The national tour of ‘Funny Girl’ is now playing at Music Hall by Broadway Dallas. (Photos by Matthew Murphy)
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:
Broadway Dallas: Funny Girl, opened Tuesday–Aug. 18.
Festival of Independent Theatres: New and Improving, 7 p.m. today at Theatre Three.
Festival of Independent Theatres: All Delighted People, 8 p.m. today at Theatre Three.
Fair Assembly: King Lear, today-Aug. 17 at the Latino Cultural Center.
CenterStage Theatre Works: Alice by Heart, today-Aug. 18.
Firehouse Theatre: Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville, today-Aug. 25.
Onstage in Bedford: Ann, today-Aug. 18.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Hi, How Are You?, 7 p.m. Friday at Theatre Three.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Man on Man, Friday and Saturday at Theatre Three.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Spank Bank Time Machine, Friday-Sunday at Theatre Three.
Hip Pocket Theatre: Raft Project, Friday-Aug. 25, pictured.
Theatre Arlington: Big Fish, Friday-Aug. 25.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Mystery show, 4 p.m. Saturday at Theatre Three.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Lord of the Flies, 5 p.m. Saturday at Theatre Three.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Joseph Mara, 8 p.m. Saturday at Theatre Three.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Laura Lyman Pane and Mama Tried, 10 p.m. today at Theatre Three.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Selfie Conscious, Saturday and Sunday at Theatre Three.
Ochre House Theatre: Daddy’s Rabbits: A Cotton Tale, Saturday-Aug. 31.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Sarah Powell, 11 a.m. Sunday at Theatre Three.
Festival of Independent Theatres: Gods and Heroes, 2 p.m. Sunday at Theatre Three.
Onstage now:
McKinney Repertory Theatre: Forever Plaid, through Saturday.
Bucket List Productions: Long Day’s Journey Into Night, through Sunday at Lewisville Playhouse.
Resolute Theatre Project: The Way He Looks at You, through Sunday.
Theatre Coppell: Greater Tuna, through Sunday.
Theatre Denton: Towards Zero, through Sunday.
Theatre Frisco: She Loves Me, through Sunday.
Rover Dramawerks: Wrong Turn at Lungfish, through Aug. 17 at the Cox Playhouse..
Amphibian Stage: The Handless King, through Aug. 18.
Art Centre Theatre: Bat Boy the Musical, through Aug. 18.
Runway Theatre: Silent Sky, through Aug. 18.
Circle Theatre: Imposter! Hypocrite! Tartuffe!, through Aug. 24, pictured.
The Classics Theatre Project: True West, through Aug. 24 at the Stone Cottage.
Lakeside Community Theatre: Rent, through Aug. 24.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: Herbbits, Wizards and Borks, through Aug. 24.
Review: The Way He Looks at You looks at the harsh side of gay relationships
Daniel Vanegas and Mario Estep in Resolute Theatre Project’s world premiere of ‘The Way He Looks at You.’ (Photo via Facebook)
Playwright Trent Clifford discussed how a look at his own past relationship opened his eyes into writing The Way He Looks at You. While not an autobiographical play, he infused the tumultuous aspects he experienced during his first marriage. And in turning that into a play, he has opened a conversation gay men or queer people either don’t realize or don’t talk about.
In his play by Resolute Theatre Project, Clifford tackles domestic abuse that exists in two gay couples who are also friends with each other. Will and Christian are close friends while their husbands Jason and Brandon work together at university. The show looks at their lives apart and together when the two socialize at Will and Brandon’s house for dinner.
RELATED: Trent Clifford’s new play confronts abuse in same-sex marriages at Resolute Theatre Project
Directed by Amy Cave, the world premiere was a languid piece on its opening night last Friday at the venue Amy’s Studio in Farmers Branch. Paced in the middle between slow and relaxed, the play took its time in storytelling which helped establish the both couples’ relationships. Some quiet moments lingered a bit too long but allowable for opening night jitters. Cave’s direction let the story breathe while also crafting a hefty mix of scene changes that moved from house to house.
As best friends Will and Christian, Daniel Vanegas and Vermont Horner gave lovely portrayals of a deep friendship with the undertones of a buried desire for each other. Vanegas delivered many complex layers to Will that were relatable and sympathetic. A junior at UNT, Horner’s performance had remarkable depth for someone so young. These two characters were the target of abuse by their husbands and both never played their roles with any weakness. Instead, they were coping and dealing and found safety in each other and Vanegas and Horner brought all those notions into reality.
As the “bad guys,” Mario Estep and Jed Davis played Will and Christian’s problematic husbands respectively.
Estep’s performance was curious. His choice to play Brandon with an even keel felt one-note, but it also made it easy for the audience to really dislike the guy which was the point. I always wanted more from Estep, yet he succeeded in giving the audience a guy who elicited angry sighs and vocal frustrations.
Where Estep was understated, Davis was bubbling with energy as Jason. His portrayal started as a loving, doting and charming husband to Christian, but as the character expressed his needs and demands, Jason turned into someone much darker. Davis navigated this seamlessly and delivered a frighteningly manipulative performance.
The Way He Looks At You was a look at gay relationships rarely if ever seen depicted on stage and Clifford’s story succeeded in staying away from blatant archetypes by giving us rich characters with relatable facets. Will and Christian felt fully realized, but more background could have helped with Brandon and Jason. Nonetheless, the story and direction succeeded in presenting an evocative experience that was eye-opening and intense.
The show runs through Sunday.
Review: Funny Girl was a marvelous spectacle from start to finish
The national tour of Funny Girl has come to Dallas as part of Broadway Dallas’ season. The classic musical opened Tuesday, but Wednesday night’s performance was glorious and energetic, delivering a satisfying fresh take on a familiar story. The cast was strong, but the burden was on Hannah Shankman who carried it easily as the vaudeville legend Fanny Brice.
Shankman personified the role with conviction that made the show soar. She was easy to believe as both the budding star who relied less on looks and more on humor to the superstar with confidence to spare. Vocally, she was spectacular. Shankman was onstage for the majority of the show and displayed jaw-dropping vocal range with huge runs and rapid-fire lyrics. Shankman was equally arresting in all her big scenes as well as her tender, intimate ones mostly with Nick.
RELATED: Newly engaged, these two actors are also colleagues in Funny Girl
With his dashing looks, Stephen Mark Lukas was every bit the leading man as Nick Arnstein, a professional gambler and con man who immediately charmed Brice and became her husband. Lukas oozed charm that never gave away the character’s sketchy side. His chemistry with Shankman felt authentic that made the two characters quite striking together.
As Fanny’s first champion, Eddie, Izaiah Montaque Harris was delightful and exciting — particularly in his incredible tap dancing numbers. Eddie’s subtle desire for Fanny was also played beautifully by Harris. Grammy-winner Melissa Manchester played up the Jewish mother bit with sweet gusto and unrecognizable under her makeup and costuming.
Based on Isobel Lennart’s book, this revision by Harvey Fierstein was a strong homage to the source material. The story moved well with every scene pushing forward. The staging and choreography by Ellenore Scott and Ayodele Casel (tap) felt fresh and electric.
Funny Girl threw back to shows as pure entertainment. Take from the story what you will, but Fierstein didn’t try to incorporate anything new to distract from the spirit of the show. He kept the joy of the music and story alive with his own flair for some added punch and the result was a wholly entertaining musical that gave the audience a gorgeous experience.
The show runs through Aug. 18 at Music Hall at Fair Park.
–Rich Lopez