Tonight’s shows are listed in performance order.

How to Grow a Man, by Nicole Cortichiato (ScriptWorks Commission).  An introductory course on the delicate art of growing a man. Soil, pots, and man seeds provided.

He Said, She Said, by Camden Factor. This fresh, young play cuts to the nerve of how truth gets forged in real time, who controls the narrative, and what happens when teenagers are pushed to choose not what’s true, but what’s survivable. In a world where status is fragile, attraction and power decide what accountability looks like after the “headline moment” passes—and what consequences remain. More at HeSaid-SheSaid.org.

Puck, in Epilogue by Amber Elby. A one-mortal play.

The Fighter and The Fawn, by Meredith Yarbrough. A dark romantic comedy told through movement and boxing. Penelope and Quentin, newly in love, have just moved in together, and moving in too are their overactive amygdalae (the survival part of the brain behind fight, flight, freeze, and fawn). When stress knocks out their rational minds, love takes a beating as the living room turns into a boxing ring and the amygdalae into unfiltered ringside announcers. A funny, physical dive into the absurdity and the pain of fighting with the person you are trying to love.

The Knuckleball Now, by The Knuckleball Now. Established 2004, these local legends of improvised comedy, the Knuckleball Now, bring their high-energy, fast-paced, smart scene work to life, based on audience inspiration.

The Saturday January 24 Best of Week performance has been postponed due to dangerous weather.

The rescheduled performance will take place at 2:00 PM Saturday, February 7.

If you had tickets for January 24, they can either be transferred to the 2:00 PM Saturday, February 7 show, or you can request a refund. Please email hydeparktheatre@gmail.com to let us know which you prefer.

Shows are listed in performance order. 

Real Americans, by Christa French and Laura Freeman. A satirical musical comedy wherein Modern American Man visits the circus!

Through the Woods, a staged reading written and performed by Pamela L. Paek and Tristan Young Mercado, narrated by Jonna Juul-Hansen. Some would call us over the hill, but we ain’t goin’ to grandmother’s house like the song says. We’re going where most won’t. We’re talking burning bridges and saying what needs to be said. In the ways things need to be said. You’ll learn what it takes to go through the woods. Get ready.

Shadow Work, by Dale Markowitz. A traveling shadow puppeteer searches for the source of his creative block. Directed by Rebecca Maag, performed by Nick Ivons. 

Bloom, by Sandy Lam. Through music, movement, and devising, Bloom tells the story of the Tsang family: three women, three survivors, bound in a cycle of love and hurt. An exploration of intergenerational trauma, healing, and growth. This project contains select scenes from the full stage play.

United Colors of Booty: The Story of the Sugarfoot Hustlers, by Ellen Stader. A reading/ storytelling experience written and performed by Ellen Stader, telling a tale alternately heartfelt and hilarious about the 12-woman dance troupe she assembled, trained, choreographed, costumed, performed, and built a sisterhood with (and only paid once!) during the 2000-2010s.

THIS BEST OF WEEK LINEUP WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 24; THAT SHOW WAS CANCELLED DUE TO DANGEROUS WEATHER.

These shows are listed in performance order.

A Reunion, by Lance Elliot Osborne, Directed by Zell Miller III. On an early morning phone call, two former classmates—one Black, one White—reconnect for the first time in 50 years. What begins as a simple high school reunion invitation unfolds into an unflinching, tender conversation about race, memory, and what was left unsaid. A Reunion explores how old wounds, deep truths, and unexpected kinship can emerge in the most ordinary moments.

Moving Forward, written and performed by Adriane Shown. Having relocated cities 19 times, living in over 40 abodes, Adriane explores the sense of an internal home and self, in what baggage we box up to carry with us. We are ghosts of previous selves in this single life, but we are also the haunted house itself. An echo of who and what we choose to leave behind as we continue moving forward.

An Introduction to Software Development, by Nick Ivons (ScriptWorks Commission). Step into our world and learn how the sausage gets made.

Unwitnessed: the Search for Identity After Leaving a Cult, written and performed by Michael Lovestrong. An account of a lifetime in a high-control religion and the road to authenticity after leaving.

Over the Lege, by Stephanie Chiarello. The number-one, and some say only, political comedy show based solely on the Texas Legislature. Think SNL but laser-focused on Texas politics. Created by Stephanie Chiarello, co-directed by Tom Booker, and written by local writers, it's a real-time look at the shenanigans of the Texas Legislature.

Tonight’s shows are listed in performance order.

A Great Relief, by Andy Tate (ScriptWorks Commission). It's 2046, and 75-year-old Don Fraser reckons he's lived a full life. But how full is full enough? When the government starts offering old folks big bucks to check out early, to ease the strain on the national budget, Don finds himself grappling with the ultimate questions: What is a life well-lived? What's it all for anyway? And why does cheesecake taste so damn good? Featuring Jeff Bush, Esther Park, Devon Ragsdale, and Kirk Scarbrough. Directed by Jason Sierra.

The Ride Across Barton Springs Road, by Hank Schwemmer. Solo storytelling, for better or worse.

Just Out Of Reach, by Sally Seitz. After a sexual mishap, Mary encounters some unexpected helpers.

Spyder Bytes, by Brian Wittenbrook. An out-of-work movie “scream queen" get the opportunity to represent a revolutionary technology that could change the world. To get the job, she may have to give up a souvenir, a part of Hollywood legend James Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder—and something much more important to her. Spyder Bytes stars LB Deyo, Kelly Hasandras, Danu Mara, and Brian Wittenbrook.

The Bench, by Beth Leckbee and Ritika Bhattacharjee. Nikita and Anne have a chance encounter on a park bench where Niki used to meet her late fiancé, a bench dedicated to Anne’s late best friend. The two women discover what it means to live vibrantly while contending with grief. The Bench is a witty, heart-warming musical about the love that fills the spaces left by the people who leave us, and how the only way through grief is through authentic, vulnerable connection.