Bruce Wood Dance Dallas performs Lar Lubovitch’s ‘Concerto Six Twenty-two.’ (Photo by Sharon Bradford)
Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music and stage news, events, reviews and other pertinent information. Season announcements came in hot and heavy this week.
Stage Notes Calendar
Opening this week:
Festival of Independent Theatres: Echoes Screams Whispers, 7 p.m. today at Theatre Too.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Gods and Heroes, 8 p.m. today at Theatre Three.
FWSO Special: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour, today and Friday.
Theatre Denton: Six Degrees of Separation, today-Sept. 1.
The Core: 12 Angry Jurors, today-Sept. 8.
Upright Theatre: Sister Act, today-Sept. 23.
Festival of Independent Theatres: An Evening with Penis, 7 p.m. Friday at Theatre Too.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Reel Art, 8 p.m. Friday at Theatre Three.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Selfie Conscious, 1 p.m. Saturday at Theatre Too, pictured.
Festival of Independent Theatres: All Delighted People, 2 p.m. Saturday at Theatre Three.
DSO: The Mind and Music of Beethoven — An Afternoon with Richard Kogan, 3 p.m. Saturday.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Hi, How Are You?, 4 p.m. Saturday at Theatre Too.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Man on Man, 7 p.m. Friday at Theatre Too.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Where the F is Joseph Mara, 8 p.m. Saturday at Theatre Three.
Mikey’s Magical Game Show, 7 p.m. Wednesday at Stomping Grounds Comedy.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert, Wednesday-Sept. 1.
Onstage now:
Circle Theatre: Imposter! Hypocrite! Tartuffe!, through Saturday.
The Classics Theatre Project: True West, through Saturday at the Stone Cottage., pictured.
Lakeside Community Theatre: Rent, through Saturday.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: Herbbits, Wizards and Borks, through Saturday.
Firehouse Theatre: Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville, through Sunday.
Hip Pocket Theatre: Raft Project, through Sunday.
Theatre Arlington: Big Fish, through Sunday.
Uptown Players: The Boys in the Band, through Sunday.
Ochre House Theatre: Daddy’s Rabbits: A Cotton Tale, through Aug. 31.
Allen Contemporary Theatre: Breakneck Comedy of Errors, through Sept. 1.
Bruce Wood Dance Dallas announces studio naming and generous gift
James Williams, left and Charles Longcope Jr. (Courtesy photo)
On Thursday, Bruce Wood Dance Dallas announced a transformative donation of $100,000 from James Lynn Williams, a philanthropist with a commitment to the Dallas arts community. This significant contribution is made in memory of his late partner, Charles Longcope, Jr. This is the third major contribution he’s made in the last month and the fourth overall Dallas Voice has reported this year.
Last week, he launched matching grant challenges of $50,000 and $125,000 respectively to The Dallas Way and to Uptown Players. His $125,000 matching grant challenge in May to the Turtle Creek Chorale raised a total of more than $300,000.
Thursday’s announcement is a straightforward contribution to BWDD.
In addition, Williams also contributed $25,000 to support the newly established Bruce Wood Dance Excellence Awards.
In recognition of this gift, Bruce Wood Dance Dallas will name one of its dance studios The Charles Longcope, Jr. Performance Studio. This space will serve as a lasting tribute to Longcope and to his partner’s love and passion for the arts.
“We are immensely grateful to James Lynn Williams for this extraordinary donation,” Executive Director Gayle Halperin said in a press release. “The Charles Longcope, Jr. Performance Studio is a vibrant space where creativity, dedication, and dance–making thrive. This contribution significantly bolsters our mission to entertain, enrich, and heal through the power of dance.”
Since the passing of Longcope in 2020, Williams has honored his memory through significant donations to various organizations, including Turtle Creek Chorale, Uptown Players, The Dallas Way, Visions for Change, Inc. and now Bruce Wood Dance Dallas. His contributions have played a pivotal role in supporting the arts and preserving the cultural history of Dallas.
For more information about and to support the company, its programs, and the Bruce Wood Dance Excellence Awards, click here.
Read more about James Williams philanthropy in Friday’s Applause edition of the Dallas Voice.
The Festival of Independent Theatres wraps up this weekend at Theatre Three
The shows and artists of this year’s Festival of Independent Theatres. (Photo via Facebook)
Today marks the beginning of the end for the exciting return of FIT. With its new home at Theatre Three, the festival has delivered 15 days and nights of an eclectic mix of theatrical offerings. Beginning today, FIT will feature 10 more productions that have rotated throughout its run. The festival will close on Saturday.
This weekend will feature the final performance of Danny Anchondo’s Selfie Conscious. The hour-ish-long musical play was a fun poke at social media culture where Anchondo plays Mr. Pixie who stewards the show and encourages the audience to join along in taking their own selfes and participating in creating Pixe’s avatar for his new social media platform.
Dallas Voice published a queer guide to this year’s FIT that included Anchondo. Remaining performances this weekend that were featured in the guide also include Reel Art under the direction of Austin’s Joty Collet and Jodi Crawford Wright’s Love Is A Many Splintered Thing cabaret show on Friday. While not queer-centric, why not include Pegasus Theatre’s An Evening with Penis just for fun?
On Saturday, the lineup includes Selfie Conscious and gay playwright Rhett Goldman’s All Delighted People which he also co-directed.
But really, queer or not, the lineup of diverse stories and productions have made for an impressive comeback by FIT worth fitting into the weekend schedule.
For play descriptions and schedule, click here.
Garland Summer Musicals to present Hamilton actor Miguel Cervantes
Broadway singer and actor Miguel Cervantes will headline An Afternoon with Kelly and Miguel Cervantes alongside his spouse Kelly Cervantes. The intimate event will feature stories and songs from his more than 2,000 performances as the titular character of Hamilton: An American Musical he played in Chicago and on Broadway.
Miguel is joined by USA Today bestselling author, Kelly Cervantes, who will discuss her grief journey: going from their daughter’s primary caregiver to being forced into retirement from her thriving writing career.
Between stories and songs, laughs and tears, Kelly and Miguel will share how they navigated their wildly different grieving experiences following the loss of their daughter. How they allowed joy and grief to coexist in their lives, and the legacy they hope to leave for their children. And of course, attendees can sing along to their favorite Hamilton tunes.
For tickets, click here.
ICYMI
Review: The drama of ‘The Boys in the Band’ resonates today along with its retro style
–Rich Lopez