picks
Top Things To Do This Weekend: Jan 23–25
Featuring the Harlem Globetrotters, the Come and Take It Comedy Takeover, and Madame Butterfly
Festival
Come and Take It Comedy Takeover
After realizing that Houston didn't have a comedy festival, local concert promoter Andrew Youngblood and his friends, in true DIY spirit, decided to start one. They ended up creating this month’s Come and Take It Comedy Takeover, a two-day event at Warehouse Live (where Youngblood works as an assistant booking agent) featuring around 50 comics, including SNL alum Norm Macdonald, Kids in the Hall co-founder Kevin McDonald, and improv troupe The Whitest Kids U’ Know. See our full story here.
Jan 24 & 25. $30–99. Warehouse Live, 813 Saint Emanuel St. 713-225-5483. comeandtakeitcomedy.com
Family
Image: Shutterstock
Harlem Globetrotters
Although they’re named after New York’s most famous African American neighborhood, the Globetrotters were actually founded as a competitive team in the 1920s by a group of young players on Chicago’s South Side. The rise of the NBA in the ’50s led them to emphasize entertainment over competition, and today the Trotters are best known for the inventive, acrobatic moves they employ against their age-old nemesis, the hapless Washington Generals.
Jan 23–25. $17–139. NRG Arena, 1 NRG Pkwy. 800-745-3000. nrgpark.com
Musical
Image: Shutterstock
Waiting For Johnny Depp
We’ve had Waiting for Godot, Waiting for Guffman, and Waiting for Superman. Now comes Waiting for Johnny Depp, a one-woman musical about a down-on-her-luck New York actress willing to do absolutely anything to land a dream role opposite Johnny Depp. The show stars Deedee O’Malley, a winner of the Los Angeles Music Awards’ Singer/Songwriter of the Year, who also co-wrote the book, lyrics, and music.
Jan 22–31. $25–49. Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Bagby St. 713-315-2525. tutsunderground.com
Opera
Image: Courtesy Houston Grand Opera
Madame Butterfly
Operas don’t get much bigger, grander, or, well, operatic than Puccini’s stirring epic about a Japanese girl’s doomed love for a US Naval officer. Although poorly received upon its debut at La Scala in 1904, the opera has gone on to become one of the most beloved and oft-performed works in the repertoire.
Jan 23–Feb 8. $20–290. Brown Theater, Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas Ave. 713-228-6737. houstongrandopera.org
Classical Music
Amadéus Leopold
South Korean violinist Amadéus Leopold (né Hahn-Bin) is the David Bowie of classical music. The Juilliard grad and Itzhak Perlman protégé's androgynous looks, flamboyant costumes, and theatrical flair make him a standout. For this concert, which he’s calling Edward Violinhands, he’ll perform Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre, music from the opera Carmen, and a mélange of other works.
Jan 23 at 8. $23–63. Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas Ave. 713-227-4772. spahouston.org
