Clay McNear

"We had a rule: absolutely no classical music whatsoever." Orli Shaham laughs at the memory -- and its obvious irony. The young musician is now a mature married woman at 22, and she's recalling the nuptial ceremony, held more than a month ago in her homeland of Israel. Orli's a...

The artfully turned opening of Vocessitas/Little Voices is the essence of filmic storytelling. The tale's female protagonist leaves work and heads home in her car, which breaks down in a blighted neighborhood. The doe-eyed twentysomething grows increasingly agitated as she wanders the deserted moonscape seeking a human presence or a...

Thursday August 20 Legendary dancer/choreographer George Balanchine once said, "All leading dancers want to dance Swan Lake at least once in their careers, and all audiences want to see them dance it." And audiences will want to see leading ballerina Lauren Anderson, native Houstonian and one of Houston Ballet's most...

Thursday August 13 He's a country comedian -- a Stetson-wearin', story-tellin' guitar player from Longview, Texas -- but don't go comparing Rodney Carrington to Jeff Foxworthy or Ray Stevens. Unlike those PG-rated performers, Carrington revels in a raunchiness that would earn him a spot on HBO's Def Comedy Jam, if...

Thursday August 6 Jake Johannsen's shtick, starting out, was the nerdy guy hesitantly stammering his way through long takes on life's little mysteries. He's canned much of the nerdiness, but he's still one of the funniest standups around. Filled with more neuroses and idiosyncrasies than would seem possible in an...