This past Saturday, it was time for the annual meeting of the DFW Critics Forum, where we hash it out over our favorite productions, actors, and creative contributors. There seemed to be a general consensus this year—dare I even say there wasn’t even as much debating as usual?
Productions had to have opened between Sept. 1, 2012 and Aug. 31, 2013 to be considered. Trinity Shakespeare Festival received a lot of love, as did homegrown hit On the Eve (to be revived at Theatre Three in January) and Fun House Theatre and Film’s hilarious send-up of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross, entitled Daffodil Girls and switched from hotshot real-estate deals to Girl Scout-esque cookie sales. In fact, we were so impressed with Fun House that we gave them a special citation this year, as well as bestow director and writer Jeff Swearingen and actress Kennedy Waterman with awards.
Direction
Jeffrey Schmidt, On the Eve (Spacegrove Productions & Nouveau 47), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Theatre 3) and Enron (Theatre 3)
Regan Adair, In a Forest, Dark and Deep (Second Thought Theatre)
Tim Johnson, The Chairs (Kitchen Dog Theater)
Cheryl Denson, The Most Happy Fella (Lyric Stage)
T.J. Walsh, The Taming of the Shrew (Trinity Shakespeare Festival)
Jim Covault, The Taming of the Shrew (Stage West)
Susan Sargeant, Children of a Lesser God (Contemporary Theatre of Dallas) and Lydie Marland in the Afterlife (WingSpan Theater Co.)
Jeff Swearingen, Daffodil Girls, Inspired by David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross (Fun House Theatre and Film)
Matthew Posey, Dreams of Slaughtered Sheep (Ochre House)
Joel Ferrell, Gruesome Playground Injuries (Second Thought Theatre)
Jonathan Fielding, The True Story of the Tragic Life and Triumphant Death of Julia Pastrana, The Ugliest Woman in the World (Amphibian Stage Productions)
New play or musical
On the Eve by Shawn and Seth Magill and Michael Federico
Dreams of Slaughtered Sheep by Matthew Posey
Daffodil Girls by Jeff Swearingen
Fly By Night (DallasTheaterCenter) by Kim Rosenstock, Will Connolly and Michael Mitnick
Touring production
Anything Goes (Lexus Broadway Series)
The Book of Mormon (Lexus Broadway Series)
Traces (Lexus Broadway Series)
Underneath the Lintel (Patrick O’Brien, Out of the Loop Fringe Festival)
Actor
Bruce DuBose, An Iliad (Undermain Theatre)
Raphael Parry, The Chairs
Gregory Lush, On the Eve and Penelope (Undermain Theatre)
David Coffee, Fly By Night
Jac Alder, Freud’s Last Session (Theatre 3)
Chris Hury, The Taming of the Shrew (Stage West)
Montgomery Sutton, Gruesome Playground Injuries
Max Hartman, RX (Kitchen Dog Theater)
Ashley Wood, Children of a Lesser God
Alex Organ, The Most Happy Fella and Fly By Night
Actress
Jenny Ledel, Becky Shaw (Kitchen Dog Theater) and On the Eve
Marianne Galloway, Children of a Lesser God
Martha Harms, RX, On the Eve and The Lucky Chance; or, The Alderman’s Bargain (Echo Theatre)
Rhonda Boutté, The Chairs
Tina Parker, RX
Amber Nicole Guest, The Most Happy Fella
Barbara Wood, Knock Me a Kiss (Jubilee Theatre)
Allison Pistorius, The Taming of the Shrew (Stage West)
Kennedy Waterman, Daffodil Girls
Ensemble
On the Eve
The Taming of the Shrew (Trinity Shakespeare Festival)
Jailbait (Dallas Actors Lab)
Creative contribution
Score, Home by Hovercraft, On the Eve
Music and sound design, Bruce DuBose and Paul Semrad, An Iliad
Sound design, John Flores, Gruesome Playground Injuries
Set design, Timothy R. Mackabee, The Odd Couple (DallasTheaterCenter)
Set design, Scott Osborne, The Chairs
Set design, Bob Lavallee, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife (Theatre Arlington) and Gruesome Playground Injuries
Design team, The Taming of the Shrew and Julius Caesar (Trinity Shakespeare Festival)
Design team, Dreams of Slaughtered Sheep
Costume design, Ryan Matthieu Smith, The Lucky Chance
Special citations
The late Jerry Russell, founder of Stage West, for his lifetime contributions to the North Texas theater community as an actor, director, producer and advocate
Jeff Swearingen and Bren Rapp with Fun House Theatre and Film, for their innovative youth theater and dedication to the future of the craft
The participating critics were:
ArnoldWayne Jones, Dallas Voice
Lawson Taitte, The Dallas Morning News
M. Lance Lusk, Liz Johnstone, and Lindsey Wilson, FrontRow/D Magazine
Elaine Liner, Dallas Observer
Martha Heimberg, Turtle Creek News/TheaterJones
Lauren Smart, CultureMap Dallas
Kris Noteboom, TheaterJones
Punch Shaw, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Alexandra Bonfield, Critical Rant
Mark Lowry, TheaterJones/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
