Theater Critic Picks

The 12 must-see shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for March

Back to the Future: The Musical flies into Fair Park.

Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Big names abound in March, and we don't just mean performers (but hello and welcome, Sutton Foster and Kelli O'Hara!).

We mean big names like Penelope, of The Odyssey fame. Blache du Bois from A Streetcar Named Desire. Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. A score by Sara Bareilles. Les Miserables, Jekyll & Hyde, Back to the Future. Those kinds of big names.

In order of start date, here are 12 local shows to watch this month:

Ain't Misbehavin'
Circle Theatre, March 6-22
Circle’s newly renovated lobby‭ (‬coined‭ ‬“The Velvet Lounge”‭) ‬serves as the backdrop for a fully immersive experience as audiences ‬travel back in time to 1929‭ ‬with a lively production of‭ ‬Ain’t Misbehavin’‭, ‬a vibrant revue celebrating the music of Fats Waller and the exuberance of the Harlem Renaissance‭.

Penelope
Stage West, March 13-30
Done being a footnote in her husband Odysseus’ epic, Penelope is now sharing her side of the story. With genre-bending songs, mythic storytelling, and backed by a band doubling as her Greek chorus, Penelope transforms the tale you thought you knew into a solo cabaret act like no other. Grab a drink as she weaves an intimately explosive musical love letter to all those who wait, and hope that the wait’s end is just over the horizon.

Les Misérables
Broadway at the Bass, March 18-23
Set against the backdrop of 19th century France, this production of the Tony Award-winning musical phenomenon tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption — a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. The epic and uplifting story has become one of the most celebrated musicals in theatrical history.

Back to the Future: The Musical
Broadway Dallas, March 18-30
The beloved cinematic classic is now a Broadway musical. When Marty McFly finds himself transported back to 1955 in a time machine built by the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, he accidentally changes the course of history. Now he’s in a race against time to fix the present, escape the past, and send himself… back to the future.

Darkfield: Séance, Flight, and Coma
AT&TPAC & Realscape Productions, March 21-May 4
Darkfield offers audiences a unique, immersive theatrical experience that blurs the line between reality and imagination. There are three experiences: Séance, Flight, and Coma, each staged within a custom-built shipping container. The pitch-black environments utilize 360-degree binaural sound and innovative sensory effects to create immersive worlds that challenge perceptions and evoke deep emotional responses.

Clue
Broadway at the Bass, March 25-30
Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble at Boddy Manor for a night they’ll never forget. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or was it Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench? Based on the cult 1985 Paramount movie and inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, Clue is the ultimate whodunit.

A Streetcar Named Desire
WaterTower Theater, March 26-April 6
After losing her Mississippi home to creditors, Blanche du Bois relocates to the New Orleans home of her younger sister and brother-in-law, Stella and Stanley Kowalski. Undermined by romantic illusions, Blanche is unable to cope with life's harsh realities. Though she finds a glimmer of hope while connecting with Stanley's gentlemanly friend, Mitch, Blanche cannot face the truth of her own troubled past and ultimately descends into madness.

Broadway Our Way
Uptown Players, March 27-30
This annual fundraiser returns with an all-new production that showcases the versatility and artistry of Uptown Players' ensemble. With a fresh and contemporary twist, they breathe new life into classic show tunes, infusing them with their own unique interpretations, vocal styles, and personal flair.

Intimate Apparel
Theatre Three, March 27-April 20
Step into early 20th-century New York City with this drama by Lynn Nottage, one of the greatest living playwrights and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. The story explores the journey of ambition and personal growth as Esther, an African-American seamstress, navigates a complex web of relationships and romantic correspondence with a distant admirer.

Jekyll & Hyde
Lyric Stage, March 28-April 19
Based on the classic story by Robert Louis Stevenson, Jekyll & Hyde features a score of pop-rock hits from Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse. It's an evocative tale of two men — one, a doctor, passionate and romantic; the other, a terrifying madman — and two women — one, beautiful and trusting; the other, beautiful and trusting only herself — with both women in love with the same man and both unaware of his dark secret.

A Night of Broadway
Dallas Symphony Orchestra, March 28-30
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will pay homage to icons on the stage and screen with a concert featuring Broadway singers Kelli O'Hara and Sutton Foster performing favorite Broadway songs. The concert will be conducted by Steven Reineke.

Waitress
Dallas Theater Center, March 29-April 20
Jenna, a waitress and expert pie maker, is stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. Faced with an unexpected pregnancy, Jenna fears she may have to abandon the dream of opening her own pie shop … until a baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s handsome new doctor offer her a tempting recipe for happiness. Featuring music and lyrics by Grammy Award winner Sara Bareilles, Waitress is an uplifting and inspiring musical celebrating friendship, motherhood, and the magic of a well-made pie.

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Mall Art News

Hammering Men return to NorthPark Center Dallas after 4-year nap

NorthPark Center

Hammering Men, 1982

A signature sculpture at Dallas' NorthPark Center has returned to its stomping grounds: Five Hammering Men, 1982, a series by American artist Jonathan Borofsky, has returned to the mall following a four-year absence, which they describe as "a period of rest" to conribute to its longevity and lifespan, according to a release.

Borofsky began his Hammering Men series in 1979; it became one of his best-known bodies of work with installations in Basel, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Seattle, Seoul, and Dallas.

The piece can now be found in its original location in SouthCourt, located on Level One between Neiman Marcus and Dillard’s, their motorized arms slowly moving in a hammer-like gesture.

“My original concept was to have many Hammering Men, all hammering at different locations around the world – all at the same time – sort of a worldwide installation connecting us all together,” said Borofsky in his artist statement on the series.

When he was 25, Borofsky started counting for three hours a day, meticulously writing numbers in his sketchbook, convinced that this meditative process would reveal an underlying truth about the human spirit. He eventually began signing his works with numbers instead of his name — which can be found on the feet of the Five Hammering Men.

The installation was removed in 2021 for this period of rest and restoration, the details of which — who did it, where they were stored — NorthPark Center does not reveal. However, NorthPark did post a video of the re-installation on Instagram.

For its 20th anniversary in 1985, NorthPark corralled “A Celebration of Contemporary Art” — an exhibition of 33 works by 24 artists — many never seen in Dallas before, and the first time Five Hammering Men was shown in the U.S.

NorthPark Center developer Raymond D. Nasher said in a statement at the time that it was their goal to give NorthPark an artistic dimension, confirming it as more than a commercial entity and abetting Dallas' dream to become an international place.

That 1985 exhibition included these other works of art, still on view at NorthPark:

Barry Flanagan’s Large Leaping Hare, 1982
Antony Gormley’s Three Places, 1983
Roy Lichtenstein’s Double Glass, 1976,
Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure: Angles, 1979.

Additional works by Borofsky have been displayed at NorthPark throughout the years, and a larger, singular Hammering Man, 1984-85, from the Nasher Sculpture Center, is currently on view outside of Neiman Marcus off Boedeker Street.

NorthPark will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year, and this installation — which is from the Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Collection — the first of several exciting additions to celebrate this milestone.

"Five Hammering Men has been a favorite landmark at NorthPark Center for 40 years, catching the imagination of shoppers of all ages throughout the decades," NorthPark Development Company president Nancy A. Nasher says in a satement. "Bringing this iconic series by Jonathan Borofsky back to NorthPark is aligned with our mission to make museum-quality art accessible to the public and a wonderful way to celebrate our 60th anniversary."

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