Arts & EntertainmentMusic

A Big Musical Umbrella

Bayou City Performing Arts expands to house more than just choral music
by Nancy Ford

It’s not just gay men and women on risers singing in unison anymore.

In the early 2000s Bayou City Performing Arts’ anchor group, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Houston, welcomed the Bayou City Women’s Chorus and Bayou City Chorale into its fold. Taking the next natural step, BCPA has now also adopted the symphonically oriented Houston Pride Band and Unhinged Productions, a gay-themed theatrical group.

The mass merging increases BCPA’s ability to better market all four of the groups, says Beau Heyen, BCPA’s general manager since April. “This move also enables all four groups to better share our audiences with each other.

“We’re already getting great response from our season ticketholders!” Heyen adds.

Bayou City Performing Arts’ Unhinged Productions presents Vampire Lesbians and a Halloween ball.

In all, BCPA plans to mount seven concerts this season featuring the men’s and women’s choruses and the Pride Band; Unhinged Productions’ schedule adds to that total, opening with Charles Busch’s Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, directed by Joe Angel Babb, at Frenetic Theatre (October 14–22).

Dr. Linus Lerner maintains the baton for the choruses, with Skip Martin conducting the Houston Pride Band.

Between concerts, the groups maintain the community buzz with assorted public performances, including the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (October 1); Moonlight Madness, a costume ball at Magnolia Hotel Houston featuring Vampire Lesbians of Sodom cast members (October 28); World AIDS Day (December 1); and social events including an open mic cabaret (January 7).

All four performance groups celebrate their new-found togetherness with Let’s Get Loud, its annual meeting and kick-off event scheduled September 10, 4 p.m., at Meteor (2306 Genesee St.).

For a complete roster of Bayou City Performing Arts’ full season, log on to bayoucityperformingarts.org or call 713/521-7464.

 

 

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