Theater Critic Picks

These are the 8 can't-miss shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for June

The Savage Seconds also has an interactive website.

Photo by Justin Locklear

UPDATE: As of June 3, "fine arts performance halls" are allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity. Jubilee Theatre's live production has since been added to the below list.

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Those in the performing arts keep innovating. You can still watch a livestreamed production, but now there are also drive-in performances, Zoom audiences, and recordings of works from the archives.

These Dallas-Fort Worth theater companies have definitely 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 eight local shows to watch this month:

The Savage Seconds
Undermain Theatre and Danielle Georgiou Dance Group, streaming June 4-12
Conceived by Danielle Georgiou and Justin Locklear, this experimental opera centers on a young girl — sent home from boarding school during a great plague — whose coming of age is hijacked by her powerful but absent parents, malicious siblings, and the surreal confusion of sexuality. Exploring the genre of tragédie en musique and the concepts inherent in the Greek tragedies of Oedipus and Medea, The Savage Seconds looks at the effects of obsession and celebrity in a world catapulted into disarray by disease and political turmoil. Tickets can be purchased here, and the audience is encouraged to wander wander through the layers of the multi-media website created especially for the show, to deepen their curiosity, and bond with the story — you just might end up in the show.

22nd Annual New Works Festival
Kitchen Dog Theater, live on Zoom, June 6-28
The NWF is going completely digital this year, with KDT offering a series of six virtual readings as well as the 19th year of PUP (Playwrights Under Progress) Fest, in collaboration with Junior Players. Showcasing some of the newest and most exciting voices and visions in contemporary theater, the winning plays are selected from almost 500 annual submissions from around the globe and will feature a strong cadre of DFW's most accomplished actors and directors. Tickets to the NWF can be purchased here, and free reservations to PUP Fest on June 6 can be made here.

The Immigrant
Theatre Three, streaming, June 15-28
Mark Harelik's play is getting an experimental streamed production, with a full cast, set, costumes, lighting and projection — all safely within social distancing guidelines, T3 promises. Streaming is limited to 200 for each of the 10 viewing opportunities, which begin at the published time and must be accessed within 30 minutes of the start time. The most widely produced play in the country in 1991, The Immigrant gently grapples with the thorny questions that plague the U.S.: who deserves to belong here, and what do we owe each other? Streaming access codes are $15 and available to purchase here.

How I Got Over
Jubilee Theatre, June 19-July 19
Premiering on the theater company's 39th birthday, Nate Jacobs' musical celebrates the legendary Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson, and other gospel greats in the style of a revue. Note: Audience sizes will be limited to 50 percent capacity, and temperature screenings and face masks are required for all attendees.

Everything Will Be Fine
Prism Movement Theatre, drive-in at the Latino Cultural Center's parking lot, June 26-27 and July 11-12
Packed into 45 minutes and designed to be enjoyed from your car, Everything Will Be Fine is about a woman learning how to deal with a new world and her well-meaning (if slightly clueless) friends after experiencing an unthinkable loss. Once guests arrive, they will be directed to their assigned parking spots and instructed to tune in to a specific radio station to hear the show's electronic/rock music underscoring. Tickets are $30 per car and can be purchased here.

The Aftermath
Junior Players, June 26-28
This exploratory piece fuses together the concepts and stories from Junior Players' 2019 broadcast journalism project with playwriting, movement, and acting to manifest as a live production. This timely piece interweaves stories about gender identity, family pressures, power, and determination to create a zany series of events, based off challenges and experiences from the day-to-day lives that North Texas teens are currently facing. Pay-what-you-can tickets can be purchased here.

Take 10
Stage West, streaming now
Designed to help cure those corona blues, each installment in this online series features a bite-sized story performed by local artists. Watch all productions for free here.

Smile, Smile Again
Ochre House Theatre, streaming now
Written and directed by artist-in-residence Justin Locklear and performed in 2017, this original work is a thought-provoking tale of man's inhumanity toward his fellow man. There will also be a video-conference discussion with cast and crew to reflect on your experience, and how the show's impact has become relevant considering the current awareness of Black Lives Matter. You can watch for free on Ochre House's YouTube channel.

dance theater music

Season Announcement

Echo Theatre introduces Dallas audiences to a season of strangers in 2026

Photo by Julieta Cervantes

'The Roommate' was recently on Broadway.

It's a "Season of Strangers" for Echo Theatre this year, as the Southwest's premier company for promoting dramatic works by women+ focuses on how someone different than you can change your life.

The 28th season begins with the new musical Silhouettes by Jordan Ealey and Ari Afsar. This score-in-hand workshop was developed in the aftermath of the fall of Roe v. Wade, and examines a pivotal moment in American history through the intersecting lives of two women navigating the decision to have an abortion. Echo's managing and artistic director Kateri Cale directs, with Vonda K. Bowling as musical director.

In a joint statement, Ealey and Afsar say that Silhouettes was born from their need to process the emotional and political aftermath of Roe’s fall. “We continue to see that history is cyclical and equity is fleeting,” they say. “But when policy fails, art has the opportunity to step in. Silhouettes is a musical about choice, sisterhood, and intergenerational courage.”

They add that presenting the work in Dallas reflects their commitment to community-building in states like Texas, where bans and restrictions have made women and gender minorities particularly vulnerable. “We want this musical to be a safe and brave haven amid attempts to create a culture of fear and a reminder that people are not alone.”

It runs January 16-17, 2026, and admission is free, though a $20 donation is suggested.

The world premiere of You Must Wear A Hat by C. Meaker is next, and plugged-in Dallas theater fans might recognize the play from its reading at Kitchen Dog Theater in 2019.

Tuesday and Weeks make hats on the Great Barrier Reef, waiting for the world to end. It's described as "A play for two. And a rabbit."

C. “Meaks” Meaker (they/them) is a playwright, essayist, and teacher whose work often explores queerness, monstrosity, and the end of the world. Their plays have been performed and developed across the United States, including the Kennedy Center, Seattle Repertory Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, Annex Theatre (Seattle), Hub Theater (D.C.), Fat Theater Project (Chicago), and About Face (Chicago). They’re a two-year finalist for the Dramatist Guild National Fellows program and a recent finalist for the Jerome Hill Theater Arts Fellow.

You Must Wear a Hat runs February 27-March 14, 2026.

The season closes with The Roommate by Jen Silverman. The play was on Broadway in 2024 starring marquee names Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone.

In it, a divorced Midwesterner takes a roommate from The Bronx. A relationship evolves and secrets unfold into a darkly comedic exploration of life choices. It runs June 19-July 4, 2026.

All shows this season will be performed at the Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther Dr., in White Rock Lake Park.

Tickets range from Pay-What-You-Can to $40, with discounts available for students and seniors.

Additional events this season include Cake by the Lake on April 21, Echo's free birthday party fundraiser that also launches its reading series, Echo Reads.

Echo Reads runs April through September, presenting six plays in six month. All plays will be performed on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm, and then read the next day at different venues around the city.

Echo Offstage Podcasts is going monthly. The free podcast series interviews women+ who are making art and making a difference.

And Echo is already teasing its 29th season, which will begin in the fall of 2026 and run the more traditional September through August instead of the calendar year.

The season 29 opener is a co-production, the company mysteriously hints, involving three Dallas theaters, two shows, and an internationally known writer. We'll all just have to wait and see what this intriguing production might be.

echo theatre podcasts world premieres echo reads the roommate play theater