Production Partners
Janet Hansen
Patricia VanAllan
Additional Support from Katie Ritcheske
The Coast Starlight
Regional Premiere
By Keith Bunin
Directed by Robin Robinson
Armed with a secret that could land him in terrible trouble, a young man boards the Coast Starlight, the long-distance train that runs from Los Angeles to Seattle. With the help of his fellow travelers, all of whom are reckoning with their own life circumstances, T.J. has roughly one thousand miles to figure out how he wants to live the rest of his life. THE COAST STARLIGHT is a smart, funny, and compassionate story about our capacity for invention and re-invention when life goes off the rails. Recommended for mature audiences due to some profanity. This play is performed without an intermission.
“A gentle, rueful play…. the ride it offers is as smooth as it is wistful. Because Bunin knows that any trip involves leaving something or someone behind. [It] sends up sparks … So let it do what any train should, which is to move you.” — The New York Times
“THE COAST STARLIGHT is [a] funny, moving dramatic jewel… Keith Bunin’s luminous play focuses on a group of strangers on a train … and what they say to each other (very little) in contrast to the thoughts, confessions, and fantasies that run through their heads and which they convey direct to the audience (a lot).” — The Daily Beast
LOCATION
Main Street Theater – Rice Village
2540 Times Blvd.
Houston, TX 77005
Directions
PERFORMANCES AND TICKETS
February 7 – March 1, 2026
Previews: February 1, 5, 6
Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm
Tickets: $40 – $63
February 8 at 3:00pm
Open “in-sync” Captioned Performance
HELPFUL INFO
Seating Charts
Parking/Dining
Learn more about available discounts here.
Running Time: TBD. This play is performed without an 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.
Monday, January 12 at 6:45pm: Join us for a free, first read-thru of The Coast Starlight at our Rice Village location, 2540 Times Blvd. You get to be a fly on the wall for the very first rehearsal, hearing the cast read the play aloud for the first time together. Connect with the production from it’s very beginning and then see the arc of the process when you come back to see the full show. RSVP here.
Sunday, February 22: Join us for a post-matinee discussion led by Ronald E. Acierno, PhD, Executive Director, Trauma and Resilience Center, Vice Chair for Veterans Affairs and Professor, Louis Faillace Department of Psychiatry, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.
Everyone is welcome, regardless of whether you are seeing the play on these dates. Just plan to arrive at the theater about 4:45pm. Free to all.
Pride Night: Feb. 19 at 6:15pm, join us for our pre-show Happy Hour & then the SingOUT Cabaret starting at 6:45pm! Special thanks to media sponsor OutSmart Magazine and event sponsor Riven Productions HTX!
Closing Weekend Party: Feb. 28 in the lobby after the show
Free Beer Fridays, sponsored by Saint Arnold Brewing Company! Have a beer on us after the show!
Season Sponsor
