Added this year: the opportunity for UHCL students to produce and put on their own work through The Storytellers, an all-student troupe that gives up-and-coming writers, directors, and other performers the opportunity to pursue their craft. On November 13-14, The Storytellers will showcase “Dakota Gray,” an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Reimagined with a Y2K twist, “Dakota Gray” follows a rising model who has her wish for eternal youth fulfilled. As her career and lifestyle soar, however, the hidden cost of her pleasure-filled life slowly corrupts her soul.

“We’re pleased to see The Storytellers return this year, this time with an all-student creative team, cast, and crew,” Davis said. “The theater is proud to provide UHCL students the space to display their artistry, get performance experience, and showcase their talent to the public.”

Also returning to the Bayou Theater will be the Classical Series with the Mercury Chamber Orchestra (MCO) in three separate performances: a program of Bach and Mendelssohn on October 28; Mozart and Dvorak on January 20, 2027; and “Music from Quebec” with music shaped by the fusion of French roots and Celtic influences on March 15, 2027. “Bayou Theater audiences have grown to cherish the Mercury Chamber Orchestra, and this season’s performances will continue that love affair,” Davis said.

Houston’s Main Street Theater for Youth also returns to the Bayou on February 26 with “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” a fast-paced slapstick adventure especially appealing to grade-school kids and anyone else who loves to laugh. “This charming production is a perfect first-theater experience for young audiences,” Davis said.

A variety of ticket packages are available, and parking is provided at no cost to theater-goers. Tickets can be purchased beginning July 17 at uhcl.edu/bayou-theater or by calling 281-283-3024. To stay informed about upcoming events, sign up for the Bayou Theater’s monthly Arts Connect Newsletter.

The Bayou Theater at the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) has announced its full 2025-2026 season lineup, promising a diverse blend of music, theater, and community collaborations designed to entertain and inspire audiences across Bay Area Houston.

Returning to lead the program is Director of Theater and Cultural Arts Stephen Davis, who emphasized his mission in a letter to the community: “We continue our commitment to bringing you high-quality performing arts with a little bit of something for everyone.”

The season opens Aug. 29 with Mercury Chamber Orchestra’s “Handel & Vivaldi,” featuring selections from two Baroque legends and including Handel’s beloved “Water Music.” This performance marks the beginning of Mercury’s own 25th anniversary season. The ensemble returns Oct. 30 with a performance of “Vivaldi’s Four Seasons,” celebrating the work’s 300th anniversary. Mercury rounds out its appearances on April 15 with “Bolero Querido!,” a program exploring cross-cultural musical heritage, from Ravel to Latin American classics.

Country music fans can look forward to Artists Lounge Live’s return on Feb. 19 with “Friends in Low Places: Brandon Bennett Sings Garth Brooks.” Bennett, best known for “Elvis My Way,” will bring Brooks’ hits like “The Dance,” “Two of a Kind,” and  “Workin’ on a Full House” to the Bayou stage, just in time to kick off rodeo season.

Furthermore, Davis and his team at the theater continue their strong commitment to local and youth theater through two collaborative projects. The UHCL Storytellers return to showcase student talent, while Main Street Theater for Youth presents “The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!” on Feb. 27. The morning performance invites young audiences to question what really happened in the most infamous pork-based court case of all time.

In the spring, the Bayou Theater will once again partner with Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre to stage a full production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” Performances run across two weekends, April 24-26 and May 1-3, and will feature a cast of local and regional talent in the classic American musical that helped define modern Broadway.

Tickets can be purchased online anytime or by calling 281-283-3024. To stay informed about upcoming events, sign up for the Bayou Theater’s monthly Arts Connect Newsletter. Visit uhcl.edu/bayou-theater for more information and to buy tickets.

The season kicks off on September 5, 2024, with I Will Always Love You: Katie Deal Sings Dolly Parton. Other highlights include:

·  Houston-based Norteño ensemble, EZ Band, on Friday, October 11, 2024

·  Mercury Chamber Orchestra: Classical Piano Trios on Friday, October 25, 2024

·  Movie Party: Hocus Pocus! On Tuesday, October 29, 2024

·  A co-production of Beauty and the Beast with Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre

· The Rocket Science of Neighbors, a show examining the relationship of space and the proximity to Johnson Space Center, UHCL

· Musical performances by Broadway singer Alli Mauzey, and Motown on Broadway performer Chester Gregory.

Under the leadership of Stephen Davis, UH-Clear Lake’s new director of Theater and Cultural Arts, the 500-seat Bayou Theater hosts campus events, theatrical performances, musical concerts, community events, and more throughout the year.

“From the moment I began pulling this season together, my goal was to bring more variety,” said Davis. “This season has something for everyone. From chamber music to Norteño, to Broadway and beyond, there’s a show for everyone to experience exceptional arts in their backyard.”

Join us for a season of unforgettable performances and cultural enrichment. We can’t wait to share this extraordinary journey with you.

For more information about Bayou Theater’s upcoming performances, ticket purchasing, rentals, and tours, visit www.uhcl.edu/bayou-theater/.

University of Houston- Clear Lake’s third annual Sustainable Stories Film Fest and Juried Art Exhibition will take place on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, in the Bayou Theater and Art Gallery at 1 p.m.  The festival aims to expose the community to ideas, concepts and stories of sustainability, and to empower filmmakers and artists working on sustainability-related projects. This year's special focus for the festival is Disability Visibility.

Associate Professor of Communications and Digital Media Michael Brims, the event’s co-founder and main organizer, said more than 100 films were submitted from all over the world for this year’s festival.

“We are inviting the best films to participate in the festival,” Brims said. “This is the third time we’re hosting this festival, and it’s a collaborative effort.”

Director of Cultural Arts Eric Despard, Emerging Technology Librarian Elizabeth Fridrick, Director of First-Year Seminar Program and Coordinator of UHCL Common Reader Program Anne Gessler and Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management Kathleen Garland, have been working alongside Brims to host the festival.

This year’s feature film, ‘The Artist & the Astronaut', is a remarkable tale of an unlikely love story between the artist Pat Musick, a civil rights activist and former UHCL art professor, and the Apollo astronaut Jerry Carr. Their paths intersected during some of the most pivotal moments in human history, making for an incredible story of love, art and perseverance. This documentary is filled with never-before-seen footage of the early space pioneers and features interviews with key figures from that era, providing an intimate look into their lives and the historical events. There will be a talkback with filmmaker Bill Muench after the film.

Brims added that the art exhibition features seven works by Pat Musick, paintings, drawings, ceramics, sculptures, video art, and local and international submitted VR pieces related to sustainability in the Neumann Library XR lab. 

The art exhibition and interactive pieces start on Nov.6 and continue through Dec. 8., with daily film screenings in the Art Gallery's adjacent black box cinema.

For more information about the Sustainable Stories Film Fest, visit www.sustainable-stories.org/. To purchase tickets for the festival, visit uhcl.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1415.

David Engel, also known as ‘Pirate Professor Billy Bones,’ will bring his swashbuckling adventure to University of Houston- Clear Lake’s Bayou Theater on Thursday Nov. 9, at 6 p.m. The “Pirate School: Sea Dreams!” experience includes audience participation, adept magic, antic bubble-play, eccentric props and a host of other family-friendly fun.  

When Engel was five years old, his parents threw him a pirate themed birthday party, and that’s when he knew what he wanted to be. He participated in festivals and theater throughout his childhood, and after high school, attended Columbia College for Liberal Arts.   

“One thing my mom made me do, was learn about the world before I got into acting school. I learned about history, sociology and science,” Engel said. “That all led to me being a well-rounded actor and clown. I could connect to things on a deeper level.”  

After completing his college degree, Engel went to Europe and performed street theater. He said that was also a real education, because it gave him a different experience. During his last years of acting school, he got into performing at kids’ birthday parties, and this is how “Pirate School!” became reality.  

“While some actors wait tables to make extra money, I decided to be a pirate performer, which started early at kids’ parties,” Engel said. “Kids are a very challenging audience. You know when you’re being successful, or when you’re dropping the ball.”  

Engel added that although his target audience for the show are kids ages 4-12, he also makes sure to connect with teenagers and adults.  

“In my shows, we certainly have fun. The pirate theme seems to be an evergreen theme with kids and adults in all parts of society. I’ve even noticed it in Texas,” Engel said. “This country is fractured enough. One of the things about ‘Pirate School!’, it’s all about building community, tolerance and understanding in a darkened theater.”  

He wants the audience to feel inspired and magical while watching him.   

“If I can get people to come to a show and they’ve never been to the theater before, then the whole community becomes open to them and they might want to catch the next performance,” he said.  

No worries on scaring the children. Engel won’t make them cry, but instead hopes to curb bullying, impart life lessons and promote good manners and social courage.  

“I loved Daffy Duck growing up. This is the type of clowning patrons in the Bayou Theater may expect. I am not a circus or scary clown,” Engel said. “I’m a ‘theatrical clown’ or ‘character clown.’”  

Engel said along the way, he learned the importance of his work and its influence on children.  

“When people laugh, that’s about as human as they get. When they laugh, they aren’t worried about their business, or problems, but are human at that moment. They leave the theater transformed, displaying more of their best qualities, and that is very impactful,” he said. “I stayed the course and have been performing ever since.”  

Engel encourages kids and adults to come dressed in pirate costumes. For more information about UHCL’s Bayou Theater, and to purchase tickets to this event visit uhcl.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1399&r=2b5672018bfb4a44999e5e1e638f206c . 

Grammy-nominated Texas-born, Louisiana-raised pianist and vocalist Marcia Ball said she’d grown up steeped in the sounds of rhythm and blues in a home filled with music on the radio. “When I was growing up in Vinton, Louisiana, those parts were full of soul music and rhythm and blues,” she said. “The big radio station was KFDM in Beaumont, and the Big Bopper was the DJ. That’s how I grew up.”

She’s sharing her unique style of playful, rollicking, singalong blues on University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Bayou Theater stage Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

“When I was growing up, there were bands on both sides of the Sabine River,” she said. “I listened to the Boogie Kings, Blues Kings, and I went to all the clubs on the Louisiana side of the river, where things were looser than in Texas. There was a lot of music to be heard, and my grandmother started me playing piano when I started school.”

She said that she’d listened to all the local artists in New Orleans, but at age 13, she went to see a certain show where a lot of performers played. She only remembered one of them.

“It was Irma Thomas,” she said. “I don’t remember anyone but her. That set me on a path that I’m still on today, in terms of my style.”

Irma Thomas, a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, was known as the “Soul Queen of New Orleans.”

She said Irma Thomas became her music hero, and her friend. “I have had five Grammy nominations, always in the Contemporary Blues category. The first time was for a record called ‘Sing It!’ that I made with Irma Thomas and Tracy Nelson in 1998,” she said. “It was very exciting. I’ve been to the Grammys twice. When you’re nominated, you get a blue Tiffany box with a bronze medallion on a ribbon. I still have all that, and Irma is still my friend to this day.”

During her five decades long-career, Ball said she’d joined a rock band and screamed Janis Joplin for a while, then moved to Austin and returned to her roots. “I went through the 70s playing country, and in the 80s I decided to go back to my roots, which are in New Orleans rhythm and blues,” she said.

Ball and her five-piece band, including a drummer, a bass player, a guitarist, and a saxophonist alongside her piano and vocals, have one hope for their audience when they perform. “We just want to lift people up and make them have fun,” she said. “We play serious songs with serious content, but it’s mostly about having a good time, making people happy and having a celebration.”

For more information about upcoming events, or to reserve or purchase tickets, go to www.uhcl.edu/bayou-theater/.

Classical violinist and vocalist Lucia Micarelli and Latin Grammy-nominated guitarist Leo Amuedo said their new album, “Saudade,” is much like their performance—full of a spectrum of emotions, with the intention of simply making the audience feel something. The pair will perform at the Bayou Theater at University of Houston-Clear Lake on Friday, Oct. 20, showcasing their diverse influences including jazz, classical, Americana and folk, woven together with Amuedo’s trademark passion and technical expertise.

The word “Saudade,” Micarelli explained, is a Portuguese word that reflects their love of Brazilian and Latin music, but also doesn’t really have a translation. That's part of the reason why they felt the word was the best fit for their album's vibe. 

“We chose this word because it means a lot of things, just as our music is a mix of things,” she said.

“’Saudade’ means something like, nostalgia, longing, sadness, melancholy—just a lot of emotions,” she explained. “And on this record, we have love songs; some are Americana and some are folk love songs, but some are jazz standards. Some are classic, older Brazilian instrumental tunes, and then we have songs Leo and I take from other genres and change the style and approach and made it into something else.”

All of it, she continued, is about looking back in a way with these instrumentals and even folk songs, and reinventing it and bringing it into the modern day.

“At least through our lens, we look back at it with a kind of nostalgia,” she said. “We are drawn to emotional material and emotional lyrics. The whole album isn’t sad, but ‘Saudade’ has so many meanings, and a lot of songs we have are connected to that word. We want our music to be warm, inviting, and comfortable, so that you want to get cozy by a fire with your friends. This word is a good way to sum all that up.”

Amuedo, who was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2020 in the “Best Instrumental Album” category for his work on the album, “Leonardo Amuedo plays Daniel Figueiredo,” and won Latin Grammys for contributing to other projects in 2013 and 2009, said that any time he plays at any show, all he wants is for people to feel something.

“What exactly they will feel is out of my hands, but I hope they feel something good from the music I play,” he said. “I like it when people talk to me after the show, but if they say they like my technique, that doesn’t mean much to me. But if they say my music made them cry, or it made them feel something very strongly, that is the achievement for me.”

Micarelli said the hope to convey emotion to the audience is their shared purpose in music making.

 “We play the music we love that moves us one way or another, and we hope it moves people, too,” she said. “That’s why music is essential in a world where it might seem like the arts might not be essential. It’s a space to explore feelings and humanity, which is hard to express those feelings in normal life. So, we hope to create a warm, loving environment that feels safe for people to feel a lot of feelings and be happy they came to see the show.”

For more information about upcoming events at the Bayou Theater, or to purchase tickets, visit www.uhcl.edu/bayou-theater/

Michael Cleveland picked up a fiddle at the age of four, and he describes the memory as, “love at first note.” Since then, he has made his passion for bluegrass music into a Grammy-winning career, with additional accolades from the International Bluegrass Music Association and a seat at the National Fiddler’s Hall of Fame. He and his band, Flamekeeper, will bring his fiddling fireworks to University of Houston- Clear Lake’s Bayou Theater on Friday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m.

As a boy, he heard a local fiddler playing when he attended the bluegrass shows his grandparents hosted near his hometown, Henryville, Indiana. Cleveland is as passionate about playing today as he was back then.

“I just love to play. It’s all I ever wanted to do,” Cleveland said. “It’s like any other occupation, you have days that aren’t great. No matter how much I am playing, how busy it gets or how tired I am, the music and shows always remind me why I do this.”

Cleveland attended Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville, where he said many of his teachers were also visually impaired, but still able to assist and do anything they set their minds to. They didn’t let the disability stop them, and he wasn’t going to let it stop him from achieving his dreams either. Cleveland said they inspired him.

“When you love something this much you can’t help but want to do it,” Cleveland said. “I didn’t really think a lot about my disability. The people I was around never made a big deal out of the fact that I was blind. Resilient people and great musicians came out of there.”

He began playing professionally after high school and has since been a seven-time recipient of the IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year’ award with Flamekeeper. The group includes Josh Richards, Nathan Livers, Chris Douglas and Jasiah Shrode.

Cleveland said this will be the first time the group will perform at the Bayou Theater, and they are excited about it.

“When it’s a good show, and the music is good, we can all hear like we’re supposed to and the crowd is into it, that’s the ultimate high for me,” Cleveland said. “It’s an adrenaline rush like no other.”

Cleveland added that the group plays high energy bluegrass music. He likes playing for the “die-hard” traditional bluegrass fans, but he loves playing bluegrass music for those who don’t have much knowledge of the genre to show them how great it can be.

“Playing in a theater like this is a great thing and something I’ve always wanted to do for a long time. People coming to the show may have just the slightest idea of what bluegrass is,” Cleveland said.

The group will be playing selections from Cleveland’s new album ‘The Lovin’ of the Game,’ and older selections.

For more information about Michael Cleveland visit, www.michaelclevelandfiddle.com/the-band/. To purchase tickets to the show visit, uhcl.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1396&r=a78057ec4ea94cd493517a0ae8352f65.

Since University of Houston- Clear Lake opened its doors nearly 50 years ago, it has demonstrated a commitment to making higher education available to everyone, including those in the criminal justice system. In celebration of the College of Human Sciences and Humanities ‘Transforming Lives by Degrees Program,’ the Art Gallery is presenting a retrospective of the history, evolution and important milestones of the university’s involvement with prison reform through education. Associate Professor of Art History Beth Merfish said it has always been among UH-Clear Lake’s primary missions to be involved with prison education reform.

“TLD is at the heart of the work of a public university. That is, to make higher education accessible to all, and to provide transformational educational experiences,” Merfish said. “These exhibitions will allow visitors and members of the university community to engage with the program, and the issues that intersect with it.”

Merfish said UHCL’s faculty and staff have been essential for a successful TLD program for 50 years, and the TLD art exhibition will be a video highlighting that success.

“We have a dedicated faculty and staff who have persevered despite challenges,” she said. “We are fortunate to have the support of  our Dean of the College of Human Sciences and Humanities,  Glenn Sanford, and our university administrators. We also have incredible students.”

Merfish added that UHCL’s vision for expansion into other prisons to educate more incarcerated people is being discussed. 

“We currently offer the only graduate degree available to incarcerated students in Texas. In addition to the Master of Arts in Humanities, we offer the Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and the Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Sciences,” she said.

For more information about UHCL’s TLD initiatives visit, www.uhcl.edu/human-sciences-humanities/centers-initiatives/academics-for-offenders. For more information about upcoming exhibitions in UHCL’s Art Gallery visit, www.uhcl.edu/art-gallery/

Created and performed by acclaimed artist and activist Bryonn Bain, the theatrical hip-hop and multimedia production, “Lyrics from Lockdown” conveys a powerful and evocative message inspired by Bain’s life-altering experience with New York police officers who wrongfully arrested and incarcerated him multiple times, beginning when he was a second-year law student at Harvard University. The performance, which spotlights the devastating impact of prison injustice and racial profiling, will take place Saturday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Bayou Theater at University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Along with visuals choreographed on stage, Bain fuses hip hop lyrics, calypso, jazz, and blues singing, as well as poetry, comedy and the spoken word to tell the story of his arrest, his interaction with the police, his experience with public defenders and judges, and the ultimate dismissal of his case.

After his release, one of his Harvard law professors encouraged him to write about racial profiling and law enforcement. His exposé, entitled “Walking While Black,” was published in the Village Voice. It became the most widely-read article in the paper’s history. The response from others sharing similar experiences nearly overwhelmed him, and it planted the seeds that grew into “Lyrics from Lockdown.”

“This is my life’s work,” Bain said. “This has evolved from Rikers Island and Sing Sing, to the National Black Theater, to Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and the Apollo Theater, with feedback from people incarcerated all over the world. There are three musicians playing live, and a video DJ who is mixing images in real time from images that have been curated over the last 20 years. It's a visual journey that we go on, as I tell two stories of wrongful incarceration—my own and that of a friend who was sentenced to death row at age 17.”

The difference, Bain said, is that he got out quickly, but the other person remains incarcerated.

“One of the most important takeaways for the audience is to learn how the justice system works,” he explained. “This is the civil rights and human rights issues of our time. Fifty years from now, they will be asking, what did you do to address the caging of human beings? Were you part of the problem or part of the solution? Coming to this show is a step towards answering those questions.”

Bain’s subsequent work linking prisons with institutions of higher education, including Columbia University and New York University and University of California at Los Angeles, focuses on applying the arts and activism to create movements for criminal justice and social reform. He is currently associate professor and founder of the UCLA Prison Education Program and co-director of the Center for Justice.

“I think this is a great time to come to UHCL because it’s the 50^th anniversary of your Transforming Lives by Degrees program, which coincides with the 50^th anniversary of hip hop,” Bain said. “The two have a lot in common. Hip hop emerged in the 1970s in New York and became the voice of people others had given up on—black and brown people, those whom the media did not see as humans, and those who were written off as hopeless.”

What emerged from that culture, Bain continued, is a multibillion-dollar phenomenon that is now among the most listened-to music on the planet.

 “This music is about people who are considered less than human, just as people in prison are,” he said. “Hip hop culture is linked to the same humanity that prison education programs shine a light on. The graffiti, the music centered around a DJ, the poetry, the lyricist, the storyteller—it’s all included in the movement. The show embodies all elements, along with a world-class band and world-class beat boxers, a bassist, a cellist, a guitarist.”

He said the piece would speak to all those who have been written off by humanity. “We are all created by a creator who has made us creative,” he said. “Our creativity comes alive in the arts.”

Bain said that he imagined a world in which human beings aren’t put in cages because they’re poor, drug addicted, or from communities that have been marginalized. “Let’s think about creating a more humane society. Education and the arts are proven vehicles to change the experience in prison,” he said.

“Over 95% of people who are in prison will be released,” he continued. “Don’t we want them to have more education? Shouldn’t we allow them to be inspired by art and creativity? No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, we should all be interested in those who are incarcerated, in building communities where everyone is safe, and in finding ways to support the reintegration of incarcerated people into society.”

The performance will culminate in a panel discussion about advocacy for criminal justice reform and prison education, featuring Bain and Rob Reiner, Emmy-winning actor and Oscar-nominated director of blockbuster movies including, “When Harry Met Sally,” “The Princess Bride,” “A Few Good Men,” and “Spinal Tap.” Reiner devotes considerable time to causes related to social justice, and the advocacy of more just and equitable laws. 

The event is adjacent to the opening reception for Texas Appleseed’s “I HeArt Justice” poster exhibition, and UH-Clear Lake’s 50^th anniversary celebration of its Transforming Lives By Degrees program, which is committed to offering higher education opportunities to incarcerated students. The exhibitions are from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Art Gallery located in the Bayou Building.

For more information, or for tickets to “Lyrics from Lockdown,” visit www.uhcl.edu/bayou-theater/. For information about Art Gallery exhibitions and upcoming events, visit www.uhcl.edu/art-gallery/

Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating at the state and local levels for fair, equitable laws, has a history of working with Texas artists to develop a collection of posters that shine a light on social justice issues related to Appleseed’s specific policy areas. The result of their collaboration, referred to as “I Heart Justice,”  is an exhibition of 15 posters, opening Monday, Sept. 11 at University of Houston-Clear Lake’s main Art Gallery. The opening reception will take place Saturday, Sept. 30 from 5-7 p.m.

The Art Gallery’s opening event is adjacent to a groundbreaking, multi-media theater production entitled, “Lyrics from Lockdown” to take place in the Bayou Theater at 7:30 p.m. the same evening. The performance aims to expose legal and social inequities in prisons in America. Following the performance, there will be a panel discussion featuring the actors, community members, and Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, producer and director Rob Reiner.

Texas Appleseed’s focal policy issues are aimed at supporting children and families in Texas, as well as other vulnerable populations, through systemic reform work. The nonprofit works on nine broad areas, such as inequities in public schools, unfair eviction and housing matters, preventing financial abuse, and other related policy and legal problems.

“Each artist created a poster related to an issue that Appleseed works on that spoke to them personally,” said Texas Appleseed Executive Director Deborah Fowler. “Some are about criminal justice, or injustices in the educational system, or whatever the artist felt strongly about. We left it to each individual artist to pursue their own design.”

Fowler added that the exhibition at UH-Clear Lake’s Art Gallery is the first time the I Heart Justice collection had ever been shown outside Austin.

Among the artists in the exhibition is Edith Valle, whose depiction of monarch butterflies soaring out of the Statue of Liberty’s torch was inspired by the difficulties faced by immigrants in America. In her artist’s statement, Valle said that the monarch butterfly is a symbol of immigration due to its ability to move freely across borders, but in the current political climate, immigrants who are both documented and undocumented feel threatened by deportation and are stereotyped as criminals.

The Art Gallery is also showcasing an exhibition of the history of UHCL’s Transforming Lives by Degrees program, which started with the university’s founding in 1974. The program offers bachelor’s and master’s degree programs to incarcerated students in Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities. 

For more information about UHCL’s Art Gallery, visit www.uhcl.edu/art-gallery/. To learn more about the Bayou Theater’s upcoming performances, or to reserve tickets to “Lyrics from Lockdown,” visit www.uhcl.edu/bayou-theater/

The Bayou Theater at University of Houston-Clear Lake will open its 2023-24 season with 21 performances highlighting artists representing a wide range of musical styles, including classical, blues, country western, jazz, and hip hop, but is also expanding into brand-new areas to interest an even wider audience.

Among the new season’s highlights is “Lyrics from Lockdown,” a theatrical hip-hop and multimedia production written and performed by renowned artist and social justice activist Bryonn Bain and will feature a post-show discussion with Emmy award-winning actor and film maker Rob Reiner. 

“This gives us the opportunity to showcase UH-Clear Lake’s Transforming Lives by Degrees program, which offers classes at Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities, and highlight the need for prison reform on a national level,” said Cultural Arts Director Eric Despard. “A companion art exhibit will be shown in UHCL’s Art Gallery with a timeline of the university’s nearly 50-year history of having a prison education program in its smaller gallery.”

Despard said that for the first time, the Bayou Theater lineup includes a comedy series. “Everyone loves to laugh,” he said. “With the help of Comedy Zone Worldwide, we’re producing a series of three up-and-coming, family-friendly comedians. Kevin Bozeman, Derrick Stroup, and Andy Woodhull  have appeared on Comedy Central, HBO and late-night shows, including ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.”

Three Grammy-winning artists are also among the new season’s performers: Latin Grammy winner Hector Del Curto will perform Piazzolla with the Apollo Chamber Players, bluegrass Grammy winner Michael Cleveland, and jazz Grammy winners Ranky Tanky.

Despard said the 2023-24 Art Gallery season featured six exhibitions, including the Sustainable Stories Film Fest, the UHCL Art and Design Faculty Exhibition, and the Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition.

For performance dates, ticket reservations, and more information about the Bayou Theater, visit https://uhcl.universitytickets.com/.  For dates and information about opening receptions for Art Gallery exhibitions, visit www.uhcl.edu/art-gallery/

The lead vocalist and guitarist of The Mighty Orq said he acquired his nickname because a kid in his high school cafeteria said he looked like an ‘orq.’ His friends thought it was hilarious and the name stuck. Although it’s likely that the name was intended to mean something more like “nerd,” The Mighty Orq’s performance April 14 at 7:30  p.m. at the Bayou Theater will prove that his years as a fixture on Houston’s live music scene are about smooth, polished blues and rock and roll delivered with a slightly growly vocal and an agile touch on guitar. 

“They called me Orq in high school, and the guy never really explained what it meant,” Orq said. “When I was 18, I started playing in a blues and roots band in Houston. I was introduced onstage as ‘The Mighty Orq’ and I said I liked that, so I kept it.”

Orq said at age 10,  he picked up a guitar after his cousin left his behind after a visit, and began taking lessons. “That really got me hooked, and I thought this is what I want to do with my life,” he said.

He began performing soon after, and was inspired by blues legends like BB King. “I started playing professionally at 18 and was into playing blues, Texas blues, and rock,” he said. “From there, I discovered other music like old school Delta blues and solo acoustic guitar, which I just love. Houston has such a rich tradition of blues, rock, jazz and zydeco. I am into all of it.”

Now, he said, when he hears new music or a new instrument, he’s immediately interested. “I want to play it right away,” he said. “Over the years of performing, I have fallen in love with other styles of music and want to incorporate it into my songwriting and performances. That’s how the variety of styles I play with my band happened. It’s all the things I have heard over the years.”

Orq said that the band’s live performances were very meaningful to him.

“When you’re playing for a live audience, you’re able to reach everyone in the room all at once,” he said. “It sounds simple, but you can speak to each person individually, but yet everyone at the same time. To me, music and all art creates this transcendent experience where you’re having a sense of unity with the artist and the people listening in the space with you. It transcends the bounds of one’s normal, everyday experience.”

He said that’s what he hoped his Bayou Theater audience would have. “Live music is special and maybe transformative,” he said. “It’s something you don’t always have in day-to-day life. That’s one of the beauties of live music.”

For more information about upcoming performances at the Bayou Theater at University of Houston-Clear Lake, or to purchase tickets, go online. 

Austin’s ‘First Lady of Jazz’ Pamela Hart will share her artistry and passion for jazz in her second performance at University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Bayou Theater Friday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. She will be accompanied by the Houston-based Darrell Lavine Quartet.

“I had such a good time when I was there last year, I’m so excited to be coming back,” she said.

Hart said her concerts were an expression of her desire to keep the genre alive. “I do jazz everything,” she said. “This music grabbed me from the age of five, when my mother used to sing it around the house. She loved all the greats—Charlie Parker, Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughn, John Coltrane, Johnny Mathis.  All their songs are the ones I know the most.”

She said the concert would begin with the standards. “I start out with the American songbook of jazz beginning in the 1930s and going through the 60s, and then the second half is more modern, smooth jazz,” she said. “I start with the jazz version of ‘Hello, Dolly.’”

For those who aren’t too familiar with the genre, she said she had some other selections. “I’ll be performing songs from my latest CD, ‘Happy Talk,’” she said. “There’s more for people to listen to so they can onboard with us and enjoy.”

Additional selections for the evening's show include, “Fever,” “Feeling Good,” and “Let’s Stay Together.”

For more information about the Bayou Theater’s upcoming events, or for tickets to Pamela Hart’s concert, go online. 

The Texas Tenors, acclaimed for their success as finalists of “America’s Got Talent” in 2009, as well as for their outstanding classical crossover vocals, will perform at a fundraising concert at University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Bayou Theater Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m.

Their performance will be the headline event in the investiture of UH-Clear Lake’s sixth president, Richard Walker.  A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales are in support of his new initiative, the President’s Excellence Scholarship Fund, which aims to help remove financial barriers for all students.

The classically trained, vocally versatile trio with deep Texas roots is made up of JC Fisher, Marcus Collins and John Hagen. They are the most successful music group in the history of “America’s Got Talent” and have released four studio albums, hosted two PBS specials, four DVDs and a children’s book that have earned international recognition, including three Emmy Awards.

“We are so honored to be part of this,” Collins said. “We love to be part of events like this, so we can help bring awareness to the students, talk about the scholarship fund, and help further the initiative.”

Collins said that especially since the event was a fundraiser, the Tenors hoped to pack the house.

“The concert will be really fun, with everything from country to classical incorporated into new material,” he said. “We’ve got some classic rock—Queen and Aerosmith, as well as some Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’ mixed in with some Italian lyrics with our three-part harmonies. There are definitely some love songs in the show, so bring your sweetheart or your significant other.”

With a combination of country, classical, Broadway, pop and classic rock, Collins said that the show would appeal to everyone.

“We always say, anyone from age 3 to 103 will love our show,” he said. “We love to get out and engage with the audience the whole show—there’s a part in the second half when I come out and sing and dance with people in the crowd. I’m so glad we are able to get that back in the show after the (COVID) separation, because that’s my favorite part.”

Collins said the Tenors knew of UHCL’s history and partnerships with NASA Johnson Space Center.

“I really think our show’s opening is tailor made for UHCL,” he said. “We have done a space-themed opening to Queen’s ‘The Show Must Go On’ for (Apollo 7 Astronaut) Walter Cunningham’s birthday for some years,” he said. “We were so honored to play for him, we created an entire show opening in honor of the space program and astronauts.”

For more information about the Bayou Theater, and to purchase tickets to the Texas Tenors’ concert, go online. 

The panelists in the discussion, entitled, “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility From the Classroom to the Workplace: Are Higher Education, Human Resources, and Corporate America in Synch?” consisted of President and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.; retired Human Resources director and Organizational Development Consultant for NASA-JSC Natalie Saiz; and University of Southern California’s Professor of Management, and Founder and Director for the Race and Equity Center Shaun Harper.

“Equity and inclusion are business practices and strategies that the most successful organizations follow, irrespective of sector,” said UH-Clear Lake President Richard Walker. “Accommodation simply makes those who are already productive even more so, with little to no cost to the organization. Maintaining an SDEIA organizational focus is good business as well as the right thing to do.”

The speakers addressed the question of whether higher education, human resources, and corporate America are in synch with the changes that result from increasing diversity in those areas.

The discussion was moderated by noted Houston TV journalist Linda Lorelle. The President’s Speaker Series is held once a semester. For more information about the next event, monitor online. 

University of Houston-Clear Lake’s second annual Sustainable Stories Film Fest, spotlighting films and art focusing on themes of sustainability and environmental advocacy, will take place in the Bayou Theater and in the Art Gallery Nov. 10-11.

Associate Professor of Communications and Digital Media Michael Brims, the event’s co-founder and main organizer, said that the event received three times as many submissions as last year, with filmmakers and  artists from over 40 countries sending their work.

“I wanted to create an event showcasing ideas and stories of sustainability as well as empower filmmakers and artists around the world working on sustainability-related subjects and stories,” Brims said. “We received over 180 submissions in a variety of categories. This year’s special festival focus areas are the responsible use of water and environmental advocacy.”

In particular, the categories about the responsible use of water and environmental advocacy were chosen because the university’s 2022 First-Year Seminar Program Common Reader selection is “What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City,” by Mona Hanna-Attisha. The novel explores the water crisis in Flint, Michigan from the author’s perspective as a pediatrician, and delves into the ways in which parents, researchers and community organizers combined efforts to fight for safe, clean drinking water.

The two-day event includes screenings of films, as well as a vendor expo, a concert in the Bayou Theater featuring the Free Radicals, and a panel discussion highlighting Chante Davis, who led a group of high school students on a march from New Orleans to Houston to raise awareness about climate change.

The gallery exhibition will continue through Dec. 9 with daily scheduled screenings in its adjacent black box cinema.

The festival is a joint effort by Brims and Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management Kathleen Garland, the Bayou Theater and the Art Gallery, the Institute for Human and Planetary Sustainability, and Houston-based Citizen’s Environmental Coalition. The festival is supported by the Texas Commission on the Arts/National Endowment for the Arts. 

For more information about the festival,  participating films and artwork as well as screening times, go online. 

What kid wouldn’t love to sail off on a pirate ship to hunt for treasure with a parrot on their shoulder and no parents to tell them to do their homework? 

But learning about sword fights, plundering, and searching for buried treasure are acquired skills. That’s why Professor Bones, who has been teaching kids exactly these things in his Pirate School, is coming to University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Bayou Theater to share his pirate wisdom with adventure-loving kids on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.

David Engel, who has been playing Professor Bones and “teaching” Pirate School around the country for over 33 years, said his show, “Pirate School: Sea Dreams!” releases the inner swashbuckler in everyone.

“We all love this sense of adventure, the idea of freedom, and the thought of just sailing away from our responsibilities,” Engel said. “We all fancy ourselves a bit of a rebel or a rogue. That’s how Professor Bones and the Pirate School were born.”

Bitten by the performance bug at age 9, Engel said he especially loved the “golden age of piracy,” from Captain Hook on to Peter Pan and Wendy. “We all understood that pirates were the murderers and thieves of the sea, but Peter Pan and Disney romanticized it,” he said. “Now we can sidestep the realities of the historic pirates and go right for the part where they break the rules, have fun, and go on adventures.”

He said the show was structured as though it was an actual pirate school, with the audience engaging in “classes” and activities, while being encouraged to be as boisterous and interactive as possible.

“I’m a solo performer,” he said. “I learned to fill the theater with amazing sounds, all by myself, so the audience has an immersive experience. They’ll experience bubble play, magic, ventriloquism, madcap slapstick antics, and puppetry. And at the end, the kids will have a ‘final exam’ that is a big battle at sea, to show what they learned.”

And when the show is over, Engel said, he’ll exit the theater just the same way he came in: “On the world’s only wearable pirate ship,” he said.

For more information about upcoming Bayou Theater events, and to purchase tickets, go online. 

Two-time Zydeco Grammy-winning artist Terrance Simien will return to the Bayou Theater at University of Houston-Clear Lake for two high-spirited performances Saturday, Oct. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 30. The second performance, entitled “Creole for Kidz and the History of Zydeco,” is a multicultural, educational performing arts program to entertain as well as teach children about the Creole culture and Zydeco.

“We are so happy to be coming to the Bayou Theater,” Simien said. “The last time we performed, we had a room full of love and joy.”

This time around, Simien promised another evening of love, joy and energy. “The Zydeco Experience will be a big dose of Zydeco coming straight from the source, with some ballads and a few waltzes thrown into the mix,” he said. “I’ll definitely also be talking to the audience about the music, about myself, and about my roots in this music.”

The “source” Simien refers to is St. Landry Parish in Louisiana, where he grew up with Zydeco music being played at parties, porches, and church halls. “I grew up Catholic and we used to give Zydeco benefit dances in churches to support the church, and it became a tradition for families to go and dance to help the church,” he said. “We used to do them in Houston at Catholic churches in the early 1980s. This music has always been part of me and our foundation as Creole people. We used to go to Zydeco dances and dance away our miseries and the hardships of our lives. That’s what Zydeco was for me, growing up.”

But giving kids a history lesson about this truly American style of music is part of what inspires Simien as a musician. “This is music that sounds like it’s from somewhere else,” he said. “In the ‘Creole for Kidz’ concert, we talk about the history of this music, Louisiana Creole culture, and how it came together in rural Louisiana.”

Simien said the music has influences from all over the world. “A Creole person like me comes from France, Africa, Germany, Ireland and I even have some Native American in me,” he said. “I have ‘jambalaya DNA’ and it all comes together in a unique way that is Louisiana history and American history. I hope the kids learn a little French, a little geography, and a little history, all in 45 minutes.”

Even though many children might not have heard of Zydeco, they certainly know Disney movies. “I co-wrote a song with Randy Newman called, ‘Gonna Take You There,’ from ‘The Princess and the Frog,’ and the kids recognize that song,” he said. “It’s the first time Disney ever featured a Zydeco song in a movie. This might be the first time kids see an accordion and a rub board together, and hear them in a style that blends.”

Simien won his first Grammy in 2007 in the category of Best Zydeco or Cajun Music, having spearheaded the effort to create the category in the first place. “Then, after it took seven years to get the Grammy organization to create the category, we were the first to win," he said. 

His second Grammy came in 2013 for his album, “Dockside Sessions,” in the Best Regional Roots category.

“I just want the audiences to come and enjoy themselves and feel the music, joy and positive energy that this music, and answer some question they have and let the kids come on stage and have fun,” he said.

To learn more about events at the Bayou Theater, or to purchase tickets to one or both events, go online.  

Ukrainian world-music quartet Dakha Brakha will be bringing its message of peace and unity to University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Bayou Theater stage on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Accompanied by Indian, African, Arabic, Russian and Australian traditional instrumentation, the quartet’s powerful vocal range creates a trans-national sound rooted in Ukrainian culture.

The group has performed internationally and has released four albums. Technically, they may be a group of folk musicians who wear traditional Ukrainian costumes, but their performance is anything but “old fashioned.”

Dakha Brakha, which means “give and take” in Ukrainian, was created in 2004 by the group’s avant-garde theater director and founder, Vladyslav Troitskyi. Their shows are always marked by scenic effects, punctuated with sounds from a plethora of instruments unique to American audiences, including the darbuka, an hourglass-shaped drum; a zgaleyka, a type of hornpipe; and the tabla, a North Indian percussion instrument.

They take the stage, with the three women spotlighting their signature “kovpak” hats, in sharp contrast to the bare head of Marko Halanevych, the group’s lone male. He wears a cape backlit by the multihued projection work that accompanies the songs—the theatrical mark of Troitskyi.

The group introduces itself as people “from a free Ukraine,” reminding the audience that the event goes beyond simply an evening of music. In conjunction with the performance, UH-Clear Lake’s Diplomacy Institute is bringing a temporary photo exhibition organized by the Right to Peace Foundation, spotlighting the humanitarian tragedy brought about by the current conflict in Ukraine. The photos will be exhibited outside the Neumann Library in the cultural arts exhibition space the same evening.

For more information about UHCL’s Bayou Theater events, go online. 

The Apollo Chamber Players are marking the opening of their 15^th season with a performance entitled “Silk Threads” on Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bayou Theater at University of Houston-Clear Lake.

“This new season is called ‘Connective Harmony,’ is inspired by our overarching themes of unity, wholeness, and musical interconnectedness that can bridge political divides,” said Matthew Detrick, Apollo’s artistic and executive director. “The performance reflects Apollo’s journey on a multicultural ‘silk road,’ highlighting the interconnectedness of cultures.”

The reference to silk roads, Detrick explained, is to the ancient trade routes that linked the Western world with the Middle East and Asia.

Detrick said Apollo had a new commission for a string quartet with an organ, composed by Wang Jie, a Chinese-born American musician who will perform “four hands” on the same keyboard with acclaimed Houston organist Daryl Robinson.

“Wang Jie is a composer and storyteller, and whatever she writes reflects her personality and her cultural background,” he said. “The piece is called ‘The Night When You See Again,’ and its theme is about redemption and coming out of the darkness to the light.”

He said that some composers embrace their culture and bring it out in their music more than others. “Apollo has been trying to cultivate this for 15 years; bringing music that connects people through culture,” he explained.

The night is hosted and moderated by Wang Jie’s husband Fred Child, the host of Performance Today on American Public Media, and the announcer and commentator for PBS’s “Live from Lincoln Center.”

Detrick said that Apollo would also be performing “Returning Souls,” by Taiwanese composer Shih-Hui Chen, who write the piece while visiting Taiwan. “It’s about culture, religious beliefs, and clan rivalries,” he said. “It’s an interesting juxtaposition with the Chinese element of the night’s performance. The conflict in China and Taiwan are very much in the news, and world events can illuminate a program in different way.”

To purchase tickets, or for more information about upcoming events at the Bayou Theater at UH-Clear Lake,  go online. 

As part of University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Hispanic Heritage Month activities, the Bayou Theater is presenting a performance by the Gulf Coast Guitar Association, formed five years ago to promote classical guitar in Houston. The group will take the stage Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

The group produces the Houston Classical Guitar Festival and Competition annually, bringing internationally acclaimed guitarists from throughout the world to perform, teach and compete in Houston.

Artistic Director and classical guitarist Jay Kacherski and flamenco guitarist and Associate Artistic Director Jeremy García are joined by Brazilian pianist Lina Morita and Cuban-born singer Irma LaPaloma. The quartet will present music reflecting the cultures of Spain and the Americas.

Associate Artistic Director and flamenco guitarist Jeremy Garcia said the evening would be special because it marked the first occasion in which all four players, who also have separate solo and duo careers, would perform together on one stage.

“There will be Latin American solo guitar pieces, piano solos, guitar and piano duets, Latin and Spanish performances, and flamenco guitar solos, with Jeremy and Irma La Paloma singing,” Garcia said. “But I think the highlight of the night will be the finale.”

The finale, he explained, is a world premiere of Garcia’s new arrangement of Manual de Falla’s “Suite del El Amor Brujo,” or, “Love, the Sorcerer.”

The piece tells the story of a woman whose unfaithful husband dies, then haunts her. “His ghost dances with her, but she’s fallen in love with another man,” he said. “She wants to be rid of her husband’s ghost, so she makes a plan with a sorcerer to summon the ghost and bring it together with the woman with whom he was unfaithful to attach them to each other so she can be rid of them both.”

“The story is partly sung and partly instrumental,” he explained. “I’ve taken out the main five movements for this performance, and it tells almost the entire story. It’s all four of us coming together to play, it’s never been arranged for guitar, and this will be the highlight of the evening.”

He said the performance featured an interesting and dynamic range of mostly current music by Hispanic composers like Jose Luis Merlin, Maurizio Colonna and Federico Garcia Lorca.

“It’s intended to be an immersive experience for the audience. It’s a crescendo,” he said. “We want to transport people out of Houston and take them on a tour of Latin America and Spain. We do encourage the occasional olé!”

UH-Clear Lake is a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution. For more information about upcoming events at the Bayou Theater, or to purchase tickets, go online. 

When musicians get together to perform just for fun, something enchanting happens. The Bayou Theater at University of Houston-Clear Lake will open its 2022-23 season as it always does—with a magical performance by Mercury Chamber Orchestra, Friday. Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

The concert, aptly titled “Music Among Friends,” features many of Mercury’s favorite selections performed by a 15-piece string orchestra and a percussionist.

“This program brings in the new season in a really gentle way, with a program based on romantic music from the ‘salon,’” said Mercury’s Artistic Director Antoine Plante.

The salon, Plante explained, refers back to a time in Paris when there was no television or radio, and people had a dinner party and then afterwards, sat around the piano, pulled out the violins, and played together.

“That’s the atmosphere of this concert,” he said. “That’s the idea of the title. We are gathering together to do beautiful live music.”

The selections begin with bits from the Gershwin opera, “Porgy and Bess,” a piece from Edward Elgar, and some waltzes by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky. “We’ll also have a bit from Beethoven, the most famous melodies from ‘Fur Elise,’ and we’ll go with some French music from ‘Clair de Lune’ by Debussy,” Plante said. “Then we’ll add some tango and some gypsy music, too.”

The performance ends with a selection from film composer Ennio Morricone, who famously wrote over 400 scores for television and cinema. “That selection is a surprise, we will not mention it,” he said. “You must come to the show to find out what it is.”

For tickets, or for more information about events in the Bayou Theater,  go online.

Something “more” is on its way—the Bay Area Houston Ballet and Theatre is performing “An American in Paris” in the Bayou Theater at University of Houston-Clear Lake, opening Friday, Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m. The film’s unforgettable playlist includes, “I’ve Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” and “’S Wonderful.” After the film was released in American theaters in 1951, everyone was humming along.

“The film became a Broadway musical in 2018, and the Bay Area Houston Ballet and Theatre performs a musical every other year,” said Jill Reason, BAHBT’s executive director. “In 2019, we partnered with the Bayou Theater at UH-Clear Lake to do ‘Willy Wonka’ and it was so wonderful, we decided to do another musical together.”

Reason said the decision to make “Am American in Paris” had actually been made four years ago—and then COVID struck.

“We wanted to do a show that was heavy in dancing, so we got the rights to the show,” she said. “Then we had to wait all this time to put it together, and it’s been one of the hardest things we’ve ever done. But I believe it’s going to be one of the greatest shows we will have ever done. The set, the props, the costumes—it’s all absolutely incredible.”

The story is set in post-World War II Paris, with a young veteran named Jerry Mulligan, played by Miles Marmolejo, who would like to succeed as an artist.

Through friends, Jerry meets a dancer named Lise Bouvier, played by BAHBT’s principal dancer Amelie Finn. They share a dance and fall in love, but unfortunately, one of Jerry’s friends has already proposed marriage to Lise. Things look hopeless for Jerry and Lise, but in due time, after some dancing, moonlight and song, the two find their way back to each other and live happily ever after.

“The story takes place after World War II, and there are so many correlations to our current times,” she said. “It’s about how people are trying to find their lives again, after the war. In many ways, we are all doing the same thing after COVID,” she said. “We are all trying to return to our regular life, but in some ways, we still can’t.”

She said she’s seen several rehearsals and the combination of talent is amazing. “We have actors from Houston who can sing, dance and act, along with our company dancers,” she said. “I really believe this show will blow people away.”

The show will run two weekends, opening Friday, Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m. and continuing Friday, Aug. 12 at 7:30 p.m. for a total of eight shows. For tickets and more information about the Bayou Theater,  go online.