Bull Game (winner loses action figures) (Nov 7-30 at the Big Green Warehouse, 2900 Bataan Street, Dallas, TX 75212) Tickets: We haven’t loved everything that has been spawned from the odd brain of Thomas Riccio, Dallas’ most peculiar theatrical impresario, but there’s no denying that what the experimental playwright and University of Texas at Dallas professor brings to the table is unique, necessary, and refreshingly off-the-wall. Continuing his run of immersive productions in vacant West Dallas buildings (the last play took place in a former drug house) Bull Game promises “an entertainment competition ritual sacrifice.” But fair warning: you’re likely to become part of the performance if you attend.
Avenue Q (Through Nov 24 at Theatre Too, 2800 Routh St.) Tickets; If it feels like Dallas has already had its fill of the foul-mouthed, puppet show musical that is Avenue Q, perhaps you haven’t noticed that this city can’t seem to get enough. The play first came through town as a Broadway tour back in 2010. Then, last year, Theatre 3 gave the play its first regional production, and that show was such a smash hit, that the Uptown theater extended its run into 2013. We liked the Theatre Too production the first time around, and you can read the review here.
Death Tax (Through Nov 10 at Amphibian Stage Productions, 120 South Main St. Fort Worth) Tickets: If you see director Rene Moreno’s name in the credits of a production, it’s a safe bet the play is worth your time. Written by Lucas Hnath, Death Tax sounds like a heavy affair, though it is billed as a twisting and turning dark comedy about a family that becomes ensnared in the physical, emotional, and bureaucratic complications surrounding the end of life. The Dallas Morning News’ Lawson Taitte called the Amphibian Stage Productions production of the play required viewing for “anybody voting on matters of health care — or anyone who plans to survive past the age of 65.” This is your last weekend to follow through with that mandate.
Neat (Through Nov 10 at Jubilee Theatre, 506 Main Street, Fort Worth) Tickets: It’s also the last weekend to catch Jubilee Theatre’s production of Neat, the follow-up to playwright Charlayne Woodard’s Prairie Fire, which enjoyed a successful run at Jubilee last year. The play relates a story about a young girl growing up in Upstate New York whose adolescence coalesces with a collision of familial, cultural, and racial tension. Directed by rising star Tre Garrett, it’s the singular performance of Ebony Marshall-Oliver in this one-woman show that made the Star-Telegram’s Punch Shaw describe the production as a rare collision between a first-rate script and a super-talented actress.
Our Town (Through Nov 16 at the Irving Arts Center, 3333 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving) Tickets: If you’re looking for classic theater with a capital “T”, you can’t go wrong with a local production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, as staged by the Irving Community Theatre. If you want to whet your appetite, here’s Paul Newman in the 2003 Broadway production of the play:
