Playboy Marfa Heads to Dallas

Controversial Playboy Marfa does bunny hop from West Texas to Dallas Contemporary

Critically inclined Marfans and the Texas Department of Transportation can breathe a big sigh of relief. Artist Richard Phillip’s controversial Playboy Marfa sculpture is on its way to a new destination: the Dallas Contemporary.

The work, which plays homage to 1970s American culture, landed on Highway 90 this summer and quickly stirred up a tempest in a West Texas teapot. Residents felt the 40-foot-tall neon Playboy logo hovering over a stylized 1972 Dodge Charger fell under the aegis of a corporate advertisement, rather than a true work of art. It wasn’t long before the Texas Department of Transportation deemed it illegal and gave Playboy 45 days to dismantle it.

But Phillips, who cited Donald Judd as a huge influence in the construction of the work, which also features a Juddian hollow, concrete rectangle, views Playboy Marfa and its signature bunny as “a beacon, a touchstone where all these different aspects of our lives — art, politics, sex — come together without contradiction.”

The Dallas Contemporary agrees, as it will feature Playboy Marfa as part of Phillip’s upcoming exhibition, which opens Friday, April 11, 2014, and runs through August 24. It is the artist’s first one-man museum show in the United States.

The work, originally commissioned by Neville Wakefield and Landis Smithers, Playboy’s team in charge of reviving the brand for a younger generation, will undergo installation in late March, just in time for the Dallas Art Fair and Dallas Arts Week.

Clearly, Marfa’s loss is our gain.

Says Peter Doroshenko, the Contemporary’s executive director, “With the long and significant history Richard Phillips has had with Dallas since the mid-1990s, it is exciting that Dallas Contemporary is organizing his first museum exhibition in the United States. The exhibition will include the large-scale work, Playboy Marfa, which was installed roadside outside of Marfa, Texas.

“A seminal artist of our time, Phillips is constantly examining popular culture from found imagery or carefully selected image constructions. His paintings deal with ideas, identity, sexuality, desires and social positioning. Having this exhibition in Dallas is long overdue.”

Playboy Marfa was up for less than a month before the Texas Department of Transportation demanded Playboy dismantle it.

Photo by Adrian Gaut

Playboy Marfa was up for less than a month before the Texas Department of Transportation demanded Playboy dismantle it.

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Theater Critic Picks

Here are the 12 must-see shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for November

Undermain Theatre presents Exit the King

Photo by Paul Semrad

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Grocery and department stores might want us to believe it's already the holidays, but at least local theater companies are (mostly) holding off until around Thanksgiving.

November starts with absurdism, moves along to a movie-turned-Broadway musical, and even throws a creepy thriller in the mix before it's time for Grinches, Scrooges, and Charlie Brown's sad Christmas tree.

In order of start date, here are 12 local shows to watch this month:

Exit the King
Undermain Theatre, through November 24
Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist comedy is set in the crumbling throne room of the palace in an unnamed country, where King Berenger the First has only the duration of the play to live. Once, it seemed he ruled over an immense empire and commanded great armies; now his kingdom has shrunk to the confines of his garden wall. Refusing to accept his end, he is attended by his present and former Queens, who must help him face the final inevitable truth of life.

Patti & Theo
Ochre House Theatre, November 2-23
The dark comedy with music that's written and directed by artistic director Matthew Posey returns. Patti and Theo are struggling artists in Brooklyn, New York. They are big boozers, and time will tell if the Drinking Religion outlives them. Song, music, and shadow play highlight this story of two lovers who hold each other passionately at arm’s length.

Mrs. Doubtfire
Broadway at the Bass, November 5-10
Everyone’s favorite Scottish nanny comes to Fort Worth in the musical based on the beloved film, which tells the hysterical and heartfelt story of an out-of-work actor who will do anything for his kids.

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe
WaterTower Theatre, November 6-17
Jane Wagner’s ever-timely one-woman show examines American society, art, and human connectivity, and explores the feminist movement. As one actor transforms into a series of other archetypal characters, they become the play’s guiding conscience for the audience. Under the guidance of the narrator, a role originated by Lily Tomlin, the audience is treated to a mischievously clever observer of the society around her.

A Tuna Christmas
Casa Mañana, November 9-17
It's 24 hours before Christmas and all comic hell is about to break loose. Tuna’s delightfully eccentric characters attempt to cope with seasonal traumas, like a disaster-prone production of A Christmas Carol and a yard-decorating contest that’s being sabotaged by a mysterious Christmas phantom.

Sleuth
Theatre Three, November 14-December 15
A cunning mystery writer, Andrew Wyke, invites his wife's lover, Milo Tindle, to his secluded English manor, setting off a deadly game of manipulation and deceit. As the tension rises, surprising twists keep the audience guessing the dramatic end. Presented in the Theatre Too space.

Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical
Performing Arts Fort Worth, November 19-24
Max the Dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is "two sizes too small," decides to steal Christmas away from the holiday-loving Whos.

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Dallas Children's Theater, November 23-December 22
Discover the meaning of Christmas — or experience the nostalgia of childhood — while sharing laughs with the Peanuts Gang along the way. As a live combo fills hearts with music, merriment, and warmth, the story based on the Charles Schulz classic special is here just in time for the holidays.

Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings
Lyric Stage, November 29-December 22
The holiday classic by Stewart Ross opens Lyric Stage's 31st season. At first, Francis, Jinx, Smudge, and Sparky aren't sure why they've returned to Earth for another posthumous performance, but a phone call from the heavenly Rosemary Clooney lets them know that they're needed to put a little harmony into a discordant world.

The Play That Goes Wrong
Stage West, November 29-December 22
At opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor, things are quickly going from bad to horrible. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), the whole evening is a disastrous smash.

A Christmas Carol
Dallas Theater Center, November 29-December 28
Three spirits have come to visit the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and take him on a fantastic journey through Christmases past, present, and future. Brimming with joyful songs, magical spirits, and holiday cheer, this holiday classic embodies a story of joy, redemption, and the spirit of Christmas.

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
Theatre Three, November 29-December 29
The vibrant musical spectacle set in 19th-century Russia, and based on a 70-page segment of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, lets romance and intrigue unfold amid glittering ballrooms and tumultuous relationships. Its score features a unique blend of electro-pop and Russian folk-inspired music.

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