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Uptown Players surprises Dallas with 2 new shows for summer 2026
BJ Cleveland first starred in 'Application Pending' in 2021.
Those who thought Uptown Players' 2025-26 season was set in stone just got a pleasant surprise: two more shows have been added for summer 2026.
The first is another collaboration with Bruce Wood Dance Dallas; the theater and contemporary dance companies first paired up in August 2025 for the dance cabaret Imagine. Now, they are presenting Together June 20-21, 2026, at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.
Created in celebration of Gay Pride, Together traces the LGBTQ+ community’s journey from solitude to solidarity. Songs like Celine Dion’s “All By Myself” and Pat Benatar’s “We Belong” will join other stirring power ballads and electrifying anthems, sung by returning Uptown Players vocalists Peter DiCesare, Seth Paden, Lee Walter, Brett Warner, and Kylie Stewart. Musical arrangements are by Adam C. Wright and direction by Clayton Younkin.
The cabaret will once again feature choreography by Bruce Wood's artistic director, Joy Bollinger, and steps from the company's deceased namesake, alongside new creations developed and performed by members of Bruce Wood Dance Dallas, including Weaver Rhodes, Elliott Trahan, Cole Vernon, and Megan Storey.
The second bonus production is a remounting of the solo show Application Pending, written by Greg Edwards and Andy Sandberg and starring B.J. Cleveland.
Cleveland first tackled this fast-paced comedy for Uptown Players in 2021 as a streaming production (remember the pandemic lockdowns?). The show is a hilarious look at the cutthroat world of kindergarten admissions at a prestigious Manhattan prep school.
“Audiences loved the streaming version, but there’s just nothing like seeing it live,” says Uptown Players co-founder and producer Jeff Rane. “The humor, the timing, the energy in the room — it’s pure magic. Watching BJ inhabit more than 40 characters onstage right before your eyes is a theatrical experience you simply can’t get through a screen."
Application Pending will run August 20-30, 2026, at Theatre 2 inside Theatre Three, located at 2688 Laclede #120 in Dallas.
Tickets for Together range from $30-$75, while tickets for Application Pending are $45. Both can be purchased at uptownplayers.org or by calling the Uptown Players Box Office at 214-219‑2718.
