weekend event planner

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

Nick Cannon and crew get wild in Houston this weekend.

This weekend, we celebrate the historic Juneteenth and Dads and father figures everywhere. Look for two festivals — one toasts theater, another all things Brazilian, including music, dance, and food. Some major comics head to town, the Houston Symphony goes Disney and Zeppelin, and a dad party features beer, brisket, and a Lego walk (ouch).

Enjoy: here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, June 16

Alley All New Festival
This fest will feature new plays in development from some of the most exciting voices in contemporary theatre. The festival will feature workshop performances of Torera by Monet Hurst-Mendoza and Thornton Wilder’s The Emporium; readings of Christa McAuliffe's Eyes Were Blue by Kemp Powers, The World is Not Silent by Don X. Nguyen; and an early draft preview of a commission developed by Houston playwright ShaWanna Renee Rivon. Though Sunday, June 26. 7:30 pm (8 pm Friday; 2:30 pm Saturday; 7:30 pm Sunday).

Houston Symphony presents Disney's The Little Mermaid Live in Concert
As the 1989, animated Disney classic plays on three large screens, the Houston Symphony will perform the film’s Oscar and Grammy-winning score live to film. One of the most beloved films and soundtracks, The Little Mermaid features songs and score by Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman. So, just know you'll be taking part in a rousing sing-along of "Under the Sea" if you attend this show. 7:30 pm.

Donut Media Live
Donut Media is known all over the world for talking about cars and occasionally working on them, sometimes without breaking them. Six million YouTube subscribers still does not bring enough validation. So, they're piling in a bus and taking to the stage for a five-city tour across the southwestern United States. For the first time ever, fans can join James, Nolan, Zach, Jeremiah, and Justin for 90 minutes of insanity influenced by their YouTube content. 8 pm.

Friday, June 17

Houston Symphony presents The Music of Led Zeppelin
Guest conductor Brent Havens kicks off Summer Sounds at the Hobby Center with this two-night salute to Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and the blues-rock tunes that made them international rock icons. The Symphony, augmented by a full rock band, will cover a set list of Led Zeppelin’s greatest hits, including “The Immigrant Song,” “Whole Lotta Love,” “Stairway to Heaven,” and more. (We also better get "Kashmir!") 7:30 pm.

Improv Houston presents Godfrey
Even though comedian Godfrey has been making people laugh for over a quarter-century, it wasn't until he went viral a couple years ago for doing a dead-on impersonation of Steve Harvey on his podcast that he got people talking. Since then, the Chicago comedian has been making major moves, appearing on That Damn Michael Che (where he did his Steve Harvey impression again) and Nick Cannon's hip-hop improv fest Wild N' Out. 7:30 and 9:45 pm (7 and 9:30 pm Saturday; 7:30 pm Sunday).

Next Brazilian Productions presents Houston Brazilian Summer Carnaval
The Houston Brazilian Summer Carnaval will feature the upbeat rhythms of Monobloco, Brazil’s most exciting street band, known for their raucous parade performances during Carnaval. Opening DJ DEXX will spin some Brazilian music. Attendees can also enjoy Comida de Buteco (Brazilian appetizers) and sweets from Brazilian food vendors Brazeiro Catering, Vita Dolce 160, and Sacole Gourmet. 8 pm.

Theatre Southwest presents The Legend of Georgia McBride
After years of struggling at a small-time club in the Florida Panhandle, and after discovering his wife is pregnant, Casey realizes that it's now or never for his career as an Elvis impersonator. Enter Miss Tracy Mills, a self-proclaimed grand dame of drag who guarantees Casey's life is about to get "all shook up." This hip-shakin' heartwarming tale explores what happens when one man trades in his blue suede shoes for platform pumps and discovers he ain't nothing but a drag queen. 8 pm.

Saturday, June 18

Lawndale Art Center presents "The Big Show 2022" opening day
"The Big Show" is an ambitious, open-call juried competition of artists — practicing within a 100-mile radius of the Center — that reflects the Center's commitment to supporting local and regional artists at various stages in their career. For the 2022 exhibition, juror Daisy Nam selected 39 artists from over 500 submissions. Featured artists include Patrycja Adamowicz, Jen Bootwala, Rontaye Butler, Paula Córdoba, daniel coreas, Sophia Longoria, Quentin Pace, Jesus Trevino and others. Through Saturday, August 13. 11 am.

The Rose presents 33rd Annual Shrimp Boil
At the Rose’s annual Shrimp Boil, guests can enjoy in-person dining and curbside pickup while participating in live auctions, silent auctions with digital bidding and more. Participants can also order tribute signs to honor and remember the life of someone lost to breast cancer. The boil aims to raise $120,000 to support the life-saving work of The Rose, where patients receive screening and diagnostic breast health care regardless of their ability to pay. 4 pm.

National Sushi Day at Nobu
So, Saturday is National Sushi Day, and Nobu is hoping y'all will celebrate the day over at its establishment. From familiar, favorite sushi maki rolls such as spicy tuna and California rolls to more adventurous varieties including Japanese eel with cucumber and new style salmon, there is something for everyone. Or go off-script and explore the nigiri and sashimi options like Japanese red snapper, king crab, and salmon belly. 5 pm.

Nick Cannon presents Wild ‘N Out Live Tour
For those of you who are diehard fans of Nick Cannon's version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? for hip-hop heads, here's a live show that will bring the series to the road and mix up comedy, variety, and game show elements all in one. Cannon and the cast members (here's hoping this goofy lady will be around) will also invite members of the audience to join them for the show's most popular games. 8 pm.

Sunday, June 19

Father's Day at Typhoon Texas
This Father’s Day, dads can splash to their heart’s content with free admission to Typhoon Texas, where the entire family can enjoy a full day of waterpark fun. Simply purchase a full-priced day ticket for $49.99 in-person at the ticket window on Father’s Day -- and dad gets in free. The old man can also get some authentic, Texas barbecue, slow smoked onsite daily and served with zesty BBQ sauce made from scratch. 11 am.

The Rad Dad Father’s Day Extravaganza at Eureka Heights Brewery
EyeFearNoBeer, Houston’s premier beer blogger and craft beer advocate, will be hosting this dad-day extravaganza. The celebration includes a “Lava” Lego walk of endurance, a dadcore fashion contest (think white clunky New Balance Shoes and jean shorts), and smoked brisket burgers and dogs from up-and-coming Houston pitmasters Deckle and Hide. The event will also showcase a collection of vintage toys from Super Happy Incredible Toys, as well as freshly brewed “crispy bois” from Eureka Heights. Noon.

The Secret Group presents Bobcat Goldthwait
In the '80s, Bobcat Goldthwait was mostly known as that loud, crazy dude from the Police Academy movies. Now, he's one of comedy's elder statesmen. His stand-up features hilarious riffs on politics, divorce, going broke, and his career as a writer and director of film. (Personally, we prefer his documentaries more than his darkly comic cult films, like Shakes the Clown.) Let's hope he gives us juicy, behind-the-scenes stories about his time as a regular on Hollywood Squares. 8 pm.

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Movie Review

New horror movie Faces of Death puts a modern twist on cult classic

Photo courtesy of of IFC Films

Dacre Montgomery in Faces of Death.

True horror fans will likely be familiar with the 1978 cult film Faces of Death, which purported to be a documentary showing real-life killings in gory detail. It didn’t, of course, but that didn’t stop rumors from continuing to spread for decades. Now, almost 50 years and multiple sequels later, comes a new version of Faces of Death, an actual movie that pays homage to the original in interesting ways.

Margot (Barbie Ferreira) works at a YouTube-like company called Kino as a content moderator, flagging videos that violate the company’s policies. This means her job often involves seeing some truly despicable things from all manner of depraved people. One day, though, she comes across a video that seems a little too real, and after seeing more similar videos, she starts to believe they’re genuine murders.

Going against her company NDA, she starts to investigate the videos on her own, which puts her on the radar of Arthur (Dacre Montgomery), who is actually kidnapping people and killing them on camera through methods seen in the original Faces of Death film. It’s not long before Arthur tracks her down, with a plan to make her one of his next victims.

Written and directed by Daniel Goldhaber (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) and co-written by Isa Mazzei, the film is not so much scary as it is creepy, with the occasional gross-out sequence. The idea of having someone emulate the killings in the cult film is a good idea, and pairing it with the modern-day attention economy — in which content creators go to increasing lengths for clicks — is a clever twist on a concept that other films have done.

The film as a whole is a commentary on how social media and video sharing sites have often decided to prioritize profits over the well-being of their users. Margot is shown allowing videos involving violence and sexual assault to stay on the site while nixing ones depicting how to use Narcan or demonstrating putting on a condom on a banana. Josh (Jermaine Fowler), Margot’s boss, is even explicit in the company mandate that outrageous videos drive views.

While Arthur has the makings of a good villain, there are few attempts to make him seem truly diabolical. His kidnappings often seem more spur-of-the-moment than calculated, and even though he has a well thought-out dungeon at home, the house’s location in the suburbs seems to make him vulnerable to easy discovery. Goldhaber and Mazzei leave more than a few unanswered questions along the way that take away from the intensity of the story.

Ferreira is yet another actor from Euphoria who’s capitalizing on her exposure from that show. She plays Margot’s increasing anxiety well, and when the action ratchets up in the final act, she meets the moment in a satisfying way. Montgomery returns to the vibe he had while playing the evil Billy on Stranger Things, and even though his character doesn’t fully live up to his potential, Montgomery sells his evil for all it’s worth.

The new Faces of Death may not be what some are expecting given the reputation of the previous films, but it’s a solid horror/thriller that uses the brand as a launching pad into something different. It doesn’t make much of a dent in the scare department, but it does give its violence and gore a degree of relevance in today’s often desensitized world.

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Faces of Death is now playing in theaters.

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