Exhibition news

Dallas museum showcases historic U.S. documents including Constitution and Emancipation Proclamation

Field trip alert: A new exhibition at the George W. Bush Presidential Center will display rare versions of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, Magna Carta, Emancipation Proclamation, and more historically significant American documents.

"Freedom Matters" opens Thursday, March 2 at the museum on the campus of Dallas' Southern Methodist University. It will run through December 31, 2023. The exhibition also coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

"Freedom Matters" will encourage visitors to "consider the pursuit of freedom throughout history, how the work of extraordinary and ordinary people has impacted freedom for millions of individuals, and what we all can do in our everyday lives to advocate for the blessings of liberty and a free society," according to a release.

The documents and artifacts going on display - such as a 14th-century copy of the Magna Carta - were used to inform citizens in an era before mass media and social media, the museum reminds. Also showcased will be books by philosophers John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

The pieces come from the collections of the Harlan Crow Library and David Rubenstein.

“The 'Freedom Matters' exhibit will be a real treat for our visitors,” says Ken Hersh, Bush Center CEO and president, in the release. “The Bush Center is honored to celebrate democracy and fundamental freedoms. I can think of no better way to commemorate the Bush Center’s 10th anniversary than with a tribute to our Nation’s foundational values.”

Beyond just displaying documents and artifacts, the museum promises to take guests on "an interactive journey through the experience of freedom itself, including where freedom comes from, what it means, the characteristics of free societies, and the role of the individual in protecting and spreading freedom around the world," they say.

The exhibit builds on the themes of the evolution, understanding, and pursuit of freedom throughout history.

During a section called "American Experiment," for example, visitors will consider how the United States has sought to live up to the ideals articulated in the Declaration of Independence and other founding documents.

"Case studies through moments in history – including the creation of the United States, the Civil War and Reconstruction, women’s suffrage, the Indian Citizenship Act, Japanese American incarceration during World War II, the Civil and Voting Rights Acts, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and marriage equality — are centered on primary sources, including the documents themselves and narratives and perspective of people of the time," the release says.

Admission to "Freedom Matters" will be included with the purchase of tickets to visit the Bush Center’s permanent exhibit, which includes steel from the World Trade Center and a full-scale replica of the Oval Office.

George W. Bush Presidential Center "Freedom Matters"

Photo by Andrew Kaufmann / George W. Bush Presidential Center

Books by Martin Luther King, Jr. on display.

Constitution of the United States Declaration of Independence Emancipation Proclamation George W. Bush Presidential Center Southern Methodist University museums

Season Announcement

Dallas Theater Center finds rhythm and rhyme in 2025-26 season

Photo by Joan Marcus

"Ragtime" was recently staged in New York by City Center Encores.

The 2025-26 season for Dallas Theater Center is a mix of classic and new, large and small, and it even raises the curtain on more collaborations with the Tony Award-winning regional theater.

This season includes the launch of a three-year partnership between Dallas Theater Center and Stage West Theatre in Fort Worth, as well as a multi-year partnership with SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts and the Sexton Institute for Musical Theatre. An ongoing collaboration continues with TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and DTC will newly partner with Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra on a concert to be performed at Bass Performance Hall featuring FWSO, conducted by Robert Spano, and actors from DTC’s Brierley Resident Acting Company, directed by DTC's executive director Kevin Moriarty.

“Collaboration is at the heart of DTC’s mission,” Moriarty says. “It’s wonderful to join with TheaterSquared to support Jonathan Norton’s brilliant playwriting and introduce his work to a national audience. Further, by partnering with Stage West Theatre, SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts and the Sexton Institute for Musical Theatre, and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, we are able to expand opportunities for artists, introduce new audience members to the arts, and enrich our artistry. I’m grateful to be surrounded by so many talented, visionary artists and arts leaders here in North Texas and honored to be partnering with them this season.”

“In curating Dallas Theater Center’s 2025-26 season, I chose to follow my mission as a playwright, which is to break down barriers through the shared joy of great storytelling,” says interim artistic director Jonathan Norton. “And the five shows in our upcoming season will do just that."

First up is the classic slapstick farce Noises Off by Michael Frayn, directed by Ashley H. White.

This play-within-a-play plunges you into the chaotic world of Nothing’s On, a fictional touring production tormented by backstage romances and onstage blunders. From flubbed lines to slamming doors, witness the hilarious unraveling of a troupe of eccentric actors. It runs October 3-26, 2025, at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Next is the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fat Ham by James Ijames, a co-production with Stage West that's directed by vickie washington.

In this Dallas premiere of the hit Broadway comedy, Juicy’s got a lot on his plate — 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, a young man vows to break the cycles of violence in service of his own liberation and joy. It runs January 30-February 8, 2026, at the Kalita Humphreys Theater

The regional premiere of Donnetta Lavinia Grays' Where We Stand, another co-pro with Stage West, follows.

Directed by Akin Babatunde, Broadway actor and Dallas legend Liz Mikel plays a lone storyteller who weaves a world through music and magic — part fable, part call-and-response. Your town stands at a crossroads. A neighbor — desperate and out of options — has struck a dangerous bargain. Now, their fate lies in your hands. In this interactive play presented as a town hall gathering, the audience must choose: mercy or justice? The future of the town — and the fate of a soul — hang in the balance. This isn’t a game. It’s your choice. It runs February 27-March 22, 2026, at Bryant Hall on the Kalita Humphreys Theater campus.

The grand, sweeping musical Ragtime will be produced in partnership with SMU and AT&T Performing Arts Center, with direction and choreography by Sexton Institute for Musical Theatre director Joel Ferrell.

Based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and book by Terrence McNally, the musical tells the intertwined stories of three families from different walks of life, all chasing the American Dream in 1902 New York. It runs March 27-April 19, 2026, at the Wyly Theatre.

The world premiere of Jonathan Norton's Malcolm X and Redd Foxx Washing Dishes at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem closes out the regular season.

A commission by and co-production with TheatreSquared, which previously supported the development of Norton’s I AM DELIVERED’T, the play will be directed by Dexter J. Singleton. In the sweltering summer of 1943, two young men — Little & Foxy — forge an unlikely bond over leftover fried chicken and dirty dishwasher. But as the world outside erupts in chaos, their friendship is tested by betrayal, ambition, and the call of history. Inspired by a true story. It runs May 8-June 7, 2026, at the Wyly's Studio Theater.

"There is nothing like the rejuvenating sensation of rollicking laughter spreading through packed houses at Noises Off and Fat Ham," says Norton. "Where We Stand will inspire rich conversations about forgiveness and redemption. Ragtime will send audiences home lifted by the stirring music and feeling ever more hopeful in these changing times. And Malcolm X and Redd Foxx Washing Dishes At Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem will leave you empowered with the knowledge that true friendship can change the world. I can’t wait for October, when I get to welcome audiences at the start of our new season. We will throw open our doors and become Dallas’ town hall — a place for the community to gather for conversation, celebration, and ultimately, connection.”

There are also two add-on productions, beginning with the company's annual presentation of A Christmas Carol.

Based on the novel by Charles Dickens, adapted by Kevin Moriarty, and directed by Alex Organ, with musical direction by Cody Dry, and choreography by Joel Ferrell, DTC's production takes audiences on a magical Christmas Eve adventure with Ebenezer Scrooge, as three otherworldly spirits whisk him away on a breathtaking journey of hope and redemption. From the nostalgic warmth of Christmases past to the stark truths of the present and the ominous shadows of the future, Scrooge's journey is a spectacle of wonder. It runs November 28-December 28, 2025, at the Wyly Theatre.

Under the direction of Robert Spano and Kevin Moriarty, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Theater Center collaborate to bring musical drama and theatrical intrigue center stage in the FWSO's newest "Theater of a Concert" concept: Shakespeare at the Symphony.

Featuring Mendelssohn's Selections from A Midsummer Night's Dream and Prokofiev's Selections from Romeo and Juliet, interspersed with scenes from Shakespeare, the multi-discipline production brings The Bard to life. It runs February 27-March 1, 2026, at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth.

DTC’s Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company members will be featured throughout the 2025-26 season. Company members include Christina Austin Lopez, Tiana Kaye Blair, Blake Hackler, Bob Hess, Liz Mikel, Alex Organ, Molly Searcy, Tiffany Solano, Sally Nysteun Vahle, Esteban Vilchez, and Zachary J. Willis.

“The talent and collaborative spirit of my colleagues in the Brierley Resident Acting Company constantly inspires me,” Norton says. “And later this spring I look forward to announcing a new company member who will further enrich our artistry.”

Subscriptions are available now and can be purchased at DallasTheaterCenter.org and by phone at 214-522-8499. Single tickets are not yet available.

dallas theater center noises off fat ham ragtime smu sexton institute for musical theatre a christmas carol fort worth symphony theater