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:
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Conrad Tao Plays Mozart, today-Saturday.
Bishop Arts Theatre: A Dallas Hedda, today-May 11.
Undermain Theatre: H*llo K*tty Syndrome, today-May 25, pictured.
TITAS: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Friday and Saturday at the Moody Performance Hall.
Texas Ballet Theater: Giselle, Friday-Sunday at Bass Hall.
McKinney Repertory Theatre: Deliver Us from Mama!, Friday-May 10.
MainStage ILC: The Sunshine Boys, Friday-May 17.
Allen Contemporary Theatre: The Outsider, Friday-May 18.
Theatre Frisco: The 39 Steps, Friday-May 18.
FWSO Family: Storybook: Little Red Riding Hood, 11 a.m. Sunday at Van Cliburn Concert Hall.
Ochre House Theater: Moving Creatures, Wednesday-May 24.
Coppell Community Orchestra: May the Fourth Be With You, 3 p.m. Sunday at the Coppell Arts Center.
FWSO Chamber: Mendelssohn, Barber, and Music for Two Pianists, 3 p.m. Sunday at Kimbell Art Museum.
Sammons Jazz: Artistic Director’s Concert, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Sammons Arts Center.
Onstage now:
Art Centre Theatre: Reefer Madness: The Satire Musical, through Sunday.
Meadows Theatre: Everybody, through Sunday at Greer Garson Theatre-SMU.
Richardson Theatre Centre: Run for Your Wife, through Sunday.
Upright Theatre Company: Romeo and Juliet, through Sunday.
Uptown Players: Xanadu: The Musical, through Sunday.
Circle Theatre: The Hatmaker’s Wife, through May 10.
Second Thought Theatre: Healed, through May 10, pictured.
Amphibian Stage: Rift, or White Lies, through May 11.
Jubilee Theater: Thunder Knocking on the Door, through May 11.
Kitchen Dog Theater: The Grown-ups, through May 11 at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre.
Garland Civic Theatre: Boeing Boeing, through May 11.
Theatre Off the Square: Four Old Broads, through May 11.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: Romeo and Juliet – The Melodrama, through May 17.
Theatre Three: The Mystery of Irma Vep, through May 18 in Theatre Too.
Dallas Theater Center announces a new member of its Brierley Resident Acting Company
Earlier this week, DTC named Brianna “Bri” Woods as its newest member of the Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company. Woods will serve as the Linda and Bill Custard SMU Meadows Actor for the 2025-26 season. She has previously been seen on DTC stages in Waitress and A Christmas Carol, and was the Assistant Movement Director for Shane. Woods will receive her MFA in Acting from SMU Meadows School of the Arts this month.
“I am honored to welcome Bri Woods to DTC as the newest member of the Brierley Resident Acting Company,” Interim Artistic Director Jonathan Norton said in the announcement. “It has been a joy getting to know Bri’s work over the last two seasons. And I am excited to see her artistry deepen next season when she takes on exciting new challenges in A Christmas Carol and Ragtime. I am grateful to Linda Custard for her continued support of DTC, SMU and the next generation of theater-makers.”
The Resident Acting Company currently includes Christina Austin Lopez, Tiana Kaye Blair, Blake Hackler, Bob Hess, Liz Mikel, Alex Organ, Molly Searcy, Tiffany Solano, Sally Nysteun Vahle, Esteban Vilchez, Zachary J. Willis and now Woods.
“Becoming a Brierley Resident Acting company member is in perfect alignment with wrapping up three wonderfully wild years at SMU,” Brianna Woods said. “I’m beyond grateful and ready to sink my teeth into this upcoming season!”
WaterTower Theatre to host a “bespoke theatrical adventure” in London
WTT will head across the pond this fall along with some big theater fans. The company will host a unique, one-of-a-kind theatre tour in London, guided by WTTs Producing Arti’stic Director, Shane Peterman.
“The West End has been the catalyst for many theatrical triumphs, dating back to the Shakespearean age. I am truly excited to share this bespoke, one-of-a-kind, tailored experience with our WaterTower Theatre family as your guide. This majestic week filled with theatre, culture, and friends awaits,” Peterman stated in this week’s notice.
From Sept. 13-21, theater enthusiasts can embark on a seven-night adventure in London, that features four to five performances (including two showings of WTT’s Goin’ Hollywood at The King’s Head Theatre), guided tours of iconic London landmarks like Kensington Palace, and discussions with industry experts on the transformation of a musical from the United States to the United Kingdom. Guests will xperience the magic of the West End, National Theatre and the Shakespeare’s Globe.
The tour includes full English breakfasts, traditional pub dinners and classic English teas alongside the cultural excursions and theater performances.
Limited spots are available and early registration is encouraged.
The tour is $2,899 per person with double occupancy. The first deposit of $1,000 per person would be due upon registration with the remaining balance due by July 14.
For more details or to register, contact WTT at box@watertowertheatre.org or 972-450-6232.
Season announcements
Stage West announces its 47th season of shows
On Tuesday, Stage West invited audiences “to step through and discover six incredible journeys — from wildly inventive musicals to moving stories of connection, mystery, and laughter.” This season will feature six shows, six regional premieres (!), two musicals and four plays and two co-productions all launching this October.
The season includes:
Oct. 16-Nov. 2: Ride The Cyclone. In this cult musical by Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond, a freak rollercoaster accident derails the lives of the entire St. Cassian High School chamber choir. Now dead, trapped in carnival limbo, they’re greeted by a mechanical fortune teller who proposes a talent show. The prize? One lucky winner will return to life. This is a co-production with Theatre TCU.
Dec. 3-21: All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. On Christmas Eve 1914 in the cold trenches of World War I, something miraculous happened. A lone soldier stepped into no man’s land, lifted his voice in song and began this true story. In that no-longer-silent night, troops from both sides laid down their weapons for an extraordinary holiday celebration.
In this musical recounting by Peter Rothstein of shared humanity in dark times, a 10-man a cappella chorus with vocal arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach weaves together soldiers’ letters, poetry, and period songs—ranging from trench tunes to holiday carols—into this regional premiere.
Jan. 29-Feb. 15: Where We Stand. Broadway actor and Dallas legend Liz Mikel plays a lone storyteller who weaves a world through music and magic—part fable, part call-and-response. The future of the town—and the fate of a soul— hang in the balance. This isn’t a game. It’s your choice. Written by Donnetta Lavinia Grays,this is a co- production with Dallas Theatre Center
March 12-29: A Case for the Existence of God. In a small office cubicle in an Idaho town, Keith is helping Ryan navigate one of the routine convolutions of modern life: a mortgage loan application. What begins in awkward exchange deepens into something profound, as these two very different men, both fathers of young daughters, open up to one another about their struggles to secure a future. The men discover a shared sadness, and in the quiet strength it takes to keep showing up, answer a transcendent question: what kind of love do we leave behind? Written by Samuel D. Hunter.
June 3-28: Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Ghost Machine. David MacGregor’s play finds a retired Sherlock Holmes trading mysteries for domestic bliss with Irene Adler, much to the dismay of Dr. Watson.
Meanwhile, rivals Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison have arrived in London with their latest inventions only to have them promptly stolen. The world-changing implications of the missing “Ghost Machine” and “Death Ray” pull the world’s greatest detective back into action. It’s clear something paranormal is afoot. And at the center of it all? Professor Moriarty’s formidable daughter.
Aug. 12-30: The Cottage. It’s 1923, and Sylvia Van Kipness is done being discreet. She’s tired of being secretly whisked away to this English countryside cottage for her annual tryst. So she’s decided to expose her affair to both her husband and her lover’s wife with a series of scandalous telegrams, turning this tranquil cottage into a hotbed of hilarity written by Sandy Rustin.
Season packages, standard and premium, are available here.
TITAS/Dance Unbound revealed its new season at Command Performance
Last Saturday, before a night of curated dance performances by Complexions, MOMIX and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders — among others — T/DU Executive Director opened the annual Command Performance and Gala with the announcement of the presenting company’s new season.
The 2025/26 season will feature artists from Spain, Canada, France, Taiwan and the United States. Four of these companies will be making debuts in Dallas. T/DU will present 10 perfomances with the season beginning in September.
Watch the video announcement below:
Dallas Symphony announces 2025 Parks Concert Series
Earlier this week, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) announced the return of its annual Parks Concert Series this summer. These concerts are free and open to the public and will be presented in parks across the city.
“Bringing music to our beautiful Dallas-area parks is something we look forward to every summer,” Michelle Miller Burns, Ross Perot President & CEO of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra said in the press release. “There’s nothing quite like seeing the community come together to experience the joy and magic of live music. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to share these unforgettable moments with audiences across our city.”
The Parks Concert Series kicks off on May 26 with the DSO’s annual Memorial Day concert at Flag Pole Hill. Assistant Conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg (Marena & Roger Gault Chair) will lead the orchestra in a program featuring patriotic favorites alongside festive classics.
All shows are scheduled to begin at 8:15 p.m. In the event of inclement weather all concerts except May 26 and June 12 peformances will be canceled. Rain sites noted below.
The entire series schedule includes:
May 26: Memorial Day at Flag Pole Hill, 8015 Doran Circle. Fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Rain site: Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
June 6: Exall Park, 3501 Live Oak St.
June 7: Kidd Springs Park, 711 West Canty St.
June 10: Fretz Park, 6950 Belt Line Road.
June 12: Paul Quinn College, 3837 Simpson Stuart Road. Rain Site: Tiger’s Den Gymnasium at PQC.
For more information, visit DallasSymphony.org.