Theater Critic Picks

Spanish puppets + Shakespeare under the stars: 16 DFW shows for June

Shakespeare Dallas presents The Importance of Being Earnest

Shakespeare Dallas kicks off its summer season with Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest."

Photo by Jordan Fraker

We have all sorts of creatures and characters roaming Dallas-Fort Worth this month, from dancing cats and lions to Greek muses, heavenly workers, and Spanish-speaking puppets. You also get the choice of glorious air conditioning or spreading out your picnic blanket at Samuell-Grand Amphitheater to see Shakespeare under the stars. Summer theater season has begun!

Here are the 16 shows, listed in order of start date:

Cats
Casa Mañana, through June 8
Casa Mañana's Cats will have magic, mystery, and a Texas twist on the Broadway classic. This production of Cats maintains the original script and score while reimagining the setting in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

The Lion King
Broadway Dallas, June 4-July 3
Giraffes strut. Birds swoop. Gazelles leap. The entire Serengeti comes to life as never before. And as the music soars, Pride Rock slowly emerges from the mist. More than 100 million people around the world have experienced the visual artistry, the music, and the uniquely theatrical storytelling of this Broadway spectacular. Right across the parking lot, the American American Museum is hosting a special — and free — exhibition of masks and puppets from The Lion King.

Ain't No Mo
Soul Rep Theatre Company, June 5-8
This is the North Texas premiere of Fort Worth native playwright Jordan E. Cooper's work, which premiered on Broadway in 2022 and was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Play. Through a blend of sketch, satire, avant-garde theatre and a dose of drag, Ain’t No Mo’ answers the incendiary question: What if the United States government offered Black Americans one-way plane tickets to Africa? This production kicks off Black Broadway Summer, a partnership between three DFW theaters to celebrate and promote recent Broadway plays by Black playwrights.

Xanadu
Theatre Three, June 5-July 6
This high-energy, roller-skating extravaganza brings the 1980 cult film to life on stage. Set in Venice Beach, California, the musical follows Sonny Malone, a struggling artist who encounters Kira, a beautiful Greek muse. With Kira's guidance and a touch of divine inspiration, they embark on a mission to revive a rundown roller disco and reignite Sonny's artistic passion.

The Fall of Heaven
Jubilee Theatre, June 6-July 13
Set in a captivating realm where celestial beings navigate the complexities of human existence, the enchanting The Fall of Heaven offers a fresh perspective on love, laughter, and the pursuit of happiness. As the heavenly bureaucracy faces a crisis of cosmic proportions, audiences are treated to a delightful blend of wit, wisdom, and wondrous imagination.

Open
Echo Theatre, June 6-21
Open is a one-woman show that asks the audience to believe in the magic of love. The Magician must perform the impossible to save the life of her partner, Jenny. The clock is ticking, the show must go on, and this magician’s act may offer our last hope against a world filled with intolerance and hate.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Broadway at the Bass, June 10-15
Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life onstage, remixed in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. The production is a theatrical celebration of truth, beauty, freedom, and — above all — love.

The Importance of Being Earnest
Shakespeare Dallas, June 11-July 18
This witty romantic comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed in 1895, tells the story of two men who assume the identities of a fictional man named Ernest. This leads them to each fall in love and encounter an assortment of comical problems along the way.

An Iliad
Undermain Theatre, June 12-29
This encore presentation of a modern-day retelling of Homer's classic revives the landmark production from 2012 and 2019, all starring Bruce DuBose. The setting is simple: the empty theater. The time is now: the present moment. The lone figure onstage is a storyteller, possibly Homer, possibly one of the many bards who followed in his footsteps. He is fated to tell this story throughout history.

Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Fallen Soufflé
Stage West Theatre, June 12-29
It’s the eve of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, but her son, the playboy Prince of Wales, and French chef Auguste Escoffier have just turned up at 221B Baker Street in the thick of scandal and blackmail. Royal vice, priceless gems, and gourmet food abound in this new action-packed whodunit. Noted sleuth Sherlock Holmes reunites with his beloved Irene Adler and his partner Dr. Watson for their tastiest and most bizarre case yet.

SparkFest
Amphibian Stage, June 13-22
Amphibian Stage's SparkFest is annual celebration of live entertainment. This year, SparkFest shines a spotlight on the Native American and Indigenous community, offering an array of events, including theater, live music, storytelling, and poetry.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Dallas Theater Center, June 13-July 13
This classic Broadway musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice is based on the Bible’s Book of Genesis. It tells the journey of Joseph, son of Jacob, his 12 brothers, and his coat of many colors.

Othello
Shakespeare Dallas, June 18-July 20
In this Shakespearean tragedy, Othello is at the peak of his powers: not only Venice's greatest general but also husband to the noble and beautiful Desdemona. But he does not know that in passing over his servant Iago for promotion, he has created a deadly but brilliant enemy. This production is set in an alternate-history version of the 1990s in which the Venetian empire is the predominant political, military, and economic power.

A Strange Loop
Circle Theatre, June 19-July 12
This is the regional premiere Michael R‭. ‬Jackson‭'s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, which also took home the 2022‭ ‬Tony Award for Best Musical‭. It ‬offers a bold and exhilarating dive into the life of Usher‭, ‬a Black queer musical theater writer navigating his identity‭, ‬creativity‭, ‬and personal challenges as he crafts a show about his own complex journey‭.‬

The Billy Club Puppets
Hip Pocket Theatre, June 20-July 13
A mixture of commedia del arte, flamenco dancing, and puppetry, The Billy Club Puppets (Los títeres de cachiporra) is a poignant farce by Federico Garcia Lorca. Will Rosita marry her love, Cocoliche, or be whisked away by the miserly Don Cristobol? The broad tragicomedy is told in Lorca's original Spanish with English translations.

The Addams Family
Broadway at the Center, June 26-28
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.

RIP, Irma

Dallas actress and 'Soul Food' star Irma P. Hall passes away at 91

Courtesy photo

Irma P. Hall

Dallas actress and longtime resident Irma P. Hall, best known for playing Big Mama Jo in the 1997 film Soul Food, died Tuesday, November 10, surrounded by loved ones, according to an announcement from her family. She was 91.

Hall built a nearly five-decade career in film, television, and theater, earning an NAACP Image Award for Soul Food and a Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in The Ladykillers.

"Her commanding presence and remarkable ability to bring depth and authenticity to every character made her one of Hollywood's most respected and recognizable character actresses and a cultural icon," her family says in a statement.

Before becoming a familiar face on movie screens, Hall spent more than 20 years teaching English and foreign languages in Dallas public schools. She maintained her ties to her native Texas throughout her Hollywood career.

Born Irma Dolores Player on June 3, 1935, in Beaumont, Hall grew up in Chicago before returning to Texas to attend Texas College in Tyler. Her path to acting began unexpectedly when actor and director Raymond St. Jacques discovered her talent during a poetry reading in Dallas, her family says.

She made her film debut in Book of Numbers in 1973, launching a second career that would take her from Dallas stages to Tinseltown sets.

Hall became widely recognized for her portrayal of Big Mama Jo in Soul Food, the 1997 film about a close-knit family whose Sunday dinners bring generations together. She starred alongside stars Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, and Michael Beach.

"One of the most iconic mother roles in film history, "A Song for Mama" by Boyz II Men was written and produced by Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, specifically centering on Irma P. Hall's character in Soul Food," the family statement says. "Decades after its original release, this song is still one of the most popular and enduring Mother's Day anthems of all time."

Hall's other credits included A Family Thing (1996), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), Beloved (1998), Patch Adams (1998), The Ladykillers (2004), Collateral (2004), and Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns (2008). She also reprised her role as Mama Joe in the television series based on the film.

Hall's performance in Soul Food earned her an NAACP Image Award for outstanding supporting actress in a motion picture. In 2004, she shared a Jury Prize at Cannes for The Ladykillers, in which she starred opposite Tom Hanks. She also received honors from the Chicago and Kansas City film critics associations for A Family Thing and was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame.

Courtesy photo

Irma P. Hall stayed connected to the Dallas arts and theater community throughout her life.

Hall remained connected to Dallas and its arts community her whole life, her family says. She co-founded the Dallas Minority Repertory Theatre in 1973. Her contributions are also remembered through the Irma P. Hall Black Theatre Awards, known as The Irmas, an annual celebration of performing and technical theater talent across Dallas-Fort Worth, founded in 2015.

Education remained another lifelong passion. Hall received an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts and Education from Texas College in recognition of her work in the arts and education. At Inspiring Body of Christ Church in Dallas, where she was a longtime member and cherished Church Mother, she regularly visited the church's University of Dreams school to read to children and share her love of storytelling. She also participated in the church's theater ministry.

“Today, we celebrate the extraordinary life of a woman whose faith, wisdom and love touched so many," senior pastor Rickie G. Rush says in a statement. "Our beloved Church Mother, Irma P. Hall, has taken her final bow on the stage of life and stepped into eternity.”

Hall is survived by her only daughter, Irma Hall Crayton, who remembered her mother's influence as both an educator and a mentor.

“She started as a teacher in the classroom but ended up being a teacher to the world,” Crayton says. “My mom used to always say, ‘To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.’ And she was just that to many people.”

Funeral services and memorial arrangements will be announced at a later date.

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