Houston, TX

The Alley Theatre is now playing Doubt, a Parable by John Patrick Shanley, and the winner of last season’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. Directed by James Black, it began playing on the Hubbard Stage on August 31 and runs through September 23, 2007. Set in 1964 in a Catholic school, the play centers on a nun’s suspicions of the actions of a priest towards a young scholarship student. Her suspicions are not the main question of the play; instead, the focus is on moral ambiguity—what she ought to do about her suspicions: voice them? Or remain silent? Protect the students, regardless, and with no proof, at the possible expense of an innocent man? Or not?

The play leaves the question in the hands of the audience.

What do you think your answer would be?

Doubt: A Parable, John Patrick Shanley

MUSIC

Summer Storm with Norman Brown, Peabo Bryson, Marion Meadows & More
Verizon Theater
www.verizonwirelesstheater.com
8/17/2007 only! 8:00 p.m.
Verizon Wireless Theater, 520 Texas in Bayou Place
713.230.1600

Women in Jazz: A Salute to Sarah Vaughan (featuring song stylists Kamil and Mickie Moseley and saxophonist Theressa Grayson)
www.milleroutdoortheatre.com
8/17/2007 only! 7:30 p.m.
Miller Theater, In Hermann Park, 100 Concert Drive
281.FREE.FUN

MUSEUM EVENTS

Mixers, Elixirs and IMAX Summer Social Series
www.hmns.org
Every Friday night until August 24, 7:00-10:00 p.m.
Museum of Natural Science, 1 Hermann Circle Drive
713.639.IMAX

Andy Warhol: Three Houston Women (Jermayne MacAgy, Dominique de Menil, and Caroline Wiess Law)
www.menil.org
Through 8/26/2007
Menil Collection, 1515 Sul Ross
713.525.9400

Frogs: A Chorus of Colors (through 9/3/2007)
and
Of Gold and Grass: Nomads of Kazakhstan (through 9/9/2007)
www.hmns.org
Museum of Natural Science, 1 Hermann Circle Drive
713.639.IMAX

Current exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts
www.mfah.org

CONVENTIONS

Annual Houston Home Show - Fall 2007
www.texashomeandgarden.com
8/17/2007 through 8/19/2007
Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de las Americas
713.529.1616

PERFORMING ARTS

Tuna Does Vegas starring Jaston Williams and Joe Sears
www.thegrand.com
TUE to FRI at 8:00 p.m., SAT at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m., and SUN at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. through 8/26/2007
2020 Postoffice Street, in Galveston
800.821.1894

It’s How You Play the Game: Professional Sports in Houston
www.heritagesociety.org
Through 9/23/2007
Heritage Society, Downtown, 1100 Bagby @ Allen Parkway
713.655.1912

Late Nite Catechism
www.stagestheatre.com
Through 9/30/2007
Stages Theatre, 3201 Allen Parkway
713.527.0123

FOR MORE EVENTS, CHECK OUT

Unique Urban Outings—a list of fun and exciting events for singles, couples and families by Joshua Hinsdale, Houston Editor

Best Live Music Venues

Zvents

Have fun this weekend, Houston!

arts, entertainment, theater, live music, performances, fun, fun in Houston, Houston events, Houston live music, Houston performances, Houston events

Each year the city of Pasadena—Southeast Houston area—hosts an awards picnic to celebrate community building and spirit. With hundreds of attendees enjoying the many activities, the Pasadena fairgrounds were packed with happy people on August 11, 2007 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In the air-conditioned Campbell Hall, attendees enjoyed life-sized chess, hot dog and watermelon eating contests, an appearance by SpiderMan, dance contest, and excellent buffet lines with choices among barbecue, catfish, and kids’ favorites. Kids and adults alike also enjoyed making wax hands and getting their faces painted. Clowns made fun-shaped balloons, as well. The Rodeo arena featured a four way super trampoline, multiple bouncy houses, a super slide and an Orbitron.

The free event for Pasadena residents also awarded Pasadena neighbors and neighborhoods for outstanding community service. The City of Pasadena’s Neighborhood Network Division (a part of the Pasadena Police Department) assists citizens in forming neighborhood or homeowners organizations as well as in helping current organizations to continue to improve the quality of life within their neighborhoods. The program also offers residents of Pasadena grant money for community improvements.

The program explains why it exists to support residents

The goal of the Neighborhood Network Division is to empower the citizens of Pasadena through funding initiatives, education, recreation and social events to work with their neighbors to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods. A well organized neighborhood or homeowners association can work with the residents within their neighborhood to address such issues as crime, social activities, recreation, land use issues, deed restriction compliance, code enforcement, landscaping and beautification, emergency preparedness and civic leadership, just to name a few.”

To learn more about the Neighborhood Network Division or how to create a neighborhood organization, contact Karen Hollon, Program Manager (pictured above) by telephone 713-477-2695 or email khollon@ci.pasadena.tx.us.

Community building is an important part of the Houston-area spirit. Bringing together residents and supporting resident efforts to improve quality of life is a crucial civic duty.

What activities, events, or programs does your community offer?

community, community spirit, community building, Pasadena+Texas, Neighborhood Network

As you expect here in Houston—where there’s always something fun for every interest and age group—there’s a lot of exciting events this weekend!

Now…for the great things to do. This is by no means everything, but it’s a few things that begin this weekend, are ending this weekend or soon, or are hot right now. If you know of any good events, please leave a comment with the information.

Check back later for a guide to the best burger joints around Houston!

Visual Arts Events

Buffalo Soldiers—Starts 8/11 at Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
1834 Southmore Blvd
Houston, TX 77004-5947
Phone: (713) 942-8920
Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm
Take a trip back in time and learn about the brave Buffalo Soldiers—an African-American troop formed in 1866 by the U.S. Army—through artifacts, videos, prints and other pieces of history.

Current Exhibits at Museum of Fine Arts Houston
1001 Bissonnet
Houston, TX 77005
Phone: (713) 639-7300
Hours: Tue-Wed 10am-5pm, Thu 10am-9pm, Fri-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 12:15pm-7pm

Catch these soon because they end soon!

The Great Wall of China: Photographs by Chen Changfen
Through August 12, 2007
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building

Building Foundations: Ima Hogg and Bayou Bend in the 1920s
Through August 12, 2007
At the Caroline Wiess Law Building

Brett Weston: Natural Abstractions
Through September 3, 2007
At the Audrey Jones Beck Building

Performing Arts Events

Stargazer’s Guide—Starts 8/11 at Burke Baker Planetarium
One Hermann Circle Dr.
Houston, TX 77030
Phone: (713) 639-4629
Hours: Mon-Fri 12pm-3pm, Sat-Sun 12pm-5pm
The NASA-funded planetarium offers state of the art technology to provide you with an experience almost as real as being in space yourself! Watch real time images from the Hubble Space Telescope and see additional special effects of planets and more.

Romeo & Juliet—Starts 8/11, Ends 8/11 at Miller Theatre, 8:30 p.m.
Miller Theater, In Hermann Park, 100 Concert Drive
Phone: (281) FREEFUN
Web site: www.milleroutdoortheatre.com

Musical Events

Faye Robinson and The Mid City Players—starts 8/11-8/17 at Sammy’s at 2016 Main, includes Funk, Soul & R&B
2016 Main St
Houston, TX 77002
Phone: (713) 751-3101
Cross Street: Gray Street
Specialties: Dance Club, Live Music Venue
Hours: Wed-Sat 8pm-2am

Food and Fun Events

The Main Event—8/11-2/8 at Downtown Main Street, includes Community, Food & Wine
Come enjoy this car-free area of downtown. Sample food, wine, enjoy art and crafts sold by artisans, and listen to the strolling musicians.

Coming events!

Diva Row—Starts 8/13-2/11 at The Magnolia Hotel, includes Jazz and Blues music

Grady Gaines—Starts 8/15-2/6 at Sammy’s at 2016 Main, includes Funk, Soul & R&B

The Amazing Astronomers of Ancient Rome—Starts 8/16 at Burke Baker Planetarium

Rock the Dock—Starts 8/16-8/30 at Kemah Boardwalk, includes Funk, Soul & R&B

Fried Ice Cream—Starts 8/24 at Sammy’s at 2016 Main, includes Funk, Soul & R&B

Starry Night Express—Starts 9/1-9/2 at Burke Baker Planetarium

Texas Renaissance Festival—Starts 10/6

For more events: City of Houston

Houston, events in Houston, Houston events, Houston fun, what to do in Houston

There are a couple interesting news stories right now, but I wanted to do something a little different today. I thought about an event post, but instead of that, I’ll point you to a couple of the best online resources for arts and events in Houston.

• Spacetaker: Spacetaker is great for gallery openings, plays, and a lot of free festivals and classes. It’s not quite as comprehensive as some might like, but their mission statement is heartwarming and they’re good at what they do.
• Artshound:A much less exclusive list of events in several categories, including theatre, music, dance, and art. They cover lots of other stuff that doesn’t nicely fall into those categories too.
• JazzHouston: Specific to jazz music, obviously, but I like jazz and it is a very thorough list of regular and special performances all over town.
• Handstamp: A chron.com blog about Houston’s music scene. I’m not too familiar with it, but the other Houston music scene blogs I’ve read have been pretty deficient, so I’d give this one a try.
• Chron.com/entertainment: An aggregate of all different kinds of things going on in all different kinds of places. You can come up with hundreds of things to do all over the city in one night.

houston, art, events, entertainment