Theater Critic Picks

These are the 10 can't-miss shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for September

The State Fair of Texas doesn't begin until September 29, so that leaves your September free to catch up on all the new shows opening in Dallas and Fort Worth. Fill your mind and soul with culture before it's time to fill your belly with Corny Dogs and Funnel Cake Bacon Queso Burgers.

Here are the 10 shows to see, in order by start date:

So Go the Ghost of Mexico, Part Two
Undermain Theatre, September 6-October 1
Matthew Paul Olmos' new work, the second play in a three-part trilogy, focuses on two warring gangs undergoing a power shift. But here's the twist: it's all women. Stephanie Cleghorn Jasso returns after starring in part one last year, though this story doesn't focus on her previous character, a 20-year-old criminology student who became police chief of a small town in Chihuahua.

Cedar Springs or Big Scary Animals
Theatre Three, September 7-October 1
Artistic director Jeffrey Schmidt promised that Theatre Three would devote more resources to nurturing new work from local artists this season, and first up is a new work from Matt Lyle. It centers on an older white couple from the country that unknowingly moves to "the gayborhood" to be closer to their granddaughter in Dallas.

Ruined
Echo Theatre, September 8-23
Dallas favorites Denise Lee and Tyrees Allen star in this Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Lynn Nottage, which follows bar owner Mama Nadi as she gives three young women refuge and an unsavory means of survival in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Casa Mañana, September 9-17
Dallas native Olivia Sharber, who later performed as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and danced in the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, made her Casa debut in Joseph in 2010. Now she returns — along with DFW performers Alexandra Cassens, Emmie Kivell, Jacob Rivera-Sanchez, Michael Anthony Sylvester, and Seth Womack — in this dramatized parable of (you guessed it) Joseph and his dazzling coat of many colors.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Performing Arts Fort Worth, September 12-17
This bio-musical makes extensive use of Carole King's song catalog, telling the story of the songwriter and performer's early life in jukebox fashion. Chilina Kennedy plays the iconic King, who penned such hits as "One Fine Day," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," and "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman."

Fun Home
AT&T Performing Arts Center Broadway Series, September 13-24
The Tony Award-winner for best musical in 2015 is based on Alison Bechdel’s bestselling graphic memoir, and explores her complicated family relationships and sexual self-discovery. Former Miss America Kate Shindle stars as Alison, and if you're lucky you might see former DFW performer Anthony Fortino, who's touring with the show as an understudy.

In the Tall Grass
TeCo Theatrical Productions, September 14-24
Incredibly timely and still terribly sad, Paul Kalburgi's play was written in response to the murder of Shade Schuler, a 22-year-old transgender woman whose decomposed body was found dumped in a field in the Medical District of Dallas in July 2015. It's told through verbatim first-hand testimonies of transgender women of color in Dallas. This replaces the PlayPride LGBT Competition, which will return in 2018.

Deferred Action
Cara Mía Theatre Co., September 14-29
Cara Mía's 2016 collaboration with Dallas Theater Center gets another life on tour, traveling first to Southern Methodist University (September 14-17), then University of North Texas in Denton (September 21-23), and then to Cara Mía's home at the Latino Cultural Center (September 27-29). The powerful play sheds light on the reception immigrants receive when entering and living in America, focusing here on one man's experience as he grows up undocumented.

Titus Andronicus
Shakespeare Dallas, September 20-October 15
Believed to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, this violent tale follows Titus (played by executive director Raphael Parry), a general in the Roman army who is engaged in a cycle of revenge with Tamora, Queen of the Goths. A warning: Don't bring a pie as part of your al fresco picnic at the Samuel Grand Amphitheatre.

Hair
Dallas Theater Center, September 22-October 22
Beanbags. Sandwiches. A slide in the Wyly Theatre. A bunch of nude hippies. Kevin Moriarty's immersive staging of this groundbreaking rock musical brings the Age of Aquarius into the 21st century, when the themes of peace, love, and freedom are more relevant than ever.

The national tour of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical comes through Fort Worth.

Performing Arts Fort Worth presents Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Photo by Joan Marcus

The national tour of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical comes through Fort Worth.

theater openings

Season announcement

Mystic Pizza's Dallas premiere leads new AT&T PAC Broadway season

Photo courtesy of Lively McCabe Entertainment

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The 2026-2027 Broadway at the Center season at Dallas' AT&T Performing Arts Center will feature a mixture of new and returning shows, including several recent Tony Award-nominated productions.

According to a release, the main season will consist of five musicals: Mystic Pizza: A New Musical, Shucked, Beetlejuice, The Who’s Tommy, and The Wiz. All productions take place at Winspear Opera House in downtown Dallas.

They will be joined by two previously-announced co-productions with Broadway Dallas - The Notebook and Hadestown - as well as TITAS/Dance Unbound co-production, Dance Me - The Music of Leonard Cohen.

First up will be Dance Me - The Music of Leonard Cohen, a creation inspired by the work of famed Montreal-based poet, artist, and songwriter Leonard Cohen, performed by Ballet Jazz Montreal.

The homage to the iconic artist evokes the grand cycles of existence in five seasons, as described in Cohen’s deeply reflective music and poems. There will be performances on September 18 and 19, 2026.

The first theater production will be Mystic Pizza: A New Musical, making its Dallas premiere. It is based on the 1988 rom-com that tells the story of three working-class girls who navigate the complexities of life, love, and family in a small-town pizza joint.

The score features megahits of the '80s and '90s, including songs originally recorded by Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, John Cougar Mellencamp, and more. It will run November 20-22, 2026.

After the Broadway Dallas co-production of The Notebook, running January 12-24, 2027, the season picks up again with the return of Shucked, which played at the Music Hall at Fair Park in December 2024.

In the Tony Award-winning comedy, the corn that protects a small community starts to die. The town needs answers. But who will dare to venture beyond the borders of Cob County?

The Broadway hit, running March 19-21, 2027 is about an unlikely hero, an unscrupulous con artist, and a battle for the heart and soil of a small town.

Hadestown will follow shortly thereafter, running March 30-April 4, 2027, before the third Broadway Dallas co-production of the season, Beetlejuice, running April 28-May 2, 2027.

The musical, which previously came to Dallas in early 2024, is based on Tim Burton’s 1988 film and tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon with a thing for stripes.

June 2027 will bring the final two productions of the season, The Who’s Tommy (running June 3-5) and The Wiz (running June 10-13).

The Who's 1969 rock opera is about the young Tommy Walker whose innate knack for pinball catapults him from reticent adolescent to celebrity savior. It features the anthems “I’m Free,” “See Me, Feel Me,” “Sensation,” and “Pinball Wizard.”

The Wiz, which just came to Dallas in September 2025, is a groundbreaking twist on The Wizard of Oz that features soul, gospel, rock, and '70s funk that puts Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.

“This season is designed to welcome both longtime subscribers and new audiences with a lineup that celebrates the full range of Broadway - from high-energy crowd pleasers and reimagined classics to bold contemporary storytelling,” said Warren Tranquada, CEO and President of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, in a statement.

For the first time in their partnership with Broadway Dallas, Broadway at the Center subscribers will enjoy early access and full subscriber benefits for Beetlejuice through May 1.

After May 1, all ticket purchases, customer service questions, and support for Beetlejuice will be handled directly by Broadway Dallas.

The Center offers a flexible subscription package that allows patrons to choose four or five shows from the season lineup, with the option to add or remove shows by contacting the box office directly.

Subscription package prices range from $150-$660, and sales begin on Monday, April 13, 2026. Packages may be purchased by phone at 214-880-0202, or online at attpac.org/broadway.

att performing arts center beetlejuice broadway at the center music mystic pizza performing-arts the wiz theater winspear opera house