Theater Critic Picks

Here are the 16 must-see shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for October

Travel back to the 1980s for "Reunion '85."

Photo courtesy of ATTPAC

Yes, I know, 13 shows would have been better but there's just too much great theater happening right now in DFW (plus, look forward to another theater round-up that's strictly spooky, coming soon).

From big musical tours like Company and Beetlejuice to local shows about wrestling, the Constitution, and the unusual folks you encounter during late-night grocery runs, there's a lot going on.

In order of start date, here are 16 local shows to watch this month:

Home
Jubilee Theatre, through October 27
Set in the rural South during the civil rights era, the play follows Cephus Miles, a young African American man who leaves his hometown in search of adventure and opportunity, only to discover that home is where the heart truly lies.

Company
Broadway at the Bass, October 1-6
It’s Bobbie’s 35th birthday party, and all her friends keep asking, “Why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right man, and isn’t it time to settle down and start a family?” As Bobbie searches for answers in this Stephen Sondheim and George Furth musical, she discovers why being single, being married, and being alive in the 21st-century could drive a person crazy.

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
Circle Theatre, October 3-26
Macedonio Guerra (“Mace”), a Puerto Rican wrestling fanatic (and “jobber” in the ring), finds himself teamed up with Vigneshwar Paduar (“VP”), a Brooklynite of Indian descent. The two have found a unique bond and ambition to fight together, wrestling for fun and for funds. In an electrifying turn of events, they are picked up and cast as “terrorists” in the ring. The crowd revels in this narrative, forcing audience members to pick up the pieces.

Carrie the Musical
Theatre Three, October 3-November 3
Based on the novel by Stephen King and adapted from the cult classic film of the same name, Carrie the Musical features a powerful score and dramatic storytelling in its exploration of vengeance, empowerment, and the supernatural. A co-production with SMU Meadows School of the Arts.

Hazards
ATTPAC Elevator Project, October 11-13
Artists Sans Frontières unveils the harrowing journeys of refugees, asylum-seekers, and individuals forcibly displaced by conflict, violence, and natural disasters through filmic vignettes of compelling choreography, dynamic visual projection, and cinematic music composition.

Tales from Late Night Kroger
Pegasus Theatre, October 11-26
Based on a series of Facebook posts by the late Bruce R. Coleman, this play is about his encounters with a motley bunch of characters when he would shop late at night at the Oak Lawn Kroger.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Casa Mañana, October 11-27
The musical adaptation of the classic fairy tale includes music, an enchanted pumpkin, and a glass slipper or two. When her wicked stepmother forbids it, Cinderella must find a way to attend the ball and meet Prince Charming; luckily, her Fairy Godmother has plenty of spells up her sleeve.

The Amazing, Fabulous, and Spectacular Untruths of Juan Garcia
Amphibian Stage, October 11-November 3
He’s got looks that kill, charm for days, and absolutely no grip on reality. Juan Garcia has returned to his hometown of Oaxaca, armed with grand tales and big dreams of becoming the city’s biggest celebrity. Watch as he weaves a tapestry of tall tales and misadventures, aiming to impress (and possibly confuse) everyone, particularly the lady of his misguided affections. As bills pile up and tired servants reach their limit, the stage is set for a comedy of errors that even Juan can’t lie his way out of.

Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors
Dallas Theater Center, October 11-November 3
This laugh-out-loud, gender-bending romp is what happens when you take Bram Stoker’s legendary story and put it into a blender with Mel Brooks, Monty Python, and The 39 Steps.

Metamorphosis
Hip Pocket Theatre, October 11-November 3
The theater's season ends with a true classic from the mind of Franz Kafka. Break free from your stone-built sarcophagus, crawl amongst the carcasses, and watch restless dreams turn to waking nightmares.

Hang
Second Thought Theatre, October 16-November 2
A crime has been committed. The victim has a choice to make. The criminal is waiting. Hang is a shattering new play about one woman’s unspeakable decision.

What the Constitution Means to Me
Stage West, October 17-November 3
Earnest and polite high-schooler Heidi put herself through college by winning debates about the Constitution. Now an adult, she revisits her teenage self to trace the generational impact America’s founding document has had on her life. Civic duty is on full display as this witty and interactive new play builds to a live debate between Heidi and an actual teen, allowing “we the people” to decide how to move forward.

Patches: A Black Gay Man's Journey to the Moon
Bishop Arts Theatre Center, October 18-27
This captivating theatrical experience seamlessly blends poetry, music, performance, and storytelling to take audiences through a day-long date between two black men, exploring deep and heartfelt conversations about race, identity, sexual orientation, love, and intimacy.

Khan!!! The Musical! A Parody Trek-tacular
MusicalWriters.com, October 24-November 3
In 2366, Data the android presents his musical comedy version of The Wrath of Khan with a cast of virtual actors on the Holodeck. A campy show-within-a-show ensues where the bloodthirsty Khan vows revenge on a washed-up James T. Kirk, and Data, portraying multiple roles, learns a thing or two about life along the way.

Reunion '85
AT&T Performing Arts Center, October 23-27
Welcome to your reunion: Choose a name tag, grab a drink, and let the good times rock ‘n’ roll as you reunite with old "classmates" in a nostalgic celebration filled with comedy, scrunchies, dancing, shoulder pads, and a bodacious live band playing the gnarliest chart-topping hits of the 1980s.

Beetlejuice
Broadway at the Bass, October 29-November 3
Based on Tim Burton’s dearly beloved film, this hilarious musical tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon with a thing for stripes.

musicals national tour beetlejuice carrie dracula cinderella star trek theater

Lawsuit news

Artist sues FIFA for $25 million over painted-over Dallas whale mural

Facebook/Wyland

Artist Wyland's Whaling Wall mural being painted over for a FIFA World Cup-related mural in Dallas.

The artist who painted a giant mural on a building in downtown Dallas of life-sized swimming whales has filed a $25 million lawsuit against soccer's international governing body and others, saying they illegally painted over his work to promote the city's upcoming World Cup matches.

The artist Wyland says he hand-painted the sprawling mural that covered roughly 17,000 square feet (1,580 square meters) across two of the building's walls.

The mural stood for nearly three decades before workers began painting over it last month, causing an uproar among residents who admired the mural's grand scale and message of ocean conservation.

The area’s World Cup organizing committee said in a statement that, in place of Wyland's mural, new artwork is planned "that captures this current historical moment and reflects the energy, unity, and global spirit surrounding the World Cup 2026.” It said a portion of Wyland's mural would be preserved.

Wyland filed suit Monday, June 1 in U.S District Court in Dallas saying that World Cup organizers, along with the building's owner and management company, painted over his mural without his consent or even notifying him. He says their actions violated a 1990 federal law passed to protect visual artists from destruction of publicly displayed works.

Wyland is seeking at least $25 million in damages. His lawsuit says world soccer's governing body, FIFA, and other defendants “hastily and irrevocably destroyed a civic landmark” to promote the World Cup.

“Though FIFA claims they were working to develop art for the host city, in truth, they defaced an historic fixture of the host city,” the artist's lawsuit says.

A FIFA spokesperson said Tuesday the federation “has no involvement in this whatsoever” and referred a reporter to the tournament's local organizing committee.

A spokesperson for the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee declined to comment. The committee isn't named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

A spokesperson for Slate Asset Management, which manages the building where the mural was painted over, said in a statement that local World Cup organizers asked Slate in March to donate the mural space for “a new public art installation.”

“Slate is not being compensated in any way for the use of the wall space and was told by the local groups that Mr. Wyland had been notified,” the management company's spokesperson said in an email.

Dallas is hosting more World Cup matches than any of the other sites in the event co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with nine matches set to be played at AT&T Stadium in suburban Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Wyland's Dallas mural, titled “Whaling Wall 82,” was finished in 1999 and is among more than 100 similar murals known as Whaling Walls the artist painted around the world to promote the conservation of ocean life.

An online petition protesting the mural's destruction and calling for protecting of public artwork in Dallas has received more than 2,600 signatures.

Wyland's lawsuit alleges violations of the Visual Artists Rights Act, a 1990 federal law that protects artwork of “recognized stature” even if someone else owns the physical artwork.

A judge cited that law in 2018 when he ordered a property owner to pay a group of New York graffiti artists $6.7 million for whitewashing dozens of their spray-painted murals on buildings that once housed a factory in Queens. The ruling was upheld on appeal.

fifa world cup fifa world cup 2026 lawsuit wyland whaling mural murals downtown dallas