Pride kept us busy so I’m working to get back on track with our theater coverage and calendar. A holiday weekend may be just right to ease back in. And as you know…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 Beacon Theater: La Gringa, today-July 11.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: King Arthur & Merlin: A Tale of Sword & Sorcery, today-Aug. 22.
Allen Philharmonic: America 250!, 8 p.m. July 4 at Watters Creek Village.
Onstage now:
Echo Theatre: The Roommate, through July 4 at the Bath House Cultural Center.
Art Centre Theatre: Princess Bride: The Parody, through Sunday.
Stage West: Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Ghost Machine, through Sunday.
Allen Contemporary Theatre: 1776, through July 12, pictured.
The Firehouse Theatre: Shrek the Musical, through July 12.
Theatre Three: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, through July 12.
Shakespeare Dallas: Merry Wives of Windsor, through July 19 at Samuell-Grand Amphitheater.
The Core Theatre: Ruby Tuesday, through July 19.
Meow Wolf: Phenomenonaly, through Aug. 8.
Hopeful Theatre Project to present Cinderella benefiting Ronald McDonald House
The Hopeful Theatre Project continues its mission of helping area charity organizations through theater. HTP announced its next production will be Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Directed by HTP Artistic DirectorJessica Holt, the musical will run July 31-Aug. 2 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.
For this production, Seventy-five percent of each ticket sold will benefit Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth and Dallas.
A magical retelling of the fairy tale about kindness, courage and the power of believing in a better world. Filled with notable R&H songs and a heartfelt message about compassion and bravery, the musical celebrates how acts of kindness can change lives and help dreams come true.
To date The Hopeful Theatre Project has raised more than $93,000 for local charities.
“We are hoping to hit that $100,000 milestone with this show. Theater lovers can not only have a magical experience with this beloved show but also help families just by buying a ticket,” Holt said in a press release.
For more information, visit TheHopefulTheatreProject.com.
Dallas Black Dance Theatre names its new executive director
In early June, Dallas Black Dance Theatre (DBDT) named Kristie Patton Foster as its next executive director following a nationwide search led by Board Chairman Jack Skinner and a five-member committee of nonprofit and civic leaders. Advised by Michael M. Kaiser, President Emeritus of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and former executive director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Arts Consulting Group conducted the nationwide search.
“This is an important moment for DBDT as we prepare to begin our 50th anniversary,” Skinner said in a press release. “Kristie stood out during a highly competitive national search because of her leadership experience, fundraising success and ability to build strong relationships across communities. She understands the history of this institution to Dallas and is the right leader to help guide DBDT into its next chapter.”
Foster brings more than two decades of nonprofit leadership experience spanning donor cultivation, board governance, operations and strategic planning. Most recently, she provided executive leadership support to The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc. the national civic and advocacy organization.
Previously, Foster served as executive director of The Links, Incorporated and The Links Foundation, Incorporated, one of the nation’s most prominent organizations for Black women focused on service, education and civic engagement.
Not a stranger to the North Texas’ nonprofit and civic community, Foster previously worked for the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and the VHA Health Foundation in Irving. Throughout her career, she has spearheaded record-breaking fundraising campaigns, overseen capital projects and managed muti-million-dollar organizational budgets while implementing measures of cost efficiency.
“The Dallas Black Dance Theatre has long been one of the nation’s most respected cultural institutions, and I have admired the organization’s impact for many years,” Foster stated. “As DBDT approaches its historic 50th anniversary season, I look forward to working alongside the board, artistic leadership, dancers, staff and community partners to build on its extraordinary legacy while expanding community engagement, strengthening partnerships and supporting the organization’s long-term future.”
This 2026/27 season marks 50 years of DBDT that begins with entirely new leadership. In 2025, Richard A. Freeman was named the company’s artistic director. DBDT recently announced its new season of shows.
Watch the season announcement video below:
Review: Retro glitz meets bad behavior with high stakes laughs in T3’s Scoundrels
This damn heat may keep you inside, but be sure it’s inside Theatre Three mainstage for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. This lush, glossy-glittered production not only finishes out T3’s season but marks the debut of noted Music Director Vonda K. Bowling as director. Sharply directed and astonishingly acted by a to-die-for cast, DRS is pure jackpot.
The production leaned into a decadent 1970s vibe with French Riviera-casino air that oozed from every inch of the stage and costuming. There was even a mini-jumbotron with opening credits and a dapper onstage band led by tuxed-up Music Director Cody Dry. This first impression was a clear preview of what was to come. A colorful spectacle filled with eye and ear candy.
And somehow – it was even more than that.
The story centers on the sophisticated Lawrence, a conman with an impressive resume of scamming rich women out of their fortunes and the scruffier, unpolished hustler Freddy who’s ventured onto Lawrence’s French Riviera turf. As the two discover each other, Freddy looks to up his game under Lawrence’s wing.
As they schmooze the women of the opulent seaside commune Beaumont-sur-Mer, the two both set their sights on Christine Colgate. In a bet to swindle the American Soap Queen, a recent arrival, the two begin to struggle with stuff like emotions and feelings.
The cast was nothing short of dynamic led by the troika of James Crawford, Parker Gray and Christina Austin Lopez as Lawrence, Freddy and Christine (Lopez also plays Jolene, a rich Oklahoma native set on marrying Lawrence) . The three anchor the show’s high-energy humor bolstered by equally impactful performances by Ryan Michael Friedman as Chief of Police Andre and Mary Gilbreath Grim as the wealthy Muriel fixated on Lawrence.
Lawrence clearly had it going on thanks to Crawford’s distinguished silver fox performance. He carried the role with worldly appeal. A bit of elegance, a relaxed humor with notes of uptight frustration were the right ingredients for the character and Crawford juggled all those facets with ease.
Lopez was wonderfully feisty as Jolene, a role that begs for an over-the-top booming performance which she gifted the audience with in abundance. She then down-shifted into the less loud Christine, a young woman out of her element amid the wealth and style of her surroundings. Lopez kept unpacking Christine revealing a tender charm and comic physicality.
Whatever Parker Gray channeled for his performance as Freddy should be bottled and sold – or it could be illegal. His high-octane performance was ridiculously relentless. He succeeded in playing up Freddy’s cringey, creepy smarm but with magnetic charisma that was pure genius.
With all that energetic personality, Grim and Friedman balanced out the action just enough. Grim served up lovelorn to a tee with the humorously romantic-driven Muriel. Friedman’s performance as the Chief of Police Andre was pristine. The role felt genuine through his entire physicality but mostly his face. No one possibly gives better side-eye onstage right now than Friedman.
The ensemble consisted of Sophie De Youn, Steven Rios and Mark Tam Quach (also assistant choreographer), all who prance in and out for a variety of glorious dance numbers through an endless parade of characters.
Music Director Cody Dry and his four players delivered a strong soundtrack to the cast’s energy and hijinks. Grim and Lopez’s vocals were stellar in their respective numbers under Dry’s direction. How Dry and Gray turned “Great Big Stuff,” a song I always considered lackluster, into one of this year’s highlights onstage was pure magic. Kelly McCain’s choreo was equally infectious and befitting as an extension to the show’s comedy.
There’s no surprise that Bowling would deliver a show that felt fully realized and so polished. But also, it was an awesome revelation to see this side of her directing talents come alive. The show moved like a dance weaving in and out of beats effortlessly.
Jeffrey Schmidt’s set and projections were a shiny and colorful knockout combined with Nicole Iannaccone’s intricate light design, the look of DRS was a party from start to finish.
Bowling and T3 legit delivered a summer theater blockbuster on the mainstage with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. A show to escape the heat, escape the news and dive into for some much deserved glitz and glam. The top-tier talent here makes a big impression that’s gonna leave a mark.
The show runs through July 12.
–Rich Lopez