Best Bets the Week of October 10-16, 2024

Still looking for something exciting to do this weekend? You know we’ve got you covered. Whether you're in the mood for a musical that steps back in history, a classic horror tale, or a deep dive into K-culture, there's something here for everyone to enjoy. Keep reading for these and other events that made our list of best bets.

Sergei Rachmaninoff spent about a quarter century of his life in exile, forced to flee Russia after Nicholas II abdicated the throne during the February Revolution, moving the country to the end of czarist rule and closer to communism. On Thursday, October 10, at 7 p.m., Stages will open a limited engagement of Rachmaninoff and the Tsar , a new musical play by pianist, actor, and playwright Hershey Felder that imagines Rachmaninoff’s likely one-time encounter with Nicholas II and his daughter Anastasia, as well as includes some of the composer’s most famous piano works, including Prelude in C sharp minor and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Performances continue at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through October 20. Tickets can be purchased here for $51 to $109.

The Art Colony Association, Inc. (ACA) will once again transform Memorial Park into an outdoor art gallery featuring the work of more than 270 artists representing 19 different artistic disciplines – painting, sculpture, printmaking, jewelry, and more – on Friday, October 11, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the Bayou City Art Festival . In addition to the art, guests can enjoy live entertainment, a food truck park, a craft beer and wine garden, selfie stations, a mini putt-putt course, and more. The festival will continue on Saturday, October 12, and Sunday, October 13, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets must be purchased in advance online here and are available for $5 for children ages 6 to 12 and $20 for adults with a VIP option available for $75. Children under five are free.

It’s officially spooky season, and Classical Theatre Company is offering up playwright Chris Iannacone’s adaptation of Dracula , Bram Stoker's 1897 classic about a bloodthirsty Transylvanian count who relocates to England, set to open at The DeLUXE Theater on Friday, October 10, at 7:30 p.m. Director Blake Weir recently told the Houston Press audiences will see “ a collaboration of artists telling the scariest version of Dracula we possibly can ,” saying too that though vampires don’t exist, “ people who suck life out of others do ,” so even though it “ is a very classic tale, told from an old age perspective…[it] still seems really real and fresh. ” Performances will continue at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and Monday, October 21, and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through October 26. Tickets can be purchased here for $10 to $30.

On Friday, October 11, at 8 p.m., The Garden Theatre will open Stephen Sondheim’s musical dive into the minds of nine men and women who tried, with varying levels of success, to kill the president of the United States, Assassins . The “ daring ” one-act, from Sondheim and collaborator John Weidman, says “ the unthinkable ” in “ a deceptively peppy musical-comedy tone ” – that is, that these people are “ products, however defective, of the same values and traditions as the men they tried to murder. ” Performances will continue at the MATCH at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and October 20-21, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through October 27. Tickets are available here for $25 to $30. Three pay-what-you-can performances are also scheduled for October 17, October 21, and October 24, with a minimum price of $10 and a suggested price of $30.

The 15th Annual Korean Festival Houston will return to Discovery Green on Saturday, October 12, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and, for the first time, festivalgoers will have two full days to experience all things K-culture. Janet Hong, the president of festival producer the Korean-American Society of Houston , recently told the Houston Press she would like people to walk away from the festival “ thinking they had a good time and actually learned a lot about what they didn't know before. ” The festival will continue on Sunday, October 13, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Festival admission is free, and you can register here , but one- and two-day VIP passes – with additional benefits like access to cooling stations, food vouchers, and a special alcohol-tasting event – are also available for $50 to $75 here .

It’s your typical job interview – except for the fact that the people are all vying for an unknown job, and their posturing takes the form of acrobatics and dance instead of passive-aggressive speech. We’re talking about Losers Cirque: The Audition , a show that will explore the nature of human competitiveness through contemporary circus technique when it comes to the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, October 12, at 7:30 p.m. The show, touring for the first time in the U.S., is the product of Losers Cirque Company , which began after an acrobatic duo called DaeMen, comprised of Petr Horníčka and Zdeněk Moravce, won the first season of the Czech-Slovak version of America’s Got Talent . Tickets can be purchased here for $45 to $95.

Former secretary of state, senator, and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit Jones Hall on Monday, October 14, at 7 p.m. to talk about her latest memoir released back in September, Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty . Clinton will touch on topics from her 13th book – its title you may recognize as a reference to a Joni Mitchell lyric – which covers her marriage to former president Bill Clinton, time spent as a college professor, and her political career (including of course, her 2016 run for president of the United States) through a moderated, on-stage discussion. Tickets are still available here for $49.50 to $89.50, with a special book package ticket, which includes a copy of the book, also still available for $129.50.

Jane, a 9/11 widow still awaiting her husband’s return, turns to Penelope, who famously waited 20 years for her Odysseus to return from war, in The Janeiad , which opens at the Alley Theatre on Wednesday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m. Playwright Anna Ziegler has said that Jane uses this character from Homer's The Odyssey “ to give her hope that her husband will come back to her ,” adding the play is “ about the stories we tell ourselves to get through the day. It’s about hope and loss and resilience and the ability to change and get unstuck in our lives. ” Performances will continue at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through November 3. Tickets can be purchased here for $58 to $80.