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Laundry & Bourbon with Lonestar
Laundry and Bourbon with Lonestar, two companion one act plays set in backyards of a small Texas town. Three ladies come together to talk about their life's ups and downs. Lonestar follows the life of three small town boys and the events that have shaped them. Both shows give us highs & lows with humor spread around, for good measure.Apr. 19-May 5Navasota Theatre Alliance
Recommended
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Arts
Dance
Blue Lapis Light: In Light
This latest Downtown spectacle of beauty and power from the acclaimed company features aerialists performing off the side of IBC Bank, dancers on Chinese poles, and an ensemble of ground-based performers. This event is not the sort of infrastructural phantasmagoria an arts-lover wants to miss, we reckon – so, yes, you'd best reserve tickets while you can.Through Sept. 29. Thu.-Sun., 8pm. $25-65. -
Arts
Theatre
Admissions
Just in time for the start of the school year, Joshua Harmon's ripped-from-the-headlines show, presented here under the direction of David Jarrott, takes a satirical look at the things some people will do to get their child into the right university. Starring Tim Blackwood, Beth Burroughs, Rebecca Robinson, Tucker Shepherd, Jennie Underwood, and the spectre of white liberal privilege.Through Oct. 6. Thu.-Sat., 7:30pm; Sun., 2:30pm. $23-25. -
Arts
Dance
Ballet Austin: Carmina Burana
Carl Orff's soul-stirring composition built from ancient tales of drunken debauchery among a brotherhood of monks, presented as a full-length ballet? Indeed, squire – with choreography by Stephen Mills, accompaniment by the Austin Symphony Orchestra, and vocals (oh! those familiar yet still spine-tingling vocals!) by none other than the Conspirare Symphonic Choir. Recommended!Sept. 20-22. Fri., 8pm; Sat., 2 & 8pm; Sun., 3pm. $39-59. -
Arts
Classical Music
Beerthoven: In Search of a Beer Mug
Jah, jah! Daniel Swayze's Beerthoven series of casual but classical shindigs returns with a full slate of beertastic and Ludwiggian shows, this season opener featuring the world premiere of Niko Schroeder's "The Ballad of Young King Gambrinus," commemorating the European folk hero and unofficial patron saint of beer. Bonus: The Aldebaran Saxophone Quartet, and – another premiere – James Parker's "Seven Streams, Seven Wonders."Fri., Sept. 20, 7:30pm. $10-$25. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Camiba Art: The Story of the Deer in the Road
Bring a bright tangle of the wild outside deep into your soul by viewing this new exhibition of paintings from florapsychedelic artist Valerie Fowler, the woman who bends pigments to brilliantly warped realist effect and conjures forests that speak parseltongue to all that's serpentine in human memory. Also, Fowler will be performing three separate "crankie" shows, wherein she scrolls through a 30-foot-long narrative drawing accompanied by live music written and performed by Brian Beattie and preceded by writer Robin Chotzinoff's response to the artwork. Note that you've got to RSVP for those crankie performances, as the joint will likely be packed, OK? See website for details.Crankie show: Thu., Sept. 26, 6pm -
Arts
Comedy
Chris Cubas
This city's favorite lover of cute animal pictures returns to the Velv for a weekend of big laughs. Surely you've seen Cubas on Comedy Central and @Midnight, right? Surely you've heard people telling you he's like Austin's not-so-secret comedy weapon that'll eventually conquer the entire world of observational stand-up? Listen to those people: They're telling the truth. Give yourself a treat and catch this funny guy, with Roxy Castillo opening, right in the somewhat sclerotic heart of Downtown this weekend.Sept. 20-21. Fri., 9 & 11pm; Sat., 9pm. $10. -
Arts
Theatre
Instructions for a Seance
Part DIY seance, part historical cabaret, this is one woman's attempt to contact and resurrect the escape artist Harry Houdini. Inspired by the Houdini archives at the Harry Ransom Center, this show by Katie Bender is "a funny, haunting, and haunted exploration of ambition, legacy, and familial responsibility."Through Sept. 29. Thu.-Sun., 8pm. $15-30. -
Arts
Books
Jonathan Safran-Foer: We Are the Weather
Yes, the internationally bestselling author will present his newest book – a "mind-bending and potentially world-changing call to action on climate change" – in conversation with the Texas Observer's Megan Kimble.Fri., Sept. 20, 7pm -
Arts
Comedy
Sam Tripoli: Tin Foil Hat
The host of one of America’s most popular conspiracy-themed podcasts brings his provocative world view to the stage in a night of stand-up comedy and far-out theories. Bonus: Eddie Bravo.Fri., Sept. 20, 6pm. $32-52. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Susanna Dickinson Museum: Notes from the Border
The photographer Ilana Panich-Linsman gives us a small glimpse into the lives of those detained and displaced, via images captured on the U.S.-Mexican Border.Through Sept. 22411 E. Fifth -
Community
Events
The Thinkery: Imaginarium
The Thinkery's unleashing this bright spectacle of a posh fundraiser at the Marriott Downtown, with an evening of cocktails, live entertainment, a gourmet dinner, fine wine – no, really, fiiiiiine wine – and an enticing sockdollager of a silent auction. Enjoy, enjoy, and support Austin's enduring combination of the sciences and the arts.Fri., Sept. 20, 6:30-10:30pm. $50.
All Events
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Arts
Theatre
:Humpty
The Vortex is gonna rock your brain's cradle with this "twisted nursery rhyme pantomime" conjured up by that irrepressible Melissa Vogt, featuring an all-star cast grooving to an original score by Chad Salvata, and the whole fractured fairy-tale spectacle of it directed by Bonnie Cullum. Note that this darkling narrative from Ethos – it's funny and disgusting, charming and startling – is alive with adult aesthetics and not appropriate for children. And here is Trey Gutierrez's review of the show.Through Sept. 28. Thu.-Sun., 8pm. $15-35. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Ao5 Gallery: Rust Dust & Lust
That Gabe Leonard fellow – that guy with all those girls, guns, and glory – returns to A05 with his cinematically staged paintings of sharpshooters, gangsters, gamblers, and musicians.Through Oct. 12. Free, but RSVP for the reception. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Art for the People: Adventure, Fantasy, and Fun
Here's an exhibition – adventurous, fantastic, and let's not forget fun – by 57 Texas-based artists, featuring a diversity of styles and mediums.Through Oct. 5 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Beezlebubba’s Nu Age Art Show
What is this? It's a group show with original Texas bizarro artists Andy Don Emmons, Chicken George Zupp, David Patrick Dennis, and James Lawrence Thornton, that's what it is.Through Oct. 31Tin Whistle Art Gallery, 5305 Bolm Rd -
Arts
Visual Arts
Big Medium: Sanctum
This new exhibition, curated by Alyssa Taylor Wendt, brings together a collection of international artists to present work – video, installation, photography, painting, and sculpture – in conversation around the concept of genetic memory. Featuring Beili Liu, Cordula Ditz, Scott Vincent Campbell, Birthe Piontek, Jaime Zuverza, and including an excerpt from Wendt’s latest film, The Memory Inheritance.Through Oct. 5 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Blanton Museum of Art: This Is the Day
This new show highlights new developments in Jeffrey Gibson’s genre-bridging practice, with 50 works made between 2014 and 2018 – including intricately beaded wall-hangings and punching bags, paintings, ceramics, garments, helmets, and a new video commissioned for this exhibition.Through Sept. 29 -
Arts
Visual Arts
BMP Video Room: Short Takes/Long Views
Black Mountain Project invites you to a special screening of experimental moving images from a wide range of sources, melding perspectives and approaches into a single platform for collective experience in Big Medium's Creative Standard Room #105. This is a hybrid mix of cross-boundary videos, shorts, films, and animations that have had a radical impact on the practices of the three founding BMP members.Fri., Sept. 20, 7:30-10:30pm. Free. -
Arts
Comedy
Brent Morin
Best known for his role as “Justin Kearney” in the NBC sitcom Undateable, now he's here to brighten the Cap City stage with his inimitable stand-up.Sept. 19-21. Thu., 8pm; Fri.-Sat., 7:30 & 10pm. $16-23. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Butridge Gallery: The IN Between
Through intimate portraits and abstract landscapes, Vy Ngo depicts the experience of physically and emotionally living in two different cultures, her show here a reflection of the space in which many children of immigrants live within their identities, their communities, and in the context of the American Dream.Through Oct. 5. free. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Co-Lab Projects: That's Not Going Anywhere
David Culpepper, founding member of Ink Tank Collective, presents a new show of works – models, maquettes, other mordant manifestations – in this busy Springdale General outpost of Co-Lab Projects.Through Sept. 28 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Cowboys in Space and Fantastic Worlds
Yippee ki yay, space cadet, it's time to head 'em off at the Pass Nebula as the State History Museum presents an exhibition that spans more than 150 years of Western and science fiction history and features 100-plus artifacts (including props from Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly, and other skiffy media fare). And our arch-geek himself, the estimable Richard Whittaker, also a part-time Sith Lord, reviews the show for you here.Through Dec. 1 -
Arts
Theatre
Cyrano de Bergerac
In the midst of 17th-century Paris, Cyrano de Bergerac stands alone in his ugliness, intelligence, and aesthetic lifestyle … until he falls in love. The classic play by Edmund Rostand comes to life in a new, fast-paced translation, directed by Jennifer Rose Davis for the Archive Theater. And here's our review of the show.Through Sept. 29. Thu.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 5pm. $15-$35. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Davis Gallery: Big Pink Blanket of Love
In partnership with the Peabody Fund and Dell Children’s Medical Center, Davis Gallery presents a unique group show in support of: the gallery's own Jan Heaton, one of Austin’s premier: watercolorists. More than 60 artists have contributed 4" x 4" squares of their own artwork in an overall pink palette that will be hand-stitched together to create a pink quilt, symbolizing the community’s compassion, strength, and friendship – in memory of Heaton's daughter, Kristin Peabody, taken by an aggressive cancer after ten years of battle.Through Oct. 12 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Dimension Gallery: I, Too, Am
This new exhibition by ceramicist Tammie Rubin cites Langston Hughes’ 1926 poem, "I, Too," a work that itself references Walt Whitman’s "I Sing the Body Electric." Here Rubin turns the gallery into an immersive installation of rock formations, mesas, mountains, and hills, as carved from construction foam and enveloped in resin, juxtaposing the majestic grandeur of the varied American landscape with how those same inspired ideas of vastness and expansion often fall short for its citizens. Recommended.Through Sept. 22 -
Arts
Books
Esteban Rodríguez: Dust & Dusk
The author presents his new books of poems that explores the lives of the generations who have made their homes along the US-Mexico border. Bonus: Rodríguez will be joined by Leanna Petronella, Saul Hernandez, and Gabino Iglesias.Fri., Sept. 20, 7pm -
Arts
Dance
Flamenco Under the Stars
Thundering footwork, chattering castanets, soaring vocals, and blazing guitars bring Zilker Park alive after dark as A’lante Flamenco is joined by Alex Ruiz for the Friday show and guest musicians from Agua Clara for both nights.Fri., Sept. 20, 8pm. Free. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Georgetown Art Center: Cultivated On Dry Land
Yes, it's a ways up there, isn't it? Georgetown? But, tell you what, it's totally worth the drive to see these intricate, peculiar, gorgeous works of ceramics created by Jennifer Hill. It's a series in which the adept artist explores the visual relationships between land-based flora and marine life, and witnessing it is the next best thing to scuba diving around Cozumel with the ghost of H.P. Lovecraft.Through Sept. 21 -
Arts
Visual Arts
grayDUCK Gallery: Secure the Perimeter
Some artists try to capture their city, their geographical region, and they succeed at it. Only the best will ever succeed as well as Austin's John Mulvany does in capturing his Eastside neighborhood. Listen: "Everything in life is present in the neighborhood," says the artist. "If you are inclined to walk around with your eyes and senses open, you notice things you might otherwise miss. A dead grackle in the road, the unkempt beauty of East Austin backyards, the violent magenta-pink veil of cherry blossom enveloping a vacant house, a cockroach carried away by ants. This exhibition is an invitation to look closer. The neighborhood, like the natural world, is in a constant state of creation, transformation and decay." And this is precisely what you'll see, in Mulvany's array of realist, atmosphere-haunted paintings on the familiar grayDUCK walls. (See Barbara Purcell's review of the show right here.)Through Oct. 20 -
Arts
Theatre
Holmes and Watson
"It’s been three years since Sherlock Holmes went over Reichenbach Falls and was declared dead. When Dr. John Watson receives a cryptic telegram stating that three asylum patients are each claiming to be the late Sherlock Holmes, Watson is compelled to investigate. Could Holmes really be alive after all this time?" Jeffrey Hatcher's fine tribute of a play is directed here by Don Toner for the start of Austin Playhouse's 20th(!) season, and our Robert Faires reviews it right here.Through Sept. 29. Thu.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 5pm. $32-38. -
Arts
Theatre
Hot Dogs at the Eiffel Tower
"What kind of parent knits their daughter a wool swimsuit? Or gives her a briefcase for her 11th birthday? Or keeps her in the dark about where she came from?" British actor and comedian Maggie Gallant – a longtime FronteraFest favorite – shares her childhood embarrassments and adulthood discoveries as she unleashes a Pandora's Box of hope, lies, and un très magnifique French Papa, in this hilarious and heartwarming one-woman show, as directed by Ken Webster for HPT.Through Oct. 5. Thu.-Sat., 8pm. $22-28. -
Arts
Classical Music
India Fine Arts: Abhishek Raghuram
For this concert at the Blanton, the inspiring young vocalist will be accompanied by HN Bhaskar on violin and Bangalore Arjun Kumar on mridangam.Fri., Sept. 20, 7pm. $20-30. -
Arts
Theatre
Jump
This is Charly Evon Simpson's whimsical new play about the connections we all share, in which "lights flicker, hearts heal, and a young woman finds solace on a bridge." It's Shrewd Productions' 16th world premiere (!). it features a cast of Chelsea Manasseri, Allegra Jade Fox, Trey Deason, and Kyron Hayesby, and it's directed by Shannon Grounds for that same fierce company. (And – our own Robert Faires reviews the show right here.)Through Sept. 29. Thu.-Sun., 8pm. $15-25. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Landmarks Video: Children of Unquiet
The artist Mikhail Karikis' Children of Unquiet from 2014 gets the big screen treatment here, and you can watch: Videos are accessible to all and free to view.Through Sept. 30ART Building, 2301 San Jacinto -
Arts
Visual Arts
Link & Pin Gallery: BIG Little Show
Works by 29 artists in a variety of media, each piece no larger than 15 inches in any direction. Featuring Leslie Kell, Jo Lagattuta, Carol Hayman, Shruti Mehta, Jane Pomeroy, Pete Holland, and Joy Timmons.Through Sept. 22 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Lora Reynolds Gallery: Roy McMakin and Rosy Keyser
McMakin brings us recontextualized furniture and untold (actually, very carefully quantified) numbers of coats of paint, with his "Two Bowls, a Cabinet Door, Two Tables, and a Window (with a Blue Wall)," and Keyser's got a new showcase of her vivid "Works on Paper."Through Nov. 9 -
Arts
Visual Arts
MASS Gallery: Rotten Little Fruits
The dark, celebratory, and comical work of Christine Garvey and Bonnie Staley has much in common with rotten little fruit – the outsider, problematic, misbehaving body – as both artists "reference the history, anatomy, pains, and joys of the female body to create objects that operate in a space between traditional classifications of painting, drawing, and sculpture."Through Oct. 19 -
Arts
Theatre
Over the Lege Part 4: The House Awakens
This annual political satire show, focused solely on the Texas Legislature, returns to the Long Center for another skewering that brings together political insiders, improv actors, and comedy writers to expose the shenanigans of our Lone Star lawmakers. Bonus: Host Stephanie Chiarello interviews a Texas political celebrity, then welcomes a panel of “colleagues” – aka those improvisers – to yes-and the hell out of that material. Tom Booker directs; Denise Hudson provides the music; Janet Maykus and Amy Lowrey lead the troupe.Through Sept. 29. Fri.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 2pm. $21.50. -
Arts
Classical Music
Pictures at an Exhibition: Reclamation
This series of new music by composer/pianist Catherine Davis and visual art by Jarod Harmeier, Brian Johnson, Aaron Michalovic, and Adam Young is an homage to the original masterpiece by Mussorgsky.Fri.-Sat., Sept. 20-21, 8pm. $15 and up.Hatch Workshop, 641 Tillery -
Arts
Theatre
Plano
Paper Chairs co-founder Dustin Wills returns to Austin to direct this new Will Arbery play that seems like, according to The New Yorker, “a David Lynch script performed as screwball comedy.”OK, and listen: "Three sisters are suffering from strange household plagues. The men in their lives keep disappearing or doubling; time keeps leapfrogging; and the slugs just won’t go away. Plano, Texas, seems to be not just a nearby city but also a malevolent existential state."Yeah, we like the sound of that. And those "three sisters" are played by Elizabeth Doss, Heather Hanna, and Hannah Kenah, so we're already lining up to get tickets. And Janelle Buchanan and Harold Fisch are in the show, too, FTW. And that newly returned-to-Austin Rubber Rep duo (that's Josh Meyer and Matt Hislope, yes) are also part of a don't-you-miss-it theatrical event.Recommended? Well, here's an update: We saw the show since we originally wrote this blurb. Our response? First: FUUUUUUUCK. Second: You know how they – whoever they are – say "If you only see one show a year, then see this one," right? Well, that. But, regardless of how many shows you see, don't miss Plano.Bravo and brava, Paper Chairs, what a freaky-ass masterpiece of stagecraft.Through Sept. 28. Thu.-Sat., 8pm. $20-30. -
Arts
Theatre
Saints, Sinners & Thieves
This is an evening of three one-act plays – Soldier of the Cross and A Fool and His Money, by Sally Seitz, and I Am Not the Person You Have Made Me Out to Be by Marianne Serene – with characters exploring salvation, redemption, survival, and parental misconceptions of identity. Note: "Each play will be introduced and observed by Trudy, the character from Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe." Directed by Sally Seitz and Barbara Abbate for the Paradox Players.Through Oct. 6. Fri.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 3pm. $10-20. -
Arts
Visual Arts
SouthPop: Shoot Like a GRRRL
This exhibit showcases the work of Martha Grenon, one of Austin's premier music photographers, her images capturing the excitement of bands performing in Austin since the early Eighties.Through Sept. 28 -
Arts
Theatre
TexArts: J. Quinton Johnson
Join your theatrical instigators at TexARTS for this "exclusive behind-the-scenes conversation and reception with Broadway and film star J. Quinton Johnson," moderated by Broadway producer Natasha Davison.Fri., Sept. 20, 7:30pm. $40. -
Arts
Visual Arts
The Blanton Museum: She-Wolf + Lower Figs
This installation presents new work that expands Lily Cox-Richard’s research into the contextual history of materials, making visible unseen systems that dictate materials’ production, value, and use, and engages larger questions of natural resources, labor, the specifics of place, and the politics of viewership.Through Dec. 29 -
Arts
Visual Arts
The Contemporary Austin: The Sorcerer's Burden
The complex relationship between contemporary art and anthropology shapes the subject of "The Sorcerer’s Burden: Contemporary Art and the Anthropological Turn," an 11-artist exhibition representing a wide range of media – including painting, sculpture, photography, video, and performance. And here's our own Robert Faires with a full review of the show. -
Arts
Visual Arts
The People's Gallery: Exhibition 2019
Here's the 15th annual exhibition at Austin City Hall, presenting a wide array of painting, sculpture, drawing, and other media by 113 local artists. This year, the exhibition includes a special selection of photographs: The Bold Beauty Project of Texas, featuring images of Texas women with disabilities taken by photographers from across the state. -
Arts
Visual Arts
The Umlauf: Michael Ray Charles
Yeah, no, this is a monumental showing of work – including a series of paintings commissioned for the exhibition – by one of the best, most provocative artists working on this planet. The former Austinite (he taught at UT for 20 years) Michael Ray Charles "is known for art that investigates the legacy of historic racial stereotypes of African Americans. Since the 1990s, he's created complex, layered paintings that challenge stereotypes, power dynamics, and social and cultural hierarchies." Ah, words can't even – but our Arts Editor Robert Faires offers a fine preview right here.Through Jan. 3 -
Arts
Theatre
The Waverly Gallery
Babs George stars in this Kenneth Lonergan tale of the final years of a generous, chatty, and feisty woman's battle against Alzheimer's disease. The show, a powerful work that "captures the life force of a woman and the humor and strength of a family in the face of crisis," is directed by Michael Cooper for the Alchemy Theatre. Look: Trey Gutierrez reviews the production right here.Through Oct. 5. Thu.-Sat., 8pm. $32-45. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Visual Arts Center: Fall 2019
The fall array of exhibitions at UT's Visual Arts Center features Nikita Gale's "EASY LISTENING," Kenneth Tam's "Details," Maria Antelman's "Mechanisms of Affection," Saakred's "Sin Nombre, Sin Cuerpo," and more. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Wally Workman Gallery: Cynosures
Austin-based artist Sarah Ferguson has experimented with the trifecta of light, color, and perception for two decades, creating vibrant and immersive experiences for the viewer. See this show and witness spectral manifestation as never before.Through Sept. 29 -
Arts
Comedy
Y'all We Asian
Yeah, ha, you thought Y'all We Asian was a just-at-Coldtowne sort of troupe? Nope – these talents won't be locked down to just one venue, not when there's a whole city lining up to catch their inspired hijinks. Now with two shows each weekend – featuring Faraaz Ismail, Jane Lee, Yola Lu, G-Su Paek, Virgil Shelby, Kim Tran, Minda Wei, Uday Waghmare, Norman Tran, Nick Fung, and Sunny Huang – at Spider House this whole month.Through Sept. 28. Fri.-Sat., 8pm. $10.
