The 23/24 Season is full of cultural icons, artistic milestones, and brilliant debuts. It also arrives with a major event. Jones Hall, our home, will have new seats for the first time in 27 years.
From your seat in any of our theaters, join us for a season of arts infused with joy and celebration.
Meg Booth President & CEO
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Khalia Campbell
September 16–17, 2023
Saturday 7:30 pm • Sunday 2 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
Down the rabbit hole we go. Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, choreographer Moses Pendleton’s newest work explores Alice’s adventures with the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit, and more. Having enchanted audiences for over 40 years, internationally renowned dance company MOMIX blends startling creativity and mindbending visual illusions to reveal nothing is as it seems.
“MOMIX’s Alice fills the stage with a marvelously dizzying flow of physical activities and illusions amid expansive, artful projections.” The Wall Street Journal
PART OF THE TUDOR FAMILY DANCE SERIES
Join us Saturday evening for the 23/24 Season Opening Night Party! For an additional $100, get a closer look at Alice’s Wonderland with the cast of MOMIX on stage after the performance. Proceeds support our Education & Community programs. Limited to 75 guests.
Choreography by Moses Pendleton
September 23, 2023
Isaac Mizrahi knows how to work a stage. The actor, host, writer, designer, producer, and Project Runway All-Stars judge delivers acclaimed cabaret performances “determined to challenge the cultural status quo and help blaze a path into a more liberated future where few subjects are offlimits,” (The New York Times). Accompanied by his jazz band, Mizrahi performs songs by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Billie Eilish, Cole Porter, and more. Throughout the evening, he shares insightful (and hilarious) musings on everything of the moment.
“[Mizrahi] is first and foremost a tastemaker who isn’t afraid to be bold—while still displaying a hint of vulnerability.” Vogue
A limited number of VIP Experience tickets are available, including post-show Meet & Greet and individual photo op with Isaac Mizrahi.
October 13, 2023
Friday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
The world has changed, and so has John Waters’ spoken word show. This fast-moving, comic monologue about today’s despair and desires breaks through with an insane optimism, into a new dawn of experience. Waters will mutate your madness into hope, leading you to a joyous delirium ever after.
Recommended ages 17+
A limited number of VIP Experience tickets are available, including postshow audience Q&A, signed book, and individual photo op with John Waters.
October 19, 2023
Thursday 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
With “a stunning voice, a confident multicultural vision grounded in her Mixtec Indian roots” (LA Times), GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY®-winning singer Lila Downs is one of the most influential and representative artists of Mexican music in Latin America. She brings an immersive evening of music to Jones Hall, celebrating Día de los Muertos, Mexico’s Day of the Dead, featuring folklorico dancing, a mariachi band, visual projections, and more.
PART OF THE ADMIRAL TRANSFER MUSIC SERIES
CORPORATE SPONSOR
October 20–21, 2023
Friday 7:30 pm • Saturday 2 pm & 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
Based on the smash hit DreamWorks animated motion picture, Madagascar The Musical follows all your favorite cracka-lackin’ friends (Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the hip hip Hippo, and a colony of hilarious, clever penguins) as they escape from their home in New York’s Central Park Zoo and find themselves on an unexpected journey to the madcap world of King Julien’s Madagascar. Filled with outlandish characters, adventures galore, and an upbeat score, you’ll have no choice but to “Move It, Move It!”
PART OF THE CHIANG FAMILY SERIES
October 22, 2023
Sunday 7 pm
Jones Hall
Howie Mandel makes his Performing Arts
Houston stand-up debut. A constant force in show business for more than 30 years, Mandel is a judge on NBC’s flagship series Got Talent and served as executive director and host of CNBC’s Deal or No Deal Mandel released his first solo special in 20 years, Howie Mandel Presents: Howie Mandel at the Howie Mandel Comedy Club
“We’re honored to present Howie Mandel for the first time. He’s made generations of fans over the decades. He was even the voice of Gizmo in the movie Audiences are in for a night of great laughs.”
Lee Strickland Director of Artistic ProgrammingPerforming Arts Houston
October 27–28, 2023
Friday 7:30 pm
• Saturday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
Inspired by the Stono Rebellion of 1739, Drumfolk explores a little-known event in history that would forever transform African American life and culture. When Africans lost the right to use their drums, the beats found their way into the bodies of the people. New percussive forms took root, leading to new performance traditions, like ring shout, tap, and stepping.
Step Afrika! was founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, a Houstonian with deep roots in the community. His mother founded The Imani School nearly three decades ago. In 2012, Williams’ brothers founded Lucille’s restaurant, continuing a culinary tradition created by their great grandmother almost a century ago.
“Drumfolk has more on its mind than telling a story. It’s above all an expressionist experience, with the enthusiasm and energy to send you soaring.”
The Washington Post
PART OF THE TUDOR FAMILY DANCE SERIES
November 1, 2023
Wednesday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
The Vienna Boys Choir has delighted music lovers across the globe for six centuries. Renowned for their purity of tone, distinctive charm, and diverse repertoire, these gifted musicians with voices of unforgettable beauty are part of four touring choirs that give over 300 concerts a year. The Fort Worth Star Telegram raves, “there’s no more gratifying sound than that of children singing. And there’s no more polished ensemble of children’s voices than the Vienna Boys Choir.”
“Bright, light voices through the centuries.” The New York Times
PART OF THE CHIANG FAMILY SERIES
November 3, 2023
Friday 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
David Sedaris is a Houston favorite, which makes him one of our favorites. One of America’s pre-eminent humor writers, a master of satire and incisive social critique, Sedaris is beloved for his personal essays and short stories. He’s the author of Holidays on Ice, Naked, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, and Calypso. In 2020, the New York Public Library voted Me Talk Pretty One Day one of the 125 most important books of the last 125 years.
“Sedaris’ droll assessment of the mundane and the eccentrics who inhabit the world’s crevices make him one of the greatest humorists writing today.” Chicago Tribune
All ticket holders are invited to a post-show book signing with David Sedaris.
January 19–20, 2024
Friday 7:30 pm • Saturday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
Supporting new multi-genre works by the artists of our city, New/Now is an evening alive with dreams made real—a mixtape of influences, backgrounds, and Houston stories waiting to be heard. Applications will be accepted through May 12, 2023. Awardees will be announced in early fall. More details at performingartshouston.org/newnow.
“I’m proud to show that Houston is another place where the bleeding edge of music is happening, the bleeding edge of art is happening. This isn’t happening in New York. This isn’t happening in LA. It’s happening here.” 22/23 New/Now Artist J.E. Hernández
National Endowment for the Arts
The Powell Foundation
UNDERWRITERS
Made possible in part through the Mattox Fund for New Works.
ARTS FOR ALL
New/Now ticket prices will be offered on a sliding scale, with the costs directly supporting the creation of new works by local artists. This performance is excluded from member discounts.
January 23, 2024
Tuesday 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
Celebrating their 50th Anniversary, Les Ballets
Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the world’s foremost all-male comic ballet company, brings its beloved troupe to Jones Hall for a brilliant combination of skillful pointe work and hilarious parodying of classical ballet favorites, like Swan Lake. Founded in New York City in 1974 and first presented by Performing Arts Houston in 1978, the company affectionately known as “the Trocks” delights audiences worldwide, from ballet aficionados to the uninitiated who don’t know a plié from a jeté.
“Ballet is a completely absurd art—and we love it to pieces: that’s what Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo proclaims with every move.” The New York Times
PART OF THE TUDOR FAMILY DANCE SERIES
February 9, 2024
Friday 7:30 pm
Defying convention and boundaries, Time
For Three stands at the busy intersection of Americana, modern pop, and classical music. Bonded by an uncommon blend of their instruments and voices, Charles Yang (violin, vocals), Nicolas “Nick” Kendall (violin, vocals), and Ranaan Meyer (double bass, vocals) have found a unique voice of expression to share with the world. Their latest album Letters for the Future, recorded with The Philadelphia Orchestra and released on Deutsche Grammophon, won the 2023 GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo.
“In person, the members of Time For Three come off as just three dudes in a band. But with their staggering technique and freewheeling genre-crossing, it’s hard not to be swept up in the force of their contagious energy.” NPR
Inspired by the books of Mo Willems
February 23–24, 2024
Friday 7 pm • Saturday 10 am & 1 pm
Zilkha Hall, The Hobby Center
Leonardo is a terrible monster. He tries so hard to be scary, but he just...isn’t. Then Leonardo finds Sam, the most scaredy-cat kid in the world. Will Leonardo finally get to scare the tuna salad out of someone? Or will it be the start of an unlikely friendship? The plot thickens when this pair meets Kerry and Frankenthaler, an even scaredier-cat and her monster friend. Kerry and Sam need to make a big decision: will they just be scaredy cats or can they become friends?
Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About A Terrible Monster uses hundreds of illustrated paper puppets, book pages, two-dimensional props, furry monster puppets, and songs to bring Mo Willems’ books to life.
“This message of friendship and acceptance comes at the perfect time.” Chicago Tribune
PART OF THE CHIANG FAMILY SERIES
UNDERWRITER
March 7–9, 2024
Thursday 7:30 pm • Friday 7:30 pm • Saturday 2 pm & 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
Robert Battle, Artistic Director
Matthew Rushing, Associate Artistic Director
In its 57-year history, Performing Arts Houston has presented Alvin Ailey’s dance company more than any other artist. Designated “a vital American cultural ambassador to the world” by U.S. Congressional resolution, the company celebrates the uniqueness of the African American cultural experience. Each performance by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater culminates in Ailey’s magnum opus, Revelations.
“In its sixty-year history, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has enjoyed an inspiring ascent from hardscrabble origins to a long, still unchallenged reign as America’s most popular dance company.” The New Yorker
PART OF THE TUDOR FAMILY DANCE SERIES
Photo by Dario Calmese
Houston Debut Recital
First Prize Winner, 18th International Chopin Piano Competition (2021)
April 2, 2024
Tuesday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
Rameau Selections
Chopin Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Op. 2
Ravel Miroirs
Liszt Réminiscences de Don Juan, S. 418
Since winning First Prize at the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Bruce Liu has toured the world. Recent debuts include the stages of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Vienna Konzerthaus, Tokyo Opera City, and Carnegie Hall, with major orchestral engagements with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Photo by Yanzhang
April 12, 2024
Friday 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
Join Cary Elwes (Westley) for a behindthe-scenes look at life on and off the set of the classic film, The Princess Bride. After a screening of the iconic movie, Elwes will engage in a moderated discussion revealing never-before-shared secrets and tales of inconceivable antics! Journey back to the lands of Florin and Guilder in an adventure filled with fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, miracles— and of course, true love.
A limited number of VIP Experience tickets are available, including post-show Meet & Greet with Cary Elwes and a signed copy of Elwes’ bestselling book, As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride.
April 13, 2024
Saturday 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Sam Green (The Weather Underground), in collaboration with Emmy Award®-winning writer and editor Joe Bini (Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, Grizzly Man), takes the stage with the legendary group Kronos Quartet to create a “live documentary” that chronologically unfolds the quartet’s groundbreaking, continent-spanning, multi-decade career. Wildly creative and experimental in form, A Thousand Thoughts is a meditation on music itself—the act of listening closely to music, the experience of feeling music deeply, and the power that music has to change the world. Green will narrate the piece live onstage while the Kronos Quartet performs the score, and a rich blend of archival footage, photos, and interviews with members of the Kronos Quartet—as well as longtime collaborators like Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Terry Riley, Tanya Tagaq, and Steve Reich—unspools on screen.
“As magical an amalgamation as anything you can imagine.” LA Times
April 30, 2024
Tuesday 7:30 pm
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain has stumbled upon international and critical acclaim as hilarious and highly entertaining pluckers. Born of a rejection of convention and a penchant for reinterpretation, their catalogue is a menagerie of rock, pop, jazz, blues, and classical music. Dancing somewhere between sincerity and insanity, punk rock sensibilities and restrained British humor, their career has taken them from Glastonbury Festival to Carnegie Hall.
“The sophisticated sound they make—both percussive and melodic—is at once hilarious and heartfelt.” Financial Times, London
“Wonderfully clever.” David Bowie
BYOU
“Bring Your Own Ukulele” and play along during a special portion of the performance.
Photo by Allison Burke4 th Annual Mariachi Festival
August 18–20, 2023
Brown Theater, Wortham Center
To include performances by:
Mariachi Mariposas
UH Mariachi Pumas
Mariachi 7 Leguas
UTRGV Ballet Folkorico
Nayelli Pe˜na
Mariachi Imperial de America
This August, Performing Arts Houston will partner with Mariachi Festival. Stay tuned for more details on how you can experience this celebration of Hispanic culture.
Presented by
In partnership with
Members enjoy a range of perks, like priority access, discounts, donor-only invitations, and more.
Access & save 10%
• Priority access to the 23/24 Season and artists added during the year.
• 10% savings on 6 tickets per performance (excluding specials & VIP experiences).
• FREE ticket exchanges (just let us know 24 hours in advance).
Support & save up to 25%
All the benefits of Access, plus:
• Waived fees on 6 tickets per performance, saving up to 25% off non-member pricing (excluding specials & VIP experiences).
• Recognition in Encore, the Performing Arts
Houston Magazine.
• Exclusive Performing Arts Houston membership card.
• The more you give, the more you support Performing Arts Houston’s Education and Community Engagement programs, including the upcoming Step Afrika! Education Residency.
• Priority access to the best seats at the best prices.
• Membership contributions are tax deductible, minus fair market value.
• All members get first access to the new seats at Jones Hall.
• Visionary tier members will be the first to experience the revamped Jones Hall Green Room, coming this fall.
Looking for more?
Turn the page to explore full membership tiers and benefits like complimentary valet parking, Green Room reception access, and cast party invitations.
Step Afrika!
October 27–28
Explore all membership levels and benefits below. Membership costs are tax deductible, minus fair market value. Benefits remain active for one year.
Priority access to the 23/24 Season and all added shows
Free ticket exchanges
Save 10% on 6 tickets per performance (excluding specials & VIP experiences)
Waived fees on 6 tickets per performance, saving up to 25% off non-member pricing (excluding specials & VIP experiences)
Save 10% and fees waived on all tickets (excluding specials and VIP experiences)
Recognition in Encore Magazine
Performing Arts Houston Membership Card
Complimentary parking and drink passes (2 of each)
Complimentary valet parking pass (by number of shows offered)
Green Room reception access (by number of shows offered)
Invitation to cast parties (by number of invites, up to four per season)
VIP ticket concierge service with the Director of Artistic Programming
Backstage tour for up to four guests
Opportunity to observe an artist rehearsal once per season
Invitation to Annual Board Holiday Party
Opportunity for underwriter recognition on show of your choice
Two complimentary tickets to the Opening Night reception
Performing Arts Houston Education & Community programs leverage the individual talents of the remarkable artists we present on stage to curate programs for schools and our community that range from master classes and mini performances to Westwood Trust Creative Chats and artist residencies. Education & Community Engagement programs also provide creative opportunities for students and professional artists through New/Now commissions, H-E-B Performance Preludes, the Student Art Contest, and our signature in-school residency program, the Collaborative Arts Project.
The 23/24 Season features a week-long Education Residency with Step Afrika!, student matinee performances with Manual Cinema, and more.
Performing Arts Houston has enriched Houston’s cultural life for over 57 years. In addition to membership, please consider making an additional tax-deductible contribution with your order.
Your tax-deductible donation helps us continue to present the most diverse live arts experiences in Houston as well as education and community programs that go beyond the stage.
For more information, contact Jordan Drum, Director of Development, at jdrum@performingartshouston.org or 713.632.8104.
FUNDED IN PART BY THE CITY OF HOUSTON THROUGH HOUSTON AR TS ALLIANCE
The 23/24 Season is funded in part by the following institutional partners:
The Wortham Foundation, Inc.
The Humphreys Foundation
Houston Endowment, Inc.
The Brown Foundation, Inc.
The Elkins Foundation
The City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance
The Powell Foundation
MD Anderson Foundation
Texas Commission on the Arts
Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
Truist Bank
The Kayser Foundation
George and Mary Joseph Hamman Foundation
Generous support of Performing Arts Houston’s Education and Community Engagement programs is provided by:
H-E-B
Texas Commission on the Arts
Westwood Trust
Lead Education Underwriter
Plains All American Wells Fargo
Access and discounts are active the moment you add a membership to your cart. Already a member? Simply log in to your account.
You’ll receive digital tickets via email when you order. Just prior to the performance, you’ll also receive a link to the Performing Arts Houston Visit site, including Apple Wallet tickets, Google Maps, and FAQs.
Explore parking, dining, and audience experience details at performingartshouston.org/visit.
Be on the lookout for our new photo booth, built by Magbooth (no relation to our President & CEO). At select performances, take fridge-quality photographs to share and take home—the same photo experience guests can enjoy at businesses like Warby Parker in Austin and Kiehl’s in Manhattan.
We believe that the performing arts are for everyone. Recognizing the needs of patrons with different abilities, we work to make our programs accessible to all.
We offer a variety of accommodations at our performances, and all Performing Arts
Houston venues are ADA compliant. For more information, or to request services, please visit our website at performingartshouston.org or call the Box Office at 713.227.4772.
The experience of the hall will change from the moment you enter the building. A new flow to the main lobby will emerge, including improved access to restrooms, expanded facilities, and a new glass elevator.
Beginning November 2023, Visionary tier members will enjoy exclusive access to a revamped Green Room. Explore memberships on pages 32–33 to learn more.
As the multi-year renovation of Jones Hall continues, the project advances major improvements for the 23/24 Season.
For the first time in 27 years, Jones Hall will have over 2,500 new red velvet seats. The auditorium will be remodeled to feature new and expanded aisles and access points.
Jones Hall features Italian travertine stone—possibly from the same quarry used for the construction of the Colosseum in Rome over 2,000 years ago.
In addition to the remarkable changes coming to Jones Hall, audience members will enjoy a new greenspace for the Theater District, Lynn Wyatt Square for the Performing Arts.
Members get priority access, discounts, donor benefits, and more—starting at just $25 per year.
Explore membership levels and benefits on page 30.
MOMIX: Alice
September 16-17, 2023
Saturday 7:30 pm • Sunday 2 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
An Evening with Isaac Mizrahi
September 23, 2023
Saturday 7:30 pm
Zilkha Hall, The Hobby Center
John Waters: End of the World
October 13, 2023
Friday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
Lila Downs: Día de Los Muertos
October 19, 2023
Thursday 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
Madagascar The Musical
October 20-21, 2023
Friday 7:30 pm
Saturday 2 pm & 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
An Evening with Howie Mandel
October 22, 2023
Sunday 7 pm
Jones Hall
Step Afrika! Drumfolk
October 27-28, 2023
Friday 7:30 pm • Saturday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
Vienna Boys Choir
100th Touring Anniversary
November 1, 2023
Wednesday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
David Sedaris
November 3, 2023
Friday 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
New/Now: The Houston Artist Commissioning Project
January 19-20, 2024
Friday 7:30 pm • Saturday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
50th Anniversary Tour
January 23, 2024
Tuesday 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
Time For Three
February 9, 2024
Friday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
Manual Cinema: Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About A Terrible Monster
February 23-24, 2024
Friday 7 pm • Saturday 10 am & 1 pm
Zilkha Hall, The Hobby Center
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
March 7-9, 2024
Thursday 7:30 pm • Friday 7:30 pm
Saturday 2 pm & 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
Bruce Liu, Piano
First Prize Winner, 18th International Chopin Piano Competition (2021)
April 2, 2024
Tuesday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
The Princess Bride: An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes
April 12, 2024
Friday 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
A Thousand Thoughts
A Live Documentary with the Kronos Quartet
50th Anniversary Tour
April 13, 2024
Saturday 7:30 pm
Jones Hall
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
April 30, 2024
Tuesday 7:30 pm
Cullen Theater, Wortham Center