The Arthropologist

Here's the perfect Mother's Day gift for any mom: Treat her to an "artful" event

YHYQArt.com
Artists of the Houston Ballet performing Stanton Welch's tribute to C.C. Conner,The Gentlemen
Photo by Amitava Sarkar
Rienzi, the house museum for European decorative arts at the MFAH situated onfour acres of wooded gardens in the historic River Oaks neighborhood, makes aperfect Mother's Day outing.
Photo by Chris Conyers
Jacquelyne Jay Boe, Kristen Frankiewicz and Brit Wallis in Frame DanceProductions' CONTEXT
Kelly Myernick and artists of the Houston Ballet in Giselle, choreographed byMarius Petipa
Photo by Amitava Sarkar
Guy Roberts as Richard III in Main Street Theater and the Prague ShakespeareFestival presentation of Shakespeare’s Richard III
Ron Nagle, Cardworthy, 2001, earthenware, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection, gift of Garth Clark and Mark DelVecchio
Photo courtesy © Ron Nagle
Jasper Johns, Two Flags, 1980, lithograph

Sons and daughters, put down that corsage. Forget brunch reservations. Let's take la momma to see some art. There's a bevy of artful adventures for a mom to love this weekend. Trust me, I have dragged my mom to more shows than any mom should ever have to go to. Bless you mom!

It is a nice idea, though, to match the mom with the art. Here goes!

For the socially responsible mom who likes to get fancy and loves variety, take her to Pink Ribbons Project's Pink at the Brown, Thursday at the Wortham. Chances are, she knows many friends whose lives has been touched by breast cancer, and she will welcome the opportunity to further breast cancer research. Plus, the line-up includes just about every major downtown arts organization.

Highlights include Da Camera of Houston’s own artistic and general director, Sarah Rothenberg, performing a piano solo, Houston Ballet offers a pas deux from Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly, performed by Simon Ball and Amy Fote, along with Welch's The Gentlemen, a tribute to retired general manager and Pink at the Brown honoree CC Conner,and Houston Symphony will perform a Gershwin Brass Quintet.

Most exciting for this mom and daughter (me!), is a rare performance by Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, in a duet from his masterwork, The Meadow.

For alt mom

For the alt mom, head to Frame Dance Production's Context at Winter Street Studios, Friday through Sunday. Lydia Hance and her group of framers combine live performance and film in a gallery setting. The idea is to play with the boundary between performer and audience, and let the elements of performance, photography and film bleed into each other. You can get to know the framers on their blog before you go.

Photography by Sil Azevedo and Lorie Garcia and music by Charles Halka add to the alty mix.

For traditional mom

So if your mom is a hard core traditionalsist, not a problem. Take her to see Houston Ballet's production of Giselle at Miller Outdoor Theatre, Friday through Sunday. There's nothing quite like ballet in the great outdoors. Since almost the entire ballet takes place in a village square or the woods, you will feel part of the actions.

With superstar ballerinas Danielle Rowe and Karina Gonzalez dancing the role of Giselle, you can't but win mom points. The price is right, too: it's free.

For teacher mom, political mom, cross-era mom, Goth mom & gansta mom

Is your mom an English teacher? Then Richard III at Main Street Theater (MST) is your best choice. With Guy Roberts as devilish Richard and in the director's role, along with a cast that includes the executive artistic director of MST as Queen Margaret, it's a must see for many a mom type.

Politico mom will get a kick out of the TV ads promising better castles if you make Richard III king. Cross-era fashion mom will appreciate Margaret Crowley's mixed period costume mash-up. Goth mom and gangsta bard mom will both go for the show's apocalyptic spin. The show runs through Sunday at their Chelsea Market location.

For crafty mom

Got a crafty mom? Do you want her to expand her idea of craft? The MFAH'sShifting Paradigms in Contemporary Ceramics: The Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection, is a knockout show. With some160 objects from such famous artists such as Kenjiro Kawai, Jean-Pierre Laroque, Adrian Saxe, Peter Voulkos, Anthony Caro, Lucio Fontana, Claes Oldenburg, and Grayson Perry, it has a blockbuster feel. She will be impressed and think the investment on your college education was well worth it.

For super-artsy mom

Already super-artsy mom from New York will enjoy a swing by Hiram Butler Gallery to gaze on works by Jasper Johns, Robert Robert Rauschenberg, Sol LeWitt and James Turrell.

For tasteful mom

For the mom with equisite taste, like my mom, plan a visit to the MFAH's Rienzi for a special Mother’s Day performance by Early Music Southwest, featuring the “historic piano,” or one of their Twilight Tours, Thursdays in May. Stroll about the Rienzi estate, art collection, and gardens with wine and lite bites in hand, while being serenaded by harpist Meghan Elizabeth Caulkett.

Docents stationed throughout the house provide juicy details about the collection. Elegant, refined, classy, just like your mom.

And last, but not least, for the bossy mom

Because I'm in the "bossy mom" category, I select our artful adventure, a Mother's Day tradition at chez Wozny. As we are a photo lovin' family, we plan to visit Utopia/Dystopia: Construction and Destruction in Photography and Collage at the MFAH, then off to It is what it is. Or is it? and Perspectives 178: Cineplex at the CAMH.

Whatever you decide to do with your mom on Mother's Day weekend, do spend some time with her, it's precious and fleeting.

Here's a taste of Houston Ballet's Giselle.

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Movie Review

Heartfelt movie The Life of Chuck adapts optimistic Stephen King story

Photo courtesy of NEON

Tom Hiddleston in The Life of Chuck.

Just like actors, once a filmmaker becomes known for a certain genre, it can be difficult to escape that pigeonholing. Writer/director Mike Flanagan has worked for 20 years in both film and television, and literally every project he’s done has been related to horror. He’s finally breaking out with The Life of Chuck, which is ironically based on a short story of the same name by Stephen King.

Told in three chapters in reverse order, the film is almost impossible to describe without giving away its magic. The first section centers on Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a teacher grappling, like everyone around him, with what seems to be the world falling apart. He’s comforted to a degree by reuniting with his ex-wife, Felicia (Karen Gillan), but is also baffled by multiple ads touting the retirement of Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) after “39 great years.”

The second section consists of little more than a slightly younger Chuck happening upon Taylor (The Pocket Queen), a drummer busking on a street corner, giving Chuck and a younger woman, Janice (Annalise Basso), the inspiration to start dancing. The final section goes back to the childhood of Chuck (Benjamin Pajak), where he’s raised by his grandparents (Mark Hamill and Mia Sara), discovers dance as an outlet, and wonders about various small mysteries.

Flanagan finds a way to deliver a lot of story with relatively little effort. Using a wry narrator (Nick Offerman), a limited number of locations, and a series of great small performances, he creates an intriguing premise with few straightforward answers. The structure of the film is designed to confuse the viewer until just the right moment, and the revelation forces you to reexamine everything that came before.

The biggest accomplishment by Flanagan is making what are essentially three short films and having each of them resonate equally. The film contains elements of science fiction, although the first section may hit a bit too close to home for some of those watching. All three sections, though, have a heartwarming bent to them that sells their central idea without becoming overly saccharine.

To do so, each of the characters have to connect in a short amount of time. The casting of the film is crucial, and not only does that department succeed with the main roles, but a series of small roles are filled expertly as well. Carl Lumbly as a funeral home owner, David Dastmalchian and Harvey Guillen as parents of students, Matthew Lillard as Marty’s neighbor, Q’orianka Kilcher as Chuck’s wife, and Jacob Tremblay as a teenage Chuck are just a few of the recognizable actors that do yeoman’s work in their brief time on screen.

Hiddleston is only prominently featured in the second chapter, but his performance there and in small glimpses throughout makes a big impression. Ejiofor is given the star turn in the first chapter and he absolutely kills, both in moments by himself and in scenes with Gillan, with whom he has great chemistry. Hamill, making a rare non-voiceover appearance outside of the Star Wars universe, and Sara, in her first notable role in 11 years, are also very memorable in the final chapter.

The Life of Chuck is a film that’s filled with emotion, but the full impact of the story is not felt until the final moments. It has a mysterious journey that is initially frustrating, but the performances keep the film going until it gets to its satisfying payoff.

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The Life of Chuck is now playing in theaters.

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