Hurricane Harvey Cannot Stop This Houston Theatre’s World Premiere: Opening Night Dinner Brings Plenty of Surprises

What: The Alley Theatre‘s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph‘s play Describe the Night

Where: The University of Houston Quintero Theatre

PC Moment: Despite the hovering heartache of the Alley Theatre’s devastation from Hurricane Harvey, the festive opening night dinner went on as planned albeit at a new location — the UH Alumni Center where City Kitchen did the honors. While Alley managing director Dean Gladden addressed the recent challenges, artistic director Gregory Boyd spoke on the premiere. Playwright Joseph and director Giovanna Sardelli also had remarks for the gathering.

The most unexpected moment of the entire evening came when Gladden invited Rajiv to join him in a spirited performance of the Miami University (the Oxford, Ohio Miami U) fight song. Both are graduates of the school that boasts Scoop the Redhawk as its mascot.

Following the play, the gathering of board members and guests adjourned to the theater lobby where they saluted the cast with champagne toasts. The actors were not unfamiliar with the UH campus as this is where the Alley troupe spent the 2014-2015 season during the theater’s $46.5 million renovation. Flood waters, which reached 10 feet high in the building, devastated the lower-level Neuhaus Theatre, prop storage, rehearsal rooms and the electrical system.

Who: University of Houston president and system chancellor Renu Khator, Alley board president Butch Mach and Carmen Mach, Suresh Khator, Beth Madison, Kathryn Ketelsen, Jane Gladden, Oscar Brown and Sarah Morgan, Phil John, Kelly Somoza, Gracie Cavnar, Andrew Davis and Cory Tu, and C.C. and Scott Ensell.