Actor Spotlight

BBQ devotee Luke Longacre returns to Fort Worth stage after Broadway detour

In the musical Greek comedy The Frogs, Luke Longacre played one of the bouncing amphibians opposite Nathan Lane on Broadway. Now he's gearing up to make his debut at Amphibian Stage Productions in The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged).

Longacre is no stranger to local, having appeared at Dallas Theater Center, Casa Mañana and WaterTower Theatre, but lately the University of Oklahoma graduate might be more recognizable to his students at Seguin High School in Arlington, where he teaches theater.

He recently took the time to fill out our survey of serious, fun and sometimes ridiculous questions.

Name: Luke Longacre

Role in The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged): Luke Longacre (and many other biblical characters)

Previous work in the DFW area: Slim in The Traveling Lady at Watertower Theatre; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Bass Hall; The Who’s Tommy at Dallas Theatre Center; Monty in Violet at WaterTower Theatre; Charlie in the Box in Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer at Casa Mañana; choreographer for The Jungle Book at Casa Mañana

Favorite song: “Breath of Heaven” from Amy Grant’s Home for Christmas album. I listen to this year-round.

Dream role: Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Favorite play(s): The Crucible

Favorite musical(s): West Side Story

Favorite actors/actresses: Robin Williams

Favorite food: Meat and potatoes! Steak is my favorite — and mashed potatoes with lots of butter!

Must-see TV show(s): Friday Night Lights, The Office and Joan of Arcadia

Something most people don’t know about you: I am afraid to speak in front of people.

Place in the world you’d most like to visit: New Zealand

Pre-show warm-up: A combination of physical and vocal. I start with calisthenics to get blood pumping. Then do some breath exercises (while rolling around on the floor), then vocal sirens up and down. Lip trills, then the “string breath,” which is where you pull at the imaginary string from your belly button and release your breath on an “ooo,” and it goes wherever it wants to go, and you have to follow it with your eyes until your breath runs out.

Then I usually do a few vocal scales and a bit more stretching. However, sometimes if I don’t have a lot of time, I just drink a Diet Coke.

Favorite part about your current role: The millions of things I get to do. I love the variety of the show. [I'm] not stuck in one type of role or character.

Most challenging part about your current role: No break time! I think the most time off stage I have is 30 seconds. It’s exhausting but tons of fun!

Most embarrassing onstage mishap: When I played the Production Tenor in Singin’ in the Rain at Granbury Opera House, I was wearing a tuxedo with a top hat and tails. They had added suspenders to my costume at the last minute. I had a quick change into them and decided not to put them over my shoulders.

I thought they were tucked into my pants, but when the audience started laughing when I went onstage (at me, not with me), I knew something was wrong. I came off stage and realized I had stepped into the suspenders and they were wrapped around my crotch.

Career you’d have if you weren’t a performer: News anchor

Favorite post-show spot: Dallas: Lucky’s Cafe. Fort Worth: Ol’ South Pancake House.

Favorite thing about Dallas-Forth Worth: The balance of community and family with culture and diversity. And I love me some Texas BBQ!

Most memorable theater moment: I was in the Broadway cast of The Frogs in 2006. Stephen Sondheim wrote the music back in the 1970s for the original production produced at Yale. For our production, he had written several new songs.

My most memorable moment was when he sang “Ariadne,” a song he had written for Nathan Lane’s character, in front of the entire cast on the first day of rehearsal. It was breathtaking to see a musical genius singing his own brand-new song no one had ever heard before. I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real.

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The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged) plays at Amphibian Stage Productions from July 11-August 11.

Brandon J. Murphy, Scott Zenreich and Luke Longacre in The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged).

The cast of "The Bible" at Amphibian Stage Productions

Photo by Daylon Walton

Brandon J. Murphy, Scott Zenreich and Luke Longacre in The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged).

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Dance Off

Texas ballet company turns Timothée Chalamet dig into genius promotion

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It was a shot fired from Austin that rang out around the art world: In a recent CNN/Variety Town Hall featuring actors Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey, Chalamet offered an assessment of ballet and opera that immediately went viral.

During the onstage conversation at the University of Texas at Austin, Chalamet said, "I don't want to be working in ballet or opera, or you know, things where it's like, 'hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore.' All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership."

Chalamet immediately seemed to experience a twinge of regret, awkwardly adding, "But um...damn, I just took shots for no reason." He also sang a note and hid his face behind the cards he was holding.

Stars of the art forms, from Andrea Bocelli to Misty Copeland, immediately began to leap (jeté, if you will) to the the defense of opera and ballet.

In a genius marketing move, Austin's hometown ballet company is taking the unique opportunity to turn a hot topic into a promotion for its next production: Ballet Austin is inviting anyone named Timothée, Timothee, or Timothy to claim a free ticket to its upcoming world premiere of Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles, running March 27-29 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.

"Timothée… you were in Austin? We were literally down the street," a Ballet Austin post says. "Austin has brisket. Austin has music. Austin also has ballet."

All Timothées and folks with similar names will have to do to claim a ticket is send a message to Ballet Austin on social media and show identification. Everyone else who wants to see the supernatural show where "the line between victim and villain blurs" will have to purchase a ticket ($25-$125) at balletaustin.org.

Ballet Austin Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles Ballet Austin isn't afraid to add some edge to classic stories. Photo courtesy of Ballet Austin

Even if Chalamet's words were dismissive, he's obviously not wrong about the relative distribution of public interest between the classical arts and major films like Marty Supreme, the late 2025 film he stars in and is busy promoting. The film's commercially successful release set a record for A24, an already renowned studio.

Chalamet brought up ballet and opera in service of a larger point about pacing in movies. He said he exists in a middle ground as a consumer between wanting to be drawn in early and being more patient as a film progresses. Ultimately, he juxtaposed Barbie and Oppenheimer with the classical arts, pointing out that if the masses want to go see a film, they will "be loud and proud about it" organically, without needing performers to advocate for the seriousness of the art form.

Coincidentally, there couldn't be a better counterpoint to this argument than Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles.

As the title suggests, the story follows historical figure Marie Antoinette as she chooses to become a vampire, seeking "power, immortality, and vengeance," according to a press release. It takes a somewhat silly premise and gives it dramatic gravitas, with an original score by Austin composer Graham Reynolds, who is known outside of classical circles and sometimes composes for movie soundtracks.

"For Ballet Austin, the moment is an opportunity to remind audiences that ballet isn’t fading away," says a release about the new promotion. "It’s evolving, drawing new audiences and continuing to thrive in creative cities like Austin."

If Chalamet really does fall in the middle of instant and delayed artistic gratification, this sounds like the perfect production to draw him in.

And perhaps Ballet Austin should add people named Matthew to their promotion, since McConaughey threw the younger star a bone after his momentary walk-back, saying, "That's not a shot — I hear what you're saying."

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Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this story.

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