Miller to Asians: Dance somewhere else

Organizers of the Houston Asian American Festival will have to find a new place to hold their event becuase the Miller Outdoor Theatre wants ... higher caliber entertainment?

Since 1985, the Houston Asian American Festival has been held at the Miller Outdoor Theatre near downtown Houston.

However, the theatre's chairman said board members want events and performances at the city-owned venue to go in a different direction.

"We feel that it is best serving the public and various diverse audiences in Houston. This just isn't caliber entertainment," Chairman Paul Beutel told KPRC Local 2.

Now hang on a second — Houstonist has no experience in theater management, but doesn't an Asian American festival appeal to "various diverse audiences in Houston," especially with the city's large Asian population? It must come down to the "caliber entertainment" thing. We love the Miller and we've seen a lot of really good productions there, but we have to be honest: We've also seen a lot of things that weren't so great. That doesn't matter much, becuase it's a community theater — which, to our mind, means there's as much room for cultural shows as there is for Annie, Get Your Gun.

It's not clear whether the city will set quality standards for all its events. If so, we assume the Beach Boys will be forever banned from Houston's July 4th celebrations. Hmm ... maybe it's not such a bad thing after all.