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 January 2024.
With the holidays behind us and a new year upon us, performing arts companies in Houston are emerging with a slate of unforgettable productions on the way to close out their seasons.
From classical music and regional play premieres to musicals and dance, there’s something for every taste and budget.
Top Performing Arts & Theater Shows in Houston: January 2024
Opening This Month
- ROCO presents Beer & Brass at St. Arnold Brewing Company | Tuesday, January 9 – The popular tradition returns as ROCO’s brass quintet offers up beer hall music and favorite brass arrangements. This new year’s kickoff is an evening of fun and fellowship for the whole family. Craft beers, root beer and bites included in the ticket price. $50 and up; $15 for children. 6:30pm.
- Houston Symphony presents Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony at Jones Hall | Friday, January 12 to Sunday, January 14 – The composer traveled to Scotland as a young man, and the result is this joyful, invigorating composition that’s clearly a love letter to the country. A. Clyne’s Color Field and Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 are also on the bill. $34 and up. Friday and Saturday 8pm; Sunday 2:30pm.
- Mildred’s Umbrella presents O: A Rhapsody in Divorce at Studio 101 | Thursday, January 18 | Ongoing – In this retelling of The Odyssey, O, a childless woman in her 40s, is blindsided when her husband asks for a divorce. He refuses to leave and she embarks on an odyssey of couch-surfing as she attempts to process events and move on. This productions runs through Saturday, February 3. Pay-what-you-can. Showtimes vary.
- Houston Grand Opera presents Parsifal at Wortham Center | Friday, January 19 | Ongoing – Wagner’s final opera is the story of a group of knights trying to protect the Holy Grail and their king. Tenor Russell Thomas, soprano Elena Pankratova and bass-baritone Ryan McKinny lead a killer cast in this extraordinary epic. This production runs through Sunday, February 4. $25 and up. Showtimes vary.
- Pictures from Home at Alley Theatre | Friday, January 19 | Ongoing – This work began its life at the 2020 Alley All New Festival, and went on to garner acclaim on Broadway. It’s the story of a photographer, who begins taking photos of his parents to help discover the stories and truths behind their home movies. This production runs through Sunday, February 11. $35 and up. Showtimes vary.
- Beyond Broadway: Renée Elise Goldsberry at Hobby Center | Saturday, January 20 – Known for her Tony Award–winning performance as Angelica Schuyler in the musical sensation Hamilton, Goldsberry currently stars in Marvel Studios’ She Hulk. She brings her impressive voice to Houston, where she spent some of her childhood. This concert launches the Hobby Center’s new Beyond Broadway series, which brings some of the Great White Way’s best talent to the Bayou City. $44 and up. 8pm.
- Performing Arts Houston presents Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo at Jones Hall | Tuesday, January 23 – The much-lauded all-male troupe celebrates 50 years with a performance that parodies some of ballet’s most-loved stories. Expect dazzling pointe work, cheeky stories and an evening of fun as the ensemble offers up its renditions of favorites like Swan Lake. $29 and up. 7:30pm.
- Broadway Across America presents Les Misérables at Hobby Center | Tuesday, January 23 to Thursday, January 29 – The musical that swept the world when it opened in 1985 returns to Houston, telling the epic story of Jean Valjean, imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread, and the relentless Inspector Javert, who tracks him across the decades. Exploring themes of mercy and redemption, this beloved musical has been performed in more than 53 countries and 22 languages. $45 and up. Showtimes vary.
- A.D. Players presents Steel Magnolias at the George Theater | Wednesday, January 24 | Ongoing – The beloved play about a group of women who gather in Truvy’s beauty shop is both hilarious and heartbreaking. It centers on the story of Shelby, who risks her life to have a baby, and how the women of the shop rally around her and her family. This production runs through Sunday, February 18. $30 and up. Showtimes vary.
- DaCamera presents Joshua Redman Group: Where We Are at Wortham Center | Friday, January 26 – One of the country’s most-acclaimed jazz artists returns to Houston in this concert featuring vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa. Where We Are evokes America in all its complicated glory, from soulful reflections to celebratory sounds. $46 and up. 8pm.
- Houston Grand Opera presents Madame Butterfly at Wortham Center | Friday, January 26 | Ongoing – Puccini’s beloved tragic love story explores the relationship between Cio-Cio San, a young Japanese woman who falls for Pinkerton, an American naval lieutenant, setting them on a collision course of cultures and heartbreak. This production runs through Sunday, February 11. $25 and up. Showtimes vary.
- The Piano Lesson at Ensemble Theatre | Friday, January 26 | Ongoing – August Wilson’s second Pulitzer Prize winner is the story of the Charles family, a Black family living in Pittsburgh in the 1930s. When one member decides it’s time to sell a much-loved heirloom to secure cash to purchase land the family had worked on as slaves, everyone must decide what is important. Eileen J. Morris, one of the country’s leading interpreters of August Wilson, directs. This production runs through Sunday, February 25. $37 and up. Showtimes vary.
- Music in Context presents A Concert of Schubert at Rice University’s Alice Pratt Brown Hall | Sunday, January 28 – The ensemble brings to life some of the composer’s most elegant works of Romanticism, including Variations in A-flat Major for Piano Four-hands, and Trio in E-flat Major for Violin, Cello and Piano. $35. 4pm.
- TUTS presents On Your Feet: The Story of Gloria & Emilio Estefan at Hobby Center | Tuesday, January 30 | Ongoing – A love story, a success story, an inspirational story. Gloria and Emilio Estefan believed in each other, and together rode an astonishing wave of success with their Afro-Caribbean–infused rock sounds that set the world on fire in the 1980s. This bio-musical tells the story of their love, their heritage and their work ethic, bringing to life some of Miami Sound Machine’s greatest hits, including “Conga,” “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” and “On Your Feet.” This production runs through Sunday, February 11. $40 and up. Showtimes vary.
Closing This Month
- Peter Pan at Rec Room Arts | Through Saturday, January 6 – It’s Christmas in 1980s London and the Darling children are about to discover some magical things they’ve never known. This update on the classic story explores imaginative play before the internet and the power of storytelling, told by a stellar cast at the top of their game. $40. 7:30pm.
- Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at Hobby Center | Tuesday, January 2 to Sunday, January 7 – Explore the life of the Queen of Rock and Roll, in all her tragedies and triumphs. Packed with some of Tina Turner’s most-loved songs, this is a high-energy ride into the world of a music legend. $40 and up. Showtimes vary.
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