She’s an actress who’s trying desperately to land what she sees as the role of a lifetime — to star in a film with a famous actor. Brooke Wilson stars as New York actress Rita Donatella in the world premiere of Waiting for Johnny Depp, a one-woman musical about someone who wants to be famous and will do almost anything to get there. “She is just an actor who’s just trying to live the dream like we all do,” says Wilson, who will undertake the production for TUTS Underground. “She’s very eccentric and compulsive, but lovable.” Although Wilson had always been involved in theater, she wasn’t sure she could make a living at it, which explains her Texas A&M degree in psychology. “But I just couldn’t stay away,” she says. After some years in New York City, she’s moved back to this area, and expresses surprise at all the changes, particularly at the A&M campus. The musical is set in Rita’s apartment in Hells Kitchen in New York City and while it focuses on the dreams of actors, Wilson says, it really applies to anyone who’s fighting hard to be successful at what they love doing. But the play is also about relationships, Wilson says, including that of the actress with her mother. “As I’ve discovered, there are these really honest moments from the heart in the show that I’m very proud of.”

7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Hobby Center’s Zilkha Hall, 800 Bagby. For information, call 713-558-8887 or visit tutsunderground.com. $25 to $49.
Sundays, 3 p.m.; Saturdays, 3 & 8:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. Starts: Jan. 22. Continues through Jan. 31, 2015