Theater Critic Picks

Spooky thrills and clever comedy take over Dallas stages in October

Lyric Stage presents "The Rocky Horror Show."

Photo courtesy of Lyric Stage

October is here and it's spooky season onstage, with productions that include the cult classic Rocky Horror Show, The Addams Family, a piece inspired by Alfred Hitchcock, and a play about the trading of Luka Doncic away from the Mavericks — that's the scariest of all!

Here are 12 shows appearing in Dallas-Fort Worth theaters in September, listed in order of start date:

Latinidades Festival
Cara Mia Theatre, October 2-12
Dallas’s largest international Latino theatre festival is back for its sixth year with six mainstage productions and various second-stage performances spanning theater, dance, music, and poetry to highlight diverse Latin American voices. Also returning is the Arts Symposium: "How Our Arts Will Thrive in Times of Change." For a full schedule of events, go to the festival website.

cleaVage
MusicalWriters.com Productions & Lakeside Community Theatre, October 3-18
It's the world premiere of this a laugh-out-loud new musical comedy about the rise, fall, and rebound of silicone gel breast implants. Conceived by Dallas plastic surgeon Dr. Ron Friedman and co-written with Laura Goodenow, cleaVage has been described as “Hamilton with breasts” by Texas Monthly.

Noises Off
Dallas Theater Company, October 3-26
Michael Frayn’s uproarious classic British comedy is a play-within-a-play that plunges the audience 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.

King Hedley II
Soul Rep Theatre Company & Bishop Arts Theatre Center, October 9-26
Set in 1985 Pittsburgh, August Wilson's King Hedley II follows an ex-convict's fight to rebuild his life and reclaim his future amid hardship, hope, and the weight of the past.

Mac Beth
Circle Theatre, October 9-November 1
After school‭, ‬seven teenage girls convene in an abandoned lot‭. ‬They drop their backpacks‭, ‬transform their uniforms‭, ‬and dive into a DIY retelling of Macbeth‭. As the girls conjure‭ ‬kings‭, ‬warriors‭, ‬and witches‭, ‬Shakespeare’s bloody tale seeps into their reality‭.

The Trade: A Tragedy in Four Quarters
Theatre Three, October 9-November 2
In this fast-paced, highly unauthorized, foam middle-fingered satire, the Dallas Mavericks are on the brink of greatness — so naturally, Nico slams the self-destruct button. With a Greek chorus narrating the tragic downfall, a Kiss Cam, “Luka Doncic,” “Mark Cuban,” and a cameo from “Anthony Davis’ Hernia,” The Trade skewers the madness behind the moves, the myth that millionaires and billionaires must know what they’re doing, and the heartbreak of loving something that doesn’t love you back. In Dallas, tragedy wears Nikes.

The Rocky Horror Show
Lyric Stage, October 10-26
In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky.” Complete with sass from the audience, cascading toilet paper, and an array of other audience participation props, this deliberately kitschy rock ’n’ roll sci-fi gothic musical is more fun than ever.

Incarnate
Second Thought Theatre, October 15-November 1
Incarnate, by STT’s own Parker Davis Gray, is a horror/thriller that follows two artists over the course of a year in their seemingly pointless pursuit of creation while suffering under great grief. Trapped in her cell, Rosamund is hellbent on escaping her fate while the Man who kidnapped her struggles with the consequences of what grief can do, and how far he will go to escape it. Can they live with themselves? Or, more importantly, who else is living with them?

Ride the Cyclone
Stage West, October 16-November 2
In this critically acclaimed cult musical, a freak roller coaster accident derails the lives of the entire St. Cassian High School chamber choir. Now dead, trapped in carnival limbo, they’re greeted by a mechanical fortune teller who proposes a talent show. The prize? One lucky winner will return to life.

The Birds
Amphibian Stage, October 17-November 9
Based on Daphne du Maurier’s story (the inspiration for Hitchcock’s famous film), The Birds brings a chilling and suspenseful look at human nature in the face of societal collapse. When killer birds start attacking, three strangers seek shelter in an isolated house. But as paranoia creeps in, they realize the biggest threat might not be coming from outside.

The Addams Family
Broadway at the Bass, October 24-26
Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family. A man her parents have never met. And if that weren’t upsetting enough, she confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before: keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents.

A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical
Broadway at the Bass, October 28-November 2
This is the untold true story of a Brooklyn kid who became a chart-busting, show-stopping, award-winning American icon, created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself.

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Dance Off

Texas ballet company turns Timothée Chalamet dig into genius promotion

Courtesy

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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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