Theater Critic Picks

These are the 7 can't-miss shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for September

Pageant returns — to your screens.

Photo by Mike Morgan

Now that we're several months into the pandemic, DFW companies are finding their groove with new ways to present theater. Not only does that include filmed and live-streamed works, but also drive-in theater. That last one was so popular after its June premiere that it's now coming to Fort Worth, giving more audiences the chance to experience this new art form.

Here are seven local shows to watch this month:

Everything Will Be Fine
Prism Movement Theatre and Stage West, drive-in at Texas Wesleyan University's Administration Building parking lot, September 3-27
Packed into 45 minutes and designed to be enjoyed from your car, Everything Will Be Fine by Zoe Kerr 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 $40 per car and can be purchased here.

Coppertone Jones' Amazing Traveling Sideshow Corker
Ochre House Theatre, streaming beginning September 4
Ochre House's original freaky green puppet, Coppertone Jones, is back with his very own variety talk show written and directed by artistic director Matthew Posey. Coppertone sits down with some of his favorite friends for a nice chat, a few songs here and there, and some crazy hijinx. This virtual theater project uses a Zoom platform and employs a diverse cast of Ochre regulars. Watch it on the Ochre House YouTube channel for free.

Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone – Live from Florence
Dallas Summer Musicals, live-streaming September 13
Meet one of America's greatest composers through some of his best-known songs, from "The Man I Love" to "Someone to Watch Over Me," through the hits of An American In Paris and Porgy and Bess, to a complete performance of Rhapsody In Blue. As the only actor-musician to create the role of George Gershwin on the stage, and with over 3,000 performances from California to Broadway to London's West End, Hershey Felder will bring George Gershwin to life on the stage of one of Europe's oldest and most famous theaters, Teatro della Pergola. Tickets are $55 per household and can be purchased here.

We Are Proud to Present a Presentation...
Undermain Theatre, September 16-October 4
The Deep Ellum company is reaching into its archives for the 2014 production of Jackie Sibblies Drury's play, which follows a troupe of young actors gearing up to portray the extermination of the Herero tribe of Namibia. They're passionate, energetic, and have piles of research — but what do they really know about being black Africans under German colonization? Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here.

The Impact of The Gadget on Civilization
Imprint Theatreworks, streaming September 17-26
Directed by Ashley H. White and written by Mark Oristano, this hybrid stage and film project questions morality and humanity through an immersive look inside Einstein's experiences surrounding the creation of the atom bomb. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased here.

ONE Addison
WaterTower Theatre, streaming September 17-30
In celebration of North Texas Giving Day, WTT filmed a Vimeo concert that's a love letter to the town of Addison, its donors, and ticket buyers. With music direction by Vonda K. Bowling, the concert features songs from The Bridges of Madison County performed by Christine Cornish Smith and Christopher J. Deaton, who were slated to star in the production before it was canceled by the pandemic. The concert also features performances by singers Feleceia Benton, Devin Berg, Ashley Puckett Gonzales, Brian Gonzales, Jamall Houston, and Denise Lee; musicians Sara Bollinger, Kat Glaze, Eric Jones, Jay Majernik, and Aaron Sutton; an original spoken word piece written and performed by Verb Kulture; and an original dance performance by Kellie Carroll and Ania Lyons. Tickets are $38 and can be purchased here.

Pageant
Uptown Players, streaming September 25-October 4
Filmed in 2014, this hilarious musical takes on the cutthroat world of beauty pageants ... with a twist. B.J. Cleveland is your emcee, and the lovely contestants include Peter DiCesare, Sergio Antonio Garcia, Micah Green, Drew Kelly, Walter Lee, and Ashton McKay Shawver. The show's interactive elements are just as enjoyable onscreen as they were live six years ago (the winner changed every night, for example). Tickets are $20 for an individual ticket and $30 for multi-viewer, and can be purchased here.

theater

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