Actor Spotlight

Dallas actor Walter Lee divulges love for painting and Beyonce

In the musical Songs for a New World, nearly 20 of cult composer Jason Robert Brown's songs come together in a concert-style format to explore life's emotions. This means that the songs vary wildly in tone, tempo and style, putting extra pressure on the singers who are called upon to perform them. In Uptown Players' upcoming production of Songs, versatile actor Walter Lee is one of those talented performers.

The word "versatile" is especially apt when talking about Lee, who has inhabited roles as wide-ranging as a dapper doo-wop singer (WaterTower Theatre's Smokey Joe's Cafe), a chain-gang convict (Parade, also at WaterTower) and a sultry, sexy Kit Kat Girl (Dallas Theater Center's Cabaret). His one-man cabaret performance recently played at the Out of the Loop Fringe Festival, and now Lee will be tackling some of Songs' emotionally complex and musically satisfying tunes.

He recently took the time to fill out our survey of serious, fun and sometimes ridiculous questions.

Name: Walter Lee

Role in Songs for a New World: Man 1

Previous work in the DFW area: Smokey Joe's Cafe at WaterTower Theatre, Angel in Casa Mañana's RENT, and Frenchie in Dallas Theater Center's Cabaret

Hometown: Abilene, Texas

Where you currently reside: Dallas

First theater role: Enjolras in Cooper High School's production of Les Miserables

First stage show you ever saw: Abilene Christian University's production of Jekyll and Hyde

Moment you decided to pursue a career in theater: After I saw ACU's production, I fell in love and never looked back!

Most challenging role you've played: Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime. I'm not the most masculine person.

Special skills: Some gymnastics, makeup artistry, and painting

Something you're REALLY bad at: Cooking! Hands down!

Current pop culture obsession: Beyonce Knowles Carter!!!

Last book you read: The libretto for Fortress of Solitude

Favorite movie(s): The First Wives Club

Favorite musician(s): Beyonce, Ciara, Chaka Kahn, Michael Jackson and Ledesi

Favorite song: "Kiss the Air" by Danny Calvert

Dream role: Lola in Kinky Boots

Favorite play(s): Sylvia

Favorite musical(s): Dreamgirls and Parade

Favorite actors/actresses: Ben Vereen

Favorite food: Spaghetti

Must-see TV show(s): Awkward and Once Upon a Time

Something most people don't know about you: I was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Place in the world you'd most like to visit: Thailand

Pre-show warm-up: Joking with cast members. Being alone makes me think, which then makes me more nervous.

Favorite part about your current role: That's a tough one. I'm going to go with the fact that I get to play with my part vocally.

Most challenging part about your current role: The music is the most complicated music I've ever encountered, and my vocal part is very challenging.

Most embarrassing onstage mishap: My part in a Broadway Christmas Carol! I had to put on a fat suit to play Mrs. Fezziwig, and one night I put the fat suit on backward. It was hilarious!

Career you'd have if you weren't a performer: Painter

Favorite post-show spot: Home

Favorite thing about Dallas-Forth Worth: The unpredictable weather!

Most memorable theater moment: During The Wiz I was playing the Scarecrow, and one of my lines in the show was "You got any spare change?" After the show was over, a little boy in the audience came up to me and gave me a quarter. It was awesome!

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Uptown Players' production of Songs for a New World plays at Kalita Humphreys Theater from June 21-July 7.

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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