Actor Spotlight

Driven Dallas actor has Hamilton — and cooking — in his sights

Year after year, Calvin Scott Roberts has worked on his onstage versatility. And when you look at the Dallas actor's resume, it certainly shows in the variety of roles he's taken on: 1930s musician, protective brother, abusive husband, magical king, and soon-to-be unreliable witness in a landmark murder case.

That last role would be Jim Conley in WaterTower Theatre's concert version of Parade, but before that mounts in March, Roberts is starring as one-fourth of the cast of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change at Theatre Three. This musical journey about dating, love, parenting, and relationships first debuted at Theatre Three 17 years ago, but the yearly production is now is being revitalized by B.J. Cleveland.

Before Roberts ventures down the highway of love (the show plays December 29 through February 12) he took the time to fill out our survey of serious, fun, and sometimes ridiculous questions.

Name: Calvin Scott Roberts

Role in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change: Man 2

Previous work in the DFW area: Jesus Christ Superstar, Rent (Casa Mañana); Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Spunk, Honky, Creep (WaterTower Theatre); Memphis, Crazy For You, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, The Drowsy Chaperone (Theatre Three); Miracle on 34th St., Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters (Dallas Children’s Theater); The Color Purple (Jubilee Theatre); Julius Caesar, Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare Dallas); A Christmas Carol (Dallas Theater Center); The Producers (Uptown Players), and more.

Hometown: Dallas

Where you currently reside: Physically, Dallas. Emotionally, NYC.

First theater role: Santa Claus

First stage show you ever saw: Singin' in the Rain

Moment you decided to pursue a career in theater: My senior year in high school, I played the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. During the scene after “King of the Forest,” I found myself on all fours roaring like a lion. I knew then that theater was what I wanted and was supposed to do. I’d always loved performing, but that moment was pretty definitive for me.

Most challenging role you’ve played: Mister in The Color Purple. Discovering what made him abusive was a difficult task. It’s surprising when you realize what can bring out the darkest parts of the human heart.

Special skills: Some accents, cooking, obsessing over TV shows, evil laughing.

Something you’re REALLY bad at: Math. Cutting in a straight line.

Current pop culture obsession: Westworld. Love & Hip Hop. Snapchat. Twitter. (I’m a little late.) Instagram stories.

Last book you read: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Favorite movie(s): Clue, The Goonies, School Daze, Big Trouble in Little China, Coming to America

Favorite musician(s): Mos Def, Sara Bareilles, Emile Sande, Leon Bridges, Beyonce (duh), Michael Jackson, Prince, India Arie, Adele, Ella Fitzgerald, Christophe Willem, Audra McDonald, Frank Ocean

Favorite song: At the moment, “Don’t Hurt Yourself” by Beyonce featuring Jack White.

Dream role: Bobby in Company, Burr and Washington in Hamilton

Favorite play(s): Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, God of Carnage, Fences (all August Wilson), Hamlet, The Tempest, Topdog/Underdog, Laughing Wild, Sexual Perversity in Chicago

Favorite musical(s): Hamilton, Anyone Can Whistle, Company, Ain't Misbehavin', Edges, Fly By Night, Evita, Dreamgirls, In The Heights, A Chorus Line, Marie Christine, Ragtime, Gypsy, Kinky Boots, The Wild Party, The Scottsboro Boys

Favorite actors/actresses: Jeffrey Wright, Audra McDonald, Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, James Marsden

Favorite food(s): Pho, Italian, Doritos

Must-see TV show(s): Westworld

Something most people don’t know about you: I used to be a cheerleader.

Place in the world you’d most like to visit: Spain

Pre-show warm-up: Usually some type of annoying vocalizations.

Favorite part about your current role: Getting to play some really fun characters I don’t usually get to play.

Most challenging part about your current project: The costume changes will be tricky.

Most embarrassing onstage mishap: During a Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughter’s performance, I decided to underdress a costume I had never underdressed before in order to save time. Well, of course, I underestimated how tight I should tie the drawstring because during our finale dance number, the top pants fell to my knees in front of a billion kids!

Career you’d have if you weren’t in theater: I’d be a chef.

Favorite post-show spot: My bed.

Most memorable theater moment: Offstage, meeting Audra McDonald. Onstage, the entire run of The Drowsy Chaperone at Theatre Three. To this day it is one of the best — top three — experiences I’ve had.

Dallas actor Calvin Scott Roberts.

Photo courtesy of Theatre Three

Dallas actor Calvin Scott Roberts.

interview qa theater

Season Announcement

Echo Theatre introduces Dallas audiences to a season of strangers in 2026

Photo by Julieta Cervantes

'The Roommate' was recently on Broadway.

It's a "Season of Strangers" for Echo Theatre this year, as the Southwest's premier company for promoting dramatic works by women+ focuses on how someone different than you can change your life.

The 28th season begins with the new musical Silhouettes by Jordan Ealey and Ari Afsar. This score-in-hand workshop was developed in the aftermath of the fall of Roe v. Wade, and examines a pivotal moment in American history through the intersecting lives of two women navigating the decision to have an abortion. Echo's managing and artistic director Kateri Cale directs, with Vonda K. Bowling as musical director.

In a joint statement, Ealey and Afsar say that Silhouettes was born from their need to process the emotional and political aftermath of Roe’s fall. “We continue to see that history is cyclical and equity is fleeting,” they say. “But when policy fails, art has the opportunity to step in. Silhouettes is a musical about choice, sisterhood, and intergenerational courage.”

They add that presenting the work in Dallas reflects their commitment to community-building in states like Texas, where bans and restrictions have made women and gender minorities particularly vulnerable. “We want this musical to be a safe and brave haven amid attempts to create a culture of fear and a reminder that people are not alone.”

It runs January 16-17, 2026, and admission is free, though a $20 donation is suggested.

The world premiere of You Must Wear A Hat by C. Meaker is next, and plugged-in Dallas theater fans might recognize the play from its reading at Kitchen Dog Theater in 2019.

Tuesday and Weeks make hats on the Great Barrier Reef, waiting for the world to end. It's described as "A play for two. And a rabbit."

C. “Meaks” Meaker (they/them) is a playwright, essayist, and teacher whose work often explores queerness, monstrosity, and the end of the world. Their plays have been performed and developed across the United States, including the Kennedy Center, Seattle Repertory Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, Annex Theatre (Seattle), Hub Theater (D.C.), Fat Theater Project (Chicago), and About Face (Chicago). They’re a two-year finalist for the Dramatist Guild National Fellows program and a recent finalist for the Jerome Hill Theater Arts Fellow.

You Must Wear a Hat runs February 27-March 14, 2026.

The season closes with The Roommate by Jen Silverman. The play was on Broadway in 2024 starring marquee names Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone.

In it, a divorced Midwesterner takes a roommate from The Bronx. A relationship evolves and secrets unfold into a darkly comedic exploration of life choices. It runs June 19-July 4, 2026.

All shows this season will be performed at the Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther Dr., in White Rock Lake Park.

Tickets range from Pay-What-You-Can to $40, with discounts available for students and seniors.

Additional events this season include Cake by the Lake on April 21, Echo's free birthday party fundraiser that also launches its reading series, Echo Reads.

Echo Reads runs April through September, presenting six plays in six month. All plays will be performed on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm, and then read the next day at different venues around the city.

Echo Offstage Podcasts is going monthly. The free podcast series interviews women+ who are making art and making a difference.

And Echo is already teasing its 29th season, which will begin in the fall of 2026 and run the more traditional September through August instead of the calendar year.

The season 29 opener is a co-production, the company mysteriously hints, involving three Dallas theaters, two shows, and an internationally known writer. We'll all just have to wait and see what this intriguing production might be.

echo theatre podcasts world premieres echo reads the roommate play theater