FILE: The Turtle Crrek Chorale in rehearsal. The chorale will present a concert centered on Matthew Shepard in November. (Courtesy photo)
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:
Fever: Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics, , 6:45 and 8:45 p.m., today at Frontiers of Flight Museum.
Theatre Brookhaven: 4.48 Psychosis, today-Sunday in the Black Box.
Oak Lawn Band: Americans We – Illuminating Diversity, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Latino Cultural Center.
Bombshell Dance Project: Flies, Friday and Saturday at the Wyly Studio Theatre.
Theatre Denton: Barefoot in the Park, Friday-Nov. 3.
The Core: The 39 Steps, Friday-Nov. 10.
Garland Civic Theatre: Blithe Spirit, Friday-Nov. 10.
Richardson Theatre Centre: Anatomy of a Murder, Friday-Nov. 10.
Artisan Center Theater: Peter and the Starcatcher, Friday-Nov. 16.
The Dallas Opera: The Three Little Pigs, 2 p.m. Saturday at the Winspear.
Ballet Ensemble of Texas: Dracula: Ballet with a Bite!, 6 p.m. Saturday at Coppell Arts Center, pictured.
Theatre Arlington: Club Cabaret, 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Dia de los Muertos, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Echo Theatre: Echo Reads: The Taming, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Bath House Cultural Center.
Onstage now:
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra: Jane Glover Conducts Mozart, through Friday.
Circle Theatre: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, through Saturday.
Lakeside Community Theatre: Lend Me a Chainsaw, through Saturday.
Pegasus Theatre: Tales from a Late Night Kroger, through Saturday at the Bath House Cultural Center.
Second Chance Players: Next to Normal, through Saturday at Frisco Discovery Center.
Bishop Arts Theatre: Patches: A Black Gay Man’s Journey to the Moon, through Sunday, pictured.
Casa Manana: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, through Sunday.
Mesquite Arts Theatre: Frankenstein, through Sunday.
NTPA Repertory: The Rocky Horror Show, through Sunday at Willow Bend Center of the Arts.
Repertory Company Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors, through Sunday.
The Dallas Opera: La traviata, Saturday and Sunday at the Winspear.
Art Centre Theatre: The Rocky Horror Show, through Nov. 2.
Artstillery: The Life of AFJ, through Nov. 2.
Second Thought Theatre: hang, through Nov. 2.
Upright Theatre: Amityville ‘74, through Nov. 2.
Amphibian Stage: The Amazing, Fabulous and Spectacular Untruths of Juan Garcia, through Nov. 3.
Dallas Theater Center: Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, through Nov. 3.
Firehouse Theatre: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, through Nov. 3.
Hip Pocket Theatre: Metamorphosis, through Nov. 3.
Stage West: What the Constitution Means to Me, through Nov. 3.
Theatre Three: Carrie: The Musical, through Nov. 3.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: Sweeney Todd the Fiend of Fleet Street, through Nov. 16.
Turtle Creek Chorale drops video teaser for upcoming concert
Ahead of its next concert, Considering Matthew Shepard, TCC released a trailer of sorts that includes some of the singers’ perspectives as well as words by artisitic director Sean Baugh.
TCC’s combined ensembles will present GRAMMY-nominated composer Craig Hella Johnson’s oratorio, Considering Matthew Shepard, with special guest artists from Cathedral of Hope and The Women’s Chorus of Dallas.
From TCC:
Inspired by the 1988 murder of a young gay man, Matthew Shepard, renowned conductor Craig Hella Johnson composed this compassionate and evocative musical response that fills audiences with hope and joy. Heartbreaking in its honesty and hopeful in its prophecy, this performance will combine theater, narration, and a soulful score, astonishing you with its beauty and power.
The concert will be held at Cathedral of Hope on Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available here.
Watch the trailer below:
UTA presents classic Bernstein musical with 1940s working women front and center
UT Arlington Department of Theatre Arts and Dance will present On the Town, the musical comedy that follows three American sailors on a 24-hour shore leave in New York City during World War II. Romance, comedy and dance are found among the city’s landmarks. The musical is based on an idea by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The show runs in UTA’s Mainstage Theatre from Nov. 6-10.
The show is directed and co-choreographed by J. Austin Eyer, music directed by Vicky Nooe, co-choreographed by Sarah Fagan, and designed by UTA faculty, staff, and Theatre, Arts and Dance students.
UTA’s production showcases women in the workforce. In the 1940s, women held a third of all manufacturing jobs during WWII, and more than 86,000 women served in the Navy as WAVES.
“Our production of On the Town is the same script you may have seen onstage before. However, the casting or representation of characters is meant to reflect the people of New York City and the students in our department” Eyer said in a press release.
Landon Blanton, a senior plays the role of Chip. “I think what makes this production so exciting is the breaking of expectations that’s being done. This rehearsal process has taught me how to open my eyes to new possibilities.”
“Even though On the Town is considered a traditional musical comedy, our department purposefully brings complex discussions and interactions to historical texts to examine how their themes can resonate with students here on campus.”
For tickets, visit utatickets.com.
Ahead of this weekend’s concert, OLB announces fundraising record
North Texas Giving Day was good to Oak Lawn Band this year. (Photo via Facebook)
In a recent press release, Oak Lawn Band announced it had shattered its fundraising record during North Texas Giving Day lsat month. The organization raised more than $90,000 which is now its most successful campaign in all its 44 years.
“We’ve successfully funded the monthly costs of existing,” Band President Jonathan Harvey said in the release. “The instrument donations are a huge boon because now we can spend that money elsewhere, such as technology, storage, insurance and trips to perform outside of Dallas.”
To break it down, OLB’s September drive raised $25,288 in cash from more than 200 contributors. The band also received instrument donations valued at $67,827 that included both brass and percussion families. In comparison to last year, donations increased by 200 percent.
OLB has also experienced unprecedented growth in the last three years.
Membership has tripled, with more than 160 registered musicians making up four performance groups: symphonic band, marching band, pep band and jazz band. To accommodate its growth, OLB has moved to the Sammons Center for the Arts, a historic Dallas institution supporting local artists, for its rehearsals.
With their costs covered for its 2024/25 season, the band can put any future donations toward its future growth. The organization has also discussed waiving membership fees because of its donor generosity.
“It’s a future consideration we hope will help encourage more musicians to join us,” Harvey added.
The Oak Lawn Band recently performed at Pride Frisco Fest earlier this month and will present its Fall Symphonic Concert, Americans We: Illuminating Diversity on Friday at the Latino Cultural Center.
Tickets are available here.
ICYMI
Review: DTC’s Dracula turns the dial up on fabulous, fun farce
Fort Worth native to livestream annual Halloween concert on Broadway
Review: Amphibian’s Juan Garcia brings comical joy through a hot mess of characters
Actor continues his relationship with Next to Normal at Second Chance Players
–Rich Lopez