Jane Reichle: “Mermaid Cowgirl”
Through March 29, Yard Dog Gallery
There’s nothing quite like the myth of the Old West. Cowgirl lore is one of those halcyon stories that didn’t quite happen the way it plays out in modern archetypes, so why not combine it with another fantastical figure: mermaids! Artist Jane Reichle combines the two legends into delicious designs featuring women ringed by flowers and fiery hearts, flora and fauna of her Texas roots. Reichle adds even more depth to her work by presenting those figures in richly designed embroidery, a historical throwback layered upon deeper domestic lore. Her textiles tell tales of a West that could have been, with inspiration ranging from Nudie Cohn to the corner tattoo parlor. Talk about epic. – Cat McCarrey
Wild at Heart
Thursday 6, AFS Cinema
If you missed it last month, AFS is again screening Lynch’s fervent take on The Wizard of Oz. Set in Cape Fear, Lynch channels John Waters as Sailor (Nicolas Cage) and Lula (Laura Dern) journey along their brooding yellow brick road on the run from Lula’s controlling Wicked Witch of the West mother – played by Diane Ladd in an arguably career-best performance. Despite its over-the-topness, with Cage taking on an Elvis-infused persona and Dern his untamed flame, it’s grounded by their undying love, persistent even when the whole world is against them. As we continue mourning Lynch, Wild at Heart glows with its passion and care. – Mattea Gallaway
Let’s Talk Fashion
Thursday 6, Carver Branch Library
On my bedroom mirror are three questions all fashionistas pose to themselves before leaving the house in an outfit: Is it hot? Does it look good? Are you proud to serve it? Know those questions well, Reader? Well, you oughta be at the library! Continuing their community offerings to get outta the house without spending more than gas or bus fare, Austin Public Library puts on an all-ages chic chat. Here you’ll speak with fellow fashion lovers and even design your own looks – with supplies provided. So serve your best and hottest styles this Thursday to those who’ll really appreciate the flavors. – James Scott
A New Leaf
Thursday 6, Milwood Branch Library
Who else writes a shitty guy like the GOAT Elaine May? Her first entry in the big-screen buffoon canon is Henry Graham, brought to toxic life by a solipsistic Walter Matthau. A trust fund baby still clinging to old-world signifiers of money like a live-in valet, Graham’s drained his inheritance to nothing. Fixing to get his empty bank account full again via a quick marriage to hapless heiress Henrietta Lowell (played by May herself), Graham finds himself fighting off all the other people taking advantage of the trusting botanist. His noblesse oblige grows thinner over the movie’s course, turning from red-hot annoyance at Lowell’s poor manners to worn-down fondness. May’s directorial debut plays in honor of Women’s History Month, celebrating the third-ever woman inducted into the Directors Guild of America. – James Scott
Weird West: Fantasy Cowpoke Costume Night
Friday 7, Tiny Minotaur Tavern
Your friendly neighborhood immersive fantasy space invites you and the unicorn you rode in on to mosey down on Cesar Chavez for a costume night. See, within the Tiny Minotaur mythos, this here’s what we’d call a “crossover,” meaning the veil’s gone thin enough to let folks from across the cosmos into TM’s pocket dimension – aka the Rift. Curious to know more? Beautiful Chronicle reader, you’ll just attend to understand. To sweeten the deal, TM ups their Tavern title with what they call “Country-ass drink specials” and “horseshoe games.” Yee-haw! – James Scott
The Muppet Movie
Friday 7, Hyperreal Film Club
The felt will fly this Friday, as Hyperreal screens Jim Henson’s the Muppets’ 1979 theatrical debut. Previous to that, you could only catch these guys on your wee TV set. Now they’re BIG and BEAUTIFUL on that HFC screen, all together in a cross-country trip to become rich and famous. Obvi the puppet work has few parallels – and most of those parallels are other Henson projects – and you’ll love picking out Seventies superstars in supporting roles such as a short-shorted Steve Martin and Editor-in-Chief Kim Jones’ favorite Orson Welles. But what’ll really make those tear ducts flood is the sweet optimism inherent to the Muppet cast’s friendship. Everyone’ll be there: the lovers, the dreamers, and … you? – James Scott
Cowboy Breakfast
Friday 7, Long Center lawn
The biggest thing to learn from Rodeo Austin’s psych-up event is that cowfolk wake up early. Running from an ungodly 6-8am, at least this celebration of hearty food and down-home entertainment is free and open to the public. Grab some coffee, tacos, coffee, pancakes, coffee, sausage, and, hmmm, coffee! Much of the food is cooked over an open flame, helping arouse your senses. Watch the sun rise and get inspired to see the full rodeo coming to the Expo Center on March 14. Then go home and go back to bed. – James Renovitch
Time Zero
Friday 7, Alienated Majesty Books
Finding ways to come at political engagement in Trump 2.0 times is a heavy burden – so sometimes art can be a way in. This Friday, Alienated Majesty bookstore offers a meditation on complex topics – nuclear proliferation, uranium mining, nuclear waste disposal – through myriad multidisciplinary sonic interpretations. Local experimental composer/Hindustani classical singer Sowmya Somanath’s solo project Plume Girl illuminates an adapted preview of the Time Zero podcast, launching later this month, which deals with “nuclearism, its aesthetics, and its influence on the paranoiac cultural architecture of postwar America.” Time Zero interviews artists Trevor Paglen, Rose B Simpson, Richard Misrach, Joanna Keane Lopez, and more, and features an original drone soundtrack by Sean J Patrick Carney. Local interdisciplinary artist Hannah Spector and queer eco-poet C. Rees join the discussion as well. – Lina Fisher
Eraserhead
Friday 7 – Saturday 8 & Monday 10 – Tuesday 11, Alamo Village, Slaughter Lane, Lakeline & Mueller
For fans of David Lynch’s work that came to it through Twin Peaks, Eraserhead can be a shock to the system. Shot in stark black-and-white, it features all of the absurdity and none of the sexiness of Lynch’s later work – but the kernels of his emotional interests are there. Made in 1977 on a shoestring budget and featuring a babyfaced version of one of Lynch’s longtime collaborators, Jack Nance, its stunningly cool and ahead-of-its-time dreamscape works on your brain the way weather does – mysteriously, viscerally, completely. The real shock is how much one can come to care for an animatronic booger of a “baby.” – Lina Fisher
Blue Velvet
Friday 7 – Wednesday 12, Alamo VIllage, Slaughter Lane, Lakeline & Mueller
On Sunday, March 2, Isabella Rossellini walked the red carpet in blue velvet – a tribute to her former romantic partner and recent addition to the White Lodge David Lynch. Being that its namesake film was her first introduction to the well-coiffed Montanan, the outfit was a heck of a lot more meaningful than the two seconds awarded to Lynch by the Academy’s In Memoriam segment. (They literally left out Tony Todd and Michelle Trachtenberg!) Alamo Drafthouse plays the groundbreaking indigo picture as part of their Lynch series, a more mainstream intro to the man’s particular take on Americana. Incredible performances abound among the distressing cinematic journey, from Kyle MacLachlan’s wide-eyed disenchantment to Dennis Hopper huffing laughing gas. But the star is Rossellini, singing the movie’s title to a nightclub crowd: “She woooore bluuuuuue veeeeelvet…” – James Scott
Smash by Smash West
Through March 15, multiple locations
Led by independent media project Austin Autonomedia, this alternative fest started last year as a response to South by Southwest’s status as “an incubator for the tools of our oppression,” with 2025’s rise in artificial intelligence-focused Fest offerings not a great sign that the oppression’s dying down. Less an organization than what they call an “open brand,” events around this particular March period can utilize the Autonomedia-created materials to signal their participation in Smash. Music showcases like No More Dysphoria’s queer alternative showcase at Alienated Majesty, homelessness educational resource fair Rawstin at Delilah’s Front Porch, vendor market Subculture Swap at Double Trouble, and a queer trans picnic potluck at Pease Park all tag in under Smash’s team. Check their Instagram for more events, info updates, and, you know: disruption. – James Scott
Playtime
Friday 7 – Saturday 8, Monday 10 & Thursday 13, AFS Cinema
By 1967, French filmmaker and actor Jacques Tati was tired of playing Monsieur Hulot, his good-natured if befuddled persona from Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday and Mon Oncle. But Hulot was the moneymaker, and so he came along in a supporting capacity for Tati’s most ambitious film, the satirical Playtime. Shot on a monumental set dubbed “Tativille†that was built expressly for the production, the cost was ruinous and bode badly for a film that on release was considered a disappointment but has since emerged as one of cinema’s greats – a technical wowzer with an eyebrow firmly cocked at humanity’s soulless sprint toward modernity. – Kimberley Jones
Art in the Park
Saturday 8, Roy G. Guerrero Metropolitan Park
Austin Parks Foundation’s roving Art in the Park series lands at a most apt destination this week – after all, at East Austin’s Roy G. Guerrero Park, you’re already halfway to ROYGBIV. Explore all the colors of the rainbow at this free event, which will have art projects designed for kids and adults both, presented by Art in the Park partner Painting Pandas, an Austin nonprofit dedicated to making art education and supplies accessible to all children. – Kimberley Jones
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Saturday 8 – Monday 10 & Wednesday 12, Alamo Village, Slaughter, Lakeline & Mueller
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a certified camp classic, fueled by its impeccable fusing of dark comedy and psychological horror. But more notably, it’s become a cultural artifact with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford as the two sister rivals, mirroring their legendary real-life feud. Davis plays the titular Baby Jane, a former child star whose fame was eclipsed by Crawford’s Blanche, who thrived until becoming paraplegic in an accident. The majority of the film takes place in their mansion, growing increasingly claustrophobic as Jane goes back and forth between tormenting Blanche and attempting to revive her vaudeville act. Filled with melodrama and murder, it’s equally nauseating and delicious. – Mattea Gallaway
Beau Travail
Saturday 8 – Sunday 9 & Wednesday 12, AFS Cinema
Few women render male sexuality as unflinchingly as Claire Denis. But in Beau Travail, she sees its softness and vulnerability in the unlikeliest of places: a group of French foreign legion sailors stationed in Djibouti. Contempt, jealousy, and obsession roil under the surface, described through dance in this new restoration, centering on Denis Lavant’s sadistic commander Galoup. Loosely based on Herman Melville’s novella Billy Budd, Denis’ masterpiece screens at AFS this weekend in anticipation of Austin’s encroaching white-hot summer. – Lina Fisher
Coco Cxnts feat. Abhora
Saturday 8, Coconut Club
Up high on Coco Club’s roof is a drag brunch most divine. The party put on by cast members Arinna Dior Hays, Brigitte Bandit, Bohemia, and Honey Baby pleases locals all year round, but visitors are in for a special treat this weekend. Joining the cast for Bohemia’s special b-day bash is reality show star Abhora from The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula Titans – giving you a good morning scare. Throw in DJ sets from Turito and Nightbus, a Little Gay Shop pop-up, and maybe a Caribbean treat from Traphouse ATX and that’s a pretty freakin’ sick Saturday, babe. – James Scott
Act Up! Accelerate Action on International Women’s Day
Saturday 8, Juliet Italian Kitchen
Happy birthday to all women! Your special day approaches, and self-described “activist brand” Enact wants to make a whole afternoon of it. From the delicious enclaves of Juliet’s Barton Springs location comes insightful panels on entrepreneurship, hemp-preneurship, and business school – okay, maybe this is targeted at a very specific type of woman, i.e. one in a suit who takes her calls from her office. But there’ll also be a mending workshop from local collective Slow Fashion Fest and tunes spun by DJ Big Reeks, because even businesswomen like to have fun and well-kept clothes. – James Scott
The Austin VHS Swap
Saturday 8, Double Trouble
Are Video Home System tapes a good media format? Well, no: Their fidelity is suspect and they’re so prone to picture degradation. Has that stopped me from dropping my hard-earned cash on a VHS copy of Y2K horror Dracula 2000? Absolutely not! If you share my irrational love for those plastic rectangles, you’ll be pleased to hear about a three-way collab between nonprofit rental haus We Luv Video, venue/drinkery/restaurant Double Trouble, and Austin VHS Swap (self-explanatory). Hear: the dulcet tones of live music from Bae Price, Texacala Jones and the Night Mares, and Swan Gondrez. Touch: rare VHS finds, goofy vintage promo merch, and cold pints of beer. See: a screening of John Waters’ Cry-Baby, where a costume contest could net you and yours a free private theatre rental. – James Scott
Moonstruck
Sunday 9 & Wednesday 12, Galaxy Highland & EVO Entertainment Belterra
Anora’s Sunday sweep aside, romantic comedies hardly ever get love from the Academy. 1987’s Moonstruck was a rare exception, netting six Oscar noms, including wins for Cher (Best Actress), Olympia Dukakis (Best Supporting Actress), and John Patrick Shanley (Best Original Screenplay). Rocking a sexy gray streak and sensible cardigans, Cher plays an Italian-American widow drawn to her new fiancé’s brooding, opera-obsessed younger brother (Nicolas Cage, at the height of his snackable years). Careening between Dean Martin and Puccini and capturing a real-feeling New York in bracing winter, it’s forever a slice of movie magic. – Kimberley Jones
Hairy Situation: A Comedy Show by Alok
Sunday 9, Stateside at the Paramount
Writer, poet, and actor Alok Vaid-Menon’s new comedy tour set picks at a similar itch as their first Christopher Guest-directed special, Biology, which is, to quote Vaid-Menon, “Trans people are human, by which I mean insufferable.” Playing more on the comedic absurdity that is queer life than its particular tragedies, Vaid-Menon keeps the tone silly while still aiming to hammer home that we’re all more alike than different. After all, despite what the trans- and homo-phobes would like you to believe, we all share the same biological fate. You know: worm food! – James Scott
Purim Pickle Party
Sunday 9, Lynny’s
Purim hits this Thursday, March 13, and runs through Friday, but you’re allowed an early Purim pickle – as a treat. Local small-batch fermented friends Pickle Envy host a party saluting the holiday’s roots in overcoming fascism, as well as celebrating two years in crunch-tastic business. Attendees can learn PE fermentation secrets through a workshop, see bread-and-butter drag by host the Trans Era, and enjoy pickle-themed drinks and tasty collab treats from Lynny’s and PE. Proceeds benefit the local chapter of Jewish-led immigrant justice org Never Again Action Austin. – James Scott
Keep It Local, Yokels
Sunday 9, El Tigre Coffee Roasters
Print’s not dead! Stop saying we’re dead! If you need more proof than the freakin’ paper in your own hands, then look no further than Austin’s new newsstand – Keep Looking Shop. Sharing space with 12th Street caffeine dealers El Tigre, the purveyor of glossies, zines, and other readable materials ups their game this Fest season with a party thrown in collaboration with creative collective the Good for Nothings Club. Local-focused festivities include a vendor market featuring vintage-spine slingers Idle Hands Books and trinket trustees Gia Dinh Goods among other hot-item hunters; a slew of free sips from Austin-based bev brands; à la carte culinary offerings; and live music. Feel free to pick up one or 100 pieces of print media while you’re around: You’re supporting a media style that’s proudly analog. – James Scott
Want to see all of our listings broken down by day? Go to austinchronicle.com/calendar and see what’s happening now or in the coming week.
This article appears in March 7 • 2025.
