{"id":367313,"date":"2026-07-09T20:31:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T20:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/367313\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T20:31:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T20:31:08","slug":"houstons-ensemble-theatre-marks-50th-anniversary-with-premieres-revivals-and-honoring-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/367313\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston\u2019s Ensemble Theatre marks 50th anniversary with premieres, revivals and, honoring the past"},"content":{"rendered":"

Houston \u2013 The Ensemble Theatre<\/a>, one of the nation\u2019s leading professional African American theaters that owns and operates its own facility, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a season of six productions, special events and expanded education programming.<\/p>\n

Artistic director Eileen J. Morris and associate artistic director Rachel Hemphill Dickson said the 2026\u20132027 season blends regional premieres with returning favorites, reflecting the theater\u2019s longtime mission to tell stories rooted in the community. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a plethora of activity \u2026 just producing the six plays that we\u2019re going to be doing throughout the year,\u201d Morris said, describing a mix of comedies, dramas and musicals.<\/p>\n

Dickson, who said she has been with the company for about 30 years, reflected on the theater\u2019s early days and the legacy of founder George Hawkins.<\/p>\n

The Ensemble Theatre’s founder George Hawkins (Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

The Ensemble ultimately moved into its longtime home at 3535 Main St., where it has been since 1985, she said. \u201cWe\u2019re not out of the trunk of the car anymore,\u201d Dickson said, noting the company\u2019s growth from its earliest efforts to a permanent home supported by board members, staff and the community.<\/p>\n

Asked how the theater is honoring Hawkins\u2019 vision, Dickson said the season itself is a tribute, with roughly half the lineup made up of productions the theater has staged before and three newer works.<\/p>\n

Morris highlighted \u201cPurpose,\u201d a regional premiere that she described as an intergenerational family story set in Chicago and loosely connected to the public life of the Rev. Jesse Jackson\u2019s family. Morris said the play\u2019s themes of legacy and family conflict are widely relatable.<\/p>\n

Another season highlight is \u201cThe Wash,\u201d inspired by the 1881 washerwomen\u2019s strike in Atlanta, which Dickson described as a timely story about organizing and speaking out. The play shows women from different backgrounds coming together and winning, she said, framing it as a story about \u201clegacy and family and community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The theater\u2019s education efforts remain central to the anniversary year, Morris said, pointing to programming that continues throughout the year, including Saturday offerings and a young performers training program.<\/p>\n

Tickets for the 2026\u20132027 season are available now, along with volunteer and internship opportunities. Click HERE<\/a> to purchase tickets.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Houston \u2013 The Ensemble Theatre, one of the nation\u2019s leading professional African American theaters that owns and operates…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57,12969,21071,27321],"class_list":["post-367313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-main-street","tag-midtown","tag-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}