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Author of Never a Girl, Always a Boy and subsequent co-playwright of its stage adaptation Jo Ivester hopes the play written alongside her son Jeremy serves to “contribute to the growing awareness of what it means to be Trans.” After an industry presentation in NYC with Tony-Award winning A Strange Loop producer JJ Maley directing, this personal transition story comes home for its world premiere at Ground Floor featuring director Lisa Scheps and performers Laura Leo Kelly, Kaden Ono, Molly Fonseca, Nathan Jerkins, Max Green, Chelsea Corwin, Trace Turner, and Jeremy.– James Scott

Though inaugural ATX Open singles champion Marta Kostyuk won’t return to defend her crown, some notable names have entered the field. Two-time major champion and former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka (No. 27 in the WTA Tour rankings as of Feb. 19) looks set to play as the draw’s No. 1 seed but has since dropped from the tournament. 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens, 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins, and former Longhorn Peyton Stearns are some of the American women returning for the tournament’s second edition. Stearns won the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Singles Championship while attending UT-Austin and made the quarterfinals of last year’s ATX Open. Free entry to the event’s qualifying has “sold out” for both Feb. 24 and 25, but paid tickets are still on offer for the remaining days. – Derek Udensi

Even if I didn’t have Marketing and Engagement Manager Cassie Arredondo – aka the reason the Chron circulates in Lockhart – pinging my inbox with great out-of-town events, I’d still lob a Lockhart-located event rec to this South of Austin boot-scoot. Filling out a cowboy hat behind the turntables, DJ Boi Orbison brings country tunes and queer-friendly fun to Historic Downtown Lockhart’s First Friday. Venue Lockhart Arts & Craft brags up a menu of specialty drinks both alcoholic and sober – such as the “you work tomorrow,” which zips strawberry, pineapple, and lime flavors together with hydrating electrolytes. – James Scott

Austin Asian American Film Festival hosts its first queer prom, Diasporic Disco, as a fest fundraiser. Hosted by the hilarious Ivy Le (remember her from that event reco Hello Austin, like, one day above this?), this groovy gathering features performances by promqueen and DJ Phamstar, child care for kiddos 5-12 years old, a prom photo booth, refreshments, and awards celebrating queer Asian American filmmakers with AAAFF. They also gathered tons of resources for pre-prom research at aaafilmfest.org/diasporicdisco, so you can deep dive on disco’s influence in various Asian cultures. Highly recommended: How else will you get educated on Vietnamese New Wave? – James Scott

Since launching in 2019 with the inquisitive pop-rock push-and-pull of internet-ready track “I Love You Aubrey Plaza,” Eli Josef’s conversational, chillout catalog has held on with self-deprecating catchiness and a carefree cadence. Some say quit while you’re ahead, so the Austin artist officially taps out with a self-titled LP on local label Happen Twice, where titles “Cowboy Therapy” and “Slowcore Country Boy” aptly point to an infusion of barroom twang (plus a cover of Big Thief’s “Red Moon”). The band’s final stand calls on sleep well. (whose latest It’s Getting Brighter joins Josef on Spotify’s open-ended “Fresh Finds Folk”) and Stalefish (who just released their own alt-rocking Stalefish Does America). – Rachel Rascoe

Hyde Park’s neighborhood bookstore continues its dedication to building community with its free book club, and this week the selected title is Téa Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife. The award-winning 2011 novel, set in an unnamed Balkan state during the tumultuous and bloody 20th century, focused on the complex relationship between doctors and death, and drew on Obreht’s own family history. RSVPs help the organizers know how many booklovers to expect, with sessions at 4:30pm and 7pm. – Richard Whittaker

Austin’s Julie Fiore and her One Ounce Opera collective of stage-it-anywhere, stage-it-everywhere modern provocateurs take over the Eastside’s storied Museum of Human Achievement for their sixth annual (but first time since 2020!) mini-opera showcase, bringing four dynamic new works chosen from more than 40 submissions nationwide. Relevant to the here-and-now, redolent of sonic glory and classic style, the revelations of “An Artist’s Regrets,” “Bubbie and the Demon,” “I Am Worth Nothing,” and “What the Spirits Show” will touch your heart and wow your ears with the power of the human voice. – Wayne Alan Brenner

Look: No one is saying a lineup that includes Los Tigres del Norte, Caifanes, and Alejandra Guzmàn isn’t extremely cool. But Bésame Mucho is on March 2 – one day after rent is due! For the broke community and broke allies, Los Mentirosos and Bobby Pudrido’s event provides all the fun without turning anyone away for lack of funds. Catch trans and Latine drag royalty performances by Solovino, Ryan, Venus Rising, Ruby Knight, Aeon Mavis York, and Teo; DJ sets by La Morena and BabiBoi; and a performance from SATX panza fusion dance troupe Zombie Bazaar. Why shell out big bucks for a baller baile? Hay comida en la casa! – James Scott

This week is your last chance to vote early in the March 2024 primary election before election day next Tuesday. Take advantage of the weekend to cast a ballot and make your voice heard in important races that will decide who represents us in the courts, Legislature, and U.S. Congress and Senate. Turnout is hovering around a dismally low 4%. If you ever want to see Texas turn blue, it’s just a matter of showing up. Need help deciding who to trust? We spent weeks interviewing all the candidates we could; check out detailed Chronicle endorsements online before you go, and take a short list with you to the polls. – Lina Fisher

“I’m in a little piece of heaven,” Leti Garza checked in early pandemic, “where there’s nothing except cows, who periodically eat grass in my front yard, a large assortment of birds, and the big, blue Texas sky.” You could hear it in the Texan’s Latin folk-pop then and especially on the resulting Canciones Sobre la Vida y la Muerte, a bilingual gem of Hill Country spirituality. Still but lifting – the spirit takes flight in the meditative – Garza’s songs of life and death sing, dance, cavort. Waterloo Records reclaimed the Best Record Store heavyweight belt at this year’s AMAs, so let’s pachanga. – Raoul Hernandez

You’re a busy guy; you don’t have time to read all of War and Peace. But you’re also ashamed that you’ve not dug into the hottest Russian novel of 1869! Hark: A solution awaits at the Zach Theatre production of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Dave Malloy’s musical adaptation of a 70-page section of Tolstoy’s great tome. Described by the theatre as an “innovative electro-pop opera,” this two-hour-and-thirty-minute love triangle will be available as pay-what-you-will until Feb. 4. Heads-up to queers: Thursday, Feb. 1, is PRIDE night!– James Scott

As Rodeo Austin gears up to put on the big show starting March 8, the nonprofit keeps a tradition alive with the annual Cowboy Breakfast. Y’see, back in the cattle-drivin’ days, cowboys would fuel up in the morning with an enormous breakfast because stopping midday for a meal was too much trouble. So Rodeo Austin readies for its two-week-long bronco bonanza with a massive chuck wagon buffet open to the public from 6 to 8am, offering Texas delicacies like pulled pork breakfast tacos, El Patio chips & salsa, java and hot cocoa from Texas Coffee Traders, and lots more. The Pearl Snaps turn the parking lot into a honky-tonk with their classic country tunes soundtracking the whole affair. – Kat McNevins

If you’ve never seen or heard of Miklós László’s 1937 play Illatszertár, don’t worry: You know the story. Two colleagues who hate each other at work are dearest friends as anonymous pen pals. Sound familiar now? It’s Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner, and In the Good Old Summertime starring Judy Garland, and the *other* Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan rom-com, You’ve Got Mail. But it’s also this delightful musical from Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, the duo behind Fiddler on the Roof, which only becomes more charming with every new staging. – Richard Whittaker

For generations of children, Arnold Lobel’s stories of amphibian best buds Frog and Toad have been a charming guide to the complexities and joys of friendship. Now the pair take to the stage for this delightful Tony-nominated musical. It’s truly a family affair, adapted by Lobel’s son-in-law Mark Linn-Baker with music by Robert Reale and book & lyrics by his brother, Willie. This new production, directed by Best of Austin winner Sara Burke, features Jillian Sainz and Victoria Brown donning the signature jackets and trousers of Frog and Toad, respectively. – Richard Whittaker

When a fellow is named Tim McCool, you’ve got to hope he lives up to the moniker. We reckon that, as co-founder (with his dauntless spouse, Kira) of the right-there-in-the-garage Good Luck Have Fun Gallery off Enfield, this particular art-scene mover and shaker is as McCool as it gets. Evidence: The gallery’s newest show brings together the colorful and provocative work of four women artists – Aubree Dale, Aria Brownell, Wendy Rhode, and Barbara Miñarro – “who explore the relationships between individual identity and the collective, the process of making art and of making one’s self.” – Wayne Alan Brenner

That's right: Cap City Comedy Club, the longtime cornerstone of Austin's comedy scene for nearly four decades is at a new venue in the Domain. And here's Valerie Lopez with a closer look at what's in store for the scene via the venue. Click for details!

You think it’s easy, being somebody’s mother? You think giving birth to another human being doesn’t put your own humanity and purpose under some fierce self-scrutiny? Milwaukee-based artist Aimée M. Everett, in her solo show at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, uses abstraction, minimalist line-making, saturated colors, and melodic compositions to explore “the profound transformations experienced during childbirth and the subsequent journey of self-discovery into motherhood.” Word – or, more appropriately, image – to your mother. – Wayne Alan Brenner