A Houston Original — Houston Ballet dances to Stanton Welch’s ‘Marie’
by Nancy Wozny
After putting his stamp on classics such as Cinderella and Swan Lake, Houston Ballet artistic director and Australian wunderkind Stanton Welch crafts his first full-length original ballet, Marie, based on Marie Antoinette’s equally tragic and glamorous life. After trenchant research, Welch asserts choreographic imagination and goes full-throttle into a lavish, heartfelt production. “I was intrigued by how the facts contradict the rumors,” Welch says. “She goes from being a party girl to a wife, then mother, and finally to a dignified, yet tragic, death.” Welch thinks that much of Marie’s life relates to today’s women. Marie courses through history in three acts, revealing a life worth examining. With Dmitri Shostakovich’s music, Kandis Cook’s elaborate period sets and costumes, and Houston Ballet’s cast of extraordinary dancer/actors, Marie will raise story-ballets to new heights.
Marie
7:30 p.m., Feb. 26, 28, and March 6, 7, 2009 2 p.m., March 1, 8, 2009
Wortham Center, 501 Texas Ave. (713) 227-2787.
The Theater District
Theater
Founded in 1947, the Alley Theatre shines as one of the nation’s most highly regarded regional theaters. Headed up by Gregory Boyd, it produces classics as well as plays by up-and-coming playwrights in its two-stage complex at 615 Texas Ave., (713) 220-5700.
Opera
With opera impresario Anthony Freud at the helm, Houston Grand Opera treats audiences to a season of classic and contemporary operas in grand style. Expect extraordinary productions and collaborations with world-renowned designers at Wortham Center, 510 Preston St., (713) 546-0248.
Classical & Chamber Music
Sarah Rothenberg, artistic director at Da Camera of Houston, creates musical events for thinking audiences. Programs often combine literature and music to give music historical and cultural context. Performances are held at Wortham Center, 501 Texas Ave., and The Menil Collection, 1515 Sul Ross. (713) 524-5050.
The Houston Symphony, under the direction of Maestro Hans Graf, offers programs for classical music lovers as well as pops concerts to appeal to diverse tastes at Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana St., (713) 224-7575.
Dance
Dominic Walsh Dance Theater dares to present innovative, thought-provoking contemporary ballet, featuring both current and iconic choreographers from Houston and abroad. Led by former Houston Ballet principal dancer Dominic Walsh, DWDT also tours nationally and internationally. Performances are often held at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Bagby St., Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 652-3938 (See also Houston Ballet, above.)
A Bit of Everything
Whether it’s “family fun” or a hot new dance company, Society for the Performing Arts offers great shows that range from traditional to experimental, including international groups. Events take place at Wortham Center, 501 Texas Ave., Houston, TX 77002, (713) 237-1439 and Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 227-4SPA.
Broadway Musicals
Theater Under The Stars has a long history of presenting top-notch musicals, from Broadway to newly produced shows. (713) 558-TUTS. Similarly, Broadway In Houston presents touring productions of the latest Broadway blockbusters, (713) 629-3700. Both groups perform at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Bagby St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 652-3938.
Also Worth Seeing
Founded in 1976 by the late George Hawkins, Ensemble Theatre — one of the nation’s most renowned African-American troupes — presents classic and emerging playwrights in Midtown. (713) 520-0055.
Main Street Theater founder Rebecca Greene Udden selects challenging plays and musicals for this intimate venue in Rice Village. Its larger children’s theater is at Chelsea Market in the Montrose area. (713) 524-6706.
Mercury Baroque explores 17th and 18th century music using period gut-stringed instruments — baroque as it was intended. (713) 533-0080.
If you love opera but prefer casual settings, Opera in the Heights stages traditional operas with English subtitles in an intimate setting at an affordable price. (713) 861-5303.
Stages Repertory Theatre spotlights Off-Broadway and rarely seen musicals. Kenn McLaughlin, producing artistic director, stages daring regional premieres with talented casts. (713) 527-0123.
