Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music, dance, comedy and stage news, events, reviews and other pertinent information.
Stage Notes Calendar
Opening this week:
NTPA Repertory: Footlose, opened Thursday-Aug. 10.
McKinney Repertory Theatre: Barefoot in the Park, today-Aug. 16.
Rover Dramawerks: Murder at the Orient Burlesque, opened Thursday-Aug. 16.
Amphibian Stage: The Heart Sellers, or White Lies, today-Aug. 17.
Onstage in Bedford: Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood, opened Thursday-Aug. 17.
Lakeside Community Theatre: Carrie the Musical, today-Aug. 23.
Hip Pocket Theatre: Old Mother West Wind, today-Aug. 24.
The Classics Theatre Project: Glengarry Glen Ross, today-Aug. 31 at The Stone Cottage.
Broadway Dallas: Life of Pi, Tuesday-Aug. 17 at the Winspear, pictured.
Onstage now:
MainStage ILC: Noises Off, through Saturday.
Broadway at the Bass: Shucked, through Sunday at Bass Hall.
Repertory Company Theatre: Something Rotten, through Sunday.
Theatre Off the Square: Dorothy Meets Alice, through Sunday.
Uptown Players: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, through Sunday, pictured.
McKinney Repertory Theatre: Barefoot in the Park, through Aug. 9.
Runway Theatre: Kodachrome, through Aug. 10.
Theatre Frisco: Disaster! The Musical, through Aug. 10.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: Star Trip: A Tale of Two Captains, through Aug. 23.
Theatre Arlington expands its Walk of Fame with new names
With the opening of I’m Proud of You on Aug. 8, Theatre Arlington will add 10 new bronze medallions to its Walk of Fame. TA’s new honorees will be introduced at a reception that’s open to the public at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 8 in the theater’s lobby, followed by the opening night
performance of I’m Proud of You! based on the book by former Star-Telegram writer Tim
Madigan and adapted for the stage by Madigan and Harry Parker, Texas Christian University
theater arts professor. Parker also directs the play about Madigan’s longtime friendship with Mr. Rogers, famed children’s television host, after Madigan wrote a feature article about him.
The new honorees include (in alphabetical order):
David Coffee: A staple at Theatre Arlington, the actor has appeared in recent TA productions of Fly by Night, On Golden Pond and Visting Mr. Green.
Cheryl Ford-Mente: Considered TA royalty, she has helped shape the theater’s mission both on and offstage. She was one of the executive directors for the Creative Arts Theatre & School (CATS). and has performed in more than 50 regional theater productions.
Jim Johnson: The baritone singer and actor has performed in TA’s Oliver!, Das Barbecue and Annie Get Your Gun.
Denise Lee: Considered the diva of Dallas cabaret, she is a recent addition to Theatre Arlington’s roster of talent as Baneatta Mabry in Chicken & Biscuits and has performed for TA’s Cabaret Series. She is also a playwright and her play, Funny, You Don’t Act Like a Negro, made its world premiere at Theatre Three.
Max Marquez: TA’s former technical director has taken his skills to Broadway. He has worked as head electrician for Hamilton after joining the show in 2018 as assistant electrician. He has worked on Broadway’s Billy Elliot the Musical, Dirty Dancing and Waitress and is currently workong on Purple Rain, a new musical about Prince.
Shannon McGrann: A TA audience favorite for her roles as Della in The Cake and Truvy in Steel Magnolias. She has also performed at Stage West, Dallas Theater Center and Theatre Three and on television in The Good Guys, Love & Death, and Taylor Sheridan’s 1923.
Addie Morales: She starred in TA’s youth productions of The Wizard of Oz and Beauty & the Beast. Now in her adult roles, she now stars in the national tour of Les Miserables.
Cathy O’Neal: She learned the ropes of stage managing at TA for 11 years and then went on to become a professional Actors’ Equity stage manager and worked regional theater for more than 20 years. She is now stage managing on Broadway twice as part of the teams for Broadway Backwards, the main fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Ira Steck: He has worked as the theater arts program director at Lamar High School for six years and brought his acting talent to Theatre Arlington as well as Stage West, Kitchen Dog Theater and Shakespeare Dallas. He founded Meadows Basement, an award-winning, critically acclaimed nonprofit theater company in Los Angeles.
Bryan Stevenson: Theatre Arlington’s technical director, lighting designer and sometimes director has designed at many area theater companies, including Fort Worth’s Shakespeare in the Park, Stage West, Jubilee and Circle Theatre. Nationally, he is known for his design work for the Boy Scouts of America National Conferences and shows. He is an active participant in the United Institute of Theatre Technology, where he has served on panels on lighting and scenic design.
The theater’s Walk of Fame was first unveiled with 21 honorees in 2023 as part of its 50 th anniversary celebration. The Walk recognizes artists who have been part of a Theatre Arlington production and gone on to do work beyond Arlington. TA’s previous honorees have worked on Broadway, awarded Grammys and Emmys and one is a New York Times bestelling author.
Dallas Black Dance Theatre announces its 2025/26 season Metamorphosis
On Friday, Dallas Black Dance Theatre (DBDT) announced its new season for 2025 and 2026. Titled Metamorphosis, the season will give five world premieres alongside celebrated works that explore transformation, discovery, and the power of human expression through dance. DBDT’s 49th season will launch in October.
“Metamorphosis examines the unstoppable forces of movement and expression as vulnerability becomes artistry, the familiar transforms into the unexpected, and dance reshapes our understanding of the world around us,” Interim Artistic Director, Richard A. Freeman Jr. said in today’s press release. “This season represents the collision of discovery and transformation that defines our artistic mission.”
The season will open with DBDT’s annual DanceAfrica celebration. This year marks a milestone as the company celebrates two decades years of the hosting Dallas’ DanceAfrica event. The landmark celebration, Legacy of the Drum: 20 Years of Rhythm and Roots, includes a full week of free community events, featuring an African dance class led by special guest artist SOLE Defined at DBDT Studios and the DanceAfrica Festival & Marketplace in Klyde Warren Park.
SOLE Defined is a Washington, DC-based company that combines body percussion, tap dance and sand dance to create immersive performances with original musical orchestrations, sound and digital media techniques. They have performed at venues such as The Kennedy Center, Jacob’s Pillow and The Lincoln Center.
DBDT’s full season includes:
Director’s Choice Series: CATALYST, Nov. 7-8 at Moody Performance Hall.
Behind the Scenes, a free event, Nov. 24-25 at DBDT Studios.
Black on Black, Dec. 5-6 at DBDT Studios.
Espresso Nutcracker, 7 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Majestic Theatre.
The Cultural Awareness Series: KALEIDOSCOPE, Feb. 13-15 at the Wyly Theatre.
Rising Excellence, April 17-18 at Moody Performance Hall.
Spring Celebration Series: PRISMATIC, May 15 and 16 at the Wyly Theatre.
Tickets are on sale now. All performances will be available in-person or via streaming. For tickets and performance details, visit DBDT.com.
Recent headlines
Book of Mormon actor found his theater community as an outsider and became an ally
Watch: Bernadette Peters gives a shout out to Dallas ahead of her August show
Cast members stress the importance of family in Uptown Players’ Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
–Rich Lopez