Company presents Random Acts
In this one-woman show, writer/performer Renata Hinrichs revisits moments from her youth as a minister’s child on the front lines of the Civil Rights movement. From witnessing the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, to dancing with Julie Andrews, to receiving an unexpected message of reconciliation, Hinrichs reveals how the events of the past have shaped her spirit and asks whether a random act of brutality can be transformed by a random act of courage and grace. Through February 27. 7:30 pm (3 pm Sunday).

Society for the Performing Arts presents Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has forever changed the perception of American dance. Each performance of their awaited Houston return features the company’s signature masterpiece - Revelations. At once mournful and triumphant, Revelations harnesses African-American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs, and blues to speak to Ailey’s upbringing in rural Rogers, Texas, and Black heritage in America. 7:30 pm (2 and 7:30 pm Saturday).

Ghoulia Child and Grimm Lynne present The Rock’n’Roll Revue
Local burlesque queens Ghoulia Child (aka "Houston's horror honey") and Grimm Lynne present this extremely titillating, monthly revue, featuring burlesque (and sometimes variety) talents both near and far. Of course, Ghoulia and Grimm are the stars of the show. They will perform a high energy, campy neo-burlesque, featuring music from your dad's classic rock playlist to early 2000s, cry-yourself-to-sleep emo bops. 9:30 pm.

Saturday, February 19

Foltz Fine Art presents "Dan R. Stewart: A Modernist Perspective at Home and Abroad" opening reception
This weekend, the fine folks at Foltz Fine Art will serve up this mid-century “rediscovery” exhibition for artist and architect Dan R. Stewart (1926-2013). Like many post-war American artists, Stewart’s life and art reflects its era, coming of age in a time of greater access and travel opportunities abroad, and allowing more artists to explore and paint their changing world. Through Saturday, March 19. 6 pm.

black women are worthy: art museum opening at POSTHTX
Deun Ivory, founder and creative director of the wellness space the body: a home for love, has returned to Houston to host this free, immersive art installation that explores conceptual design as a healing mechanism for black women — in celebration of Black History Month. The museum will serve as a safe space for black women to insert themselves into a narrative that feels warm and inviting, while amplifying the little-known history of what once stood in POSTHTX’s place. 7 pm.

DACAMERA presents Tyshawn Sorey: Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Rothko Chapel, DACAMERA and Rothko Chapel have commissioned boundary-breaking composer Tyshawn Sorey to create a new work inspired by the Chapel and by Morton Feldman’s 20th-century masterpiece Rothko Chapel, composed for the opening celebration. Embodying harmony, meditation and art, Sorey's piece strives to portray what it means not only to hear music, but also to experience it. 7 pm (3 pm Saturday).

Spiritless x Sans Bar Zero Proof Pop Up
Austin-based non-alcoholic spirits brand Spiritless has joined forces with Sans Bar to create a historic experience in the heart of Houston. An all-access GA ticket includes unlimited drinks and gifts, while VIP ticket holders will receive a swag bag and a meet-and-greet with brand ambassadors, community leaders, and Sans Bar founder Chris Marshall, who will be celebrating 15 years of alcohol freedom in the city where his recovery started. 7 pm.

Sunday, February 20

The Market at River Oaks District
The Market at the District is back! River Oaks District has partnered with Your Neighborhood Farmer’s Market to transform this picturesque streets into an open-air market hosting a curated assortment of our city’s finest local farms, artisans and chefs treating you to fresh fare, provisions and new discoveries for your pantry and beyond. Basically, it's a curated collection of 30-plus local farmers, artisans, and purveyors, hitting you with the good goods. 11 am.

Bayou Bend Collections and Gardens presents Children’s Texas Art Festival
The Children’s Texas Art Festival celebrates art — created by and for children — that helps forge a connection to Texas and American heritage. It's also an afternoon of free, family-friendly fun. Families are invited to enjoy art-making workshops, games, and a group project. Demonstrations emphasize the way art keeps people connected to the past, how it improves the present, and why preserving it is important for the future. 1 pm.

ReelAbilities Houston presents ReelFilm Opening Night: Telos and Keeping the Chaos Together
ReelAbilities Houston will host a virtual, opening night, featuring discussion around two locally directed/produced films. The first film Telos is about a woman who finds a new path when a chronic illness disqualifies her from space travel. Next, the documentary Keeping the Chaos Together tells inspirational, emotional stories and has interviews with psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals who provide a deeper understanding about mental illness. 7 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Timothée Chalamet cements star status in new movie Marty Supreme

Courtesy

Timothée Chalamet

In a time when true movie stars seem to be going extinct, Timothée Chalamet has emerged as an exception to the rule. Since 2021 he has headlined blockbusters like the two Dune movies and Wonka, and also earned an Oscar nomination for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (his second nomination following 2018’s Call Me By Your Name). Now, he’s almost assured to get his third nomination for the stellar new film, Marty Supreme.

Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a world-class table tennis player living in New York. But reducing Marty to his best skill doesn’t do him justice, as he’s also a motormouth schemer who will do almost anything to achieve his dreams. He doesn’t have any qualms about wooing married women like neighbor Rachel (Odessa A’zion) or actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), or hiding his true ping pong skills to win money in scams with friends like Wally (Tyler the Creator).

Marty is seemingly on the go the entire movie, whether it’s trying to convince Kay’s millionaire husband Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary) to fund his table tennis ambitions; or trying to track down the dog of Ezra (Abel Ferrara), a man he accidentally injures; or trying to avoid the ire of the boss at the shoe store where he works. Just when you think he might slow down, he’s off to the races on another plan or adventure.

Directed by Josh Safdie and written by Safdie and frequent co-writer Ronald Bronstein, the film is an almost continuous blast of pure energy for 2 ½ hours. So many different things happen over the course of the film that the story defies conventional narratives, and yet the throughline of Marty keeps everything tightly connected. His particular type of brash behavior turns much of the film into a comedy as he does and says things that are both shocking and thrilling.

Another thing that makes the movie sing is the fantastic characterization by Safdie and Bronstein. Almost every person who is given a speaking line in the film has a moment where they pop, which speaks to airtight dialogue that the writers have created. Characters will be introduced and then disappear for long stretches of time, and yet because they make such an impression the first time they’re on screen, it’s easy to pick up their thread right away.

Safdie, as he’s done previously with brother Bennie (Uncut Gems), calls on a host of well-known non-actors or people with interesting faces/vibes to inhabit supporting roles, and to a person they are crucial to the film’s success. O’Leary (of Shark Tank fame), rapper Tyler the Creator, director Ferrara, magician Penn Jillette, and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi each deliver knockout performances. The relative unknowns who play smaller roles are just as impressive, making each beat of the film feel naturalistic.

Leading the way is the powerhouse performance by Chalamet. For one person to believably play both the famously reserved Dylan and also a firecracker like Marty is astonishing, and this role cements Chalamet’s status as his generation’s movie star. A’zion is a rising star who gets great moments as Marty’s on-again/off-again love interest. Paltrow pops in and out of the film, lighting up the screen every time she appears. Fran Drescher as Marty’s mom and Sandra Bernhard as a neighbor also pay dividends in small roles.

Josh Safdie’s first solo directorial effort is unlike any other movie this year, or maybe even this century. Thanks to its breakneck storytelling, a magnificent performance by Chalamet, and countless intangibles that Safdie employs expertly, the film smacks viewers in the face repeatedly and demands that they come back for more.

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Marty Supreme opens in theaters on December 25.

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