Press Picks

Me and Jezebel Comedic playwright Elizabeth Fuller asks, "What if Margo Channing came for dinner and Baby Jane stayed for breakfast?" Fuller's play is based on a strange 1985 incident in which Bette Davis came to her house for dinner and stayed 32 days. This is a two-character play with only the two women, Bette Davis and her hostess Elizabeth, on-stage. This play is not so much about the late great grande dame as it is about grande dames as role models. The most significant influence in Elizabeth's youth, we learn, was her grandmother, "Old Ma." And her hero worship of Bette Davis is thrilling because it's "Bette Davis in my house!" of course, but also because a solid relationship with a grandmother figure can be one of the most satisfying experiences in a woman's life. Those who had skinny, mean, chain-smoking grandmothers will be especially touched by this play. Anne Quackenbush, who's not nearly as old as she looks on-stage, is a wonderful Bette Davis, capturing the wit that has inspired so many drag queens and showing a vulnerable, frightened older woman. This is the last weekend at this venue. 8 p.m. tonight. Sunday, 7 p.m., and a special Monday performance, 8 p.m. New Heights Theatre, 339 19th Street, 869-8927, or 523-9000. $12-$15.

sunday
july 30
Walking tour and endurance contest An all-new, all-different walking tour from the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. A learned guide will lead eager students of architecture through the warehouse district, where things are not as they seem. The Peden Company Building, which may look like just another warehouse, is actually a fine example of American Perpendicular style, and the old James Bute Co. warehouse has been refurbished and is now the posh Dakota Lofts, home to arty types and mathematicians and other non-mainstream monkeys. Oh the things you'll see -- the site of the Allen Brother's steam sawmill and Henry Henkey's Fifth Ward Grocery Store, the oldest known building still standing in the ward. This exciting excursion through the warehouse district will take place in the afternoon. Mad dogs and Englishman are more then welcome, and tourgoers are all but ordered to bring cool bottled water on the walk. Tickets go on sale at 1:30 p.m. in front of Metro's Buffalo Bayou facility, 810 North San Jacinto (parking is available). The last tour group leaves at 2:15 p.m. Call 216-5000 for additional information. $7; children under 12 free.

Shameless Self Promotion For those who've missed those full page ads we've been running for our very own Houston Press Music Awards Showcase, wake up. Today's the day. From 4-9 p.m. on the Richmond Strip, some 45 Houston bands and individual musicians will be playing their hearts out on stages at Billy Blues, Blue Planet, Magnolia Bar & Grill, the Outback Pub, Richmond Arms, Sam's Boat, Sam's Place and Woodrow's. (Specific bands and times can be found on page 61.) If you haven't been able to decide who deserves your vote for that oh-so-important Press Music Award, you can listen, make your judgment and fill out ballots that will be available at each of the venues. And you get all this for the single price of $5. Aren't we just incredibly generous? And modest, too.

monday
july 31
Baby shots The Houston Department of Health and Human Services, eager to stamp out measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus and protesus (whooping cough), have added yet another site to the long list of baby shots spots. HDHHS Mobile Site nurses will give Houston babies (there are no eligibility requirements) all the childhood immunizations your baby needs. It's quick, it's easy, it's cheap and you can protect your child from diseases that have been major killers for centuries, just by stopping by the store on a careful schedule for the whole series of shots. Beat the back-to-school rush and have a child fully immunized by the age of two. Baby shots given 5-7 p.m. Mondays. Fiesta no. 11, 4711 Airline. Shots also available at other Fiestas on Tues-days, Wednesdays and Saturdays. For more information on the program, call 794-9267. The shots at Fiesta are free. Baby shots are also available at any of the eight city Health Centers. Those shots cost $1 per child, a charge that will be waived if necessary.