yule have a blast

Inside the magical Harry Potter Yule Ball now casting a spell exclusively in Houston

Since we first announced the news that Houston is the sole North American city for the new Harry Potter: A Yule Ball Celebration, locals have been clamoring for tickets — and the perfect costume to attend the holiday ball.

We caught a sneak peek of the immersive fun, located in the Galleria-area venue Paraiso Maravilla (5714 Fairdale Ln.), which is now open through January 20, 2023. Tickets are available here, with parking outside around $5.

Harry Potter: A Yule Ball Celebration Houston

Photo by Steven Devadanam

The hosts prep fans for the show.

As guests enter the venue, plenty of photo op displays are available, before the ballroom, which is decorated to evoke the Great Hall in the books and movie. Silver draping, Christmas trees and decorations, and tailor-made scenic pieces create a vibrant, snap-worthy vistas.

On the ballroom floor, hosts gather guests into their respective houses — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Interactive fun starts with host introductions and team chants quite reminiscent of summer camp rallies, with clapping, stomping, and strutting. Then it's on to a fun fashion show, a proper ball, dancing, and even snow falling on the ballroom floor — a truly magical moment full of pomp and theater.

"The way we approach it, how we interact with the audience, it's a written show — all based around them," our host, the lively Adam Kral (looking very Harry himself) tells us as we walk the venue. "We try and incorporate the audience as much as we can, so we don't make it feel like there's actors and there's the public. We're all wizards, witches, and magic folk. That's the kind of idea that we're trying to establish here."

That means visitors can walk the venue and enjoy the gift shop, side rooms, two full bars serving butterbeer and other themed drinks, Potter-themed food, a courtyard, and more. Actor-hosts make for charming guides, especially for shy fans who simply want to cast a spell on their own.

"The costumes and characters' energy really immersed us in the wizarding world and made us feel the magic of the night," fan Eliza Engelsman tells us.

Indeed, Kral notes that many fans come in costume and that there's a strong LGBTQ presence in crowd and cast. He gets a little emotional when describing the transformation of certain fans, who come in costume, watch shyly from the side, and ultimately, join in the fun. "I really like this event for how open it is to kids my age," Ash Thornton, a young Hufflepuff, tells us.

"It's wonderful because all these people are so happy to be here and express what it means to them to be magical," Kral adds, "and to let things go, and just to exist in a place where people are really free to get in touch with something that they might have lost in childhood. That imagination, that magic. We're bonded together by magic."

The ball is officially produced by Warner Bros. and Fever Entertainment. Tickets start from $50 and include various packages. For a full schedule, tickets, and more information, visit the official site.

Emily Jaschke contributed to this article.

Movie Review

An all-star cast delivers clever laughs in new comedy The Invite

Photo courtesy of A24

Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in The Invite.

Once upon a time, well before scandal embroiled him, Woody Allen made great comedies aimed at adults. That type of film — which is different from the raunchy, R-rated comedies of the 21st century — has fallen out of favor in Hollywood, but as the new film The Invite proves, when done well it can be as funny as anything else out there.

Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) are an unhappily married couple living in San Francisco. As we meet them, Joe has arrived home to Angela preparing for a visit from their upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), who have moved in relatively recently. Their impending arrival starts a new round of arguing between Joe and Angela, something they can barely contain once the other couple comes to their door.

What proceeds is a getting-to-know-you process that is mostly awkward as Joe and Angela continue sniping at each other while Hawk and Piña put in their two cents in a much calmer manner. A sticking point between the two couples — the loud sex Hawk and Piña have on an almost nightly basis — turns the film on its head with an unexpected invitation.

Directed by Wilde and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film is a fast-paced chamber piece that takes place almost entirely in Joe and Angela’s apartment. Wilde, the writers, and the actors speed the story along not with action but through almost non-stop dialogue that often has the characters overlapping each other’s lines. The rapidity of the speech fuels the humor of the situation and establishes the differing personalities of each person.

Sex is very much top of mind for each of the characters for most of the film, but the filmmakers approach the topic in such a way that it never feels salacious. Each of the characters is a rational adult who can talk about sex in a mature manner while also acknowledging their unique feelings on the matter. And it’s the discoveries each of them makes along the way that brings about the most comedy.

But, like any comedy for adults, the film also has a dramatic tilt to it, and Wilde edges the story back-and-forth between the two tones extremely well. Joe and Angela fighting is played for laughs at times, but the sadness of their relationship comes through loud and clear. Hawk and Piña are much more intimate with each other, but the funniness of their openness is juxtaposed with a depth that arises through their conversations.

In the 2020s, Rogen has managed to make the transition from goofy stoner to stoner with real acting chops. In a stacked cast, he is the one who sells every moment the best. That’s not to say that Wilde, Norton, and Cruz don’t measure up, though; each of them inhabits their respective roles magnificently. The four actors play off each other as if they had been working together for years.

While The Invite will likely play better to those who have experience with long term relationships, its insights — and occasional bawdiness — make it a comedy that can be appreciated universally. With four actors at the top of their games and a razor-sharp script made even better by some well-done improv, it proves that you don’t need to go low to get great laughs.

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The Invite is now playing in theaters.

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