Theater Critic Picks

These are the 4 can't-miss shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for May

Matt Lyle's new play is getting a free livestreamed reading from Theatre Three.

Photo courtesy of Theatre Three

UPDATE: Luckenbooth Theatre's streaming production of Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. was canceled on May 5.

---

COVID-19 can stop a lot of things, but it can't stop the performing arts. Though some movies theaters and restaurants have opened back up, live stage shows still aren't happening. But that doesn't mean you can't watch some plays at home and support your local theaters.

These Dallas-Fort Worth theater companies have found creative ways to still deliver their programming, and some are even free (though we highly suggest donating the ticket price — or more — if you're in a position to do so).

Here are four local shows to stream this month:

The Texas Devil
Theatre Three, livestreaming May 5 at 7 pm
In honor of North Texas Giving Tuesday Now, T3 is hosting a free livestream on Facebook of award-winning local playwright Matt Lyle's new work. The working reading, featuring local actors, will also have the playwright and director (Jeffrey Schmidt) answer questions and participate in discussion during the reading. The plot: A statue of Robert E. Lee. A small-town lawyer doing the right thing. A fumbled football. A Daughter of the Confederacy and her idiot husband. Some Oxycontin. A fair and balanced television news personality. A crippling existential crisis. Two Satanists. And one Texas Devil.

The Dreams of Our Youth
The Classics Theatre Project, livestreaming May 1-2, 8-9, 15-16
Just like last month, when actor Van Quattro stepped up to perform The Imaginary Invalid via free solo livestream from his house, TCTP has another venerable local actor tackling a play alone. Chris Messersmith will take on literary legend Mark Twain with ruminations on his life and career, performed for free on the theater's YouTube channel.

Shelter in Place: A Quarantined New Play Festival
Taphouse Theatre, streaming May 16-17
This new-ish Fort Worth theater company normally performs in local bars and businesses — so it's readjusting right now, just like all of us. Last month it invited local playwrights to send in their quarantine-inspired new works for online readings, and now it's time for round two. All the readings will be livestreamed on TT's Facebook page and then be saved to its YouTube channel (where the round one readings already live).

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.
Luckenbooth Theatre, streaming May 1-31
A rehearsal was filmed of this group's second show of its fifth season, so now audiences can enjoy a stage adaptation of Judy Blume's classic novel about growing up. Tickets to the virtual show are $25, and once you purchase on the website you will receive a link and instructions on how to view (and can only play the show once).

---

Looking for other arts-related events and activities you can enjoy online? This list is constantly being updated with new virtual happenings.

theater music

Arts in Fort Worth

DFW museum debuts landmark exhibition about Statue of Liberty

Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents "The Statue of Liberty from Bartholdi to Warhol"

Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904), Early View of the Statue of Liberty, n.d.,, watercolor, Musée Bartholdi, Colmar, 2005.0.16.3, © Musée Bartholdi, Colmar, Photo Chr. Kempf

"The Statue of Liberty from Bartholdi to Warhol" opens at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art on August 15.

The Amon Carter Museum of American Art will celebrate the United States' 250th anniversary with a major exhibition examining one of the country's most recognizable symbols: "The Statue of Liberty from Bartholdi to Warhol" will open Saturday, August 15 for a nearly five-month run.

The exhibition, co-organized by the Denver Art Museum, is an examination of the Statue of Liberty’s enduring relevance in American visual culture and the evolution of its image from the 1870s to the present.

According to a release, it will bring together nearly 100 artworks and objects from more than 70 artists, exploring the statue’s varied manifestations - from artistic marvel and pop culture icon to symbol of immigration, patriotism, and resistance.

Successive generations of artists who have represented the statue's iconic form over the past 150 years will be included in the exhibition, including Pacita Abad, Benny Andrews, Edward Moran, Norman Rockwell, Nari Ward, and Andy Warhol.

The exhibition is anchored by a rare cast of French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s bronze sculpture Liberty Enlightening the World (Statue of Liberty) (1894-1901), one of only five domestic-scale bronze reductions made during the artist’s lifetime.

The exhibition will be broken up into four distinct sections:

Creating a Monument, which focuses on the statue’s origins and initial public reception in the tumultuous decades between the American Civil War and World War I.
A National Monument, which showcases the way society and visual culture were inundated with Statue of Liberty imagery between World War I and the 1950s. The installation of newspapers, advertisements, lithographs, images, films, and paintings demonstrate the turning point in the statue’s transformation into a dominant American icon.
Reimagining an Icon, which explores pop art and reproductions of the statue’s imagery, demonstrating its increasing detachment from its original image and malleability as an American symbol.
The Statue of Liberty Today, which closes the exhibition with a selection of works by living artists who have continued to investigate the Statue of Liberty’s meaning in the 21st century.

“This monumental exhibition tells the story of how our nation has interpreted the Statue of Liberty not only as a national icon, but also as a reflection of American values, creativity, and identity throughout our collective history,” said Scott Wilcox, Interim Director of the Carter, in a statement. “Premiering 'The Statue of Liberty from Bartholdi to Warhol' in Fort Worth on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding invites our community to see this emblematic statue in new dimensions.”

"The Statue of Liberty from Bartholdi to Warhol" will remain on display through January 3, 2027.

It will then travel to Denver for a presentation from March 14-July 4, 2027. The exhibition will also travel to the Munson Museum of Art in Utica, New York, from August 5-December 5, 2027.

The Amon Carter Museum will celebrate the opening with a special event called "Liberty Talks" on August 15 from 11 am-3 pm, featuring gallery talks, live music, poetry, treats, and more. A second event, "Second Thursdays: Monuments & Martinis," will take place September 10 and include Statue of Liberty-inspired flash tattoos by Fort Worth artist Joseph Ayala of Panther City Tattoo.

Admission to the Carter is free.

amon carter museum exhibitions-visual-arts museums statue of liberty