Galena Park, TX Indoor Activities

We Can’t Stop the Beat is a lively concert featuring music from all over the world. The focus, as the name coyly implies, will be on percussion, rhythmic beat, and dancing. The Gay Men’s Chorus of Houston will provide vocals, and special guests will clamber on by to help keep the drums pounding. Musical samplings include pieces by George Gershwin and The Glen Miller Band, contemporary pieces from the musical Hairspray, and more. Revel in the thrum and musical undulations in the beautiful expanse of Jones Hall, a grandly lit building with an acoustically supreme interior and a ceiling of 800 moveable hexagons.

Ibsen's Ghosts, a blistering commentary on 19th-century morality and hypocrisy, centers on a woman's efforts to keep her philandering husband's wealth out of the syphilitic hands of her son (who is in love with a maid who bears more than a passing resemblance to his father) by sinking it into an orphanage. The play’s shocking subject matter was hailed by Victorian-era fuddy-duddies as "revoltingly suggestive and blasphemous," praising its "gross, almost putrid indecorum." For a less scathing and more insouciant send-up of the same time period, George Bernard Shaw's Candida centers on an enchanting clergyman's wife as she finds herself torn between her upstanding but dull husband and the persistent advances of their romantic young houseguest. Shakespeare's beloved comedy As You Like It follows the meanderings of Rosalind and Orlando as they fall in love against a mystical woodland backdrop of cross-dressers and courtly intrigue—speaking such immortal lines as "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players" and "NOOOO!" along the way.

The June 12 variety show will feature the show choir performing musical numbers across a wide spectrum of genres. This performance's theme is "Play it Again: Revivals & Remembrances" and features familiar hits and classic show tunes performed by the costumed chorus, complete with props and choreography. The lively performance will feature numbers by everyone from Michael Jackson to Leonard Cohen, as well as familiar show tunes, movie themes, and patriotic marches; you can see the full lineup here. The eclectic ensemble is assembled of local music lovers representing a variety of backgrounds and has been entertaining audiences for more than 75 years; call ahead to reserve seating.

Designed by award-winning architect Gunnar Birkerts, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston's stainless steel building safeguards a multitude of work designed to intellectual engage viewers and invoke complex reactions. The museum's two galleries, the Brown Foundation Gallery and the Zilkha Gallery, collectively host 8–10 free exhibitions every year.

The Brown Foundation spotlights work by internationally renowned artists and pieces organized around themes; past exhibits include a Kiki Smith survey and a showcase of performance art by black artists. The Zilkha, meanwhile, hosts the museum's Perspective Series, which gathers the work of emerging artists. The museum's Teen Council curates a biyearly edition of Perspectives, unveiling work by young, Houston-area artists that mine for deeper feelings than the normal teenage angst toward parents, teachers, and singing animatronic bears. The Teen Council also contributes to the museum's numerous programs, which include lectures and discussions for each show, as well as Musiqa concerts based on each Brown Foundation Gallery exhibition.

At Arena Theatre, nobody sits further than 60 feet from the show. Most concertgoers who’ve squinted their ways through major concerts at other venues can attest that the Arena’s in-the-round seating arrangement and revolving stage are causes for celebration. Since the 1970s, the state-of-the-art circumference has attracted a long list of legendary performers––including Willie Nelson, Tom Jones, and Aretha Franklin––into its intimate performance space. Four full-service bars allow quick access to refreshments, and enclosed parking protects exiting patrons from rainstorms. While sinking into their comfy seats and savoring a flashy light system and stellar acoustics, fans can hear every sound as they discard their unnecessary opera glasses.

To keep the spirit of its musical roots ever near, House of Blues Houston keeps a metal box of mud from the Delta Mississippi beneath its stage and proudly displays the traditional crazy quilt. As the only venue in the revered chain to be built vertically rather than free floating, House of Blues Houston stands as a pillar of entertainment in the Houston Pavilions complex. The hot spot’s Bronze Peacock Room commemorates Houston's rich history and the blues clubs where Lightnin' Hopkins and Big Mama Thornton held sway, and features an enormous hand-painted mural depicting other local legends such as Albert Collins and Johnny "Guitar" Watson.