Summer Stages: Theatrical Happenings in Dallas and Fort Worth

As summer approaches, so does an exciting season of local and touring stage productions, with an array of choices for the entire family. Here are our picks for Dallas and Fort Worth's hottest tickets this summer. Comment below with your picks!

Rodgers and Hammerstein's CINDERELLA, June 9th-21st at Music Hall at Fair Park in Dallas; June 23rd-28th at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth

This 2013 Tony® Award-winning Broadway musical from the creators of SOUTH PACIFIC and THE SOUND OF MUSIC, will play at the Music Hall at Fair Park for a limited engagement from June 9-21, presented by Dallas Summer Musicals. The tour will then head to Fort Worth, where it will play at Bass Performance Hall June 23-28, presented by Performing Arts Fort Worth.

With its fresh new take on the beloved tale of a young woman who is transformed from a chambermaid into a princess, this hilarious and romantic Rodgers + Hammerstein's CINDERELLA combines the story's classic elements - glass slippers, pumpkin, and a beautiful ball along with some surprising twists. More than just a pretty face with the right shoe size, this Cinderella is a contemporary figure living in a fairytale setting. She is a spirited young woman with savvy and soul who doesn't let her rags or her gowns trip her up in her quest for kindness, compassion and forgiveness. She longs to escape the drudgery of her work at home and instead work to make the world a better place. She not only fights for her own dreams, but forces the prince to open his eyes to the world around him and realize his dreams too.

Stay tuned for our interview with Audrey Cardwell, the tour's current Cinderella, coming this week!

LES MISERABLES, June 19th-28th at Casa Manana in Fort Worth

Based on Victor Hugo's epic novel, LES MISERABLES is the famous tale of relentless policeman, Javert, who pursues escaped convict Jean Valjean over decades through the tumult of revolutionary France. Valjean becomes a mayor, agrees to raise the daughter of dying prostitute and joins the fight for freedom.

None of this impresses the single-minded Javert, until the day Valjean saves his life. The world renown Score includes 'Who Am I?', 'A Little Fall of Rain', 'One Day More', 'Bring Him Home' and 'I Dreamed a Dream'.

PIPPIN, July 7th-19th at Music Hall at Fair Park in Dallas; July 21st-26th at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth

The 2013 Tony Award winner for Best Musical Revival, PIPPIN is a magical, unforgettable production The New York Times declared "Astonishing! A PIPPIN for the 21st Century." Direct from Broadway and back for the first time since it thrilled audiences 40 years ago, with a beloved score by Tony nominee Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Wicked), PIPPIN tells the story of a young prince on a death-defying journey to find meaning in his existence. Will he choose a happy but simple life? Or will he risk everything for a singular flash of glory? This captivating new production is directed by Tony winner Diane Paulus (Hair and The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess). PIPPIN features sizzling choreography in the style of Bob Fosse, and breathtaking acrobatics by Les 7 Doigts de la Main, the creative force behind the nationwide sensation Traces. Having seen the Broadway incarnation of this production three full times, this BroadwayWorld editor may be a bit biased.

SWEET CHARITY, July 24th-August 16th at WaterTower Theatre in Addison

Charity Hope Valentine, despite her job as a dancer at the seedy Fan-Dango Ballroom, is an eternal optimist who loves too much. She just happens to be the unluckiest romantic in New York City.

The musical SWEET CHARITY is a warm, touching and humorous look at her trials and tribulations, as she repeatedly gives her heart, and her savings, to the wrong man. Adapted from Nights of Cabiria, a film by Federico Fellini, the musical SWEET CHARITY includes hits such as "Hey, Big Spender," "Rhythm of Life," and "If My Friends Could See Me Now."

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL, July 28th-August 16th at ATT Performing Arts Center in Dallas

Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, MOTOWN is the real story of the one-of-a-kind sound that hit the airwaves in 1959 and changed our culture forever. The show charts Motown Founder Berry Gordy's journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many more.

Featuring all the classics you love, Motown The Musical tells the story behind the hits as Diana, Smokey, Berry and the whole Motown family fight against the odds to create the soundtrack of change in America. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat. Now, experience the next electrifying chapter in the Motown story, Broadway's record-breaking smash hit MOTOWN THE MUSICAL.

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, August 28th-September 13th at Uptown Players in Dallas

Uptown Players will present the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, starring Kyle Igneczi of Dallas, in the title role. With text by John Cameron Mitchell, and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask, Hedwig tells the story of "internationally ignored song stylist" Hedwig Schmidt, a fourth-wall smashing East German rock 'n' roll goddess who also happens to be the victim of a botched sex-change operation.

This outrageous and unexpectedly hilarious story is dazzlingly performed by Hedwig in the form of a rock gig/stand-up comedy routine backed by the hard-rocking band "The Angry Inch." Using songs and monologues, Hedwig tells her story, which began in the former East Berlin where as Hansel he meets Luther, an American GI who promises to take the young man to the States on the condition that he switch his sex. It's a rocking ride, funny, touching and ultimately inspiring to anyone who has felt life gave them an inch when they deserved a mile.

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