Tuesday, August 15
She’s a pop star in danger so a bodyguard is hired to protect her. They get closer and closer until shazaam, it’s not just a business arrangement anymore. Yes, the 1992 hit movie
The Bodyguard has been made into a musical of the same name, because why wouldn’t a love story with good songs work well as a musical, especially if even more Whitney Houston songs were piled on? Now on its way to the Hobby Center courtesy of BBVA Compass Broadway Across America, the story has been moved up to present day and focuses on the singer (Canadian singer Deborah Cox in the Rachel Marron role) rather than the bodyguard. Judson Mills (TV’s
The Icarus II Project), who plays Frank Farmer, says, “People love it. People are on their feet every night. We got people hollering the whole show.” Watch for many special effects and lights — “It takes eight semis to carry us around,” Mills says — so prepare to be dazzled. And start working on those songs, which now include — in addition to “I Will Always Love You” — “Saving All My Love For You,” “How Will I Know” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” And many more. “It’s a celebration,” Mills says.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Through August 20. 800 Bagby. For information, call 713-315-2525 or visit thehobbycenter.org. $30 to $110. — Margaret Downing
With one
soubresaut off Wortham's main stage, Houston Ballet Principal Dancer Connor Walsh has landed in an intense sonic world created by sound and multi-media artist Lynn Lane. The Transitory Sound and Movement Collective has once again transformed the Rec Room into its own collaborative playground, mixing in music (Ingrid Gerling on electric violin, Brandon Bell on percussion, Lane on synthesizer) while Walsh moves in response in this saturated, visual environment. So make your own grand
jeté downtown and check out this unusual and immersive experience,
Hi-Fi? Lo-Fi? Don't Ask Why! 7:30 p.m. August 15. 100 Jackson. For information, call 713-344-1291 or visit recroomhtx.com. $15. — Susie Tommaney
Wednesday, August 16
One of Hollywood’s most-discussed recent blockbusters is returning to rekindle the passion and heartbreak between Emma Stone’s Mia and Ryan Gosling’s Sebastian. Winner of six Academy Awards (and, for a split second, winner of seven Academy Awards),
La La Land swept the country off its feet and made us fall in love with musical films again. The story follows an aspiring actress and a jazz musician pursuing the ups and downs of their Hollywood dreams as they also fall in and out of love. Of course, it wouldn’t be a musical without the singing, music, dancing, costumes and elaborate scenery — all with the gorgeous Hollywood Hills as the backdrop. Note for parents: The movie carries a PG-13 rating for language.
8:30 p.m. August 16. Miller Outdoor Theatre, 6000 Hermann Park Drive. For information, call 832-487-7102 or visit milleroutdoortheatre.com. Free. — Sam Byrd
The abundance of reality television proves that all the world's a stage, and courtroom dramas make up a good portion of our unscripted guilty pleasures. Now local attorneys and judges are stepping out of the courthouse and into the world of musical theater for
Night Court 2017: Con Law - From the Beginning, trading in their briefcases and gavels for an evening of singing, dancing and rapping. The charity show parodies hits from DNCE, Amy Winehouse, Pat Benatar and Broadway's
Hamilton as it takes us on a musical journey through law, politics and history. Expect to see a few suits in the audience, too, as legal professionals can pick up a couple of CLE credits just for attending.
7:30 p.m. August 16-19. The Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For information, call 713-315-2525 or visit nightcourt.org. $35 to $43. — Susie Tommaney
With our nation divided about whether immigration contributes to the richness of our country or its downfall, more than a few of us are reminded of the 12 million immigrants who came through Ellis Island and helped make America great. For those lucky enough to get in, the sight of the Statue of Liberty must have been a relief after the long transatlantic voyage. Now Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble is taking another look at the meaning behind Lady Liberty during its performance of
What Will You Do When You Feel Their Absence?, a new work for dancers, trumpet, bass and vocals. Brangwen was burning the midnight oil on this one, developing the choreography, costumes and text; Thomas Helton wrote the music and Peter Josyph contributed to the text. The second half of the evening features all new music, in the style of 1920s New Orleans jazz, performed by the Boomtown Brass Band.
8 p.m. August 16. The MATCH, 3400 Main. For information, call 832-659-5096 or 713-521-4533 or visit brangwendance.org or matchouston.org. $15 to $20. — Susie Tommaney
Thursday, August 17
Raise your hand if you've indulged in a bit of
schadenfreude at some point in your life. Now
Fragments, a new play by Michael Weems making its regional premiere with Cone Man Running Productions, plays to the humor found in witnessing the misfortune of others. Three roommates throw an impromptu party and their worst fears are realized: Elizabeth (Whitney Zangarine) seems hell-bent on robbing men of their
cojones, George (Zachary Braver) is both infatuated with and fearful of the goddess Cassandra and Ryan (Andraes Hunt) has a girlfriend straight out of your worst nightmare. Stir in some alcohol and watch the sparks fly. It's the second main-stage production in Cone Man's new digs on Navigation, so come see what they've done with the space and try not to laugh
too hard at the sad destinies of these fated characters.
8 p.m. August 17. Continuing 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and August 21. August 17 through August 26. The Beacon Theatre, 5102 Navigation. For information, call 281-972-5897 or visit conemanrunning.com. $15 to $20. — Susie Tommaney
For two nights only, Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, the Peabody-winning funny voices behind
Mystery Science Theater 3000 and more, will be broadcasting a live audio commentary to sci-fi cultural touchstone
Doctor Who’s famed 20th-anniversary special, “The Five Doctors,” with
RiffTrax Live: Doctor Who. Launched in 2006 after
MST3K ended (but before its recent Netflix revival), RiffTrax has released the commentaries to more than 200 films directly to its ravenous fans on its website. With this Fathom Events-sponsored broadcast, the Film Crew will be riffing live in Nashville and beaming to theaters across America.
7 to 10 p.m. August 17 and August 24. Edwards Marq*E, 7600 Katy Freeway. 844-462-7342. Price varies by location; visit fathomevents.com for participating venues. $13.53. — Vic Shuttee
Actor Keith David’s love affair with Nat King Cole was cemented with a dreamed-up affair he had as a child. “There was a guy who wanted to date my mother and he was a great impersonator, including of Nat King Cole,” says David, an Emmy-winning narrator who has appeared in the films
The Thing, There’s Something About Mary and
Armageddon, among many others. “I would have a reoccurring dream that he ran away with my mother and into a crimson room.”
Too Marvelous for Words: A Celebration of Nat “King” Cole features David and a trio of musician friends paying tribute to the crooner whose megahits include “Mona Lisa” and “Unforgettable.” Says David, “There isn’t an occasion in my life where I can’t find a Nat King Cole song to fit.”
8:30 p.m. August 17. Miller Outdoor Theatre, 6000 Hermann Park. For information, call 281-373-3386 or visit milleroutdoortheatre.com. Free. — Steve Jansen
The playwrights participating in the 27th annual
ScriptWriters Houston 10X10 Festival of Original Ten Minute Plays have a lot on the minds — topics ranging from sex trafficking to the present political scene. “The issues are couched within these pieces that are about bigger things,” says Rachel Dickson, president of ScriptWriters Houston and co-artistic director of the festival with Bob Inger. “The shows are responding to our current climate through futuristic world development, ethnic understanding, relationship with technology, betrayal, corporatism and grief and loss.” The yearly event brings together theater folks from across the city to perform ten, ten-minute plays each night.
7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, August 17 through August 26. Also 3 p.m. August 20; 7:30 p.m. August 24. The DeLuxe Theatre, 3303 Lyons. For information, call 713-674-0175 or visit scriptwriters-houston.org. $17. — Steve Jansen
Downtown Houston is about to get a little cooler. Literally. A new art installation will provide both colorful beauty and some very welcomed shade to the outdoor park and events hub. Texas-based duo The Color Condition is building three separate installations, collectively titled
Arcade, for the public area between Discovery Green and the George R. Brown Convention Center. The group will create the art from strips of tablecloths, shower curtains and painters’ drop cloths. “We wanted an installation that would have [a] longer shelf life, that could sustain the rain and could provide shade. So this ticked off all those boxes,” says Discovery Green’s marketing manager, Ren Mitchell. And it’s huge. “We’ve got 400-500 feet of the installation that will hang from above.”
August 17 through November 15. 1500 McKinney and 1001 Avenida de las Americas. For information, visit discoverygreen.com or grbhouston.com. Free. — Sam Byrd