Theater Critic Picks

Best of 2018-19 get standing O from Dallas-Fort Worth theater critics

It was a strong season for women in Dallas-Fort Worth theater, not just acting-wise but also directing, music directing, writing, designing, leading, and playing musical instruments.

That made it that much harder for the eight critics of the DFW Critics Forum to narrow down our choices for the best of 2018-19. There was much debating, much lobbying, only a little name-calling (kidding), but eventually we finalized our list.

Not everyone's picks made it through the voting process, which needed either more than 50 percent of the votes or a unanimous decision if only two or three critics had seen the production. Look for personal favorites not included here to pop up in critics' end-of-year lists.

Without further ado, here are the awards:

Outstanding Direction:

Tim Bond, Sweat, Dallas Theater Center
Kelsey Leigh Ervi, Everything Is Wonderful, WaterTower Theatre
Joel Ferrell, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Circle Theatre
Jonathan Fielding and Brenda Withers, Artist Descending a Staircase, Amphibian Stage Productions
Alex Organ, Incognito, Second Thought Theatre
Mara Richards Bim and Tim Johnson, Crossing the Line, Cry Havoc Theater Company and Kitchen Dog Theater
Christie Vela, What We Were, Second Thought Theatre
Ashley H. White, Ghost Quartet, Imprint Theatreworks

Outstanding New Play or Musical

Crossing the Line, ensemble of Cry Havoc Theater Company
penny candy, Jonathan Norton, Dallas Theater Center
Jo & Louisa, Isabella Russell-Ides, WingSpan Theatre Company
What We Were, Blake Hackler, Second Thought Theatre

Outstanding Performance by an Actor

Chad Cline, Raptured, Theatre Three
Sonny Franks, The Cake, Uptown Players
Blake Hackler, Twelfth Night, Dallas Theater Center; and Drunk Enough to Say I Love You & Here We Go, Second Thought Theatre
David Meglino, In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), Imprint TheatreWorks; and Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika, Uptown Players
Steven Pounders, Everything Is Wonderful, WaterTower Theatre
Christopher Llewyn Ramirez, Sweat and Twelfth Night, Dallas Theater Center
Drew Wall, Incognito, Second Thought Theatre

Outstanding Performance by an Actress

Betty Buckley, Hello, Dolly!, Dallas Summer Musicals
Sarah Gay, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Circle Theatre
Ana Hagedorn, Steel Magnolias and The Wolves, Dallas Theater Center; and The Armor Plays: Cinched & Strapped, Theatre Three
Lindsay Hayward, Fur, Teatro Dallas
Jennifer Kuenzer, In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), Imprint Theatreworks
Laura Lites, Disaster!, Uptown Players
Shannon McGrann, The Cake, Uptown Players; Raptured, Theatre Three; Incognito, Second Thought Theatre; A Doll’s House, Part 2, Stage West
Christine Sanders, Artist Descending a Staircase, Amphibian Stage Productions; and Obama-ology, Jubilee Theatre
Lucy Shea, Bright Star, The Firehouse Theatre
Sally Nystuen Vahle, Sweat and Steel Magnolias, Dallas Theater Center

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast

Bright Star, The Firehouse Theatre
Crossing the Line, Cry Havoc Theater Company
Ghost Quartet, Imprint Theatreworks
Incognito, Second Thought Theatre
Men on Boats, Circle Theatre
penny candy, Dallas Theater Center
What We Were, Second Thought Theatre
The Wolves, Dallas Theater Center

Outstanding Touring Production

Aladdin, Dallas Summer Musicals
Hamilton, Dallas Summer Musicals
Hello, Dolly!, Dallas Summer Musicals
The Play That Goes Wrong, AT&T Performing Arts Center
Unveiled, WaterTower Theatre

Outstanding Design or Creative Contribution

Vonda K. Bowling, music direction, The Ballad of Little Jo, WaterTower Theatre
Aimee Hurst Bozarth, pianist and musical associate, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Circle Theatre
Design team, Artist Descending a Staircase, Amphibian Stage Productions
Design team, Everything Is Wonderful, WaterTower Theatre
John M. Flores, sound design, What We Were, Second Thought Theatre
Olivia de Guzman, music, and Justin Locklear, lyrics, Doom McCoy and the Death Nugget, Ochre House Theater
Rusty Jones, scenic design, Babette’s Feast, Amphibian Stage Productions
Justin Locklear, score, Elwood, and puppet design, Doom McCoy and the Death Nugget, Ochre House Theater
Kelly McCain, choreography, Bright Star, The Firehouse Theatre
Adam C. Wright, music direction, Ghost Quartet, Imprint Theatreworks

Special Citations

To Katherine Owens (1957-2019), co-founding artistic director of Undermain Theatre, for groundbreaking work in experimental theater and excellence in producing modern classics, staging 35 world premieres in 35 years, and seeding the ground for the birth of exciting new companies in North Texas over the past three decades.
To Cora Cardona, founder and former artistic director of Teatro Dallas, for introducing North Texas audiences to writers from the Spanish-speaking world, giving emerging theater artists a home, creating the International Theater Festival, and keeping alive the legacy of Teatro Dallas.
To Joanie Schultz for her brief but significant contributions during her tenure as artistic director of WaterTower Theatre (December 2016–December 2018), including championing female directors, playwrights of color, and other inclusive initiatives; encouraging new works; and reinvigorating the DFW theater scene.
To Mara Richards Bim, Tim Johnson, Cry Havoc Theater Company, and Kitchen Dog Theater for creating Crossing the Line, a thorough and compelling look at the immigration controversy devised through extensive research that included a trip to the border to gather facts and opinions from a wide range of sources. Bim and Johnson edited hundreds of pages of interview transcripts into a narrative that delved deeply into the immigration issue.

Participating Critics

Lindsey Wilson, CultureMap
Janice L. Franklin, TheaterJones.com
Jan Farrington, TheaterJones.com
Martha Heimberg, TheaterJones.com and Dallas Weekly
Arnold Wayne Jones, Dallas Voice
Mark Lowry, TheaterJones.com
Manny Mendoza, Dallas Morning News
Jill Sweeney, TheaterJones.com

Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum is an organization of professional, paid critics that recognizes outstanding theatrical contributions in North Texas. Members see 40 or more productions per season (Sept. 1-Aug. 31) and are not practicing theater artists.

Cry Havoc Theater Company and Kitchen Dog Theater collaborated on Crossing the Line, about the border crisis.

Photo courtesy of Kitchen Dog Theater

Cry Havoc Theater Company and Kitchen Dog Theater collaborated on Crossing the Line, about the border crisis.

awards theater music bests

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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