Today is Houston Day – not a celebration of the city, mind you, but the name. We will, however, take the opportunity to appreciate the city, especially the ever-active arts scene. Keep reading for this week’s picks for your best bets, which include dinosaurs for the kiddies, an incredibly quotable cult classic, pancakes and more.
We’re well into the dog days of summer, and if you’re running out of ways to occupy your little ones, think about checking out Jurassic Quest on Friday, July 26, from 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. at NRG Center. The animatronic dinosaur experience is family-friendly and perfect for children ages two to 10, with plenty of rides and inflatables, arts and crafts, and special exhibits, including one on raptor training, and even the opportunity to dig for fossils. The Tyrannosaurus rex is sure to make an appearance, as will as some adorable baby dinosaurs. The event will continue from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 28. Tickets are available here for $22 to $36 (with kids under the age of two receiving free entry).
A guilty mother sets out to make amends with her daughter by making a dish of the girl’s choosing – chicken and peppers – in the 2023 animated film Chicken for Linda! Written and directed by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, “the movie delivers a sharp mix of pathos and humor” as mother and daughter find themselves “on a collision course with a bumbling policeman, a lovesick truck driver, an elderly neighbor, and just about every kid in the neighborhood” in their quest for a chicken. You can see the pair’s “careening odyssey” on Friday, July 26, at 7 p.m. when the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston screens the film. If you can’t make it, the movie will be shown once more at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 27. Tickets for either screening can be purchased here for $7 to $9.
Tony-nominated performer (and American Idol alum) Constantine Maroulis headlines the talented cast assembled for Houston Broadway Theatre’s production of Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt’s Tony Award-winning musical Next to Normal, which will open at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 26, at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. The New York Times critic Ben Brantley called the musical, a “portrait of a manic-depressive mother and the people she loves and damages,” both “brave” and “breathtaking,” describing it as “a feel-everything musical, which asks you, with operatic force, to discover the liberation in knowing where it hurts.” Additional performances are scheduled for 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 27, and 1:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday, July 28. Tickets to any of the performances can be purchased here for $32.50 to $142.50.
A play from “the most produced playwright in Canada,” Norm Foster, will open on Friday, July 26, at 8 p.m. when Cone Man Running Productions presents Office Hours at Spring Street Studios. The comedy, which premiered back in 1989, tells six different stories, each occurring across six different offices on a single afternoon, with quite the collection of characters, including an overbearing mother, an out-of-shape athlete, a writer with a secret, and more. And of course, in true Cone Man Running style, the entire cast are members of Houston’s legal community. We’re talking judges, attorneys, law students and clerks. Performances will continue at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Monday, August 12, as well as 3 p.m. Sundays through August 17. You can reserve tickets here for $15 to $25.
Danny Elfman’s made no secret of being unhappy with the way his score was dubbed into Tim Burton’s 1989 film Batman. He’s said, “I could have scored the film with some percussion, a harmonica and a banjo because all you hear are some percussion hits in big moments, but you can’t really hear what the orchestra is doing.” Fortunately, the film is touring in honor of its 35th anniversary, and on Friday, July 26, at 8 p.m. you can catch it on a big screen with Elfman’s beloved score behind it the way he hoped – with a focus on the orchestra, in this case the Houston Symphony – during Batman in Concert at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The performance is free and yes, you are heavily encouraged to don your favorite DC hero costume.
The Festival of Originals, also known as FOO, will return to Theatre Southwest on Friday, July 26, at 8 p.m. with a distinctly Houstonian flair. This year, four of the five plays selected for the showcase of one-act, 20-minute plays are from playwrights from Houston and the Greater Houston area, including Friendswood and Sugar Land. Mimi Holloway, the artistic director of Theatre Southwest, told the Houston Press that the Houston-heavy representation was not intentional, she just “plain liked the Houston plays better,” adding that she finds, after 27 years spent producing the festival, that this year “is one of the more solidly written years.” The festival runs through August 12, and you can catch performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sunday, August 4. Tickets are available here for $20 to $22.
Find some coconuts and dust off your “Knights Who Say Ni” cosplay, because on Friday, July 26, at 8:15 p.m. Friends of River Oaks Theatre, in partnership with MFAH Films, will host a Monty Python and the Holy Grail quote-a-long show at the MATCH. The medieval-set, endlessly quotable cult classic is a classic Arthurian tale about the king and his knights’ wonderfully irreverent quest to find the Holy Grail. Though the film starts at 8:15 p.m., doors are at 7 p.m. and you’ll want to get there early. The fun will start at 7:15 p.m. with music by Ryan Adam Wells and Brad Torres, the duo that make up Jukebox Trainwreck, followed by a costume and silly walk contest at 8 p.m. Tickets to the show can be purchased here for $17.
It may not be National Pancake Day, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying those those flat little cakes on Saturday, July 27, from 8 p.m. to midnight at Bad Astronaut Brewing Co. when the Pancakes & Booze Art Show returns to town. Folks have been consuming pancakes since ancient times – and, in fact, today it is one of the most popular breakfast options in the country – and the pop-up art show doubles down on treat by offering all-you-can-eat pancakes while you peruse hundreds of works of art from more than 75 local artists. Of course, drinks, music, and live body painting and art displays will also be present. This event is for those 18 and older, and tickets can be purchased here for $15. They will also be available for $20 at the door.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
