Join us for an evening with singer-songwriter Mohsen Namjoo. Read more

Join South Main Baptist Church for our 2025 South Main Summer Musical, Bye Bye Birdie! When rock-and-roll teen idol Conrad Birdie is drafted into the army, his agent, Albert Peterson, and his agent's secretary, Rose Alvarez, develop a scheme to save their record corporation from going under. In order to do so, Birdie will give a farewell performance on The Ed Sullivan Show and give "one last kiss" to a fan chosen at random. When that fan turns out to be avid Conrad Birdie Fan Club member Kim MacAfee from Sweet Apple, Ohio, Rose, Albert, and Birdie head to Sweet Apple and take the town by storm. Unfortunately, due to a combination of celebrity obsession, jealousy, and a crazy potential mother-in-law, things don't go as planned. Bye Bye Birdie is a thoughtful satire and a joyful comedy for your family!

Bye Bye Birdie is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC. www.concordtheatricals.comRead more

Kinetic Ensemble continues its momentum into its second decade as one of Houston’s most exciting chamber ensembles, with thoughtfully curated, innovative, and artistically excellent performances. At the center of this season-opening concert program is Benjamin Britten’s Double Concerto for Violin and Viola (1932), which features Kinetic founder and Artistic Director Natalie Lin Douglas and core violist Sebastian Stefanovic as soloists.

Sketched by the 18-year-old Britten, who was already a prolific young composer, the Double Concerto captures the composer’s youthful exuberance and affinity toward spotlighting string virtuosity. At the same time, the work contains passages of surprisingly mature and deep expressivity. Never published in his lifetime, Britten’s meticulously detailed sketch was realized by his longtime assistant, Colin Matthews, and only received its premiere performance in 1997, over 20 years after his death. Kinetic will perform a rare string orchestra arrangement of this work.

Accompanying the Double Concerto will be the premiere of a new string arrangement of Unstrung by Rice graduate Alex Berko, which pays homage to the bluegrass traditions of Kentucky, and American composer Libby Larsen’s String Symphony (1999), a lush and expansive work that pays homage to strings and explores the notion of an “American English” musical vernacular.

Our vision for this program as a whole is one that captures the inventiveness, virtuosity, and the expressive capability of the string orchestra as a powerful symphonic body. In Libby Larsen’s own words:

“Strings, the core of the symphony orchestra… seem to express something deeply felt in the soul, something deeply lyrical about being, simply, alive.”Read more

Amargo and Pootz are two bitter crabs living in a shucking bucket. They spend their days talking chit about the crabs that got out, the ones who couldn't take it, and the losers who still live among them. When a new crab arrives filled with hope and change, they are faced with who they once were and their incessant dream of getting the shuck out.

A brilliant satire about the impact of “crab mentality” on oppressed communities whose members work against one another instead of together.Read more

A group of people living on the fringes of society face their personal struggles and chase elusive dreams in Lisa D’Amour’s vibrant, poignant, and darkly comedic dive into the gritty underbelly and vibrancy of New Orleans.

Set in a dilapidated motel off the bustling Airline Highway, a group of misfits has formed their own unconventional family. They come together to honor and celebrate the life of Miss Ruby, a beloved community figure and former exotic dancer, as she nears the end of her life. With a palette of raw honesty and unapologetic humor, the play paints a portrait of those who inhabit the edges of the city’s allure, offering a mix of humor and heart as they navigate life’s complexities, and create a family in the most unexpected and overlooked places.Read more

Drawing inspiration from Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s 1870 novella Venus in Furs, Ives’ provocative and dark play is a comedic exploration of power dynamics, control, and sexuality.

Thomas is a playwright searching for the perfect actress to portray Vanda in his stage adaptation of Venus in Furs. As the evening wears on, a mysterious and unconventional woman, ironically named Vanda, arrives for her audition. Not only is she late, she also appears far from the ideal candidate Thomas had in mind. As the audition unfolds, Vanda’s performance takes an unexpected turn, blurring the lines between the script and reality. Through their interactions, the boundaries between the characters and the actors collapse, forcing both Thomas and Vanda to confront the complexities of their desires and the darker sides of human nature.Read more

An elephant named Gerald and a pig named Piggie are best, best, “bestus” friends. Get ready for a musical experience, ripped from the pages of Mo Willems’ beloved, award-winning, best-selling children’s books, that will leave you doing the “Flippy Floppy Floory” dance!Read more

Nominated for best play for the 2022 Tony Awards, The Minutes is a biting political satire infused with dark humor, offering a sharp, humorous, and timely critique of power dynamics, political corruption, and the manipulation of history.

Set during a council meeting in the small, fictional town of Big Cherry, a group of local politicians and officials convenes to address seemingly routine, mundane matters. As the meeting unfolds, however, unexpected and unsettling truths about the town’s past and the people in charge begin to surface. With Pulitzer Prize-winning Letts’ signature mix of sharp humor and mounting tension, The Minutes delivers an urgent and engaging reflection on how even the smallest political systems reflect and influence larger power structures.Read more

Embark on a journey across galaxies with the world premiere of Rondo on Space and Time, an original commissioned work by Trio Oriens. This immersive performance features a dynamic new composition by renowned composer Todd Frazier, paired with stunning visual projections by acclaimed visual artist Mark Chen.

Rondo on Space and Time invites audiences on a voyage through the cosmos aboard musically propelled ships—an imaginative fusion of sound and imagery that blurs the line between concert and cinematic experience.

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Obsession is an immersive show with dance, installations and original music produced by composer and artistic director Angela Wang. Obsession explores the stories of four artists chasing after their dreams and goals (obsessions). Joy Crissmon, Dawn Dippel, Lindsey McGill, and Dwain Travis each choreographed a different story-line for this performance. The show will include the original music, installations and costumes designed by Angela Wang, also include a video projection of a live orchestra recorded at the previous show in Taipei in October 2024, along with the live music performances by Angela Wang (voice/keys) and Lindsey McGill (keys), and lighting design by Tiffany Schrepferman.Read more