weekend event planner

Here are the top 12 things to do in Houston this weekend

Take a Seuss-tacular journey through nine different, visually stunning Dr. Seuss worlds.

Photo courtesy of The Dr. Seuss Experience

This weekend is, of course, Memorial Day Weekend, which means you’ll probably be outside grilling some burgers on Monday.

Coincidentally, May is National Hamburger Month and Friday is National Hamburger Day. So, you might wanna get the grilling early this weekend, or even head out to a spot where they serve some tasty burgers. (Or you can just stay home and order from the Burger Joint, like everybody else.)

Here are some other things going on this holiday weekend:

Thursday, May 27

A Call to Action: Experiments in Interdisciplinary Performance at Blaffer Art Museum
This free, experimental, interdisciplinary micro-festival is necessary and now, confronting urgent political circumstances with an expansive, performative language.

The survey of performance across dance, theatre, music, spoken word, visual art and trans-disciplinarity is organized by six intrepid guest curators: Aisha Tida Abbassi, Outspoken Bean, Rivkah French, Julia Barbosa Landois, Jake Sandridge and Sixto Wagan. Through June 5. 7 pm.

The Parkway at Regent Square presents Cinematic Throwbacks
Regent Square is expanding its calendar of outdoor programming at The Parkway with Cinematic Throwbacks. The moonlit movie event will feature campy classics on a giant inflatable screen.

The evening will be BYOC (bring your own chair), with Bovine & Barley’s Adult Ice Cream Truck on site selling concessions for noshing. May’s throwback film, the 2001 comedy Zoolander, with Ben Stiller flashing that blue-steel look as a bumbling male model. 8 pm.

Friday, May 28

The Dr. Seuss Experience at George R. Brown Convention Center
This Seuss-tacular sensory spectacle takes guests on a journey through nine different, visually stunning Dr. Seuss worlds.

Visitors can swing among Truffula Trees from The Lorax, make their way through a balloon-filled maze from Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, stroll through towering clovers listening for a Who from Horton Hears a Who!, or join the Circus McGurkus. (9 am Saturday-Sunday. Through Sunday, August 15.).

Sip n’ Shop with Houston Pets Alive Thrift
Urban South - HTX is joining Houston Pets Alive Thrift for a night of brews, light bites, and shopping to support Houston Pets Alive, a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving cats and dogs in Houston from euthanasia.

This event will take place at Houston Pets Alive Thrift on Nottingham Street, complete with a selection of Urban South’s unique beers available for guests to enjoy while they shop. 5 pm.

Houston Symphony presents Find Your Dream: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein
Spend an enchanted evening at Jones Hall as Bank of America POPS Season concludes with beloved songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Charismatic Broadway duo Santino and Jessica Fontana perform favorites from The Sound of Music, Carousel, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I, and more, with full-orchestra accompaniment by Steven Reineke and the Symphony. The Saturday performance will be live-streamed. 8 pm (2:30 pm Sunday).

Saturday, May 29

Beard Papa's Pearland Grand Opening
Beard Papa’s, the world-famous fresh and natural cream puffs chain, is finally coming to Pearland. With its Japanese origins and cult following, the dessert destination is set to officially open at Pearland Town Center.

On the grand opening day, guests can expect various promos, free gifts for the first 100 people, and various local influencers are scheduled to make appearances as well as neighboring business owners. 11 am.

Dream Big Downtown: The Main Event
In partnership with UP Art Studio and Johnnie Blonde, downtown will host a live-art extravaganza during the Big Walls Big Dreams activation. While mural painting takes place across the city, artists will gather in the Historic District for an epic live-painting event, complete with DJ Gracie Chavez, a Johnnie Walker VIP Tent, a "refresh" stop for cold drinks, and more. (Noon to 8 pm)

Visionary Grind Arts presents "Black Is. - A Reintroduction to Culture Art Show"
Visionary Grind Arts and Hardy & Nance Studios will present this two-day art show, curated by Drék Davis.

The exhibit will feature black artists and spoken word poets as part of a celebration of black creativity and experience. It is an opportunity for artists to reintroduce Black culture to audiences in a way that strays from outdated negative stereotypes, uninformed opinion, and individual bias. 5 pm (Noon).

Cinespace short films at WaterWorks
NASA, Houston Cinema Arts Society, and Buffalo Bayou Partnership collaborate for an evening of music and film at WaterWorks. This free event features curated short films inspired by NASA archive footage and music by DJ Flash Gordon Parks. Bring a chair or blanket for seating and a picnic for dinner, or grab food and drinks from local vendors. 7pm.

H-Town Memorial Day Mayhem
Hip-hop heads will be getting some good live music on this day. Not only will rapper/longtime Seinfeld fan Wale be in town for this party, there is also this rap-a-thon, happening over at Toyota Center.

The superstar lineup includes Lil Durk, 2 Chainz, Trae Tha Truth, DJ Mr. Rogers, Yung Bleu, Coi LeRay, Mooski, Erica Banks, Stunna Bam, and Houston’s Loud Muzik artists Art of Ratchet. 8 pm.

Sunday, May 30

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Ernesto Neto: "SunForceOceanLife"
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s summer series of grand-scale, immersive exhibitions continues with this major commission, by renowned Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto, that transforms Cullinan Hall into a suspended walkway.

When visitors enter the epic sculptural work, they can explore a complex labyrinth of interactive pathways, all while suspended in mid-air. Through Sunday, September 26. 12:30 pm.

Market Street presents Memorial Day Weekend Concert
This Memorial Day Weekend, Market Street invites guests to kick back, relax and get in the groove with some live music. Top-40 hits will be performed by the popular group Rapture.

Guests are invited to bring blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the concert in Central Park. The many restaurant patios surrounding Central Park are a perfect place to dine alfresco while enjoying the live music that’ll be popping off. 4 pm.

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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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