Dallas Theater Wins

Robot-happy play that Dallas audiences saw first nabs international theater prize

Gregory Lush, Montgomery Sutton and Vanessa DeSilvio in Tomorrow Come Today at Undermain Theatre.

Photo by Christi Nielsen

Dallas' theater crowd got to be first for a change, with the world premiere of Tomorrow Come Today, a trippy sci-fi play written by Gordon Dahlquist, which Undermain Theatre in Deep Ellum cannily presented in September 2014.

Now the play has received a prestigious international award: the James Tait Black prize for outstanding new drama.

The BBC reports that Dahlquist was awarded the £10,000 prize — part of the oldest literary awards in Britain — at a ceremony in Edinburgh, Scotland. Presented and judged by students and staff at the University of Edinburgh in association with Playwrights' Studio, Scotland, and the Traverse Theatre, the prize has been in existence since 2012, when drama was added as a category to the 1919-founded awards.

Undermain's artistic director Katherine Owens helmed the world premiere of Tomorrow Come Today, a cautionary story set in the near future where wealthy citizens can cheat death by swapping bodies. Three actors shared the main role of Poul — Montgomery Sutton, Gregory Lush and Vanessa DeSilvio — and the production also received positive notices for its innovative set, costume, lighting and sound design.

The play stood out for a number of reasons, including the presence of robots and a unique action-movie tone, with shoot-outs, invasions and implied explosions.

"All three shortlisted plays display striking and original talent and each has made a lasting impact in theatre — making it a very challenging job to select a winner," said chair of the judging panel, Greg Walker. "The engaging innovation of Gordon Dahlquist's ominous science fiction drama stood out in the end, and we are delighted to celebrate his work at this evening's event."

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Once More With Feeling

Addison's WaterTower Theatre finds new stage for its summer musicals

Photo by Paris Marie Productions

"Mary Poppins" was the big summer musical of 2024.

Following the announcement last fall that going forward, WaterTower Theatre will occupy less space in the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre, the theater company has found a solution to its venue problem.

It's launching WaterTower Summer Musicals, to be performed at the Dallas College Brookhaven Campus Theatre in Farmers Branch.

An email to newsletter subscribers sent on January 1 — and a Facebook post from WTT on December 31, 2024 — states that the first production will be Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock, set for summer 2025. It will be directed by JC Schuster, music directed by Cody Dry, and choreographed by Alli Betsill.

Both communications include a video that begins with producing artistic director Shane Peterman on the Brookhaven stage, spotlighting the venue's 650 very nice-looking seats.

He and several WTT employees go on to note the success of WTT's last two summer productions, Mary Poppins and the world-premiere Goin' Hollywood, as well as Brookhaven's plentiful free parking and spacious lobby.

"And as for the Addison Theatre Center, don't worry," says Brian Gonzales, director of audience and benefactor development, in the video. "The Addison Theatre Center is still our home, and our partnership with the town of Addison is still as strong as ever. Think of Brookhaven as an extension of the WaterTower family, allowing us to bring the summer musicals to an even bigger stage."

Also found on WTT's website is a job posting for an associate producing artistic director — the same position that Elizabeth Kensek was abruptly terminated from in August 2024.

At the time, WTT explained her layoff this way: "...modifications at the Addison Theatre Centre, directed by the Town’s leadership, have led us to consolidate roles and departments for greater efficiency. This unfortunately resulted in some layoffs and structural shifts."

Applications for the position will be accepted through January 17.

WaterTower Theatre is currently presenting The Play That Goes Wrong, co-produced with Stage West in Fort Worth. The show has recently been extended through January 19, a week past its original closing date.

musicals brookhaven college school of rock video theater