Theatre Under the Stars

This fantastical, magical, musical extravaganza is the culmination
of Theatre Under The Stars’ new community-based initiative.

For the past 50 years, Theatre Under The Stars has offered Houstonians a free, professionally-produced musical at Miller Outdoor Theatre. This summer, as TUTS prepares to step into its 51st year, the musical theatre company takes its mission to enrich the lives of Houstonians through the experience of musical theatre a step further when it produces the enchanting Broadway musical, Seussical™, through its new Public Works Houston initiative.

Seussical™ was created by Tony Award® winners, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Once on This Island, Ragtime) create a magical musical for the entire family. Narrated by The Cat in the Hat, who weaves all your favorite Seuss characters into the whimsical tale of Horton the Elephant and his quest to protect the people of Who-ville. Seussical™ brings out the imagination in all of us by reminding us to always believe. Seussical™ is fantastical fun for the whole family!

Houston audiences will journey into the wondrous imagination of Dr. Seuss under the summer night sky when as many as 100 community members from TUTS Public Works Houston join a cast of professional actors. Students from the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre and The River Performing and Visual Arts Center will also participate, making Seussical™ the largest cast ever on stage in a Theatre Under The Stars production.

“In celebration of our 50th Anniversary, this is going to be the most epic show ever produced at Miller Outdoor Theatre,” says TUTS Artistic Director Dan Knechtges, who will direct and choreograph the production. “This touching musical is the perfect show to launch our new Public Works Houston initiative because it speaks to the power of creativity and how it can positively impact our communities.”

Theatre Under The Stars Public Works Houston is a community engagement program that seeks to connect with the people of Houston by inviting them to be creators and not just spectators. This nine-month program culminates in the musical theatre company’s summer show in July at Miller Outdoor Theatre when individuals from the community partners participate in the production with professional actors and artists.

Through the Public Works Houston initiative, TUTS provides tailored programming for four community partners – Dress for Success Houston, Wesley Community Center, New Hope Housing Reed, and YMCA of Greater Houston.

Public Works Houston is an affiliate of the Public Theater’s highly-successful Public Works program in New York City, founded in 2013.

Seussical™ runs nightly at 8:15PM from Tuesday, July 16 through Sunday, July 21 at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Bring the whole family to experience this uniquely Houston event. This production is free to the public.

Seats in the covered seating area are ticketed. Free tickets are available at the Miller Outdoor Theatre box office on the day of the performance between the hours of 10:30am and 1pm, limited to four tickets per person over the age of 16, while seats remain. If seats remain at 1pm, the box office will reopen one hour before show time to distribute the remaining tickets.

For advance seating under the covered pavilion, patrons may support Theatre Under The Stars with a donation of $50 per ticket. Contact development@tuts.com for more information.

Hillside seating is not ticketed. Blankets and lawn chairs are welcome. Parking is free. For more information, visit the Miller Outdoor Theatre website at milleroutdoortheatre.com.

Theatre Under The Stars’ Public Works Houston program Seussical™ sponsored by: ConocoPhillips, The George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation, Miller Theatre Advisory Board, The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Wortham Foundation, Inc., the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Theatre Under The Stars is grateful to our 50th Anniversary Season Sponsors: Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, United Airlines, KTRK ABC-13, The Four Seasons Hotel Houston and Phoenicia Specialty Foods. TUTS is supported in part by the City of Houston through the Theater District, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.