Theater Critic Picks

These are the 12 can't-miss shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for August

You'll going to be doing a lot of traveling this month, as the shows to see span Dallas and Fort Worth but also extend out to include Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. A few of the plays are touring, so if one really hits your hot button then you're in luck: you can play groupie.

Here are the 12 shows to see, in order by start date:

The Bodyguard
Performing Arts Fort Worth, August 1-6
Famous singer Deborah Cox plays a famous singer in this stage adaptation, which is based on the popular film of the same name that starred famous singer Whitney Houston. The musical has shifted the focus from the bodyguard himself to the woman he's assigned to protect, and incorporates even more of Houston's chart-topping songs such as "So Emotional" and "How Will I Know?"

The Minotaur
Theatre Three, August 3-27
Jeffrey Schmidt has said that as soon as he read Anna Ziegler's play, he knew it had to be in his first season as T3's new artistic director. It's "storytelling at its best," a riff on ancient Greek mythology that's set in the present and uses a chorus made up of, literally, a lawyer, a priest, and a rabbi. When Ariadne visits her half-brother, the beastly Minotaur, she and the hero Theseus try to break the shackles of their own destinies.

Lenny Bruce Is Back
Upstart Productions, August 4-11
Joey Folsom portrays the controversial comic and satirist Lenny Bruce in this one-man show written by Sam Bobrick and Julie Stein. Folsom, who is Upstart's artistic director, will also be taking the bad boy on the road, beginning here at Dallas Comedy House and Viva's Lounge and then on to Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. The performances at Viva's Lounge also include tabled seating, themed drinks, a full bar, burlesque entertainment, and a pay-what-you-can admission policy.

The Great American Sideshow
Cry Havoc Theater and Kitchen Dog Theater, August 4-12
In this political allegory, Otto Barron is the new owner of The American Sideshow and along with his advisor, Narcissa, and mouthpiece, Birdie, Otto sets out to sow discord and wreak havoc all in the name of making the sideshow great again. All performances are at the Trinity River Arts Center.

All About Bette: An Interlude with Bette Davis
Starlight Entertainment, August 11-26
Fasten your seatbelts for what's sure to be a bumpy night, as Dallas actor Morgana Shaw becomes screen legend Bette Davis in Camilla Carr's one-woman play. After a short but successful run in June at the Margo Jones Theatre in Fair Park, the show is now playing Stage West in Fort Worth for August 11-12 and then the Stone Cottage in Addison August 18-26.

Boy Gets Girl
Proper Hijinx, Resolute Theatre Project, and L.I.P. Service Productions, August 11-27
Three independent theater companies joined together to produce Rebecca Gilman's play, which explores what happens when a man doesn't take no for an answer in a world where a woman is supposed to be nice and never say "no." It's unsettling, to say the least. All performances take place at Amy’s Studio of Performing Arts on Marsh Lane in Dallas.

Ripcord
Circle Theatre, August 17-September 16
In David Lindsay-Abaire’s new high-stakes comedy, a seemingly harmless bet made between two residents of the Bristol Place Assisted Living Facility becomes a risky game of one-upmanship. Robin Armstrong directs a cast that include such DFW favorites as Lois Sonnier Hart, Clint Gilbert, Jeff Burleson, and Deborah Brown.

One-Minute Play Festival
Kitchen Dog Theater, August 19-21
Back for its fourth year, this weekend event showcases 80 original one-minute plays by 35 local playwrights, utilizing 10 directors and 60 actors. You never know what to expect, which is half the fun.

Kaptain Kockadoo
Ochre House Theater, August 19-September 9
Longtime Ochre House collaborator Carla Parker has penned her first show, and not only is she behind the words in the script and the lyrics to the original live music, but she's also directing. Navigate the world of children's television through the eyes of a religious zealot in this spirited and dark musical comedy.

The Royal Society of Antarctica
Stage West, August 24-September 24
A young woman seeking to understand her mother’s disappearance joins the ranks of a ragtag group of misfits and scientists who serve at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Amidst janitorial duties, never-ending daylight, and subzero temperatures, this lonely and rugged bunch finds an escape from the world and a home for each other.

The Tribute Artist
Uptown Players, August 25-September 10
To close its 16th season, Uptown Players has the regional premiere of this Charles Busch farce. An out-of-work female impersonator (Coy Covington) assumes the role of his elderly landlady when she dies in her sleep, in order to hang on to her valuable Greenwich Village townhouse. Of course, things do not go as planned.

Miller, Mississippi
Dallas Theater Center, August 30-October 1
In the Wyly Studio Theatre, you'll find Boo Killebrew's story of one family that falling apart as the country attempts to come together in the 1960s and '70s Deep South. Lee Sunday Evans directs the first show of Dallas Theater Center's 2017-18 season.

Cora Grace Winstead and Darren McElroy star in The Minotaur at Theatre Three.

Photo by Jeffrey Schmidt

Cora Grace Winstead and Darren McElroy star in The Minotaur at Theatre Three.

openings theater

Dance Off

Texas ballet company turns Timothée Chalamet dig into genius promotion

Courtesy

undefined

It was a shot fired from Austin that rang out around the art world: In a recent CNN/Variety Town Hall featuring actors Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey, Chalamet offered an assessment of ballet and opera that immediately went viral.

During the onstage conversation at the University of Texas at Austin, Chalamet said, "I don't want to be working in ballet or opera, or you know, things where it's like, 'hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore.' All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership."

Chalamet immediately seemed to experience a twinge of regret, awkwardly adding, "But um...damn, I just took shots for no reason." He also sang a note and hid his face behind the cards he was holding.

Stars of the art forms, from Andrea Bocelli to Misty Copeland, immediately began to leap (jeté, if you will) to the the defense of opera and ballet.

In a genius marketing move, Austin's hometown ballet company is taking the unique opportunity to turn a hot topic into a promotion for its next production: Ballet Austin is inviting anyone named Timothée, Timothee, or Timothy to claim a free ticket to its upcoming world premiere of Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles, running March 27-29 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.

"Timothée… you were in Austin? We were literally down the street," a Ballet Austin post says. "Austin has brisket. Austin has music. Austin also has ballet."

All Timothées and folks with similar names will have to do to claim a ticket is send a message to Ballet Austin on social media and show identification. Everyone else who wants to see the supernatural show where "the line between victim and villain blurs" will have to purchase a ticket ($25-$125) at balletaustin.org.

Ballet Austin Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles Ballet Austin isn't afraid to add some edge to classic stories. Photo courtesy of Ballet Austin

Even if Chalamet's words were dismissive, he's obviously not wrong about the relative distribution of public interest between the classical arts and major films like Marty Supreme, the late 2025 film he stars in and is busy promoting. The film's commercially successful release set a record for A24, an already renowned studio.

Chalamet brought up ballet and opera in service of a larger point about pacing in movies. He said he exists in a middle ground as a consumer between wanting to be drawn in early and being more patient as a film progresses. Ultimately, he juxtaposed Barbie and Oppenheimer with the classical arts, pointing out that if the masses want to go see a film, they will "be loud and proud about it" organically, without needing performers to advocate for the seriousness of the art form.

Coincidentally, there couldn't be a better counterpoint to this argument than Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles.

As the title suggests, the story follows historical figure Marie Antoinette as she chooses to become a vampire, seeking "power, immortality, and vengeance," according to a press release. It takes a somewhat silly premise and gives it dramatic gravitas, with an original score by Austin composer Graham Reynolds, who is known outside of classical circles and sometimes composes for movie soundtracks.

"For Ballet Austin, the moment is an opportunity to remind audiences that ballet isn’t fading away," says a release about the new promotion. "It’s evolving, drawing new audiences and continuing to thrive in creative cities like Austin."

If Chalamet really does fall in the middle of instant and delayed artistic gratification, this sounds like the perfect production to draw him in.

And perhaps Ballet Austin should add people named Matthew to their promotion, since McConaughey threw the younger star a bone after his momentary walk-back, saying, "That's not a shot — I hear what you're saying."

---

Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this story.

ballet dance celebrities film