Jonah Munroe and Mary Gilbreath Grim in Lyric’s ‘Sweeney Todd.’ (Courtesy photos)
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:
Grand Kyiv Ballet: Giselle, 7 p.m. today at the Winspear.
Sammons Cabaret: Kevin Paul Hofeditz, 7:30 today at the Sammons Center for the Arts.
Circle Theatre: Water by the Spoonful, today-April 13.
The Elevator Project: mahAmAyA by Tejas Dance, Friday and Saturday at Strauss Square.
Richardson Theatre Centre: Things My Mother Taught Me, Friday-April 7.
Rockwall Community Playhouse: Fiddler on the Roof, Friday-April 7.
Irving Symphony Orchestra: Cliburn Passion, Satuday at the Irving Arts Center.
DBDT Encore!: Dancing Beyond Borders, Saturday at the Eisemann Center.
Patti Lupone: My Life in Notes, 8 p.m. Saturday at the Eisemann Center.
Unique 97: Need No One, Sunday at Art Centre Theatre.
Dallas Winds: The Pines of Rome, Tuesday at the Meyerson.
Casa Manana: The Music of Harry Chapin and Jim Croce, Tuesday-April 5.
Second Thought Theatre: Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Wednesday-April 14, pictured.
Onstage now:
MainStage ILC: Dear Brutus, through Saturday.
NTPA Repertory Theatre: All Shook Up, through Saturday.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: I Hate Hamlet, through Saturday.
Rover Dramawerks: Take the Couch, through Saturday at the Cox Playhouse.
Dallas Theater Center: Every Brilliant Thing, through Sunday.
Garland Civic Theatre: Sondheim’s Follies, through Sunday.
Stage West: POTUS, through March 30.
Allen Contemporary Theatre: Flanagan’s Wake, through March 31.
Lonesome Blues, through April 7 at Club Dada.
Lyric Stage: Sweeney Todd, through April 7 at the Lyric Studio Space.
The Classics Theatre Project: The Glass Menagerie, Friday-April 13 at the Stone Cottage, pictured.
Lyric Stage previews Sweeney Todd for friend and media
Being that Lyric Stage allowed media to see Sweeney Todd‘s final rehearsal as a preview, this write-up won’t serve as a review to be fair to the cast and crew, but instead some general thoughts.
Sweeney Todd is the second show at Lyric’s new home studio space in the Design District. The story and set do work well in the more intimate setting that might have gotten lost on a bigger stage. The set was massive and worked to create the dreary, foggy ambiance of 1800s London.
As a season closer, Sweeney Todd succeeded as both an exciting finish and a reminder of the versatility its new space has. Those who saw last year’s The Great American Trailer Park Musical will see how cleverly Lyric can utilize the black box.
The musical was directed by Michael Serrecchia with a cast led by Jonah Munroe as Sweeney Todd and Mary Gilbreath Grim as Mrs. Lovett. The cast is filled with hefty local talent including Cameron Vargas, Isabella Zambrano, Ethan Rodriguez-Mullins, Evan Faris, Anthony Ortega, Sarah Powell as the Beggar Woman and Ryan Michael Friedman as Adolfo Pirelli. The company includes Madeleine Norton, Maya Hernandez-Pearson, Shane Duckett, Daniel Hernandez, Rowan Gilvie, Kenneth Lane, Jayden Russell, Keith Warren with the youth ensemble of Jessie Prince, Wyatt Hartz and Joshua Brown.
Performances to watch out for include Grim, Rodriguez-Mullins and Friedman who were clearly shooting for the stars. Munroe’s turn as a bad guy was such a contradiction to recent roles he’s had in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and Cruel Intentions.
Scott Guenther, Lyric Stage’s general manager said, “This is Lyric’s second production in our new studio space, an intimate and immersive experience for audiences, putting them right in the heart of the theatre magic. Sweeney Todd is also the final production in Lyric’s show-stopping 30th anniversary season, crafted under the guidance of Executive Producer Catherine Carpenter Cox.”
The show runs through April 7.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra announces free community concerts for springtime
On Wednesday, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra announced its series of chamber music concerts and educational activities that will feature small ensembles and/or musicians from the Kim Noltemy Young Musicians program.
“The DSO invites everyone to join us for these special free performances at Klyde Warren Park and Shirley & Bill McIntyre Park this spring,” Kim Noltemy, Ross Perot President & CEO of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra said in a press release. “We always look forward to sharing music with our community both here at Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, and beyond. We hope to see you soon!”
Spring Community Concerts will be held at McIntyre Park, located on the west side of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. The DSO’s “Symphony Sundays” at Klyde Warren Park resume this spring with two free chamber music concerts.
All Spring Community Concerts are free and open to the public. Concerts may be canceled due to inclement weather. Updates can be found online and on DSO’s socials.
The community concert schedule:
Today: DSO Brass Quintet, 5 p.m. at McIntyre Park.
April 18: DSO String Quintet, 5 p.m. at McIntyre Park.
April 20: Young Musicians concert and instrument petting zoo, 10 a.m.-noon at McIntyre Park.
April 21: Young Musicians Percussion Ensemble, 1 p.m. at Klyde Warren Park.
April 21: DSO Woodwind Quintet 6 p.m. at Klyde Warren Park.
May 16: DSO Woodwind Quintet, 5 p.m. at McIntyre Park.
May 18: Young Musicians concert and instrument petting zoo, 10 a.m.-noon at McIntyre Park.
May 19: DSO Brass Quintet, 6 p.m. at Klyde Warren Park.
Avant Chamber Ballet presents Women’s Choreographic Project 2024
Avant Chamber Ballet’s tenth year of Women’s Choreography Project will feaure two world premiere commissions from Dallas-based choreographers – Kaylee Skelton and Hailey Von Schlehenried. The performances will take place March 29-30 at the Sammons Center for the Arts. The evening will also feature restaged works by Katie Puder and Madelaine Boycce.
“Women’s Choreography Project is a big part of the identity of ACB,” artistic director Katie Puder stated in the press announcement in February. “New works, equity in the arts, and live music is what we have been passionate about since day one and I am so happy to be celebrating our tenth year with these two new works.”
The Women’s Choreography Project works to bring equity to classical dance giving female artistic voices the opportunity to present new works on a professional company. Avant Chamber Ballet addresses the lack of female-identifying choreographers with the project. Since its inception the project has commissioned a total of 20 new works.
This year’s performance will include live music in an intimate setting.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. both days. For tickets, click here.
–Rich Lopez
