It’s National Do Something Nice Day and, on your way home from doing your act of kindness, may we recommend some of our best bets for the coming week. This week we’ve got lots of live music, a couple of festivals, and a month-long film retrospective. Keep reading for more.
Join a celebration of Chicano music at Miller Outdoor Theatre this weekend with the return of The 44th Annual Festival Chicano on Thursday, October 5, at 7 p.m. The festival, which highlights genres like Tejano, conjunto and mariachi, will open on Thursday with David Lee Garza y Los Musicales. This performance will not be livestreamed, and all the online tickets for for the covered seating area have been distributed, but you can still bring a blanket or lawn chair and head for the ticketless seating on the Hill. The 44th Annual Festival Chicano will continue on Friday, October 6, at 7 p.m. with Los Palominos and on Saturday, October 7, at 7 p.m. with Little Joe y La Familia. Saturday night’s performance will also be livestreamed on the Miller Outdoor Theatre website, YouTube channel or Facebook page. All the events are free.
We’re in the midst of Banned Books Week, and the American Library Association recently reported that to date, this year has seen a 20 percent increase in challenges to books compared to this time last year, and it’s only been going up over the last three years. It’s in this environment that the Apollo Chamber Players present Banned, the first program of their 16th season and a musical commentary on book banning and censorship, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 6, at The MATCH. The program includes world premieres from Allison Loggins-Hull and Mark Buller, as well as pieces from Virgil Thompson and Aaron Copland. Howard Pollack, a University of Houston professor of musicology, will be on hand, as will Harris County Public Library Director Edward Melton, for a discussion on book and music censorship. Tickets to the concert are available here for $15 to $35.
On Saturday, October 7, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. the family-friendly, pet-friendly Korean Festival Houston returns to Discovery Green. The festival, presented by the Korean American Society of Houston, promises delicious food, games and crafts in K-Village (such as fan making, mask decorating, and a kimchi-eating contest), and lots of entertainment, from a fashion show and taekwondo demonstrations to a K-pop showcase and random dance play. At 8 p.m. the festival’s headliner, Korean solo artist June, will take the stage, and he will also be present for a fanmeet on at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, October 8, at The MATCH. Festival attendance is free, and tickets are available here for June’s fanmeet for $25 to $45.
Scriptwriters/Houston takes the 2023 edition of Museum Plays, a festival of five ten-minute plays inspired by and performed in a museum, to the National Museum of Funeral History on Saturday, October 7, at 3 p.m.. Barbara Starkes, the president of Scriptwriters/Houston, recently told the Houston Press that the “museum itself is used as the basic set design and the theme of what the playwright is writing about is whatever exhibits they have going on at the museum at the time.” Leslie Barrera, the organization’s vice president, added that the museum is “not just what we think of when we think funerals,” but that “a big part of the museum’s theme is not just looking at death as the end, but how other cultures view it as the next chapter of life.” Tickets to the festival (which include admission to the museum) can be purchased here for $18.
Claudia Cardinale, “the definition of a true movie star for over five decades” who is “fondly remembered by movie fans the world over for her equally dazzling looks and talent” was once called – by Pink Panther co-star David Niven – “Italy’s best invention besides spaghetti.” On Saturday, October 7, at 7 p.m. the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will open a retrospective on the actress titled Claudia Cardinale: The Indomitable with Luigi Comencini’s 1964 film Bebos Girl. Screenings of films featuring Cardinale will continue through the month of October, including Federico Fellini’s 8 ½, Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard (introduced by Cardinale’s former assistant, author Carolyn Pfeiffer) and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West. You can view the full schedule here, and tickets for any of the screenings can be purchased for $7 to $9.
October 31 is once again quickly approaching, which means not just Halloween, but the day that Martin Luther famously nailed some paper to a door and kicked off the Protestant Reformation. On Saturday, October 7, at 8 p.m. Mercury Chamber Orchestra will present Bach’s Mighty Fortress at the Wortham Theater Center, a program that includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata No. 80, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” Though the piece, penned by Martin Luther, “isn’t so much about the Reformation,” it is about the “battle between good and evil” and “how that battle is played out in the lives of believers.” The program also features Bach’s Cantata No. 131 and Orchestra Suite No. 3, BWV 1068. Tickets to the in-person performance are available here for $10 to $76, or you can pick up a ticket to watch virtually here for $20.
On Monday, October 9, at 7:30 p.m. Paul Hope Cabaret will once again take up residence in Ovations Night Club – this time to celebrate “a master of popular song,” Hoagy Carmichael who, with a “naturally laid-back style,” managed to create “graceful and inspired melodies, producing a prodigious string of hits from the 1920s to the 1960s.” During the program, titled Star Dust: The Songs of Hoagy Carmichael and emceed by Paul Hope, you’re sure to hear some of his hit compositions, including “Georgia on My Mind,” “Lazy River,” “Skylark” and, of course, the titular “Stardust” among many others, performed by a cast of eight performers. There are two additional performances scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday, October 23, and Monday, October 30. Tickets to any of the performances can be purchased here for $20 to $30.
Experience five of Anton Chekhov’s one-act comedies on Wednesday, October 11, at 7:30 p.m. when the Alley Theatre opens the world premiere of Little Comedies. Featuring new translations of Swan Song, The Bear, The Proposal, The Wedding and The Harmful Effects of Tobacco, the evening will highlight “the delicate threads that connect Chekhov to five of his short comedies.” Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through October 29. Tickets can be purchased here for $42 to $76.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
