Theater Critic Picks

These are the 4 can't-miss shows in Dallas theater for August

Mousey was recorded at Ochre House Theatre in September 2018.

Photo by Justin O’Keith Higgs

We almost didn't get a theater preview this month, and that would have been a very hard blow to the performing arts world. But a handful of Dallas theaters came through, offering up live-streams of topical and new works and revisiting a classic from years past.

Here are four local shows to watch this month:

It's My Party
Echo Theatre, live-streaming August 16-22
The female-powered theater is presenting four live-streamed readings of this play by Ann Timmons, which tells the incredible true story of how women fought for the right to vote. Great timing, right? It also happens to be the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment. Tickets are $12 per viewer, with a discount for three or more viewers. Once you purchase your tickets, you will be sent a link to view the live performance, which runs approximately 90 minutes. After the reading, viewers are encouraged to stick around for a talkback with the cast, creative team, and other audience members.

Curiouser: A Zoom Play
The Firehouse Theatre, live-streaming August 21-22
This modern adaption of Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is written as an actual Zoom call by Taylor Mercado Owen. Directed by Olivia Grace Murphy, this play will be performed and designed to work within the necessary current social distance restrictions. Tickets to stream are $10 for a single stream and $20 for a family stream. 4-PLUS, Flex-10, Flex-5, and Firehouse JR Flex-10 tickets may be redeemed to see Curiouser.

Raise You Up!
Imprint Theatreworks, live-streaming August 29
Directed by Ashley H. White and with musical direction by Vonda K. Bowling, this virtual variety show will feature appearances from more than 25 local and national performers as well as more information on what Imprint has in store for its 2020 digital season. The curtain will rise at 7 pm and tickets start at $12.

Mousey
Ochre House Theatre, streaming now
Next in this Expo Park treasure's catalog is Carla Parker's original work Mousey, which was performed in 2018. Filmed by videographer Scott Shaddock and presented on the Ochre House YouTube channel for free, it tells the story of how things have gone rotten in the world of toys. Mrs. Mousey begins to suspect that there is more to life than just being a toy and launches into the dangerous journey that questions the very existence of their innocent lives. Original music, dance, and spectacle create a riveting story of loss of innocence and awakening, asking, "If we aren't toys, then what are we?"

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Theater News

Dallas' Second Thought Theatre gets collaborative for 2026 season

Amphibian Stage presents Bull in a China Shop

Photo by Evan Michael Woods

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The 2026 season for Second Thought Theatre in Dallas will be relatively small - only three productions are scheduled - but it will be full of collaborations designed to build on relationships with theater companies from across Dallas-Fort Worth.

Second Thought will open their season with a production that just started at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth, Bull in a China Shop by Bryna Turner.

Inspired by the real letters between Mary Woolley and Jeannette Marks spanning from 1899 to 1937, the story asks: what is revolution? What does it mean to be at odds with the world? How do we fulfill our potential? And how the hell do we grow old together? It’s a sharp, joyful play about chosen family and the way love becomes action.

The production, running at Amphibian Stage through March 1, will regroup for a month before starting its run at Second Thought, April 1-18.

“All of us at Second Thought have been fans of Amphibian Stage for years,” said Artistic Director Carson McCain in a statement. “Not only does our content align in mission and quality, but we align in the values of hospitality and artistry. Bull in a China Shop celebrates the queer joy that holds hands with the fight for the equality of women and the LGBTQ community.”

The second scheduled show, running September 16-October 3, will be Dance Nation by Clare Barron, on which Second Thought will collaborate with The University of Texas at Arlington.

A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2019, the play follows an adolescent dance troupe somewhere in middle America which is fighting for what will be the most important achievement of their entire lives - a national dance title.

A coming-of-age story centered around perfectionism, performance, and perception of self, the play is for anyone who’s wondered if they would have excelled on Dance Moms or buckled under the pressure to be on top of the pyramid.

The third and final show of season has not yet been announced, but it will involve a collaboration between Second Thought Theatre and Dallas’ Watering Hole Collective. It will run December 2-19.

The two companies say they have a shared belief in Dallas artists and Dallas audiences - and what’s possible when they build together.

“Both of our companies aren’t afraid of taking creative risks," said Co-Executive Directors Laura Salvie and Jenny Dang in a statement. "This collaboration is about pushing each other artistically and creating theatre that invites audiences in; not just to watch, but to think and feel together.”

In addition to the three productions, Second Thought is continuing their writers-in-development program, Thought Process. Celebrating its third year, it will welcome eight new playwrights, who will work together throughout the year to create innovative new works.

Season tickets, which are $75 for all three shows, are available online now at secondthoughttheatre.com. Individual tickets will go on sale at a later date.

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