June 2008

 As the school year comes to a close and summer officially starts, you will find no shortage of fun activities to keep you and your children occupied this summer.  There are endless summer camps and week-day activities available for children, as well as an array of outdoor activities for the entire family - the Houston Zoo, Miller Outdoor Theater, The Houston Arboretum or Discovery Park.  Don't miss Gershwin's An American in Paris at the Alley, Sweeney Todd at the Hobby Center or the Pompeii exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts.  Central Market will be offering classes for both adults and children this summer and it's a great time to see the Astros at MinuteMaid Park - remember, there are fireworks following the game on Friday evenings.  Rice and University of Houston baseball teams are in play-offs, so don't miss the chance to support your local favorite!  Whatever your interests, there is something for everyone this month in Houston!

Holidays

June 14th:      Flag Day/Army Day

June 15th:      Father’s Day

June 19th:      Juneteenth

Dance/Music/Theatre

 Alley Theatre   (615 Texas Avenue)

Thru – June 15th:   The Gershwins' An American in Paris - The wild and hilarious new musical comedy The Gershwins’ An American in Paris takes us on a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the legendary movie-musical. Reuniting Ken Ludwig, George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin – the team behind the Broadway smash Crazy For You – this new American musical tells the story of Michel Gerard, the greatest music hall singer in Paris. When Michel fails to turn up at Monumental Pictures’ Paris studio for the filming of a new musical, Studio Head LB sends his practical, no-nonsense secretary, Rebecca Klemm, to find the missing star – and when the legendary Parisian crosses swords with the indomitable American, nothing short of fireworks ensue. Don’t miss this blissful prequel to the famous movie, featuring some of the best-loved songs written by George and Ira Gershwin including: “’S Wonderful,” “They All Laughed,” “Stairway to Paradise” and many more.

July 1st – August 3rd:   Agatha Christie’s The Unexpected Guest - In dense fog near the South Welsh coastline, a stranger runs his car into a ditch and arrives at a nearby house. Inside, he finds the murdered body of a former big-game hunter. The dead man’s wife is near the body with a gun in her hand. Is she guilty or is she protecting someone? Appearances are sure to deceive in this twisty mystery. Guardian review of the 1958 premiere said, "At the end [Agatha Christie] heard the kind of applause that has given her Mousetrap a record six-year run."

for more information, see www.alleytheatre.org or call (713) 228-8421

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion  (The Woodlands)

Surrounded by a lush forest, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion is an outdoor amphitheater that provides the Greater Houston region with an array of performing arts and contemporary entertainment in a setting of unparalleled beauty. 

June 1st:         Tim McGraw  7:30 p.m.

June 3rd:        Houston Symphony Musical Revue  8:00 p.m.

June 14th:      Chicago and the Doobie Brothers  7:30 p.m.

June 20th:      Texas Music Festival Orchestra  8:00 p.m.

June 21st:      True Colors – Cyndi Lauper  6:00 p.m.

June 22nd:     ArrowFest  1:00 p.m.

June 28th:      Stone Temple Pilots  8:00 p.m.

for more information, see www.pavilion.woodlandscenter.org 

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts   (800 Bagby @ Walker)

Thru June 1st:  The Drowsy Chaperone - Get ready to be transported to a magical, wonderful world!  A world where the critics are in awe, the audiences are in heaven and the neighborhood is buzzing with excitement. Welcome to The Drowsy Chaperone, the new musical comedy that is swooping into town with tons of laughs and the most 2006 Tony Awards of any musical on Broadway!  It all begins when a die-hard musical fan plays his favorite cast album, a 1928 smash hit called "The Drowsy Chaperone," and the show magically bursts to life. We are instantly immersed in the glamorous, hilarious tale of a celebrity bride and her uproarious wedding day, complete with thrills and surprises that take both the cast (literally) and the audience (metaphorically) soaring into the rafters.

Thru June 8th:  Beauty & The Beast - Come experience "a tale as old as time" once more with masquerade Theatre's production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast.  In a small provincial town, the beautiful Belle and her inventor father live in relative happiness.  When her father does not return from the local fair, Belle rushes off to find him and discovers that he has been taken captive in an old castle by a terrible Beast.  In an act of desperation, she trade her freedom for his.  How Belle tame the unfortunate Beast and his ultimate transformation into a handsome Prince continues to enthrall audiences around the world.  Featuring Alan Menken's award-winning score with all the songs from the movie, as well as new songs, written for the stage, Masquerade is pleased to bring Beauty and the Beast back to downtown Houston.

June 3rd -  June 15th:   Broadway Across America – Sweeney Todd - Innovative, intimate and ingenious, this revolutionary new production of SWEENEY TODD "is an event theatergoers will be talking about for years." (The Wall Street Journal).  The legendary demon barber, hell-bent on revenge, takes up with his enterprising neighbor in a delicious plot to slice their way through London’s upper crust. Justice will be served—along with lush melody, audacious humor and bloody good thrills.  Directed by Tony Award winner John Doyle, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler, this dazzling reinvention of a magnificent musical thriller is set to stun theatergoers as never before.

June 20th -  June 22nd:  Annie Get Your Gun - Annie Get Your Gun scored a bulls eye when it returned to Broadway in 1999, starring Bernadette Peters and later Reba McEntire. As Newsday reported, Stone’s revisions “are sweetly ingenious, and the show is a dream.” Stone reshaped the 1946 book to create Wild West show-within-a show that frames the ageless “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better” love story of sharpshooters Annie Oakley and Frank Butler. Stone has added a secondary romance between the younger sister of Frank’s bothersome assistant Dolly, and a boy who is (to Dolly’s horror) part Native American. “The show has been updated in ways that pass p.c. muster,” reported Time Magazine, “without losing all the fun.” Joined to the new book, or course, is that amazing Irving Berlin score, featuring hit after hit. “Irving Berlin’s greatest achievement in the theater,” wrote the New York Post. Annie Get Your Gun “will always be a musical for the ages, one of Broadway theater’s enduring triumphs.”

for more information, see www.thehobbycenter.org or call (713) 315-2525

Houston Symphony  (Jones Hall – 615 Louisiana)

June 7th:  Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition - Join us for the final round of the Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition.  The four top contestants perform with conductor Thomas Wilkins and the Houston Symphony. The winner will perform with the Houston Symphony at Jones Hall at the annual Houston Chronicle Dollar Concert.

July 10th:  Video Games Live! 

for more information, see www.houstonsymphony.com or call (713) 224-7575

Society for the Performing Arts Houston - Jones Hall  (615 Louisiana)

2008-2009 Season begins in October.

for more information, see www.spahouston.org  

Toyota Center  (1510 Polk Street)

June 9th:        The Cure  7:30 p.m.

June 21st:      Katt Williams  8:00 p.m.

June 24th:      WWE presents Smackdown & ECW!  6:30 p.m.

 for more information, visit www.houstontoyotacenter.com or call (866) 4HOUTIX

Warehouse Live   (813 St. Emanuel Street)

June 2nd:       Hit the Lights with I Am The Avalanche, Jet Lag Gemini, and Thee Armada  7:00 p.m.

June 3rd:        -X- with Detroit Cobras  8:00 p.m.

June 4th:         Arms For Sleep CD Release Party with Intilusion, Special Lady Friend, and Sun Machine  8:00 p.m.

June 6th:         Robbie Seay with Grey Holiday, Inhabited, Fight to Rescue, and Evangeline  7:00 p.m.

June 7th:         Deep Ella with Another Day, Mechanical Boy, Stepsonday, and Sleeping with the Giants  8:00 p.m.

June 8th:         Another Run with A Dream Asleep, Espantapajaros, and Motherlove  8:00 p.m.

June 9th:         Demon Hunter with Living Sacrifice, Oh Sleeper, The Famine, and The Advent  7:30 p.m.

June 10th:      RZA with Zeale 32  9:00 p.m.

June 11th:      Ryan Bingham with The Dead Horses, Austin Collins Band, and LL Cooper  8:30 p.m.

June 12th:      Mates of State with Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears, and Headlights  9:00 p.m.

June 13th:      Lunafest with Wolves @ The Door, All in Your Head, Heist at Hand, The McKenzies, The Television Skies, Yoko Mono, Zechs Marquise, and Thavins Beck  7:00 p.m.

June 15th:      Rancid with Complete Control, and Deathbed Repentance

June 16th:      Joshua James with Justin Townes Earle  8:30 p.m.

June 18th:      The Roots  9:00 p.m.

June 20th:      Kottonmouth Kings with The Expendables, Insolence, and Dirtball  9:00 p.m.

June 21st:      Alien Sex Fiend with Speciem  8:00 p.m.

June 30th:      A Change of Pace with Houston Calls, and We Shot the Moon  7:30 p.m.

for more information, see www.warehouselive.com 

Wortham Center – Houston Ballet (Texas & Smith)

Thru June 1st:  Three Classics, Five Tangos - Three prolific and internationally acclaimed choreographers present their own interpretations of the classical idiom. Stanton Welch’s Falling is danced by five couples to the music of Mozart. Canadian-born James Kudelka will employ his distinctive choreographic style to create a new work specifically for company dancers. The piece will feature costumes by the Canadian designer Denis Lavoie. Completing the program is Hans van Manen’s Five Tangos, a unique mix of the power and sensuality of tango and the cool abstraction of classical ballet.

June 5th – June 30th:  La Sylphide - Danish choreographer August Bournonville created La Sylphide in 1836 – to the delight of audiences ever since. When a young Scottish farmer abandons his bride-to-be for a beautiful winged creature, he offends not only the wedding party but the witch who predicted his defection. La Sylphide, the oldest ballet in existence, is presented with one of the newest, A Dolls’ House. The work depicts a pitched battle between the dolls in a toy store after the shop closes, and features vibrantly colorful, wildly theatrical costumes. 

2008/2009 Season begins in September.

for more information, see www.houstonballet.org or call (713) 227-ARTS

Wortham Center – Houston Grand Opera (Texas & Smith)

2008-2009 Season begins in October.

for more information, see www.houstongrandopera.org or call (713) 228-6737

DaCamera of Houston   (Wortham Theatre Center – Texas @ Smith unless otherwise noted)

2008-2009 Season begins in October.

for more information, see www.dacamera.com    

Miller Outdoor Theatre (Hermann Park)

Located on nearly eight acres in the heart of Hermann Park, Miller Outdoor Theatre is the only free open-air theatre of its kind in the United States. It is a home away from home for some of Houston's most dynamic arts organizations such as HITS Unicorn Theater, Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Ebony Opera Guild, Festival Chicano, Houston Symphony, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) and a host of other multi-cultural groups and theater companies. Every performance in our March to November season is free.

June 3rd – 5th:  Disney’s When You Wish … Talented youngsters perform hit songs from the Disney catalogue, previewing TUTS’ main Miller attraction in July. Produced by Theatre Under The Stars’ Humphreys School of Musical Theatre.  11:00 a.m.

June 6th:  Polka Party - Celebrating the Czech, German and Polish heritage of South Texas, with polka music and dance, plus a screening of the polka documentary, “It’s Happiness.” Produced by Several Dancers Core.  8:00 p.m.

June 7th:  Accordion Kings and Queens - The 19th annual edition of “some mighty pleasin’ squeezin’,” featuring Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws, La Tropa F, the Knights of Dixie Orchestra, and finalists from the 2008 “Big Squeeze” competition. Produced by Texas Folklife Resources.  7:00 p.m.

June 10th – 23rd:  Hear Ye! Hear Ye! - Prodigious young musicians (ages 4-18) chosen from over 350 applicants perform classical repertoire. Produced by Houston Young Artists.  11:00 a.m.

June 13th:  The Giver - Playwright Eric Coble’s stage adaptation of Lois Lowry’s award-winning novel, the story of a courageous young boy determined to change a controlling, futuristic society.  Produced by Stages Repertory Theatre.  11:00 a.m. & 7:30 p.m.

June 14th:  The Blew Notes Trio - An evening of jazz, poetry and visual arts, featuring renowned composer and pianist Randy Weston. Produced by SEHAH/Amandla Productions.  8:15 p.m.

June 19th:  Gulf Coast Juneteenth - A celebration of freedom and the abolition of slavery, this concert event features a line-up of traditional African-American music fromHouston and throughout the Gulf Coast, including the ReBirth Brass Band from New Orleans; Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie (zydeco) from Eunice, Louisiana;  blues guitarist  Sherman Robertson with soul and blues singer Trudy Lynn from Houston.  In additional, Houston singer/songwriters will be performing original Juneteenth compositions that have been commissioned for the occasion. Produced by the Houston Institute for Culture and Surviving Katrina & Rita in Houston.  7:00 p.m.

June 20th & 21st/June 27th & 28th:  Houston Symphony/Target Summer Symphony Nights - The Houston Symphony plays musical masterpieces for audiences of all ages.  (specific program information on website). Produced by Houston Symphony.  8:00 p.m.

June 24th: Sounds Like Fun - Musical magic to captivate audiences young and old. An instrument “petting zoo” is featured before the concert. Produced by Houston Symphony.  11:00 a.m.

for more information, see www.milleroutdoortheatre.org  

A.D. Players  (2710 West Alabama)

Thru June 8th:  The Heiress - When shy Catherine falls in love with a penniless but charming young man, her father's rigid control over her is threatened. Who will control her life and love? Based on Henry James’ novel, Washington Square, The Heiress is a classic theater piece which has delighted film and theater audiences with its story of authority confronted by romance.

for more information, see www.adplayers.org   

Main Street Theatre   (2540 Times Blvd.)

Thru June 8th:  Present Laughter - Garry Essendine, an aging matinee idol, may be teetering reluctantly towards middle age but everyone, both male and female, is infatuated with him. Flamboyant and witty, wearing a silk dressing gown and equipped with the requisite cocktail, his life is one long performance in which he can never be himself. About to set off on an extended tour of Africa , Essendine is visited by practically everyone he knows, including his ex-wife/manager, lawyer, secretary, butler, business partners, an admiring young playwright and a recent oe-night stand. An acknowledged self-portrait of the playwright himself, PRESENT LAUGHTER is a marvelously comic exaggeration of the life that whirled around Coward in his heyday.

June 21st – July 3rd:  If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - Based on the book by Laura Numeroff.  If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. When you give him the milk, he'll probably ask you for a straw. When he's finished, he'll ask for a napkin... The energetic mouse is back again in the tale that started it all as he runs his friend, the little boy, ragged with all of his wacky demands.

July 19th – July 31st:  If You Give a Moose a Muffin - Based on the book by Laura Numeroff.  What happens when you give a demanding moose a muffin? He's going to want some blackberry jam, and then he's going to want... The hilarious sequel to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie captivates audiences with more outrageous antics of the little boy and his newest unexpected guest, a hungry moose.

for more information, see www.mainstreettheater.com or call (713) 524-6706

Opera in the Heights   (1703 Heights Blvd)

2008-2009 Season begins in September.

for more information, call (713) 861-5303 or see www.operaintheheights.org    

Playhouse 1960   (6814 Grant Road)

June 6th – 29th:  42^nd Street - 42nd Street tells the story of a humble, naïve young actress named Peggy Sawyer who has come to audition for a new Broadway musical,. Unfortunately, due to her nervousness, Peggy arrives to the audition late and misses her chance to join the chorus. Luckily, Peggy soon catches the eye of the famous director, Julian Marsh, and he gives Peggy her big break. However, the show's aging leading lady, Dorothy Brock, quickly grows to dislike Peggy. On opening night, Ms. Brock falls and breaks her ankle. Panic spreads through the company, as the show is doomed for closure, until it is suggested that Peggy take the roll. In only thirty-six hours, Peggy learns twenty-five pages, six songs and ten dance numbers, and becomes a star.

for more information, see www.playhouse1960.com or call (281) 587-8243

Radio Music Theatre   (2623 Colquitt)

Thru November 15th:  Electile Dysfunction - What's so funny about a presidential election?  Come to RMT and find out as we take a zany look at national politics through the eyes of the residents of Precious Trees (Houston's most planned planned community).

for more information, see www.radiomusictheatre.com or call (713) 522-7722

Stages Repertory Theatre   (3201 Allen Parkway)

Thru June 1st:  Mr. Marmalade - In this grown-up play about playing grown-up, Lucy is a precocious four-year-old with an alarmingly adult imagination. Her imaginary friend Mr. Marmalade comes accessorized with cell phone, personal assistant and a very busy schedule, and when he misses their tea-party date (again), Lucy throws him over for the suicidal five-year-old next door. In a disturbingly funny whirlwind of food fights, porno mags, tea sets and coke habits, Lucy enacts a wild vision of adult dysfunction seen through a child's eyes.

for more information, see www.stagestheatre.com or call (713) 527-0123

Verizon Wireless Theatre  (520 Texas Avenue)

Verizon Wireless Theatre is the source in downtown Houston for the best in live entertainment. From rock to country, comedy to musicals, they offer everything you want in an entertainment venue.  Verizon Wireless Theater puts on over one hundred events every year.

June 8th:         Houston Roller Derby Summer Slaughter   5:00 p.m.

June 10th:       Allstate Presents Lifehouse with Matt Nathanson, HoneyHoney   8:00 p.m.

June 11th:      The Verizon VIP Tour starring Natasha Bedingfield with very special guests The Veronicas and Kate Voegele   8:00 p.m.

June 19th:      Jonny Lang with Dave Barnes   8:00 p.m.

June 28th:      Bob Saget   8:00 p.m.

for more information, see www.livenation.com or call (713) 230-1600

Museums

Blaffer Gallery   (University of Houston campus, entrance 16 off Cullen Boulevard)

Thru August 2nd:  Charles "Teenie" Harris: Rhapsody in Black and White - Rhapsody in Black and White is part of a collaborative project between Blaffer, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, DiverseWorks, and the Society for the Performing Arts (SPA). Co-curated by world-renowned choreographer Ronald K. Brown and leading photographic arts expert Deborah Willis, it features the work of African-American photojournalist Charles "Teenie" Harris, who worked at the Pittsburgh Courier from 1936 to 1975.  The exhibition is organized in conjunction with Brown's major new choreographic work, One Shot, which will be presented by DiverseWorks and SPA at downtown's Wortham Theatre Center on Saturday, May 10. One Shot was inspired by "Teenie" Harris's photographs, housed at the Carnegie Museum of Art, which encompass the world's largest image archive of African-American life. Leading up to the exhibition and performance, Brown will conduct teaching residencies at the University of Houston and will work with elementary school children in the Third Ward at Project Row Houses' after-school program.

Thru August 2nd:  2008 Houston Area Exhibition - The 2008 Houston Area Exhibition, selected by Blaffer Gallery curator Claudia Schmuckli, not only introduces artists who are young or new to the Houston community, but it also offers more seasoned artists the opportunity to develop new work and to be seen in a fresh light. The issues put forth in the works in the exhibition vary, but what connects all of the artists is an active engagement with ideas and concerns that define life in this particular contemporary moment – be it as an individual, a society, or a nation. Held every four years, the Houston Area Exhibition takes the pulse of contemporary art made in Houston to offer a snapshot of what matters to artists in the here and now.

for more information, see www.hfac.uh.edu/blaffer or call (713) 743-9530

Children’s Museum of Houston  (1500 Benz)

The Children’s Museum of Houston offers a wonderful array of ongoing exhibits, created to inspire children’s imaginations and help them to learn through curiosity and hands-on activities and experimentation.

June 5th - 11th:  Secret Agent WonderWeek!  Children's Museum of Houston reveals the tricks and ropes of being an undercover agent!  Break secret codes, disguise yourself, use spy vision and come up with your own covert agent name when the Children's Museum of Houston celebrates Secret Agent WonderWeek! Gadgets and gizmos don’t make a secret agent. It’s the attitude! Show us what you got and dive into a secret world where not everything is as it seems!

June 15th:  RAD DAD Celebration!  He’s the man who takes you to practice, who looks after you on a stormy night, who sometimes takes your side when Mom doesn’t and embraces you when things don’t feel right. Now is the time to show Dad how rad he is and how much you care about him, too! The Children's Museum of Houston (CMH) will be celebrating with activities during a special Father’s Day celebration—All Dads will receive free admission when they visit the Museum with a child on Father’s Day!

June 16th - 19th:  Juneteenth Celebration! -  Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. It celebrates the day enslaved Blacks in Galveston heard about the Emancipation Proclamation for the first time. Explore the history and contributions of African Americans during our Juneteenth Celebration, in which we’ll be making really tasty ice cream!  Yummy!

June 20th – 25th:  From Zero to Hero WonderWeek! -  Build up some superpowers and transform into a math fighting superhero! Tackle the worst math challenges and put them behind bars as you pump up your brain muscle!  Plus, boost your superpowers with a Super Pattern Power Band, overcome the center of gravity, and enhance your look with a Super Shape Cape!  Don’t forget to come dressed up in costume!

How Does It Work? - Did you ever wonder why you can't see in the dark? Or how your wireless telephone worked? Or even what really happens when you turn the ignition in your car? This multi-level exhibition challenges you to ask and discover the answers to your own science questions with tons of hands-on, investigative experiences.  You will explore light and color and can even become part of the exhibit with Light Warehouse, see what makes a car go with the '66 Mustang in Auto Alley, watch your messages be sent via fiber-optics and check out the history of communication in Phone Zone or challenge yourself to discover something new in the Science Station. You can even lift yourself 5 feet into the air to see how pulleys can make life a lot easier with the Kid Lift.  Then, step into a whimsical factory from the future in The Matter Factory, a new area in the How Does It Work? exhibit. Kids will develop the understanding that everything is made up of material or matter. They will learn that molecules and atoms are the building blocks of matter as they investigate materials and solve factory problems. 

Kid TV - The Adler-Sarofim KID-TV Studio Lights! Camera! Action! Think your child might be the next Matt Lauer or Barbara Walters? Let them show their stuff on camera in this exhibit, which teaches kids and parents what television is like behind the scenes.  KID-TV includes a dramatic backdrop of downtown Houston, video cameras, props and costumes, a teleprompter, a story board activity, a sound booth with a computer sound generator, director's board and cut-out figures of multi-cultural men and women who explain the different jobs in video production.  KID-TV is sponsored by Sarofim Trust Co. 

Think Tank - In this hands-on, minds-on exhibit, kids will get to explore different thought processes and learn how effective problem-solving can boost self-confidence.  After meeting the Think Tank Guides (Carlos, Felicia, Rosie and Isaac), you can jump right into solving the riddles...or you might want to put on custom-made thinking caps and lounge in the thinking chairs to get those brainstorming juices flowing. Either way, inventive, "outside the box" thinking is sure to occur!

Tot Spot - Tot Spot is the place to bring your newborn, toddler and two-year-old.  It’s where play is learning and learning is play for children from birth to thirty-six months.  The eye-catching bubble machine is a first stop, but not the last as tots crawl, cruise or walk throughout the exhibit which has four distinct areas.  These areas promote exploration, discovery, experimentation and wonder.

for more information, see www.cmhouston.org or call (713) 522-1138

Contemporary Arts Museum   (5216 Montrose)

Thru July 13th:   Tim Lee - Vancouver-based artist Tim Lee uses video, photography, and performance to put himself in the place of icons of popular culture. He makes low-tech photographic self-portraits as hockey player Bobby Orr scoring a winning goal or rocker Neil Young playing a famous concert, creates multi-screen video installations showing him playing the bass, guitar, and drum parts of “Louie, Louie” or rapping all three parts of a Beastie Boys song, and restages well known moments from art and film history with him as protagonist. Like a Walter Mitty for the information age, Lee assumes the roles of Sunday philosopher, anthropologist, and ethnomusicologist to dissects and reenvision revealing aspects of popular culture, film, and music. By reenacting rituals of pop culture that are usually the domain of established practitioners or experts in a deadpan, just-competent-enough style, Lee uses absurd seriousness to blur the boundaries between the ridiculous and the sublime.   Tim Lee was born in Seoul, Korea, in 1975 and lives and works in Vancouver. He received an MFA from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, in 2002. He has had solo exhibitions at Cohan and Leslie, New York, Lisson Gallery, London, and Or Gallery and the Western Front, Vancouver. His works have been included in the Prague Biennial, 2003, and group exhibitions at the Power Plant Gallery, Toronto, Folly Gallery, Lancaster, England, and Consolidated Works, Seattle.

Thru July 20th:  Greta Pratt The Old Weird America - The Old, Weird America will be the first museum exhibition to explore the widespread resurgence of folk imagery and history in American contemporary art. Curated by Contemporary Arts Museum Houston senior curator Toby Kamps, the exhibition illustrates the relevance and appeal of folklore to contemporary artists, as well as the genre’s power to illuminate ingrained cultural forces and overlooked histories. The exhibition borrows its inspiration and title—with the author’s blessing—from music and cultural critic Greil Marcus’ 1997 book examining the influence of folk music on Bob Dylan and The Band’s seminal album, The Basement Tapes.  The Old, Weird America will feature approximately 75 recent paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, installations, and video works from nearly 20 artists and collaborative groups, including Eric Beltz, Jeremy Blake, Sam Durant, Barnaby Furnas, Brad Kahlhamer, David McDermott and Peter McGough, Aaron Morse, Cynthia Norton (a.k.a. Ninny), Greta Pratt, Dario Robleto, Allison Smith, Kara Walker, and Charlie White. The exhibition will be accompanied by a 200-page fully-illustrated catalogue that will provide cultural and historical context through essays by Kamps and other writers and cultural historians. It will also contain reproductions of the exhibited work, as well as biographical and bibliographical information on each artist.

for more information, see www.camh.org or call (713) 284-8250

The Heritage Society   (1100 Bagby)

June 10th – July 27th:  The Road to the Promised Land: Martin Luther King Jr. & the Civil Rights Movement - The Road to the Promised Land features photographs, reproductions of landmark documents, and quotations by Dr. King and others engaged in the struggle for civil rights in 20th Century America. The 20 black and white panels in this inspiring exhibit cover a variety of subjects including, environmental racism, the Lorraine Motel, site where Dr. King was murdered 40 years ago reinvented as a museum, and trailblazers like Rosa Parks and Texas’s own Barbara Jordon. This exhibit is organized by Humanities Texas.

June 10th – Sept. 28th:  Interwoven Traditions: The Spiritual Journey from African to African American - This exhibit discusses how Africans were able to use their spiritual beliefs, which sprang largely from classical African religions, to both survive slavery and create their own unique African American culture. Interwoven Traditions, which features many hidden African spiritual symbols found on archeological excavations of plantations in Texas, Louisiana, and South Carolina, is co-curated by Kenneth L. Brown, Ph.D. and Carol McDavid, Ph.D., with assistance from the Levi Jordan Plantation Historical Society and the Texas Historical Commission, who has loaned the artifacts for the exhibit.

June 19th:  Hill/Finger Lecture Series  The Broadening of Political Power in Houston since 1900 - The Heritage Society Tea Room - Please join The Heritage Society on Thursday, June 19 when US Vice Chairman of Strategic Real Estate Advisors, Chase Untermeyer, will speak on the changing trends of political power in Houston over the last 100 years. Mr. Untermeyer has a long history of public service at four levels of government - local, state, national and international. He most recently served for three years as U.S. Ambassador to Qatar, having been appointed to that post by President George W. Bush in 2004.

for more information, visit www.heritagesociety.org

Holocaust Museum Houston   (5401 Caroline)

Permanent Exhibit:  The Permanent Exhibit is personalized with the testimony of Houston-area survivors who lived through a genocidal war that inflicted mass death on unprecedented numbers of innocent civilians. The exhibit begins by carrying visitors back to pre-war Europe and revealing the flourishing Jewish life and culture there. Authentic film footage, artifacts, photographs, and documents expose Nazi propaganda and the ever-tightening restrictions on Jews in the steady move toward the "Final Solution." Visitors learn of the horrific conditions within the Nazi-imposed ghettos, the special mobile killing units that murdered thousands, and the industrialization of death at complexes like Treblinka, Chelmno, and Auschwitz-Birkenau.