Bayou Theater lines up diverse set of acts for 2019-2020 season
As UHCL’s fall semester arrives, the Bayou Theater is ready to kick off its 2019-2020 season with an array of acts and performances. Bringing 25 acts to UHCL this year, the Bayou Theater’s upcoming season is filled with various performances of many genres, as well as a performance of one of Shakespeare’s most notable plays.
This season is sponsored by multiple organizations, including the Bay Area Arts Conservatory (BAAC).
“We chose to sponsor this season primarily for sentimental reasons, but also because the performing arts are such a vital part of this community,” said Sarah Lewis, artistic director and founder of BAAC. “I grew up performing at the Bayou Theatre with Clear Lake Metropolitan Ballet. It was a second home for me of sorts. So many shows and memories to choose from, but the most memorable was The Nutcracker performances. We’re excited for our students and families to create lasting memories there as well!”
Bayou Theater director Alex Malone gave insight into his process in choosing the acts for this season and in general, noting that it can be “an extensive and large process.”
“I have a couple agents and managers who I trust so if they call me and tell me they’ve got this great artist or band and they’re coming through Texas, I’ll take a look at them and see what I think,” Malone said. “I ask around and see if anyone else has presented them, but pretty much it’s all about relationships with agents and managers.”
Malone said he does not choose acts based on his personal preference but rather on what he feels, in general, is good for the theater and UHCL community. He acknowledges taking “direction and recommendation” from President Blake and senior management and leadership “very seriously.”
“They have a vision and direction for UHCL and I want to make sure the Bayou Theater is supporting that and the direction they want UHCL to go,” Malone said. “Community outreach, partnering with different audiences and demographics of the student body and staff and faculty, trying to expand the learning that is happening in the classroom by bringing them onto the stage, the cultural diversity and just making sure we are being good stewards of the theater and putting on the highest quality acts we can.”
Malone also highlighted certain acts for this season, such as the Apollo Chamber Players, and the Houston-based classical music group Mercury, which will be performing at UHCL five times throughout the season.
“They are a classical music group based in Houston, so each time they come they bring in a new program,” Malone said. “The August one is Bach and Piazzolla, the November one is Mozart and Beethoven, so it’s different performances but the same group.”
Malone also highlighted Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” which will be performed by Actors From The London Stage – who previously performed “Romeo and Juliet” at UHCL in 2018 – and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a Grammy award-winning South African group. Malone said that one thing that makes this season different from the previous variety.
“We’re bringing in Tejano music, we’re bringing in acapella and South African music, music based in the Zulu tradition, we’re bringing in Gullah music and classical music,” Malone said. “It’s just this huge variety of genres we’re bringing in.”
This season the theater is also giving out more discounts and promotions to get more students and staff to attend. Student tickets will be cheaper, with there being a new faculty and staff price as well and even senior discounts.
Student prices will be $10 this season, as opposed to the original $12, while also allowing students to sit wherever they want. Faculty, staff, alumni and retirees will now be $12 and a new senior category in which ticket prices will be $15, with seniors being anyone 55 and older.
Overall, Malone feels more than positive about the upcoming season, saying he is both excited and optimistic.
“We’ve got a very strong lineup and I think the shows are very much going to represent the best that UHCL has,” Malone said. “It’s diversity, it’s inclusion, it’s risk-taking, trying new things and really showing the students and the community that it cares about quality art and performance in all aspects, music dance and theater. I’m optimistic and hopeful and looking forward to seeing it come together.”
Jeffrey Lewis, executive director of BAAC, also expressed positive thoughts about the season.
“We are looking forward to the variety of events that Alex Malone has scheduled for this season giving the public a true taste of the performing arts,” Lewis said. “With the recent remodeling of the venue, we expect to see a continued increase in patronage from the surrounding community.”
For more information on the Bayou Theater’s 2019-2020 lineup, and to purchase tickets, visit www.uhcl.edu/bayou-theater.
