Got math problems? Yes you do. Run the Numbers is a math musical that includes elements of sketch comedy, escape rooms, and game shows.​

As the audience enters the theatre, they learn they are actually guests on a game show also called Run the Numbers, where the host is a bandleader called Ace - Ace Symmetrical - with his band the Algorithms. Ace tells the audience they can choose to experience the game show and musical segments in any order. However, the stakes are high – audience members must answer the game show’s questions correctly in order to succeed at the “escape room” aspect of the piece. 

Run The Numbers is funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The public performance of Run the Numbers as a work in progress is funded by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance. 

Attendees will receive arts integration resources focusing on math, theatre, and visual arts, with the option to receive CPE credit hours for the event. 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 @ 10:00 AM

MATCHBOX 1

RUNTIME:
2 hours with 1 intermission

No Late Seating

TICKETS:
Pay-What-You-Can

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAMS

Crystal Rae is an actress, playwright, producer, and puppeteer. She writes, directs, performs in, and produces the Saving Savant video series, a puppet performance which uses short videos and songs to develop students’ literacy skills. Rae also leads puppetry workshops for incarcerated youth through Brave Little Company, and appeared in BLC’s Missing from the Museum series as the artist Edmonia “Wildfire” Lewis. First produced by On The Verge Theatre in collaboration with Houston's Ensemble Theatre, Rae’s play Tied was named Houston’s Best New Play by the Houston Press in 2023 and received the Black Seed Grant Award. Her work Lil’ Man Saves Christmas was a part of The Ensemble Theatre’s tour-ed roster for 2023-2025. She directed and co-produced Making Elijah, a documentary which centers around the journey of miscarriage and the hope that beckons on the other side. She looks forward to creating films and staged works that combine puppetry, faith, and the African-American experience on stage and screen.

Rodrick Randall is a Houston native and an active artist in Houston theater since 2009. He was the composer and lyricist for Brave Little Company’s Grandpa’s Garden, a musical science and history class taught by characters. He has worked with many Houston companies including The Ensemble Theatre, Main Street Theater, Queensbury Theatre, Catastrophic, and Classical Theatre Company. He is a sought-after performer for new musicals, including Catastrophic’s world premiere Small Ball, produced by Daryl Morey, the General Manager for the NBA Philadelphia 76ers. He started playing guitar in public while attending his late grandfather’s 5th Ward church. He has performed as an actor and guitarist in Civil War Christmas (Regional Premiere - 2013), Pumpboys and Dinettes (2014), Passing Strange (Regional Premiere, Houston Press Best Musical 2017), and Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues (Houston Press Best Cabaret 2017). He holds a BFA from Sam Houston State University (Acting/Directing).

Troy Scheid is a director and educator and the founder of Brave Little Company (BLC), which creates and performs plays about, with, and for kids and their grown-ups. BLC won the 2023 TYA/USA National Award for Artistic Innovation. She is a co-devisor on many BLC projects, including Winter of the Snow Queen (a co-production with Stages), American Myths (a co-production with Driven Theatre Company), Lost Luggage, Grandpa's Garden, Wooden O: A Sensory Shakespeare Adventure, and First Day, Nueva Escuela. Independent work includes numerous world and regional premieres in Houston and at festivals in New York and Chicago. Through BLC, she is the lead facilitator for THE BIG “US” PROJECT, a community-driven performance piece featuring 100 artists from Houston’s refugee communities. She is an associate member of SDC, the union for professional stage directors and choreographers in the United States. Education: Rice University, B.A., History and Medieval Studies; Certificate with Distinction, Leadership Institute for Nonprofit Executives.

Alli Villines is a Houston-based singer, songwriter, performer, and teaching artist. In 2024, Alli released her first solo album, next to quiet: songs for closing your eyes to, a lullaby album based on melodies written while singing to babies in hospitals. Alli’s Houston credits (performance/songwriting) include: Call Me Ann: the Ann Richards Rock Opera (music, lyrics, performance); Rec Room Arts Peter Pan; Horse Head Theatre’s We’re Gonna Die (Houston Press Theatre Awards Winner 2019 - Best Cabaret); The Catastrophic Theatre’s Speeding Motorcycle, Drama Squad and more; framedance’s Family Mantra and more; 4th Wall Theatre’s Gloria (original song “Into the Mist”); Classical Theatre Company’s Peer Gynt; Dinolion’s Lionshare; and Afsaneh Aayani’s Moonlit Princess. She teaches voice and ukulele privately and is a teaching artist with the Arts in Medicine program at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Education: Arizona State University (B. Music) and McNeese State University (M.M.).

Jeffrey R. Villines is a professor and writer based in Houston, TX. As a playwright, he has authored several historical dramas ("The Hated Spy," "Where Loyalties Lie," "The Philipsburg Proclamation") that are still in rotation at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, VA. In 2002, he founded All-Night Theatre, a 10-minute play festival that is now held annually at Ouachita University. As a lyricist, he is a frequent collaborator with his wife, singer-songwriter Alli Villines, and wrote the lyrics to several songs in Call Me Ann: The Ann Richards Rock Opera ("Cocktail Party," "Torture in Our Names," "Molly Moments"). Jeff is also an actor and his Houston credits include Sovereign (The Octarine Accord), and the world premiere of Tooth and Tail (Mildred’s Umbrella). Jeff is on the English faculty at Houston Community College. Education: Ph.D., University of Houston (American Literature); M.A., University of Virginia (English).

PLAN YOUR VISIT TO MATCH

🎟️ BOX OFFICE & TICKETING 

• Online sales end 30 minutes prior to curtain. After this time, tickets may be available in person at the MATCH Box Office. 
• The Box Office opens 2 hours prior to curtain for Will Call and walk-up sales. 
• ALL SALES ARE FINAL. No refunds or cancellations after purchase. 
• For performances with multiple dates, exchanges may be possible. Upgrade fees may apply for some performances.
• Have a discount code and need instructions on how to use it? CLICK HERE.
• Why is there a Box Office Support fee per ticket? CLICK HERE to learn more. 
• **Standby/Waiting List: If the performance that you are hoping to attend is SOLD OUT, please CLICK HERE for information on our Standby/Waiting list.
• PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for this event are available exclusively through the MATCH Box Office. Tickets purchased from any other website or ticket seller claiming to offer tickets for this event are unauthorized and will not be accepted for admission.

⏱️ BEFORE THE SHOW 

• MATCH Concessions opens 1 hour prior to the start of each event. 
• Seating typically opens 30 minutes prior to curtain. 
• 🚗 LOCATION & PARKING
• 🍽️ AREA RESTAURANTS & BARS

♿ ACCESSIBILITY: MATCH is a fully accessible facility. Questions? Click here to email the box office.