CULTURE SCENE
Theater
Hands on a Hardbody: In this offbeat 2013 Broadway musical, 10 hard-luck Texans try to win a new truck by being the one to hang on to it (with at least one hand) for the longest time. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 3 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday; Theatre Under The Stars at Hobby Center, 800 Bagby; $24$39; 713-558-8887, tuts.com.
The Little Mermaid: Stage adaptation of the Disney animated musical based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale about a mermaid who yearns to become human. 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, through June 29; Theatre Under The Stars at Hobby Center, 800 Bagby; $24$127; 713-558-8887, tuts.com.
Good People: David Lindsay-Abaire’s play takes a sharp, funny look at the class divide. Margie, a hard-luck South Boston woman, has a chance encounter with former high school flame Mike — who has escaped the neighborhood and become a successful doctor — and begins to think exploiting a shared secret from their past might be the key to turning her life around. 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Sundays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, through June 29; Alley Theatre, 615 Texas; $26-$75; 713-2205700, alleytheatre.org.
Xanadu: Campy stage adaptation of the 1980 cult roller-disco movie musical. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, through June 29; Stages Repertory Theatre, 3201 Allen Parkway; $21-$64; 713527-0123, stagestheatre.com.
I Wish You Love: Jukebox biomusical, with script by Dominic Taylor, offers an intimate portrait of famed singer Nat “King” Cole. Previews at 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 Wednesday, opens at 7:30 p.m. June 26; then, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, through July 27; Ensemble Theatre, 3535 Main; $19-$44; 713-520-0055, ensemblehouston.com.
High Standards: Musical revue celebrates the Great American Songbook with standards by Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin and others. 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, through July 26; also, 2 p.m. July 13 and 20; Music Box Theatre, 2623 Colquitt; $35-$45; 713-5227722, musicboxmusicals.com.
Shakespeare in Hollywood: Ken Ludwig’s comedy imagines magical meddling behind the scenes of Hollywood’s 1935 movie of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; Theatre Southwest, 8944A Clarkcrest; $17; 713-6619505, theatresouthwest.org.
Steel Magnolias: Robert Harling’s comedy about Southern good old gals who gather in the local beauty parlor to support each other through life’s joys and sorrows. 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, through June 29; Pasadena Little Theatre, 4318 Allen Genoa; $14; 713-941-1758, pasadenalittletheatre.org.
Dance
The Normal Corporation: Suchu Dance Company performs Jennifer Wood’s new dance inspired by the “normcore” fashion trend. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Monday and June 27-28; 3480 Ella; $17-$20; 832-377-8248, suchudance.org.
Classical
Houston Symphony: The orchestra returns to Miller Outdoor Theatre for its annual concerts. Conductor Vladimir Kulenovic conducts works by Richard Strauss, Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, and Georges Enescu, and violinist Xiang Yu solos in Max Bruch’s Concerto No. 1; 8:30 p.m. Friday. Robert Franz conducts works by William Grant Still and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, with pianist Martina Filjak featured in Tchaikovsky’s Concert No. 1; 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Miller Outdoor Theatre, 6000 Hermann Park Drive; 281-3733386, milleroutdoortheatre. com. FREE
Texas Music Festival: Conductor Daniel Hege leads the festival orchestra in Carl Nielsen’s “Inextinguishable” Symphony, Benjamin Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem and Béla Bartók’s “Miraculous Mandarin” Suite; 7:30 p.m. Saturday; Moores Opera House, University of Houston. Perspectives Series chambermusic concert featuring faculty members in works by Cesar Franck, Sergei Prokofiev and György Ligeti; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; Fine Arts Building, University of Houston. $15; 713743-3313, uh.edu. Animalia: A Children’s
Recital: Members of the Mercury chamber orchestra demonstrate how musical instruments can mimic animal sounds in a performance tied in with Rienzi’s Family Art Workshop Series. 2 p.m. Sunday; Rienzi, 1406 Kirby; 713-639-7800, mfah.org. FREE
Opera
Lone Star Lyric: “American Shorts: Summer-Sized Opera” includes one-act operas by Samuel Barber, Jake Heggie and others; 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday. “LSL Follies” is a spoof of Broadway’s biggest hits; 5 p.m. Sunday. Ovations, 2536 Times; $25; 917-414-9577, lonestarlyric.org.
La Rondine: Giacomo Puccini’s story of a Parisian romance that’s overshadowed by the woman’s fear that she couldn’t be a respectable wife for the man she loves returns in an encore by New York’s Metropolitan Opera. 7 p.m. Wednesday; Marq*E Stadium 22, 7620 Katy Freeway; Memorial City Mall, 310 Memorial City Way; Cinemark 18 Webster, 20915 I-45 S., Webster; Towne Center, 21440 Kuykendahl, Spring; Cinemark at Market Street, 9595 Six Pines, The Woodlands; $12.50; fathomevents.com.
Art museums
Alliance Gallery: “1511-2014,” prints from the Old Masters to contemporary, through June 27; Houston Arts Alliance, 3201 Allen Parkway; 713-527-9330, houstonartsalliance.com.
FREE Art Car Museum: “Kindred Spirit,” works about heritage and spirituality by more than 30 Texas artists; opens 7 p.m. Saturday, through Oct. 26; 140 Heights; 713-861-5526, artcarmuseum.com. FREE
Art League Houston: Rosine Kouamen’s “Aujourd’hui, Causons Avec Nos Aieux: Intimate and Foreign,” Peter Lucas’ “Jump Cut” and Jo Ann Fleischhauer’s “Sexual
Selection,” opens 6 p.m. Friday, through July 26; 1953 Montrose; 713-523-9530, artleaguehouston.org.
Asia Society Texas Center: “Transcendent Deities of India,” works by the Raja Ravi Varma Press, Manjari Sharma and Abhishek Singh, through Sept. 14; $5; 1370 Southmore; 713-496-9901, asiasociety.org/ texas.
Blaffer Art Museum: “Francesca DiMattio: Housewares,” painting and sculpture; and “Candice Breitz: The Woods,” video installation, through Aug. 30; 120 Fine Arts Building, University of Houston, 4800 Calhoun; 713-743-9521, blafferartmuseum.org. FREE Contemporary Arts Museum
Houston: “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Skin and Bones,” through Aug. 3; 5216 Montrose; 713-284-8250, camh.org. FREE
Galveston Arts Center: “Ron Adams, Master Printer” and “Luis Jimenez: Selected Prints,” through July 6; 2501 Market, Galveston; 409-763-2403, galvestonartscenter.org. FREE
Galveston Artist Residency:
“2013-2014 Artists in Residence: John Hodany, Autumn Knight and Joe Joe Orangias,” through July 26; 2521 Ships Mechanic Row, Galveston; 409-974-4446, galvestonartistresidency.org.
Heritage Society: “Following General Sam Houston, 17931863,” prints by Bernhardt Wall, through Aug. 2; 1100 Bagby, 713-655-1912, heritagesociety. org. FREE
Holocaust Museum Houston: “The Rescuers: Picturing Moral Courage,” through Aug. 31; 5407 Caroline; 713-942-8000, hmh. org. FREE
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft: “La Frontera” and “Sandie Zilker,” through Sept. 7; “Taking Shape: Celebrating the Windgate Fellowship,” through Aug. 30; 4848 Main; 713-529-4848, crafthouston.org. FREE Houston Center for Photography: Robin Myers’ “Unknown Constellation,” Keliy Anderson-Staley’s “On a Wet Bough: Contemporary Tintype Prints,” “Collaborations: Deceiving Reality” and “Photolucida Presents: How One Thing Leads to Another,” through July 6; 1441 W. Alabama; 713-529-4755, hcponline.org. FREE
MECA: “Bernardo Diaz: Writing on the Wall,” through July 11; 1900 Kane; 713-802-9370, meca-houston.org. FREE
Menil Collection: “A Thin Wall of Air: Charles James,” through Sept. 7; “Memories of a Voyage,” through July 13; 1533 Sul Ross; 713-525-9400, menil.
org. FREE Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston: “Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English Country House” opens Sunday, through Sept. 21; “Charles Marville: Photographer of Paris,” through Sept. 14; “Soto: The Houston Penetrable,” through Sept. 1; “Alexander Archipenko: The Berlin Drawings,” through Aug. 17; $7.50-$15; 5601 Main; 713639-7300, mfah.org.
O’Kane Gallery: “A Narrative of Light and Shadow,” photos by Taiwanese women artists, through Thursday; University of Houston Downtown, 1 Main; 713-221-8043. FREE
Project RowHouses: “Monuments: Right Beyond the Site,” by Otabenga Jones and Associates, through Sunday; 2505-2517 Holman; 713-5266772, projectrowhouses.org.
FREE
Printing Museum: “The Artist’s Eye: Three Houston Artists Collect Prints,” through Sept. 6; 1324 W. Clay; 713-5224652, printingmuseum.org. FREE Station Museum of Contemporary Art: “Collective Reaction,” works by Democracia, Adel Abidin, Hito Steyerl, Prince Varughese Thomas, Mohammed Al- Shammarey and Maura Sheehan, through Aug. 17; 1502 Alabama; 713-529-6900, stationmuseum.com. FREE
Rice Gallery: “Crossing the Farther Shore,” by Dinh Q. Le, through Aug. 28; 6100 Main; 713-348-6069, ricegallery.org.
FREE
University Museum: “Playing by Dragon Rules,” works by Abidemi Owolonira and Gregory Michael Carter, through July 13; 3100 Cleburne, Texas Southern University; 713-3131164; umusetsu.org.
Galleries
Alongside: Group exhibition of works in various media, through July 3: Barbara Davis Gallery, 4411 Montrose; 713-520-9200, barbaradavisgallery.com.
AndrewMasullo: New paintings, opens Thursday, through July 26; Texas Gallery, 2012 Peden; 713-524-1593, texgal.com.
Black and White: Group show of reductive and conceptbased art, through June 28; Gallery Sonja Roesch, 2309 Caroline; 713-659-5424, gallerysonjaroesch.com.
Nancy Ellison: “Altered Egos,” through Aug. 29; Decorative Center Houston, 5120 Woodway, Suite 107; 713-961-9292, decorativecenter.com.
Embrace the Masses: Prints by Jim Dine, James Rosenquist, Rufino Tamayo and Andy Warhol, opens 6 p.m. Thursday, through July 12; the Mission, 4411 Montrose; 713-874-1182, themissionprojects.com.
Erased: Works by Nicole Charbonnet and Rosemary Barile, through July 5; Laura Rathe Fine Art, 2707 Colquitt; 713-527-7700, laurarathe.com.
Don Glentzer: “Divide,” through July 5; DesignWorks Gallery, 2119A Postoffice, Galveston; 409-766-7599.
Jay Giroux: Chopped and Screwed,” though June 28; Devin Borden Gallery, 3917 Main; 713529-2700, devinborden.com.
Chrys Grummert: “Linear Layers,” through June 29; G Gallery, 301 E. 11th; 713-8224842, ggalleryhouston.com.
Ink and Image: Group show of prints, through July 10; Archway Gallery, 2305 Dunlavy, 713-5222409, archwaygallery.com.
Knowledge Keepers: “Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art,” through July 9; Allen Center, 500 Dallas; artsbrookfield.com/houston.
Next 2014: PrintMatters’ juried biennial of contemporary prints, through July 5; Nicole Longnecker Gallery, 2625 Colquitt; 713-591-4997, longneckergallery.com.
Shaun O’Dell: “Mourning Air,” through July 3; Inman Gallery, 3901 Main; 713-526-7800, inmangallery.com.
Origins: Cerling and Prints Marco by Penny Villegas, through June 28; Zoya Tommy Contemporary, 4411 Montrose; 713-523-7424, zoyatommy.com.
Print Perspectives: Prints by gallery artists, through Aug. 16; Hooks-Epstein Galleries, 2631 Colquitt; 713-522-0718, www. hooksepsteingalleries.com.
Moe Profane: “Nihilism and ’Nanner Puddin,” through June 29; Redbud Gallery, 303 E. 11th; 713-854-4246, redbudgallery. com.
Bob Schneider: “We Invented Love,” through June 28; D.M. Allison Art, 2709 Colquitt; 832607-4378, dma-art.com.
Francisco Sobrino: “Structure & Transformation,” and Antonio Asis: “Geometria Libre,” through July 3; Sicardi Gallery, 1506 W. Alabama; 713-529-1313, sicardigallery.com.
Starting Gate: Group show of prints by internationally known and up-and-coming artists, through June 26; the Mariago Collective, 1707 Waugh; 832-997-6102, themariagotcollective.com.
Steamrolled IV: “Balance,” PrintMatters’ fourth annual juried exhibition of oversize woodcuts from Rockin’ Rollin’ Prints, through June 29; Gallery MSquared, 339 W. 19th; 713861-6070, gallerymsquared. com.
Suga: Experimental and traditional prints by Rabéa Ballin, Delita Martin, Ann Johnson and Lovie Olivia, through July 19; BlueOrange Contemporary, 1208 Gray; 713527-0030, blueorangehouston. com.
Summer Thrills: “From Cassatt to Hofmann to Collins,” through June 21; Meredith Long and Company, 2323 San Felipe; 713523-6671, meredithlonggallery. com.
The Works Texas by contemporary Aesthetic VII: Texas regionalists, William Reaves through Fine Art, July 2313 12; Brun; 713-521-7500, reavesart. com.
Tidal Mosaics: Botanical and zoological prints by Jill Parisi, through July 3; McMurtrey Gallery, 3508 Lake; 713-5238238, mcmurtreygallery.com.
Tradition and Translation: Works by Mari Omori and Masaru Takiguchi, through July 30; Arts Brookfield, Total Plaza, 1201 Louisiana; 713-336-2280, artsbrookfield.com.
Truth and Consequences: Works by Samantha Parker Salazar, Daryl Vocat and Raluca Iancu, through July 3; Anya Tish Gallery, 4411 Montrose; 713-5242299, anyatishgallery.com.
Cy Twombly: “Prints,” through July 26; and “Will Henry: Picture Plein,” through June 28; Hiram Butler Gallery, 4520 Blossom; 713-863-7097, hirambutler.com.
Jerry Uelsmann: “Untitled,” retrospective of images by a master of pre-Photoshop manipulation, through Aug. 31; Catherine Couturier Gallery, 2635 Colquitt, 713-524-5070, catherinecouturier.com.
Liz Ward: “Drawings for ‘Unchopping a Tree’ by W.S. Merwin,” through July 5; Moody Gallery, 2815 Colquitt, 713-5299911, moodygallery.com.