Theater Critic Picks

Dallas-Fort Worth theater critics offer a standing ovation to 2017-18 stars

Fresh faces and local legends alike walked away with awards from the Dallas-Fort Worth Critics Forum, as this year's eight critics gathered to debate and vote for their onstage favorites from the newly closed previous season.

Newcomers included Zander Pryor for a remarkable performance in Stage West's Hir; Imprint Theatreworks and its strong inaugural season; and SMU graduate student Amelia Baransky, who earned two nods for her set design.

It was also a strong year for new works, with plays tackling issues both local and national and even a homegrown musical popping up on the list.

Not everyone's picks made it through the voting process, which needed either more than 50 percent of the votes or a unanimous decision if only two or three critics had seen the production. Look for personal favorites not included here to pop up in critics' end-of-year lists.

Without further ado, here are the awards:

Outstanding Direction:

Christopher Carlos, The Royale, Kitchen Dog Theater
Cameron Cobb, Pompeii!!, Kitchen Dog Theater
Kevin Moriarty, Hair, Dallas Theater Center
Pam Myers-Morgan, Ruined, Echo Theatre and Denise Lee Onstage
Jason O’Connell, Cyrano, Amphibian Stage Productions
Joanie Schultz, Hand to God, WaterTower Theatre
Garret Storms, Hir, Stage West
Christie Vela, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Theatre Three; Don’t Dress for Dinner, Stage West; Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., Second Thought Theatre
Ashley H. White, Glengarry Glen Ross and Murder Ballad, Imprint Theatreworks
Ashley H. White and Joe Messina, The Revolutionists, Imprint Theatreworks

Outstanding New Play or Musical:

Babel by Cry Havoc Theater Company Ensemble, Cry Havoc Theater Company
Bread by Regina Taylor, WaterTower Theatre
Cedar Springs or Big Scary Animals by Matt Lyle, Theatre Three
Cyrano by Jason O’Connell and Brenda Withers, Amphibian Stage Productions
In the Tall Grass by Paul Kalburgi, Bishop Arts Theatre Center
Pompeii!! by Cameron Cobb, Michael Federico, and Max Hartman, Kitchen Dog Theater

Outstanding Performance by an Actor:

Tyrees Allen, Ruined, Echo Theatre and Denise Lee Onstage
Parker Gray, Hand to God, WaterTower Theatre
Max Hartman, Ironbound, Kitchen Dog Theater; Pompeii!!, Kitchen Dog Theater; Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., Second Thought Theatre
John-Michael Marrs, Cyrano, Amphibian Stage Productions
Mark Oristano, Glengarry Glen Ross, Imprint Theatreworks
Zander Pryor, Hir, Stage West
Chris Ramirez, Hair, Dallas Theater Center; Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue, WaterTower Theatre; Empathitrax, Second Thought Theatre
Jamal Gibran Sterling, The Royale, Kitchen Dog Theater

Outstanding Performance by an Actress:

Jessica Cavanagh, Self Injurious Behavior, Theatre Three
Stormi Demerson, Hillary and Clinton, Second Thought Theatre; Bread, WaterTower Theatre
Kate Hamill, Cyrano, Amphibian Stage Productions
Jenny Ledel, Pride & Prejudice, WaterTower Theatre; Empathitrax, Second Thought Theatre; Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., Second Thought Theatre
Shannon McGrann, Hand to God, WaterTower Theatre
Denise Lee, Ruined, Echo Theatre and Denise Lee Onstage; Bread, WaterTower Theatre
Elly Lindsay, John, Undermain Theatre

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast:

Cyrano, Amphibian Stage Productions
The Great Distance Home, WaterTower Theatre
Hair, Dallas Theater Center
Pompeii!!, Kitchen Dog Theater
The Revolutionists, Imprint Theatreworks
The Royale, Kitchen Dog Theater
Three Sisters, Undermain Theatre

Outstanding Touring Production:

The Color Purple, Dallas Summer Musicals
Cry Havoc!, Amphibian Stage Productions
Fun Home, AT&T Performing Arts Center
The King and I, AT&T Performing Arts Center
The Humans, AT&T Performing Arts Center
Waitress, Dallas Summer Musicals and Performing Arts Fort Worth

Outstanding Design or Creative Contribution:

John Arnone, scenic design, so go the ghosts of méxico, part 2, and Three Sisters, Undermain Theatre
Amelia Bransky, scenic design for Frankenstein, Dallas Theater Center and Empathitrax, Second Thought Theatre
Cameron Cobb, Michael Federico, and Max Hartman, music and lyrics, Pompeii!!, Kitchen Dog Theater
Design Team, Hair, Dallas Theater Center
Jeremy Dumont, choreography, A Chorus Line, Uptown Players
Ensemble, music and lyrics, Original Man, Ochre House
Kelsey Leigh Ervi and Ensemble, movement, The Great Distance Home, WaterTower Theatre
Sam Lao, music, and Brian McDonald, sound, Bread, WaterTower Theatre
Justin Locklear and Carla Parker, music and lyrics, Mousey, Ochre House
Bart McGeehon, set and projection design, Babel, Cry Havoc Theater Company
Korey Parker, properties design, A History of Everything, Cry Havoc Theater Company
Ryan Rumery, original music and sound design, Frankenstein, Dallas Theater Center
Jessie Wallace, costume design, The Revolutionists, Imprint Theatreworks
Ashley H. White, fight choreography and intimacy direction, Murder Ballad, Imprint Theatreworks

Special Citations:

Mara Richards Bim, the founder of Cry Havoc Theater Company, and her teen ensemble, for conducting thorough research and creating compelling verbatim drama, including this year's Babel, about gun violence.
Amphibian Stage Productions for its Comedy Series, curated by Baron Vaughn, for giving stand-up comics a place to workshop new material in a week-long residency.
Trinity Shakespeare Festival, for a decade of indelible performances, glorious sets and costumes, evocative sound and lighting, and penetrating directorial insight.

Participating Critics:

Lindsey Wilson, CultureMap
Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News
Janice L. Franklin, TheaterJones.com
Jan Farrington, TheaterJones.com
Martha Heimberg, TheaterJones.com and Dallas Weekly
Arnold Wayne Jones, Dallas Voice
Mark Lowry, TheaterJones.com
Jill Sweeney, TheaterJones.com

Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum is an organization of professional, paid critics that recognizes outstanding theatrical contributions in North Texas. Members see 45 or more productions per season (Sept. 1-Aug. 31) and are not practicing theater artists.

Cameron Cobb, Michael Federico, and Max Hartman's Pompeii!! at Kitchen Dog Theater won big.

Photo by Matt Mrozek

Cameron Cobb, Michael Federico, and Max Hartman's Pompeii!! at Kitchen Dog Theater won big.

theater awards

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.

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