Southern Fried Politics

Addison theater becomes first in DFW to partner with national streaming service

Jenna Caire, Kimberly Michelle Thomas, and Leslie Collins star in The Taming.

Photo by Jerry Walker

Many theater companies turned to streaming options in the wake of the pandemic, but WaterTower Theatre is the first in Dallas-Fort Worth to partner with national streaming service Broadway on Demand.

Founded in 2020, Broadway on Demand offers "an extensive and wide-ranging library of video-on-demand content, exclusive live stream events, interactive platforms, and educational resources."

The Addison-based WaterTower Theatre is presenting its current production of The Taming by Lauren Gunderson, which is directed by Cheryl Denson and stars Kimberly Michelle Thomas, Leslie Collins, and Jenna Caire.

It was performed in-person October 13-24, and will stream on-demand through October 31.

"We are so proud to have this opportunity to share the work of this incredible cast, production team, and creative team with a national audience on Broadway On Demand, and a huge thank you to Lauren Gunderson for allowing video streaming for this title," says WTT associate producer Elizabeth Kensek. "To be the first theater in DFW to have access to a national platform like this is incredible, and for a piece that I especially wanted to be a part of our 26th season is humbling."

Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, The Taming follows the reigning Miss Georgia, Katherine Chelsea Hartford (Thomas), as she kidnaps Patricia (Collins), a Republican senator’s campaign manager, and Bianca (Caire), a liberal activist fighting to protect the endangered pandashrew, and holds them hostage in her hotel room the night before the Miss America pageant. Why? Because she has just ditched her original Miss America platform (sunglasses for babies) and changed it to "rewriting the American Constitution."

“Rarely are shows so perfect for the moment in time, but this show is perfect for this exact moment," says Collins. "The political discussion in the show is exactly what is happening in the here and now, yet it spins the conversation in such a hilarious and delightful way that you can actually sit and listen to people talking about politics and not cringe and — maybe, actually — laugh at it all."

"I am fascinated by history and politics, and this piece dives into both with a great sense of humor, poking fun at all sides of the aisle, and cleverly questioning what the original signers of our Constitution actually did intend by having the actors play James Madison, George Washington, and Charles Pinkney at the top of the second act," says Kensek.

The video also features the option to add closed captioning, which is something that Kensek says she and WTT producing artistic director Shane Peterman fought to keep in place for any shows that we are able to stream.

Patrons can click on the CC button on the bottom right of the Broadway On Demand video player, and then select English, then the closed captioning will appear.

"Filming live theater is not a simple thing, and Alex Vorse and Travis Beverly at Shiny Box Pictures have been incredible collaborators, making sure that the director’s vision is fully represented in this theatrical capture," says Kensek. "Cheryl and I loved working with them during the editing process, and knew that the production was in very good hands."

You can reserve your streaming ticket here through October 31.

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Elon News

Dallas bookstore and publisher gets federal arts funding axed

Deep Vellum

Stack of books at Deep Vellum

A Dallas arts organization got its budget chopped by the federal government: Deep Vellum, the bookstore and publisher at 3000 Commerce St., lost a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant due to federal government budget cuts.

According to owner Will Evans, the award, which is granted annually, has been terminated as of May 31. The bookstore had received $20,000 for the past six years.

Deep Ellum started as a publisher in 2013 and opened their bookstore in Deep Ellum in 2015. Since then, they have become a center for literature lovers. Evans is a translator whose mission has been to translate the world’s best novels into English for American audiences.

Evans was notified on May 2 via an email that was reportedly sent to grant recipients nationwide. The note read:

"The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation's rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President. Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities."

The new priorities included projects that elevate the Nation's HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions, celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, foster AI competency, empower houses of worship to serve communities, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful, and support the economic development of Asian American communities.

The Grants and Public Affairs departments at NEA did not respond to a request for comment. On Monday May 5, the Literary Staff was laid off, and the agency is facing possible elimination entirely, as part of the 2026 Discretionary Budget Request presented to Congress on May 2.

This year's grant to Deep Vellum was earmarked to fund the translation, publishing, and marketing costs of four books:

Carapace Dancer by Natalia Toledo, translated from Zapotec, published trilingually with Spanish and English translations alongside the original, translated by Clare Sullivan
Juvenilia by Hera Lindsay Bird of New Zealand, making her US debut, illustrated by Dallas artist Gino Dal Cin
Schattenfroh by Michael Lentz, translated from the German by Max Lawton, a 1001-page masterpiece and English-language debut
The Ruins by Ye Hui, translated from Chinese by Dong Li, the English-language debut from one of China's most distinguished and independent poets

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency established by Congress in 1965 as a funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide anxd a catalyst of public and private support for the arts with the goal of advancing opportunities for arts participation and practice, according to their website.

In their last stats document updated in November 2024, their FY’24 budget was outlined as $207M (representing 0.03 percent of the total federal budget), with 80 percent of their budget supporting grants and awards to organizations and individuals across the country. They typically offer over 2,000 grants each year.

"It’s been a strange few days for us, and for countless other nonprofit publishers, magazines, and arts organizations," Evans said.

Despite the cut, Deep Vellum plans to continue to promote literacy through unique books translated to the English language.

“This is not going to imperil our future but it’s something we need to consider as we move forward. These books are extraordinary, and they add so much for readers and culture. We just need to find additional revenue to fund them," Evans said.

Evans was first to reveal the funding cut but a number of organizations across Dallas and Texas have seen similar cuts including Ballet North Texas, Flamenco Fever, Dallas Theater Center, and Bishop Arts Theatre Center, as well as a number of groups in Austin.

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