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."