Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music, dance, comedy and stage news, events, reviews and other pertinent information.
Stage Notes Calendar
Opening this month:
World Ballet Company: The Nutcracker, 7 p.m. today at the Majestic Theater.
Sammons Cabaret: Making Spirits Bright, 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Ballet North Texas: The Nutcracker, Friday-Sunday at Moody Performance Hall.
Repertory Company Theatre: It’s a Wonderful Life, Dec. Friday-Sunday at Cox Playhouse.
Pegasus Theatre: MacMurder!, Friday-Jan. 4 at Addison Performing Arts Centre, pictured.
Unique 97: What Lies Behind This Hospital Bed, 7 p.m. Saturday at Art Centre Theatre.
Fort Worth Opera: Wintersong, 2 p.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church Fort Worth.
‘Twas a Girls Night Before Christmas: The Musical, 2 p.m. Saturday at the Eisemann.
ATTPAC Presents: Leslie Odom Jr., 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Winspear.
ATTPAC Presents: Sarah Brightman: A Winter Symphony, 7 p.m. Sunday at the Winspear.
ATTPAC Presents: Gentri Christmas, 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Winspear.
The Core Theatre: Improv’ing Christmas, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 27.
DSO: New Year’s Eve, 7:30 p.. Dec. 31.
Onstage now:
Community of Rowlett Players (CORP): Best Christmas Pageant Ever, through Saturday.
DSO Pops: Christmas Pops, through Saturday.
McKinney Repertory Theatre: A Christmas Carol, through Saturday.
Garland Civic Theatre: A Tuna Christmas, through Sunday.
Uptown Players: Star of Wonder, through Sunday.
Lakeside Community Theatre: The Thin Place, through Saturday, pictured.
Allen Contemporary Theatre: The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee, through Sunday.
Art Centre Theatre: O Little Town of Tumbleweed, through Sunday.
Bishop Arts Theatre Center: Black Nativity, through Sunday.
The Core Theatre: The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, through Sunday.
The Firehouse Theatre: Holiday Inn, through Sunday.
Grand Prairie Arts Council: Anastasia, through Sunday at Uptown Theater.
Lewisville Playhouse: Christmas Belles, through Sunday.
Lyric Stage: Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings, through Sunday.
Mesquite Arts Theatre: A Christmas Story, through Sunday..
Onstage in Bedford: One Christmas Carol, through Sunday.
Reid Cabaret Theatre: A Rock ‘N’ Roll Christmas, through Sunday at Casa Manana.
Richardson Theatre Centre: The Third Annual Holiday Radio Show, through Sunday.
Stage West: All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, through Sunday.
Stolen Shakespeare Guild: A Christmas Carol, through Sunday.
Theatre Arlington: The Game’s Afoot! Or Holmes for the Holidays, through Sunday.
Theatre Coppell: Fruitcakes, through Sunday.
Theatre Denton: Sound of Music, through Sunday.
Theatre Off the Square: Dear Jack, Dear Louise, through Sunday.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: Ebenezer Scrooge, through Tuesday.
Dallas Theater Center: A Christmas Carol, through Dec. 27.
Texas Ballet Theater: The Nutcracker, through Dec. 28 at Bass Hall.
Theatre Three: The Lion in Winter, through Dec. 28.
Meow Wolf Grapevine: Phenomenomaly, through January 4.
DTS announces Jaime Castañeda as its new Enloe/Rose Artistic Director
On Wednesday, Dec. 17, Dallas Theater Center announced Jaime Castañeda as its newly appointed Enloe/Rose Artistic Director. Castañeda will present his inaugural season at DTC in 2026-27.
Castañeda has directed at American Conservatory Theater, South Coast Repertory, Huntington Theatre Company, and La Jolla Playhouse where he previously served as Associate Artistic Director from 2014-18. He has also worked Off-Broadway as Artistic Associate at Atlantic Theater Company from 2009-14. In 2012, Castañeda directed DTC’s production of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz.
Board chair Lynn Pride Richardson expressed her excitement about Castañeda’s appointment and what he will bring to the company.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am thrilled to welcome Jaime Castañeda as the new Enloe/Rose Artistic Director for the Tony Award-winning Dallas Theater Center,” she said in Wednesday’s press release. “DTC is committed to artistic excellence and community engagement, and we believe Jaime’s experience, creativity, bold vision, and proven leadership, coupled with his dedication to innovation, will guide DTC into an exciting new chapter in the life of the theater.”
Castañeda was selected for the role following a national search led by Management Consultants for the Arts. The search committee, chaired by DTC board member Chris Luna and co-chaired by Richardson, included Jennifer Altabef, Diane Brierley, Lauren Embrey, Sam Holland (Algur H. Meadows Dean, SMU Meadows School of the Arts), Sharron Hunt, Randy Kender, Julie Kosnik, Deborah McMurray, Sam Megally, Liz Mikel (DTC Brierley Resident Acting Company member), Kevin Moriarty (DTC Executive Director), Jonathan Norton (DTC Interim Artistic Director), Andy Smith, Lily Weiss (Executive Director, Dallas Arts District) and Donna Wilhelm.
“We are extremely pleased with a successful national search that brings Jaime to Dallas Theater Center,” Luna stated in the release. “His energy is contagious and he understands Texas and Dallas. We look forward to collaborating with Jaime as he continues his innovative approach to regional theater.”
Castañeda’s theater origins stem from here in DFW.
He began his career more than 20 years ago in Dallas-Fort Worth by founding Firestarter
Productions while attending Texas Christian University (TCU). In addition to directing at DTC, some of his other local theater credits include works at Kitchen Dog Theatre, Amphibian Stage and Circle Theatre.
“Growing up in Texas, Dallas Theater Center was one of the first places where I saw what professional theater and excellence looked like,” Castañeda said. “I’m thrilled to come back and build on the history of artists and leaders who have been a part of this organization. I’m eager to join Kevin, the board and our staff to create lasting theatrical experiences for our audiences.”
Castañeda succeeds Kevin Moriarty, who served as Enloe/Rose Artistic Director from 2007 to 2022 and Jonathan Norton, DTC’s Resident Playwright, who is currently serving as Interim Artistic Director. Moriarty now serves as the executive director of DTC and Norton will continue to lead the remainder of the 2025-26 season which culminates in the world premiere of his play Malcolm X and Redd Foxx Washing Dishes at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem in May.
Following a transition period, Castañeda will assume his full-time role in July 2026. As Enloe/Rose Artistic Director, he will lead DTC’s artistic vision, direct and produce plays and musicals, oversee the Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company and partner with Moriarty, the staff and the Board of Trustees to advance DTC’s mission, vision and values.
Moriarty mentioned both Castañeda’s vision and experience that will play into his new role.
“Jaime brings a bold, visceral artistic vision, a deep commitment to new voices and a collaborative leadership style that inspires artists and audiences alike,” Moriarty said in the release. “With his Texas roots and national experience, I am thrilled to welcome him home as DTC’s new Enloe/Rose Artistic Director. I have known and admired his work since 2007, when he was already one of the most exciting emerging directors in North Texas, and I later saw him create unforgettable work for DTC on the Wyly stage and at leading theaters nationwide.”
Castañeda holds a BFA from Texas Christian University and an MFA in Directing from University of Texas at Austin.
.In addition to directing numerous world premiere plays such as Seize the King by Will Power and The Canadians by Adam Bock, he previously served as Associate Artistic Director at La Jolla Playhouse, Artistic Associate at Atlantic Theater Company and was a company member at Chicago’s American Theater Company.
The Dallas Opera announces soprano Erin Morley in signature annual recital
The Dallas Opera will present its annual Robert E. and Jean Ann Titus Family Recital on Feb. 1 at Moody Performance Hall. The Titus Family Recital showcases the most accomplished performers on international stages today and invites patrons to the intimate setting of Moody Performance Hall. TDO announced that this season’s recital will feature soprano Erin Morley and pianist Gerald Martin Moore.
Celebrated for her “stratospheric high notes and flawless musicality” (Financial Times, London), Morley has performed on many of the world’s most important opera stages, including Teatro alla Scala, the Vienna Staatsoper, and more than 100 performances at the Metropolitan Opera, including this past fall.
Renowned pianist Gerald Martin Moore is the director of Yale Opera. He’s been praised for being “musical in everything he touched” (The New Criterion). The pair collaborated for Morley’s 2024 debut album, Rose in Bloom.
The program will feature works by Bizet, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, Delibes, and more.
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