Oct 10, 2022 | ktru, Showstoppers
Hadestown North American Tour photo by Kevin Berne
Broadway at the Hobby Center hosted the final show of the 2021-2022 season this week with the long-awaited Tony Award-winning production of Hadestown. Postponed since January 2022 due to Covid, the show was definitely worth the wait and I would argue the rest of the audience would agree with me. From the first moment the cast entered the stage the audience's energy was palpable. Hermes' first entrance was met with over a minute of applause, and many other jokes and show-stopping scenes throughout the show had similar reactions from the house. Anais Mitchell's musical follows the mythological love story of Orpheus and Eurydice in a storytelling format narrated by Hades, the messenger of the Gods. The touring production, introducing many new leading cast members on opening night in Houston, was incredibly talented and kept the audience on the edges of their seats throughout the roller-coaster of a story. Mitchell's musical is entirely "sung-through" with original tracks ranging from chants to ballads to epics. The characters subtly addressed topics such as love, heartbreak, trust, and power, while inviting the audience multiple times to think to themselves about how they would've acted if they were in their shoes.
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Sep 3, 2022 | ktru
By Rachel Bui
This year marked the 4th annual Head in the Clouds (HitC) festival. Started in 2018 in Los Angeles,
the festival has only grown (the festival will also happen in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Manila,
Philippines later this year). Started by 88rising, a music platform and record label primarily for artists
of the Asian Diaspora, this year the festival partnered with Golden Voice, the force behind
Coachella. This partnership so early in such a niche festival’s history establishes that the music
industry is slowly understanding that consumers crave more authenticity without the pandering. This
festival invited the 626 Market as well as other local Asian small businesses (Bopomofo was
especially a significant, started by one of the founders of Wong Fu Productions, Philip Wang. Wong
Fu Productions is an independent production company that highlights Asian short films).
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Aug 20, 2022 | ktru
Eric Huffman (Damian Hubbard) and the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
Credit: © 2022 Jenny Anderson
It's so "fetch" that the Mean Girls national tour is making a stop in Houston this week. This stage adaptation of Tina Fey's hit movie follows the same story as the film version, however the creative team made an effort to change it enough that it's even better for the theater. Featuring new scenes and new jokes, along with a great soundtrack by Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin, Mean Girls was a hit with everyone in the audience at my rescheduled Friday matinee. Although I did not attend the Wednesday performance, there was still plenty of pink among the audience. The story follows the progression of high school friendships and cliques as they develop and crumble through the fight for power and jealousy. This show is definitely a must-see while it is playing at the Hobby Center.
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Aug 5, 2022 | ktru
By Rachel Bui
As festivals are operating back to normal, KTRU decided to explore more festivals outside of Texas.
Lollapalooza 2022 was KTRU’s first festival outside of the Southern region. This festival was incredibly
well-ran, with chipped wristbands, cardless payment, and few, if any, technical issues on the stages.
Some general tips:
- Do NOT play with your wristband, especially the chip – it will break!
- Treat it like SXSW and pace yourself- it’s a long festival, even if you don’t go the full 4 days
- You’re probably not going to see all the acts you want (this festival spans across Grant Park in
Chicago), so use this time to explore other acts you’ve been curious about - Bring a reusable water bottle and stay cool and hydrated – even in Chicago, heat exhaustion is a
dangerous possibility you want to avoid
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Jul 1, 2022 | ktru
Collin Baja as Sven and F. Michael Haynie as Olaf in Frozen North American Tour. Photo by Deen van Meer.
A cool wind brought the far-off kingdom of Arendelle to Houston as Disney's Frozen arrived as part of Broadway at the Hobby Center's 2021-2022 season. Children of all ages (and the child in all of us) will enjoy this beautiful production of the (now) classic Disney film. In front of a full house with many excited kids singing along, Lauren Nichole Chapman (Anna) and Caroline Bowman (Else) belted out classics such as "Love Is an Open Door" and "Let It Go". If you are looking for an air-conditioned family outing this summer, take your whole family to the Hobby Center for a performance of Frozen before the skies clear and the Scandinavian winter wonderland heads to its next destination. (more…)
Jun 26, 2022 | ktru, navrang
When: 8:00PM, July 09, 2022
Where: MATCH Theater, 3400 Main Street, Houston TX 77002
SPECIAL 10% STUDENT DISCOUNT ON $30 AND $50 TICKETS - Use code IAA10
Andean-Indian…Melodies of Folklore from South America and India. A unique fusion of authentic folk music from both continents.
By: Indo-American Association 501 (3)c non-profit organization
For tickets and more info: Click Here
Andean-Indian will feature renowned Artists from South America - Victor Murillo from Equador, Louis Quintano from Venezuela, Edwardo Cassipia from Bolivia, AND from India - Pt. Indrajit Bannerjee and Gourisankar Karmakar.
About the Artists
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Jun 11, 2022 | ktru
Noir, a world premiere musical by Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow, opened Thursday as the 75th season finale for the Alley Theatre. From the Tony Award-winning creative team to the talented cast, many of which have starred in or originated roles on Broadway, the Alley took no shortcuts when it came to producing this new work. I was fortunate enough to attend opening night and there are three weeks of the run remaining so you can also catch a performance of this great new show. Whether you've been lucky enough to see a Duncan Sheik musical in the past or not, don't miss this opportunity to see his newest groundbreaking work while it is in Houston. For a sneak preview, check out the opening number "Spy in the Shadows" at vimeo.com/711642432.
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Jun 7, 2022 | ktru, Showstoppers
The Hobby Center welcomed the national tour of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical to Houston for a limited 3-day run this weekend, treating audiences to all of their favorite Carole King songs (and more) while telling the story of the famed singer's rise to fame. As someone who came to the show with familiarity of her work, I still learned many things about King's life and heard songs I never knew were written by her.
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Jun 3, 2022 | ktru
by Soleste Starr
On one blisteringly hot afternoon in Austin, Texas on my fifth day at SXSW, I had the absolute honor and pleasure of getting maximally groovy to the waves of Jerry Paper, the musical persona of Lucas Nathan, who officially wins the award for both (1) Best Dressed and (2) Best Dances Moves of any performer of the week. The performance left me absolutely drenched in sweat from half an hour of childlike dance-mania; Jerry Paper absolutely succeeded in their intentions per the SXSW website: “They want you to PLAY around and have some friggin’ fun for once!”
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Jun 3, 2022 | ktru
by Soleste Starr
One of the most surprising parts about SXSW was the heavy presence of British musicians and bands! We got to catch up with one of them, Alex Stephens, also known as Strawberry Guy, a moniker he earned for identifying most heavily with strawberry as both a jam donut and milkshake flavor. Alex was an exceedingly jovial interviewee, kindly playing along to my conversational antics such as asking him the color he felt like (yellow!) or if he liked to play games (chess, Animal Crossing). He performed at Cedar Street Courtyard, my favorite venue of the week, between brick buildings in the sweet light of the afternoon, which perfectly accompanied his dream-pop-esque sound.
(more…)
Broadway at the Hobby Center hosted the final show of the 2021-2022 season this week with the long-awaited Tony Award-winning production of Hadestown. Postponed since January 2022 due to Covid, the show was definitely worth the wait and I would argue the rest of the audience would agree with me. From the first moment the cast entered the stage the audience's energy was palpable. Hermes' first entrance was met with over a minute of applause, and many other jokes and show-stopping scenes throughout the show had similar reactions from the house. Anais Mitchell's musical follows the mythological love story of Orpheus and Eurydice in a storytelling format narrated by Hades, the messenger of the Gods. The touring production, introducing many new leading cast members on opening night in Houston, was incredibly talented and kept the audience on the edges of their seats throughout the roller-coaster of a story. Mitchell's musical is entirely "sung-through" with original tracks ranging from chants to ballads to epics. The characters subtly addressed topics such as love, heartbreak, trust, and power, while inviting the audience multiple times to think to themselves about how they would've acted if they were in their shoes.
One of the most surprising parts about SXSW was the heavy presence of British musicians and bands! We got to catch up with one of them, Alex Stephens, also known as Strawberry Guy, a moniker he earned for identifying most heavily with strawberry as both a jam donut and milkshake flavor. Alex was an exceedingly jovial interviewee, kindly playing along to my conversational antics such as asking him the color he felt like (yellow!) or if he liked to play games (chess, Animal Crossing). He performed at Cedar Street Courtyard, my favorite venue of the week, between brick buildings in the sweet light of the afternoon, which perfectly accompanied his dream-pop-esque sound.