Houston Theatres React to Flooding

As Houston, Texas grapples with a historic flood, many of the city's performing arts venues have been endangered.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has issued the following statement:

"Our great city and region are continuing to suffer from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and we know that we are facing a long recovery together. Following is an update on the Wortham Theater Center, whose two theaters, the Brown and Cullen, are home to Houston Grand Opera. The Wortham had water penetration into the front of house areas at a low level due to high water; that water has now receded and left residual dirt. In the back of house, water surged over the storm defense and some water went onto the Brown Theater stage. This was at a low level but has resulted in damage to the surface of the stage. The Cullen Theater stage has little water damage and the dressing room corridor had water, but also at a low level. The basement of the building is completely full of flood water. We want to thank Houston First, Theater District Inc. engineers, and Andy Frank Security for their great work in protecting the building from even worse damage. The Theater District garage is completely flooded and will undoubtedly be closed for some time for repairs and cleanup. Fortunately, HGO staff members had the foresight to move valuable instruments and many costumes, including those for our opening productions of La Traviata and Julius Caesar, to higher floors in advance of the storm. Houston Grand Opera will be out of our offices until after Labor Day. Our website remains down. We will provide another update on Thursday afternoon, August 31. Meanwhile, we are deeply grateful to the artists and other colleagues from around the country and the world who have sent their support. That means so much to us all. Houston Grand Opera will recover and deliver a fantastic season to our patrons, giving them the art they need to heal from this calamity. And the only future water we want coming across our stage is that of the Rhine!"

The Alley Theatre also issued a statement:

"The Alley Theatre has been severely impacted by Tropical Storm Harvey. In order to keep our patrons, staff, and artists safe, the Alley has cancelled all remaining performances of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. All electricity, email servers, and phone lines remain offline. Patrons may exchange their existing tickets for a future Hubbard Theatre production at no additional charge, request a refund, or donate the value of the tickets to the Theatre. Please email boxoffice@alleytheatre.org and the box office staff will return your message when we return to normal operations. The offices and box office are closed because there is no electrical power in the building.

"Upon initial inspection, Alley's Neuhaus Theatre, Mitchell Lobby, and basement dressing rooms suffered the most damage, with water rising past the high-water mark of 2001's Tropical Storm Allison. The Hubbard Theatre and the Long Lobby remain intact without any damage.

"Artistic director Gregory Boyd and managing director Dean Gladden will release further information about the season at a later date."

"The Alley Theatres' thoughts are with all Houstonians during this difficult time."

In its most recent Facebook posting, Houston Theatre Under the Stars states:

"For the safety of our patrons, students, and staff, Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) will remain closed Monday, August 28, 2017. We will continue to monitor ongoing weather conditions in the Houston area and will post updates on our website and social media outlets; including the estimated re-opening of our offices and schools. Please check back regularly for information.

"In line with Local Independent School District closures, ALL education and community engagement activities are canceled through Friday, September 1, 2017. This includes all classes, rehearsals, and regularly scheduled programs for both TUTS Humphreys School of Musical Theatre (HSMT) and The River Performing and Visual Arts Center.

"Additionally, rehearsals for the HSMT Summer Conservatory production of Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT and school sign-up for the Tommy Tune Awards (TTA) will also be postponed until further notice.

"Our thoughts remain with all fellow Texans affected by the storms."

Stages Repertory Theatre has announced:

"Our thoughts are with all our fellow Texans who have been impacted by flooding and severe weather. We're grateful that Stages is dry and undamaged as of Monday, August 28, although our offices and facility remain closed due to flooding in the surrounding areas.

"We will continue to monitor the situation over the next few days to determine when performances will resume. Please stay tuned to our website and social media for further updates.

"Patrons and ticket-holders may leave messages at boxoffice@stagestheatre.com or 713.527.0123. Our patron services team will be in touch over the coming days as our offices reopen.

"We are heartbroken by the losses in our community but proud of the Texas spirit that shines through even in the most difficult moments. We offer our thanks to our incredible local leaders, first responders, and neighbors, and are ready to help as recovery begins."

In other news, Houston Symphony has cancelled all three performances of Ella at 100, a celebration of Ella Fitzgerald, this weekend, because of the floods.

American Theatre magazine has a comprehensive roundup of flood damage to the city's theatres at the URL listed below.