OrchestraX has used go-go girls, actors and funky light shows to give their classical music concerts a shot in the ass. Now its time for (gasp!) turntables. The Houston chamber orchestra will team up with MystiQuintet, a Boston electronica group that includes two violinists, a cellist and two DJs (Kingspin and Reazon), for a fusion show dubbed Things That Go Scratch in the Night.
OrchestraX artistic director Peter Jacoby is hoping to ruffle some classical feathers. To a lot of people who like the classics, this is an awful combination, he says. We have one foot in the traditional classics and one foot thats off-center. I hope it shakes people up. The main event features MystiQuintet and the orchestra interpreting Dvoraks Cello Concerto in B minor, with the DJs looping beats and prerecorded string parts underneath the live performers. Be sure to stick around for the turntable talent: MystiQuintet has two encores already planned that arent mentioned in the program. Local electronica act Joey Jaime provides pre-concert ambient sounds at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, December 15. Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Bagby. For information, call 713-315-2525 or visit www.thehobbycenter.org. $25. -- Greg Barr
Latter-Day Night Live
FRI 12/10
Mormon playwright Neil LaButes Bash: Latterday Plays, presented by Theatre Collide, is about bad people. Specifically, bad Mormons. Within its three one-act plays, normal-seeming members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints confess to horrific crimes in heated soliloquies. A businessman tells how he let his young daughter die; a woman confesses to a tragic relationship she once had with a teacher; and a young preppy couple recollects its murderous anniversary weekend. LaBute, who also wrote Your Friends and Neighbors and The Shape of Things, meant to capture a world out of balance in the show; it offers little resolution and even less optimism. But it might make you feel better about skipping church. 8 p.m. Friday, December 10. Through December 19. The Houston Schools Savoy Room, 5250 Gulfton, suite 4A. For a full schedule, call 713-528-5108 or visit www.theatre-collide.com. $5 to $10. -- Julia Ramey
Santos Claus
When Santa is dressed in a red zoot suit and preceded by eight tiny lowriders, kids everywhere know that it must be Pancho Claus cruisin' through town. For more than 20 years, actor Richard Reyes has brought the uniquely Houston barrio-based character to life, and he will again this season as part of Fiesta Navideña. The multicultural family celebration will feature theater, hip-hop dance, storytelling and music, as well as Pastorela Groovy, a comedic play based on a Latin American legend about good overcoming evil. 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, December 9 and 10; 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 11; and 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, December 12. Alley Theatre, 615 Texas. For information, call 713-228-8421 or visit www.alleytheatre.org. $5. -- Bob Ruggiero
Out Standing
What does Kansas's "Dust in the Wind" have to do with birds of paradise and Celtic jigs? All will be featured in Ad Deum Dance Company's upcoming showcase, "On the Edge Standing." Peer over the "Edge" at 8 p.m. Saturday, December 11, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, December 12. Heinen Theatre, 3517 Austin. For tickets, call 713-626-5050 or visit www.danceaddeum.com. $15. -- Julia Ramey