Night & Day

Tuesday
August 18
Tonight will likely be bittersweet for maestro Christoph Eschenbach. On the one hand, he'll be conducting his final performance at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion after ten years as music director of the Houston Symphony; on the other, having to work outdoors during a Houston August isn't exactly a gig to treasure. In any case, Eschenbach and the orchestra will perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, with guest pianist Horacio Gutierrez. If that program sounds familiar, that's because it's the same one Eschenbach conducted to open The Woodlands facility in 1990. Sweatin' to the oldies begins at 8; reserved seats are $10 and $8.50 and lawn seats are $7. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands. Ticket info: 629-3700. Event info: (281) 363-3300. (Richard Connelly)

Wednesday
August 19
Ray Hill, the Prison Years Hill has crafted a cottage industry out of rabble-rousing, be it for gay rights, prison reform or the preservation of topless bars and smut stands. This extended revival of the one-man show by the burglar-turned-activist includes Hill's thoughts about "prison life, the 'system' and [his] run-ins with Houston's finest." After a held-over run at the Little Room Downstairs, Hill's show has moved to the Actors Workshop of Houston, 1009 Chartres, where it will play tonight and every Wednesday for a while, 7:30 p.m. Info and reservations: 236-1844. $10/$8 students and seniors. (Clay McNear)