Ch-ch-ch-changes in 2023
Dallas-Fort Worth theater's wild 2023, from singing Jesus to leadership switch-ups
His Story: The Musical was the story of the year.
Two musical productions staged in mall parking-lot tents were not on my 2023 BINGO card, but then again neither was a hometown horror movie or a $15 million gift to create a whole new department at SMU. But here we are!
The year 2023 was an unpredictable one for theater in Dallas-Fort Worth. Let's take a look back at some of the year's biggest happenings:
Without a doubt, the biggest theater story of the year was His Story. The faith-based, modern musical about the life and death of Jesus Christ erected a massive tent in The Colony's Grandscape parking lot during the summer and promised an open-ended run of the "Broadway-style" show, which was written by then-16-year-old Anna Miriam Brown, a DFW local.
It held a giant premiere complete with star cameos (Duck Dynasty's Willie and Korie Robertson were producers) and then it abruptly closed only a month later. To be honest, Magic Mike Live was a much more entertaining option when it came to performances in parking-lot tents.
The second-biggest news of 2023 was a major boon for Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts. Philanthropist and Broadway producer G. Marlyne Sexton gave the university $15 million to create a musical theater specialization, and DFW theater legend Joel Ferrell was tapped to develop and run it. 2026 is the target start date for this new undergraduate institute.
Ferrell was also involved this year in The Finale, a full-length feature film created by and starring DFW talent. The horror flick was filmed at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Kalita Humphreys Theater and Uptown's Theatre Three, and is available to stream on several platforms.
Local talent also got some promotions this year, as Kat Edwards was named Theatre Three's new managing director and Parker Gray assumed the position of executive director at Second Thought Theatre.
Bringing in experience from the outside are Gustavo Ott as Teatro Dallas' new executive artistic director and Samantha Turner as the new executive director of Dallas Children's Theater.
DFW also made waves outside Texas, with Rebecca Lowrey becoming the new owner and CEO of MusicalWriters.com. The organization provides coaching, publicity, networking, table reads, and workshop opportunities to help new musicals get off the ground, and could hopefully turn DFW into a launchpad for new works.
Two new theater companies made their debut in 2023: Sweet Apple Productions and NTPA Deaf Theatre, a division of North Texas Performing Arts.
Lyric Stage expanded its reach by opening up its rehearsal space in the Dallas Design District as a new performance venue. The Great American Trailer Park Musical was its inaugural show there, and Sweeney Todd is on tap for this spring.
Amphibian Stage gave theatergoers a little wallet relief with a new ticketing approach: name your own price.
The very start of 2023 saw the sad closure of Imprint Theatreworks, but artistic director Ashley H. White landed at the helm of Circle Theatre as its new leader.
Raphael Parry, a co-founder of Shakespeare Dallas and its former artistic and executive director, retired in March.
And now for the truly sad part of any year-end round-up: Bruce R. Coleman and John Garcia both passed away in 2023.
Coleman was a director, costumer, set designer, teacher, and playwright, and succumbed unexpectedly to a heart attack.
Garcia founded The Column, an online theater review site with a fundraising component that donated thousands to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
One part of DFW theater we won't be sad to see go? Those awful, uncomfortable green chairs at the Wyly Theatre — they were sold off in September to make way for gray chairs that an ATTPAC spokesperson promised will "provide much more comfort both in seating and back areas." Cheers to that!
