It’s National Piña Colada Day, so grab one – or your drink of choice – before heading out to enjoy one of this week’s best bets. We’ve got a couple of timeless classics on local stages, the U.S. debut of an English sleuth, and a French holiday celebrated right here in Houston. Keep reading for these and more events below.
We are a mere 113 days away from Halloween, but if the wait is too much to bear, you can get your temporary horror fix on Friday, July 11, from 7 to 11 p.m. at Hardy & Nance Studios when Insomnia Gallery presents Summer Slashers: One Night Art Tribute to Horror. More than 50 local artists are confirmed to display their work at the annual art show, all of which will pay tribute to all things horror. In addition to the artwork, you can expect horror-themed music, films, a costume contest, food vendors, and free drinks from Eureka Heights Brewing Company, Bad Astronaut Brewery, Equal Parts Brewing, City Orchard, and new sponsor 8th Wonder. The show is free to attend, and all ages are welcome.
If you’re one of those folks anxiously awaiting the next Wicked film, you can get a temporary L. Frank Baum fix on Friday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m. when A.D. Players opens their production of The Wizard of Oz at The George Theater. Jayme McGhan, the executive artistic director of A.D. Players, recently told the Houston Press, “We wanted to have a show in the season that was nostalgic, that had a little bit of magic, that could test our production value and our production team a little bit and stretch our muscles theatrically. It’s a really big cast, a really big crew, really big designs.” Performances will continue at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through August 10. Tickets are available here for $25 to $61.25.
Miss Jane Marple, for the first time since her character appeared in an Agatha Christie short story back in 1927, will appear on a U.S. stage when the Alley Theatre opens the U.S. premiere of The Mirror Crack’d on Friday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m. Speaking to the Houston Press, Susan Koozin, who will play Miss Marple in the production, says that though Miss Marple “appears to be grandmotherly,” what makes her “fascinating is she’s quite often the brightest in the room. I think she’s underestimated; she’s overlooked. And then she ends up being the brilliant guide to these cases.” Performances will continue at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through August 17. Tickets are available and can be purchased here for $50 to $108.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer and father with a strong moral compass, defends a Black man falsely accused of a crime in the Deep South. It’s one of the most famous courtroom dramas of all time, and who better than members of Houston’s legal community – judges, attorneys, law students, and more – to mount a production? That’s exactly what you will find when Cone Man Running Productions opens Christopher Sergel’s adaptation in Studio 101 at Spring Street Studios on Friday, July 11, at 8 p.m. Performances will continue through July 26 at 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, and Thursday, July 24, 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 14, and 3 p.m. Sunday, July 20. Tickets are available here for $15 to $ 50.
Summer Symphony Nights return to Miller Outdoor Theatre.
Photo by Jeff Fitlow
Following their star-spangled performance at Miller Outdoor Theatre last week, Houston Symphony will return on Friday, July 11, at 8:30 p.m. for the first of four Summer Symphony Nights. The first night, under Conductor Gonzalo Farias, will feature one movement from Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, a work so famous it’s “come to represent Classical Music and modern Western Culture in general.” The performance is free, and you can reserve a ticket here starting at 10 a.m. today, Thursday, July 10, or you can plan to sit on the Hill – no ticket required. Summer Symphony Nights will continue at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 12, Friday, July 18, and Saturday, July 19.
Looking for a classic whodunit parody? Well, Main Street Theater will open Patrick Barlow’s adaptation of the John Buchan novel (turned Alfred Hitchcock film), The 39 Steps, on Saturday, July 12, at 7:30 p.m. Chris Szeto-Joe, who will play nine characters in the production, spoke to the Houston Press and attributed the continued popularity of the show – despite its well-known ending – to “the chaos, the humor, the spectacle of getting there,” adding that “the way it satirizes the very popular spy thriller genre just tickles people. It delivers a lot of those same conventions but at the same time, it’s not afraid to laugh at itself.” Additional performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through August 10. Tickets can be purchased here for $45 to $64.
The storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 is an event that is acknowledged as the start of the French Revolution and is celebrated in France with festivities similar to the Fourth of July. If you want a taste of the party right here in Houston, join the celebration during Bastille Day with Alliance Française Houston on Sunday, July 13, from 4 to 9 p.m. DJ Barbara Butch, who performed during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, will headline the evening with a concert, but you can also expect an official ceremony with a flag procession, French food vendors, family-friendly activities, a French market, pétanque competitions, a drone show, and more. Admission to the event is free with prior registration here.
The story of Leo Frank, a Jewish American businessman tried, convicted, and eventually lynched for the murder of a 13-year-old in 1913, will come to the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, courtesy of Broadway at the Hobby Center, on Tuesday, July 15, at 7:30 p.m. as Tony Award-winning musical Parade. Christopher Shyer, who plays the Georgia governor who commutes Frank’s sentence, described the show’s relevance to the Houston Press as “a moral lesson about the importance of standing up for justice and the need to remember the dangers of prejudice and ignorance.” Performances will continue at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday through July 20. You can buy tickets here for $53.25 to $128.