See the latest performing arts productions and theater happenings opening across Houston in May 2026.
This month, Mildred’s Umbrella offers a staged reading of a play that borrows inspiration from Salem and the famous witch trials. ROCO blends music and science. Paul Hope Cabarets offers some favorite songs from Disney classics, while International Voices Houston celebrates music that celebrates childhood.
Apollo Chamber Players’ last program this season takes the company back to its roots. ECHO Orchestra has a concert of American music. The Alley Theatre has a world premiere. Dirt Dogs brings us to the underside of New Orleans and 4th Wall takes us inside the life of a Southern, queer college kid.
Go see live performing arts, Houston!
Top Performing Arts & Theater Shows in Houston: May 2026
Silambam Houston: Kāvya: Poetry in Motion at The Hobby Center | Friday, May 1 – The original presentation interweaves music, dance, and poetry to illuminate the promise of new beginnings, told through the mystical verses of 13th-century Sufi poets and the concise beauty of 17th-century Japanese Haiku, to the diverse voices of 19th to 21st-century Gaelic, Estonian, Dutch, Spanish, and English literature. $20+. 7:30pm. Get tickets.
4th Wall Theatre Co: Fat Ham at Spring Street Studios | Friday, May 1 to Sunday, May 23 – In a play exploring love, loss, pain and joy, we meet Juicy, a queer Southern college kid well versed in Shakespeare who is trying to determine where he belongs. $30+. Times vary. Get tickets.
Past, Present, Premiere: An AAPI Celebration With Trio Menil at Asia Society Texas Center | Saturday, May 2 | FREE with RSVP – This exciting concert celebrates music by AAPI composers, featuring works written especially for Trio Menil, beloved classical favorites, recent hits from Studio Ghibli and K-Pop Demon Hunters. It culminates with the world premiere of a new work by Chinese-Australian composer Sam Wu. 2pm. RSVP.
ROCO Connections: Sense of Mind Concert at Artechouse Houston | Saturday, May 2 – This bold exploration of how music and the brain intertwine features real-time EEG data measuring the neural activity from select audience members using state-of-the-art neurotechnology. Pay-What-You-Can. 5pm. Get tickets.
Houston Symphony: Disney & Pixar’s Toy Story in Concert at Jones Hall | Saturday, May 2 & Sunday, May 3 – Go to infinity and beyond a screening of the original 1995 movie (G) that started it all with the Symphony performing the score live with the film. $29+. Times vary. Get tickets.
International Voices Houston: Through the Eyes of a Child at MATCH | Saturday, May 2 & Sunday, May 3 – The choral ensemble presents a concert of lullabies, folk songs, hymns and Broadway tunes that explore the connection between cherished music and childhood. $30. Times vary. Get tickets.
Paul Hope Cabarets: With a Smile & a Song—A Disney Cabaret for Grownups at Ovations | Monday, May 4, Monday, May 11 & Monday, May 18 – Hear a selection of songs from Disney animated features from 1928 to 1967, including “Baby Mine,” “I Wanna Be Like You,” “Someday My Prince Will Come” and more classics that have made their way into the Great American Songbook. $25+. 7:30pm. Get tickets.
Live at the Founders Club: Teal Wicks with Steven Jamail: & Broadway at The Hobby Center | Thursday, May 7 & Friday, May 8 – Houston audiences recently saw Wicks in the national tour of & Juliet. Now, she returns to the Bayou City with a concert and stories that explore her career on Broadway, featuring songs from Ragtime, Wicked, Jekyll and Hyde, and more. $35+. 7:30pm. Get tickets.
Stages: That Drive Thru Monterrey at The Gordy | Friday, May 8 to Sunday, June 7 – Born from Stages Sin Muros Festival 2024, the world premiere is the story of a Mexican-American woman in 1971 Los Angeles as she experiences a first, nerdy love. $25+. Times vary. Get tickets.
Dear Alien at Alley Theatre | Friday, May 8 to Sunday, May 31 – In this world premiere existential comedy by Liz Duffy Adams, an isolated advice columnist races against deadline to file one last column before facing financial ruin. $45+. Times vary. Get tickets.
Mildred’s Umbrella: Becky Nurse of Salem Staged Reading at Spring Street Studios | Monday, May 11 | FREE – Enjoy a staged reading of Sarah Ruhl’s play about a modern-day, opioid-addicted Salem Witch Museum guide who is also a descendant of one of the women caught up in the infamous witch trials of 1692. Becky turns to a local witch after she loses her job, sending her life into chaos. 7:30pm. Learn more.
ECHO Orchestra: Homegrown at St. John Vianny Catholic Church | Friday, May 15 – The orchestra performs a concert showcasing the vibrant sounds of American music. $35. 7:30pm. Get tickets.
Houston Symphony: The Planets + Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto at Jones Hall | Friday, May 15 to Sunday, May 17 – Experience the passion and epic force in these two incredible pieces, performed live by the orchestra. $81+. Times vary. Get tickets.
TUTS: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at The Hobby Center | Tuesday, May 19 to Sunday, May 31 – Relive the life and hitmaking career of one of the 20th century’s greatest songwriters, responsible for “Up on the Roof,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and more. $46+. Times vary. Get tickets.
Apollo Chamber Players: Venture at MATCH | Friday, May 22 – The ensemble’s final major program of the season brings them back to their roots in America’s space program, as the quartet is joined by Houston-based soprano Jolie Rocke and tenor Ivan Moreno. $40. 7:30pm. Get tickets.
Dirt Dogs Theatre Co: Airline Highway at MATCH | Friday, May 22 to Saturday, June 6 – Explore the gritty underbelly of New Orleans in a darkly comic story of people living on the fringes of society facing their personal struggles and chasing elusive dreams. $35. Times vary. Get tickets.
Ars Lyrica: Monteverdi’s Orfeo at The Hobby Center | Friday, May 29 & Saturday, May 30 – Created in collaboration with the New York Baroque Dance Company, the production brings together period instruments, dance and theatrical storytelling in what is widely regarded as the first great opera, based on the myth of Orpheus. $15+. 7:30pm. Get tickets.
Misery at Alley Theatre | Friday, May 29 to Sunday, June 21 – Husband and wife acting duo Chris Hutchison and Elizabeth Bunch star in an adaption of the Stephen King novel about an author who finds himself in the home of a devoted fan. Things go from bad to worse when she discovers he’s about to kill off her favorite character. $36+. Times vary. Get tickets.
The Houston Chamber Choir: Open(ish) Mic Night at MATCH | Saturday, May 30 – The talented professional musicians offer this concert of pop tunes, show songs and more, performing solos and as groups. $50. 6pm and 8pm. Get tickets.
Closing This Month: May 2026
There’s still time to catch shows that debuted in February before they’re gone.
Saturday, May 2, 2026
Classical Theatre Company: Othello at The DeLuxe Theater
Sunday, May 3, 2026
Houston Grand Opera: Messiah at Wortham Center
Leopoldstadt at Main Street Theater
Saturday, May 10, 2026
Fences at Alley Theatre
Houston Grand Opera: The Barber of Seville at Wortham Center
Sunday, May 23, 2026
4th Wall Theatre Co: Fat Ham at Spring Street Studios
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