Classical Music

Broadway star and new conductor lead way in Dallas Symphony season

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra's 2019-2020 season will include the first extended look at music director designate Fabio Luisi, appearances by big names like Bernadette Peters and the Indigo Girls, and more.

Luisi will lead the DSO in five programs during the 2019-20 season before officially becoming music director in the 2020-21 season, the orchestra announced February 8. Luisi will open the Classical Series on September 12-15, returning for additional appearances in January and February, and twice in April during the SOLUNA Festival. This will include a full opera-in-concert, Richard Strauss’s Salome, on January 31 and February 2, 2020.

Bernadette Peters headlines the DSO's Pops Series. Having recently starred in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway, Peters will perform hits from the Great White Way on January 24-26, 2020. The Pops Series will also feature appearances by pop duo the Indigo Girls, February 21-23, 2020, and trumpeter Chris Botti, March 13-15, 2020.

The season will also be a 30th anniversary celebration of the Meyerson Symphony Center, which opened on September 6, 1989. There will be a special 30th anniversary concert on September 4, with all tickets being $10, as well as an Open House on September 14 and a free concert by The Dallas Symphony Chorus on September 22. There will be other special anniversary events throughout the season.

Movies in Concert is among the most popular programs for the DSO, and this season will include four movies for audiences to enjoy. They include Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back as the first official event of the season, August 30-September 1; The Nightmare Before Christmas, October 31-November 3; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, November 27-December 1; and Coco, June 19-21, 2020.

The DSO's gala concert will feature violin superstar Joshua Bell joining the orchestra for Brahms' beloved Violin Concerto, September 28, 2019. Guest conductor Christian Reif will make his DSO debut.

Luisi will not be the only new face in town this season. Newly appointed Principal Guest Conductor Gemma New will make her DSO debut on November 8-10, and return for the annual New Year's Eve Concert and on March 6-8, 2020.

Her debut appearance will coincide with the DSO's new Women in Classical Music Symposium, running November 6-9, which is part of a multi-year project to highlight the role of women in classical music and to create more opportunities for female representation in the field. New will be one of six female conductors taking the stage through the 2019-2020 season.

Subscriptions for the 2019-2020 season are now on sale. They include new packages like a six-concert option that gives subscribers a 50 percent discount, and Fab Fridays, a three-concert package featuring a more relaxed atmosphere of concerts performed without intermissions and a free drink voucher included with the ticket. Special packages can be purchased by calling 214-TIX-4DSO, while all others can be done online at mydso.com.

Bernadette Peters will appear with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, January 24-26, 2020.

Photo by Andrew Eccles

Bernadette Peters will appear with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, January 24-26, 2020.

Season Announcement

Kitchen Dog Theater unleashes immersive 2025 season in new Dallas space

Kitchen Dog Theater presents Safe at Home

Photo by Jordan Fraker

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Seven years after announcing it had purchased a building in the Design District, Kitchen Dog Theater is finally ready to move into its new home.

The third and final production of its 2025 season — the theater company's 34th — will take place all around the new "Doghouse." The other two productions will follow the immersive format at non-traditional performance spaces that was established last season.

With three fully produced events that each run the gambit from captivating and gutsy to heartfelt and hilarious, the monthly New Works Festival Staged Readings Series returns, as does the 23rd annual PUP Fest, nurturing high school talent from all over DFW.

First up is the area premiere of Will Eno's Wakey, Wakey, directed by KDT's artistic director Tina Parker and starring KDT co-artistic director Christopher Carlos.

"Is it now? I thought I had more time." These first words in Will Eno's play are spoken by Guy, a man who knows, like all of us on some level, that he is about to die. The play questions why we are here and the journeys that everyone takes to eventually get to the same place. Performances will take place at Expo Park, 840 Exposition Avenue, and run February 7-23, 2025.

Production No. 2 is full of mystery: The title and performance location will be announced soon and run in March/April 2025.

The Happiness Gymby Ken Weitzman closes out the season in August 2025 (exact dates TBA).

This regional premiere is a joyous, experiential event based on the science of well-being. Participants take part in a curated theatrical experience meant to boost their sense of happiness, joy, and feelings of connection. This one-of-a-kind project will be the soft opening to Kitchen Dog’s new theater and will take place all over the entire facility, giving patrons unparalleled access to KDT’s new home.

From March to July 2025, the 26th annual 2025 New Works Festival will showcase four-to-five staged readings of the newest and most exciting local and regional playwrights working in contemporary theater today. Each reading will feature some of DFW's most accomplished actors and directors and will take place at different venues across DFW.

For its 23rd annual event, PUP Fest will feature six staged readings of jury-selected plays written by DFW high school students, featuring student actors directed by area professional directors. PUP Fest is the culminating event of Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership with Dallas ISD and Junior Players. Performance location is TBA, but the event will happen June 7, 2025.

For more information, visit kitchendogtheater.org or call 214-953-1055.

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