Theater Review

The Night Alive takes Dallas theatergoers from subtle magic to the patently absurd

Katherine Bourne, Bruce DuBose, and Scott Latham in The Night Alive at Undermain Theatre.

Photo by Katherine Owens

There are times in The Night Alive when hints of otherwordly happenings infiltrate the everyday lives of a few Irish outcasts. Then there are the other times when bouts of melodramatic ridiculousness hit you over the head like a claw hammer.

Thoroughly detailed down to the last dripping faucet and crumpled newspaper, Undermain Theatre's production is most effective when it dabbles in subtlety.

Playwright Conor McPherson's dialogue often discusses the mundane and banal, but with the lilting Irish accents the cast has mostly perfected, it sounds like poetry. Until act two, that is, when the action veers into the patently absurd.

But for the first act, we are watching the cautious dance between Tommy (Bruce DuBose), an aging layabout who lives parasitically off his crabby uncle Maurice (the fierce Gordon Fox), and Aimee, a battered young woman with nowhere else to go. Tommy gallantly came to Aimee's rescue after seeing her get hit by a mysterious man (Marcus Stimac) outside a Dublin shop, and has brought the twitchy creature back to his messy flat.

There's not so much the suggestion of romance between the two as there is a blossoming of mutual respect. Tommy thoughtfully provides the girl with sundries and hot tea, allowing her a place to stay for a few nights. As Aimee, Katherine Bourne watches Tommy warily, only creeping toward his unsophisticated kindness haltingly. Her accent is wobbly, but the ferocity in her eyes makes up for it.

This new dynamic confuses Tommy's friend Doc, whose slow yet cheerful manner gradually changes into resentment toward the interloper. Scott Latham is remarkable, never bringing Doc over the edge to caricature. Under Dylan Key's measured direction, it's achingly human to watch the three of them tiptoe around this strange new triangle.

A jarringly violent occurrence right before intermission feels out of place, but not even close to the curious events of the second act. It almost feels like a completely different show, and the subtle shades of our three main characters are eclipsed by blunt words and actions. While there might have been a delicate magic during the night, what emerges in the morning is an entirely different animal.

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The Night Alive plays through December 12 at Undermain Theatre.

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Museum News

2 Dallas museums partner on landmark Roy Lichtenstein acquisition

Courtesy

Roy Lichtenstein

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) and the Nasher Sculpture Center will present works from the joint acquisition of more than 50 artworks generously gifted by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation in 2024, showing prints, drawings, and sculptures by the groundbreaking American artist at the two neighboring institutions in the Dallas Arts District.

According to a release, the installations will be on view from January 31 to August 16, 2026 at the Nasher and from January 1 to July 5, 2026 at the DMA.

The joint gift made by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation to the DMA and the Nasher in Celebration of the Centennial of Roy Lichtenstein is comprised of a selection of prints, drawings, maquettes, and sculptures by Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997), a leading figure in twentieth-century American art and a pioneer of the Pop Art movement.

The works were specifically selected by the curatorial staff of both institutions and relate to objects already in their respective collections including sculptures, works on paper, and maquettes, along with tools and study objects.

Organized by the Nasher Sculpture Center’s Senior Curator Dr. Catherine Craft, The Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the DMA Ade Omotosho, and The Allen and Kelli Questrom Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings at the DMA Dr. Emily Friedman, the presentation is divided according to each institution’s strengths and will be shown in combination with objects by Lichtenstein already in their respective permanent collections.

At the Nasher, works relating to three sculptures from the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection—Head with Blue Shadow, Peace through Chemistry, and Double Glass—will be accompanied by a selection from the Foundation's gift of more than two dozen drawings and maquettes associated with Lichtenstein’s Brushstroke sculptures.

At the Dallas Museum of Art, the presentation features a set of Brushstroke sculptures carved from wood alongside various prints and studies that reveal the artist’s eclectic imagery.

Events
In addition to the exhibition, the DMA and the Nasher will co-host a Study Day focused on the artist on March 28, 2026, sponsored by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. This scholarly event will bring together a variety of curators, academics, and conservators to discuss Lichtenstein’s studio practice and the fabrication and conservation of his sculptures.

Concluding the Study Day will be a public conversation held at the DMA between Nasher Director Carlos Basualdo and artist Alex Da Corte, regarding Da Corte’s work on the forthcoming Lichtenstein retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

“In bestowing this generous gift, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation established Dallas as a center for the study and display of Lichtenstein’s work,” Basualdo says in a statement. “This collaborative presentation of the gift and the corresponding programming is an important step in the direction of pursuing that goal, deepening the understanding of an artist who remains immensely influential to contemporary art and its relationship with mass media and today’s culture.”

Roy Lichtenstein is made possible by support from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District (DTPID).

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