The Core Theatre in Richardson is currently presenting ‘The 39 Steps.’ (Rich Lopez/DV)
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:
Undermain Theatre: Exit the King, today-Nov. 24, pictured.
Opera Arlington: Cinderella, Friday and Saturday.
TITAS: Okareka: Mana Wahine, Friday and Saturday at Moody Performance Hall.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Friday-Sunday.
The Hopeful Theatre Project: Little Women the Musical, Friday-Nov. 10 at MainStage 222.
MainStage ILC: A Little Night Music, Friday-Nov. 16.
Richardson Symphony Orchestra: Copland, Kodály, & Brahms, Saturday at the Eisemann Center.
Turtle Creek Chorale: Considering Matthew Shepard, Saturday at Cathedral of Hope.
Sammons Jazz: In the Swing of Things, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
WaterTower Theatre: The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Wednesday-Nov. 17.
Onstage now:
Art Centre Theatre: The Rocky Horror Show, through Saturday.
Artstillery: The Life of AFJ, through Saturday.
Second Thought Theatre: hang, through Saturday.
Upright Theatre: Amityville ‘74, through Saturday.
Amphibian Stage: The Amazing, Fabulous and Spectacular Untruths of Juan Garcia, through Sunday.
Broadway at the Bass: Beetlejuice, through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall, pictured.
Dallas Theater Center: Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, through Sunday.
Firehouse Theatre: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, through Sunday.
Hip Pocket Theatre: Metamorphosis, through Sunday.
Stage West: What the Constitution Means to Me, through Sunday.
Theatre Three: Carrie: The Musical, through Sunday.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: Sweeney Todd the Fiend of Fleet Street, through Nov. 16.
Review: The cast of Core Theatre’s The 39 Steps brings nutty delight to this comic thriller
Fans of the Alfred Hitchcock film will find much to be familiar with in the stage version of The 39 Steps, but playwright Patrick Barlow’s adaptation adds in a whole layer of comedy to the story’s suspense. The results at The Core Theatre’s production were a mix of madcap and charm that still delivered on thrills. A spy story at heart, director James Prince and his cast of five crafted a fine parody through multiple parts and on-point humor.
Beginning with Richard Hannay in a chair as the narrator, he begins the story of his mixup with the mysterious Annabella Schmidt, a secret agent who is murdered in his apartment. Now on the run with her knowledge of a secret mission to steal defense secrets and the accusation of murder, Hannay trudges through train escapes, a kidnapping and a recurring music melody that he can’t let go of. Along the way, he picks up the unwitting Margaret who has no choice but to be handcuffed to him and ultimately helps Hannay with his unexpected mission.
In the role of Hannay, Travis Cook embodied the protagonist with a blend of awkward heroism and amusing leading man charisma. Sara Rashelle brought intelligence and humor to all the female characters she had t play and infused a physical talent for comedy into each role.
In addition to the five main actors, there were three other actors who played multiple roles throughout the show. Thomas McKee, Joseph Figueiras, and David Colville skillfully juggled numerous characters, sometimes appearing onstage simultaneously. Figueiras’ Mr. Memory role, a crucial character to the story, stood out with its straightforwardness and comedic value, enhanced by his ill-fitting gray wig. Colville’s primary character was the show’s villain, which he played with a perfect balance of wickedness. McKee effortlessly transitioned between roles, delivering a range of snappy performances often relying on his reactions to his fellow castmates.
A lack of a set did dial back the show’s stakes and humor at times with dark curtains serving as the backdrop. However, there was a cleverness in the shifting of settings onstage that was impressive. The action was conveyed all through the actors and versatile set pieces and props.
While the urgency of the show could have been punchier, the production was delightful fun getting to the end. Film fans may expect a thrilling mystery, but onstage, the madcap comedy is the path The 39 Steps follows.
The show runs through Nov. 10.
TACA unveils five 2024 New Works Fund Recipients
Earlier this week, TACA – The Arts Community Alliance – announced its grant recipients for the New Works Fund. This fund focuses on support for new works of performing, literary, and visual art in varying stages of development by BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color), LGBTQ and female artists. The five arts organizations with multidisciplinary new works will share the $125,000 distribution made possible by presenting sponsor Texas Instruments.
The five 2024 TACA New Works grantees are:
Cara Mía Theatre: Yemaya Flamenco – in partnership with The Flame Foundation, The New Orleans Original BuckShop, and Mulato Teatro ($30,000)
Soul Rep Theatre Company : Madam Queen by dianne tucker ($10,000)
Undermain Theatre: h*llo k*tty syndrome by Brian Dang ($25,000)
Teatro Dallas: Maria Sabina y Los Niños Santos by Cora Cardona ($25,000)
Pegasus Media Project Convergence: Weaving Displacement Narratives ($35,000).
Undermain reveals the New Work recipient of the 2024 Katherine Owens/Undermain Fund
Gracie Gardner’s fencing drama ‘Athena’ at Undermain Theatre. The playwright was recently named the recipient of Undermain’s new works grant. (Courtesy photo)
In celebration of Katherine Owens’ birthday, Undermain Theatre announce this week that playwright Gracie Gardner has been named as the 2024 recipient of $10,000 from the Katherine Owens/Undermain Fund for New Work for her ongoing work in the American Theater with an eye towards a future production of a new play for the Undermain stage.
The theater’s recent production of Athena, pictured, is among Gardner’s works.
She is an American playwright. During the same time Athena premiered at Undermain, her play Banya premiered at Theatrelab in New York City. Her play Pussy Sludge was selected for Theatertreffen Stückemarkt in Berlin and previously received the Relentless Award. She’s a member of New Dramatists, Ars Nova Play Group, Youngblood, and she has received commissions from Clubbed Thumb, Manhattan Theatre Club, and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She’s also worked as a video game writer for Annapurna Interactive.
DSO announces new board chair and new board members
Earlier this week, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and Dallas Symphony Association (DSA) announced the election of Roger C. Gault as its next Chair of the DSA Board of Governors. Along with Gault, the DSA elected nine new members to its Board of Governors: Jim Baldwin, Dr. Linda Burk, Kevin Bryant, Susan Geyer, Marsha Halloran, Dan Hoverman, Steve Penrose, Michael Rosenthal and Crayton Webb will begin their three-year terms immediately.
“We have a wonderful new group of leaders joining the board, and we are thrilled to have Roger Gault as our Board Chair for the next three seasons,” Michelle Miller Burns, Ross Perot President & CEO of the DSO said in the press release. “Roger and his wife Marena are strong, dynamic leaders in the community, and they have been integral to the success of the Dallas Symphony for years.”
A licensed real estate broker and architect, Gault is a member of the American Institute of Architects, is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dallas Arboretum, and former President of the Board of Directors of the Lee Park and Arlington Hall Conservancy. He is also a former board member of both Preservation Dallas and the Dallas Center for Architecture.
“I am honored to take on the role of Chair of the DSA Board of Governors,” Gault stated in the release. “I look forward to working with our dedicated team to support the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s mission of enriching our community through inspiring music, transformative education and meaningful outreach. The DSO is the cultural cornerstone of North Texas, and I am proud to be a part of their continued success and expanding impact.”
Gault succeeds Cece Smith as Chair of the DSA Board of Governors.
–Rich Lopez