Thursday, March 28, 2024 Mar 28, 2024
59° F Dallas, TX
Advertisement
Theater & Dance

Theatre Three Announces Its New Season

New artistic director Jeffrey Schmidt takes the long-running Uptown theater in a different direction: less Broadway, more local work.
By |
Image

Theatre Three this week announced its 2017-18 season, the first selected by new artistic director Jeffrey Schmidt, heralding the start of a new era for the long-running Uptown theater. The new direction includes an emphasis on original works developed by North Texas playwrights and actors, and the company will focus on more intimate productions, in part to fit Theatre Three’s theater-in-the-round staging.

“Part of the mandate I gave my self was to select shows that fit in the theatre’s spaces,” Schmidt says in a press release. “Casts will be on the smaller side and lavish Broadway style productions will be avoided. T3 will never be avant-garde, but it can be innovative and relevant.  I don’t think a theater of this size has the luxury of producing only one kind, style, or genre of theater.

Theatre Too, the company’s smaller space downstairs, will handle the bulk of new play development, while one locally conceived new musical — the wonderfully named The Last One Nighter on the Death Trail starring The Disappointment Players — will make its world premiere on the Theatre Three stage. Meanwhile, Theatre Too’s Valentine’s Day smash, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, will take its final bow after 17 years of productions.

A press release with more info on each of the seven shows in the 2017-18 season is copied below. It kicks off Aug. 3 with Anna Ziegler’s The Minotaur, a clever update on the Greek myth.

Season tickets go on sale May 16.

WHAT

Newly-appointed Theatre Three Artistic Director Jeffrey Schmidt has announced the 2017-18 season for productions on the Norma Young Arena Stage. Theatre Three, Dallas’s fifty-six year-old theatre-in-the-round, is located in the Quadrangle in the heart of uptown at 2800 Routh Street, Ste #168, Dallas, TX 75201.

The main stage season includes regional premieres of The Minotaur by Anna Ziegler, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen, new productions of the musical Adding Machine and the classic play Les Liaisons Dangereuses and the professional world premiere of local work The Last One Nighter on the Death Trail starring The Disappointment Players.

Season tickets (which range from $70-$224) will go on sale on Tuesday, May 16. Single tickets will be available at a later date. For ticket information, call the Theatre Three Box Office at 214-871-3300 x1 or visit www.theatre3dallas.com.

Schmidt has also revealed that the company’s downstairs studio space, Theatre Too, will become an incubation space for developing new works from local artists and companies. Tentatively, works being prepared for the Theatre Too season include new plays by Matt Lyle and Jessica Cavanagh, a work of physical theatre by Prism Movement Theater, the final production of Theatre Too’s annual hit I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change! Further details and show dates will be announced at a later time.

SEASON VISION STATEMENT FROM JEFFREY SCHMIDT, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

“Selecting this season has been a lot like making new friends in that you shouldn’t put so much stock in first impressions…oh, who the hell am I kidding? First impressions are everything. This season is the groundwork for my relationship with patrons, artists, donors, etc. I want to let them know who I am, what I’m about and where I see the theatre heading in the future. The good news is the current structure of T3’s season gives me 7 opportunities on the main stage plus the programming downstairs in T2 to give a thorough introduction. So, there’s the first thing. The structure of T3’s programing won’t change, at least for the coming season. The timing of my appointment prevented any significant restructuring.

“In the coming years, I want to strike a balance between innovative challenging work and classic American theater. I want good juicy roles for actors to sink their teeth into. My aesthetic has always incorporated inventive design, so I want to have exciting opportunities for designers as well. New work development by local writers and companies is also part of the equation. Part of the mandate I gave my self was to select shows that fit in the theatre’s spaces. Casts will be on the smaller side and lavish Broadway style productions will be avoided. T3 will never be avant-garde, but it can be innovative and relevant.  I don’t think a theater of this size has the luxury of producing only one kind, style, or genre of theater.  Good writing? Of course.  Relevance? Definitely. Classics? Yes. Provocative? Please. Campy and cheesy? Not really, but there are always exceptions to the rule!”

ABOUT THE SHOWS

The Minotaur by Anna Ziegler

August 3 – 27, 2017

Who controls your life’s narrative? Just because the chorus says “That is how things should be,” does that mean you must abide it? A present-day version of a classic Greek myth, The Minotaur is a contemporary take on love, honor, and human connection. With refreshing originality and wit, it explores how we break out of history to shape new stories for ourselves.

Adding Machine Music by Joshua Schmidt, Lyrics by Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt from the play by Elmer Rice

September 28 – October 22, 2017

Darkly comic and heartbreakingly beautiful, Adding Machine, a musical adaptation of Elmer Rice’s incendiary 1923 play, tells the story of Mr. Zero, who after 25 years of service to his company is replaced by a mechanical adding machine. In a vengeful rage, he murders his boss. An eclectic score gives passionate and memorable voice to this stylish and stylized show, which follows Zero’s journey to the afterlife in the Elysian Fields where he is met with one last chance for romance and redemption.

Solstice: Stories & Songs for the Holidays

November 24 – December 17, 2017

Let some of Dallas’ best actors tell you a story! The winter solstice has inspired storytellers for thousands of years from cultures all over the world. Celebrate the beginning of winter and the shortest day in the northern hemisphere snuggled up inside Theatre Three with your favorite beverage. We hope to start a new family tradition filled with celebration, stories and songs performed by professional actors and musicians.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher

January 18 – February 11, 2018

A new and shocking version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of depravity, lust, love and horror. On the fog-bound streets of Victorian-era London, Henry Jekyll’s experiments with exotic “powders and tinctures” have brought forth his other self—Edward Hyde, a sensualist and villain free to commit the sins Jekyll is too civilized to comprehend. The many facets of Hyde’s personality are portrayed by different members of the cast.

She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen

March 8 – April 1, 2018

A comedic romp into the world of fantasy role-playing games, She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes Evans as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, however, she stumbles into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was Tilly’s refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy, laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, acclaimed playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.

The Last One Nighter on The Death Trail starring The Disappointment Players

Book by Christie Vela and David Goodwin, Songs by Our Endeavors Theater Collective

April 26 – May 20, 2018

Presenting the professional world premiere of the musical The Last One Nighter on The Death Trail developed by local artists Christie Vela, David Goodwin and Our Endeavors Theater Collective. In the early 20th century, Elm Street in Dallas, Texas, was lined with vaudeville houses and movie theatres. In this fun and raucous story, a troupe of vaudevillians in the early ‘30s wait behind a theater in Dallas for their opportunity to go on stage. They’re the disappointment act and only go on if someone else cancels. It questions what is and isn’t art and why it is necessary. Watch out, though. It’s the prohibition era in the Bible Belt and the cops are cracking down on all unseemly behavior!

Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton

June 14 – July 8, 2018

Who’s in the mood for a little sex and treachery? You may know it as Dangerous Liasons, the title of the film adaptation. A tale of seduction set in France among aristocrats before the revolution, this is a classic drama for exploring decadent sexuality, morals and manipulation played as the ultimate game with tragic results. Christopher Hampton adapted the play from the 1782 novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos and was nominated for a Tony in 1987.

Related Articles

Image
Hot Properties

Hot Property: This Preston Hollow Modern Has Limestone as Old as Dinosaurs

Designed by Todd Hamilton, the mansion features lots of organic elements, including a shell stone only found in Texas.
Image
Restaurants & Bars

Vinito Is the Little Wine Shop That Could—Sell Mexican Wine

In Oak Cliff, two best friends are quietly wooing customers with the vines and unique blends of Mexico.
Image
Business

Experts Weigh In: What the NAR Settlement Could Mean for DFW’s Residential Market

Rogers Healy, Briggs Freeman's Russ Anderson, and Allie Beth Allman's Keith Conlon share insights on the landmark National Association of Realtors lawsuit.
Advertisement