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 week:
Grand Kyiv Ballet: Snow White, 7:30 p.m. today at the Wyly.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Friday and Sunday.
The Elevator Project: Selfie Conscious by Mr. PIXIE, Friday-Sunday, pictured.
Theatre Arlington: Amon! The Ultimate Texan, Friday-Sunday.
FWSO Symphonic Series: The Sounds of Paris, Friday-Sunday.
Second Star Theatre Co.: Steel Magnolias, Friday-Jan. 18 at Venue on Main.
Moondance Theatre: Leading Ladies Benefit Performance, 7 p.m. Saturday at Wylie Acting Group.
New Texas Symphony Orchestra: A Rainbow of Music, 3 p.m. Saturday at Oak Lawn UMC.
Coppell Arts Center: STOMP, 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday.
Onstage now:
Broadway Dallas: Kimberly Akimbo, through Jan. 18.
Shen Yun, through Jan 25 at the Eisemann Center.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: The Final Adventure of Hercules – The Melodrama, Friday-Feb. 14.
Kitchen Dog Theater kicks off the year by announcing a new season and a new home
Tuesday morning kicked off with some good theater news. Kitchen Dog Theater revealed in a press release the shows for its 35th season as well as the news that its new home is finished. So each new production will happen in shiny new digs located in the Design District.
From KDT:
Faced again with some unanticipated delays to the completion of construction of their new venue, KDT’s artistic leadership had to pivot to a truncated schedule for this inaugural season, resulting in this later than usual announcement. With three fully produced mainstages that each run the gamut from captivating and gutsy to heartfelt and hilarious, a Texas-focused New Works Festival Staged Readings Series, and the landmark 25th annual PUP Fest nurturing high school talent from all over DFW, this slate of live, intimate events will deliver Kitchen Dog and its patrons to its new permanent home at last, after 10 long years on the road.
KDT’s new home is located at 4774 Algiers St.
The season includes:
Feb. 5-March 1: POMPEII!! by KDT Artistic Company Members Cameron Cobb, Michael Federico and Max Hartman. Under the shadow of a volcano, the citizens of Pompeii sing, dance and tell jokes in this zany vaudeville show. It’s togas and tap shoes, centurions and sing-alongs in this timely satire of nationalistic hubris and narcissistic excess. Directed by KDT Co-Artistic Director Christopher Carlos and Tina Parker.
April 9-May 3: Dream Hou$e by Eliana Pipes. Two Latina sisters are appearing on an HGTV-style reality show to sell their family home, hoping to capitalize on the gentrification in their “changing neighborhood.” As they perform for the camera the show starts to slip into the surreal: one sister grapples with turmoil in the family’s ancestral past and the other learns how much she’s willing to sacrifice for the family’s future.
June 5-28: 2026 New Works Festival: Venus by Steve Yockey. Breakups are never fun. It’s easy to romanticize all of the good times: stargazing, waxing poetic about literature, that instant spark the first time your hands brushed. It’s even easier to forget about all of the bad times, like when they ghosted you after the perfect first date, or that one time you woke up in a shallow grave.
June 13 and 27: 2026 New Works Festival: Staged Reading Series – Texas Edition. The series will showcase four staged readings of Texas-based playwrights. The lineup will feature two new plays written by KDT Artistic Company Members: Black Republican by Jamal Sterling and Sound by Jenny Ledel.
June 6: 2026 New Works Festival: D-PAC PUP (Playwrights Under Progress) Fest. PUP Fest will feature six staged readings of jury-selected plays written by DFW high school students, featuring student actors directed by area professional directors. In partnership with Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective.
Two Season Subscription Packages are available for this inaugural season in KDT’s new
facility: The Kitchen Dog ($90+ $8 fees for Adults/$75 +$8 fees for Students/Seniors (65+)) includes a ticket to all three mainstage productions for any performance date a patron would like to attend and The Saver Dog package ($60 + $8 fees for Adults/ $45 + $8 fees for Students/Seniors (65+)) which includes all three mainstage productions for Thursday, Friday and Sunday performances only.
Both packages have full access to the entire Staged Reading Series and PUP Fest. Single tickets for each individual show are on sale now.
FWSO saddles up for Wild West Rodeo
Fort Worth is “where the West begins” and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra is preparing for a musical expedition with Wild West Rodeo.
This cinematic and symphonic journey celebrates the sights and sounds of the American frontier, featuring Western film music by John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Elmer Bernstein, and more, alongside classical favorites that evoke sweeping landscapes and frontier adventure. Highlights include Copland’s lively “Hoe Down” from Rodeo, Grofé’s majestic “Grand Canyon Suite,” and familiar themes from The Magnificent Seven, Rawhide, Bonanza, High Noon, Silverado and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The multimedia performance will also feature Western art from the Sid Richardson Museum projected above the orchestra, bringing visuals, expansive landscapes and adventurous spirit of the Wild West to life.
Led by conductor Stephanie Rhodes Russell, performances will be held Jan. 16 and 17 at Bass Hall.
Firehouse Theatre introduces its new Director of Operations & Administration
Earlier this week, the Farmers Branch theater announced Deborah Ward as its Director of Operations and Administration.
A recent transplant from Chattanooga, Ward grew up immersed in theater but also comes with a background in operations, finance, and team leadership, with experience improving workflows, managing budgets, and supporting leadership teams across multiple industries.
In Broadway news, The Fantasticks goes gay in new reimagining
Deadline reported on Wednesday that a new version of the musical, The Fantasticks will have a hint of mint this time.
According to Greg Evans piece, a Broadway production is being readied that will reimagine the Tom Jones-Harvey Schmidt downtown classic as a contemporary gay love story.
Yes, please.
In this update, the main character Matt and Luisa will be Matt and Lewis and the show’s paternal role will now be mothers urging the two together.
Evans reports that Death Becomes Her director Christopher Gattelli has been named to direct and choregraph.
I’m still waiting for the same sex version of Love Letters and Same Time, Next Year if anyone’s listening.
ICYMI
Review: Broadway Dallas’ Kimberly Akimbo is just not right
Danny Anchondo resurrects his stage persona for his Selfie-Conscious redux
On his national tour debut, Max Santopietro finds a sweet soul in Broadway Dallas’ Kimberly Akimbo
–Rich Lopez