Shining a Spotlight

3 DFW theater companies team up to celebrate Black Broadway plays

Benja Kay Thomas in the New York premiere production of Pulitzer Prize winner Fat Ham at the Public Theater.

Photo by Joan Marcus

Three Dallas-Fort Worth theater companies are joining forces to create Black Broadway Summer, a way to promote their productions of a trio of important and recent Broadway plays by Black playwrights.

The idea is this: When you buy a ticket to one show, you receive a 20 percent discount to each of the other two. Season subscribers to each theater will also receive discount codes to each of the partner theaters’ productions.

The shows and their presenting theater companies are:

Soul Rep Theatre Company’s Ain’t No Mo’ by Jordan E. Cooper, playing June 5-8, 2025
Circle Theatre’s A Strange Loop by Michael R. Jackson, playing June 19-July 12, 2025
Stage West Theatre’s Fat Ham by James Ijames, playing August 28-September 14, 2025

The idea came from Soul Rep Theatre Company’s general manager, Ashley Oliver, who realized that three recent Broadway hits were being produced this summer right here in DFW.

“I was in conversation with [Dallas Theater Center interim artistic director] Jonathan Norton about Circle Theatre and their season," says Oliver. "When I looked on their website, I noticed that they were doing A Strange Loop in the summer…then I remembered that Stage West is doing Fat Ham the month after that. I felt really invested in making the connection with Stage West and Circle Theatre…and for all [of these shows] to be done this coming summer in DFW is not something that happens too often.”

Fort Worth's Stage West and Circle Theatre were quickly on board with the idea of partnering up.

“These are three landmark plays in their own right,” says Stage West associate producer Garret Storms. “Each of them played on Broadway between 2022-23, and while they had different trajectories, they all had a massive impact — both in the dialogues they created and on the American theater at large. It’s such a treat to see these three groundbreaking new American plays being produced this summer on local DFW stages.”

“This partnership provides us a unique opportunity to connect and serve our community with great impact,” says Circle Theatre artistic director Ashley White. “We are all excited to be working together to provide DFW audiences a unique chance to experience works that challenge, uplift, and celebrate Black stories in ways that are both entertaining and transformative."

Here's a little more about each play:

Ain’t No Mo’ at Soul Rep Theatre Company
June 5-8, 2025
Through a blend of sketch, satire, avant-garde theater, and a dose of drag, Ain’t No Mo’ answers the incendiary question: What if the United States government offered Black Americans one-way plane tickets to Africa? This unpredictable comedy by Jordan E. Cooper speeds through the turbulent skies of being Black in today's America.

A kaleidoscope of moments surrounding this great exodus are told by an ensemble cast featuring Peaches, a larger-than-life flight agent boarding the final plane leaving the United States.

For Soul Rep Theatre tickets, visit soulrep.org or call 214-613-3268.

A Strange Loop at Circle Theatre
June 19-July 12, 2025
This Pulitzer Prize-winning musical by Michael R. Jackson reshaped American theater during its celebrated Broadway run and took home the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical. It's a bold and exhilarating dive into the life of Usher, a Black queer musical theater writer navigating his identity, creativity, and personal challenges as he crafts a show about his own complex journey.

With its raw, adult themes and vital exploration of the queer Black experience, this musical offers a unique blend of song and storytelling that is intensely relevant, and vitally important.

For Circle Theatre tickets, visit circletheatre.com or call 817-877-3040.

Fat Ham at Stage West
August 28-September 14, 2025
In this Tony-nominated, Pulitzer Prize winning play by James Ijames, Juicy’s got a lot on his plate — after all, his mom just married his uncle. All he wants is to make his own way as a queer Black man in a Southern family. But here’s the rub: His father’s ghost just turned up at a backyard barbecue demanding vengeance.

In this delicious and sizzling reinvention of Shakespeare’s masterpiece Hamlet, a young man vows to break the cycles of violence in service of his own liberation and joy.

For Stage West tickets, visit stagewest.org or call 817-784-9378.

"These plays aren’t just shows — they’re conversations, reflections, and opportunities to connect on a deeper level," says White. "This summer will leave a lasting impact on our audiences, our theaters, and the communities we serve."

a strange loop black playwrights circle theatre fat ham soul rep theatre stage west theatre theater

Dance Off

Texas ballet company turns Timothée Chalamet dig into genius promotion

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It was a shot fired from Austin that rang out around the art world: In a recent CNN/Variety Town Hall featuring actors Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey, Chalamet offered an assessment of ballet and opera that immediately went viral.

During the onstage conversation at the University of Texas at Austin, Chalamet said, "I don't want to be working in ballet or opera, or you know, things where it's like, 'hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore.' All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership."

Chalamet immediately seemed to experience a twinge of regret, awkwardly adding, "But um...damn, I just took shots for no reason." He also sang a note and hid his face behind the cards he was holding.

Stars of the art forms, from Andrea Bocelli to Misty Copeland, immediately began to leap (jeté, if you will) to the the defense of opera and ballet.

In a genius marketing move, Austin's hometown ballet company is taking the unique opportunity to turn a hot topic into a promotion for its next production: Ballet Austin is inviting anyone named Timothée, Timothee, or Timothy to claim a free ticket to its upcoming world premiere of Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles, running March 27-29 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.

"Timothée… you were in Austin? We were literally down the street," a Ballet Austin post says. "Austin has brisket. Austin has music. Austin also has ballet."

All Timothées and folks with similar names will have to do to claim a ticket is send a message to Ballet Austin on social media and show identification. Everyone else who wants to see the supernatural show where "the line between victim and villain blurs" will have to purchase a ticket ($25-$125) at balletaustin.org.

Ballet Austin Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles Ballet Austin isn't afraid to add some edge to classic stories. Photo courtesy of Ballet Austin

Even if Chalamet's words were dismissive, he's obviously not wrong about the relative distribution of public interest between the classical arts and major films like Marty Supreme, the late 2025 film he stars in and is busy promoting. The film's commercially successful release set a record for A24, an already renowned studio.

Chalamet brought up ballet and opera in service of a larger point about pacing in movies. He said he exists in a middle ground as a consumer between wanting to be drawn in early and being more patient as a film progresses. Ultimately, he juxtaposed Barbie and Oppenheimer with the classical arts, pointing out that if the masses want to go see a film, they will "be loud and proud about it" organically, without needing performers to advocate for the seriousness of the art form.

Coincidentally, there couldn't be a better counterpoint to this argument than Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles.

As the title suggests, the story follows historical figure Marie Antoinette as she chooses to become a vampire, seeking "power, immortality, and vengeance," according to a press release. It takes a somewhat silly premise and gives it dramatic gravitas, with an original score by Austin composer Graham Reynolds, who is known outside of classical circles and sometimes composes for movie soundtracks.

"For Ballet Austin, the moment is an opportunity to remind audiences that ballet isn’t fading away," says a release about the new promotion. "It’s evolving, drawing new audiences and continuing to thrive in creative cities like Austin."

If Chalamet really does fall in the middle of instant and delayed artistic gratification, this sounds like the perfect production to draw him in.

And perhaps Ballet Austin should add people named Matthew to their promotion, since McConaughey threw the younger star a bone after his momentary walk-back, saying, "That's not a shot — I hear what you're saying."

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Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this story.

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