HOUSTON THEATER REVIEWS

During the month of June, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) in conjunction with Asia Society Texas produced and premiered a fantastic and newly commissioned opera New Arrivals, featuring a libretto by Catherine Filloux and music by John Glover. As a whole, New Arrivals is a sensational new opera that will h...

Three recent graduates from Houston's High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, with a mission to put on genre defying musicals and rarely-performed plays, founded Bit of a Stretch Theatre Co. in 2010. After planting a seed in the Houston Theatre scene with last summer's show, their roots and ...

Jaston Williams, quite possibly Texas' premiere contemporary story teller, hand-selected The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston, Texas, to premiere his latest one-man show Camping With Gasoline. And with full sincerity, I can say that the Galveston audiences are very thankful that he did....

Every summer, as the temperatures in Houston start to break into the low 100s on a daily basis, patriotism and pride in one's country also balloons. Texans, like all Americans, put flags on display and gear up for that grand summer tradition, The Fourth of July. In Houston, Main Street Theater is he...

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Houston's Theatre Under the Stars' production of the two time Tony award winning musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas reminds Houston audiences why it has always been said that the stars shine big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas. This production, full of big hair, is filled with even b...

Houston's Society for the Performing Arts presentation of the three time Tony award winning musical FELA! is a high-energy, powerhouse of a show. Its structure is reminiscent of the Kander & Ebb classic, Cabaret, yet as Fela himself says in the show, this is purely "original no artificiality!"...

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Overall, Stages Repertory Theatre does a great job with their production of Next to Normal. This is a must see production of a must see show....

The Beams are Creaking is a dramatic representation of the tumultuous life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a man who became a Christian martyr of Nazi resistance because of his unyielding faith. Bonhoeffer is a German pastor who tried to assassinate Hitler, but is ultimately a more complex character than on...

The iconic Wortham Theater Center is celebrating its twenty-fifth birthday this month. This building serves as a monument to Houston's long-standing desire to encourage and support the arts, as the $66 million dollars raised to build the center that celebrates performing arts came entirely from 3500...

Wishful Drinking is a must see show, and the best part about this show is Carrie Fisher herself. She is brutally honest and affecting....

Since I'm not a fan of gospel or R&B, I settled into my seat at the Hobby Center last night uncertain how the next few hours were going to appeal to me. However, I left the theatre completely blown away with an uplifted spirit. The National Tour of MEMPHIS: A NEW MUSICAL shines with a deeply tale...

Houston's Theatre Under the Stars' (TUTS) season opens with an uninspiring production of Guys and Dolls plagued by lackluster performances by two of the show's leads. However, gorgeous male harmonies and a brilliant performance by Jennifer Cody as Miss Adelaide elevate the production....

The 80's rockers had the audience in the palms of their hands during the national tour of Rock of Ages which closes out the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) season at the Hobby Center. With several audience members dressed in their best rocker garb, the majority seemed to be reliving glory days of th...

The unmatched quality of Cirque du Soleil returns to Houston with OVO. Remarkable circus acts combine with an imaginative world of insects to form an unparalleled abstract elegance. Presented under an intimate, blue and gold big top at the Sam Houston Race Park (a.k.a. the 'Grand Chapiteau'), OVO ...

In the second act the protagonist, Billy, describes dancing as "a burning deep inside, something bursting me wide open, impossible to hide…like electricity." What a wonderful way to also describe the masterpiece that is Billy Elliot: Electric....

The Jets and the Sharks have taken their turf war to the stage of Houston's Hobby Center in the US National Tour of the 2009 Broadway Revival version of West Side Story. West Side Story is a remarkable collaboration of two theatre geniuses: Leonard Bernstein who composed the score and Stephen Sondh...

Your heart will grow three sizes with the spirit of Christmas as the Grinch steals your imagination in this fanciful, musical adaption of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The pages of the beloved children's tale come to life immersing the audience into the world of Whoville and the magic of Dr. Seus...

9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL is a quirky tale of revenge secured through feminist strength with a superb, toe-tapping score by Dolly Parton. After seeing 9 to 5 for myself, I do not understand why the show only lasted only a little more than four months on Broadway. Sure, it was never going to be a Broadwa...

The magic of the "Shrek" movies is phenomenally captured in this thrilling theatrical experience which will delight children and adults alike. The brilliance of Shrek the Musical is creative staging with a constant flow of original techniques bring Shrek and his fairy-tale friends to the stage. Ov...

'You can't stop the beat', the laughs, nor the energy of Theatre Under the Stars' (TUTS) production of Hairspray now playing at the Houston Hobby Center. With one punch line after another, Hairspray is a show about big dreams, big hair and not being afraid to be yourself....

I've been waiting years to see Wicked. Numerous times I've just missed the national tour as I moved from city to city and there were some unfortunately timed vacations along the way. For years friends and family have been telling me how much I have to see this show and the Original Cast Recording ...

Who knew menopause could be fun? 'Menopause' certainly isn't an obvious topic for a musical, but Menopause The Musical writer/producer Jeanie Linders has stumbled upon a bold and surprising recipe for success: stage an honest, upfront presentation of a socially taboo topic through clever parodie...

In classic Mel Brooks fashion, the continuous surge of gags and innuendos of Young Frankenstein are sure to keep audiences rolling throughout the musical's two-week run at the Hobby Center. From the first lightning bolt during the overture, to the last growl of the Monster, the production is a capt...