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for Thu., Aug. 23
  • Magnolia Musical Theatre Presents Footloose!

    Join Magnolia Music Theatre with your friends and family for Footloose: The Musical, every Wednesday through Saturday through August 10th! Kick off your Sunday shoes and bring a blanket to lounge on the Central Plaza Lawn as you enjoy these free-admission, Broadway-level performances. Every Wednesday is Accessibility Night, sponsored by Together Austin.
    July 10 - Aug. 10, 8pm  
    Hill Country Galleria
Recommended
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Davis Gallery: Reflector

    This is something to see, all right, as the gallery walls are filled with work by artists tasked with capturing either their whole self or an aspect of self. And most of the artists have depicted themselves via abstractions and symbolic representations. Note that Randall Reid, Jan Heaton, John Sager, Chun Hui Pak, and Caprice Pierucci are only some of the artists represented in this group show, and we reckon you'll be right there with us, viewing the array of wonders on display.
    Through Sept. 8
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    grayDUCK Gallery: Crit Group 2018

    The Contemporary Austin and grayDUCK Gallery present new work by eight artists who participated in the museum's Crit Group – a program combining group critique with professional development. For viewers, this means an array of sculpture, photography, painting, drawing, collage, installation, and ceramics by Adrian Aguilera, Christa Blackwood, Christine Garvey, Ron Geibel, Jenn Hassin, Landon O'Brien, Dawn Okoro, and Rachel Wolfson Smith.
    Through Sept. 2
  • Arts

    Comedy

    Jake Johannsen

    Uh oh, this feller's a purveyor of subtle and intelligent comedy. Good thing he's at Cap City and not playing a club up in, like, Pflugerville or something, right? Folks there might not recall, for instance, Johannsen's excellent This'll Take About an Hour special for HBO. Note: This show is recommended!
    Aug. 22-25. Wed.-Thu., 8pm; Fri.-Sat., 7:30 & 10pm. $12-23.  
  • Arts

    Books

    Joe R. & Kasey Lansdale: Terror Is Our Business

    That's the title of the book, to be sure; but it's also true of this fantastic father-and-daughter team of writers, here presenting a new collection of stories – subtitled Dana Roberts' Casebook of Horrors – featuring a duo of supernatural sleuthing who uncover an array of angry jinns, malevolent shadows, ancient travelers, and soul-sucking shapeshifters.
    Thu., Aug. 23, 7pm
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Mondo Gallery: Heroes In a Half Shell

    Celebrate everyone’s favorite wise-cracking, pizza-obsessed crime fighters and their cast of heroic allies and enemies in this collection of art inspired by those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, now brightening the walls of that gallery that knows well how to honor the funkiest movies of all time.
    Through Aug. 25  
  • Arts

    Theatre

    The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

    This is Edward Albee's "most provocative love story ever told," in which a 50-year-old architect leads an ostensibly ideal life with his loving wife and teenage son, but sets in motion events that will destroy his family and leave his life in tatters … when he confides to his best friend that he is also in love with a goat. No, for reals, in love with a goat. Robert Pierson, Rebecca Robinson, Tim Blackwood, and Preston Ruess star in this Capital T production directed by Mark Pickell. And the Chronicle's own Robert Faires saw this show, and here's his review.
    Through Sept. 15. Thu.-Fri., 8pm; Sat., 2 & 8pm. $20-30.  
  • Arts

    Theatre

    There and Back

    He's brought us Confessions of a Mexpatriate, among other powerful works of theatre, and now look: Austin playwright Raul Garza's newest is about the current immigration crisis – illuminating the fraught history between the U.S. government and Mexicans seeking that “shining city upon a hill.” Starring Karina Dominguez as Gloria and Giselle Marie-Muñoz as the Virgen de Guadalupe. Aaaaaand: Mical Trejo! Directed by Patti Neff-Tiven for Ground Floor Theatre. And reviewed here by Robert Faires.
    Through Aug. 25. Thu.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 5pm. Pay what you wish.  
  • Arts

    Theatre

    Wit

    Austin Scottish Rite Theater teams up with the Final Acts Project to present Margaret Edson’s acclaimed dramedy, here directed by Susan Gayle Todd. Taking the role of both narrator and player in her own tragedy, the main character (played here by Kristin Fern Johnson) shifts from present to past as she navigates stage four ovarian cancer diagnosis and high-dosage experimental chemotherapy, revealing the journey with self-conviction, humility, and grace. And Robert Faires has reviewed this amazing show right here.
    Through Aug. 25. Thu.-Sat., 7:30pm. $15-25.  
All Events
  • Arts

    Theatre

    A Real Boy

    This satiric play by Stephen Kaplan tells the story of two marionettes with a human child who starts growing strings of his own. Can his kindergarten teacher save him? Directed by Chelsea Beth for Last Act Theatre Company.
    Through Aug. 25. Thu.-Sat., 8pm. $12-25.  
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Cobalt Riesling Gallery: Friending Is Not Friendship

    Here's the inaugural show for this new gallery within the Flatbed complex, a group exhibition featuring original art from friends who met on social media or now mainly communicate through the digital world instead of IRL. Featured artists: Rohitash Rao, Elizabeth Decker, Anthony Hurd, Whitney Tureztzky, Martin Lewis, and Chad Rea.
    Through Sept. 6
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Comanche Motion: The Art of Eric Tippeconnic

    This exhibition is enhanced with artifacts providing historical context for the paintings, rich with the unbroken connection the Comanche people have with their roots. Also, Rodeo: The Exhibition. Boy howdy, it's the history of the Texas rodeo – vibrant, interactive, and fully documented in this fine new show.
    Through Jan. 2. $9-13.
  • Arts

    Theatre

    dat Black Mermaid Man Lady

    What is this? This is "a gathering place. An imagined living room – at the bottom of the ocean – a home, where all there is is Love." This is a new performance and installation from Sharon Bridgforth, featuring Sonja Perryman, Walter Kitundu, and Florinda Bryant, with songs in the tradition of Black spirituals, with oracle readings, with "everyday objects that shapeshift … as we call the ancestors forward, and celebrate." And Robert Faires has a review of the show right here.
    Through Aug. 25. Wed.-Sat., 7pm; Sun., 2pm. Free, but RSVP.  
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Digging Deep: From the Flatbed Flat Files

    This salon-style exhibition offers a wide array of prints – etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, and painterly prints known as monotypes – printed by hand from copper plates, stone, and carved wood on Flatbed’s presses. After two decades in the current location, the inky powerhouse has organized this show with its upcoming move in mind, digging deep to present a selection of works priced perfectly for collecting, featuring contemporary and vintage prints by artists Julie Speed, Ann Conner, Frank X Tolbert 2, Teresa Gomez-Martorell, David Everett, Francisco Delgado, Sharon Kopriva, Joan Winter, Celia Muñoz, Ken Hale, and many more. Recommended.
    Through Aug. 25
  • Arts

    Theatre

    Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

    You just know Zach Theatre's gonna do this fabulous sockdollager of a crowd-pleasing Broadway show up right, with Abe Reybold at the helm and Allen Robertson handling music direction. Hell, you could attend just to hear that hilarious "Gaston" song performed live, couldn't you?
    Through Sept. 2. Wed.-Fri., 7:30pm; Sat., 2:30 & 7:30pm; Sun., 2:30pm. $25 and up.  
  • Arts

    Dance

    Enchilada Western: Texas Deep Fried

    The Aztlan Dance Company presents the third installment of the Enchilada Western series that showcases Borderlands culture in all of its rich complexities, from the fast foot desperados and taunting pistoleras, to the epic shaman-seer and tawdry tonic vendor.
    Aug. 23-26. Thu.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 4pm. $15-18.  
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Harry Ransom Center: Archaeology and Romance

    Ed Ruscha, anyone? We'll bet yeswe're big fans ourselves – and now here's a diverse selection of the celebrated American artist’s books, photographs, drawings, and pprints. With archival production materials, preliminary sketches, and studio notebooks; with more than 150 objects providing visitors an unprecedented look into Ruscha's creative process. And the Chronicle's Melany Jean tells more about this show right here.
    Through Jan. 6
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Lora Reynolds Gallery: Xavier Schipani

    Here's a striking exhibition of murals, paintings on canvas, and a sculptural installation masquerading as a public bathroom – all by that acclaimed Schipani, voted Austin's Best Muralist in 2016. This new show is, we're told, "largely a reckoning with masculinity. What is manliness? What has it meant in the past, what does it mean now, and what are its shortcomings?" Could be our review provides a few answers.
    Through Sept. 1
  • Arts

    Theatre

    Marvel Universe Live: Age of Heroes!

    Hold on to your infinity stones, True Believer! This is a live, action-packed spectacle direct from the House of Marvel. Much acrobatic derring-do, pyrotechnics, and motorcycle stunts are involved in this show in which "Spider-Man, the Avengers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy join forces with Doctor Strange, in a race against time to recover the Wand of Watoomb before it falls into Loki's hands." You might could appreciate this thing as a functioning adult, citizen; kids, OTOH, will definitely have their little minds blown.
    Aug. 23-26. Thu.-Fri., 7pm; Sat., 11am, 3 & 7pm; Sun., 1 & 5pm. $25-90.  
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Meet Her Hands: Cindy Popp

    In the latest iteration of this series from BossBabes and the Ney Museum, meet the conceptual artist who emphasizes exaggerated versions of femininity, with notes of pop culture and drag. Much of her work – Popp art, right? – has been influenced by fashion editorials, makeup artists on Instagram, B-movies, clowns, and comedy.
    Through Aug. 24. Free, but RSVP.  
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    SouthPop: 14th Anniversary Exhibition

    Almost a decade and a half of SouthPop already? Yes, and now the venue that celebrates all the long strange years of live-music Austin that have gone before, now that bastion of funky cultural puissance on South Lamar brings an eclectic show of works from the permanent collection to their storied walls.
    Through Sept. 29. $5.
  • Arts

    Comedy

    Stand-Up Comedy Workshop

    This is the workshop Hannah Kenah led for Rude Mechs while they were creating their Field Guide. Together, you'll write, you’ll share – and there'll be a mic and a stool. Sign up now for this one-day class that's low-pressure, high-fun, and makes the last Sunday in September worth waking up for.
    Workshop date: Sun., Sept. 30, 3pm. $20.  
  • Community

    Civic Events

    Taking it to the Streets: A Visual History of Protest and Demonstration in Austin

    The Austin History Center's latest exhibit spotlights local efforts to create social change over the decades, including the Civil Rights and Women's Liberation movements. Residents are invited to upload personal photos of recent marches and rallies for inclusion.
    Through Oct. 28. Free.  
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    The Blanton: Australian Ancestral Modern

    This new exhibition from the Kaplan & Levi Collection features contemporary painting and sculpture by Australian Aboriginal artists, curated by Pamela McClusky, curator of African and Oceanic Art at the Seattle Art Museum.
    Through Sept. 9
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    The Blanton: The Distance I Can Be From My Son

    In 2013, Lenka Clayton attempted to objectively measure the furthest distance she could be from her toddler son in three environments: a city park, the alley behind their Pittsburgh home, and in the aisles of a local supermarket. The trio of videos humorously underlines the challenging judgment calls that parents make about how much autonomy to give their children. (For more, see Marisa Charpentier's review right here.)
    Through Sept. 2  
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    The Contemporary Austin: Against a Civic Death

    Rodney McMillian's social critique of American histories, injustices, and structures of power explores the changing symbol of the White House and the concept of civic death.
    Through Aug. 26
  • Arts

    Theatre

    The Grapes of Wrath

    City Theatre is trampling out the vintage with Frank Galati’s stage adaptation of John Steinbeck’s literary masterpiece, following the Joad family's troubled 1930s journey from the Oklahoma dust bowl to that promised land of Califor-nigh-ay. Directed by Andy Berkovsky.
    Through Sept. 2. Thu.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 3pm. $10-25.  
  • Arts

    Theatre

    The Great American Trailer Park Musical

    When a “stripper on the run” comes between an agoraphobic housewife and her tollbooth collector husband, mayhem ensues among the tightknit array of manufactured homes. This country-rock and blues musical about Eighties nostalgia, spray cheese, roadkill, hysterical pregnancy, a broken electric chair, kleptomania, flan, and disco is directed by Sarah Gay for TexARTS, with Susan Finnigan as music director.
    Through Sept. 1. Thu.-Sat., 7:30pm; Sun. 2pm. $43 and up.  
  • Arts

    Theatre

    The Jigglewatts Burlesque: Violet Crown Follies

    August’s show features World Famous *BOB* and her drag family, the House of Famous – Louisianna Purchase, Bobby Barnaby, and Kitty Von Quim. But of course's there's some sweet ecdysis from the Jigglewatts' own Coco Lectric and Miss Ruby Lamb, too.
    Thu., Aug. 23, 7pm. $15-120.
  • Arts

    Comedy

    Top Comedy Spot on Airport

    Yes, there's Sugar Water Purple on Wednesday nights. And this Thursday features Friends For Now, a daring supergroup of improv, and then the sketch shenanigans of Pendulum. Friday brings Movie Riot and the laugh-inducing ladies of Loverboy and that Live at ColdTowne stand-up showcase hosted by Carina Magyar. Then there's Saturday, with the Dave Buckman-directed Roast of St. Nick and the love-stinks larking of Missed Connections ATX, followed by a gathering of that mysterio-hilarious Midnight Society. And Sunday's got a Stool Pigeon spieling up the laughs for you, and – see website for more.
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Wally Workman Gallery: Joyce Howell

    Howell's palette has always been informed by nature and its flux between calm and chaos. The artist describes it as an ongoing conversation and you can see a visual transcript, as it were, of that conversation invigorating the Workman walls in this new exhibition.
    Through Sept. 1
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Women & Their Work: Surface

    Meg Aubrey’s candy-colored palette belies the loneliness, disquiet, and isolation she renders in her paintings of upscale suburban life.
    Through Sept. 6

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