Season Announcement

Disco divas dance into Dallas with AT&T's 2020-21 musical season

National tour of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical

(Donna) Summer takes over fall at the Winspear.

Photo by Nick Gould

Hot on the heels of Dallas Summer Musicals' announcement, the AT&T Performing Arts Center has released its 2020-21 season of Broadway plays and musicals.

Thanks to the partnership between the two organizations, DSM and ATTPAC are sharing two productions, both to be performed at the Winspear Opera House and treated as an add-on for ATTPAC subscribers.

"This season is a lineup of the newest, freshest, and most exciting shows out there," says Debbie Storey, president and CEO of AT&T Performing Arts Center. "Most of these productions are seeing their Dallas premieres, and all will be seen for the first time in the Winspear Opera House, the best stage for Broadway in North Texas."

It starts with Sister Act, the feel-good musical comedy based on the hit 1992 film. When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won't be a found: a convent. Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with both the rigid lifestyle and uptight Mother Superior. Using her unique disco moves and singing talent to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new life into the church and community but, in doing so, blows her cover. It runs August 11-16, 2020.

In the fall, it's all about Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. She was a girl from Boston with a voice from heaven, who shot through the stars from gospel choir to dance-floor diva. But what the world didn't know was how Donna Summer risked it all to break through every barrier, becoming the icon of an era and the inspiration for every music diva who followed. Three actresses play the role of musical icon Donna Summer at different points in her life as "Diva Donna," "Disco Donna," and "Duckling Donna," while an inexhaustible ensemble of almost entirely women tear up the stage. It runs September 15-20, 2020.

Heidi Schreck's What the Constitution Means to Me is a boundary-breaking play that breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans. Tony nominated for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, the play resurrects 15-year-old Heidi, who earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. It runs January 26-31, 2021.

Next, meet Jenna, a Waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage. Pouring her heart into her pies, she crafts desserts that mirror her topsy-turvy life. When a baking contest in a nearby county — and a satisfying encounter with someone new — show Jenna a chance at a fresh start, she must find the courage to seize it. Change is on the menu, as long as Jenna can write her own perfectly personal recipe for happiness with songs by Sara Bareilles. It runs May 4-9, 2021.

For the official season closer, everyone is invited to The Prom. The joyous Broadway hit is a new musical comedy about big Broadway stars on a mission to change the world and a love that unites them all. It runs June 1-6, 2021.

Subscriptions add-ons include Oklahoma! (December 9-20, 2020) and Hadestown (May 18-30, 2021).

The 2019 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival Oklahoma! has been reimagined for the 21st century. Stripped down to reveal the darker psychological truths at its core, Daniel Fish's production tells a story of a community circling its wagons against an outsider, and the frontier life that shaped America. Upending the sunny romance of a farmer and a cowpoke, this Oklahoma! allows the classic musical — and our country — to be seen in a whole new light.

Welcome to Hadestown, where a song can change your fate. Winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards including Best Musical, this acclaimed new musical by celebrated singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and innovative director Rachel Chavkin is a love story for today and always. Hadestown intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back.

Five-show subscription packages range from $155-$685, with the option to order Oklahoma! for $50-$130 and Hadestown for $50-$140. Information is available at www.attpac.org/broadway, by phone at 214-880-0202, or in person at the box office at 2403 Flora St.

music theater

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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