Top Performing Arts & Live Theater Shows in Houston This Month: September 2024

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 September 2024.

Another arts year is upon us.

While some of Houston’s performing arts organizations launched the 2024-2025 season in August, many more have openings this month.

There’s also a wealth of programming from diverse voices, including Tee Zee Productions’ Papa Où T’es, Young Audiences of Houston’s Pan African Passport and Musiqa’s collaboration with MFAH for a concert inspired by Mejii Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan. The new arts year also means new works: check out Dance Source Houston’s Mind the Gap 30, plus regional and world premieres from ROCO, A.D. Players, the Ensemble and Houston Ballet.

It’s an overused phrase, but it’s certainly true: this month, there is definitely something for everyone on our city’s stages.

Top Performing Arts & Theater Shows in Houston: September 2024

Opening This Month

• All Things Equal: The Life & Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg at Hobby Center | Thursday, September 5 & Friday, September 6 – From losing her mother the day before she graduated high school to her rise to the United States Supreme Court, this one-woman play by Rupert Holmes and starring Michelle Aziz explores the justice’s extraordinary life. See how she rose from law student to the “notorious” RBG. $49 and up. 7:30pm.
• Musiqa presents Meijii Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston | Friday, September 6 – Inspired by the exhibit of the same name, this concert features music by koto player Sumie Kaneko and the Musiqa ensemble. Expect an evening of songs showcasing styles of Japanese composition and influence. $24; included with museum admission. 6:30pm to 8:30pm.
• DaCamera presents Endea Owens & The Cookout in Concert at Miller Outdoor Theatre | Friday, September 6 | FREE – One of jazz’s most vibrant emerging artists, Owens graduated from Julliard and immediately became part of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert house band, Stay Human. Her work has been featured in Judas and the Black Messiah, and she’s the winner of Emmy, Grammy and George Foster Peabody awards. 8pm.
• Houston Ballet presents The Little Mermaid at Wortham Center | Friday, September 6 to Sunday, September 15 – Making its coveted debut in Houston, John Neumeier’s choreography is set against Lera Auerbach’s score, telling the story of a mermaid’s odyssey between land and sea. With lush sets and dazzling costumes, this incredible Houston premiere opens the ballet’s 2024-25 season. $25 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Jazz Houston presents Sarah Vaughan at 100! at Wortham Center | Saturday, September 7 – In collaboration with Performing Arts Houston and featuring Grammy Award winner Dianne Reeves, this celebration of the legendary singer features songs from her catalog of hits, along with songs in tribute to her powerhouse talent. $50 and up. 7pm.
• Spring Awakening at Rec Room Arts | Saturday, September 7 to Saturday, September 28 – The smash Broadway musical is the story of adolescent anarchy, teenagers silenced and controlled by a censoring society, and the devastating consequences of the freedom students find outside of the classroom. $21 and up. 7:30pm each night.
• Indo-American Association presents Sarhad – Partition: Stories of Separation at MATCH | Sunday, September 8 – This experiential performance uses music, theater, video and design to retell the stories of separation from the Partition of India in 1947. Sonam Kalra spent two years researching the works of poets and writers from both sides and composed the music for this performance based on their poetry and inspired by their stories. $25 and up. 5:30pm.
• Paul Hope Cabaret presents Something Wonderful – Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Next Ten Years at Ovations | Mondays from September 9 to September 23 – No two names are perhaps more closely associated with the Broadway musical than Rodgers and Hammerstein. This cabaret show explores the second half of their remarkable careers which produced such classics as The King and I, Cinderella, Flower Drum Song, and The Sound of Music. Revisit cherished favorites like “Getting to Know You,” “Ten Minutes Ago,” “I Enjoy Being a Girl” and more. $20 and up. 7:30pm weekly.
• Young Audiences of Houston presents Pan-African Passport at Miller Outdoor Theatre | Tuesday, September 10 | FREE – The Kucheza Ngoma Dance Company chronicles the influence of the African diaspora on dance, starting with traditional West African rhythms and dance and moving on through the Caribbean and into the Americas. 11am.
• Dance Source Houston presents Mind the Gap 30 at MATCH | Tuesday, September 10 – Opening the 2024-25 season, the ensemble offers the 30th iteration of this popular mixed repertory performance. Marking the beginning of Dance Source Houston’s 20th season, it features works by local dancemakers including Mark Aguilar, Dillon Bell, Caitlin Cork, Nicole McNeil, Isabel Villegas, and Lori Yuill. Pay-What-You-Can. 7:30pm.
• TUTS presents Dear Evan Hansen at Hobby Center | Tuesday, September 10 to Sunday, September 22 – The acclaimed musical explores our social media–connected world from the point of view of parents and teens. In our search for connection, are we growing further apart? And how can we find where we belong? Funny and poignant, this Tony Award-winning show perfectly captures what it means to be human. $34.50 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Shabach Enterprise presents The Flow: Fade to Black Monologue Series at MATCH | Wednesday, September 11 to Sunday, September 22 – From the creative team that launched the Fade to Black Play Festival comes this collaboration of music, poetry, and dance featuring captivating monologues penned by African-American playwrights, and featuring some of Houston’s finest actors. $45 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Mildred’s Umbrella presents Cry It Out at Spring Street Studios | Thursday, September 12 to Sunday, September 29 – This play by Molly Smith Metzler is the story of Ivy League-educated Jessie and night-school-educated nurse Lina, two women with nothing in common other than an overwhelming love for their newborns. Their bond forms over coffee, until a stranger shows up. Showtimes vary.
• Ars Lyrica presents In Praise of Virtue at Hobby Center | Friday, September 20 – The company opens its 21st season with this concert featuring soprano Hannah DePriest and countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen performing two rarely heard solo cantatas: Bach’s beautifully reflective Ich bin vergnügt (BWV 84) and Handel’s glittering Splenda l’alba in oriente. $15 and up. 7:30pm.
• 4th Wall Theatre Co. presents Swing State at Spring Street Studios | Opens Friday, September 20 | Ongoing – Making its regional premiere, Rebecca Gilman’s play explores the life of widow Peg, who lives a quiet life on the prairie. When she calls the authorities after items belonging to her late husband turn up missing, it ignites a chain of events that shatter the idea of trust. This production runs through Saturday, October 5. $15 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Catastrophic Theatre presents Spirits to Enforce at MATCH | Opens Friday, September 20 | Ongoing – The company opens its 2024-25 season with this play by Mickle Mahr. It’s about a group of tele-fundraisers attempting to raise money for an upcoming production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, to be performed by local superhero team “The Fathom Town Enforcers.” Yeah, and it only gets funnier and stranger from there. This production runs through Saturday, October 12. Pay-What-You-Can. Showtimes vary.
• Stew at The Ensemble Theatre | Opens Friday, September 20 | Ongoing – Making its regional premiere, this play finds three generations of Turner women under one roof, preparing for a meal. With tensions already high, things get complicated when the violence that is around the periphery of their lives begins to intrude on Mama’s kitchen. This production runs through Sunday, October 13. $25 and up. Showtimes vary.
• ROCO in Concert: Remarkable Around Houston | Friday, September 27 & Saturday, September 28 | One FREE – The ensemble’s full 40-piece orchestra opens the 2024-25 season with this concert, featuring multiple world premieres; Constellations by Viet Cuong, spotlighting “constellations” of ROCO musicians as soloists in each movement; Mark Buller‘s ROCO commission John the Revelator pays tribute to ROCO’s home venue of The Church of St. John the Divine; Gustav Holst‘s The Planets features a new rescoring by Jim Stephenson, with stunning original animation by James Templeton. Friday’s free performance is at Miller Outdoor Theatre, with Saturday’s Pay-What-You-Wish ($35 suggested) performance happening at Church of St. John the Divine in River Oaks. 5pm.
• Noises Off at Alley Theatre | Opens Friday, September 27 | Ongoing – The Alley kicks off its 2024-25 season with a popular comedy that perfectly captures the chaos of life backstage in a theater production. Find out what happens when a bunch of eccentric actors attempt to stage a play. This production runs through Sunday, October 27. $28 and up. Showtimes vary.
• Inprint Houston & Musiqa present New Voices at MATCH | Saturday, September 28 – This blend of music and poetry introduces audiences to new works by composers Ben Morris and Marco-Adrián Ramos, as well as Marcus Karl Maroney’s piano trio. There is also new poetry by Justin Jannise. It’s an opportunity to be among the first to see these premieres by up and coming artists. Pay-What-You-Can. 7:30pm.
• Performing Arts Houston presents Twyla Tharp Dance at Wortham Center | Saturday, September 28 – The revolutionary choreographer celebrates her 60th anniversary with this boundary-breaking program featuring new works, plus a revival of  Ocean’s Motion featuring the music of Chuck Berry. This is a chance to see dancers at the top of their game, showcasing the work of a visionary who changed dance forever. $29 and up. 7:30pm.

Closing This Month

• Tee Zee productions presents Papa Où T’es? at MATCH | Through Sunday, September 1 – This world premiere is a coming-of-age story set in Houston and following four high school friends—Ahmad, Aly, Zain, and Maaria, all second-generation Americans. They grapple with identity crises and the clash between cultural and religious expectations and their personal aspirations. How does the absence of a father impact it all? This production contains adult themes and depictions of violence. Showtimes vary.
• A.D. Players presents Esther at the George Theater | Through Sunday, September 22 – Multiple dance forms and production elements combine for a bold, visceral, new rendition of the story of the biblical queen. It’s a tale of strength, faith and strategy, as Esther navigates palace life with an all-powerful king. Be among the first to see this production, making a pre-Broadway tryout here in Houston. $36 and up. Showtimes vary.

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