2024- 2025 MainStage Season

Season Tickets for our
2024-2025 MainStage Season
are on sale now!

Buy season tickets to save on single ticket prices AND receive great benefits, including:

  • Free, unlimited TICKET EXCHANGES throughout the season.
  • LOWEST TICKET PRICE with no ticketing fees.
  • Access to the BEST SEATS before single tickets go on sale to the public.
  • Discounted tickets for additional purchases to the MainStage and the Theater for Youth (at the MATCH).

2024 – 2025 Theater for Youth Season

Season Tickets for our
2024-2025 Theater for Youth Season
available now!

Create a subscription package by picking 3 productions, 4 productions, 5 productions, or take the whole season with a 6 production package, and save on single ticket prices and receive great benefits, including:

  • Free, unlimited TICKET EXCHANGES throughout the season.
  • LOWEST TICKET PRICE with no ticketing fees.
  • Access to the BEST SEATS before single tickets go on sale to the public.
  • Discounted tickets for additional purchases to the Theater for Youth and the MainStage (in Rice Village).

#MST47

Did you know that Main Street Theater has been part of the Houston community since 1975? And that each season we provide 250+ jobs for local artists AND reach over 100,000 audience members from Houston
PLUS nearly 50,000 more across the state of Texas?

Help support local, professional theater.

Help us raise $47K in 47 days to end our 47th Season with a bang!

Main Street Theater JEDI Events

The evening will also include a discussion with this season’s Fellows, facilitated by JEDI Council members Brandon Mack and Dr. Dabrina Sandifer.

RSVP by February 14, 2024

The Best of Everything

The Best of Everything

Regional Premiere
Adapted by Julie Kramer
Based on the book by Rona Jaffe

Imagine “Madmen” meets “Sex and the City!” The Best of Everything is the new adaptation of Rona Jaffe’s 1958 bestseller about ambitious secretaries in the big city. These girls want thrilling careers and grand adventures—and husbands and children too, in due time. Today we call that “having it all.” These gals call it “the best of everything.” And wisely enough, they’re not sure it’s possible.

“The play is brilliantly funny, but it has quite a few things to say about 2023.  Main Street Theater is keeping Rona Jaffe’s conversation alive with this production…this show certainly lives up to the title in acting, technical aspects, and strong direction.  It’s a fun evening that will make you think.” — Read the full BroadwayWorld Houston review

LOCATION

Main Street Theater – Rice Village
2540 Times Blvd.
Houston, TX 77005
Directions

PERFORMANCES

May 20 – Jun 18, 2023
Previews: May 14, 18, 19, 2023

Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm

Tickets: $35 – $59

Open Captioning

Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 3pm
Open “in-sync” Captioned Performance

HELPFUL INFO

Seating Charts
Parking/Dining
Learn more about available discounts here.

Running Time: 2 hours including one 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.

Thursday, June 15 at 6:45pm:

Join us at 6:45pm for happy hour drink specials with special guest bartender, Dominic Leone, and light bites from the kitchen of Mark B. Robbins. Stay after the show for YouTube Karaoke and an After Party! Special thanks to our media sponsor, OutSmart Magazine!

Production Guarantor

Ken Bohan and Dean O’Kelley

Production Angel

Janet Hansen

Season Sponsor

Saint Arnold Logo

Macbeth Muet

Macbeth Muet

SEASON ADD-ON
Based on Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Created by La Fille du Laitier

PLAYING AT OVATIONS NIGHT CLUB IN RICE VILLAGE
next door to our Rice Village theater
2536 Times Blvd.
Houston, TX 77005
MATINEE ADDED SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2023

Shakespeare’s classic is performed entirely without words as the ultimate power couple is transformed through their dark and fateful choices in this hilarious, high-speed romp of object theatre, dance, and pure madness. For ages 13+

MST Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden first saw La Fille Du Laitier’s Macbeth Muet in New York several years ago and was captivated by their innovation and ingenuity. “You’ve just never seen anything quite like it!” says Udden. “And the show is hilarious!” MST brought the show to Houston in 2018 and is excited to bring La Fille Du Laitier back in 2023.

“Frenetic and fun and ingenious, Macbeth Muet is killer theatre.” – CBC News
“This is a display of sheer theatrical invention, certainly a must-see…” – Winnipeg Free Press
“thoroughly entertaining…” – On Stage Ottawa
Macbeth Muet is one of the most original, clever, funny, intense, and just bloody entertaining (pun intended) shows I’ve seen in years.” – Houston Press

About La Fille Du Laitier
La Fille du Laitier is a theatre delivery service, “bringing creative and innovative theatre to your doorstep! We want to reinterpret and reimagine theatre classics, bringing them to a modern audience, both young and old, at an
affordable price. La Fille du Laitier believes in reclaiming our right to madness, and the freedom of the imagination!” www.lafilledulaitier.com

While the production at Main Street will be performed inside Ovations in Rice Village, La Fille du Laitier generally performs out of a mobile theatre truck, just like the food trucks you see around any city. Performances could happen at any time, surprising the community with performances they might not normally get the chance to see. Their goal is to initiate people from the community into art they might not normally go out to experience, or have the money to afford.

LOCATION

Ovations in Rice Village (next door to MST)
2536 Times Blvd.
Directions

PERFORMANCES

January 27 – 30, 2023 at 7:30pm – SOLD OUT
January 29, 2023 at 3:00pm
Tickets: Pay-What-You-Can ($20 Minimum)

HELPFUL INFO

Parking/Dining

Running Time: 60 minutes

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.

Keating Family Foundation

Season Sponsor

Saint Arnold Logo

2022 Cyber Week Sale

This year we’re having a WEEK-LONG CYBER SALE for performances in 2023!

Monday, November 21, 2022 through Monday, November 28, 2022, you’ll have access to big savings on these shows* when you purchase tickets ONLINE using the Promotion Code CYBERMST.

*Cyber Sale does not apply to any MainStage previews, Cinderella, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, or Present Laughter.

Trouble in Mind

Trouble in Mind

Regional Premiere
By Alice Childress

1957. Rehearsals begin on what everyone hopes will be Broadway’s next big hit. But social norms and prejudices collide, and so Wiletta Mayer, a gifted Black actress, will finally get to play the lead role in a Broadway show if she’s willing to compromise her principles. Funny, moving, and ultimately a shattering look at racism, identity, and ego in the high-stakes world of New York theatre. This 1955 comedy-drama—planned for Broadway but canceled when the playwright wouldn’t tone down its message—finally made its triumphant premiere in 2021.

“With an engrossing history, a superlative cast, and a message that cannot be ignored, Main Street Theater’s “Trouble in Mind” is not simply a period piece from the 1950s, but a riveting commentary on race, art, and power that will leave you thinking long after the show is over.” Houston Chronicle review

“Main Street Theater should be lauded – again (as with their regional premieres of Coast of Utopia, Wolf Hall, Light in the Piazza) – for their prescience in bringing this lost masterpiece to Houston. Trouble in Mind is glorious theater.” Houston Press review

“This is a powerful production of a fine play. However much it may at times unsettle, it is a troubling of the mind much to be desired.” Conroe Courier review

More about the play’s history:

Before it opened Off-Broadway in New York in 1955, one of the white, male producers made playwright (and director) Alice Childress change the ending, which she did – though she knew it was wrong – and of course, the end is the one part of the show the New York Times didn’t care for. Then the play was optioned for Broadway IF Ms. Childress rewrote it to be more palatable for white people. For 2 years, she worked on it, trying to please the producers. But after reaching a point where she couldn’t even recognize her own play anymore, Alice Childress stopped. And the play never made it to Broadway… UNTIL last year at the Roundabout Theatre in New York when Trouble in Mind made its glorious Broadway debut. Now Main Street Theater is honored to give the play its regional premiere.

LOCATION

Main Street Theater – Rice Village
2540 Times Blvd.
Directions

PERFORMANCES AND TICKETS

Sept 17 – Oct 16, 2022
Previews: Sept 11, 15, & 16, 2022

Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm

Tickets: $35 – $59
(Previews: $15 – $20)

Open Captioning

Sunday, Oct 2, 2022 at 3pm
Open “in-sync” Captioned Performance

HELPFUL INFO

Seating Charts
Parking/Dining

Running Time: 2 hours 15 minutes with one 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 Trouble in Mind

Tuesday, August 23 at 6:45pm: Join us for a free, first read-thru of Trouble in Mind 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. To RSVP, please click here. Following the CDC’s current recommendations while taking into account that Houston is currently at a High Community Risk Level, masks are recommended. 

Tuesday, September 27 at 6:30pm: Join us for our next DEBI Discussion (Diversity, Equity, Belonging, and Inclusion) moderated by Tamara Siler, professional actor and Deputy Director of Admission, Access and Inclusion at Rice University. Panelists include local artists S. Denise O’Neal, Crystal Rae, Steven J. Scott, and Manning Mpinduzi-Mott. We’ll explore the ways BIPOC artists navigate the Houston theater landscape. The event is free and open to all artists. Just register here: bit.ly/MSTDEBISept

       

Thursday, October 9: Join us for a pre-show Happy Hour with the one and only Carmina Vavra!

Sunday, October 9: Join us for a post-show discussion featuring some of Houston’s outstanding Black actresses: Tamara Siler, Rachel H. Dickson, Tené Carter, Ansonia Jones, Sloane Teagle, and Michele Harrell.

Free Beer Fridays, sponsored by Saint Arnold’s! Have a beer on us after the show!

This production is generously supported in part by:

Underwriter

Season Sponsor

The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley

The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley

SEASON ADD-ON
By Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon

 

Now available to watch online as well!

Regency romance is back with our favorite literary couple and their entertaining relations: Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy! Continuing Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice, the below stairs servants at the grand Pemberley estate find themselves in the midst of a holiday scandal. An unwelcome visitor has stumbled into the hall in the middle of the night—Mr. Darcy’s nemesis and Lydia’s incorrigible husband, Mr. Wickham! Mrs. Reynolds, the bustling housekeeper, Cassie, the resilient new serving girl, and Brian, the helplessly romantic groomsman, must each balance their holiday preparations with keeping Wickham confined. But before long, everything reaches a boiling point, festivities spiral into chaos, and the truth comes to light! An utterly delightful holiday tale.

 

“Main Street Theater’s The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley is a loving extension of the Jane Austen universe.” -Houston Chronicle

“Ultimately, the play, like much of the holiday season, is about belonging: finding the place where one is accepted, understood, and forgiven as well as judging those who reject belonging at all and seek only to justify and pleasure themselves. Pemberley’s secret of happiness is made to lie in its ability to empower the weak and turn away the selfish. In short, it is a play about holiday hope.” —Houston Chronicle/Conroe Courier

LOCATION

Main Street Theater – Rice Village
2540 Times Blvd.
Directions

PERFORMANCES

Nov 19 – Dec 18, 2022
Previews: Nov 17 & 18, 2022
No performance Thanksgiving Day, November 24

Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm

Tickets: $39 – $59

Open Captioning

Sunday, Nov 20 at 3pm
Open “in-sync” Captioned Performance

HELPFUL INFO

Seating Charts
Parking/Dining
Learn more about available discounts here.

Running Time: 2 hours includeing one 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 The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley

Monday, October 24 at 6:45pm: Join us for a free, first read-thru of The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley 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. To RSVP, please click here

Thursday, December 8: Join us for a pre-show Happy Hour with the one and only, Carmina Vavra! Happy Hour starts at 6:45pm. The play starts at 7:30pm.

Free Beer Fridays, sponsored by Saint Arnold’s! Have a beer on us after the show!

Producing Partner

Kay Sim

Season Sponsor

Saint Arnold Logo

Permanent Collection

Permanent Collection

By Thomas Gibbons

African-American businessman Sterling North is the new director of the Morris Foundation, a world-famous art collection. When North proposes to change the permanent collection display by adding eight pieces of African art from storage, a battle ensues with the long-time Education Director who is devoted to protecting Morris’ vision. Spurred on by a zealous local journalist, the clash quickly escalates to public accusations of racism and a bitter struggle for control of the collection.

“Seldom do you see a play in which one second you empathize with one character, only to be challenged in your thinking by the utterances of another. It is stellar theater.” – Houston Chronicle

“Well-rounded performances and relevant, insightful conversations about the impact of art and art’s role in shaping perception” – Houston Press

“’Permanent Collection’ paints a brilliant exploration of the fate of art in our time and of our struggles to secure it in ‘our’ corner. Make time to study it.
Houston Chronicle/Conroe Courier

Houston Press Interview with Steven J. Scott

LOCATION

Main Street Theater – Rice Village
2540 Times Blvd.
Directions

PERFORMANCES AND TICKETS

Feb 11 – Mar 5, 2023
Previews: Feb 5, 9, 10, 2023

Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm

Tickets: $35 – $59

Open Captioning

Sunday, Feb 12, 2023 at 3pm
Open “in-sync” Captioned Performance

HELPFUL INFO

Seating Charts
Parking/Dining
Learn more about available discounts here.

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 Permanent Collection

January 17, 2023 at 6:45pm: Join us for a free, first read-thru of Permanent Collection 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. To RSVP, please click here

February 19, 2023: Join us for a post-show discussion with Misty Flores, Assistant Curator, Rienzi, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Even if you’re not seeing the production on this date, you’re welcome to join us. Plan to arrive at the theater around 5pm.

February 26, 2023: Join us for a post-show discussion with the director, assistant director, and cast. Even if you’re not seeing the production on this date, you’re welcome to join us. Plan to arrive at the theater around 5pm.

   

Thursday, March 2: Join us for a 6:45pm pre-show Happy Hour with Carmina Vavra and Hu’nee B!

 

Free Beer Fridays, sponsored by Saint Arnold’s! Have a beer on us after the show!

Production Sponsor

THE HUMPHREYS FOUNDATION