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    weekend event planner

    These are the top 15 things to do in Houston this weekend

    Craig D. Lindsey
    Oct 16, 2024 | 7:30 pm

    A lot of good music will be played this weekend, ranging from the electronic rock of Courting to the celebratory jazz of Camille Thurman and Darrell Green to the sexy soul of Maxwell to the kooky alt-country of Houston’s own Lyle Lovett. And, if you want it in musical form, there will also be a double shot of Rocky Horror.

    Also going on these next few days: a Japanese sake and food festival; a very gymnastic show starring hometown girl Simone Biles; an Energy Day fest for the kiddies; and a Day of the Dead celebration for those who can’t wait until next month to celebrate Dia de los Muertos.

    Thursday, October 17

    H-E-B Wine Walk at Market Street
    At the 20th annual H-E-B Wine Walk at Market Street, foodies, wine enthusiasts, and Wine & Food Week fans can sip and stroll their way down Market Street all while supporting worthwhile charity organizations like New Danville, The Woodlands Waterway Arts Council, and Montgomery County Food Bank. The event will cover three blocks of Market Street and will be packed with a cornucopia of culinary creations, wine displays with industry experts, craft beers, live music, and wine experiences. 6 pm.

    Courting and Vundabar in concert
    It looks like we have another foursome from Liverpool coming to America, ready to make a big splash. This will be electronic rock band Courting's first ever U.S. tour, as they open for Boston indie rockers Vundabar. Named a Band to Watch by Stereogum, their latest album New Last Name received critical acclaim from NME, Paste, and more. The record really dials up the guitar-pop element of the band's sound, firing them into a world also occupied by the likes of Sports Team, English Teacher, FEET, etc. 7 pm.

    Live at the Founders Club: Celebrating Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln with Camille Thurman and Darrell Green
    Camille Thurman has cemented herself as not only one of today’s most important saxophonists, but also one of our most skilled vocalists. Drummer Darryl Green has been called for years to perform with today’s most iconic musicians. Together, they’ll be celebrating jazz drummer Max Roach and vocalist/actress Abbey Lincoln with an evening of soulful sounds which spotlights both the centennial year of Roach and the music that he and Lincoln (his wife) made together. 7:30 pm.

    Friday, October 18

    Rice University Moody Center For The Arts presents Monuments Symposium With Paul M. Farber
    Rice University Moody Center For The Arts will explore the history and future of monuments at this special symposium. Speakers include Paul Farber, Director of Monument Lab; art historian Kirk Savage, University of Pittsburgh; Houston-based artists Jamal Cyrus and Tiffany Chung; and Rice members of the Task Force on Slavery, Segregation and Racial Injustice W. Caleb McDaniel, Alexander Byrd, and Fabiola Lopez-Duran. Lunch is included with registration. 9 am.

    Art Factory presents The Rocky Horror Show
    If you’re a fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the River Oaks Theatre will finally have a midnight screening with burlesque revue The Sisterhood of Lil St Cyr overseeing the madness. But, if you remember when the show started out as a legit stage musical, Art Factory will be doing a fabulously freaky production. Costumes and call-outs will be encouraged, making this production a fully immersive and high-octane night of zany, sexy fun. Intended for mature audiences only. Through Thursday, October 31. 8 pm.

    Lyle Lovett in concert
    We’ve been down with Houston-born Lyle Lovett for a long time. Way before the marriage to Julia Roberts. Way before he became a repertory player in Robert Altmen films. We’ve loved his goofy pompadour and quirky country-blues stylings ever since we saw him perform “Here I Am” on Carson. (There’s another live version where he performed the song with comedian Steven Wright, but that’s been taken off YouTube.) He'll perform with His Large Band as part of The Woodlands 50th Anniversary Free Concert. They'll be joined by Hayes Carll. 7:30 pm.

    Maxwell in concert
    Neo-soulster Maxwell is finally out of hiding and touring the country, as part of The Serenade Tour. Even though he hasn’t dropped a new album since blackSUMMERS'night in 2016, he’s ready to perform smooth R&B ditties for all the fans who’ve been with him since his 1996 debut Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, as well as the grown children those fans most likely created while listening to his music. He'll be joined by Jazmine Sullivan and October London. 7:30 pm.

    Saturday, October 19

    The Toasted Coconut 5th Anniversary Celebration
    Montrose restaurant The Toasted Coconut is turning five this weekend, and the spot will be celebrating with a wild-and-weird, all-day celebration. First up, drink specials that might have you feeling bewitched will be served. Then, they’re roasting a pig. Other details include a mechanical shark, face painting, a dunk tank (chef Martin Stayer will be in it!), snow cones, and a live DJ. ⁠And don’t forget about the limited, spooky ceramics created by local talent Lorita Makes. 10 am.

    Houston Energy Day Festival
    Energy Day is like a giant science fair mixed with a festival, and it’s all designed to show kids how fun and exciting STEM can be. Visitors can explore, create, and discover new things while playing outside. Plus, they’ll be able to meet lots of other kids who love science and technology just as much as they do. The event will be full of experiments, hands-on activities, and exhibits where kids can explore and learn about the energy that powers the world around us. 11 am.

    Monster Jam
    Monster Jam will be an adrenaline-charged weekend featuring heated rivalries, high-flying stunts, and fierce head-to-head battles. It will feature the Texas debut of four new Marvel Monster Jam trucks: The Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Panther, and Thor face off for the first time against fan favorites like the legendary Grave Digger. We’ll also get the Houston premiere of the all-new Sparkle Smash and more in freestyle, skills, and racing competitions. 7 pm.

    Athleta presents Gold Over America Tour
    Gold Over America Tour is a pop concert-style spectacle that will showcase the athletic brilliance and championship journeys of Spring-born-and-based gymnast Simone Biles and cast members Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Katelyn Ohashi, Peng-Peng Lee, Shilese Jones, Fred Richard, Mélanie Johanna De Jesus Dos Santos, Kayla Dicello, Brody Malone, Paul Juda, and more. The event will showcase tumbles, twists, and gravity-defying tricks. 7:30 pm. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the show with one of the cast members in this story.

    Sunday, October 20

    Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents "Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery" opening day
    "Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery" will foreground Pueblo voices and aesthetics and will offer a visionary understanding of Pueblo pots as vessels of community-based knowledge and personal experience. The exhibition is the first Native-curated exhibition at the Museum and features more than 100 historical, modern, and contemporary items in clay. Through Sunday, January 12. 12:30 pm.

    Japanese Sake & Food Festival
    The Japanese Sake & Food Festival, initially established in Tokyo in 2015, will make its way to America for the first time, offering an opportunity to explore the pairing of Japanese sake and culinary delights. The festival will feature over 30 exhibitors, including sake brewers, distributors, and local food vendors offering various products ranging from sake to shochu and local cuisines. Other highlights include a sake seminar by special guests, Japanese stage performances, a Japanese activity and photo area, and more. 2 pm (Noon on Saturday).

    Intempo Dance Ensemble presents Day of the Dead Celebration
    Intempo Dance Ensemble presents an evening of dance and music inspired in the whimsical world of the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The event is a Mexican celebration of pre-Hispanic origin that honors the deceased on Saturday, November 2. The festivities begin on Friday, November 1 and coincides with the Catholic celebrations of All Souls and All Saints. In Mexico, it is a celebration of life remembering loved ones who came before us, dedicating an altar to welcome them back for their visit to the world of the living, once a year. 6 pm.

    Korn in concert
    Credited as one of the pioneers of alt-metal — the radio-friendly genre that counts Limp Bizkit and P.O.D. among its members — the band is celebrating their 30th anniversary with a 25-city tour that stops in The Woodlands on Sunday. Known for hits such as “Got the Life (Follow the Leader)” and “Falling Away From Me,” expect a high energy show that makes attendees feel like they’re back in 1994. Gojira and Spiritbox open. 6:30 pm.

    Toasted Coconut exterior
    Photo by Vivian Leba

    Celebrate five years of The Toasted Coconut.

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    Movie Review

    Wicked: For Good clings to the musical and misses out on movie magic

    Alex Bentley
    Nov 20, 2025 | 1:20 pm
    Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked: For Good
    Photo by Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
    Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked: For Good.

    Splitting the film adaptation of the musical Wicked into two parts makes a certain kind of sense beyond the financial incentive of making fans pay for two films. Like most stage musicals, there’s a definitive break between the two acts, and it’s hard to resist going out on the high note of “Defying Gravity” for the first film. And expanding the story for the films puts the entire story at around 5 hours, much too long for one sitting.

    However, separating them puts a spotlight on the strengths and weaknesses of each act of the musical, and it's a popular opinion that the second act is inferior to the first act. In the awkwardly-named Wicked: For Good, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is firmly ensconced as the Wicked Witch of the West, striking fear in people across Oz. Meanwhile, Glinda (Ariana Grande) has ascended as the protector of the land’s citizens, even as she hides the fact that she doesn’t possess the powers that Elphaba does.

    The story speeds through a number of different arcs, including Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), becoming governor of Munchkinland; Glinda essentially forcing Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) to commit to marrying her; even more bad revelations involving the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh); and more. Hanging over all of it is the tenuous bond between Elphaba and Glinda, which is tested on multiple occasions.

    Director John M. Chu, working from a script by original musical writer Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, leads the way on the faithful adaptation that is perhaps a bit too faithful. Chu helmed the memorable adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights that brought more life to an already lively production. He accomplished similar results in Wicked part one, but For Good often feels less than cinematic, with many scenes coming off as static and too much like a stage production.

    The second film contains a lot of story movement, including the vague or explicit introduction of the four main characters from The Wizard of Oz, providing plenty of opportunity for creative staging or deeper storytelling. Instead, things just sort of happen, with Holzman and Fox failing to see the necessity of connecting story dots in a movie setting. With lots of extra time to work with (the run time is 2 hours and 17 minutes), giving more information about significant events shouldn’t have been an issue, and yet the filmmakers rarely give the audience that luxury.

    The songs, as they should be, are the showcase of the film, and yet none of the sequences measure up to the ones in the first film. The rushed storylines make it difficult to connect with emotionally-resonant songs like “As Long As You’re Mine” and “No Good Deed.” “No Place Like Home” and “The Girl in the Bubble,” new songs created for the film for Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, are decent but lack power. “For Good” is the one everyone is waiting for, but it too fails to land properly.

    Erivo and Grande certainly give it their all, and when they’re allowed to dig deep into their characters, they make as much of an impact as they did in the first film. Unfortunately, it’s nowhere near as often, and their characters’ bond suffers. Most of the other actors are done no favors by the whirlwind storytelling, but Goldblum still stands out in his various scenes.

    Creating a whole film for the second act of Wicked gave Chu and his team a perfect chance to slow things down and give the events it contains extra meaning. Unfortunately, they turned For Good into something that feels less like an expansive movie and more like a slightly more interesting version of the stage production.

    ---

    Wicked: For Good opens in theaters on November 21.

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