Texas in New York

Tony and Drama Desk award nominations put Texas in the spotlight

Theater award season fever has struck New York, but we are feeling the effects all the way down in Texas. The nominations for the Drama Desk Awards came out yesterday, and this morning theater-turned-TV stars Sutton Foster (Bunheads) and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family) announced who would soon be vying for a Tony Award. Shows with Texas ties showed up on both lists.

Productions from Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway are eligible for the Drama Desk Awards, which are voted on by theater critics, journalists, editors and publishers covering theater “without any vested interest in the results.” The ceremony will be held May 19 at The Town Hall (a nonprofit culture organization and performance venue) in Manhattan.

The Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards are a joint venture by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing and salute “excellence in Broadway theater.” The three-hour show will be broadcast live by CBS on June 9.

Below, a quick rundown of who’s in the hunt and how it relates to Texas:

Giant
Dallas Theater Center and New York’s The Public Theater co-produced the reworked musical version of Edna Ferber’s sprawling, Texas-set 1952 novel last January, and it made the jump to Off-Broadway in October. Now it leads the pack of Drama Desk contenders with nine nominations, including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics for Michael John LaChiusa, and Outstanding Book of a Musical for Sybille Pearson.

Kate Baldwin and John Dossett, who played Leslie Benedict and Uncle Bawley, respectively, during both the Dallas and New York runs, are up for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.

Ann
Holland Taylor is getting recognized by both groups for her turn as the late Ann Richards. The one-woman show about the charismatic former Texas governor — which she also wrote — has been playing on Broadway since March, following productions mounted in Galveston, San Antonio and Austin, as well as Chicago and Washington, D.C. Taylor is up for a Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play; she is a nominee for Outstanding Solo Performance at the Drama Desk Awards.

Bring It On: The Musical
Okay, so there are no Texans behind this show per se, but it did make a surprisingly well-received stop at Dallas Summer Musicals before hitting Broadway for a limited engagement in August. Dallas critics were pleasantly taken in by the show’s infectious music (by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Amanda Green and Tom Kitt) and high-flying choreography (by Andy Blankenbuehler).

The Tonys are recognizing both with nominations for Best Musical and Best Choreography. The Drama Desk Awards are doling out the love with noms for Outstanding Director of a Musical and Outstanding Choreography (both Blankenbuehler), Outstanding Lyrics for Green and Miranda, Outstanding Sound Design for Brian Ronan, and Outstanding Book of a Musical for Jeff Whitty.

Hands on a Hardbody
Even though it shuttered on the Great White Way earlier in April, the documentary-based musical about a yearly competition in Longview, Texas, where contestants see who can keep their hands on a pickup truck the longest, scored quite a few nominations. Besides one for Outstanding Musical, the Drama Desk bestowed eight others on the show, tying it with Giant for most nominations.

The rest are Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Keala Settle) and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Keith Carradine), Outstanding Choreography for Sergio Trujillo, Outstanding Book of a Musical for Dallas native Doug Wright, Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical for Steve Canyon Kennedy, Outstanding Music for Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green, Outstanding Orchestrations for Anastasio and Don Hart, and Outstanding Lyrics for Green (who’s having a killer awards season so far).

As for Tony nominations, Hands on a Hardbody weighed in with three: Best Original Score and Best Featured Actor/Actress in a Musical for Carradine and Settle.

Dallas Theater Center's co-production of Giant leads the nominations of Drama Desk Awards.

Giant was co-produced by Dallas Theater Center

Photo by Karen Almond

Dallas Theater Center's co-production of Giant leads the nominations of Drama Desk Awards.

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Music and Fashion

Miranda Lambert's 'Velvet Rodeo' wardrobe stars in new DFW exhibition

“Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo” at National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame

Photo by Tyler Conrad

“Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo” will open on November 7 at the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame.

Country star Miranda Lambert is bringing a bit of Las Vegas glamour and bling to North Texas. Her one-of-a-kind wardrobe from her "Velvet Rodeo" residency will go on display at the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame in Fort Worth when its new Icons Gallery opens November 7.

According to a release, the exhibition, called "Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo," was created in collaboration with Lambert, and will feature costumes from the singer's Las Vegas residency, which ran from September 2022 to April 2024.

Lambert said her inspiration came from an earlier visit to the Fort Worth museum, where she spotted historic Western pieces that she photographed and sent to her stylist, Tiffany Gifford. They combined those influences with the glitz of Elvis Presley's heyday to create the "Velvet Rodeo" wardrobe.

“Seeing these pieces now have a life beyond the stage as part of the Museum’s new Icons Gallery feels really full circle and special,” Lambert said in a statement.

Visitors will now have the opportunity to study garments usually seen in motion and under stage lights, appreciating the details that help transform clothing into an essential part of a performance.

The Icons Gallery is part of the Museum’s 16,000-square-foot expansion, which introduces new galleries and experiences that explore the accomplishments and influence of women of the West. The $19 million expansion features a new entrance facing Dickies Arena, new galleries including a photography gallery, an event space accommodating up to 250, and the new Cowgirl Carousel.

Miranda Lambert, right, with rodeo queens onstage at the 45th Cowgirl Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon at Dickies Arena. Photo by Ashley Gongora

Lambert, who was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2021, is an active mounted shooting competitor and horsewoman, giving her a connection to the West that reaches beyond her music. "Velvet Rodeo" brings together Lambert's identity as a cowgirl and her creative expression as a performer.

“Miranda’s confidence, determination and independence make her a wonderful representative of the women we honor,” says Pat Riley, executive director of the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame, in the release. “Opening our Icons Gallery with this collaboration celebrates her accomplishments while giving visitors a new way to connect with a cowgirl they know and admire.”

According to a museum spokesperson, the temporary exhibition will remain on display for at least one year; no specific end date was given.

In preparation for the expansion grand opening, the Cowgirl will be closed to the public beginning October 19 and will reopen November 7, with a members-only preview at 10 am and a public opening at noon.

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