A former Broadway national tour performer is turning his own life into a musical on a downtown Houston stage this month. Ben Chavez, who spent years playing the sidekick character Omar in Disney's touring production of Aladdin, is presenting his concept album Last Day, County Fair as a full-length stage concert at the Wortham Center's Cullen Theater on September 25 and 26, complete with an eight-piece band, seven performers, and Chavez himself at the piano.
The show follows a young musician growing up in a small town who searches for his identity, drawing on both Chavez's own experience coming out as a queer person and his husband's small-town journey, according to Click2Houston. The production weaves together 13 original songs with storytelling and movement, exploring themes of identity, family, belonging and self-discovery. It began in 2024 as a Performing Arts Houston NEW/NOW commission, the outlet reports, and now anchors a fully staged live performance rather than just a recorded album.
Chavez's path to this stage runs through some of Broadway's biggest touring productions. He played Omar in the Aladdin national tour from 2019 through 2024, a role that gave him a national profile before he turned toward writing deeply personal work, according to the Internet Broadway Database.
A Songwriter With Deep Houston Roots
Long before this premiere, Chavez had already built a following in Houston's regional theater scene. He has performed with Theatre Under The Stars in Frozen, according to the Houston Symphony. That local track record, paired with his national touring credit, makes him something of a hybrid figure in the city's arts world — a hometown name with Broadway-caliber credentials.
Last Day, County Fair grows out of Chavez's songwriting. The project brings that music into a public, music-driven performance — an early sign of the kind of storytelling he would later build into Last Day, County Fair.
The Single Behind the Show
The album's lead single, Golden Era, inspired the larger County Fair project and celebrates people who shine brightly in muted places, according to Click2Houston. Chavez wrote the song for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and it is currently streaming online. The track's themes of quiet resilience echo through the larger stage production, which centers on a protagonist navigating identity in a small town much like the one Chavez's husband grew up in.
That personal thread extends into Chavez's own life in Houston. He married his husband, Walker, in late 2024 at Buffalo Bayou Park, in a ceremony officiated by former KPRC 2 chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley, according to Click2Houston's earlier coverage.
Inside Performing Arts Houston's NEW/NOW Program
Performing Arts Houston selected Chavez's concept album as a winner of the 2024–2025 NEW/NOW commissioning award in August 2024, formally launching the project toward its stage premiere. The NEW/NOW program itself was created in 2020 during the pandemic to give local independent artists financial support and mainstage performance opportunities in Houston's Theater District, according to the Houston Press.
The organization behind that program traces its history to 1966 and is marking its 60th anniversary season. Last Day, County Fair now arrives as part of the group's 60th anniversary season, joining other homegrown commissions on its stages this year — including Dear Prairie View, a dance production marking Prairie View A&M's 150th anniversary that Hoodline previously covered at the same Cullen Theater.
Where and When to See It
Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. on September 25 and 26 at the Wortham Center's Cullen Theater, an intimate 1,100-seat venue designed for chamber music, recitals, and mid-sized theatrical presentations, according to Houston First Corporation. Tickets start at $29. Performing Arts Houston has used the Cullen Theater for commissioned works this season, including Dear Prairie View.
For Chavez, the run represents a full-circle moment: a Broadway touring performer and Houston stage regular finally putting his own story, and his husband's, center stage in the city they call home.
