Tuesday, June 6
Leave the hallucinogenics at home, because the latest offering from the Transitory Sound and Movement Collective delivers a trippy visual world courtesy of painter and video artist Lillian Warren, whom we named one of our 100 Creatives for 2012. While the rest of us curse, honk and fume over Houston traffic, Warren discovered its hidden beauty in her “Trafficscapes” series, which she described to us in an interview five years ago. “I saw this long multi-level snake of cars winding through space and time, everyone sealed in a personal cocoon, all of us trapped in no man’s land, unwilling but docile participants in this insane experience.” Tuesday’s show, Aqueous Adventures a.k.a. The Slippery Slope to Swell Town, merges Warren’s incredible visuals with an intense sonic space created by sound artists Lynn Lane and Paul Connolly. Dance artist Annie Arnault adds magic and movement to create a dynamic, improvisational experience. 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. June 6. Rec Room, 100 Jackson. For information, call 713-344-1291 or visit recroomhtx.com. $10 to $15. – Susie Tommaney
Mixing fact and theatrical fiction, Something Rotten! tells the very original story of two brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom, who run an actors’ troupe in the time of William Shakespeare (a.k.a. the 1590s). Jam-packed with silliness, songs and characters, the national tour is coming in courtesy of BBVA Compass Broadway at the Hobby. Shakespeare is all the rage, which makes it tough for the Bottom brothers to secure backing for their own efforts. Autumn Hurlbert plays Portia, the Puritan young woman who becomes Nigel’s love interest. “It’s more of an homage to characters within Shakespeare’s plays,” she says. “The best part is no one knows anything about Shakespeare other than what he wrote. So it’s fun to create this rock-star modern persona of Shakespeare.” Nick steals money to see a soothsayer and, after asking what the next big play will be, is told it’s a musical. The brothers get busy but don’t exactly follow a straightforward path. Shakespeare himself gets into the competition (appearing as “Toby Belch”) when he hears that the brothers are trying to steal his play. You don’t have to know Shakespeare to recognize all the characters and allusions, but if you do, Hurlbert says Easter eggs abound. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Through June 11. 800 Bagby. For information, call 713-315-2525 or visit thehobbycenter.org. $30 to $90. – Margaret Downing
Wednesday, June 7
William Shakespeare knew veterans. He was surrounded by them. He wrote about them memorably and gave their characters great and lasting lines. So it made sense to Stephan Wolfert that when he was putting together his one-man show, Cry Havoc, that he use some of Shakespeare’s words intermixed with his own experiences to get across his own feelings about war, service and death. “He either provides a language that I lack to express how I feel or think or he elicits feelings in me when I hear it. It’ll pull up a feeling or memory I didn’t even remember I had. That tends to be the reaction of the audience as well,” says the man who left home and joined the Minnesota National Guard to escape his family and then became an actor to help himself and other veterans transition back to normal society (he refers to it as “de-cruiting”) after coming out of military life. It’s a return visit to Houston for Wolfert. Last year he fit in a few shows on off nights when New York’s Bedlam theater company was in town doing Saint Joan. This year, as more people know what he’s all about, he’s here for more performances, once again hosted by 4th Wall Theatre Co. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Through June 18. Spring Street Studios, 1824 Spring Street. For information, call 832-786-1849 or visit 4thwalltheatreco.com. $29 to $49, $23 seniors, $15 students and $10 veterans with the code “Vet.” – Margaret Downing
It’s season-finale time at the Alley Theatre, and they’ve decided to go out with a production of Freaky Friday, the Disney musical based on the popular 1976 and 2003 movies made from the widely read 1972 novel by Mary Rodgers. Mom and daughter swap bodies for 24 hours and find out it can be tough as a teen or overworked mom. Heidi Blickenstaff (Broadway: Something Rotten!, The Addams Family; Disney’s The Little Mermaid and The Full Monty) stars as the mom and says going back and forth between the characters is a joy for an actor. “For me playing Katherine is a breeze, but Ellie is nothing like me,” she says. “To be able to play a crazy 16-year-old who doesn’t think of consequences and is pretty selfish and only wants to do what she wants is really fun, because I was never that way. It’s really liberating.” 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Through July 2. Alley Theatre, 615 Texas. For information, call 713-220-5700 or visit alleytheatre.org. $26 to $103. – Margaret Downing
Sometimes you just need to make like Madonna and express yourself. Travis Wall, the So You Think You Can Dance contestant-turned-Emmy-winning-choreographer, is back to show us the stories that are unraveling in his head in Shaping Sound: After the Curtain. Along with his dance buddies Nick Lazzarini, Teddy Forance and Kyle Robinson, he created a story line about a man’s search for love in a sea of desperation, complete with several different dance styles meant to create a dynamic expression of life, love and the pursuit of happiness. Choreographer Wall says, “It deals with dark matters and you see what he goes through. It rips your heart out.” For all the SYTYCD junkies out there, yes, there will be appearances by former winners, including tapper Gabby Diaz. Be sure to bring a box of tissues — you’re going to need it. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana. For information, call 832-487-7041 or visit houstonfirsttheaters.com. $35.50 to $80.50. – Sam Byrd
Picture it: A gay boy from East Berlin gets wooed by a sugar daddy, finds the opportunity to go to America by way of a botched sex surgery, and ends up becoming a transgender rock star. Obsidian Theater, in partnership with Standing Room Only Productions, presents Hedwig and the Angry Inch to tell the tale of the golden boy turned glam-rock girl. “It’s an hour and 25 minutes of a band playing, and it just so happens the lead singer has been through darkness, trials and tribulations, and for whatever reason, this will be the time she decides to open up and talk about the band and these songs,” says director Chris Patton. They gave her an inch, but Hedwig takes a mile. 8 p.m. Wednesday (premiere). Continues 8 p.m. June 21-24, 29-30, July 1. Midnight showings on June 9, 16, and 24. 3522 White Oak. For information, call 832-889-7837 or visit obsidiantheater.org. $15 to $30. – Sam Byrd
Perhaps Wonder Woman’s greatest superpower is enduring for the past 75 years as a wildly unstable signifier. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot in the title role, further adds to this complicated, contradictory cluster of signs and symbols. The movie arrives six months after the comic-book character was dropped as an ambassador for a U.N. campaign seeking to achieve gender equality, and a year after Gadot’s Wonder Woman made a fleeting appearance in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This movie begins when she opens a package to find a memento, sending the narrative back further in time to young Diana’s upbringing in the all-female enclave Themyscira, aka Paradise Island, a piece of land that could form an archipelago with the Isle of Lesbos and Cherry Grove. Led by Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), Diana’s mother, and the regent’s sister, Antiope (Robin Wright), the Amazons in Jenkins’ movie are not only of different races but also observe various forms of gender expression, from stone butch to soft femme — a welcome, near-subversive display of body types and builds. 11:45 a.m.; 3:20, 4:15, 7 and 10 p.m. June 7. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 531 South Mason Road, Katy. For information, call 281-492-6900 or visit drafthouse.com/houston/theater/mason-park. $8.66 to $10.83. – Melissa Anderson
Thursday, June 8
Set in exotic India of old, choreographed by artistic director Stanton Welch — complete with its stunning Act III corps de ballet sequence with 24 ballerinas in white tutus — La Bayadère (The Temple Dancer) returns to the Houston Ballet. This marks the fourth time that principal dancer Karina Gonzalez will perform Welch’s choreography in the role of Nikiya, the temple dancer. “I got promoted to principal [in 2013] with this role,” she says. She’ll be paired with principal Connor Walsh as Solor, the soldier she falls for despite being bespoken to the gods. Solor kills a tiger that was threatening the village; in return, the rajah assigns him to marry his eldest daughter. When the jealous daughter dispatches Nikiya with a poisonous snake, Solor goes to dreamland with the help of some opium, which leads to the “Kingdom of the Shades” scene. With so many roles involved in this production, which closes out Houston Ballet’s season, Gonzalez says “it’s a chance for every single dancer to have a bright moment onstage.” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sundays. Through June 18. Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas. For information, call 713-227-2787 or visit houstonballet.org. $25 to $195. – Margaret Downing
In Sonic Sea, a 60-minute documentary chronicling the impact of industrial and military ocean noise on whales and other marine life, the sound of human-made ships often causes chaos among the aquatic creatures for whom communicating via sonar is a way of life. Narrated by Rachel McAdams and featuring the music of Sting, the film tells the story of a former U.S. Navy officer who solved this tragic mystery and changed forever the way we understand our impact on the ocean. For this screening at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, special guest Heidi Whitehead, a marine biologist and executive director of the Texas Marine Mammal Standing Network, will provide commentary on marine life and what can be done to sustain it. 6:30 p.m. Thursday. 5555 Hermann Park Drive. For information, call 713-639-4629 or visit hmns.org. $12 to $18. – Sam Byrd
Friday, June 9
“Come early and come hungry!” says Tom Kirlin, founder of the Pancakes & Booze Art Show, because sometimes the best advice is the simplest, and he knows that everyone loves free pancakes, especially when they’re paired with his traveling art show. “We take out the pretentious vibe of most art events and provide a fun atmosphere to enjoy exhibiting, viewing and buying artwork. There’s free food, good music and a variety of artwork for everyone’s taste,” says Kirlin. More than 100 artists will be on hand, along with live performances, body painting, drinks and food, but Kirlin says that Houston’s art scene is thriving, so even if it is the pancakes and music that draw folks in, they’ll “leave with a full taste of what Houston’s art scene has to offer.” And needless to say, this one is for those 18 and over only, please. 7 p.m. Friday. Warehouse Live, 813 Saint Emanuel. For information, call 713-225-5483 or visit pancakesandbooze.com/houston. $7 to $13. – Natalie de la Garza
Slow-motion sucker punches, a dancing chicken and a protracted death scene are all on the program with Suchu Dance’s annual iteration of the non-traditional in Comedy Dance Festival 2017. From an early start, Artistic Director Jennifer Wood found the humor in dance (joking in ballet class, adding something silly to her choreography in grad school), but she’s finally found an outlet for those shenanigans with her giggle-tastic fest. Artists from Houston and Austin depict feculence through interpretive dance, demonstrate the feeling of wearing cockroach-infested pants, and deliver moves so inappropriate that audience members will be forced to laugh. There’s a different program each weekend so better catch all three acts; if you snooze, you lose. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. June 9 through June 24. MECA, 1900 Kane. For information, call 832-377-8248 or visit suchudance.org/comedy-dance-festival. Pay what you want; $20 suggested donation. – Susie Tommaney
Friday, June 9
The force will be with fans at Minute Maid Park on Friday as the Houston Astros host the Los Angeles Angels, marking the return of Star Wars Night. Special ticket packages include a Star Wars T-shirt and a “Return of the Beltran” bobblehead doll; fans, of course, are encouraged to dress in their favorite Star Wars garb. If Friday isn’t enough, go back on Saturday for Social Media Night, which will include games, prizes and plenty of opportunities for selfies. Saturday is also Faith and Family Night, featuring a postgame concert from Christian rockers MercyMe. (Game ticket good for concert admission too.) 7:10 p.m. Friday (Star Wars Night) and 3:10 p.m. Saturday (Social Media Night/Faith and Family Night). Minute Maid Park, 501 Crawford. For more information, call 1-877-9ASTROS or visit mlb.com/astros. $12 to $84. – Clint Hale
Compared with Emma or Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion doesn’t get much love, but that’s about to change at the Summer of Austen Kickoff Party, the start of Brazos Bookstore’s three-month, citywide celebration of Jane Austen, where the 1995 film adaptation will screen in quite possibly the perfect venue — Rienzi. “This is Jane Austen’s era,” says Ryan Hernandez, learning and interpretation coordinator for the small house museum, which specializes in European decorative art from the 17th through the early 19th century. “We have this house that can contextualize what is actually happening in these movies, so not only do you get to see the movie, but then you can come in the house and experience what those spaces really would have felt like.” Hernandez says the Regency Society of Houston will be present (in costume, of course) and the gardens will be open; its more than four acres are perfect for a picnic. 7:30 p.m. Friday. 1406 Kirby. For information, call 713-639-7800 or visit mfah.org. $12 to $15. – Natalie de la Garza
You, reading this, easy-peasy like, one hand on an energy drink, the other one resting on a hot mouse, may not remember it, but the first stretch of literacy is a bumpy road. Which may be one of the reasons the P.A.W.S. Reading Program, taking place Friday and Saturday mornings at the Houston Museum of Natural Science campus in Sugar Land, encourages children to practice their reading in the company of trained therapy dogs. The science is in about pets and oxytocin, the magical hormone that induces a sense of well-being. Here’s a chance to help your children get a good feeling about reading. 10 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Houston Museum of Natural Science – Sugar Land, 13016 University Boulevard, Stafford. For information, call 281-313-2277 or visit hmns.org. Free to $25. – Tex Kerschen
Saturday, June 10
In a world of complications, a bit of escapist entertainment might just hit the spot right now. There’s no greater getaway than Circus 1903. “I never thought I’d be the ringmaster of any kind, let alone a circus like this,” recalls David Williamson, a magician by trade who has taken on the top hat of big top emcee Willy Whipsnade. “I was in the cast of The Illusionists. For 15 years, producer Simon Painter told me he had this idea: a retro throwback old-school old-fashioned circus!” Williamson expects people to be wowed not only by the families of acrobats, but also the life-size elephant puppet, created by the team from War Horse. “People are never ready for the emotional impact of the elephants. I wasn’t even prepared, but when they hit the lights and the mist…I had a lump in my throat. It is about what human beings are capable of.” 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and June 11; 7:30 p.m. June 9. Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana. For information, call 713-227-4772 or visit spahouston.org. $40 to $46. – Vic Shuttee
Beauty, they say, is only skin deep. The same must be true of hideousness. Not for the weak of heart, the true-life story of John Merrick comes to Houston’s Stageworks Theatre in a “dark and sinister” production of Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man. Directed by theater professor Debra Schultz, the play focuses on Merrick (Chad Dyer), a destitute and disfigured Londoner with a rare disease who, after meeting a seemingly kind physician (Bryan Maynard) who shelters him, agrees to join a traveling freak show to make ends meet. Later adapted into the David Lynch-directed film starring John Hurt and Sir Anthony Hopkins, the story aims to find Merrick’s humanity while depicting the cruelty of those around him. With period costume design by Amber Stepanik and Stageworks Theatre’s typical attention to detail, this all-too-real tale of agony should haunt and educate. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Also 7:30 p.m. Friday; continuing 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays through July 2. 10760 Grant. For information, call 281-587-6100 or visit stageworkshouston.org. $17 to $25. – Vic Shuttee
It’s the first of its kind but we suspect it won’t be the last. Tacos! Tequila! Margaritas! A winning combination if we’ve ever heard one, Old Town Spring is kicking off a day of fun with the first ever Texas Taco, Tequila and Margarita Festival. Los Skarnales and Jenny and the Mexicats are delivering the tunes, those too young to drink can play on the inflatables and rides, and 21-and-uppers can partake in more than 30 different Margarita flavors (rocks and frozen). Plus, more than 30 taco vendors are signed up to show their stuff so, loosen those belts and come hang out at Preservation Park for this Texas-style gustatory extravaganza. Noon to 11 p.m. June 10. 130 Spring School Road, Spring. For information, visit thetexastacofestival.com. $15. – Susie Tommaney
Rarely are birthday parties this epic. Saint Arnold Brewing Company turns 23, and they’re celebrating with three days of awesomeness. It all kicks off on June 9 with a pub night at the brewery, that’s followed by a local and independent music showcase on June 10 (Bun B, The Tontons, Say Girl Say, The Mighty Orq and more) and an ultra-exclusive cellar tasting on June 11. Attend one or all three if you think you can handle that much fun. The 23rd Anniversary Pub Night is 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 9 (free admission); the 23rd Anniversary Party is 4 to 10 p.m. June 10 ($10 to $40); and the 23rd Anniversary Special Rare Cellar Tasting is 2 to 4:30 p.m. June 11 ($60). 2300 Lyons Avenue. For information, call 713-686-9494, or visit saintarnold.com/news. – Susie Tommaney
Sunday, June 11
Book a trip to Bali Ha’i with Texas Family Musicals for the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic South Pacific. Rob Gallagher, who performed in the Tony Award-winning 2013 Broadway revival, leads the cast of the 1949 musical based on James Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, known for its sweeping music and parallel love stories about the dangers of prejudice and war. Executive producer Mike Skiles says the story is as relevant as ever. “It addresses racial discrimination. It reminds us that it’s been around for years, and we’re still dealing with it.” Plus, what better place to see South Pacific than on the shores of Galveston Island? 7:30 p.m. Friday. 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Moody Gardens Convention Center, 7 Hope Boulevard. For information, call 855-667-1221 or visit texasfamilymusicals.com. $25 to $50. – Sam Byrd
DNA is the stuff of life that gives every living entity its unique traits. This summer, the John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science will present Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code to teach us a little more about the language of DNA. “Some very heavy hitters came together, especially after completing the human genome in 2003. Now that we’ve done that, we can communicate that to people. It includes our past and looking back to do better for our future,” said Dr. Melanie Johnson. Through physical and computer interaction, media experiences, specimens, artifacts and replicas, the exhibit will reveal the mystery of how DNA connects to every living thing. Opens June 9. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Extended hours through 7 p.m., Thursdays. 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Continues through September 11. 1515 Hermann Drive. For information, call 713-521-1515 or visit thehealthmuseum.org. Free to $10. – Sam Byrd
Monday, June 12
Haroon Moghul’s How to Be a Muslim: An American Story began life inauspiciously: as a rejected textbook. “They said it was a memoir trying to pass itself off as an academic book, and I actually agreed with them,” says Moghul, the senior fellow and director of development at the Center for Global Policy and a self-described “professional Muslim.” “As I was writing it, I realized more and more that I wanted to tell my own story and that I wanted to write something for a much bigger audience.” Moghul says the book became a “wrenching” confession, “something like an obituary for the person I used to be,” in which he attempts to capture the experience of growing up American and Muslim in a hostile environment, the journey compounded by his own struggle with bipolar disorder, in the hope that it gives a little courage to people struggling with similar issues. 7 p.m. Monday. Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet. For information, call 713-523-0701 or visit brazosbookstore.com. Free. – Natalie de la Garza
This article appears in Summer Guide 2017.
