Top Theater & Performing Arts Events in Houston: January 2023

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

It’s a brand-new year, and that means plenty of new openings all over the city.

From beloved musicals to groundbreaking plays, exciting dance and gorgeous music, Houston’s performing arts organizations are kicking off 2023 on a high note.

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 15 Performing Arts Events in Houston: January 2023

Opening This Month

• Broadway Across America presents Pretty Woman at Hobby Center | Tuesday, January 3 to Sunday, January 8 – The 1990s rom-com movie gets a Broadway makeover in this feel-good show based on a book from the film’s legendary director Garry Marshall. $35 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Ishida Dance Company presents Stirs Up All Things at MATCH | Thursday, January 5 to Sunday, January 8 – With choreography based on Ishida’s original poetry, this performance offers an exploration of love and memory. $45 and up. Showtimes vary.
• ROCO presents Beer and Brass at Saint Arnold Brewing Co. | Wednesday, January 11 – The annual brewery event returns with musicians offering a host of great brass ensemble playing while you sip craft brews. Grab a VIP pass and take home a ROCO souvenir glass. $50 and up. 6:30pm.
• Classical Theatre Company presents School for Scandal at the DeLuxe Theater | Thursday, January 12 to Saturday, January 28 – Six actors portray 16 characters in this great comedy from the classic canon, where gossip flies faster than truth. $25. Showtimes vary.
• Houston Grand Opera presents The Marriage of Figaro at Wortham Center | Friday, January 13 to Saturday, January 28 – The company’s take on this sparkling Mozart comedy sets the opera in 1960s Francoist Spain, awash in colors and costumes that evoke the Moroccan influence on Muslim Spain. Figaro, a servant to the Count Almaviva is set to marry the countess’ maid, Susanna and then, hilarity ensues. $20 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Houston Symphony presents Riots & Scandals Festival at Jones Hall | Select Fridays to Sundays – This two-week festival offers concerts featuring beloved masterpieces. The first week, running from Friday, January 13 to Sunday, January 15, brings Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin paired with Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto. And in the second and final week, running from Friday, January 20 to Sunday, January 22, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto feature. $30 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Broadway Across America presents Jesus Christ Superstar at Hobby Center | Tuesday, January 17 to Sunday, January 22 – The Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice megahit comes to Houston in its 50th anniversary production. Telling the story of the last weeks of Jesus’ life, this musical created a smash when it debuted in 1971, and forever cemented the rock musical as a force to be reckoned with. $40 and up. Showtimes vary.
• 4th Wall Theatre Company presents The Sound Inside at Spring Street Studios | Thursday, January 19 | Ongoing – Adam Rapp’s play tells the story of a writing professor, used to being alone, and what happens when she crosses paths with a promising student. Their relationship proves unexpected and will force difficult choices. This production runs through Saturday, February 11. $32 and up. Showtimes vary.
• The Garden Theatre presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream at MATCH | Friday, January 20 to Sunday, January 29 – Shakespeare’s love quadrangle explores four misguided lovers who journey into the forest, only to have their fates in the hands of the fairies who dwell there. $20 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Cambodian Rock Band at Alley Theatre | Friday, January 20 | Ongoing – In this play that blends storytelling with music, we follow a Khmer Rouge survivor who travels back to Cambodia for the first time in decades, as his daughter is about to prosecute an infamous war criminal. Pulsing with music from Dengue Fever and Cambodian oldies, it takes audiences on a journey to a dark time in history to explore the triumph of the human spirit. Please note: this play contains violence, language, and descriptions and depictions of genocide. This production runs through Sunday, February 12. $26 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Stages presents Roe at the Gordy | Friday, January 20 | Ongoing – When Roe v. Wade made abortion legal in the United States in 1973, the country’s landscape changed dramatically, pitting those on both sides in a multi-generational battle. This play by Lisa Loomer explores the decision’s repercussions, focusing on two Texas women; Sarah Weddington, who argued the case before the Supreme Court; and Norma McCorvey, a/k/a “Jane Roe”. This productions runs through Sunday, March 5. $30 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Paradise Blue at Ensemble Theatre | Thursday, January 26 | Ongoing – When gifted trumpeter Blue considers selling his jazz club in Detroit, the fates of many are thrown into question. This drama is infused with music, and explores the connections that make us human. This production runs through Sunday, February 26. $34 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Houston Grand Opera presents Werther at Wortham Center | Friday, January 27 | Ongoing – Massanet’s elegant opera is a story of unrequited love that cascades to a tragic end. Rarely seen, this opera is back on the HGO stage for the first time in 40 years. This production runs through Friday, February 10. $20 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Main Street Theater for Youth presents The Lightning Thief at MATCH | Sunday, January 29 | Ongoing – Based on Rick Riordan’s bestselling book, this musical finds a teenage Percy Jackson discovering he’s a demigod. Now, he must find Zeus’ lightning bolt and prevent a war among the gods. Recommended for fifth grade and older. This production rungs through Sunday, February 19. $20 and up. Showtimes vary.
• TUTS presents Chicago at Hobby Center | Tuesday, January 31 | Ongoing – A shrewd commentary on murder and celebrity, this multi-award–winning musical is among Broadway’s most beloved. See for yourself why it’s still going strong on the Great White Way…and all that jazz. This production runs through Sunday, February 12. $40 and up. Showtimes vary.