Guests at NTPA’s annual Stardust Awards gala. The company has announced this year’s recipients and event date. (Courtesy photo)
Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music and stage news, events, reviews and other pertinent information. Season announcements came in hot and heavy this week.
Stage Notes Calendar
Opening this week:
Second Thought Theatre: hang, opened Wednesday-Nov. 2.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Ring Cycle: Siegfried, today at the Meyerson.
Sammons Cabaret: Rosana Eckert, 7:30 p.m. today.
Second Chance Players: Next to Normal, today-Oct. 26 at Frisco Discovery Center.
Firehouse Theatre: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, today-Nov. 3, pictured.
Stage West: What the Constitution Means to Me, today-Nov. 3.
Theatre Arlington: Play Reading Club: Scarecrow Daddy by Rob Bosquez, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Bishop Arts Theatre: Patches: A Black Gay Man’s Journey to the Moon, Friday-Oct. 27.
The Dallas Opera: La traviata, Friday-Oct. 27 at the Winspear.
NTPA Repertory: The Rocky Horror Show, Friday-Oct. 27 at Willow Bend Center of the Arts.
Art Centre Theatre: The Rocky Horror Show, Friday-Nov. 2.
Eisemann Center Presents: A Conversation with Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody, 8 p.m. Saturday.
FWSO Family: FLY Dance Company Breakin’ Classical, 11 a.m. Saturday.
Plano Symphony Orchestra: A Tribute to Elvis Presley, 8 p.m. Saturday at Robinson Fine Arts Center.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Ring Cycle: Götterdämmerung, Sunday.
Dallas Winds: The Music of John Williams, Tuesday.
Eisemann Center Presents: An Evening Conversation with Ina Garten, 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra: Jane Glover Conducts Mozart, Tuesday-Oct. 25.
Onstage now:
Rover Dramawerks: Go Back for Murder, through Saturday at the Cox Playhouse.
Allen Contemporary Theatre: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, through Sunday.
Cirque du Soleil: Songblazers, through Sunday at the Music Hall at Fair Park.
Theatre Three: Venus in Fur, through Sunday in Theatre Too, pictured.
Circle Theatre: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, through Oct. 26.
Lakeside Community Theatre: Lend Me a Chainsaw, through Oct. 26.
Pegasus Theatre: Tales from a Late Night Kroger, through Oct. 26 at the Bath House Cultural Center.
Casa Manana: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, through Oct. 27.
Mesquite Arts Theatre: Frankenstein, through Oct. 27.
Repertory Company Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors, through Oct. 27.
Artstillery: The Life of AFJ, through Nov. 2.
Upright Theatre: Amityville ‘74, through Nov. 2.
Amphibian Stage: The Amazing, Fabulous and Spectacular Untruths of Juan Garcia, through Nov. 3.
Dallas Theater Center: Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, through Nov. 3.
Hip Pocket Theatre: Metamorphosis, through Nov. 3.
Theatre Three: Carrie: The Musical, through Nov. 3.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: Sweeney Todd the Fiend of Fleet Street, through Nov. 16.
Twilight Soiree Puppet Pageant to be hosted by Hip Pocket Theatre on Halloween
Hip Pocket Theatre will host its annual puppet pageant for Halloween (Photo by Amanda Merrill)
Hip Pocket Theatre will host its annual Twilight Soiree Puppet Pageant on Halloween through Nov. 2. The free event is suitable for all ages. Friday and Saturday pageants will be held prior to the performances of HPT’s final show of the season, Metamorphosis.
The theater will welcome NYC-based artists Erin Orr and Chris Green to create a site-specific ethereal spectacle complete with puppets, masks, music, pageantry and immersive visuals. The community is invited to help create the puppets and to perform in the Puppet Pageant. Open studio workdays will be held Oct. 23-30. Participation is free, but registration is required.
From HPT:
Chris Green is a Tennessee-born, Brooklyn-based designer, performer, and director. His original theatrical, cinematic, and immersive projects draw from the vast toolkit of visual theater and puppetry with works presented over the past 27 years both nationally and internationally. Honors and grants include the Creative Capital Award, the MacDowell Fellowship, the LMCC Process Space Grant, as well as multiple grants from the Theater Communications Group and the Jim Henson Foundation. Film credits as performer and visual effects designer include Silo directed by David Soll (shot inside a defunct Atlas-C missile silo) and White Noise directed by Noah Baumbach. In 2006, Green founded Chris Green Kinetics, an award-winning interdisciplinary design studio creating one-of-a-kind theatrical productions and interactive installations with a wide variety of partners and clients ranging from non-profit museums to major theme parks.
Erin K. Orr is absorbed in the creative alchemy of turning the raw ingredients of images, objects, folklore, and food into a feast. Erin creates puppet works in collaboration with living composers ranging from a dark fairytale for adults to a circus about the real-life drama of honeybees and a puppet musical inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca. She has received grants from LMCC, the Jim Henson Foundation, and the Jerome Foundation. Erin also creates thematic dinners for immersive theatrical events and is currently working on a storytelling dinner that draws on Estonian werewolf lore and personal narrative exploring hunger and domestication. She is an award-winning arts educator who has taught puppetry throughout the NYC public schools for 30 years and works as an artist mentor and curriculum specialist for federally funded research about literacy and puppetry.
Hip Pocket’s ‘Metamorphosis’ (Photo by Shannon Cahoone)
The pageant coincides with the Hip Pocket’s run of Metamorphosis, based on the classic story by Franz Kafka. Performances are at 8:15 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Oct. 11-Nov. 3 at its outdoor amphitheater at 1950 Silver Creek Rd. Tickets are available on the Hip Pocket website. (This play contains adult subject matter and is unsuitable for children.)
Adapted and directed by Christina Cranshaw with music composed and performed by Clint Niosi, Metamorphosis centers on Gregor who isn’t his normal self. he’s missed the train and is now late — and that isn’t even his biggest problem.
The cast includes Nadia DeWolf, Paul Heyduck, Vermont Horner, Aja Jones, Francis Kahn, Doak Rapp, Joseph Tully and Kyle Van Swol.
The creative team includes director Cranshaw, costume designs by Susan Austin, lighting designer Nikki DeShea Smith, set design by Jeffrey Stanfield and Madison Whitney is the prop designer.
Theatergoers are encouraged to arrive early to park and walk to the site-specific spot for the pageants. Guests can partake in concessions and live music beginning at 7:15 p.m. in the BackYard, which will continue after the stage performance.
Echo Theatre reveals its staged reading lineup
Last week, Echo Theatre dropped its lineup for its Echo Reads series which launched yesterday actually. Throughout this month, guests are invited to attend the free readings that include a talkback with professional theater creatives. A suggested $10 donation is welcome to help offset the costs of the series for the nonprofit theater.
The series opened on Wednesday with Dear Elizabeth, A Play in Letters from Elizabeth Bishop to Robert Lowell and Back Again by Sarah Ruhl.
Directors lightly rehearse readings of plays with professional actors who carry their scripts as they perform for the audience. After the reading, the audience is invited to stay to discuss the play with the actors, director, and members of the Echo team in a casual conversation.
The new lineup includes:
Oct. 23: Open by Crystal Skillman. Suspend your disbelief as The Magician tries to save a life. A queer love story. Directed by Mikaela Baker and starring Aren Hugo.
Oct. 30: The Taming by Lauren Gunderson. A liberal, a beauty queen and a conservative walk into a hotel room… Directed by Shea McMillan and starring Claire Fountain, Stephanie Oustalet and Leslie Patrick.
Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. and held at the Bath House Culture Center.
NTPA announces third annual Stardust honorees
North Texas Performing Arts has announced the honorees who will be recognized at this year’s Stardust Awards held Nov. 2 at the Plano Event Center.
“We are honored to be able to announce these incredible arts leaders from across North Texas, and so impressed with their accomplishments and impact on our community and on the rich performing arts heritage,” NTPA Chief Executive Officer Darrell Rodenbaugh said in a press release. “These individuals have had an incredible impact on our culture, and we are pleased to publicly recognize their legacy.”
This year’s honorees include:
Distinguished Performing Artist Baba Kubaye
Arts Organization Cara Mia Theatre
Arts Leader Cindi Lawrence Hanson of Plano Metropolitan Ballet
Elementary Educator Ashley Marsh of Heritage Elementary School, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD
Middle School Educator Brady Stableton of Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, Dallas ISD
High School Educator Jonette Dalfonzo of Wakeland High School, Frisco ISD; and Penny Ayn Maas, Collegiate Educator at Texas Christian University.
The Large Business Champion to be honored is Dairy Farmers of America and local business H-E-B.
Arts Advocate of the Year will honor Centennial Real Estate and its founder Steve Levin.
Past Stardust Award recipients included noted actor B.J. Cleveland, the Plano Symphony Orchestra Maestro Héctor Guzmán, Graciela Katzer founder of the Plano International Festival, Frisco Arts Advocate Tammy Meinershagen, the Baxley Foundation, Transamerica and other noted artists, arts leaders and arts philanthropists.
The evening’s headliners include Grammy-winning composer, producer and artist Kitt Wakely and Broadway star Malik Akil Kimani Victorian from Disney’s Aladdin, Tina Fey’s Mean Girls, and Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn.
The evening’s program will also honor NTPA’s volunteers whose efforts make possible its mission with NTPA’s position as an organization “managed by professionals but made possible by volunteers” in such categories as set design, costuming, and other volunteer categories.
Proceeds from the event will fund scholarships for underserved youth and underwrite operations and critical projects for the North Texas Performing Arts.
NTPA’s ‘The Rocky Horror Show.’ (Courtesy photo)
In other NTPA news, the company opens the cult camp classic The Rocky Horror Show at the Willow Bend Center of the Arts, Rodenbaugh Theatre, on Friday through Oct. 27.
Sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. There they meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rock-n-roll biker and a creepy butler, who are celebrating Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s newest creation. Join the Time Warp in this rock ’n’ roll sci-fi gothic musical.
For the uninitiated, audience callbacks will be displayed for everyone to join in and Survival Kits will include glow sticks, balloons, and rubber gloves. Each kit comes with instructions on how and when to use the items and a cute souvenir tote bag. For the safety of the theater and cast, only items from the kits will be allowed in the theatre. Front Row “Virgins” will be given an opportunity to participate in a “virgin sacrifice” during pre-show shenanigans and the Oct. 26 show will feature a Rocky Horror-themed costume contest and floor show.
Rocky Horror stars Kiba Walker, Jakob Schlegel, Taylor Fujihara, KyLeigh Freeman, Maxwell Skaggs, Alyssa Lee, Zayde Vetter, Sawyer Bell, Peyton Churchwell with Caera Flood, Isabella Monteleone, Ashton Teeter, Cam Vidales, Elena Butterfield and Taylor Veer as Phantoms. The production is helmed by director Nick Mann, choreographer Paige Price, and music director Billy Veer.
For tickets, click here.
ICYMI
Review: T3’s Carrie can be scary but don’t overlook the compelling drama
Pegasus Theatre pays tribute to Bruce R. Coleman with Tales from Late Night Kroger
Captain Milbourn raises the stakes by taking on Dracula for Dallas Theater Center
–Rich Lopez