A Half-Century on the Stage

In 1975, Main Street Theater founder Becky Greene Udden set the stage for a Houston playhouse that has grown and evolved over the past 50 years.

Photo of Becky Greene Udden
As the co-founder and executive director of Houston’s Main Street Theater, Becky Greene Udden has directed over 100 plays and acted in countless more. Photo by Jeff Fitlow
Photo of the production, Purlie Victorious at Main Street Theater
The 2025–26 season opened with a staging of Ossie Davis’ “Purlie Victorious.” Photo courtesy of Main Street Theater

By Jenny West Rozelle ’00

Since graduating from Rice, Rebecca “Becky” Greene Udden ’73 has maintained a prolific artistic output. As the co-founder and executive director of Houston’s Main Street Theater, she has directed over 100 plays and acted in countless more over the past 50 years. “I’ve always enjoyed performing,” says Udden. “All of my spare time at Rice was involved with either the Rice Players or the college theaters.” 

After graduation, Udden went on to study theater at the University of Tennessee but found herself missing her creative experiences at Rice. During her undergraduate years, there had been a theater at Autry House, the Episcopal Diocese’s community center on Main Street across the street from campus. In 1975, she and one of her fellow Rice Players decided to return to Houston and start their own theater in the same space. “We said, ‘Okay, we’re on Main Street, so let’s be Main Street Theater,’” she says. A half-century later, that scrappy experiment has become a Houston institution.

In the beginning, Main Street Theater remained a small endeavor. “Everything was temporary. It was just like college theater at Rice — we worked in a room that was a cafeteria by day.” In 1981, they relocated to Rice Village, which Udden credits as the catalyst that brought the company to a more professional level. The resident Theater for Youth program followed. In 2015, the youth program settled into the buzzy Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston complex, and the space in Rice Village was renovated and updated into an intimate, 100-seat theater. “The next chapter has been upping the quality of what we’ve been able to do with two state-of-the-art facilities,” says Udden.

Photo of Korean-Canadian comedy ‘Kim’s Convenience’ at Main Street Theater
The Korean-Canadian comedy “Kim’s Convience” by Ins Choi. Photo courtesy of Main Street Theater

The 2025–26 season opened with a staging of Ossie Davis’ “Purlie Victorious,” and seeing the production in a theater that allows such an up-close and personal experience was powerful. Its equity focus was fitting for an organization that has made real efforts to create an inclusive environment, especially in recent years. “For a long time, we looked at diversity only in terms of casting, but in 2020, we realized that’s really not enough,” says Udden. So Main Street started a fellowship for directors, designers and stage managers of color, as well as a JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) Council that brings any concerns to Udden and helps identify solutions. 

“The JEDI Council has been helpful in letting the artists know that we’re serious about diversity. It’s not something where we’ve just ticked that box,” says Udden. “We also pick shows that come from different cultural viewpoints, like ‘26 Miles,’ a play from Quiara Alegría Hudes about a Cuban American mother and daughter, and the Korean-Canadian comedy ‘Kim’s Convenience.’”

After 50 years at the helm, Udden takes pride in the organization she helped build. “I feel like Main Street has really contributed to the strength and richness of the theater community in Houston.” 

 

From the Winter 2026 issue of Rice Magazine