Student Matinees
Early exposure to live theater lays the foundation for a lifetime of educational and civic benefits.
Student tickets are $11 for these performances
PLUMSHUGA: THE RISE OF LAUREN ANDERSON
by Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton
music by Jasmine Barnes with original lyrics by Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton
original choreography by Stanton Welch and Harrison Guy
featuring dancers from Houston Ballet
October 7 – November 13, 2022
Student Matinee:
- Friday, October 28, 2022, at 10 a.m.
This innovative new work blends spoken word, dance, music, and theater for a vivid and intimate look into Lauren Anderson’s rise to ballet royalty and her eventual triumphant rise to accept her authentic self. In 1990, Lauren Anderson became one of the first Black principal ballerinas of a major ballet company when she ascended to Principal Dancer of the Houston Ballet. Unknown to her adoring audiences, she brought with her on stage the weight of her own tumultuous relationships, abuse, and battles with addiction. In PLUMSHUGA , you’ll share a conversation with Lauren at home, where she breaks the fourth wall to discuss her greatest trials and successes by reliving them in memories painted by music and dance. This is Lauren Anderson’s story in her words, for the first time ever.
Recommended for Middle and High School Students
PANTO SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DORKS
book, music & lyrics by Adam Howard
November 25 – December 24, 2022
Student Matinees:
- Friday, December 9, 2022, at 10 a.m.
- Friday, December 16, 2022, at 10 a.m.
This classic Brothers Grimm tale gets a Panto twist as Snow White finds herself banished by the Evil Queen and her high-tech virtual assistant mirror. As she fumbles through Silicon Valley in search of help, she finds a team of dorky hackers. Together, they overthrow and outcode the forces of tech tyranny using brains, algorithms, and some Panto-magic. And did we mention Buttons gets a reboot as he is reinvented as head of Tech Support for the Evil Queen – perhaps he’ll find redemption in the end?
Recommended for Students of all ages
cullud wattah
by Erika Dickerson-Despenza
February 10 – April 2, 2023
Student Matinee:
- Friday, March 24, 2023, at 10 a.m.
After appearing at The Public to widespread acclaim, this gorgeous, emotional play makes one of its first appearances outside of New York at Stages. Winner of the 2021 Smith Blackburn Prize, cullud wattah follows three generations of Black women living through the current water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
It’s been 936 days since Flint has had clean water. Marion, a third-generation General Motors employee, is consumed by layoffs at the engine plant. When her sister, Ainee, seeks justice and restitution for lead poisoning, her plan reveals the toxic entanglements between the city and its most powerful industry, forcing their family to confront the past-present-future cost of survival. As lead seeps into their home and their bodies, corrosive memories and secrets rise among them. Will this family ever be able to filter out the truth?
Recommended for Middle and High School Students
THUNDER KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
by Keith Glover
words and music by Keb’ Mo’ and Anderson Edwards
June 16 – August 6, 2023
Student Matinee:
- Friday, June 30, 2023 at 10 a.m.
This bluesy show is an intoxicating musical fable filled with humor, heart, and the extraordinary music of three-time Grammy Award winner Keb’ Mo’. In a small Alabama town, a mysterious blues guitar-playing stranger arrives at the door of the Dupree family, bringing a challenge for the offspring of his late rival. The stranger’s bargain pits family legacy against a tempting future. But what started as a deal with the devil turns into a love story for the ages. Part family reckoning, part epic love, and all blues, Thunder Knocking on the Door brings soul to Stages.
Recommended for Middle and High School Students
Email Group Sales Coordinator Arianna Day at groups@stageshouston.com, or call 346.701.8861 to get started!