Mother of the Maid

Mother of the Maid

Regional Premiere
By Jane Anderson

Now playing in person and online through February 27, 2022

In this riveting new play, Jane Anderson reimagines Joan of Arc’s epic tale through the eyes of her mother. Isabelle Arc is a sensible, hard-working, God-fearing woman. Her headstrong daughter, on the other hand, communes with Saint Catherine, wears men’s clothing, and prepares to lead the French army into battle. Motherhood in the fifteenth century isn’t easy! Isabelle closely follows the baffling yet awe-inspiring journey of her curious, extraordinary daughter. Isabelle remains steadfast in her love and presence for daughter to the end, facing her own fears and doubts about her own faith along the way.

PLEASE NOTE: Upon arrival at the theater, MainStage patrons are required to show proof of a negative COVID test result (within 48 hours). A vaccination card may be shown in lieu of the test. Photocopies or a photo on your phone of medical records will be accepted.

Masks are also required for MainStage audience members. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

To Stream: When you purchase your tickets, you don’t have to choose a date that you want to stream the video. You can watch any time between now and February 27!

You’ll be given a code that you will apply as your “promo code” once you create your free Broadway On Demand account. You’ll be able to watch Mother of the Maid at a time that’s good for you between now and February 27! Specific instructions will be in your confirmation email once you purchase your tickets.

LOCATION

Main Street Theater – Rice Village
2540 Times Blvd.
Directions

PERFORMANCES AND TICKETS

Previews: Jan 30 and Feb 3 & 4, 2022

Opening Night: Feb 5, 2022
Playing Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm
though Feb 27, 2022

Tickets: $59 – $35

Open Captioning

Sunday, Feb. 6 at 3pm
Open “in-sync” Captioned Performance

HELPFUL INFO

Seating Charts
Parking/Dining

Running Time: 2 Hours including a 15 minute intermission

Please note: no outside food/snacks are allowed at the theater. You may purchase concessions at the show.

Children under the age of 9 are not allowed in the theater.

Part of the Art Logo

Special opportunities for each of the MainStage productions to help you connect with the work at MST in new ways.

 

PART OF THE ART Series Events for Mother of the Maid

February 13, 2022: Following the matinee, joins us for a post-show talk and discussion:
Joan of Arc: Her History, Her Story in Contemporary Media, and Her Legacy as a Female Warrior
with Joan of Arc expert Professor Bonnie Wheeler, English Department, Southern Methodist University, and multimedia medievalism expert Prof. Lorraine Kochanske Stock, English Department, University of Houston

Production Sponsor

Dog Act

IN PERSON AND ONLINE:

 

Dog Act

By Liz Duffy Adams

The post-apocalyptic wilderness was never funnier! Follow the adventures of Zetta Stone, a traveling performer, and her companion Dog (a young man undergoing a voluntary species demotion) as they wander through the former northeastern United States. Zetta, Dog and their little vaudevillesque troupe are on their way to a gig in China, assuming they can find it. A theatrical, darkly comic variation on the classic doomsday genre that hysterically and poignantly celebrates the need for language and stories when civilization has fallen into chaos. Recommended for mature audiences due to profanity, violence, and adult situations.

Houston audiences will have a wonderful opportunity to sample Liz Duffy Adams’ work when the Alley Theatre offers the world premiere of her newest play, Born with Teeth, around the same time as Main Street’s production of Dog Act.

Notes from the Artistic Director

The times we live in and the Pandemic we’re still living through make post-apocalyptic stories seem more plausible than ever. Over the last two years I have been thinking a lot about society’s breakdown, and this play seems timely to me. Just think about the events of January 6, 2021. As I watched the events unfold on television, I believed then that there was a real possibility that the mob might be successful in some way. Ten years ago we couldn’t have imagined anything like that.  Now we’ve seen it unfold in real time.

In Dog Act there has been great devastation and total breakdown of what we now would consider normal. These characters are generations removed from whatever events transformed the world, but they are doing their best to forge new systems and hang on to the memory of what is important to them. If you know the party game of “Telephone”– in which a word or phrase is passed one by one around a circle until it returns to the beginning completely transformed — you’ll see the parallel here: language has become altered over time, memories are misremembered and the words to the beloved songs are unrecognizable from the original, but the shape or sense of the originals are still there. The way fragments from the Bible, from Shakespeare, from popular songs and literature are all intermingled is really brilliant, in my opinion. I think it’s great fun to trace these references.

There are only two literate characters in the play, Vera and Dog. They had been living in a former walled (and therefore protected) college campus. They had access to the books and knowledge of the before times, so their speech is clear, without the convolutions of the other characters. Yes, the Scavenger class is profane and basically without vocabulary except for curses. Their ethos – reuse, recycle, repurpose – is more about survival than quality of life. They know they need a leader, whom they call ‘The Wendy,’ a barely remembered fragment from the Peter Pan story. They are the lost boys grown into feral men. They need structure, rules to live by, and they find it in Wendy. But the heart of the play is Zetta, whose memory is capacious and whose imagination is unrestrained. Zetta, the storyteller, the repository of memory and knowledge (however convoluted) will go on with the show, keeping the stories, the history and the connections alive for the next generation.

-Rebecca Greene Udden, Main Street Theater Artistic Director

COVID PROTOCOLS:

Patrons will be required to show proof of a negative COVID test result (within 48 hours). A vaccination card may be shown in lieu of the test. Photocopies or a photo on your phone of medical records will be accepted. Masks are strongly recommended but not required. All protocols remain subject to change.

LOCATION

Main Street Theater – Rice Village
2540 Times Blvd.

PERFORMANCES AND TICKETS

Previews: Mar 20, 24 & 25, 2022

Opening Night: Mar 26, 2022
Playing Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm
though Apr 16, 2022

Tickets: $35 – $59

ONLINE 4/7 – 4/17!

Tickets: $30 – $54

Open Captioning

Sunday, Mar. 27, 2022 at 3pm
Open “in-sync” Captioned Performance

HELPFUL INFO

Seating Charts
Directions

Please note: no outside food/snacks are allowed at the theater. You may purchase concessions at the show.

Children under the age of 9 are not allowed in the theater.

April 10, 2022: Following the matinee, join us for a Part of the Art Series post-show talk and discussion with playwright Liz Duffy Adams. Even if you are not attending the performance this day, you’re welcome to join us. Just plan to be at the theater about 5:15pm!

Production Sponsor

Janet Hansen

A Little House Christmas

Parents can order mementos of your visit in advance and have them ready when you come to the theater. Orders may be placed by clicking the image below or scanning the QR code.

A Little House Christmas

Based on LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Adapted for the stage by James DeVita

Presented by arrangement with the copyright owner, Little House Heritage Trust

The beloved Ingalls family that has captured the hearts of children for generations share their struggles and joys of pioneer life. Join Mary and Laura in this holiday classic about family, friendship and the Christmas spirit.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REVIEW OUR COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS.

This Holiday season, Main Street Theater is collecting non-perishable food items to replenish the supplies at the Houston Food Bank throughout the run of A Little House Christmas. We hope you’ll bring a donation with you when you come to see the show and provide food for thousands of Houstonians!

LOCATION

MATCH
3400 Main Street
Houston, TX 77002
Directions

PERFORMANCES AND TICKETS

Weekend & Holiday Performances:
Ticket Prices: $28 – $18

Sundays, November 7, 14, & 21, 2021
at 12:30pm and 3:30pm
Monday –  Wednesday & Friday,
November 22 – 24 & 26, 2021
at 1:30pm
Saturdays, November 27 &
December 4, 11, & 18, 2021
at 10:30am and 1:30pm
Open to the Public

School Matinees:
School Group Tickets: $7.00 each (discount for Title I schools)

Wednesday, November 3 –
Friday, December 17, 2021
Performances are at 9:30am, 11am & 12:30pm
(No 12:30pm show on November 2; no performances Nov. 22 – 26)

Sensory Friendly icon

Saturday, December 11 at 1:30pm
Sensory-Friendly/Relaxed Performance

Audio Described

Saturday, December 4 at 10:30am
Audio Described Performance
Advance Reservations Required (7 days minimum). Click here to reserve.

ASL Performance icon

Saturday, December 4 at 1:30pm
ASL Performance

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Seating Charts
Parking/Dining

Running Time: 1 Hour and 30 minutes including a 20 minute intermission

Please note: no outside food/snacks are allowed at the theater. You may purchase concessions at the show.

Recommended for Kindergarten and older.
Children under the age of 3 (including sleeping babies) are not allowed in the theater.

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter

EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE 12!

Available to watch online through June 5

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter

Based on the novel by Mario Vargas-Llosa

English-Language Premiere
A play by Caridad Svich

WATCH ONLINE OR IN PERSON AT THE THEATER!

Based on the autobiographical novel by Nobel Prize-winning Latin-American writer Mario Vargas-Llosa, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter follows the passionate love story between a young Vargas-Llosa and an older divorcee in 1950s Lima, Peru. A boisterous, high-spirited comedy with a big-hearted romantic story at its center, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter is what playwright Svich calls “a coming-of-age story about the performance of everyday life, the wonderfully disordered nature of love, and an homage to the golden age of radio and the spirit of classic screwball comedies.”

TO VIEW ONLINE:

  1. Click the Buy Tickets button below and choose the Aunt Julia Streaming option.
  2. You do NOT need to choose a date.
  3. Soon after you purchase your online ticket, you will receive an email from us with a code and the link to follow to watch the play.
  4. You’ll select Aunt Julia, and when you get to the payment page, USE YOUR CODE (you are NOT being asked to pay again!).
  5. You will be able to watch online starting today! Once you activate your code, you will have 24 hours to watch the production.

LOCATION

Main Street Theater – Rice Village
2540 Times Blvd.
Directions

PERFORMANCES AND TICKETS

Previews: May 8, 12 & 13, 2022

Opening Night: May 14, 2022
Playing Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm
Extended through June 12, 2022
There is no performance May 29.

Tickets: $35 – $59

Open Captioning

Sunday, May 15, 2022 at 3pm
Open “in-sync” Captioned Performance

HELPFUL INFO

Seating Charts

Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes including a 15 minute intermission

Please note: no outside food/snacks are allowed at the theater. You may purchase concessions at the show.

Children under the age of 9 are not allowed in the theater.

Part of the Art Series Post-Show & Panel Discussions

May 22 at 5:45pm: Join Main Street Theater and TEATRX, a Latinx Theatre Company based in Houston, on May 22 for a post-show discussion about the importance of sharing stories by Latinx artists and showcasing the range of Latinidad in the Latinx community and in MST’s production. TEATRX co-founders Benito Vasquez and Marissa Castillo, also a cast member of Aunt Julia, will be guiding the discussion. Director Amelia Rico, cast members Ricardo Hernandez-Morgan and Amanda Martinez, and costume designer Laura Moreno will be joining the discussion as well. As always, you are welcome to join us for the discussion even if you aren’t seeing the play that day. Just plan to arrive at the theater around 5:45pm.

May 24 at 6:30pm: Join Main Street Theater and MECA (Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts) for a panel discussion about what it means to be fully committed to sharing Latinx culture through the arts.

with

Armando Silva, Arts Program Director, MECA

Amelia Rico, director of Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter and MST Director of Digital Production

Sloane Teagle, MST Artistic Inclusion and Community Engagement Director

Melissa Molano, Houston theater artist

Vivienne M. St. John, Main Street Theater Theater for Youth Artistic Director

Rebecca Greene Udden, Main Street Theater Founding Artistic Director

Free Beer Friday Sponsor

The Real Inspector Hound

The Real Inspector Hound

By Tom Stoppard

 

EXTENDED THROUGH AUGUST 13!

Attending the premiere of a new murder mystery, two feuding theater critics soon find themselves drawn into the play-within-a-play! In the hilarious spoof of Agatha Christie-style mysteries that follows, the mists roll in around isolated Muldoon Manor, and the critics become implicated in the lethal activities of an escaped madman. It’s brilliant comedy as only Tom Stoppard can do!

The Real Inspector Hound is an exceedingly clever lampoon, sharply in focus…” —The New York Times “What absurd fun Tom Stoppard created when he let fantasies run wild.” —Evening Standard “Witty and delicious parody of the fog bound whodunit.” —Guardian “A tour de force of theatrical metaphysics.” —Daily Mail “A masterpiece…. Stoppard mines murder mystery conventions and strikes gold.” —Independent on Sunday

Special 2021-22 Season Celebration on August 6!
Join us on August 6 at 6:30pm for The Real Inspector Hound, a VIP reception, and an exclusive preview of the 2022-23 Season! Individual tickets: $150 (FMV $60). Sponsorships available. Contact marlen@mainstreettheater.com for sponsorship details.

LOCATION

Main Street Theater – Rice Village
2540 Times Blvd.
Directions

PERFORMANCES AND TICKETS

Previews: July 10, 14 & 15, 2022

Opening Night: July 16, 2022
Playing Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm
through Aug 13, 2022

Tickets: $35 – $59

Open Captioning

Sunday, July 17, 2022 at 3pm
Open “in-sync” Captioned Performance

HELPFUL INFO

Seating Charts

Running Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes with no intermission.

Please note: no outside food/snacks are allowed at the theater. You may purchase concessions at the show.

Children under the age of 9 are not allowed in the theater.

PRODUCTION GUARANTORS

Ken Bohan & Dean O’Kelley

PRODUCTION SPONSORS

Jane Evans & Jack Blaylock

ON TOUR: Dragons Love Tacos

Parents can order mementos of your visit in advance and have them ready when you come to the theater. Orders may be placed by clicking the image below or scanning the QR code.

Dragons Love Tacos

On Tour for Schools: Feb 8 – May 27, 2022

By Ernie Nolan
Based on the book by Adam Rubin with illustrations by Daniel Salmieri

Dragons love tacos. They love chicken tacos, beef tacos, great big tacos, and teeny tiny tacos. Unfortunately, where there are tacos, there is also salsa. And if a dragon accidentally eats spicy salsa… well, watch out!! The silly, dragon dancing journey about first impressions and trying new things is a recipe for laughs and fun!

Recommended for Pre-K and older.

Tour Performances

  • Performance Times arranged with each school
  • Performance length is 45 minutes (plus a short Q&A and photo session with the actors after the show)
  • $800.00 for a single performance
  • $1,200.00 for back-to-back performances
  • Travel fees are not included in the performance price and are determined based on the location of the venue
  • Audience Limit 350
  • Technical Requirements

The Book of Magdalene

The Book of Magdalene

Initial Digital Premiere

By Caridad Svich
Directed by Amelia Rico

EXTENDED! Now through February 28
February 11 – 28, 2021 ONLINE ONLY

In the edge-lands, in the weird times (after a worldwide catastrophic event), it’s nighttime until it’s not. These nights, Magdalene misses Ru and who they could have been together. Magdalene cares for Elder. Magdalene visits the local church to look at the sky. Magdalene works the call lines of the lonely and encounters Suit. Call this a quest. Call this a life waiting to be born again, haunted by a past when another Magdalene lived and was misunderstood. The Book of Magdalene is contemporary drama of sharp encounters, winding faith, tough love and tenderness suffused with grace and magic. A story about finding the courage to move on when life feels as if it is stuck in place.

About the Playwright

Caridad Svich is a playwright, screenwriter, translator, editor, lyricist, essayist, educator and freelance arts journalist. Her first independent feature film (as co-screenwriter) Fugitive Dreams, based on her play, premiered at the 2020 Fantasia Film Festival, 2020 Austin Film Festival and the 2020 Tallinn Black Nights Festival. Three of her plays were on the 2020 Kilroys List. She has received the 2012 OBIE for Lifetime Achievement, the 2011 American Theatre Critics Association Primus Prize for The House of the Spirits, based on Isabel Allende’s novel, and NNPN rolling world premieres for RED BIKE and Guapa. She has also been a Harvard/Radcliffe Institute Fellow, Tanne Foundation Fellow, NEA and Pew Fellow, and Visiting Research Fellow at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Read Ms. Svich’s full bio here.

About the Production

Director: Amelia Rico. The cast: Mariam Albishah, Andrea Boronell, Pablo Bracho, Maria Schenck, and Jennifer Wang.

Set design by Afsaneh Aayani. Costume design by Victoria Nicolette Gist. Lighting design by Grey Starbird. Sound design by Janel Badrina. Stage management by Megan Brooks.

 

IMPORTANT TICKET INFORMATION BELOW.

IMPORTANT:

You may watch The Book of Magdalene any time between February 11 and February 28. After you purchase your tickets, you’ll receive a viewing code via email. Once you receive that code, you may watch the play any time you wish from February 11 – February 28. The only thing to be mindful of is that once you activate your code, you’ll have 48 hours to watch.

Your 48 hour watch period begins AFTER entering your access code. The code can only be used on one device at a time. If the code is entered on a second device, the first device will be logged out automatically. You can Airplay or Cast the stream to a television using the following instructions: Stream to a TV

PLEASE NOTE:
The last opportunity to register with a credit is noon on Sunday, Feb. 28. 

Production Sponsor

THE HUMPHREYS FOUNDATION

2020-2021 MainStage Premier Season Sponsor

Pay What You Can Ticket Info for Our RFK Virtual Performance

About Pay What You Can Tickets

Bringing you the theatrical experience you love in the comfort and safety of your home.

$25 Ticket (Suggested)
Enjoy the show with your entire household for less than the price of a single ticket when you come to the theater.

$40 Ticket 
When you pay a bit more for your ticket, you help sustain Main Street Theater and support the work of our artists. Your support creates theater that inspires and uplifts in these challenging times.

$15 Ticket
Times are tough right now. If a $15 ticket is best for you, please select this option. We just want you to share in the experience with us!

PLEASE NOTE:
The last opportunity to register with a credit is noon on Sunday, Oct. 25.