{"id":6455,"date":"2025-10-16T09:59:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T09:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/6455\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T09:59:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T09:59:11","slug":"best-bets-mud-row-walter-smith-iii-quartet-and-kbr-kids-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/6455\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Bets: Mud Row, Walter\u00a0Smith III\u00a0Quartet and KBR Kids Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s Conflict Resolution Day<\/a>, and if you want to celebrate after making up with your loved one, consider celebrating while taking in one of our best bet picks. This week, we\u2019ve got a play by a Tony-nominated playwright, Houston musical talent on display, and a family-friendly festival. Keep reading for these and more below.<\/p>\n

Back in June, audiences got a sneak peek at Dominique Morisseau\u2019s Mud Row<\/a> when Stages read scenes from Morisseau\u2019s work during the Fade to Black Festival<\/a>. Stages<\/a> will officially open their production of the Tony-nominated, MacArthur \u201cGenius\u201d Grant recipient\u2019s play about two generations of sisters, one pair living during the civil rights era and the other in the present day, on Thursday, October 16, at 7 p.m. The play has been described as \u201cwell-written<\/a>\u201d and \u201cmystery-filled<\/a>,\u201d as well as a \u201cfast-paced, two-hour drama\u201d that \u201cis an entertaining and heart-touching story with universal themes that most families can relate to.<\/a>\u201d Performances will continue at 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays through November 2. Tickets can be purchased here<\/a> for $25 to $124.<\/p>\n

Conductor Christian Reif<\/a> will lead pianist H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Grimaud<\/a> and the Houston Symphony<\/a> in George Gershwin\u2019s Concerto in F, a work described as \u201ceven more ambitious than<\/a>\u201d his famous Rhapsody in Blue, during Gershwin & Grimaud: Jazz Meets Symphony<\/a> at Jones Hall<\/a> on Friday, October 17, at 7:30 p.m. Julia Perry\u2019s A Short Piece for Orchestra will kick off the evening, which also includes Kurt Weill\u2019s Symphony No. 2. Weill, of course, is well-known for composing popular standards like \u201cMack the Knife,\u201d written with Bertolt Brecht for 1928\u2019s The Threepenny Opera. The concert will be performed again at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 18, and 2 p.m. Sunday, October 19. Tickets for the in-hall performances are available here<\/a> for $29 to $142. Saturday night\u2019s show will also be livestreamed, and you can purchase access here<\/a> for $20.<\/p>\n

\"WalterWalter Smith III opens DACAMERA\u2019s jazz series this weekend. Credit: Travis Bailey<\/p>\n

DACAMERA<\/a> will launch its jazz series on Friday, October 17, at 8 p.m. with a little hometown talent as the organization presents the Walter\u00a0Smith III\u00a0Quartet<\/a> in concert at the Wortham Theater Center<\/a>. Smith\u2019s most recent album, three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not, pays tribute to the Bayou City, the saxophonist\u2019s hometown, with tracks like \u201c610 Loop,\u201d a reference to the interstate that divides the inner city from the outer surrounding areas; \u201cMontrose Nocturne,\u201d alluding to the former location of his high school alma mater, Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts<\/a>; and \u201cLone Star.\u201d \u00a0Smith will be joined by fellow Houstonians, pianist Jason Moran and drummer Kendrick Scott<\/a>, and the aforementioned Virgin Islands-born bassist Reuben Rogers<\/a>. Tickets are available here<\/a> for $53.50 to $101.<\/p>\n

For Reformation Day in 1725, a Protestant Christian holiday that celebrates Martin Luther affixing his Ninety-five Theses to a church door in 1517 and sparking the Reformation, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild, BWV 79. The cantata, whose title translates to The Lord God is a sun and shield, was written for the Feast of Reformation, and on Saturday, October 18, at 3 p.m., you can hear it performed by Bach Society Houston<\/a> during Oktoberfest Vespers<\/a> at Christ the King Lutheran Church<\/a>. Following the performance, stick around for an Oktoberfest-inspired outdoor community gathering that promises bratwurst and beer, as well as more music from a brass band. The event is free, but RSVPs are requested, and donations are welcome.<\/p>\n

Aperio, Music of the Americas<\/a>, will open its 20th season with Southern Revival<\/a>, a program of American music focusing on nostalgia and collective memory, on Friday, October 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the MATCH<\/a>. The ensemble, conducted by Marlon Chen<\/a>, will perform a program that includes Shawn Okpebholo<\/a>\u2018s Two Black Churches, Andante Moderato from Florence Price\u2019s String Quartet No. 1, and Samuel Barber\u2019s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, which pulls its text from James Agee\u2019s A Death In The Family. It\u2019s been said<\/a> that Barber \u201ccontributed to Agee\u2019s poem in prose a perfect setting,\u201d noting that \u201cit possesses an immediate sense of childhood memories; the singing line is a natural translation of words into music.\u201d Tickets are available here<\/a> for $15 to $35.<\/p>\n

\"AHead over to The Water Works for KBR Kids Day. Credit: Meridith Kohut<\/p>\n

2025 marks the 10th anniversary of Buffalo Bayou Park<\/a>\u2019s transformation from \u201cneglected waterway into Houston\u2019s oasis<\/a>,\u201d and you can gather the whole family to celebrate during KBR Kids Day<\/a>, a fall family festival scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 19, at The Water Works<\/a> in Buffalo Bayou Park. A family bike ride with Bike Freedom Academy<\/a> will start the day, which includes music and dance performances, birds of prey shows, story time with the Houston Public Library<\/a>, guided walking tours led by Urban Paths<\/a>, face painting, and a Halloween costume parade (so be sure to don your silliest or spookiest getup). Food and drinks will also be available for purchase from food trucks and other vendors. The event is free, and you can register here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Theatre Under The Stars<\/a> is staging a spelling bee starting on Tuesday, October 21, at 7:30 p.m., when The 25th\u00a0Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee<\/a>\u00a0opens at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts<\/a>. Gemini Quintos, who will play speller Marcy Park in the production, recently told the Houston Press<\/a> that playing a child is \u201ca fun challenge,\u201d saying, \u201cWe all have to play children, which sounds easy, just act like a kid. But really, we have to tap into this part of ourselves that is really self-conscious and really vulnerable and really unsure of ourselves.\u201d Performances will continue at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and Sundays; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sunday through November 2. Tickets can be purchased here<\/a> for $46 to $195.<\/p>\n

This article appears in Jan 1 \u2013 Dec 31, 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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