Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music, dance, comedy and stage news, events, reviews and other pertinent information.
Opening this week:
The Cliburn: Yekwon Sunwoo, piano, 7 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Kimbell Art Museum.
Pegasus Theatre: Noir Hamlet, Oct. 8-31 at Addison Performing Arts Centre.
Dallas Black Dance Theatre: DanceAfrica, Oct. 9 and 10 at Moody Performance Hall.
Ghostlight Theatre Company: Hystyria, Oct. 9 and 10 at Lewisville Grand Theater.
DSO Pops: Disney’s Hocus Pocus in Concert Live to Film, Oct. 9-11.
FW Symphony Orchestra: The Classical Style, Oct. 9-11.
Repertory Company Theatre: The Addams Family Musical, Oct. 9-11 at the Courtyard Theater.
The Dallas Opera: The Elixir of Love, Oct. 9-17 at the Winspear.
Garland Civic Theatre: Anything Goes, Oct. 9-25.
Plaza Theatre Co.: The Mummy, Oct. 9-31 at Plaza Main Street Theatre.
Dallas Theater Center: The Monsters, Oct. 9-Nov. 1 at the Wyly Studio Theater, pictured.
Richardson Theatre Centre: Over Night Watch, Oct. 9-Nov. 1.
Theatre Wesleyan: Clue, today-Oct. 11 in Law Sone Fine Arts Center at Texas Wesleyan University.
Theatre Denton: The Addams Family, Friday-Oct 18 at Campus Theatre.
Avant Chamber Ballet: Together We Dance, 3 p.m. Oct. 11 at Klyde Warren Park.
Onstage now:
The Beacon Theatre: Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, through Saturday at Cox Playhouse.
Cara Mía Theatre: The 7th annual Latinidades Festival, through Sunday at the Latino Cultural Center.
Circle Theatre: Ain’t Misbehavin,’ through Oct. 18, pictured.
Lewisville Playhouse: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, through Oct. 18.
Shakespeare Dallas: Titus Andronicus, through Oct. 18 at Samuell-Grand Amphitheater.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: The Werewolf of London, through Nov. 14.
DFW theater has lost three talents all within this past week
A Dallas theater pioneer and two stage actors have died.
On Oct. 2,Ochre House Theater founder and artistic director Matthew Posey passed away. The Houston native and Texas Tech alum came to Dallas and founded the Deep Ellum Theater Garage. He would later join Undermain Theater and then launched Ochre in 2008, located in Exposition Park.
From Ochre House:
Under Matthew’s guidance, The Ochre House produced and staged original works in such an immediate way, that the theater reflected current social, political and world events in an accelerated time-frame that resonated deeply with Ochre’s audiences. Matthew wrote, directed, and produced more than 40 critically acclaimed original plays, including Mrs. Haggardly, Bill, Original Man, and Soft Noodle Map.
The theater posted Posey’s obituary on the theater’s website.
A celebration of life service is being planned. In honor of Posey and in lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Ochre House Theater. He was 68.
Earlier today, Kitchen Dog Theater and Hip Pocket Theater both posted about the loss of two local actors. According to Kitchen Dog Theater’s post, Julian Harris, who recently starred in The Absentee, which closed last weekend, and his partner Madi Duran, died from a car accident. Duran was set to star in Hip Pocket’s Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (The Musical) which was set to open tomorrow.
From Kitchen Dog:
Mourning the loss of one of our Absentee family, Julian Harris, and his partner Madi Duran (who was one of our tour guides for Safe at Home) in a tragic car accident this week. Both mad talented artists at the very beginning of their careers- wicked smart, genuinely kind, and funny as hell – who lit up any room they entered. We are so so grateful for the time we had with each of them.
From Hip Pocket:
With heavy hearts, Hip Pocket Theatre is postponing the opening of MegaPython vs. Gatoroid (The Musical).
Our company is grieving the sudden and heartbreaking loss of Madi and Julian, two beloved members of the Hip Pocket family. Madi was a member of the MegaPython vs. Gatoroid cast, and earlier this season, Madi and Julian shared the stage with us in The Three Cuckolds.
We will not be performing Oct. 9–11 as we take this time to be together, grieve, and honor two people whose joy, creativity, and love touched so many of us.
Madi and Julian were a beautiful, creative couple with so much life and art ahead of them. Their loss is unimaginable, and the future they were building together has been tragically cut short.
We are holding their families, friends, fellow artists, and all those who loved them close in our hearts.
Review: ACT’s The Book of Will is a charming tribute to theater and friendship
Lauren Gunderson’s The Book of Will is a moving tribute to the Bard. A story that centers on William Shakespeare’s surviving friends who fight to preserve the scattered legacy he left upon passing. Centered on John Heminges and Henry Condell, two of Shakes’ original King’s Men players, the drama is light, the comedy is slight, but the story of these two scrambling to publish all of the works by their famous friend is a poignant testament to not friendship and loyalty that would produce perhaps one of the most important literary collections of all time.
Gunderson’s historical fiction about the publishing of the First Folio perhaps leans more into comedy, but the charm in the story and of these friends and their support system made for a feel-good tale about a story people may never think about.
Directed by Chris Berthelot, Allen Contemporary Theatre opened the show last Friday.
Robert San Juan and Anthony Magee were front and center as Henry and John respectively and the two displayed a magical chemistry as longtime friends. The characters’ love and respect for each was evident and quite palpable in their interactions. Void of any apparent toxic masculinity, these two characters expressed intimate connection and affection which was the undertone for Gunderson’s play.
Gunderson’s play may ponder on this historic moment in time, but the friendship was what shined through both her story and this cast. Seeing a tender and true friendship among men and their devotion to their other friends lent to the show’s charm and San Juan and Magee were ideal as the emotional anchors.
As John’s daughter, Janae Hatchett was a defiant and strong-willed Alice who easily switched into romantic fluster when Brett Lee appeared as the amiable Isaac, the publisher’s son and new head of the press, in contrast to his father, played with smarmy appeal by Erik Knapp.
In his ACT debut, Adam Koch was a standout with his scene-stealing performances among his three roles. He could draw a laugh easily which punctuated his scenes with hilarity.
Robert Dullnig was a surprise as well as Poet Laureate Ben Johnson. Adorned in his flashy, shiny costume as Shakespeare’s snobby rival, Dullnig’s deadpan delivery hit every mark and also brought a balance to the other characters’ louder and more animated personas. The heart of the show may have belonged to San Juan and Magee, but Dullnig brought the magic.
The story and the cast were all compelling and inviting. The story was a balance of historically rich and also relatably personal. However, the production was somewhat weighed down by its uneven pacing and frequent scene transitions. The constant shifts between locations occasionally disrupted the momentum of the narrative, making certain stretches feel overly episodic.
Despite this, the emotional resonance of The Book of Will was never lost and ultimately served as an ode to not so much Shakespeare but the importance and impact of his work as well as a reminder of the power of friendship and of theater.
The show runs through Oct. 18.
–Rich Lopez