Theater Critic Picks

11 musicals and plays in Dallas-Fort Worth to jumpstart the New Year

"Lungs," presented by Mac Welch, is part of the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project.

Image courtesy of Mac Welch

Need a little breathing room, some time to recover from the holidays? The theaters in Dallas-Fort Worth know this, and have thoughtfully held off on most openings until the middle of end of the month.

But once they get going, they get going. From a new musical to an intimate concert from one of music's most iconic characters, Shakespeare kings to Tudor queens, and plenty of provocative plays, the options are varied and very, very good.

Here are 11 shows appearing in Dallas-Fort Worth theaters in January, listed in order of start date:

Dungeons & Dragons Fundraiser
Theater Three, January 3
A variety of well-known voice actors, guided by master storyteller Shawn Gann (Dragon Ball Super, One Piece, Star Wars, Ultraman, and Borderlands) as Dungeon Master, will play a live campaign where audience members are encouraged to come and go, or watch the entire campaign unfold from beginning to end. Note: This is not to be confused with Dungeons & Dragons: The Immersive Quest or Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern.

Kimberly Akimbo
Broadway Dallas, January 6-18
A new musical about growing up and growing old (in no particular order), Kimberly Akimbo is the winner of five Tony Awards including Best Musical. Kimberly is about to turn 16 and recently moved with her family to a new town in suburban New Jersey. She is forced to navigate family dysfunction, a rare genetic condition, her first crush … and possible felony charges. Ever the optimist, she is determined to find happiness against all odds and embark on a great adventure.

Silhouettes
Echo Theatre, January 16-17
In this new musical, two women meet in a Chicago clinic and face decisions about abortion, motherhood, and personal autonomy. Matters of choice echo through decades in the 75-minute musical for two, plus a chorus.

Macbeth
Shakespeare Dallas, January 16-February 1
Also referred to superstitiously as "The Scottish Play," this Shakespearean tragedy involves three witches telling a Scottish general that he will be King of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth slays the king and becomes the new king, resulting in civil war and deep unrest.

The Graduate
WaterTower Theatre, January 20-February 8
Seduction. Rebellion. The moment that changed everything. The Graduate is a bold reimagining of the classic film that follows recent college graduate Benjamin Braddock as he is drawn into a scandalous affair with the iconic Mrs. Robinson. As passion turns to chaos, The Graduate remains as sharp, provocative, and thrilling as ever.

Lungs
Mac Welch for AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project, January 22-25
“Ten thousand tons of CO2. That’s the weight of the Eiffel Tower. I’d be giving birth to the Eiffel Tower.” This humorous remark captures the tone of Duncan Macmillan’s striking yet occasionally frustrating play. M and W, a young couple, find themselves examining the scope of their lives together and the world around them when they begin considering starting a family.

Six
Broadway Dallas, January 27-February 1
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.

Deer
Theatre Three, January 29-February 22
Empty-nesters Ken and Cynthia hit a deer while driving to their weekend house in the Poconos. As their lifeless, bloody new pet takes over their lives, Ken and Cynthia will either rekindle their love or kill each other.

Fat Ham
Dallas Theater Center, January 30-February 8
In this regional premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning, 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.

A Night With Janis Joplin
Circle Theatre, January 29-February 14
A vibrant‭, ‬electrifying tribute to the legendary rock and blues singer‭, this concert-style show ‬celebrates her life‭, ‬her influences‭, ‬and the raw power of her music‭. Janis shares the stage with the voices of trailblazing women who shaped her sound, ‬from Aretha Franklin to Bessie Smith‭.

Where We Stand
Stage West Theatre, January 29-February 15
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, will be a co-production with Dallas Theater Center.

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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.

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