Theater Critic Picks
The 10 can't-miss Dallas plays and musicals for May
A lot of iconic characters can be found in this month's line-up, from Michael Jackson and The Temptations to Hello Kitty, Jellicle kitties, and even Patti Lupone.
In order of start date, here are 10 local shows to watch this month:
A Dallas Hedda
Bishop Arts Theatre Center, through May 10
BATC's playwright-in-residence Franky D. Gonzalez has reimagined Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, which explored the psyche of a woman whose labyrinthine soul and longing for freedom from a world that sought always to control her. Gonzalez's concept picks up the conversation that Ibsen began and continues to explore freedom through the lens of the conversations that we in the United States (and indeed throughout the world) have been having around the intersections of race, religion, feminism, and social class.
H*llo K*tty Syndrome
Undermain Theatre, through May 25
HK is a little lost. They just quit their job as a police officer, broke up with their cowboy-partner, and made a vendetta with their brother-in-law. In Brian Dang’s genre-bending comedy, HK finds themselves caught in the throes of a family drama, noir, and romance. And worst of all, nobody will stop commenting on the fact that they are wearing a Hello Kitty™ mascot costume — though it’s slightly off because of copyright laws.
Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song
AT&T Performing Arts Center, May 6-10
From Frozen to Phantom to Wicked, Forbidden Broadway is a satirical roast of over 30 Broadway hits featuring outrageous costumes, silly spoofs of the songs you know by heart, and madcap impressions by a stellar cast. A New York sensation for 35 years, a talented quintet of comic chameleons throw out pointed parodies at a dizzying pace.
Moving Creatures
Ochre House Theater, May 9-24
This is a politically charged satire about an evil and intolerable oligarch, Baron Leopold Verdugo, and his four monstrous creations. The Baron is a soured, bloated old goat who lords over a once rich and beautiful region that is now a wasteland due to the Baron’s greediness. The monsters were once beautiful, successful women that fell victim to the Baron’s insatiable desire to kill, destroy, and rebuild in his own image. The story, which takes place during the Gilded Age at the turn of the 20th century, is a mysterious world that has a moving mansion, disrespectful furniture, talking portraits of surly ancestors, and constantly changing rooms, gardens, and grand halls.
MJ the Musical
Broadway at the Bass, May 13-18
The music. The moves. The icon. Now, the unparalleled artistry of the greatest entertainer of all time is featured in MJ, the Tony Award-winning new musical centered around the making of the 1992 Dangerous World Tour. The production goes beyond the singular moves and signature sound of the star, offering a rare look at the creative mind and collaborative spirit that catapulted Michael Jackson into legendary status.
El Otro
Teatro Dallas, May 16-31
A simple ride to retrieve a birthday gift sends a young teenage girl named Romy and her two fathers on a phantasmagoric ride through a harrowing night. Lupe, her birth father, forces her to choose between him and Ben, the fresh-faced Fort Bliss soldier who recently married her mother. The winner gets to live.
The Mad Dog Blues
Hip Pocket Theatre, May 16-June 8
Take an adventure trip through America's mythology, traversing through Sam Shepard's work like never seen before.
Patti Lupone: A Life in Notes
AT&T Performing Arts Center, May 24
Three-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone describes her new concert as a “personal musical memoir,” and what a memoir she has. Lupone takes to the stage with her longtime musical director Joseph Thalken to celebrate, through song, her legendary career.
STOMP
AT&T Performing Arts Center, May 31-June 1
STOMP is explosive, inventive, provocative, witty, and utterly unique. The international percussion sensation features an eight-member troupe that uses everything but conventional percussion instruments — like matchboxes, wooden poles, brooms, garbage cans, Zippo lighters, hubcaps — to fill the stage with magnificent rhythms.
Cats
Casa Mañana, May 31-June 8
Known for its spectacular music, mesmerizing choreography and costuming, and innovative storytelling, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award-winning Cats is one of the longest-running Broadway musicals of all time. As a tribe of cats called the Jellicles gather for the annual Jellicle Ball, find out who will be chosen to be reborn into a new Jellicle life.
