Don't Miss List

Kurosawa film series & Nameless Sound are on Rich Levy's list of top fall picks

"Yojimbo"
Rich Levy
Photo by Felix Sanchez
Anat Cohen
Salman Rushdie
Photo by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Editors Note: We've asked Houston arts leaders and CultureMap contributors to pick the jewels from Houston's upcoming arts season — the events that they don't plan to miss. Here are Inprint executive director Rich Levy's upcoming favorites:

1. It’s shameless, I know, but I must put in a plug for the 30th anniversary season of the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series, which as always features the world’s great writers, including this fall Amy Tan (Sept. 20 at Wortham Center), Carlos Fuentes (Oct 11 at the Alley Theatre) and Salman Rushdie (Dec 3 at Wortham Center). Rushdie was last here in Houston on the night before 9/11. Great writers in the spring, too, including Peter Carey and Kay Ryan. And tickets, as always, are a bargain.

2. Speaking of our friends at the Alley, they are presenting what I think is their best season in years, with terrific plays by several of the world’s leading playwrights, including Martin McDonagh, Yasmina Reza, Rajiv Joseph—and I’ll finally get a chance to see August: Osage County by Tracy Letts.

3. As an obsessive jazz fan, I must give a shout-out to Da Camera, which is presenting yet another great season of jazz concerts, including clarinet phenom Anat Cohen, brilliant pianist Geri Allen, underrated singer Tierney Sutton, and guitarist and rising star Lionel Loueke.

4. The MFAH Film program is one of the best in the country, and I am completely thrilled by the “Akira Kurosawa @ 100” series this fall, which features 14 films by one of the world’s great directors, including three of my favorites: Yojimbo, The Bad Sleep Well, and The Seven Samurai. If you love the movies, this series is not to be missed.

5. Here’s my ringer: Nameless Sound. This organization presents the very best of avant-garde jazz (mostly from Europe) at intimate venues across Houston. Check out their shows. They’re amazing.

Other 'don't miss' lists:

Houston Grand Opera music conductor Patrick Summers

Alley Theatre artistic director Gregory Boyd

CultureMap arts columnist Nancy Wozny

CultureMap arts contributor Theodore Bale

CAMH senior curator Toby Kamps

unspecified

"Here come the grannies!"

Walk through the Magic Door to experience the world of Bluey in Houston

bluey and bingo's bedroom at camp in houston

Courtesy of CAMP

Houston will soon be the home of a new CAMP store, featuring interactive installations like the house from "Bluey."

Bluey is coming to the Galleria this February “for real life” through an immersive event that invites visitors to enter the world of the famous Australian Heeler family. This one-of-a-kind experience brings the Heeler home and backyard to life with intricate details that will delight fans of all ages.

Tickets are on sale now for Bluey x CAMP, the inaugural interactive experience of the combination toy store, party venue, and immersive theater space. This is The Family Experience Company’s first CAMP location in Houston, with the business securing a 7,500-square-foot permanent retail space in the Galleria.

Through “The Magic Door,” a pivoting wall, visitors step into seasonally rotating interactive spaces beginning with a 5,000-square-foot lifesize replica of Bluey’s house.

Visitors can play games made popular by the show, such as grannies and keepy uppy, and bust a move when “dance mode” is activated. The kitchen’s fridge is covered in drawings by the Heeler puppies, while the living room TV plays Bluey.

Families can explore both a pillow fort and a cardboard castle — two-story structures complete with slides — before venturing into a playroom stocked with toys and costumes from the show. In the backyard, a recreation of the Heeler’s large tree is surrounded by charming gnomes. A photo opportunity with Bluey and Bingo tops off the visit.

Beyond the world of Bluey, CAMP offers even more for visitors in its Canteen space, with a splatter room, The Schmutz Bar (a slime creation station), a party room, and a playable truck. Customers can also shop for toys, clothing, and accessories.

Houston joins a list of CAMP’s locations in Dallas, Atlanta, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Installations change seasonally, with other current features including Paw Patrol, The Little Mermaid, and Encanto.

Courtesy of CAMP

Houston will soon be the home of a new CAMP store, featuring interactive installations like the house from "Bluey."

bluey galleria-houston camp bluey x camp