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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Theater Critic Picks

DFW theater heats up with 14 must-see shows this February

Photo by Jordan Fraker

Kitchen Dog Theater is opening its new performance space with a remounting of 'Pompeii!!'

It's cold outside but hot onstage, as evidenced by this extra-large list of plays and musicals opening in Dallas-Fort Worth this month. From theater festivals to one-night-only concerts, world premieres and returns to old favorites, there truly is something for everyone in February.

Here are 14 shows appearing in Dallas-Fort Worth theaters in January, listed in order of start date:

Hype Man: A Break Beat Play
Jubilee Theatre, through February 28
A pulse-pounding, thought-provoking work by Idris Goodwin that explores friendship, accountability, and the often-unseen creative forces shaping hip-hop culture. It follows three artists on the brink of a breakthrough: a rising rap star, his longtime hype man, and a gifted woman beat maker whose sound fuels their success. When an unexpected crisis erupts on the eve of a career-defining performance, all three must confront difficult truths about loyalty, responsibility, and whose voices are truly heard when the spotlight hits.

Gem of the Ocean
Soul Rep Theatre Company, February 5-22
Set in 1904, August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean begins the playwright's legendary Century Cycle with a spiritual journey toward freedom and redemption. Through the mystical presence of Aunt Ester, a 285-year-old spiritual guide, Wilson weaves a powerful meditation on memory, responsibility, and Black survival.

Pompeii!!
Kitchen Dog Theater, February 11-March 8
Opening their brand-new home in the Design District, Kitchen Dog Theater co-artistic directors Christopher Carlos and Tina Parker will direct a remounting of the company's first-ever company-created musical. Under the shadow of a volcano, the citizens of Pompeii sing, dance, and tell jokes in this zany vaudeville show. It's togas and tap shoes, centurions and sing-alongs in the timely satire of nationalistic hubris and narcissistic excess.

Medea/Liturgia
Cara Mía Theatre, February 12-22
This world premiere of a contemporary, multimedia adaptation of the Greek tragedy Medea is written and directed by Diego Fernando Montoya, Colombia’s 2025 National Playwriting Award winner. The production reimagines Medea through a modern lens that confronts imperialism, immigration, and rebellion.

22nd International Theatre Festival
Teatro Dallas, February 7, 14, 21
The festival takes place over three weeks, featuring three separate productions from Portugal, England, and Argentina.

Six
Broadway at the Bass, February 10-15
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. From Tudor queens to pop icons, the six wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix 50 years of historical heartbreak into a euphoric celebration of 21st-century girl power.

Dallas Divas
Lyric Stage, February 11
This one-night-only event serves as a fundraiser for Lyric Stage, with some of Dallas' most talented voices singing songs that run the gamut from Broadway to pop.

Bull in a China Shop
Amphibian Stage, February 11-March 1
This is an explosive queer romantic comedy set amidst the fight for women’s rights. Galloping across four decades at Mount Holyoke, Mary Woolley and Jeannette Marks light fires in the classroom and in the bedroom. As their ambitions grow bolder, so do the cracks in their relationship.

The Skin of Our Teeth
Undermain Theatre, February 12-March 8
Thornton Wilder’s classic three-part allegory about the resilience of mankind centers on the Antrobus family of the fictional town of Excelsior, New Jersey. The epic comedy-drama follows the family through an impending Ice Age, a world war, and a devastating flood, all of which they survive by the skin of their teeth.

The Great Gatsby
Broadway Dallas, February 17-March 1
Based on the classic American novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, this musical is an unforgettable journey of love, wealth, and tragedy that brings the Roaring Twenties to life onstage.

Penelope
Theatre Three, February 19-March 22
What’s Penelope been up to since Odysseus went off to war? She’s had a few drinks and started a band! So go ahead and grab a drink too, and listen to this ancient tale made new with a beautiful folk-inflected pop score about a woman wondering who she is if she’s alone, and discovering that she has, is, and will always be complete, with her husband by her side or otherwise.

Where We Stand
Dallas Theater Center, February 25-March 22
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? Broadway actor and Dallas legend Liz Mikel plays a lone storyteller who weaves a world through music and magic. The play, making its regional premiere, is a co-production with Stage West.

You Must Wear a Hat
Echo Theatre, February 26-March 14
Two survivors of a climate apocalypse strive to preserve their humanity, and community.

Hairspray
Casa Mañana, February 27-March 8
Set in 1962 Baltimore, the musical follows Tracy Turnblad, a big-hearted teen with dreams of dancing on The Corny Collins Show. As she fights for a chance to shine, Tracy challenges outdated norms and pushes for a more inclusive future. RuPaul's Drag Race star Nina West plays Edna Turnblad.

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