Home for the Holidays

The theater district declares triumph over Harvey, delivering song and dance — despite storm-related setbacks — to warm hearts this season.

IMG_9736-Edit

Perhaps the phrase is overused, especially in these post-Harvey days, but there’s no better way to put it: The show must go on. Performing arts companies across Houston are determined to bring warmth and familiarity to the holidays through beloved productions that have become tradition.


Some organizations were displaced entirely after the flood, and scrambled to find new homes for the season. The Ballet, for example, is relocating its Nutcracker show — the set and costumes, brand-new last year, were kept safe from the flood — from the waterlogged Wortham to Sugar Land’s Smart Financial Centre (Dec. 10-23) and the Hobby Center (Dec. 20-Jan. 6).

Fellow Wortham resident the Houston Grand Opera, which pulled together an impressive production of La Traviata just weeks after Harvey in the George R. Brown, returns to the convention center’s Resilience Theater with its much-anticipated world-premiere production of The House Without a Christmas Tree (Nov. 30-Dec. 17). The heartwarming opera features former HGO Studio artist Lauren Snouffer as young Addie, who brings a Christmas tree into her family’s home against her father’s will, and spotlights the HGO’s children’s chorus.

Alley Theatre dress rehearsal of A Christmas Carol Houston, Tx., on 11-18-15. photos by John Everett

Meanwhile, the Alley plans to be back in its Downtown theater, which took on 10 feet of water thanks to Harvey, for its annual showing of A Christmas Carol (Nov. 24-Dec.30).

And Stages Repertory Theater — which was largely unaffected by the storm, but which offered the use of its facilities to hurricane-displaced performing arts orgs — opens its annual “panto” show, Panto Cinderella, on Nov. 29 (through Dec. 31). The British holiday tradition of panto, short for pantomime, incorporates song, dance, cross-dressing and slapstick. TUTS, in association with Lythgoe Family Panto, also presents a version of Sleeping Beauty and Her Winter Knight at the Hobby Center (Dec. 12-24).

Art+Culture
Top Realtor Beth Wolff Says Her Career Took Off ‘When I Focused on Others’
How did you get where you are today? “Life is what happens while you’re making plans.” After graduating with a BBA from the University of Texas, I married, and was a stay-at-home mom. Divorcing when my children were just four and six, I became their sole supporter, and I chose real estate for the time flexibility and income potential. After four years working for another Broker, I founded my own company with one sales associate and 375 square feet. Little did I imagine this journey. Houston offers amazing opportunities for those who are willing to work hard and persevere! I have watched the city mature with the addition of all the wonderful, talented people from around the country and around the world who have made Houston their home. It was once said that Houston had a “can do, cowboy capitalism attitude.”
Keep Reading Show less

Michelle and Jonathan Zadok (photo by Jacob Power)

WITH A COWBOY theme and terrific country band — think big hats and big hearts, said organizers — the Crime Stoppers gala was a huge hit and moving evening.

Keep Reading Show less

Breanna Blankenship, Nicholas Stuart, Zsavon Butler, Outspoken Bean

SUPPORTERS OF THE Houston Arts Alliance pulled inspiration from global art, fashion and culture for a spectacular gala at the Hobby Center. “The World’s Stage” gala, chaired by Zsavon Butler and Nicholas Stuart, raised $325,000 to benefit the Houston Arts Alliance’s public-art and artist resiliency initiatives.

Keep Reading Show less
Parties