Bayou Theater at UHCL announces 2025-26 season lineup

The Bayou Theater at the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) has announced its full 2025-2026 season lineup, promising a diverse blend of music, theater, and community collaborations designed to entertain and inspire audiences across Bay Area Houston.

Returning to lead the program is Director of Theater and Cultural Arts Stephen Davis, who emphasized his mission in a letter to the community: "We continue our commitment to bringing you high-quality performing arts with a little bit of something for everyone."

The season opens Aug. 29 with Mercury Chamber Orchestra's "Handel & Vivaldi," featuring selections from two Baroque legends and including Handel's beloved "Water Music." This performance marks the beginning of Mercury's own 25th anniversary season. The ensemble returns Oct. 30 with a performance of "Vivaldi's Four Seasons," celebrating the work's 300th anniversary. Mercury rounds out its appearances on April 15 with "Bolero Querido!," a program exploring cross-cultural musical heritage, from Ravel to Latin American classics.

Country music fans can look forward to Artists Lounge Live's return on Feb. 19 with "Friends in Low Places: Brandon Bennett Sings Garth Brooks." Bennett, best known for "Elvis My Way," will bring Brooks' hits like "The Dance," "Two of a Kind," and "Workin' on a Full House" to the Bayou stage, just in time to kick off rodeo season.

Furthermore, Davis and his team at the theater continue their strong commitment to local and youth theater through two collaborative projects. The UHCL Storytellers return to showcase student talent, while Main Street Theater for Youth presents "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!" on Feb. 27. The morning performance invites young audiences to question what really happened in the most infamous pork-based court case of all time.

In the spring, the Bayou Theater will once again partner with Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre to stage a full production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" Performances run across two weekends, April 24-26 and May 1-3, and will feature a cast of local and regional talent in the classic American musical that helped define modern Broadway.

Tickets can be purchased online anytime or by calling 281-283-3024. To stay informed about upcoming events, sign up for the Bayou Theater's monthly Arts Connect Newsletter. Visit uhcl.edu/bayou-theater for more information and to buy tickets.