Art for all

Your money's no good here: DMA returns to free admission in 2013

Photo courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art
Photo courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art

In a move that's sure to please art enthusiasts and penny pinchers, the Dallas Museum of Art announced Tuesday that it will offer free general admission to the museum beginning January 21, 2013.

The DMA had previously offered free admission up until 2001. In a nod to art accessibility, the museum is returning to that policy. Prices currently range from free for kids under 11 to $10 for adults. Although general admission will be open, you'll still have to pay for certain special exhibitions and events since they incur extra costs.

Although general admission will be free, you'll still have to pay for certain special exhibitions and events at the DMA.

Additionally, the museum is changing its membership program to one called DMA Friends & Partners.

Under the "Friends" portion, membership will be free and will include a system wherein visitors can to earn a variety of rewards just by visiting exhibitions or participating in local arts events.

Eleven different levels of paid memberships will also be offered under the "Partners" portion. Costs range from $100 to $25,000, with varying benefits.

“Through a return to free general admission and the new Friends & Partners program, we can open the doors of the Museum and show appreciation to our visitors for the many ways their participation matters to the DMA," says Maxwell L. Anderson, The Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art.

As if that wasn't enough, the DMA also announced two technologies tied to the new membership program. The museum just launched a new website, www.dma.org. It's a redesign of the current site and allows visitors to track their membership rewards.

Members will also be issued a card that can be used at the museum through a new software system. These technologies are designed to increase interaction between the museum and its visitors, with the hopes of creating a greater art community.

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Theater Critic Picks

The 13 must-see shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for December

Dallas Theater Center presents A Christmas Carol (2024)

Photo by Jordan Fraker

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It's December, and we've thrown the rules out the window. There are plenty of shows still running from November that are either holiday-tinged or something you'd be wise to bring out-of-town guests to. After all, isn't most of December just figuring out how to entertain family?

Below are those five savior shows in alphabetical order, with eight soon-to-open plays and musicals following in their typical listing by start date:

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Dallas Children's Theater, through 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.

A Christmas Carol
Dallas Theater Center, through 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.

Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings
Lyric Stage, through 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.

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
Theatre Three, through 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.

The Play That Goes Wrong
Stage West, through December 22
WaterTower Theatre, December 31-January 12
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.

Opening in December:

Shucked
Broadway Dallas, December 3-15
This Tony Award-winning musical comedy features a book by Tony Award winner Robert Horn, a score by the Grammy Award-winning songwriting team of Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and direction by Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien. The corn-fed, corn-bred American musical is sure to satisfy an appetite for great musical theater.

Christmas with Kenny & Dolly
Casa Mañana, December 3-22
Fort Worth’s own Jolie Holliday returns to The Reid Cabaret for a production that celebrates Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers' 1984 quadruple-platinum Christmas album. Get in the holiday spirit with songs like “Once Upon a Christmas,” “I Believe in Santa Claus,” “A Christmas to Remember,” “Silent Night,” and more.

Auntie Explains Xmas
Jubilee Theatre, December 5-15
In this heartwarming journey of holiday cheer from Jubilee Theatre's founding artistic director, Rudy Eastman, the family musical brings the magic of Christmases past and present.

Black Nativity
Bishop Arts Theatre Center, December 5-22
Inspired by Langston Hughes' 1960 Broadway production, Black Nativity returns with hand-clapping, toe-tapping, and finger-snapping theatrical wonderment for the 20th anniversary production at Bishop Arts Theatre Center. The holiday favorite is the heartwarming retelling of the Nativity story that includes Gospel music, dramatic dance, and biblical narrative.

A Queer Carol
Uptown Players, December 6-15
Written by Joe Godfrey, the contemporary retelling of Dickens' classic set in modern-day Manhattan follows Ben Scrooge, a prominent interior decorator, and his assistant Bob Cratchit, who endures the abuses of Scrooge while simultaneously trying to take care of his lover, Tim. With humorous twists on the three Ghosts, including an over-the-top drag queen as the Ghost of Christmas Present, this retelling through a queer lens promises to be a festive and thought-provoking experience.

Christmas Actually
Uptown Players, December 17
This one-of-a-kind cabaret show from Blake McIver (from Full House and The Little Rascals) and Emerson Collins (A Very Sordid Wedding and Southern Baptist Sissies) bring their signature flair, fun banter, and powerhouse vocals to kick-start the season.

Dear Evan Hansen
Broadway at the Center, December 19-21
Meet Evan Hansen, a high school student who always feels like he’s on the outside looking in. After writing a letter to himself that was never meant to be seen, Evan becomes entangled in a lie that was never meant to be told and a life he never dreamt could be his. As a result, Evan finally gets what so many of us are searching for: the chance to finally fit in.

Peter Pan
Broadway Dallas, December 25-January 5
This high-flying musical has been thrilling audiences of all ages for close to 70 years and is now being brought back to life in a new adaptation by celebrated playwright Larissa FastHorse, directed by Emmy Award winner Lonny Price and choreographed by Lorin Latarro.

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