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

Theater News

Dallas' Kitchen Dog Theater unveils powerful 2026-2027 season lineup

Photo by Cameron Cobb

Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas will put on three mainstage productions for their 2026-2027 season.

Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas has revealed the lineup for the 2026-2027 season, featuring a slate of plays that boasts power players like kings, prime ministers, space force commanders, and would-be presidents.

According to a release, the theater company's 36th season — their "most powerful yet" — will consist of three mainstage productions at its new permanent home in the Design District, as well as the annual New Works Festival, featuring a readings series and the 26th annual D-PAC PUP (Playwrights Under Progress) Fest.

The season will start with The Absentee by Julia Doolittle, running September 10-October 4, 2026. The play was the winner of the 2019-2020 Woodward/Newman Drama Award.

Far out in the Milky Way, “Beacons” serve as lighthouses for warping spaceships around the galaxy. When a U.S. Space Force ship explodes in the galaxy, the Operator finds herself alone in deep space, with only her ship’s AI for companionship. That is, until a persistent canvasser calls, desperate to convince her to vote absentee in the 2088 election.

As the Operator waits for the clean up to be over, she finds she has to come to terms with her isolation, grief, and her political voice.

The season's second production comes four months later, with Equivocation by Bill Cain, running February 4-28, 2027. In 1605 England, a terrorist plots to assassinate King James I and blow Parliament to kingdom come. Shagspeare (after a contemporary spelling of the Bard's name) is commissioned by the prime minister, to write the “true historie” of the plot. And it must have witches — the king wants witches.

But as Shag and the acting company of the Globe investigate the plot, they discover that the king's version of the story might, in fact, be a coverup. Shag and his actors are confronted with the ultimate moral and artistic dilemma. Speak truth to power and perhaps lose their heads? Or take the money and lie? Is there a third option? Equivocation?

A high-stakes political thriller with contemporary resonances, Equivocation gallops from the great Globe to the Tower of London to the halls of Parliament to the heart of Judith, Shag's younger daughter, who finds herself unexpectedly at the very heart of the political, dramatic and — ultimately — human mystery.

The final mainstage production of the season comes at the 2027 New Works Festival with Black Republican by KDT Artistic Company Member Jamal Gibran Sterling, running June 3-27, 2027.

Originally featured as a Staged Reading in the 2026 New Works Festival, the ambitious first play by Sterling centers on a Black Republican candidate on the national stage who finds his campaign threatened by an activist who challenges everything he claims to stand for. Their battle exposes uncomfortable truths about race, politics, and the stories we tell ourselves.

In addition to Black Republican, the 2027 New Works Festival will showcase four staged readings of some of the newest and most exciting Texas-based playwrights. Each reading will feature accomplished Dallas-Fort Worth actors and directors to highlight the breadth of talent in the area.

The final part of the festival is D-PAC PUP (Playwrights Under Progress) Fest, featuring six staged readings of jury-selected plays written by Dallas-Fort Worth high school students and featuring student actors directed by area professionals. PUP Fest is the culmination of Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership with Dallas ISD and Junior Players.

Kitchen Dog Theater offers two season subscription packages for their inaugural season in their new facility. The Kitchen Dog package includes a ticket to all three mainstage productions for any performance date for $90+ $8 fees for adults and $75 +$8 fees for students and seniors (ages 65+). The Saver Dog package includes a ticket to all three mainstage productions for Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays only. It is $60 + $8 fees for adults and $45 + $8 fees for students and seniors.

Both packages grant full access to the Staged Reading Series and PUP Fest. Subscribers also receive premium reserved seating for in-person performances, as well as subscriber-only discounts on additional single tickets, 2026 special events, and KDT merchandise.

Subscription packages are on sale now, and single tickets for each show will go on sale on Monday, August 24, at kitchendogtheater.org.

design district kitchen dog theater new works festival performing-arts plays theater