Top Performing Arts & Live Theater Shows in Houston: August 2023

Catch some of the city’s most exciting upcoming performances, happening all month long, with our roundup of live theater and performing arts productions in August 2023.

Houston’s eclectic and electric arts scene is on full display this month. There’s plenty to find on stage, proving that arts lovers in our city have an abundance of riches.

We’ve gathered some of the best performing arts and theater events taking place in Houston this month, which you can check out below.

Top Performing Arts & Theater Shows in Houston: August 2023

Opening This Month

• Dance Source Houston presents Mind the Gap XXV at MATCH | Tuesday, August 1 – Dance Source Houston kicks off its 19th season with this performance, featuring the works of local dancemakers, encompassing a variety of styles including aerial, contemporary, modern, and Sri Lankan. $15 and up. 7:30pm.
• Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors at Art Factory | Friday, August 4 to Sunday, August 13 – The classic Bram Stoker tale gets a hilarious spoof twist in this first-ever Houston production, ahead of its New York premiere in October. Enter into Dracula’s castle with gluten-free real estate broker Jonathan Harker, who finds his life turned upside down against the one and only monster. $30. Times vary.
• Dixie’s Tupperware Party at the Grand 1894 Opera House | Saturday, August 5 – Dixie Longate is a fast-talking Alabama redhead and she offers a hilarious array of alternate uses for the famed plasticware. Expect funny tales, audience participation and a little bit of sass. $22.50 and up. 3pm and 8pm.
• Transcending Borders: The Ramayana Project at Asia Society Texas Center | Saturday, August 5 – This world premiere, cross-cultural production tells the epic of Ramayana through music and dance traditions of the South and Southeast Asian cultures that celebrate the epic poem and its themes. $25. 7pm.
• Broadway Across America presents Ain’t Too Proud at Hobby Center | Tuesday, August 8 to Sunday, August 13 – This jukebox musical tells the story of the multiple hit–making band The Temptations, from their origins in Detroit through their stratospheric rise as music superstars. Known for hits like “Just My Imagination” and “My Girl,” the show takes audiences on a nostalgic ride through the group’s catalog of music, telling a story of brotherhood, family and loyalty during a time of civil unrest in our country. Native Houstonian Brittny Smith is in the cast as Mary Wilson. $40 and up. Showtimes vary.
• The Garden Theatre presents Bonnie & Clyde at MATCH | Friday, August 11 to Sunday, August 20 – This cult-favorite musical tells the stories of notorious bank robbers and lovers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, who became folk heroes to many—and a nightmare for law enforcement—during the Great Depression. Their antics captivated a nation, as they evaded the law across multiple states. $26.50 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Indian Performing Arts Sanskriti presents Incredible India: Rudrakshya at Miller Outdoor Theatre | Saturday, August 12 | FREE – This all-male dance ensemble is known for their perfected movements, rhythmic components and sculpturesque poses as they perform traditional classical dances from the Indian state of Odisha. This night also marks two special milestones of Miller’s centennial along with the 75th anniversary of India’s founding. 8:30pm.
• Performing Arts Houston presents 4th Annual Mariachi Festival at Wortham Center | Friday, August 18 to Sunday, August 20 – Celebrate the creativity and enduring legacy of Mariachi music and Hispanic culture as this popular festival brings some of the biggest names in the genre to Houston, including Mariachi Mariposas and Mariachi 7 Leguas. $30 and up. 7pm.
• TUTS presents Jagged Little Pill at Hobby Center | Tuesday, August 29 | Ongoing – Backed by the songs of Alanis Morrisette, this story of a perfectly imperfect American family explores the themes of love, heartache and strength, even as it tackles deeper issues of drug use and sexual violence. The New York Times called the show one that “stands alongside the original musicals that have sustained the best hopes of Broadway.” Houston native Liesie Kelly joins the ensemble. This production runs through Sunday, September 10. $40 and up. Showtimes vary.

Closing This Month

• Houston Shakespeare Festival presents Macbeth & Much Ado About Nothing at Miller Outdoor Theatre | Through Saturday, August 5 – This annual celebration of the Bard’s greatest works is back in Hermann Park. Macbeth is a story of madness, murder and power, while Much Ado About Nothing is a battle-of-the-sexes comedy. The shows are presented in repertory on alternating nights. 8:15pm.
• Catastrophic Theatre presents Tamarie’s Totally True Revue (Plus Lies, Too) at MATCH | Through Saturday, August 5 – The irrepressible Tamarie Cooper is back for this year’s summer revue spectacular. Cooper and her band of misfits explore twisted encounters with Tinkerbell, Ben Franklin, Pinocchio, Kenny Rogers and more on this epic, all-musical journey. Tickets are pay-what-you-can; suggested $35. Showtimes vary.
• Stages presents Thunder Knocking on the Door at the Gordy | Through Sunday, August 6 – This musical fable explores what happens to a small Alabama town when a blues guitar-playing stranger arrives, with a challenge that will pit family members against each other. $30 and up. Showtimes vary.
• The Octarine Accord presents The Honeycomb Trilogy at MATCH | Through Sunday, August 13 – These three, two-hour plays tell the story of an alien invasion of the planet Earth over 20 years, chronicling how Ronnie Cook and her younger brother Abbie meet its challenges. $40 and up. Times vary.
• Present Laughter at Main Street Theater | Through Sunday, August 13 – Noel Coward’s sparkling comedy about a self-obsessed actor going through a midlife crisis draws on the playwright’s own life. $39 and up. Showtimes vary.
• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd at Alley Theatre | Through Sunday, August 27 – The Alley’s popular Summer Chills series is back with this Agatha Christie story that finds detective Hercule Poirot investigating secrets and blackmail to solve a murder. $46 and up. Showtimes vary.