Picasso at the Lapin Agile

May 11–June 3 | Alley Theatre

Steve Martin's 1993 play focuses on the unlikely (fictional) meeting of Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso at a Parisian bar. The result is a razor-sharp thought experiment that pairs two intellectual contemporaries for a thrilling and provocative What could have been?

Tickets from $26. Alley Theatre, 615 Texas Ave. 713-220-5700. More info and tickets at alleytheatre.org.

Dada Gert

May 11–19 | Rice Moody Center for the Arts

This interactive dance performance integrates the audience with members of the Open Dance Company as they enact the life of Weimar-era dancer and film star Valeska Gert. 

Tickets from $5. Rice Moody Center for the Arts, 6100 Main St. 713-348-2787. More info and tickets at moody.rice.edu.

Corgi Racing (and other stuff)

May 12 | Sam Houston Race Park

A pack of 64 short-legged pooches will compete for the title of doggie Seabiscuit, although attendees should know that there will also be quarter horse racing and live country music from the Casey Donahew Band. It's an unconventional lineup, but we can't imagine you'll be bored.

Tickets from $10. Sam Houston Race Park, 575 North Sam Houston Pkwy W. 281-807-8700. More info and tickets at shrp.com.

An Evening with Ira Glass

May 12 | Jones Hall

The high priest of public radio descends from his studio perch for an intimate evening revealing the inner workings of This American Life, his pet project that laid the groundwork for the current podcast boom and created a niche for longform audio writ large.

Tickets from $29. Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana St. 713-227-4772. More tickets and info at spahouston.org.

Mother's Day at the MFAH

May 13 | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Don't sleep on this opportunity to enjoy all the MFAH has to offer...for free (if you're a mother or grandmother). At the main campus, visitors will have full access to both the exquisite permanent galleries and both ticketed exhibitions (pick your poison: Indian royalty or Renaissance masterpieces) with a gratis performance of period music from Ars Lyrica Young Artists-in-Residence, The Crumb Collective. Mothers who visit Bayou Bend, the former home of the vaunted Ima Hogg, will experience live harp music and free lemonade as they enjoy all the decorative and botanical pleasures one could ask for. And at Rienzi, the second MFAH house museum devoted to European decorative arts, mothers get a free rose.

Free (mothers and grandmothers), general admission all others. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet St. 713-630-7300. More info and tickets at mfah.org.