A rendering of the aerial view of Lynn Wyatt Square
THE DOWNTOWN THEATER District is about to experience a transformation, with the long anticipated grand opening of Lynn Wyatt Square for the Performing Arts (LWS). Located within a “square” created by Texas avenue and Capitol, Smith and Louisiana streets, and flanked north and east by the Alley Theatre and Jones Hall, the beautifully designed, $26.5 million green space has it all: a flexible performance lawn for concerts, a cascading fountain, one-of-a-kind rockers and tête-à-tête seating, and plenty of accessible entries to its promenades and gardens. Wyatt made a $10 million gift toward the project, and Downtown Redevelopment Authority, Houston First, and numerous foundations funded the rest. LWS will be fully open to the public beginning Friday, Sept. 22.
“I love Houston, I love the arts, and I absolutely love this beautiful square,” said Wyatt, now 88 years young, in a statement. “I look forward to all the good this Square will do now and in the future for the people of this dynamic city and our world-class performing arts community.”
As a longtime supporter of such institutions as Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet, and Alley Theatre, the range and impact of Wyatt’s philanthropic endeavors, not to mention her unerring sense of style, cannot be overstated. Wyatt was featured on the cover of Houston CityBook’s premiere Leaders and Legends issue and in the Spring 2023 debut of our Cool 100. (In October 2020, we enjoyed a rare opportunity to meet and write about her beloved husband Oscar Wyatt.)
“This is a gamechanger for downtown Houston,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner in a statement. “I am so excited to see this square come to life as a greener public space that not only connects the arts, but more importantly connects people to the arts.”
Free, family-friendly programming for LWS’s opening weekend includes lawn games, live entertainment, and a special interactive experience called “Bees” created by Polyglot Theatre, a world renowned contemporary children’s theater company based in Australia.
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ON AN ANCIENT, scratchy recording made circa 1926, Texas-born singer-guitarist Blind Lemon Jefferson began a song with the bold statement: “The blues came from Texas, loping like a mule.” The Lone Star state certainly birthed its own lonesome hybrid of the blues — distinct from the Mississippi Delta — that drew upon several styles of music, including big band music of the swing era, classic country and western, and Tejano music. And when it comes to the blues, jazz and rock and roll, Houston has a musical legacy that few other cities can match.
That legacy is revealed in the enlightening and thoroughly entertaining documentary, When Houston Had the Blues, which screens this Friday, Sept. 22 at Discovery Green. Featuring historical performance footage and interviews with Lightnin’ Hopkins, Big Mama Thornton, Clifton Chenier, Arnett Cobb, Jewel Brown, Little Richard, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Billy Gibbons, and many others, the film is a treasure for blues aficionados and anyone who appreciates great American music.
Directed by Alan Swyer and produced by Houston native Drew Barnett-Hamilton, When Houston Had the Blues makes it a point to highlight several female blues artists, including illustrious singer and force of nature Diunna Greenleaf, who will grace the Anheuser-Busch Stage with a powerful set of gospel-infused blues before the film gets rolling. Known as “The People’s Queen of the Blues,” Greenleaf counts Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, as well as her parents Ben and Mary Ella Greenleaf, who were both deeply involved with gospel music, as influences. Brandon Cole & The Zydeco Bulls will open for Greenleaf, bringing a bit of Louisiana-meets-Texas culture to the proceedings.
The music kicks off at 7pm. Guests are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs, and food, beer, and wine will be available to purchase from the Discovery Green Lake House.
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