David Clarke & Kristina Nungaray

Are you ready Houston? Let us hear you say 'Yeah!' The tour that everyone has been waiting for is finally here! Tonight, Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) has a brand new shoe! They're kicking off their run of the Tony Award-winning musical KINKY BOOTS at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. BWW-Houston could think of no one better to get Houston audiences ready for the party than by chatting with Cyndi Lauper herself.

TUTS Undergound is gearing up to bring Houston audiences the Texas Premiere of HANDS ON A HARDBODY. Recently, at a rehearsal for the production, we sat down with Julia Krohn, Kevin Cooney, Theresa Nelson, and Donnie Hammond to discuss what Houston audiences can expect from the show.

Living in Houston and covering Houston's illustrious theatre scene thoroughly spoils us. However, we are always more than happy to share the wealth and talk about what is happening all over town. This summer, we are thrilled that Houston's theatre community is embracing women and giving Houston audiences the chance to see a plethora of shows featuring strong female characters and fascinating female leads.

TUTS Underground's National Regional Premiere of MURDER BALLAD is kicking off its second and final week of performances in the Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. This rocking 80-minute one-act is leaving Houston audiences electrified and exhilarated. In celebration of the amazing performances given so far and the ones still yet to come, we sat down with MURDER BALLAD's sultry and sexy love triangle gone awry (Pat McRoberts, Lauren Molina, and Steel Burkhardt) to further discuss MURDER BALLAD.

Earlier this Spring, TUTS and students from HSMT performed in four nationally distributed choreography DVDs for MTI'd Broadway Junior Collection of Musicals. The choreography DVDs are being produced by iTheatrics, and will feature original choreography by its chief choreographer, Steven G. Kennedy. Also contributing to the creative team are Shay Rogers and Lindsay Weiner Lupi.

'Twas the night before Christmas, and through the Houston area people were shopping, cursing their error. Why did they wait for the last few minutes to buy so many holiday presents? Cozy, at home, two theater enthusiasts discussed theatrical amusements. There were funny shows, and sad ones. Some had music and joviality, while others encouraged civic responsibility. But, sadly, the list of dream shows to see just grew and grew. Wouldn't it be great if Houston produced just a few? They may have been done, but not since we started seeing everything. Oh, Santa and producers, please make true our Christmas dreams.

Wow, is 2013 almost over already? Looking back over these last 365 days, we can't help but bubble over with joy when we reflect on Houston's ever-growing, diverse, and expansive theatre scene. Living in the fourth largest city in the United States and being involved in the second largest theatre district guarantees us, the denizens of Houston, and visitors of the city access to some of the absolute best theatre that this nation has to offer.

Every year the holiday season brings cherished classics to Houston stages. This year; however, we at BroadwayWorld Houston were delighted to find exciting new shows stuffed into our stockings as well. Looking back, before they are all gone, we'd like to encourage Houstonians and tourists to check out these Houston holiday highlights!

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Michael Cerveris & Loose Cattle took to the stage in Broadway's living room at 54 BELOW. Despite public transportation and in the face of power outages, the band and fans braved the inclement conditions to revel in the beauty and spirit of live music. Recorded across four performances, including Friday, November 2, 2012 (the Friday after the storm), the resilient spirit of the denizens of New York City and the reparative nature of live music is tangible and wholly affecting on NORTH OF HOUSTON - Live at 54 BELOW.

Back in February, when Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) announced their 2013-2014 season, Bruce Lumpkin, TUTS' Artistic Director, gave BroadwayWorld an exclusive heads up about an exciting development that was occurring within the organization. Now TUTS is ready to announce their exhilarating new project, an invigorating and diverse season of fresh, edgy musical theatre called TUTS Underground. This season will run in The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts' intimate Zilkha Hall and feature innovative modern works. According to Bruce Lumpkin, the intended audience for this line up is "a contemporary minded audience, an audience looking for something new, something different than what's been offered." The inaugural season for TUTS Underground will feature four fresh shows that are "not only new, newly done, but newly done for our audiences here."

The best part about summer is the fun, frivolous pot-boiling productions that many companies offer to enchant and beguile audiences. The Eklektix Theatre Company, fresh off of celebrating their one year anniversary in Houston, is kicking off their Summer Stock season with a tremendously amusing and entertaining production of Richard O'Brien's cult favorite, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW.