Theater Critic Picks

What to see onstage in Dallas-Fort Worth now: 11 openings for December

Uptown Players presents Star of Wonder: A Carol Ann Christmas.

Photo courtesy of Uptown Players

Whether you're seeking holiday nostalgia, family-friendly fun, or show-stopping spectacle, theaters across DFW are ready to deliver. Keep in mind that a lot of holiday shows opened last month and play well into December, so these entries are in addition to those.

Here are 11 shows opening at Dallas-Fort Worth theaters in December, listed in order of start date:

All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914
Stage West Theatre, December 3-21
On Christmas Eve 1914 in the cold trenches of World War I, something miraculous happened. A lone soldier stepped into no man’s land, lifted his voice in song and began this remarkable true story. In that no-longer-silent night, troops from both sides laid down their weapons for an extraordinary holiday celebration of music, feasting, and camaraderie.

Black Nativity
Bishop Arts Theatre Center, December 4-21
This reimagined production follows a family coming together to celebrate the holiday season while carrying the weight of a recent loss. Guided by the wisdom of their ancestors and interwoven with the timeless story of the birth of Jesus, the heartfelt retelling offers both reflection and joy.

The Lion in Winter
Theatre Three, December 4-28
Set during Christmas in the court of 12th-century England, The Lion in Winter follows King Henry II as he reunites his estranged queen and their sons for the holidays, igniting a battle over succession. The play examines family conflict, shifting alliances, and the pursuit of power.

A Christmas Story: The Musical
Broadway at the Bass, December 5-7
From Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the songwriting team behind Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman, A Christmas Story: The Musical brings the classic 1983 movie to hilarious life onstage.

Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings
Lyric Stage, December 5-21
At first, Francis, Jinx, Smudge, and Sparky aren't sure why they've returned to Earth for another posthumous performance, but a phone call from the heavenly Rosemary Clooney lets them know that they're needed to put a little harmony into a discordant world. Sprinkled among the Christmas offerings are audience favorites, like their riotous three-minute-and-eleven-second version of The Ed Sullivan Show — this time featuring the Rockettes, the Chipmunks, and The Vienna Boys Choir, as well as a Plaid Caribbean Christmas that puts the "Day-O" in Excelsis.

Star of Wonder: A Carol Ann Christmas
Uptown Players, December 5-14
In this festive world premiere, Carol Ann Knipple — Uptown’s hilariously misguided theatrical dreamer from When Pigs Fly — returns with a new holiday spectacular. After her beloved Melody Barn burns to the ground, Carol Ann heads to Dallas to mount the show of her dreams … at a theater she doesn’t quite understand.

A Winter's Cabaret
Amphibian Stage, December 12-13
The annual cabaret returns for an evening of cozy nostalgia, laughter, and a touch of holiday magic. The event will celebrate two local talents: Amber Marie Flores (last seen at ‘Phib' in Juan Garcia), and Zak Reynolds. Under the music direction of Vicky Nooe, the one-hour performance blends humor, tenderness, and song into a feel-good celebration of the season.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Broadway Dallas, December 16-January 4
Disney’s 30th anniversary production is a breathtaking musical filled with the romance and grandeur. The enchanting and timeless tale has been brought to life like never before, with spectacular new sets and dazzling costumes. The show boasts the Oscar-winning and Tony Award-nominated score, including the classic songs “Be Our Guest” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

Leslie Odom, Jr.: The Christmas Tour
AT&T Performing Arts Center, December 20
This festive concert features holiday classics, originals from Odom's Christmas albums, and special performances of songs from Hamilton, the Broadway phenomenon that earned him a Tony for his iconic role as Aaron Burr.

Sarah Brightman: A Winter Symphony
AT&T Performing Arts Center, December 21
Soprano Sarah Brightman, of Phantom of the Opera fame, comes to Dallas with her new Christmas spectacle featuring an orchestra, choir, special guests, and Brightman performing many of her holiday classics and greatest hits.

Mrs. Doubtfire
Broadway at the Center, December 26-28
Out-of-work actor Daniel Hillard will do anything for his kids. After losing custody in a messy divorce, he creates the kindly alter ego of Scottish nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire in a desperate attempt to stay in their lives. As his new character takes on a life of its own, Mrs. Doubtfire teaches Daniel more than he bargained for about how to be a father.

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Theater News

Dallas' Kitchen Dog Theater unveils powerful 2026-2027 season lineup

Photo by Cameron Cobb

Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas will put on three mainstage productions for their 2026-2027 season.

Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas has revealed the lineup for the 2026-2027 season, featuring a slate of plays that boasts power players like kings, prime ministers, space force commanders, and would-be presidents.

According to a release, the theater company's 36th season — their "most powerful yet" — will consist of three mainstage productions at its new permanent home in the Design District, as well as the annual New Works Festival, featuring a readings series and the 26th annual D-PAC PUP (Playwrights Under Progress) Fest.

The season will start with The Absentee by Julia Doolittle, running September 10-October 4, 2026. The play was the winner of the 2019-2020 Woodward/Newman Drama Award.

Far out in the Milky Way, “Beacons” serve as lighthouses for warping spaceships around the galaxy. When a U.S. Space Force ship explodes in the galaxy, the Operator finds herself alone in deep space, with only her ship’s AI for companionship. That is, until a persistent canvasser calls, desperate to convince her to vote absentee in the 2088 election.

As the Operator waits for the clean up to be over, she finds she has to come to terms with her isolation, grief, and her political voice.

The season's second production comes four months later, with Equivocation by Bill Cain, running February 4-28, 2027. In 1605 England, a terrorist plots to assassinate King James I and blow Parliament to kingdom come. Shagspeare (after a contemporary spelling of the Bard's name) is commissioned by the prime minister, to write the “true historie” of the plot. And it must have witches — the king wants witches.

But as Shag and the acting company of the Globe investigate the plot, they discover that the king's version of the story might, in fact, be a coverup. Shag and his actors are confronted with the ultimate moral and artistic dilemma. Speak truth to power and perhaps lose their heads? Or take the money and lie? Is there a third option? Equivocation?

A high-stakes political thriller with contemporary resonances, Equivocation gallops from the great Globe to the Tower of London to the halls of Parliament to the heart of Judith, Shag's younger daughter, who finds herself unexpectedly at the very heart of the political, dramatic and — ultimately — human mystery.

The final mainstage production of the season comes at the 2027 New Works Festival with Black Republican by KDT Artistic Company Member Jamal Gibran Sterling, running June 3-27, 2027.

Originally featured as a Staged Reading in the 2026 New Works Festival, the ambitious first play by Sterling centers on a Black Republican candidate on the national stage who finds his campaign threatened by an activist who challenges everything he claims to stand for. Their battle exposes uncomfortable truths about race, politics, and the stories we tell ourselves.

In addition to Black Republican, the 2027 New Works Festival will showcase four staged readings of some of the newest and most exciting Texas-based playwrights. Each reading will feature accomplished Dallas-Fort Worth actors and directors to highlight the breadth of talent in the area.

The final part of the festival is D-PAC PUP (Playwrights Under Progress) Fest, featuring six staged readings of jury-selected plays written by Dallas-Fort Worth high school students and featuring student actors directed by area professionals. PUP Fest is the culmination of Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership with Dallas ISD and Junior Players.

Kitchen Dog Theater offers two season subscription packages for their inaugural season in their new facility. The Kitchen Dog package includes a ticket to all three mainstage productions for any performance date for $90+ $8 fees for adults and $75 +$8 fees for students and seniors (ages 65+). The Saver Dog package includes a ticket to all three mainstage productions for Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays only. It is $60 + $8 fees for adults and $45 + $8 fees for students and seniors.

Both packages grant full access to the Staged Reading Series and PUP Fest. Subscribers also receive premium reserved seating for in-person performances, as well as subscriber-only discounts on additional single tickets, 2026 special events, and KDT merchandise.

Subscription packages are on sale now, and single tickets for each show will go on sale on Monday, August 24, at kitchendogtheater.org.

design district kitchen dog theater new works festival performing-arts plays theater