At Texas Monthly, we take pride in telling stories that stick with our audience for a long time. Every decision we make, through our reporting, writing, editing, design, and production processes, is geared to deliver something out of the ordinary.
On May 4, we will be unveiling a new experience that we hope our readers and fans will long remember. That night, at the historic Paramount Theatre just down the street from the Capitol in Austin, we will be fusing the care and sophistication of Texas Monthly’s revered magazine storytelling with the energy and intimacy of live performance.
The 90-minute show will feature some of the best writers and editors in Texas onstage, including Skip Hollandsworth, Katy Vine, Michael Hall, Abby Johnston, Eric Benson, and, yes, the Texanist. Each will make use of audio, photography, and video to accompany their live storytelling in ways that enrich the experience of the audience. (There might even be a few surprise guests in store, as well as some musical performances. Shhh!)
The best stories, of course, are the ones we never forget, and if there is any single takeaway that you can expect from attending this show, it’s that you’ll be remembering the tales we tell you long after the curtain closes. We have curated some of our best and most powerful stories and paired them with new ones we’ll be telling for the first time.
We’ll tell you about Jorge Luis Borges and his strange love affair with Texas. We’ll introduce you to the rocket that might actually get us to Mars, and the unassuming and unlikely Houston man behind its development. We’ll take you along on a dinosaur dig in Big Bend, and on a close encounter with a mysterious Hairy Smelly Thing in South Texas. We’ll expose you to one of the greatest and most underappreciated music producers ever; re-create one of the first all-women country-and-western bands; and have the Texanist share with you some of his delightful advice on life. Did I mention that our barbecue editor, Daniel Vaughn, will be onstage for a live ’cue and A?
There are more details on the event page itself, and below I’ve listed some of the stories that we’ve told before but will be reimagining for the stage. You can read (or reread) them if you want. But take it from me, as someone who knows and appreciates a good story when he sees it: This is a night you won’t want to miss.
Background Reading
O Sister, Where Art Thou by Skip Hollandsworth (May 2003)
The Greatest Music Producer You’ve Never Heard Of by Michael Hall (January 2014)
A Love Unearthed by Sarah Wilson (September 2016)
The Martian by Katy Vine (February 2018)
