For its 2015-2016 season, Dallas Theater Center is going both big and small, as its upcoming slate includes three world premieres, new versions of classic pieces and productions that use a variety of performance spaces.
The season comprises eight total productions, starting with the world premiere of Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical, playing in Potter Rose Performance Hall at Wyly Theatre from September 2 through October 11.
The musical comedy, written by country singers Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, is loosely — and lovingly — based on the Hee Haw TV series. It tells the story of Misty Mae, the ultimate hometown girl whose adventures in the big city are quite the shock to her country family.
Running concurrently in the Studio Theatre at the Wyly is The Mountaintop, from September 16-November 15. Much like the recent Selma, the play, written by Olivier Award-winning playwright Katori Hall, attempts to take stock of Martin Luther King Jr. as a man instead of unassailable legend, taking place the night before he was assassinated.
Next up is DTC’s annual rendition of A Christmas Carol, running at the Wyly from November 25-December 26. The holiday classic is likely to remain somewhat familiar to those who have seen the production in recent years, but they do promise a new actor in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge and a few other surprises.
In an unusual move, DTC has another show running during the holidays and beyond with Clarkston, at the Studio Theatre from December 3-January 31, 2016. Another world premiere, Clarkston is a new play by MacArthur Foundation Fellow Samuel D. Hunter that loosely explores the modern-day legacy of Lewis and Clark.
The first show to start in 2016 is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, playing at the Kalita Humphreys Theater January 27-February 28. The story of two star-crossed lovers and their warring families is one of the most-told tales in history — but also one that remains as relevant today as it was hundreds of years ago.
DTC’s spring 2016 production is All the Way, the regional premiere of the Tony Award-winning play about President Lyndon B. Johnson. Houston’s Alley Theatre and DTC are joining forces and sharing actors to bring to life LBJ’s turbulent time in the White House. It runs March 3-27 at Potter Rose Performance Hall.
The season’s third and final world premiere, Deferred Action, runs April 20-May 15 at Potter Rose Performance Hall. Written by Dallas playwrights David Lozano and Lee Trull, the play centers on young, undocumented Latino immigrants called Dreamers as they search for a place in the country to which they were brought to live at a young age.
The play is the result of a collaborative project between Dallas Theater Center and Cara Mia Theatre Co. It also blends the two organizations’ resident acting companies for the first time.
To wrap up the season, DTC turns to the classic musical Dreamgirls, running June 10-July 24, 2016, in Potter Rose Performance Hall. Those who’ve only had a chance to see the musical through the Oscar-winning film adaptation will delight in this new production that follows girl group The Dreams on their path to superstardom.
Subscriptions for the full season, which do not include A Christmas Carol, go on sale on Monday, February 9, for as little as $126. Subscriptions can be purchased online at DallasTheaterCenter.org or by calling the AT&T Performing Arts Center box office at 214-880-0202.
Single tickets for all productions will go on sale closer to each individual show.
Country artist Shane McAnally teams up with Brandy Clark to write the world premiere musical comedy, Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical.
Former President George W. Bush painting in his Dallas studio.Photo courtesy of Crown Publishing