HOUSTON INTERVIEWS

Houston audiences are in for a treat as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee returns to Theatre Under the Stars, featuring one of the city’s favorite comedic performers—Mark Ivy—reprising his beloved role as William Barfée. Known for his quirky brilliance, quick wit, and (of course) the...

'We're really proud because we've put a big focus on new work in the past. Some of these even began as readings at our Alley New Festival. They have worked their way up to a full production at the Alley and then beyond.' - Rob Melrose...

Jennifer Dean, Artistic Director of 4th Wall Theatre Co., brings a keen eye for both timely storytelling and innovative theatrical craft to the company’s latest production, Eureka Day. ...

James Mirrione, the bookwriter behind The Grippe, invites audiences to revisit a pivotal moment in history through the lens of theatre. Inspired by the overlooked story of the 1918 Spanish Flu and its striking parallels to contemporary society, Mirrione combines rigorous historical research, persona...

Orlando has long been one of Houston’s most beloved actors, captivating audiences with his dynamic performances in productions like Private Lives, American Mariachi, and Sherlock Holmes and the Jersey Lily. Now, he takes on an extraordinary challenge in STAGES production of The Lehman Trilogy, a ...

Shannon Emerick, a celebrated Houston stage actress and two-time Houston Press Best Actress winner, takes on one of Greek tragedy’s most formidable figures in Classical Theatre Company’s production of Electra. As Clytaemnestra, the queen, mother, and murderer whose actions set a family and a cit...

To me, this iteration of THE DA VINCI CODE feels like it leans more towards the book in pure content, but at the same time, you can look at the film and our stage adaptation as sort of accomplishing similar tasks....

A.D. Players continues its tradition of thought-provoking theatre with Freud’s Last Session, a play that imagines an extraordinary meeting between Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, and C.S. Lewis, the beloved author and Christian apologist. As the two men wrestle with questions of faith...

For Houston Ballet dancer Saul Newport, Rock and Roll and Tutus is more than just a performance program. It is a test of versatility, artistry, and endurance. Moving between the joy and vigor of Illuminate, the swagger of Rooster, the intimacy of What I Was Thinking While I Was Waltzing, and the cla...

Houston Ballet’s Rock and Roll and Tutus brings together legendary choreographers with fresh new voices, and among them is Jacquelyn Long, who not only performs but also contributes her own original work to the program. ...

Bria Washington is stepping into the spotlight as the determined and big-hearted Akeelah in The Ensemble Theatre’s production of Akeelah and the Bee. Based on the beloved film, Cheryl L. West’s stage adaptation follows an 11-year-old girl from South Los Angeles who discovers her gift for spellin...

It's about a man with Asperger's and his, what I like to say, his dogged determination to learn to dance, because he has a very public, potentially horrifying public event coming up, an awards dinner....

Main Street Theater continues its season with Ossie Davis’ groundbreaking satire Purlie Victorious, a play that blends sharp humor with a powerful exploration of race, dignity, and resilience. At the heart of the production is Houston actor and costume designer Krystal Uchem, who steps into the ro...

It is about a family living through a dystopian future that's only a few years into our future, the year 2029. In which… try to follow me on this, see if you can imagine America in this way. It's an America run by right-wing conservative Christians who oppress anyone who isn't like them, to the po...

Arthur built such a great crescendo that there's no stepping off the train, as, if you will, anywhere where you lose momentum by taking a break. So we just push right through the 90 minutes. Just one act, and you're out of the theater....

Playing this character has been so, so fun, mainly because we're sort of reinventing him, me and Joe Calarco, who's our incredible director....

And I realized that this is a subject that I feel like we've stopped talking about, even though it's still a really big deal. The big national organization, Exodus, had been dissolved. And that's a really interesting story, actually, about how that ended. And they had so much more presence in the me...

What starts off as this well-intentioned self-help seminar becomes this brutal disintegration of all of their egos and the way they live their own lives....

Joel Sandel has been referred to as the “Energizer Bunny” of Houston's acting scene, and this captures him perfectly. He’s acted in so many shows that we couldn't even name them all, and even when faced with a medical emergency, he just bounces right back on the stage....

It’s fascinating. I remember the first time I was introduced to the show, and, like my mind, was blown by the device. If you read Jason Robert Brown, it's almost like he just kind of stumbled on it. I thought it would be a cool thing to do. But it's so novel....

For many, The Wizard of Oz is a childhood classic filled with timeless magic, but for Matthew Steven Lawrence, stepping into the Scarecrow’s floppy boots, it’s something much more profound. ...

Elissa Cuellar steps into the emerald spotlight as the Wicked Witch of the West in A.D. Players’ production of The Wizard of Oz, a role steeped in cinematic legacy and theatrical flair. In this interview, she reflects on her childhood obsession with the story, the creative inspirations behind her ...

For Meaghan, stepping into the title role of Iolanthe with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston is more than just a chance to don wings and enchant an audience—it’s a full-circle moment years in the making. After a pandemic-canceled debut in the same role, this production offers both pers...

So I started as a dancer. At age eleven, my sister was taking classes, and she came home and was showing me moves and stuff from her solo because she was a competitive dancer, and I started picking all that stuff up....

So the challenge with this show is, it is not just one location. It's like Miss Marple's cottage. It's a movie studio. It's a dressing room and a soundstage in the filming studio. And then there's this enormous manor called Gossington Hall....