The cast of Rover Dramawerks’ ‘Bernhardt/Hamlet.’ (Photo by Charlotte Taylor)
Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music and stage news, events, reviews and other relevant information.
Opening this week:
MBS Productions: Vampire Bros vs. Werewolf Lesbians, today-Oct. 29 at the Stone Cottage, pictured.
Bishop Arts Theatre Center: Othello, today-Nov. 5.
Stage West: Once Upon a Mattress, today-Nov. 5.
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra: Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky, Friday-Sunday at Bass Hall.
Art Centre Theatre: Bat Boy the Musical, Friday-Oct. 29.
Grand Prairie Arts Council: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Friday-Oct. 29.
Theatre Denton: The Play That Goes Wrong, Friday-Oct. 29.
Garland Civic Theatre: Arsenic and Old Lace, Friday-Nov. 5.
Richardson Centre Theatre: Murder On The Nile, Friday-Nov. 5.
Amphibian Stage: The Visit, Friday-Nov. 12.
Plano Symphony Orchestra: A Night in Vienna, 8 p.m. Saturday at the Eisemann Center.
Step Afrika, Sunday at the Eisemann Center.
Lyric Stage: Little Shop of Horrors, Oct. 26-29 at the Majestic.
Circle Theatre: I’m Proud of You, Oct. 26-Nov. 11.
Onstage now:
The Dallas Opera: Tosca, through Saturday.
Stolen Shakespeare Guild: The Miser, through Saturday.
Stolen Shakespeare Guild: Antigone, through Sunday.
Soul Rep Theatre: What Fits Inside a Human Heart, through Sunday.
Rover Dramawerks: Bernhardt/Hamlet, through Oct. 28.
Second Thought Theatre: Anne-Tig-Uh-Knee, through Oct. 28.
Dallas Theater Center: The Rocky Horror Show, through Oct. 29 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.
Hip Pocket Theatre: The Fly, through Oct. 29.
Mesquite Arts Center: The Play that Goes Wrong, through Oct. 29.
Theatre Three: Lizzie the Rock Musical, through Oct. 29.
Upright Theatre: Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, through Oct. 29.
Lakeside Community Theatre: Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, through Nov. 3.
The Classics Theatre Project: The Crucible at the Addison Theatre Centre, through Nov. 4.
TINA tickets go on sale Friday
Broadway Dallas and Broadway Across America (BAA) announced that tickets for the national tour of TINA – The Tina Turner Musical will go on sale Friday, October 20. The show runs for 16 performances from Jan. 23 to Feb. 4 as part of BD’s Germania Insurance Broadway Series. Performances will be held at the Music Hall at Fair Park.
Produced by Stage Entertainment, James L. Nederlander and Tali Pelman, in association with Tina Turner herself, TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL was written by Tony Award nominee and Pulitzer Prize winner Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins. The production is directed by Tony Award nominee Phyllida Lloyd with choreography by Tony Award nominee Anthony van Laast.
The North American touring cast is led by Ari Groover (TINA Broadway, Head Over Heels, Holler If Ya hear Me, Little Shop of Horrors) Parris Lewis (Hairspray) who will evenly share the role of the singer, each playing four (of eight) performances a week. Deon Releford-Lee stars as Ike, Roz White as Zelma Bullock, Wydetta Carter as Gran Georgeanna and Sarah Bockel as Rhonda.
Click here for more information and tickets.
Echo Theatre’s staged reading series opens next week
Echo Reads, a free staged reading series by Echo Theatre will feature two finalists and one of the winners from its 2023 Texas Shout Out Playwriting Competition for BIPOC women+ Texas writers. The series opens Oct. 24 and runs through Nov. 8 with shows on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
In the series, directors lightly rehearse readings with professional actors who carry their scripts as they perform for the audience. After each performance, the audience can stay to casually discuss the play with the cast and crew.
Here is the Echo Reads schedule:
Oct. 24: El Rey del Pollo by Anna Skidis Vargas. A Shakespearean telenovela about Reymundo Lear retiring from his fried chicken empire features a hungry old man, essential oils, a giant chicken suit, and all the family drama you can eat. Directed by Bethany Mejorado at Arts Mission Oak Cliff.
Oct. 25: El Rey del Pollo at Bath House Cultural Center.
Oct. 31: Delivery by Jelisa Jay Robinson. Three Black and Brown high school seniors compete for a space in the end-of-year poetry competition as they navigate living in the hood, police brutality, and the adventures of being a teenager. Directed by Richard Quadri at Wild Detectives Bookstore.
Nov. 1: Delivery at Bath House Cultural Center.
Nov. 7: the secret keepers by Erin Malone Turner. Trudging through life at The Right Path Academy is a group of high school seniors in this Southern gothic, coming-of-age pla. During their last semester at the run-down boarding school, nightmares plague the the group, shadowy figures appear, skeletons tumble out of closets, and one of the teens goes missing. Directed by Sasha Maya Ada at Bath House Cultural Center.
Nov. 8: the secret keepers at Stoney’s Wine Lounge.
All readings start at 7:30 p.m. Performances are free but $10 suggested donations are welcome.
High demand anticipated for Texas Ballet Theater’s The Nutcracker following sold-out season opener
Texas Ballet Theatre’s ‘The Nutcracker’ by Ben Stevenson. (Courtesy photo)
After selling out recent Dracula performances, Texas Ballet Theater (TBT), North Texas’ premiere professional ballet company, anticipates high demand for its holiday production of Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker. The ballet tradition will begin its run next month in both Dallas and Fort Worth. Tickets are already selling faster than in previous seasons.
“The speed at which tickets for Dracula sold indicates a growing enthusiasm for our productions,” Vanessa Logan, TBT Executive Director said in a press release. “We expect The Nutcracker to follow suit, especially given its seasonal popularity and sold-out performances last year.”
I went to the production and it was clear that there were many new to the ballet experience. A high-quality show and talent mixed with the appeal of the story itself likely engaged a new audience-base for future productions. Win-win.
Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker is scheduled Nov. 24 to Dec. 3 at The Winspear Opera House and Dec. 8-24 at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth.
“This production embodies the magical spirit of the holiday season, complete with captivating choreography and timeless music. It’s an experience that brings joy to audiences of all ages,” Tim O’Keefe, Artistic Director staed.
“We urge our patrons to secure their seats early, especially those interested in key dates or specific seating arrangements,” added Vanessa Logan, Executive Director.
For tickets, click here.
Season subscriptions now open for Theatre Arlington
TA announced its subscription packages for its new season. The company offers three packages for a variety of show options. Plus, subscribers have exchange privileges in the event they need to reschedule from their original date.
TA’s subscription packages are:
Gold Package: 8 tickets for $240;
Silver Package: 8 tickets for patrons ages 65+ for $200;
Club Series Package: 10 tickets to Comedy Club, Club Cabaret and Play Reading series for $100.
Subscriptions ordered before Dec. 15 will include an extra Club Series ticket to any package as part of TA’s Early Bird Special.
Review: Rover Dramawerks’ Bernhardt/Hamlet puts female empowerment in the spotlight
Back in the day, like the late 1800s, Sarah Bernhardt was the Meryl Streep of the time. Deemed the greatest actress, she was also a provocateur and perhaps none more than her endeavor to stage William Shakespeare’s most famous play Hamlet playing the titular character. This would mark the first time a woman would play the role. This is the basis for playwright Theresa Rebeck’s play Bernhardt/Hamlet, a fictionalized telling of the actor’s theatrical intent.
Rover Dramawerks opened the show last Thursday with Janette Oswald serving as director and Carol M. Rice as Bernhardt. The story itself was a certain study of the actor, but it was hard to ignore its relevance to conversations today about equality and empowerment. In the center was this esteemed female actor surrounded by men who either doubted her or acquiesced to her. In the play, men surround her all the time whether through admiration or indignation.
Of the play’s Hamlet cast, Brian Hoffman’s Constant Coquelin was certainly on Team Sarah. As the experienced Shakespearean actor, Hoffman radiated both Constant’s self-importance and the underlying comedy of the show. He had wonderful animated energy which served the character’s big presence throughout scenes onstage and back.
Playing Sarah’s love interest, the married playwright Edmond Rostand, Jorge Martin Lara gave a beautifully understated performance. At times, his own stage voice was a bit soft and hard to hear, but as the show went on, that played to his favor as the calm and conflicted Rostand. His performance was a tender one that played nicely off of Rice’s louder Bernhardt.
Chuck E. Moore was much fun to watch as the artist Alphonse Mucha who painted Sarah’s likeness. His side eye game was on point with judgy irrelevant looks, but he was certainly committed to the character’s Czech dialect. Rebeck sometimes didn’t know what to do with the character in her story, but Moore took advantage of his extended stage time with clever gravitas. He was often a riot without ever being the comic relief which only added another layer to his part.
These characters surrounding Sarah and Rice were ideal for the show’s center. She exuded pride and power with undertones of doubt as her character questioned her own motives. But her strength and resilience was glorious as the character navigated the men in her life and any adversity they dealt her. Rice was onstage nearly the entire time with hefty dialogue (not to mention Shakespeare’s words as well) and she deftly pulled off the marathon performance.
As theater critic Louis, Scott Hickman was wonderfully bitchy in his few scenes. As Rosamond, Edmond’s wife, Jenny Wood worked well as the other woman to the other woman. Her quiet power equaled Rice’s strength. Ian Grygotis played second act character Maurice, Sarah’s son. He brought a vibrant jolt to the play as the somewhat erratic adult-child.
Rounding out the cast/Hamlet cast was Marissa Mayfield’s Lysette who delivered the show’s steamiest girl-on-girl scene with Rice. Two snaps up for that. Sean M. Lewis and Alexander de la Cruz-Nunez played Francois and Raoul but also the show’s comedy duo. In scene, they were dim-witted fun, but keep an eye on the two’s scene change action, because even without the spotlights, they were brilliant.
But the show did spark the notion of women claiming their power and not letting it go. In the midst of that, Sarah had to also dodge all the attacks and criticisms while also having an affair. There were layers here in the story that gave the play an added richness that still speaks to today.
Bernhardt/Hamlet runs through Oct 28 at the Cox Playhouse in Plano.
–Rich Lopez
