Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music and stage news, events, reviews and other pertinent information.
Stage Notes Calendar
Opening this week:
Broadway Dallas: Hadestown, opened Tuesday-Sunday.
Girls Night: The Musical, 7 p.m. today at Arlington Music Hall.
Cliburn Concerts: Haochen Zhang, piano, 7:30 p.m. today at Kimbell Art Museum.
New Voices DFW: Tales from the Wild: A Moral Masquerade, today-Sunday at The Core.
Dallas Theater Center: Primary Trust, today-March 16, pictured.
Undermain Theatre: Box, today-March 23.
Stomping Ground Comedy Theater: 48 Hour Laugh-A-Thon, 7:30 p.m. Friday.
McKinney Repertory Theatre: 12 Angry Jurors, Friday-March 15.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Sibelius and Duruflé, Friday-Sunday.
Texas Ballet Theater: International Woman, Friday-Sunday at the Winspear.
Verdigris Ensemble: Transformation: Song from the Uproar, Friday-Sunday at Theatre Three.
The Dallas Opera: La bohème, Friday-March 9 at the Winspear.
Art Centre Theatre: Brighton Beach Memoirs, Friday-March 16.
The Dallas Opera: The Three Little Pigs, 2 p.m. Saturday at the Winspear.
Kitchen Dog Theater: New Works Festival Staged Reading No.1: Bad Books, 2 p.m. Saturday in Expo Park.
Richardson Symphony Orchestra: Stars of the Future: Elgar and More, Saturday at the Eisemann.
FWSO Pops: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert, Saturday and Sunday.
Casa Manana: The Color Purple, Saturday-March 9.
Undermain Theatre: Box, Saturday-March 23.
Eisemann Center Presents: Rhythm India: Bollywood and Beyond, 4 p.m. Sunday.
Orchestra of New Spain: Juneteenth (repeat performance), 7:30 p.m. Monday at University of Dallas.
Dallas Chamber Symphony: Bizet: Symphony in C, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Moody Performance Hall.
Sammons Jazz: Remembrance, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Sammons Arts Center.
Onstage now:
Echo Theatre: Catch as Catch Can, through Saturday at the Bath House Cultural Center, pictured.
Lakeside Community Theatre: God of Carnage, through Saturday.
Ochre House Theatre: Fate Complete, through Saturday.
Bishop Arts Theatre: The Stamped Project: The Fourth Annual Banned Books Festival, through Sunday.
Richardson Theatre Centre: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, through Sunday .
Theatre Frisco: They’re Playing Our Song, through Sunday.
Family Music Theatre: Anastasia, through March 8 at the New Vida Center.
Stolen Shakespeare Festival 2025: Richard III, through March 8 at Arts Fort Worth.
Stolen Shakespeare Festival 2025: Twelfth Night, through March 9 at Arts Fort Worth.
Teatro Dallas: Nuevo Mundo: A New Directors Festival, through March 9 at the Latino Cultural Center.
Upright Theatre Company: Shrek The Musical, through March 23.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: Laughter on the 23rd Floor, through March 29.
Review: Romance is in the air at GCT’s Shakespeare in Love
Garland Civic Theatre was feeling the Valentine’s vibes as they opened the stage adaptation of the film Shakespeare in Love on Feb. 14. The show was still going strong with a big audience at last Sunday’s matinee. Lee Hall stays true to the film’s narrative and stands well on its own as a theater piece. With a hefty cast of almost 20 actors and one dog, the production was directed by Ashley Puckett Gonzales.
For the unfamiliar, Shakespeare in Love tells the story of William Shakespeare meeting and romancing Viola de Lesseps. He’s also commissioned to write a new play which ultimately becomes Romeo and Juliet, which parallels his own real life affair with Viola.
Mark Hawkins’ set made the first impression and was a clever construct of wooden planks and curtains that conveyed an array of scenes from a theater to living quarters to a pub. To expand and contract the set, curtains opened and closed upon actors’ entrances and exits.
Puckett directed the actors with just-right touches honing in on their strengths.
The ensemble cast was led by Thomas Schnaible as William Shakespeare and Avery Baker as Viola. The two shared a pleasing chemistry as forbidden lovers. Schnaible proved to be a strong leading man for the production and Baker’s performance held weight and agency. Both actors mixed in effective touches of comedy that were well-timed.
As the jealous Lord Wessex, Mark Hawkins was despicable and smarmy but with just enough levity. Mark Eaglesham was dashing as the egotistical Ned who had touches of a good heart. As Queen Elizabeth, Jill Lightfoot delivered a stuffy sarcasm with an appropriate air of regality — a touch balance to be both one-note and dryly humorous which she succeeded. DR Mann Hanson gave a nuanced performance mostly as Ralph who played Juliet’s nurse. Hanson added low-key comic timing to moments that could have otherwise gone unnoticed.
As Sam who would play Juliet in the play, Dylan Ciminna’s portrayal was amusing, using physical comedy to great effect. Although his mannerisms veered into exaggerated queer caricature, his stage presence remained magnetic. He knew how to work the audience. Tatum Eckert’s performance as Webster was spot-on, capturing the character’s awful nature through slyness, a high-pitched voice, and a timid demeanor. The character was unlikeable AF which indicated that Eckert’s performance was a triumph.
The cast included Tony Barone, Faith Grier, Tom McWhorter, Dan Servetnick, Robert Dullnig, Josh Hepola, Dylan Ray Owen, Robert Bradford Smith and Carol M. Rice with the impressive, sweet dog Marigold.
While the narrative remained clear throughout, the pacing between scenes occasionally felt clumsy. The slapstick comedy, although not always tonally consistent, did get some significant laughter from the audience. However, transitions between scenes, specifically entrances and exits, sometimes felt rushed.
Overall, when it was in its right groove, Shakespeare in Love was a charming valentine of a show. This production mixed romance, comedy and drama in equal parts for a sweet experience even if a bumpy one at times.
The show runs through Sunday.
Circle Theatre announces playwright Jonathan Norton as its first honoree for An Evening With series
Circle Theatre will launch An Evening With, a new quarterly program next month. The series celebrates North Texas theater makers whose careers have left a lasting legacy on our community. For its first event, playwright and Dallas Theater Center Interim Artistic Director Jonathan Norton will be showcased.
From Circle:
He is known for his honest and unapologetic approach to stories that are truthful, relatable, and powerful. His dedication to his home communities and the nurturing of local artists has led to a breadth of partnerships, productions, and lasting connections that enhance the community. His original plays highlight Dallas and North Texas stories and experiences for audiences far and wide, putting lesser recognized communities and community members on global stages. When it comes to honoring the North Texas Theater Community through the power of original stories, Jonathan has made more than his mark — he has expanded the reach of our community to across the nation, and beyond.
Circle Theatre’s An Evening With Jonathan Norton will take place on March 17. The night features a cocktail hour followed by an intimate program highlighting his work and influence on the North Texas theater landscape with guest speakers, excerpts from his plays, and a retrospective look at his artistic journey.
An Evening With will continue with events and to-be-named honorees on June 23, Aug. 18 and Oct. 20.
For free reservations, click here.
Texas Ballet Theater Principal Rehearsal Director Anna Donovan resigns from leadership after 30 years
Principal Rehearsal Director Anna Donovan of TBT announced that she will step down from her role at the end of the season. She has been in North Texas since joining Ballet Dallas in 1991. Donovan will continue in her current role through the spring and summer, including teaching in TBT’s 2025 Summer Intensive.
After 17 years with the Irish National Ballet, the Ireland native joined the staff of Ballet Dallas in 1991, serving as Principal Ballet Mistress and Repetiteur and instructor for the Dallas Conservatory of Ballet. She taught at Booker T. Washington High School and she officially joined the artistic staff at TBT as Principal Ballet Master in 2000.
Donovan said in the announcement, “I have made the decision to step aside from my current position as Principal Rehearsal Director at the end of this 2024-2025 season. I am so grateful to those Artistic Directors who have given me the opportunity to learn and grow in this position, led by Ben Houk, Bruce Marks, Bruce Simpson, Ben Stevenson, and Tim O’Keefe. It has been quite a journey, and through all of you I have experienced the best. And, to all the dancers that I have had the privilege of working with, thank you for the chance to be a small part of your careers. I will look forward to teaching in the DFW area as well as at the TBT schools in Dallas. Thank you for 25 extraordinary years.”
Stomping Ground Comedy Theatre presents a festival with zero hours of sleep for a good cause
“As parents of two LGBTQ children, Stomping Ground has benefited our family in many ways,” David Darowski stated in a press release, “Its mission couldn’t align more perfectly with our family’s values.”
Darowski and his wife, Laurel, and their family are serving as the Presenting Sponsors of this year’s 48 Hour Laugh-A-Thon which raises money toward its charitable mission and local talents.
“I truly see goodness at Stomping Ground, along with safety and peace for some of our most vulnerable populations,” Laurel Darowski added. She completed the year-long improv training center program for adults last year and continues to take classes.
For its second time around, Stomping Ground Comedy Theatre & Training Center, in the Dallas Design District, aims to raise $50,000 from February 28 through March 2 to support its mission of “connecting the community with comedy.”
According to Executive and Artistic Director Lindsay Goldapp fundraising events like the Laugh-A-Thon will help Stomping Ground continue to entertain and also provide improv as a tool for mental wellness, social-emotional learning, and therapeutic purposes
“The first time we did this fundraiser we had no idea how two days of comedy and no sleep would go,” she said in the release. “But the weekend was hugely successful, not just from a fundraising perspective but in how our community bonded and supported one another. At the end, everyone was exhausted…but wanting to do it again.”
This year’s Laugh-A-Thon kicks off at 7:30 pm on Friday, Feb. 28 and features 11 Stomping Ground performers who will improvise in all 30 shows over the course of 48 hours (even overnight). These 11 performers will join more than 50 guest acts that include everything from improv to clowning and even poetry. Nine of these 11 performers are returning after having done 48 straight hours of comedy at the last Laugh-A-Thon.
The weekend-long event offers a variety of ways for the community to connect. Saturday features Pay What You Can drop-in classes and family-friendly programming as well as donation-based cookout meal in the parking lot courtesy of one of the event sponsors, Lewisville Autoplex.
Stomping Ground co-founders Andrea Kyprianou Baum and Lindsay Goldapp will teach a drop-in Improv for Caregivers class, funded by The Dallas Foundation and AWARE Dallas, on Saturday at 10:30 am and there will be a chance for those ages 8-13 to try improv at a drop-in class at 4:30 pm; younger participants who attend the drop-in class will be able to join the Stomping Ground team onstage in their family-friendly musical Spaghetti Confetti at 6 pm.
The weekend will also feature special one-time programming like a “Best of” Sketch Comedy show, a Clown Comedy Hour, and Whose Anxiety Is It Anyway, a show featuring students from Stomping Ground’s 7-week Improv for Anxiety class.
The late night Pajama Jam Improv Comedy Jam begins at midnight on Saturday night, which was popular at the last Laugh-A-Thon. That will be followed by the Let’s Get Weird Late Night Open Mic immediately after at 1:30 a.m.
Goldapp says that the goal is to offer something for everyone in Dallas, showcasing the comedy, education, and fellowship Stomping Ground has to offer the city.
“At the Laugh-A-Thon we try to celebrate our community of amazing performers, writers, and teachers and welcome newcomers to laugh and learn with us,” Goldapp mentioned. “We take the weekend to show people who we are and what we do best.”
As Stomping Ground has grown, Dallas’ only nonprofit dedicated to comedy has gained the support of other nonprofits, local businesses, and community members.
The organization was founded in 2017 offering independent improv workshops and classes for those with autism and anxiety and people caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Since then, their Improv for Life program has been featured in Counseling Today and Global Alzheimer’s Platform and they have partnered with organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association, AARP, and the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture.
Individual tickets and weekend passes are available for the event and can be purchased here.
–Rich Lopez