Saturday, April 22

Runners pray for temps in the 40s and swimmers aim for the higher numbers, but we checked the projections and it looks like there's a swimmer's advantage during this year's IRONMAN® in The Woodlands. With temperatures estimated to range from the high 60s to almost 80 degrees, any humidity means it's still going to be a struggle for those athletes braving the course during the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN North American Championship Texas. So show some H-Town love and help keep these dedicated athletes motivated and hydrated. There's no denying the beauty of hosting city The Woodlands, and we'll be counting on lots of shade from those mature trees. It begins with a 2.4-mile swim in Lake Woodlands that goes from North Shore Park to Town Green Lake; that's followed by a double-loop, out and back 112-mile bike ride through east Texas. When lesser mortals would be ready to call it quits, these stalwarts keep it going with a 26.2-mile run that finishes at Waterway Avenue. Best places to watch? Along the Lake Woodlands Parkway Bridge and along the canal near the stairs by Grogan's Mill (swim), along Lake Robbins (bike) and near the restaurants close to Waterway Avenue (run). 5:30 a.m. to midnight April 22. The Woodlands. For information, visit ironman.com. Free to watch. — Susie Tommaney

Houston Grand Opera has finally arrived at Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods), the finale of composer Richard Wagner’s four-part epic about the gods and their ultimate downfall. Siegfried (Simon O’Neill) and Brünnhilde (Christine Goerke) have spent the night together, and he gives her the ring he stole so long ago from the greedy Alberich. Returning as Alberich, bass-baritone Christopher Purves has a smaller part than in Das Rheingold, but in a pivotal scene with his son, Hagen, he urges him to get the ring back and protect his father’s legacy. In obliging, Hagen initiates proceedings that ultimately result in death and the end of Valhalla. “I think people will come to see it because we still have a fascination with things that are larger than life,” Purves says. “It’s stories of the gods, mythology that still excites us. We want something bigger than our lives.” Speaking of bigger, running time is an estimated five and a half hours with two intermissions, so evening performances begin at 6 p.m., much earlier than usual. Sung in German with projected English translations. 6 p.m. Saturdays, Tuesday, Thursday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Through May 7. Wortham Center, 501 Texas. For information call 713-228-6737 or visit houstongrandopera.org. $20 to $385.75. — Margaret Downing

Life met art when Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard was called on to score Fox’s Shots Fired, a new crime drama that examines the criminal justice system after a pair of racially charged shootings in a small Southern town; the ten-hour event series stars Sanaa Lathan (Blade), Stephan James (Race, Selma) and Helen Hunt as the state’s governor. But this week it’s time for some straight-up groove when Terence Blanchard featuring The E-Collective brings its fusion of funk, R&B and blues through Texas on a three-city tour, stopping in Houston courtesy of Da Camera. Blanchard should have plenty of material to pull from when he takes the stage along with guitarist Charles Altura, pianist Fabian Almazan, bassist Donald Ramsey and drummer Oscar Seaton; Blanchard has delivered a hefty portfolio of original jazz and has composed more than 50 soundtracks. Get ready to get down and come early; at 7:15 p.m. catch a pre-concert convo with Blanchard and Jason Moran. 8 p.m. April 22. Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas. For information, call 713-524-5050 or visit dacamera.com. $42.50 to $72.50. — Susie Tommaney

A little striptease never hurt anybody. Burlesque is back and better than ever with the Bayou City Burlesque & Circus Arts Festival. The international burlesque, circus and sideshow festival brings together 21 titillating performances over two acts, including belly dance, contortion, jugglers, fearless sideshow acts, burlesque striptease dancers, vaudeville entertainers, magicians, sexy clowns and acrobats. “There’s a lot going on,” producer and host Kiki Maroon says. “There’s sexy, slow burlesque, and then there’s a weird sideshow. Then, we go into a can-can girl [number] where you only see her dress. She’s wearing only a crystal headpiece. It’s all these types of art, and it’s super-fun.” 7:30 p.m. April 22. Warehouse Live, 813 Saint Emanuel. For information, visit bcbcfestival.com. $20 to $75. — Sam Byrd

Sunday, April 23

Catch the Red Line this weekend and you might see something other than commuters obsessed with smartphones. Frame Dance Productions is sending out its most extroverted dancers, also called framers, to perform on Houston's METRORail between the Medical Center and downtown Houston. The METROdances are free, but you'll have to buy a ticket to ride the METRO; it's so worth it because they're bringing along traveling trumpets and a brass quintet. What's it all about? Well, in addition to showcasing new music by living composers (we'll hear an original composition by Charles Halka), the framers also want our car-centric community to get out and learn more about the METRO system. Sounds good to us. 5 to 6 p.m. April 22 and 23. Performances begin at Dryden/TMC and end with a picnic at Market Square Park; start off at Hermann Park or join in anywhere along the Red Line. For information, visit framedance.org. Free. — Susie Tommaney

Siegfried is a “rodeo Romeo”; Brünnhilde, his cowgirl betrothed. The Rhinemaidens are synchronized swimmers, and the Norn triplets offer a barnyard alternative to Tammy, singing “Hog-Tie Your Man.” In Houston Grand Opera’s Das Barbecü, Wagner’s not in Valhalla anymore — he’s in Texas. The musical comedy condenses 15 hours of Ring Cycle into two and a half of twangy Texas country with a few “cheeky little winks to Ring fans,” says music director (and HGO assistant conductor) Patrick Harvey. “It feels different only in that it is such a different time and place, and the characters perhaps interact with each other in ways they wouldn’t in the mythical setting because they are acting with each other like Texans, and Texans are a very specific breed.” Sure to lure that specific breed? Each ticket includes a barbecue dinner and drink. 7 p.m. April 23. Jackson Street Barbecue, 209 Jackson. Also 7 p.m. April 30. Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon, 11410 Hempstead. For information, call 713-228-6737 or visit houstongrandopera.org. $40. — Natalie de la Garza

“Printmaking is one of the oldest art forms in the world,” says Katherine Rhodes Fields, president of the Houston-based PrintMatters. “We’re all part of printmaking — every time you spend a dollar bill, every time you stamp something — that’s a print. The very first prints have been dated by art historians as the cave paintings!” PrintMatters’ seventh annual steamroller festival, the six-hour Rockin’ Rollin’ Prints, is free to the public and hosts artists and onlookers alike. “When you walk into the gates, you’ll see a bustle of artists, [hand-carved] three-by-five-foot wood blocks, printmaking professors from across Texas and a big steamroller,” says Fields. Houston’s favorite brew house will also have plenty of fermentables on tap. “People can purchase a commemorative pint glass,” Fields says, adding with a laugh: “My personal favorite at Saint Arnold’s is the Lawnmower, but my boyfriend likes the Elissa IPA.” 10 a.m April 23. Saint Arnold Brewing Company, 2000 Lyons. For information, visit printmattershouston.org. — Vic Shuttee

Winter Miller’s In Darfur poses the question “If this were Germany in 1943, what would you do?” exploring genocide through the eyes of a reporter looking for a story; the Darfuri teacher who becomes her subject; and an aid worker just trying to save lives. Each performance features a special “Act II”: talkbacks with local organizations like the Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees, so audiences can “turn their emotion into information at least, and action if they desire,” explains director Troy Scheid. “When I think about the play in general, yes, there are scary parts and emotional parts. But when we remind ourselves in the theater that scary things can happen, it prepares us better to take care of each other.” 3 p.m. April 23. Continuing 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Saturdays. April 23 through May 13. The Landing Theatre Company, 1119 Providence. For information, call 562-502-7469 or visit landingtheatre.org. Pay what you can to $75; suggested price is $25. — Natalie de la Garza

It's the last day to catch this sleek and sexy dual exhibit over at the Art Car Museum. Houston-based sculptor Tim Glover teaches at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and has exhibited his art works far and wide. In "Working in the Margins," he presents a series of new, whimsical steel sculptures that reference art history and industrial processes, all loaded with double entendre and genial good humor. It's a nice fit for the museum, and pairs well with the abstract drawings by Randall McCabe in "Drawings From the Equinox"; the Navy veteran has stayed busy since 1997 working as the shop supervisor for the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts at Rice University. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. February 25 through April 23. 140 Heights Boulevard. For information, call 713-861-5526 or visit artcarmuseum.com. Free. — Tex Kerschen

Monday, April 24

Launched in 1961, Worldfest-Houston found a permanent home thanks to some good ol’ Texas oil boys who wanted to bring the independent international festival to Houston. “They’d hit me on my arm and say, ‘Hunnah, you gotta come to Houston!’” says Hunter Todd, WorldFest chairman and founding director. After five years of bruises, Todd relented and moved the festival to the Bayou City in 1978. The annual event has since discovered stars like Steven Spielberg and Ang Lee, and this year celebrates its 50th year as a competitive festival. WorldFest hosts films in ten different categories, including Internet and TV productions — more than the Cannes Film Festival, Todd quickly notes. He boasts: “Here we are at WorldFest showing brand-new movies no one’s heard of, directed by nobodies, starring nobodies, that could be the next Spielberg, George Lucas or Ang Lee.” Various times. April 21-30, AMC Studio 30, 2949 Dunvale. For information, call 713-965-9955 or visit worldfest.org. $7.50 to $750. — Katricia Lang