weekend event planner

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

Toast FM Kitchen & Bar's fifth birthday this weekend.

This weekend offers some theatrical and musical fun starring two of our most beloved stage companies. Raise a glass to two beer-themed Pride events, celebrate a popular watering hole and restaurant's anniversary, and go bananas (literally) at a cherished nature center. And for anime fans, a trek to Conroe offers a chance to dress up and even lend your voice to an upcoming movie.

Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, June 2

Vita Living presents Pearls of Wisdom
This fundraising dinner will celebrate Vita Living's 40 years of service to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization’s mission is to provide lifelong services for people with IDD through three core programs: residential services, an activity center, and case management. The event includes a silent auction featuring local artists, a Mexican buffet, and a speech from Gabe Cazares, Director of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. 6 pm.

Alley Theatre presents Noir
A heartbroken man never leaves his apartment, finding his only solace in the music on the radio. Then, a couple moves in next door.  Eavesdropping becomes his new entertainment — and his new obsession. Inspired by early radio plays and classic film noir, this world-premiere musical is written by Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and Kyle Jarrow (SpongeBob SquarePants) and directed by Darko Tresnjak (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder). Through Sunday, July 3. 7:30 pm (8 pm Friday and Saturday; 2:30 and 7:30 pm Sunday).

Friday, June 3

PrintMatters Houston presents PrintHouston 2022 opening reception
PrintMatters Houston will celebrate the eighth PrintHouston, a biennial city-wide celebration of original prints, the artists who create them and the people who collect them. Tamarind Institute will be the featured guest of this event. Houston-area galleries, museums and institutions (Archway Gallery, Burning Bones Press, The Community Artists’ Collective, Ellio Fine Art, etc.) will showcase the diversity of printmaking art forms with exhibits, artist talks and workshops. 6 pm.

Chloe Dao Boutique M-K-T Heights presents A Royal Night Out
Join fashion designer/Project Runway winner Chloe Dao and author Katharine McGee for an evening of royal fashion. They will also be celebrating Rivals, the latest book in McGee's New York Times-bestselling American Royals series. In this third installment, a meeting of monarchs will test everyone's loyalty to the crown…and their own hearts. Relationships will be tested, strangers will become friends, and enemies will become allies! 6:30 pm.

Steely Dan in concert with Snarky Puppy
Legendary band Steely Dan comes to The Woodlands, as part of their Earth After Hours summer tour. They'll be joined by special guest Snarky Puppy. Fans can expect to hear all the hits from the Dan, like “Reelin’ In The Years,” “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” “Dirty Work,” “Do It Again,” and more. We'd love it if Donald Fagen and company would play all the numbers from the 1977 album Aja. "Peg," "Josie," "Deacon Blues" — that album had some classics, man! 7:30 pm.

Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Carole King fought her way into the record business as a teenager and, by the time she reached her twenties, had the husband of her dreams and a flourishing career writing hits for the biggest acts in rock ‘n’ roll. This musical tells the inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. 8 pm (2 and 8 pm Saturday; 2 and 7:30 pm Sunday).

Saturday, June 4

KimoKawaii anime convention
The first ever anime convention in Conroe puts fans and attendees at the center of the action through interactive run-up events, social media challenges, competitions, and on-site activities. Attractions include anime game shows, art contests, cosplay contests, drag show crossplay contests, an improv comedy show, a karaoke sing-off and dance hall, and ramen bowls.

A big draw: fans can pay to add their voices to an upcoming anime film Kushi & the Annunaki to be screened later on Amazon Prime. Don't miss the giant Totoro (Japan's version of Mickey Mouse) and a live art auction benefitting Texas Children's Hospital. 9 am.

FM Kitchen & Bar 5 Year Anniversary Weekend Bash
This Saturday and Sunday, FM Kitchen & Bar will celebrate their five-year anniversary in style, starting the day off with yoga and brunch on the FM patio with Southern Flow Yoga (free workout). On Saturday, Tenfold Coffee in The Heights will be having a brunch-time pop-up, serving their popular lattes, flat whites and cappuccinos. There will also be live music and DJs, free FM Burger & Ranch Water giveaways and other specials. 9:30 am.

Houston Botanic Garden presents Go Bananas!
We all love bananas, right? Well, if you adore the appealing (pardon the pun!) tropical fruit, discover all there is to know about the banana during Houston Botanic Garden's day-long festival. We're talking about banana tastings, a cooking demonstration with fried plantains, a world-of-bananas presentation, etc. And don't forget about the upscale mid-morning brunch with curated banana and plantain dishes, as well as the cocktail competition later that evening. 10 am.

Be Queer, Drink Beer HTX!
Join Urban South HTX for their annual Pride Party, kicking off Pride Month. Don't miss three very special, limited releases, including two fruited sours, Beaming and Triple Spilled: Rainbow, along with their newest N/A soda, Proud Punch. There will also be drag performances from Angelina DM Trailz, Alyanna IV Bones and Kalani Ross Khalo. Blank Flag Project, Tilde Means Tilde and TeaGu Cafe will be around with the food. 2 pm.

Texas Folklife presents 33rd Annual Accordion Kings & Queens Concert
This event features a lineup of the best in Texas accordion music genres, including norteño, zydeco, Cajun, and more. Performers include Houston-based norteño superstars Las Fenix, Zydeco act RJ & Kreole Smoove, Grammy-nominated Cameron Dupuy & the Cajun Troubadours, and Texas Folklife’s 2022 Big Squeeze champions in conjunto, zydeco, polka and Cajun categories. The show will simultaneously be livestreamed via Facebook. 7 pm.

Sunday, June 5

Pride Houston Market at Karbach Biergarten
One of Houston's most popular breweries is hosting a Pride event promising shopping from local vendors, a 2022 Pride glass and special merchandise, a live set from DJ Athenz, and more. Raise a glass to the community and drink responsibly, friends. 11 am.

I’ll Have What She’s Having presents Rock & Roll Picnic
I’ll Have What She’s Having (IHWSH) raises funds for women and men in the hospitality industry to receive healthcare. HWSH’s 1973 Project raises funds for Texas organizations that will help people get abortion care. To benefit its 1973 Project, IHWSH will host its first event that combines mouthwatering food with captivating music. A silent auction will take place throughout the event. Experiences like private, chef-prepared dinners, as well as artisan culinary creations, are among the donated items. 2 pm.

Cultural Center Our Texas presents Oleg Poliansky: From Beethoven to Stravinsky
Cultural Center Our Texas will host this piano concert, presented by acclaimed, worldwide Ukrainian pianist Oleg Poliansky. The program consists of a variety of music that has touched the hearts of millions throughout time and regardless of borders. The first part will include masterpieces from the composers of the 19th and 20th centuries — Beethoven, Liszt, and Prokofiev. The second part will include works of 20th-century music innovators — Debussy, Scriabin, and Stravinsky. 6 pm.

Murray & Peter present Alyssa Edwards: Life, Love & Lashes Tour
From Mesquite, Texas to the global stage, Alyssa Edwards is unstoppable. Her life is a spectacle: from RuPaul’s Drag Race to her web series Alyssa's Secret, her own Netflix series Dancing Queen and America's Got Talent. Now, the smash hit show direct from London's West End comes to America. Life, Love & Lashes - Memoirs of a Queen is a must-see, all-ages, tell-all story about her life, drag and finding love. 8 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Bold drama Anora takes an unconventional look at romance and rebellion

Photo courtesy of Neon

Mikey Madison in Anora.

Writer/director Sean Baker’s filmography is full of films that aim to show stories not typically seen in mainstream movies, ones that often feel so true to life that they can be tough to watch. His latest film, Anora, is similar to his previous content in some ways, but much different in others.

Anora (Mikey Madison), aka Ani, is a stripper/sex worker who works at a club in Brooklyn. Because she can speak Russian, she is assigned to dance for Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), who she discovers is the son of a Russian oligarch. With an unlimited supply of money, he pays Ani for sex and, enjoying spending time with her, for her to pretend to be his girlfriend for a week.

That week sees them do a lot of wild stuff, most notably an impulsive trip to Las Vegas where they — almost as hastily — decide to get married. Their elopement doesn’t stay secret for long, though, with Ivan’s parents especially upset. A trio of henchmen track them down, enlisted by Ivan’s parents to force them to get the marriage annulled at all costs.

Baker is not your typical storyteller, and so even though the film has three distinct acts, they don’t play out in ways that will be familiar or comfortable for many filmgoers. Much of the first act involves Ani in states of undress, either dancing for customers or having sex with Ivan. Although the “rich guy paying for the company of a sex worker” echoes a film like Pretty Woman, the comparison doesn’t really fit, especially because the immature, video game-playing Ivan is about as far from romance as you can get.

Whatever appeal he might have had disappears in the second half of the film when he’s confronted with his parents’ displeasure. It’s here that Baker seems to play with moviegoer expectations the most. With three goons sent to get Ani and Ivan to take back what they’ve done, it feels like Baker is going to go down the typical mob movie road. Instead, what transpires can only be described as an intense farce, with Ani resisting the trio’s efforts with all her might, causing lots of comedic chaos.

What plays out throughout the film, and especially in the final act, is a disparity of wealth. While Ani being willing to have sex with a rich guy who comes into the club could be viewed in multiple ways, it does hint at her need to make money however she can. Conversely, Ivan spends money with abandon and acts accordingly, like someone who will never have a care in the world. After much frivolity, this imbalance hits like a ton of bricks in the film’s final minutes.

Madison, who’s had small but showy roles in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the reboot of Scream, proves herself to be a star in this role. She owns every part of the performance, from the New York accent to the pole dancing, and she is the fire that keeps the film humming. She is especially important because Russian actor Eydelshteyn is only intermittently effective. Special note goes to Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, and Yura Borisov, the three men who come for Ani and Ivan. Each walks the line between drama and comedy especially well.

Taken at face value, Anora could be viewed as a merely titillating and somewhat shallow film. But Baker doesn’t do anything without a purpose, which is why the subtext of the story gives the film its power, with a bravura performance by Madison to put it over the top.

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Anora is now playing in theaters.

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