Good News!

Wicked opens in Dallas as first Broadway tour in U.S. after pandemic

Allison Bailey and Talia Suskauer in the North American tour of Wicked.

Photo by Joan Marcus

UPDATE: A $25 digital ticket lottery for a limited number of seats to Wicked will be held throughout its run in Dallas. Entries for the lottery for each performance will be accepted until 9:59 am on the Friday prior to the week of the performance; then, email notifications will be sent to fans who are selected to purchase lottery tickets and those who are by about 11 am, and winners must purchase tickets by 3 pm. Click here for more information and the chance to purchase up to two (tickets) at $30 each (which includes a $5 service fee).

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Broadway has announced it is officially reopening in September 2021, but Dallas audiences will get their musical fix even sooner.

When Wicked opens at the Music Hall at Fair Park on August 3, 2021, it will not only signal the return of Dallas Summer Musicals but also be the first touring Broadway show in the country to open.

"We couldn't be more honored and thrilled to present Wicked, not just as a return engagement in Dallas, but also as the first Broadway show to resume performances in the U.S.," says Ken Novice, DSM president. "It's a poignant moment for our industry, our organization, and audiences that we will always cherish, coming out of such a challenging year as this past one. Wicked shows us there's no place like home — and we can't think of a better way to welcome home our Broadway shows at the Music Hall than with this long-running, award-winning fan favorite."

Dallas Summer Musicals is working in consultation with local government and public health officials to implement increased safety protocols, and No. 1 on that list is the requirement that masks must be worn at all times while in the venue.

Contactless entry and payments, additional hand sanitizing stations, upgraded air filtration systems, enhanced cleaning procedures, and staff health checks are also part of the plan, though it doesn't look like patrons will have their temperatures checked. Food and drink will not be allowed in the theater — only in the lobby — and there is no current mention of reduced audience sizes or social-distance seating. You can read more about DSM's COVID protocols here.

Single tickets for Wicked start at $29 (pricing subject to change) and will be available at DallasSummerMusicals.org or by phone at 800-982-2787 beginning May 21, though DSM subscribers can purchase tickets now.

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, Wicked looks at what happened in the Land of Oz before Dorothy dropped in. A smart and fiery young woman born with emerald-green skin meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, and their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships ... until the world decides to call one "good" and the other one "wicked."

The musical will run August 3-September 5, 2021, as the first show in DSM's 2021-22 season.

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Museum News

2 Dallas museums partner on landmark Roy Lichtenstein acquisition

Courtesy

Roy Lichtenstein

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) and the Nasher Sculpture Center will present works from the joint acquisition of more than 50 artworks generously gifted by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation in 2024, showing prints, drawings, and sculptures by the groundbreaking American artist at the two neighboring institutions in the Dallas Arts District.

According to a release, the installations will be on view from January 31 to August 16, 2026 at the Nasher and from January 1 to July 5, 2026 at the DMA.

The joint gift made by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation to the DMA and the Nasher in Celebration of the Centennial of Roy Lichtenstein is comprised of a selection of prints, drawings, maquettes, and sculptures by Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997), a leading figure in twentieth-century American art and a pioneer of the Pop Art movement.

The works were specifically selected by the curatorial staff of both institutions and relate to objects already in their respective collections including sculptures, works on paper, and maquettes, along with tools and study objects.

Organized by the Nasher Sculpture Center’s Senior Curator Dr. Catherine Craft, The Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the DMA Ade Omotosho, and The Allen and Kelli Questrom Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings at the DMA Dr. Emily Friedman, the presentation is divided according to each institution’s strengths and will be shown in combination with objects by Lichtenstein already in their respective permanent collections.

At the Nasher, works relating to three sculptures from the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection—Head with Blue Shadow, Peace through Chemistry, and Double Glass—will be accompanied by a selection from the Foundation's gift of more than two dozen drawings and maquettes associated with Lichtenstein’s Brushstroke sculptures.

At the Dallas Museum of Art, the presentation features a set of Brushstroke sculptures carved from wood alongside various prints and studies that reveal the artist’s eclectic imagery.

Events
In addition to the exhibition, the DMA and the Nasher will co-host a Study Day focused on the artist on March 28, 2026, sponsored by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. This scholarly event will bring together a variety of curators, academics, and conservators to discuss Lichtenstein’s studio practice and the fabrication and conservation of his sculptures.

Concluding the Study Day will be a public conversation held at the DMA between Nasher Director Carlos Basualdo and artist Alex Da Corte, regarding Da Corte’s work on the forthcoming Lichtenstein retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

“In bestowing this generous gift, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation established Dallas as a center for the study and display of Lichtenstein’s work,” Basualdo says in a statement. “This collaborative presentation of the gift and the corresponding programming is an important step in the direction of pursuing that goal, deepening the understanding of an artist who remains immensely influential to contemporary art and its relationship with mass media and today’s culture.”

Roy Lichtenstein is made possible by support from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District (DTPID).

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