Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music and stage news, events, reviews and other pertinent information. We took an unintentional break last week.
Stage Notes Calendar
Opening this week:
Eisemann Center Presents: An Evening with Fran Lebowitz, 7:30 p.m. today.
Play On Shakespeare: Henry VI Part I, 7:30 p.m. today at Lake Highlands Church.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Ravel’s Boléro, today-Sunday.
Outcry Theatre: Jekyll and Hyde, today-Sunday.
Theatre Wesleyan: Next to Normal, today-Sunday.
Grand Prairie Arts Council: Nuncrackers, today-Nov. 24.
Theatre Three: Sleuth, today-Dec. 15 in Theatre Too, pictured.
Ballet Papillon: Unforgettable: Mesmerizing Moments, 7 p.m. Friday at the Latino Cultural Center.
Play On Shakespeare: Henry VI Part II, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Lake Highlands Church.
True North, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Music Hall at Fair Park.
Theatre Arlington: Club Cabaret: UTA Student Showcase, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday..
Bruce Wood Dance Dallas: Touch, Friday-Sunday at Moody Performance Hall.
Ballet Papillon: Unforgettable: Mesmerizing Moments, 2 p.m. Saturday at the Lewisville Grand Theater.
The Dallas Opera: Pépito, 2 p.m. Saturday at the Winspear.
Matteo Lane: Can’t Stop Talking, 6:45 and 9 p.m. Saturday at the Majestic Theater.
Allegro Guitar Society: Ziggy and Miles Johnson, 7:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Monica Catholic Church.
Chamber Music International: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church.
Play On Shakespeare: Henry VI Part III, 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Lake Highlands Church.
Matthew Whitaker and His Quintet, 8 p.m. Saturday at the Eisemann Performing Arts Center.
Plano Symphony Orchestra: Video Games Live!, 8 p.m. Saturday at Robinson Fine Arts Center.
Allegro Guitar Society: Ziggy and Miles Johnson, 2:30 p.m. Nov. 17 at Kimbell Art Museum.
Play On Shakespeare: Richard III, 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Lake Highlands Church.
Dallas Chamber Symphony: Liszt’s Malédiction, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Moody Performance Hall.
Onstage now:
The Dallas Opera: Pelleas and Melisande, through Nov. Saturday at the Winspear.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: Sweeney Todd the Fiend of Fleet Street, through Saturday.
Theatre Denton: Spring Awakening, through Sunday.
Ochre House Theater: Patti and Theo, through Nov. 23, pictured.
Teatro Dallas: Time Stands Still, through Nov. 23 at the Latino Cultural Center.
Theatre Frisco: Noises Off, through Nov. 24.
Art Centre Theatre: Anastasia the Musical, through Nov. 30.
Bruce Wood Dance Dallas launches its new season with new changes
This weekend will kick off the 15th year of Bruce Wood Dance Dallas. The company even begins the season with a new name. To reflect its deep connection to the city, the company added “Dallas’ to its name. The change comes just in time for its new 15th landmark season and honors the community it serves.
Along with its expanded identity, the company will present a premier at this weekend’s performances of Touch, Friday-Sunday at Moody Performance Hall.
“This season, we are thrilled to celebrate our 15th Anniversary with a series of exceptional initiatives that honor our legacy while forging new artistic paths,” Artistic Director Joy Bollinger said in a press release. “We are excited to introduce a Jirí Kylián masterwork into our repertoire. Kylián, one of the greatest contemporary choreographers of our time, profoundly influenced Bruce. His work has led to new artistic innovations worldwide.”
The company will perform “Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen” (“Songs Of A Wayfarer”) by world–renowned choreographer and former artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater, Jirí Kylián as well as the “Dvorák Serenade” by American choreographer Lar Lubovitch and the return of Bruce Wood’s riveting audience favorite, “RED.”
“Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen” is a signature Kylián work. Set to a score by Gustav Mahler, this contemporary ballet features five romantic duets focused on themes of love, tenderness and the sorrows of separation.
Like Lubovitch, Jirí Kylián is an internationally acclaimed and multi–award–winning choreographer.
His honors include Officer of the Orange Order–Nederlands, Honorary Doctorate from Juilliard School New York, three Nijinsky Awards, and Commander of the Legion d’Honneur–France, among many others. His works have been performed by major dance companies around the world including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Paris Opera Ballet.
Lubovitch has close ties to BWDD. Wood performed in his company before striking out on his own and Lubovitch has brought his works to BWDD, most notably last year’s gala performances of the world premiere of his “Conversing with Brahms” and the Dallas premiere of “Concerto Six Twenty-Two,” a piece that Wood himself was part of that Lubovitch created and debuted in 1986 as a response to the AIDS epidemic.
For tickets, click here. See the full season of shows here.
Review: Galloway proves her powerhouse talent in WaterTower’s ‘The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe’
For a one-actor show, playwright Jane Wagner crafted a lengthy, complex and wordy play that could be considered cruel and unusual. The play has a multitude of characters, a hefty amount of physicality and a perpetual storyline that ties its parts into one big picture. The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe debuted in the 80s with Lily Tomlin (Wagner’s wife). WaterTower Theatre launched its new season with the show that stars Marianne Galloway who pretty much killed it with a grand and glorious performance in this demanding show.
Upon first impression, Kae Styron’s scenic design depicted a bustling New York street corner. Traffic signs, a building facade, and a spiral staircase leading to a second-level scaffolding filled the stage, creating an ambiance that already felt beyond the boundaries of a static performance. The impressive set conveyed a dynamic nature from the get-go.
Bryant Yeager’s lighting added to the bleak environment but also gave it pops of brightness, particularly in the second act which shifts to a California narrative.
The line of continuity in the show is the “bag lady” Trudy with her scruffy twangy voice and itchy demeanor was portrayed by Galloway. The entire first act was primarily this character’s ramblings that were nonstop pieces of a bigger puzzle. Other characters were interesting, but Trudy was the steward of this ship. Galloway traipsed throughout the stage in a distinct posture that felt damaged but also happy-go-lucky while she carried the weighty monologues with ease as if driving a smooth luxury car over a gravelly road.
The second act felt far more interesting than the first as Wagner added a number of characters with scenes calling for as many as four in one scene (at my best count). Galloway effortlessly weaved her way in and out of each character, often volleying dialogue with herself at a nanosecond’s turn. Like, damn woman!
To say the performance was something else doesn’t do Galloway’s work justice. Her portrayal was otherworldly good. She dug deep to deliver characters that were fully realized each with pronounced characteristics, dialects and inflections. The second half touched on this capsuled synopsis of the feminist movement and Galloway missed no beats in serving up her jigsawed monologues from each person into a cohesive scene.
Under Ashley Puckett Gonzales’ direction, the play and Galloway’s magnificent performance were characterized by varied pacing that harmonized with the evolving setting. The swift tempo mirrored the Bag Lady’s persona, while the intellectual and feminist scenes unfolded with measured grace. This dynamic pacing sustained the show’s momentum throughout its nearly three-hour duration.
The material’s longevity since its mid-80s debut was questionable. Though Wagner’s comedic writing intended to evoke some laughs, the focus on a homeless woman kinda lent a somber tone to the play. Additionally, the fascinating exploration of feminism in the second half was belittled by the tragedy of one of the characters and the ultimate frustration of womanhood as portrayed by Wagner’s words.
That being said. Galloway didn’t linger on these notions, but painted her characters with a richness that always gave them a humanity.
The Search for Intelligent Signs in the Universe runs through Sunday.
Pegasus Theatre announces big but not the best news for its annual tradition
Around this time of year, fans of the Living Black and White shows might be making reservations for New Year’s Eve with Pegasus Theatre. The company’s annual show run with a New Year’s Eve performance is Dallas tradition. But this year, plans will have to change in case you were planning on attending.
In its almost 40 year tenure, the company made this announcement for just the third time that it will not have a LBW show as part of its season. Earlier this week, the company dropped this on its socials.
Read the notice below:
–Rich Lopez