Season Announcement

Classic and cutting-edge Broadway blockbusters return to Fort Worth's Bass Hall

In 2020-21, patrons of Performing Arts Fort Worth's Broadway at the Bass will get to experience some of Broadway's biggest blockbusters, claim two musicals as city exclusives, enjoy three add-on shows, and re-visit a classic that hasn't touched down in Cowtown for nearly two decades.

"We're absolutely thrilled to introduce this season to Fort Worth," says Dione Kennedy, president and CEO of Performing Arts Fort Worth. "These are some of the biggest and most popular titles ever seen on a Broadway stage. Each has been recognized with Tony Award wins, nominations, or related awards. It's truly an outstanding lineup of award-winning productions."

It starts with Lincoln Center Theater's production of Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady, which features such legendary songs as "I Could Have Danced All Night," "The Rain in Spain," "Wouldn’t It Be Loverly," and "On the Street Where You Live." The musical tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a "proper lady." But who is really being transformed? It runs October 6-11, 2020.

Next is Disney's The Lion King, which hasn't visited Fort Worth since its first national tour in 2002. The entire Serengeti comes to life as never before, with awe-inspiring visual artistry, unforgettable music from Elton John and Tim Rice, and uniquely theatrical storytelling from Julie Taymor. It runs January 13-31, 2021.

The 2017 Tony winner for Best Musical, Dear Evan Hansen, centers around a letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, and a life one teenage boy never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he's always wanted: a chance to finally fit in. It runs February 9-14, 2021.

You've seen the movie, now see the musical it's based on. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats has captivated audiences in over 30 countries and 15 languages, telling the story of one magical night when an extraordinary tribe of cats gathers for its annual ball to rejoice and decide which cat will be reborn. It runs June 15-20, 2021.

Elton John and Tim Rice are well represented this season, with their 1998 musical Aida hitting the road in a thrilling new production. A revised book by Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang and choreography by Camille A. Brown help tell the tale of star-crossed lovers belonging to feuding nations, torn between their conflicted loyalties to their countries and to each other. It runs June 22-27, 2021.

Shortly after it visits Dallas, The Cher Show brings its blindingly sparkly celebration of the icon's life to Fort Worth. The Tony Award-winning musical of her story is packed with so much Cher that it takes three women to play her: the kid starting out, the glam pop star, and the icon. It runs July 27-August 1, 2021.

The final show of the mainstage season is the 2019 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival Oklahoma!, which has been reimagined for the 21st century, has been stripped down to reveal the darker psychological truths at its core. Daniel Fish's production tells a story of a community circling its wagons against an outsider, and the frontier life that shaped America. Upending the sunny romance of a farmer and a cowpoke, this Oklahoma! allows the classic musical — and our country — to be seen in a whole new light. It runs August 10-15, 2021.

Starting off the season add-ons is the Bass Hall premiere of The Vagina Monologues. Twenty years after first shocking and empowering audiences, Eve Ensler's groundbreaking, wildly entertaining phenomenon is returning to the stage in a star-studded national tour, reminding us all at this monumental time in our history how important it is to laugh, cry, come together, raise our voices, and speak out before it is too late. It runs September 1-2, 2020.

The razzle dazzle returns with Kander and Ebb's Chicago, the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. It has everything that makes Broadway great: a universal tale of fame, fortune, and all that jazz; one show-stopping song after another; and the most astonishing dancing you've ever seen. It runs October 13-14, 2020.

Meet Jenna, a Waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage. Pouring her heart into her pies, she crafts desserts that mirror her topsy-turvy life. When a baking contest in a nearby county — and a satisfying encounter with someone new — show Jenna a chance at a fresh start, she must find the courage to seize it. Brought to life by a groundbreaking all-female creative team, this hilarious hit Broadway musical features original music and lyrics by Grammy Award winner Sara Bareilles. It runs November 7-8, 2020.

Current 2019-2020 Broadway at the Bass season ticket holders have until March 6 to renew and keep their seats. New season tickets go on sale April 15, and can be purchased online at basshall.com, over the phone at 817-212-4450, and in person at the Bass Hall box office. On-sale dates for individual tickets will be announced at a later date.

Lincoln Center Theater's recent revival of My Fair Lady is on its way.

Photo by Joan Marcus

Lincoln Center Theater's recent revival of My Fair Lady is on its way.

music theater

Ancient Sculpture News

Fort Worth museum one of only 3 in U.S. to get rare sculpture exhibit

Lorenzo di Masi/Torlonia Collection

The Torlonia Nile

A major exhibition of ancient Roman masterworks is coming to the U.S. for the first time to be viewed at only three museums — including the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

Called Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, it's an assemblage of works stewarded by the Torlonia Family beginning in the early-19th century, and will be installed at the Kimbell from September 14, 2025 – January 25, 2026.

As part of the Foundation’s mission to showcase these historical works to the public, the exhibition will premiere at the Art Institute of Chicago on March 15 through June 29, before traveling to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Its third stop will be at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, from March 14 - July 19, 2026.

The Torlonia Collection was established during the course of the 19th century by the Franco-Italian banker Prince Giovanni Torlonia and his son Alessandro, then handed down over generations, eventually growing into the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures.

Today, the Torlonia Foundation represents the culmination of the Family’s continued passion for art. Created at the behest of Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1925–2017), the Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote the Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia.

In 1876, Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1800-1886) created a museum to house and exhibit the Family’s holdings, which was open to small groups until its closure at the onset of World War II. The sculptures remained unseen by the public from that time until the Foundation’s first exhibition at the Musei Capitolini in Rome in 2020. That was followed by a stint at the Louvre, the first presentation of the collection outside of Rome, where it has drawn more than 600,000 visitors to date, an unprecedented feat.

The exhibit
The curators of Myth & Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection are Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff of the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, in collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and The Museum Box. All of the sculptures in the exhibition have been restored by the Foundation with the support of Bvlgari.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue co-published by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, edited by Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff, with essays by Silvia Beltrametti and Salvatore Settis.

The North American presentation will feature 58 highlights from the Torlonia Collection, including 24 newly restored works that have not been on view in nearly a century. The sculptures date from approximately the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, with the majority of the works dating to the High Imperial period (1st–2nd centuries CE). Highlights include examples of the most emblematic genres of ancient marble sculpture, acquired by the Torlonia Family from the most prominent collections of Rome’s patrician families, as well as from excavations made on the Family’s own estates throughout Italy.

“The Foundation is excited to be sharing the Torlonia Collection with audiences in North America for the first time. This exceptional group of ancient sculptures is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia Family,” said Alessandro Poma Murialdo, President of the Torlonia Foundation.

The presentation is organized thematically in six sections, featuring sculptures found on the Torlonia Family’s properties in Rome and the surrounding suburbs and their estate in Porto, Portugal, as well as a number of exceptional sarcophagi (stone coffins), among the largest sculpted works in marble to survive from ancient Rome.

The tour reinforces the work of the Foundation to advance the appreciation and understanding of this unparalleled collection and the rich cultural heritage it represents. The Foundation’s mission is carried out through a continuous joint effort between the public and private sectors, including with the cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Culture. The Foundation is supported by a longstanding collaboration with Bvlgari as the principal sponsor of the restoration project since its inception in Rome and throughout the global tour, and Chiomenti, who has lent invaluable support to the Foundation’s core activities.

galleries

Season Announcement

Classic and cutting-edge Broadway blockbusters return to Fort Worth's Bass Hall

Lincoln Center Theater's recent revival of My Fair Lady is on its way.

Ancient Sculpture News

Fort Worth museum one of only 3 in U.S. to get rare sculpture exhibit

Catch up on these restaurant openings and closures in Fort Worth

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