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    Theater Review

    Risk-taking Dallas company's vicious new play doesn't quite answer our prayers

    Lindsey Wilson
    Feb 19, 2016 | 9:13 am
    Kitchen Dog Theater presents I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard
    Kitchen Dog Theater's I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard runs through March 12.
    Photo by Matt Mrozek

    The two characters of I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard swill tepid Chardonnay while chewing the fat, cutting each other to the bone with their barbs.

    Halley Feiffer's incendiary new play, receiving its second-ever professional production courtesy of Kitchen Dog Theater, is as blunt and provocative as its title. Unfortunately it's still very rough around the edges, relying on its performers to wring themselves out in order for the play to amass any sort of heft.

    I first saw this show at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut two summers ago, and while I was (and still am) forbidden to write about that particular experience, I will say that I went into this mounting hoping for the necessary smoothing of an in-progress workshop production to have been done.

    Not so. It's still a brash, barely concealed rendering of Feiffer and her famous father, cartoonist Jules Feiffer, that is mostly shock and hardly any substance. Onstage the family is redrawn as Ella, an aspiring actress, and David, her cantankerous playwright dad.

    Without the knowledge of Feiffer's tumultuous relationship with her real-life father, that dimension disappears, and the audience is left to contend with only what it presented to them under the stage lights. Kudos to set designer Clare Floyd DeVries though, who hangs a cartoon of Nash amid his clutter as a nod to Jules.

    Lee Trull tries his darndest to draw more from the play than is there. As Ella, Jenny Ledel is a twitchy young woman who's eager to please, wound tight enough already without the coke and alcohol that David produces throughout their wine-soaked evening in his New York apartment. She's appearing as Masha (not Nina, David continually reminds her) in The Seagull Off-Broadway, and has holed herself up with him to await the New York Times' review.

    The play's title refers not to Ella or David, but to the critics David dismisses as needy and stupid. He's had a lifetime of being judged by others, which he colorfully regales to Ella when he's not reminding her of her "interesting" looks and wannabe talent.

    Barry Nash relishes David's nastiness, landing Feiffer's dialogue when it's cutting and pulling it along when it's dull. Ledel is relegated to self-conscious parrot for the first act, chirping "yes, yes!" and "ok! ok!" in response to her father's tales and proclamations. It's what slips out between words, in Ledel's eyes and through her body language — that of a kicked puppy — that makes Ella anything worth watching.

    In the second act, a nifty scene change and some unsettling lighting work by Aaron Johansen brings the play practically into our laps. Ledel and Nash continue giving their all, even though it feels like Feiffer gave up, relying on retreads to lead her two characters to a puzzling end. Perhaps this show still needs more time to grow up.

    ---

    Kitchen Dog Theater's production of I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard runs through March 12.

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    Theater news

    Dallas' Theatre Three asks public for urgent help to keep lights on

    Stephanie Allmon Merry
    May 13, 2025 | 5:13 pm
    Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 Off Broadway.
    Photo by Chad Batka
    "Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812" ran Off Broadway.

    A longtime Dallas theater company is asking for urgent help. Theatre Three (T3) has made a plea to the community for $200,000 in donations to stay in business.

    In a Facebook post on May 13, they say, "Without immediate and substantial help from our community, we will be forced to close our doors."

    They say they've suffered several years' worth of financial hardships, including effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently, cuts in arts funding.

    The post says, in part:

    "For 64 years, Theatre Three has been a cornerstone of Dallas’ creative spirit — bringing bold, innovative productions to life and showcasing the extraordinary talent of our local artists, designers, and creatives. We have been an intimate stage for everyone. But now, we face the greatest challenge in our history.

    "After mourning the loss of our beloved Jac Alder, and then, under the leadership of the incredible Jeffrey Schmidt, surviving the immense toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, we find ourselves once again at a significant crossroads. The ongoing erosion of support for the arts has dealt a devastating blow to our funding ...

    Our goal is $200,000. This is not the news we want to share, but it is news that we believe you all would want to know."

    The post is signed by board members Jessica Turner Waugh, Suzanne Burkhead, Rosa Medina-Cristobal, Scott T. Williams, Robert McCollum, Harrison Herndon, David G. Luther, Mia Glogau, and Jon Collins.

    Donations, they say, will help support local artists, staff and creatives to produce their next show, Xanadu; counter the rising costs of rent, insurance, and production; and allow them to retain staff.

    "We know times are tough. But we also know what this theater and its people mean to our city and to the generations who have found meaning, joy, and belonging within its walls," they say. "And that is why we are making this urgent plea. Help us preserve this Dallas institution."

    They end the post with a link to their donation page: https://www.theatre3dallas.com/support/.

    T3's black-box theater Theatre Too's final show of the season is The Mystery of Irma Vep, a fast-paced and campy parody that is on stage now through May 18.

    Theatre Three will close out its current season with Xanadu, a high-energy, roller-skating extravaganza that brings the 1980 cult film to life. Douglas Carter Beane is behind the hilarious book, and music and lyrics are by John Farrar and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) founding member Jeff Lynne. It is set to run June 5-July 6, 2025.

    In addition to a full season of mainstage productions, Theatre Three offers additional programs for the community throughout the year.

    Monday Night Playwright features unique and affordable opportunities for local writers to showcase their works. Fight Night provides the community and artists alike with movement and other physical skills through monthly stage combat classes.

    The Norma Young Advanced Acting Lab, a collaboration with Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, is in its fifth year. Students have access to masterclasses hosted by industry professionals and exclusive insight on the professional production process at Theatre Three, then the course concludes with a professionally produced showcase.

    Theatre Three is located at 2688 Laclede St. in the Quadrangle in Uptown Dallas. For more information in productions and programs, visit their website.

    ---

    Lindsey Wilson contributed to this story.

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