Unexpected Cultural Experience Awaits At Renaissance-themed Elizabethan Madrigal Feast

From the small coastal community better known for its beaches, birding and annual Great Texas Mosquito Festival comes a fully immersive Renaissance celebration of Christmas. After a four-year COVID-related hiatus, the Elizabethan Madrigal Feast returns to The Center for the Arts & Sciences' Dow Arena Theater. Performances begin the day after Thanksgiving.

Celebrated biennially since 1988, the Elizabethan Madrigal Feast features singing, dancing, Shakespearean comedy and a three-course meal catered by Grazia Italian Kitchen. Local guests and visitors are invited to revel in the spectacle of hand-crafted period costumes and the pageantry of an 16th century Elizabethan celebration.

A mainstay of The Center's cultural programming, the event is a beloved holiday tradition for thousands of guests. The production runs for three weekends, totaling 10 performances, on November 25-27, December 2-4 and December 8-11.

The Center's Dow Arena Theater is transformed into the Great Hall of Warwick Castle, where the Earl and Countess of Warwick welcome Queen Elizabeth I and her court to usher in the holidays.

A troupe of more than one-hundred serve both onstage and backstage. Live musicians, dancers and actors perform roles ranging from the Archbishop of Canterbury and classic Shakespearean characters to singing servers, nobles and royals. Local parents with infants step in to serve as the Holy Family.

With a successful location in Pearland, Grazia Italian Kitchen will cater a three-course dinner for the 10-night production. Grazia will open a new Lake Jackson restaurant in the weeks to come. The Center's scullery crew manages service for the guests' dinner. The evening starts with freshly brewed wassail and ends with coffee and dessert.

Tickets can be purchased online, via phone at 979-265-7661 or in person at The Center's Box Office.