Theatre Three Announces 60th Anniversary Season
The line-up for 2022-23 features a couple of big, bright musicals, haunting dramas, and a new work by a local playwright that got its start in the Theatre Too space.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Mar. 22, 2022
After a couple years of traveling shows, virtual productions, construction-related closures, a pandemic and a highly-anticiapted return back "home" to the Norma Young Arena Stage (*this month!), Theatre Three will celebrate six decades of creating theatre that illuminates the human experience with an all-new season. The line-up for 2022-23 features a couple of big, bright musicals, haunting dramas, and a new work by a local playwright that got its start in the Theatre Too space.
Opening the season after a wildly popular production staged in Theatre Too in 2017 is Matt Lyle's "Big Scary Animals." Next up is Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan's hilarious musical "Young Frankenstein" in partnership with Fort Worth's Circle Theatre and directed by Joel Ferrell with music direction by Cody Dry. "The Elephant Man" by Bernard Pomerance follows, directed by Jeffrey Schmidt. The regional premiere of the English translation by Dante Flores of Federico García Lorca's "The Butterfly's Evil Spell" is next, directed by Jeffrey Schmidt. Closing the 60th anniversary season is the emotionally charged rock musical "Next to Normal," directed by Christie Vela with music direction by Vonda K. Bowling.
"Theatre Three, founded in 1961, is celebrating it's 60th season. Let that sink in," says Artistic Director Jeffrey Schmidt. "We are part of the fabric of Dallas arts and culture. Uptown grew up around us. We were and are integral to the success of one of the most vibrant and lucrative neighborhoods in the country. As the Quadrangle, our home, receives a much needed transformation, Theatre Three continues to do what it does best with its sights set on the future and a nod to the past."
"I'm thrilled to be bringing this eclectic mix to Theatre Three audiences," says Associate Artistic Director Christie Vela. "These are some of my favorite newer, well-known shows intermingled with an obscure classic that we're breathing new life into. These shows will be a feast for the senses. "
The Monday Night Playwright series will continue, offering an affordable and accessible venue for new works by local writers. Theatre Three plans to continue the T3 Translates initiative where a commissioned writer will translate a play that doesn't have an English translation, ending with a staged reading. The Festival of Bad Ideas will also return in the summer of 2023. Lastly, Theatre Three is pleased to continue a partnership with Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. The students in Associate Artistic Director Christie Vela's Advanced Acting course will have access to all of Theatre Three's programming in the coming season.
Subscriptions for the 2022-2023 season will go on sale Thursday, April 7 and single tickets will be available on Wednesday, May 4. Tickets can be purchased online at www.theatre3dallas.com or over the phone at 214-871-3300. Theatre Three is located at 2688 Laclede St., Dallas, TX 75201. (Same building, new address!) Face masks are highly encouraged at all times, especially while inside of the theatre. For additional security, Theatre Three has installed ActivePure air sanitizers within our HVAC system.
About the shows:
Big Scary Animals
September 1-25, 2022
Written by Matt Lyle
Director TBD
An older white couple from the country moves to the city to be closer to their granddaughter and unknowingly settles in the gay neighborhood. What begins as polite dinner conversation with their gay, multi-ethnic neighbors careens out of control. Returning to Theatre Three after a critically-acclaimed run in Theatre Too in 2017, "Big, Scary Animals" is a hilarious collision of race, sex, guns, and sports that examines shifting generational beliefs and just how hard it is to raise a child regardless of who you are and where you live. A hilarious, dark comedy.
Young Frankenstein
October 13-November 13, 2022
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks
Directed by Joel Ferrell
Music Directed by Cody Dry
In partnership with Circle Theatre
From the creators of the Broadway sensation "The Producers" comes the monstrously fun musical, Young Frankenstein. When the grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein, inherits his family's estate, his mad scientist genes come to fruition! With the help of his assistant, Igor, he brings a monster to life and hilarity ensues. With memorable tunes like "The Transylvania Mania," "Don't Touch Me" and "Puttin' on the Ritz," Young Frankenstein is an electrifyingly good time.
Puttin' on the Ritz in Transylvania!
The Elephant Man
January 19-February 19, 2023
Written by Bernard Pomerance
Directed by Jeffrey Schmidt
John Merrick, an intelligent and friendly man shunned by Victorian-era society and called a "freak" due to his skin and bone disorders is found abandoned. Under the care of physician Frederick Treves, Merrick begins to slowly evolve from an object of pity to an urbane and witty favorite of the aristocracy and literati, only to be denied his ultimate dream - to become a man like any other. A biographical drama.
The Butterfly's Evil Spell
April 6-April 30, 2023
Written by Federico García Lorca
Translated and Adapted by Dante Flores
Directed by Jeffrey Schmidt
In a whimsical world of beetles, scorpions, and bugs of all sorts, a beetle falls in love with an injured butterfly. An "insect comedy" written in verse, "The Butterfly's Evil Spell" is a story about unrequited love in a "green and humble meadow" covered in dewdrops and dripping in poetry.
A fantastical, tragic love story.
Next to Normal
June 1-July 7, 2023
Book & Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Music by Tom Kitt
Directed by Christie Vela
Music directed by Vonda K. Bowling
The Goodman family is just a "normal" family: Dad's an architect, mom packs lunches and makes birthday cakes, and their daughter and son are bright, wise-cracking teens. Under the surface, their family is anything but. "Next to Normal" explores a family's raw and emotional journey with a mother struggling with chronic bipolar disorder as they navigate a world of therapists and medication.
An emotionally charged Tony-Award winning musical!
For more information about Theatre Three, please visit www.Theatre3Dallas.com or call the Theatre Three Box Office at (214) 871-3300.
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