Fall Into Great Theater

These are the 8 can't-miss shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for September

Even though it doesn't feel like it, autumn is coming. And along with the falling leaves and pumpkin-spice everything there's a veritable avalanche of theater. A lot of good stuff is opening this month, so get your calendar sorted now.

Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical, September 2-October 11
Dallas Theater Center
I'm going to throw some words out, and you put them together, ok? Justin Guarini. Hee Haw. Bloodhounds. Grammy-winning country songwriters. Kornfield Kounty.

Somehow, all these things fit together in the new musical Moonshine, which has also drawn in some Broadway talent to strum the story of Misty Mae, a small-town girl with big-city dreams. Or something like that. Whatever Moonshine ends up being — besides yet another "K"-themed country musical — we're promised "a love story so deep it's fried."

Into The Woods, September 4-13
Lyric Stage
Saw the movie? Cool, cool. But now you can see this twisted fairytale mash-up live and onstage, with a 30-piece orchestra and all sorts of theater magic happening right before your eyes, instead of in a film editing room.

A host of DFW theater favorites are cast as storybook characters Jack (of beanstalk fame), Cinderella's nasty stepsisters, the handsome princes, and Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother. If you're not familiar at all with Stephen Sondheim's darkly beautiful masterpiece, this is the way to see it.

The Dumbwaiter, September 11-October 10
Kitchen Dog Theater
Kitchen Dog's first production in its temporary home is a killer — literally. Harold Pinter's The Dumbwaiter focuses on two hit men waiting in a basement for their next assignment.

Putting Pinter's famous long pauses to good use are KDT co-artistic director Christopher Carlos and Michael Federico, making this two-hander a can't-miss.

The Mountaintop, September 16-November 15
Dallas Theater Center
What if, on the night before he was assassinated, Martin Luther King Jr. was relaxing in the Lorraine Motel when a mysterious woman showed up with room service? Katori Hall's 2011 drama uses Dr. King's "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech as a springboard for a fictional meeting, one which may or may not influence history.

DTC company member Hassan El-Amin stars as Dr. King, with SMU graduate Tiana Johnson portraying Camae, in this 90-minute exploration of justice, history, and legacy that's staged in the intimate Studio Theatre.

Matilda the Musical, September 23-October 4
AT&T Performing Arts Center
Kids in theater can sometimes be unpredictable, but the ones who perform in the stage adaptation of the Roald Dahl book are very special indeed. The buoyant musical about a stubborn, magical little girl who loves to read got the big, splashy Broadway treatment (and West End before that) a few years ago, and now it's set to charm audiences across the country.

Also worth mentioning? The outrageously fun adult characters, including Matilda's crass parents and her intimidating schoolmistress, Miss Trunchbull.

The Droll, September 23-October 17
Undermain Theatre
With The Droll, it might feel as though Undermain is taking some of its most successful aspects from the previous season: a play by Meg Miroshnik (her The Fairy Tale Lives of Russian Girls ran last November), a world premiere (Tomorrow Come Today flourished after bowing here), and direction by Blake Hackler (his steering of The Flick made the three-hour play one of last year's best).

But the subtitle of this one is Or, a Stage Play About the END of Theatre, which should clue you in that even though it might seem familiar, it will be an entirely new experience.

Murder For Two, September 24-26
Off Broadway on Flora
Two men, 90 minutes, dozens of characters, and one murdered novelist. The Off Broadway hit is a little bit vaudeville, a little bit Agatha Christie, and a whole lot intriguing.

Following in the footsteps of quick-change thrillers The Mystery of Irma Vep and The 39 Steps, Murder For Two

Falsettos, September 25-October 18
Runway Theatre
The hashtag for this production is #FamilyHappens. It's fitting, since the dysfunctional clan, for all their problems, manage to show they care by meddling. If this sounds like a downer, it's not.

James Lapine (who also wrote the book for Into The Woods) and William Finn have imbued the musical with witty lyrics and lines, making the characters as neurotic as they are natural — and entertaining.

Michael Federico and Christopher Carlos star in The Dumbwaiter for Kitchen Dog Theater.

Kitchen Dog Theater presents The Dumb Waiter

Photo by Matt Mrozek

Michael Federico and Christopher Carlos star in The Dumbwaiter for Kitchen Dog Theater.

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Theater News

Dallas' Kitchen Dog Theater unveils powerful 2026-2027 season lineup

Photo by Cameron Cobb

Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas will put on three mainstage productions for their 2026-2027 season.

Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas has revealed the lineup for the 2026-2027 season, featuring a slate of plays that boasts power players like kings, prime ministers, space force commanders, and would-be presidents.

According to a release, the theater company's 36th season — their "most powerful yet" — will consist of three mainstage productions at its new permanent home in the Design District, as well as the annual New Works Festival, featuring a readings series and the 26th annual D-PAC PUP (Playwrights Under Progress) Fest.

The season will start with The Absentee by Julia Doolittle, running September 10-October 4, 2026. The play was the winner of the 2019-2020 Woodward/Newman Drama Award.

Far out in the Milky Way, “Beacons” serve as lighthouses for warping spaceships around the galaxy. When a U.S. Space Force ship explodes in the galaxy, the Operator finds herself alone in deep space, with only her ship’s AI for companionship. That is, until a persistent canvasser calls, desperate to convince her to vote absentee in the 2088 election.

As the Operator waits for the clean up to be over, she finds she has to come to terms with her isolation, grief, and her political voice.

The season's second production comes four months later, with Equivocation by Bill Cain, running February 4-28, 2027. In 1605 England, a terrorist plots to assassinate King James I and blow Parliament to kingdom come. Shagspeare (after a contemporary spelling of the Bard's name) is commissioned by the prime minister, to write the “true historie” of the plot. And it must have witches — the king wants witches.

But as Shag and the acting company of the Globe investigate the plot, they discover that the king's version of the story might, in fact, be a coverup. Shag and his actors are confronted with the ultimate moral and artistic dilemma. Speak truth to power and perhaps lose their heads? Or take the money and lie? Is there a third option? Equivocation?

A high-stakes political thriller with contemporary resonances, Equivocation gallops from the great Globe to the Tower of London to the halls of Parliament to the heart of Judith, Shag's younger daughter, who finds herself unexpectedly at the very heart of the political, dramatic and — ultimately — human mystery.

The final mainstage production of the season comes at the 2027 New Works Festival with Black Republican by KDT Artistic Company Member Jamal Gibran Sterling, running June 3-27, 2027.

Originally featured as a Staged Reading in the 2026 New Works Festival, the ambitious first play by Sterling centers on a Black Republican candidate on the national stage who finds his campaign threatened by an activist who challenges everything he claims to stand for. Their battle exposes uncomfortable truths about race, politics, and the stories we tell ourselves.

In addition to Black Republican, the 2027 New Works Festival will showcase four staged readings of some of the newest and most exciting Texas-based playwrights. Each reading will feature accomplished Dallas-Fort Worth actors and directors to highlight the breadth of talent in the area.

The final part of the festival is D-PAC PUP (Playwrights Under Progress) Fest, featuring six staged readings of jury-selected plays written by Dallas-Fort Worth high school students and featuring student actors directed by area professionals. PUP Fest is the culmination of Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership with Dallas ISD and Junior Players.

Kitchen Dog Theater offers two season subscription packages for their inaugural season in their new facility. The Kitchen Dog package includes a ticket to all three mainstage productions for any performance date for $90+ $8 fees for adults and $75 +$8 fees for students and seniors (ages 65+). The Saver Dog package includes a ticket to all three mainstage productions for Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays only. It is $60 + $8 fees for adults and $45 + $8 fees for students and seniors.

Both packages grant full access to the Staged Reading Series and PUP Fest. Subscribers also receive premium reserved seating for in-person performances, as well as subscriber-only discounts on additional single tickets, 2026 special events, and KDT merchandise.

Subscription packages are on sale now, and single tickets for each show will go on sale on Monday, August 24, at kitchendogtheater.org.

design district kitchen dog theater new works festival performing-arts plays theater