THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and More Set For Dallas Theater Center's 2023-24 Season

Dallas Theater Center (DTC) has announced its 2023 - 2024 Season, including The Rocky Horror Show, I Am Delivered’t, Every Brilliant Thing, Dial M For Murder, Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer, and Disney’s The Little Mermaid.  Productions will take place at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, the Kalita Humphreys Theater, and as a collaboration at Bishop Arts Theatre Center. Full season tickets are on sale now at www.dallastheatercenter.org and by phone at (214) 522- 8499. Single tickets will be available for purchase beginning in July.

“Our 2023-24 season is the biggest, most exciting season we’ve produced since 2019,” said Kevin Moriarty, executive director. “It’s a season filled with music, laughter, and great performances from DTC’s Diane & Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company, who will be joined by outstanding artists from Dallas and across the country.”

“I can’t wait to kick off our season with the perfect musical for Halloween,” says Moriarty. “At The Rocky Horror Show, audience members will be welcome to attend in drag, interact with the show, and dance the Time Warp in the aisles of the Kalita Humphreys Theater. There will even be late night performances for those of us who remember sneaking out of the house to watch midnight showings of the movie when we were young.”

“I’m also eagerly anticipating the open-hearted comedy of Jonathan Norton’s world premiere play exploring faith and sexuality,” says Moriarty. Produced in Association with Actors Theatre of Louisville, I Am Delivered’t, introduces theater audiences to the world of Church Usher Board culture and celebrates same gender-loving church folks, and the power and joy of being your authentic self. 

“I Am Delivered't is especially close to my heart,” says Dallas Theater Center’s playwright in residence, Jonathan Norton. “I've always wanted to write a play that explores the experiences of the Black LGBTQ+ community, but centers joy, and one that celebrates the Black church experience in all of its richness and complexity. I Am Delivered’t is that play.”

In one of its largest productions ever, Dallas Theater Center will bring together 200 community members of all ages, acting alongside professional artists, in a fresh new interpretation of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Directed by Moriarty, the beloved classic will lift the roof off the Wyly Theatre in an “only-in-Dallas” Public Works production that celebrates the artistry of the entire City. Director of Public Works Brandi Giles says, “Next summer will be filled with immeasurable joy as we welcome our Dallas community back onto the Wyly stage to tell this enchanting tale.” 

Audiences can get ready to gasp at the thrills of Dial M for Murder. The regional premiere of the classic mystery/thriller will be a co-production between DTC and Geva Theatre in Rochester, NY. 

“One of the largest emotional experiences of the season will come in the smallest production,” according to Moriarty. Every Brilliant Thing, offered as a subscriber-exclusive production, invites the audience to participate in the intimate, immersive play, which will be performed in the Rehearsal Room of the Wyly Theatre. 

This season DTC welcomes Brierley Resident Acting Company member, Liz Mikel, back to Dallas, after a year on Broadway, to play the legendary civil rights activist, Fannie Lou Hamer. In a notable collaboration, Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer, will be produced at Bishop Arts Theatre Center. “I have long admired the work of Bishop Arts Theatre Center and their visionary leader, Teresa Coleman Wash,” said Moriarty. “I’m excited to introduce DTC’s subscribers to their wonderful theater in Oak Cliff.” 

“For years, I’ve marveled at DTC’s transformation and watched how the theater has made conscious artistic choices to elevate humanity,” says Teresa Coleman Wash, executive artistic director at Bishop Arts Theatre Center. “The opportunity to collaborate on Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer is such a gift to our theater; indeed it is a tour de force. One thing the pandemic taught our industry is we are wired for interdependence. We need each other, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Dallas Theater Center to bring this play to Dallas/Fort Worth audiences.”

In addition to its six-play subscription season, DTC will produce its annual holiday production of A Christmas Carol. Subscribers receive an exclusive discount and have the first opportunity to purchase tickets for the popular production, before they go on sale to the general public.

For more information regarding the season, including production details, dates and locations, see the attached season overview. Full season tickets for the 2023-2024 season are on sale now at www.dallastheatercenter.org and by phone at (214) 522- 8499. Single tickets will be available for purchase beginning in July. All dates, titles and venues are subject to change.

Richard O’Brien’s

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW 

Book, Music, Lyrics by Richard O’Brien

Directed and Choreographed by Joel Ferrell

Music Direction by Kwinton Gray

Dates: September 23-October 29, 2023

Location: Kalita Humphreys Theater

Synopsis:

“Let’s do the Time Warp again!” In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named "Rocky." Complete with sass from the audience, cascading toilet paper, and an array of other audience participation props, this deliberately kitschy rock 'n' roll sci-fi gothic musical is great fun for adults and a perfect way to celebrate the Halloween season!

 

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Written by Charles Dickens

Adapted by Kevin Moriarty

Directed by Alex Organ

Choreographed by Joel Ferrell

Music Direction by Cody Dry

Dates: November 30-December 30, 2022

Location:  Potter Rose Performance Hall, Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre, AT&T Performing Arts Center 

Synopsis:

Three spirits have come to visit the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, and to take him on a fantastic journey through Christmases past, present, and future. Brimming with joyful songs, magical spirits, and holiday cheer, this holiday classic embodies a story of joy, redemption, and the spirit of Christmas.

 

I AM DELIVERED’T 

(World Premiere)

Dallas Theater Center presents 

I Am Delivered't

in association with Actors Theatre of Louisville

Written by Jonathan Norton

Directed by Robert Barry Fleming

Dates: February 2-February 18, 2024 

Location: Kalita Humphreys Theater 

Synopsis:

Good Friday. The New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church's Seven Last Words service is in full swing. But outside - on the church parking lot - another resurrection story is taking shape. Sis, the Vice President of Usher Board Number One and her protégé Pickles, find themselves in a battle royale of romantic quagmires. This joyful new comedy introduces theater audiences to the world of Church Usher Board culture and celebrates same gender loving church folks, and the power and joy of being your authentic self. These are the announcements. Let us govern ourselves accordingly.

EVERY BRILLIANT THING

Written by Duncan MacMillan, with Jonny Donahoe

Directed by Sally Nystuen Vahle

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

Dates: March 12 - March 24, 2024

Location: Rehearsal Hall, Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre, AT&T Performing Arts Center

Synopsis:

You’re six years old. Mom’s in the hospital. Dad says she’s “done something stupid.” She finds it hard to be happy. So you start to make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world. Everything that’s worth living for. #1) Ice cream. #2) Kung Fu movies. #3) Burning things. #4) Laughing so hard you shoot milk out your nose. #5) Construction cranes. #6) Me. You leave it on her pillow. You know she’s read it because she’s corrected your spelling. Soon, the list will take on a life of its own. This surprising and immersive theatrical experience speaks openly about depression, mental illness and suicide. With poignant humor and joy, Every Brilliant Thing takes us on a journey through grief, healing, falling in love, and rediscovering all that life has to give.

DIAL M FOR MURDER 

(Regional Premiere)

Dallas Theater Center Presents 

Dial M For Murder

in association with Geva Theatre Center

Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher

From the original by Frederick Knott

Directed by Rachel Alderman

 

Dates: April 5-April 28, 2024

Location: Potter Rose Performance Hall, Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre, AT&T Performing Arts Center

Synopsis:

A new version of the celebrated murder mystery that inspired Hitchcock’s masterpiece! Tony is convinced that his wife Margot has been cheating on him. Now it seems that the affair is over, but in his jealousy Tony spins a web of suspicion and deception that will tighten around them and ensnare them both in danger, recrimination, and murder. Will the killer get away, or will justice be served? You’ll be kept guessing until the end and gripping the edge of your seat through the twists and turns of this stylish thriller of blackmail and revenge.

 

FANNIE: THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER (Regional Premiere)

Produced by Bishop Arts Theatre Center in collaboration with Dallas Theater Center

Written by  Cheryl L. West

Dates: May 2-May 19, 2024

Location:  Bishop Arts Theatre Center

Synopsis:

DTC Brierley Resident Acting Company member, Liz Mikel, returns to Dallas after a year performing on Broadway to play the legendary 1960’s civil rights activist, Fannie Lou Hamer in this regional premiere. Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer celebrates the woman whose courage, humor and grit reminds us that there’s courage in the face of fire, hope in tomorrow and that we all have a stake in our country. From her humble origins as the daughter of a Mississippi sharecropper, to co-founding the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and demanding recognition at the National Democratic Convention, hers is a story of justice that will not be denied. Part theater, part revival, and all power – this one-woman show with music will have your head nodding and hands clapping from start to finish. Fannie will be produced by Bishop Arts Theatre Center (BATC) in collaboration with Dallas Theater Center. 

DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID

Music by Alan Menken

Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater

Book by Doug Wright

Based on the Hans Christian Andersen story and the Disney film produced by Howard Ashman & John Musker and written & directed by John Musker and Ron Clements

Originally Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions

Directed by Kevin Moriarty

Dates: July 12-August 4, 2024

Location:  Potter Rose Performance Hall, Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre, AT&T Performing Arts Center

Synopsis:

Join us “Under the Sea” as DTC presents a large-scale Public Works version of the classic Disney musical, The Little Mermaid, in a production uniquely created for the people of Dallas, with the people of Dallas, and by the people of Dallas. 200 community members of all ages, many appearing onstage for the first time, will come together with DTC’s professional artists to retell the beloved Hans Christian Andersen fairytale. You’ve never experienced anything like this!

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