The Dallas Theater Center’s 2017-2018 season includes the second part of the LBJ saga begun last year with an acclaimed production of All The Way, two world premieres, and the continuation of Public Works Dallas, a project that intimately involves non-professional community members in the the theater.
The season opens Aug. 30 with Miller, Mississippi, a brand new Southern Gothic set during the civil rights struggle of the 1960s and ’70s. A second world premiere comes in spring 2018 with The Trials of Sam Houston, a dramatization of the Texas governor’s spiritual crisis on the eve of the Civil War.
As it did with All The Way, DTC will co-produce The Great Society—a continuation of the life and times of President Lyndon B. Johnson—with Houston’s Alley Theater. Another featured collaboration comes with Frankenstein, the classic story infused with new life by DTC and SMU’s theater school.
Season subscriptions, which start at about $140, are on sale now. Here’s the full 2017-2018 lineup, as provided by DTC:
WORLD PREMIERE
MILLER, MISSISSIPPI……………………………………………………………………………………………. Aug. 30 – Oct. 1 Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre – Studio Theatre
By Boo Killebrew
Directed by Lee Sunday EvansIn the South, tradition is sacred and change is slow. So when the Civil Rights movement comes to Jackson, Mississippi, it’s in for a brutal fight. Spanning the 1960s and 70s, Miller, Mississippi tells the story of one family that falls apart as the country attempts to come together. In the classic Southern Gothic tradition, this tragic new play will stun minds and break hearts, as the personal and political combine to bring about the Miller family’s undoing.
HAIR………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Sept. 22 – Oct. 22 Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre – Potter Rose Performance Hall
Book and Lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado
Music by Galt MacDermotDirected by Kevin Moriarty
DTC lets the sunshine in with a fully-immersive, only-at-the-Wyly production of the groundbreaking classic rock musical. 50 years after its premiere, Hair continues to assault the status quo, while shining a bright light on the power of love over hate, peace over war, freedom over repression, and hope over despair. At once emblematic of its era and relevant for a new generation of audiences today, the story follows a group of young people as they navigate their relationships with their country and with each other. Overflowing with free love, buzzing with youthful energy, and pulsing with iconic rock anthems, DTC’s Hair brings the Age of Aquarius into the twenty-first century.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL………………………………………………………………………………………….. Nov. 22 – Dec. 28 Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre – Potter Rose Performance Hall
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Kevin MoriartyDirected by Lee Trull
‘Tis the season to be jolly, when the family-favorite, holiday production of A Christmas Carol returns to the Wyly Theatre. In this delightfully re-imagined take on Dickens’ enduring classic the audience is surrounded by the actors, with magical ghosts flying above, scary ghosts bursting out of the floor, and snow falling on everyone. Full of traditional Christmas hymns and songs in fresh, toe-tapping musical arrangements, joyful bursts of choreography, and eye-popping special effects, A Christmas Carol continues to be Dallas’ “must-see” holiday tradition. A Christmas Carol is available as an add-on to season subscriptions.
FADE…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Dec. 6 – Jan. 7 Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre – Studio Theatre
By Tanya Saracho
Directed by Christie VelaFRANKENSTEIN………………………………………………………………………………………………… Feb. 2 – March 4 Kalita Humphreys Theater
By Nick Dear
Adapted from the novel by Mary ShelleyDirected by Joel Ferrell
In Collaboration with the Theatre Division of SMU Meadows School of the ArtsTHE GREAT SOCIETY………………………………………………………………………………………… March 9 – April 1 Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre – Potter Rose Performance Hall
By Robert Schenkkan
Directed by Kevin MoriartyA Co-Production with Houston’s Alley Theatre
WORLD PREMIERE
THE TRIALS OF SAM HOUSTON…………………………………………………………………………….. April 20 – May 13 Kalita Humphreys Theater
By Aaron Loeb
Directed by Kevin MoriartyWhen Lucia, a young Mexican born novelist, begins her dream career as a television writer in L.A, she finds herself much more comfortable with the only other Latino around, one of the janitors, than with anyone in the writers’ room. This new comic-drama by Tanya Saracho, a writer for HBO’s Girls and ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, poses tricky questions about identity and community, as Lucia struggles to bridge the distance between where she came from and where she’s going.
When Dr. Frankenstein’s experiment goes horribly awry, he resolves to destroy the terrifying creature he has unleashed upon the world. But can he kill his own creation without becoming a monster himself? Mary Shelley’s 200-year-old tale of scientific advancement and human tragedy continues to challenge the limits of our imagination, asking if some things may be better left unknown. Widely regarded as the original horror novel, Frankenstein (and his infamous creation) comes to life in a bold new adaptation that was an award-winning, smash hit at London’s National Theatre, written by acclaimed British playwright Nick Dear.
Following the success of DTC’s 2016 production of All the Way, The Great Society continues the story of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s turbulent presidency in the second part of Robert Schenkkan’s epic theatrical event. While the president fights a “war on poverty” at home, his war in Vietnam begins to spiral out of control. Besieged by political enemies, Johnson desperately fights to pass civil rights legislation and some of the most important social programs in American history, even while the country turns against him and descends into chaos. Filled with a cast of legendary characters – from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Bobby Kennedy and Richard Nixon – The Great Society is an exhilarating examination of power, morality and change.
On the eve of the state’s secession in 1861, Governor Sam Houston is torn between loyalty to Texas and loyalty to the United States.
As he weighs the terrible choice he must make, certain of the devastating cost of either path, Houston tells Jeff Hamilton (his office clerk and slave) of a time when he, and the Union itself, stood trial. This searing, world-premiere drama presents the true story of some of America’s most famous leaders – Andrew Jackson, Francis Scott Key, and John Quincy Adams, among others – and one man’s struggle with what it means to be brave in the land of the free.
WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT………………………………………………………………………………….. May 30 – July 1 Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre – Studio Theatre
By Nassim SoleimanpourTHE WINTER’S TALE……………………………………………………………………………………………. Aug. 31 – Sept. 2 Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre – Potter Rose Performance Hall
By William ShakespearePublic Works Dallas returns for the second year with William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. Public Works Dallas is a groundbreaking community engagement and participatory theater project designed to deliberately blur the line between professional artists and Dallas community members. The Winter’s Tale will feature 200 cast members, only five being professional actors, in the classic tale of loss and redemption. The Winter’s Tale is not a part of season subscriptions and FREE tickets will be offered to the public at a later date.
White Rabbit Red Rabbit has been called a play, but it’s a lively, global sensation that no one is allowed to talk about. Its award- winning playwright, Nassim Soleimanpour, is Iranian. His words have escaped censorship and are awaiting the audience. Slyly humorous and audaciously pointed, this ‘theater entertainment meets social experiment’ is unlike anything, and will make you question everything. The actor about to perform has never seen it. In fact, there is a new actor every performance, and they’ve only been told what is absolutely necessary.
PUBLIC WORKS DALLAS
