For its 2025-26 season, Lyric Stage is pairing a sweet transvestite with Civil War-era sisters, a dance hall hostess with harmonizing ghosts, and a whole bunch of divas with their much-deserved spotlight.
Now in its 32nd season, the nonprofit Lyric Stage is dedicated to the development and preservation of musicals, having produced more than 125 productions, which include 21 world-premiere musicals and two Off-Broadway shows.
Under the helm of newish artistic directors Tricia Guenther and Scott Guenther, four of its current shows will take place in its Lyric Studio Space near the Trinity River, with one at Moody Performance Hall in the Dallas Arts District.
First up (and just in time for Halloween) is The Rocky Horror Show — note the missing "Picture." This is the stage version on which the cult classic movie was later based, but don't worry, audiences are still encouraged to shout at the performers and throw toilet paper and other props.
Sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky.” It runs October 10-26, 2025 at Lyric Stage Studio and is not family-friendly.
For the holiday season, Forever Plaid - Plaid Tidings brings Francis, Jinx, Smudge, and Sparky back to Earth on the orders of Rosemary Clooney to put a little harmony into a discordant world.
Stewart Ross' musical is sprinkled with Christmas offerings and audience favorites, like the riotous three-minute-and-eleven-second version of The Ed Sullivan Show, this time, featuring the Rockettes, the Chipmunks, and The Vienna Boys Choir. It runs December 5-21, 2025, at Lyric Stage Studio.
For one night only, the Dallas Divas return just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Showcasing some of the most talented voices in Dallas, singing songs ranging from Broadway to pop, the performance is a Lyric Stage tradition. It is February 11, 2026, at Moody Performance Hall.
Inspired by Federico Fellini’s Night of Cabiria, Sweet Charity explores the turbulent love life of Charity Hope Valentine, a hopelessly romantic but comically unfortunate dance hall hostess in New York City.
With a tuneful, groovy, mid-1960s score by Cy Coleman, sparkling lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and a hilarious book by Neil Simon, Sweet Charity captures all the energy, humor, and heartbreak of Life in the Big City for an unfortunate but irrepressible optimist. The production is the original 1966 Broadway (not the movie version) with such hit songs as “Big Spender,” “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” “I’m a Brass Band,” and “Baby, Dream Your Dream.” It runs April 17-May 3, 2026, at Lyric Stage Studio.
Closing out the season is Louisa May Alcott's timeless Little Women, with a book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, and music by Jason Howland.
The musical follows the adventures of sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March. Jo is trying to sell her stories for publication, but the publishers are not interested in a woman's creativity. Her friend, Professor Bhaer, tells her that she has to do better and write more from herself. Begrudgingly taking this advice, Jo weaves the story of herself and her sisters and their experience growing up in Civil War America. It runs July 17-August 2, 2026, at Lyric Stage Studio.
Season tickets, which range from $40-$60, are available beginning July 1. Lyric Stage is located at 1170 Quaker St. in Dallas.