weekend event planner

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

“ICONS KLINKO” at Nicole Longnecker Gallery

See stars like Britney in their most iconic forms at Nicole Longnecker Gallery.

Photo courtesy of Markus Klinko and Nicole Longnecker Gallery

This weekend gets jazzed up with the Broadway smash Chicago — starring a familiar Houston face — while Cirque du Soleil dazzles under the big top. Yet another cirque makes a splash with performances in 35,000 gallons of water.

A star-studded art show opens with iconic images of pop culture's biggest names, while a globally renowned troupe from Harlem dances into town. And is there anything better than ice cream for breakfast? (Read on.)

Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, February 2

Holocaust Museum of Houston presents "The Life and Art of Alice Lok Cahana" opening reception

Artist and Holocaust survivor Alice Lok Cahana made a vow as she faced the horrors of Auschwitz, and later, the Bergen-Belsen camp - if she survived, she would not hate those who imprisoned her and those who murdered her family. Holocaust Museum Houston will celebrate Cahana (who died in 2017), not only as an artist, but as a devoted friend, loving mother and resilient survivor. Through Sunday, April 9. 6 pm.

Cirque du Soleil presents Kooza

A return to the origins of Cirque du Soleil, this traditional circus homage combines acrobatic performances and the art of clowning while exploring fear, identity, recognition, and power. The Innocent's journey brings him into contact with comic characters from an electrifying world full of surprises, thrills, audacity, and total involvement. Through Sunday, March 5. 7:30 pm (Noon, 3:30 & 7 pm Saturday; 1:30 & 4 pm Sunday).

Cirque Italia presents Water Circus

Cirque Italia presents their new show, featuring a stage that holds 35,000 gallons of water over which performers make dazzling moves, thrilling the audience with every feat. Cirque Italia has sought to bring a high-class experience to audiences all over the United States since its inception in 2012. This year will be no exception as they take you on an exhilarating expedition in search of a pirate’s booty. The event will be located in a tent in the parking lot of Houston Premium Outlets. 7:30 pm (1:30, 4:30 & 7:30 pm Saturday; 1:30 & 4:30 pm Sunday).

Friday, February 3

Truffle Masters Pre-Party at Central Market

DR Delicacy is slated to host their highly anticipated event, Truffle Masters. To mark the occasion, Houston chefs will take over the upstairs of Central Market to delight guests at this celebration of all things truffle. During the kick-off party, an assortment of wines and champagne will be served as guests sample bites that incorporate truffles. Participating chefs include Michelle Wallace (b’tween Sandwich Co.), Alex Au-Yeung (Phat Eatery), David Skinner (Eculent), Jassi Bindra (Amrina), and Joseph Geiskopf (Ciel), and more. 6:30 pm.

The History of YouGenious: Selected Stories and Acapella Songs

Come sit a spell and sip some BYOB alcohol as YouGenious (aka The Misfit of R&B) talks about how he became one of Houston’s most legendary, underground performance artists. (These are his words, BTW.) He will tell stories about his favorite performance antics, strip club encounters and lost loves. These are the tales that inspired the songs he’s been singing for the past 20 years (including his classic “Sex on a Spoon) and he will strip them down butt-bald-nekkid! 7 pm.

Performing Arts Houston presents Dance Theatre of Harlem

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company tours nationally and internationally, presenting a powerful vision for ballet in the 21st century. The 17-member, multi-ethnic company performs a forward-thinking repertoire that includes treasured classics, neoclassical works by George Balanchine and resident choreographer Robert Garland, as well as innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture. 7 pm (2 pm Saturday).

Theatre Under the Stars presents Chicago

20 years ago, the Miramax-produced film adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical won a bunch of Oscars. If you ever wanted to see the stage version, then here’s your chance. After 25 years, this is still the one musical with everything that makes Broadway shimmy-shake: a universal tale of fame, fortune, and all that jazz, with one show-stopping song after another and the most astonishing dancing you’ve ever seen. Through Sunday, February 12. 8 pm (2 & 8 pm Saturday; 2 & 7:30 pm Sunday).

Saturday, February 4

Jeni’s Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams will present their annual Ice Cream for Breakfast Day celebration. Last year's runaway hit flavor, Maple Soaked Pancakes, is returning for a limited time. The first 50 Splendid Rewards members will get a free, very limited Ice Cream for Breakfast Day mug. Visitors can also enter a giveaway for free ice cream for a year by taking a photo in your PJs at a Jeni’s shop, sharing it with the hashtag #icecreamforbreakfast, and tagging Jeni’s on social media.. 9 am.

Brave Little Company presents Grandpa's Garden

Meet Bebe and her grandpa, who’s a world champion gardener. If you’re ready to learn something new, he’ll teach you how to plant your own fruits and vegetables. But curious Bebe can’t stop wondering what’s in grandpa’s mysterious shed - and she needs your help to find the key. Bebe and her grandpa will explore the garden - and their own roots and legacy as African Americans - through song, senses, and stories. This musical will celebrate Black history through one family's story. 10 am and 1 pm.

Nicole Longnecker Gallery presents "ICONS KLINKO" opening reception

"ICONS KLINKO” will feature international photographer Markus Klinko. Klinko has photographed the likes of Beyonce, Lady Gaga, David Bowie, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet, Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Naomi Campbell, and Iman. His editorial clients include Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, and Interview. Through Saturday, March 25. 4 pm.

14 Pews presents Carole King Home Again — Live in Central Park

This documentary presents the music icon’s triumphant, 1973 homecoming concert in Central Park, before an estimated audience of 100,000. The film presents the complete multi-camera 16mm footage filmed and recorded, but never before released. Alongside the complete performance footage is the behind-the-scenes story of King’s remarkable transformation from an in-demand staff songwriter to an iconic artist in her own right. 5 pm.

Sunday, February 5

The Modern Art Gallery and IYO Visuals present Southern Glory

The Modern Art Gallery (The MAG) and IYO Visuals present this collaborative exhibition, featuring more than 20 local and globally recognized visual artists. The exhibition will also serve as the grand opening exhibition for The MAG, a 23,000-square-foot contemporary art gallery located at GreenStreet, downtown Houston’s premier mixed-use district. The MAG aims to distinguish itself as an artist-first gallery concept, collaborating with artists and sharing their visionary work with local and global audiences. Through Friday, March 31. 11 am.

ReelAbilities: Houston Film and Arts Festival

ReelAbilities: Houston Film and Arts Festival, a free, city-wide festival that promotes inclusion and celebrates the lives, stories, and talents of people with disabilities, will offer a multi-faceted experience of art, music, speakers, and films that offer uplifting impressions for audiences about people living with disabilities. The ReelArt Opening Reception will take place this Sunday. Events take place at multiple locations; go to the festival website for more information. Through Thursday, February 23. 1 pm.

Main Street Theater presents Permanent Collection

African-American businessman Sterling North has been named the new director of the Morris Foundation. He soon discovers that this world-famous art collection includes several significant African sculptures tucked away in storage. His proposal to add them to the public galleries is opposed by the Foundation's long-time education director. Spurred on by a zealous local journalist, the clash quickly escalates to public accusations of racism and a bitter struggle for control of the collection. Through Sunday, March 5. 3 pm.

Movie Review

Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close shine in ambitious drama La Bola Negra

Photo by Carla Oset/Netflix

Miguel Bernardeau and Guitarricadelafuente in La Bola Negra.

For a long time — too long — gay characters in movies tended to appear as either side characters with no real stories or as tragic figures who were usually unable to express their true selves for fear of what the world at large would think. That has changed in recent years, but the remnants of the past can still haunt, as the new film La Bola Negra demonstrates.

The film takes shape in storylines involving three different men: Carlos (Milo Quifes), a young man in Granada, Spain in 1932 who wants to join an exclusive casino (aka social club); Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente), who unwillingly joins the military during the Spanish Civil War in 1937, only to have desires aroused in him when he’s asked to guard an enemy detainee; and Alberto (Carlos González), an out gay man in 2017 whose inheritance from his recently-deceased grandfather opens up a world he knew nothing about.

The film goes back and forth between each man, detailing how they handle their individual situations and the complications that arise in their individual lives. Along the way their stories are deepened through people they meet who either welcome them with open arms or shun them for various reasons. While tragedy bonds their stories, so too does hope, resistance, and love.

Co-director/co-writers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, along with co-writer Alberto Conejero, have expanded Conejero’s play, La Piedra Oscura, which was inspired by Federico García Lorca’s unfinished play, La Bola Negra. Lorca, who was killed during the Spanish Civil War, had only finished four pages of the work, his first to feature an openly gay protagonist. It’s clear there’s a desire by the filmmakers to honor the legacy of Lorca as both a playwright and a gay man, and the seriousness of their pursuit is evident throughout the film’s 160 minutes.

Calvo and Ambrossi do little handholding to guide viewers through the three distinct stories, an approach that mostly works but occasionally leads to confusion, especially as more characters are added to the equation. None of the stories are overly complicated, but they take their time with each, making the long film feel even longer. Only Alberto’s story contains any kind of development that might be considered surprising, making it tough to fully engage with the other two.

Where the film does come alive is when it brings in two well-known actors for brief-but-fascinating stints. Penélope Cruz plays Nené Romero, a singer who entertains the troops and further expands Sebastián’s mind. Glenn Close pops up as Isabelle Durand, a scholar of Lorca who helps Alberto with a unique discovery he makes in his inheritance. Both actors bring up the level of the film significantly through their performances.

Quifes, Guitarricadelafuente (the stage name of Spanish singer Álvaro Lafuente Calvo, no relation to Javier), and González all put in good work in their roles, even if none are overly engaging. They are often overshadowed by supporting actors like Cruz and Close, as well as Miguel Bernardeau as Rafael Rodríguez Rapún, the captured soldier; Julio Torres as Alberto’s partner, and Alberto Cortés as Lorca, who brings a symmetry to the film as a whole.

La Bola Negra — which means “the black ball,” represented both literally and figuratively in the film — is an ambitious film that becomes a slight victim of its filmmakers’ aspirations. Although each of the three stories contain interesting elements, a strong emotional connection is lacking overall despite good-to-great performances.

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La Bola Negra is now playing in select theaters; it debuts on Netflix on December 2.

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