Theater Critic Picks

These are the 11 can't-miss shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for February

February's a short month, so that just means you've got to really make a plan when it comes to your theatergoing calendar. There are firsts and finals from which to choose, along with local revivals and national tours.

Here are the 11 shows to see, in order by start date:

A Chorus Line
Uptown Players, February 2-4
Local choreographer/director Jeremy Dumont has freshened up this musical theater icon, with all-new moves and a cast of young and lithe dancers who pull back the curtain on showbiz life during one grueling audition. Uptown is moving from the Kalita Humphreys Theater to the Moody Performance Hall for this one, and rumor has it that tickets are very, very scarce.

Frankenstein
Dallas Theater Center, February 2-March 4
DTC has enjoyed a partnership with the SMU Meadows School of the Arts when it comes to its grad students, but this is the first production where undergrads are also getting in on the action. Director Joel Ferrell points out that Mary Shelley was only 18 when she wrote her novel, and he sees the youth of this cast as an asset. And it's not just the cast: graduate student Amelia Bransky designed the set.

Three Sisters
Undermain Theatre, February 7-March 11
Acclaimed playwright Sarah Ruhl translates Chekhov's classic, about the daughters of a revered commander of a Russian military outpost who yearn to return to their cosmopolitan home in Moscow. With a five-week extended run, Undermain artistic director Katherine Owens leads a cast that includes Shannon Kearns, Jenny Ledel, Joanna Schellenberg, Bruce DuBose, Justin Duncan, and David Meglino.

We're Gonna Die
Jake Nice, February 8-10
DFW got a taste of Young Jean Lee's pop concert/autobiographical lament in 2017, when Jake Nice presented it before one of the closing performances of Lee's Straight White Men at Second Thought Theatre. He went on to mount it at other places around DFW, with local musician Sammy "Rat" Rios as the Singer, who returns for this engagement through the Elevator Project.

Thurgood
Bishop Arts Theatre Center, February 8-25
In partnership with Jubilee Theatre, which presented the show last February, this timely production examines the life of civil rights activist Thurgood Marshall, who, prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, worked as a lawyer for the NAACP. Still. Timely.

Her Song
Echo Theatre, February 9-24
It's the final year for this music and dance revue, which transports audiences back in time to a 1930s supper club for an evening of drinks, food, dancing, and songs from female composers of the early 20th century.

Cyrano
Amphibian Stage Productions, February 9-March 4
Playwright and actress Kate Hamill (perhaps you caught her adaptation of Pride and Prejudice at WaterTower Theatre last October?) stars as Roxane in this five-person adaptation of Edmond Rostand's famous love triangle. The "fast-paced romp" by Jason O’Connell and Brenda Withers challenges its actors to play characters of all genders, types and ages.

The Woman Who Knew Too Much
Ochre House, February 10-March 3
Company member and associate producer Kevin Grammer has penned and directed this troupe's latest original play, a "fantasy noir musical" about a woman who awakens with no memory ... but there's a very real possibility she might be an undercover spy.

Chicago
Performing Arts Fort Worth, February 16-18
Slick you hair for the national tour of this Kander and Ebb musical about celebrity culture, which is even more relevant now than when the play it's based on was first published in 1926. A wannabe starlet kills her lover in cold blood, then fights for both her freedom and more time in the press, all while surrounded by stunning dancers doing Bob Fosse's slinky choreography.

Gog and Magog: Two Clowns Trapped in Hell
Cara Mía Theatre, February 23-March 11
Husband-and-wife team David Lozano and Frida Espinosa Müller star as two clowns trapped in Hell’s kitchen, and their only hope of escape is cooking the perfect meal for God. The world premiere is co-produced with Prism Movement Theater (Jeffrey Colangelo directs), and is a wordless comedy in the tradition of Mump and Smoot and the Three Stooges.

On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan
Dallas Summer Musicals, February 27-March 11
Based on the life story of seven-time Grammy-winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, 19-time Grammy-winning producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan, this musical is a catalog of their chart-topping hits. If you feel like doing the conga to "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You," "1-2-3," "Get On Your Feet," "Mi Tierra," "Don't Want To Lose You Now," and, yes, "Conga," there will be no judgment here.

We're Gonna Die gets another turn in the spotlight, thanks to the Elevator Project.

Photo courtesy of AT&T Performing Arts Center

We're Gonna Die gets another turn in the spotlight, thanks to the Elevator Project.

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arts news

Dallas' Crow Museum of Asian Art names new curator ahead of second outpost opening

Crow Museum curator Natalia Di Pietrantonio

Photo by Natali Wiseman

Newly announced curator Natalia Di Pietrantonio.

The Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas has found its new curator. Natalia Di Pietrantonio, Ph.D., hails from the Seattle Art Museum and was selected after a nationwide search.

There, she served as inaugural curator of South Asian art, caring for the museum's South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Islamic art collections while also serving as an affiliate art history faculty member at the University of Washington.

Di Pietrantonio arrives just as the Crow Museum is preparing to debut a second museum next fall.

Designed by global architecture firm Morphosis, the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Athenaeum is being constructed as part of a 12-acre cultural district on the UT Dallas campus.

Over the next year, the 38-year-old curator will work closely with architects, interior designers, academic faculty, and museum staff to select the artworks that will be on view when the new museum opens its doors. She will also guide the 10,000 square feet of gallery space at the original Crow Museum, which was founded in 1998 and is in the downtown Dallas Arts District.

In addition, Di Pietrantonio will serve as a faculty member in the arts department at UT Dallas.

“Natalia brings a wonderful vision, a fresh and energetic perspective, and a proven track record in elevating Asian American art and culture in compelling ways,” says Amy Lewis Hofland, senior director of the Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas. “With her background in South Asian and Islamic art, she also will help build the Crow Museum of Asian Art collection, strengthening it to better reflect the growing diversity of our region.”

A first-generation Mexican American whose first language was Spanish, a release says that "Di Pietrantonio brings over 10 years of professional and academic experience, ranging from highly lauded museum exhibitions and university cultural events to innovative collaborations and unique community outreach experiences."

From 2014-15, she served as a Jane and Morgan Whitney Fellow for the Islamic department at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. She is multilingual and speaks Spanish, Persian, Urdu and English.

At the Seattle Art Museum, she harnessed her expertise of modern and contemporary art to curate two diverse exhibitions: "Embodied Change: South Asian Art Across Time" (January 2022), which focused on the body and female representations in South Asia; and "Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water" (March 2022), which addressed climate change and water access.

During her tenure at the Seattle Art Museum, she grew their South Asian collection by 25 percent. She also was the lead curator on the mid-career retrospective of the performance artist Anida Y. Ali that debuts in January 2024.

Recognizing that North Texas has one of the fastest-growing Asian American populations in Texas, Di Pietrantonio is excited to pursue exhibitions and programs that are topical both locally and globally to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. She also intends to bring performance art into the cultural mix at the Crow Museum.

"As the Crow Museum embarks on a new era with a second museum on the horizon, I am honored to be part of its storied history known for dynamic and innovative exhibitions and programs,” says Di Pietrantonio. “My first major goal is to learn more about the North Texas region — from UT Dallas students and museum supporters to neighborhood organizations and our increasingly diverse populations — so I can help align and tailor the museum programs for its communities.”

In 2018, Di Pietrantonio completed her Ph.D. in the history of art at Cornell University, studying under the contemporary artist Iftikhar Dadi with a focus on calligraphy and book arts. Prior to that time, she received a master’s degree in South Asian studies from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of California, Davis. It was during her years at UC Davis that a dynamic professor introduced her to Islamic art and ignited her interest.

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Theater Critic Picks

These are the 11 can't-miss shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for February

We're Gonna Die gets another turn in the spotlight, thanks to the Elevator Project.

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Dallas' Crow Museum of Asian Art names new curator ahead of second outpost opening

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