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."

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Season announcement

Mystic Pizza's Dallas premiere leads new AT&T PAC Broadway season

Photo courtesy of Lively McCabe Entertainment

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The 2026-2027 Broadway at the Center season at Dallas' AT&T Performing Arts Center will feature a mixture of new and returning shows, including several recent Tony Award-nominated productions.

According to a release, the main season will consist of five musicals: Mystic Pizza: A New Musical, Shucked, Beetlejuice, The Who’s Tommy, and The Wiz. All productions take place at Winspear Opera House in downtown Dallas.

They will be joined by two previously-announced co-productions with Broadway Dallas - The Notebook and Hadestown - as well as TITAS/Dance Unbound co-production, Dance Me - The Music of Leonard Cohen.

First up will be Dance Me - The Music of Leonard Cohen, a creation inspired by the work of famed Montreal-based poet, artist, and songwriter Leonard Cohen, performed by Ballet Jazz Montreal.

The homage to the iconic artist evokes the grand cycles of existence in five seasons, as described in Cohen’s deeply reflective music and poems. There will be performances on September 18 and 19, 2026.

The first theater production will be Mystic Pizza: A New Musical, making its Dallas premiere. It is based on the 1988 rom-com that tells the story of three working-class girls who navigate the complexities of life, love, and family in a small-town pizza joint.

The score features megahits of the '80s and '90s, including songs originally recorded by Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, John Cougar Mellencamp, and more. It will run November 20-22, 2026.

After the Broadway Dallas co-production of The Notebook, running January 12-24, 2027, the season picks up again with the return of Shucked, which played at the Music Hall at Fair Park in December 2024.

In the Tony Award-winning comedy, the corn that protects a small community starts to die. The town needs answers. But who will dare to venture beyond the borders of Cob County?

The Broadway hit, running March 19-21, 2027 is about an unlikely hero, an unscrupulous con artist, and a battle for the heart and soil of a small town.

Hadestown will follow shortly thereafter, running March 30-April 4, 2027, before the third Broadway Dallas co-production of the season, Beetlejuice, running April 28-May 2, 2027.

The musical, which previously came to Dallas in early 2024, is based on Tim Burton’s 1988 film and tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon with a thing for stripes.

June 2027 will bring the final two productions of the season, The Who’s Tommy (running June 3-5) and The Wiz (running June 10-13).

The Who's 1969 rock opera is about the young Tommy Walker whose innate knack for pinball catapults him from reticent adolescent to celebrity savior. It features the anthems “I’m Free,” “See Me, Feel Me,” “Sensation,” and “Pinball Wizard.”

The Wiz, which just came to Dallas in September 2025, is a groundbreaking twist on The Wizard of Oz that features soul, gospel, rock, and '70s funk that puts Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.

“This season is designed to welcome both longtime subscribers and new audiences with a lineup that celebrates the full range of Broadway - from high-energy crowd pleasers and reimagined classics to bold contemporary storytelling,” said Warren Tranquada, CEO and President of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, in a statement.

For the first time in their partnership with Broadway Dallas, Broadway at the Center subscribers will enjoy early access and full subscriber benefits for Beetlejuice through May 1.

After May 1, all ticket purchases, customer service questions, and support for Beetlejuice will be handled directly by Broadway Dallas.

The Center offers a flexible subscription package that allows patrons to choose four or five shows from the season lineup, with the option to add or remove shows by contacting the box office directly.

Subscription package prices range from $150-$660, and sales begin on Monday, April 13, 2026. Packages may be purchased by phone at 214-880-0202, or online at attpac.org/broadway.

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