Season Announcement

Hip Pocket Theatre's 46th season puts Fort Worth audiences back under the stars

Hip Pocket Theatre performs under the stars.

Photo by Sarah Sampson

For its 46th season, Hip Pocket Theatre is mixing old favorites and new creations, family-friendly shows and slightly more adult content, all under the stars at its outdoor Fort Worth performance space.

Through the vision of artistic directors Lake and Lorca Simons and featuring work by founding director Johnny Simons, Hip Pocket's 2022 season is certainly a cause for celebration.

First up is Pinocchio Commedia, Johnny Simons' whimsical adaptation of the Carlo Collodi classic presented in the style of the Italian commedia dell’arte, replete with character masks, slapstick, and puppetry and featuring a cast of Hip Pocket veterans. Directed by David Yeakle, it runs June 3-26, 2022.

Next is The Diaries of Adam and Eve, written by Mark Twain and adapted and directed by Yvonne Duque-Guerrero. Told through an ensemble of Adams, Eves, and a Forbidden Chorus, this adaptation reminds us that the original love story wasn’t always a walk in the park — but was worth it in the end. It runs July 8-24, 2022.

The world premiere of When We Were Very Young follows. The A.A. Milne classic book of musings and poems is brought to life onstage through music, puppetry, and dance. Adaptation by Lake Simons and John Dyer, with direction by Lake Simons and music by John Dyer. It runs August 5-21, 2022.

Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin's Savage/Love is next, directed by Lorca Simons. This fierce physical exploration of the heart is an exploration of familiar territory for any of us crazy enough to fall in love. It runs August 26-September 12, 2022.

Closing out the season is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a spooky romp through an American fable told with song and dance. By Washington Irving and adapted for the stage by Johnny Simons, it is directed by JoAnn Gracey with music by Joe Rogers. It runs September 30-October 30, 2022.

Tickets are $25 on Saturdays and $20 on Sundays for adults, with reduced prices for seniors, military, teachers, students, and children. Gates open at 7 pm and there is no late seating.

The HipCafe offers drinks, snacks, and dinner before the show on Friday and Saturday nights. The Backyard concessions area features local musicians before and after each performance, and food is also available before and after the show.

For reservations, contact the box office at 817-246-9775 or hpt@hippocket.org.

theater

Season Announcement

Women take center stage in Fort Worth theater's 49th season

Photo by Loli Kantor

Women take center stage this season.

In its 49th season, Hip Pocket Theatre is making history: For the first time, every show in the season will be directed by a woman.

“This season, we hone in on theater artists and experimental practices that inspired Hip Pocket Theatre founders Johnny and Diane Simons and Douglas Balentine to forge their own rustic theatre path back in 1976,” say co-artistic directors Lake and Lorca Simons. Diane Simons passed away at the beginning of 2025.

“For the 49th season, we proudly bring together playwrights that have held a special place in the heart of Hip Pocket," the sisters continue. "Garcia Lorca, Sam Shepard, George Bernard Shaw, and Mary Shelley represent our theater’s long-standing interest in interpreting and adapting works for the stage. In the middle, we will present a legacy Simons/Balentine musical production complete with a live band and ensemble of performers. We feel deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with such a stellar team of directors, composers, designers, musicians, actors, and technicians.”

The season begins with The Mad Dog Blues by Sam Shepard, directed by Christina Cranshaw and running from May 16-June 8, 2025. Performed in Hip Pocket’s very first season as well as its twelfth, this “rock and roll fantasy” is one of Shepard’s better-known earlier works.

Following is The Billy Club Puppetsby Federico Garcia Lorca, directed by Yvonne Duque-Guerrero. Running from June 20-July 13, 2025, the production will incorporate selected young, talented technicians participating in the inaugural Diane Simons Mentorship Program. The program supports young artists interested in stage management, lighting design, costume design, and scenic design and provides them with professional theatrical experience.

Lake Simons will then direct a Hip Pocket favorite: Old Mother West Wind, a Johnny Simons and Douglas Balentine original musical. With music direction by John Dyer and Joe Rogers, the show will be performed for the first time since its debut in 1978. The show will run August 1-24, 2025.

The season continues September 5-28, 2025, with Heartbreak House, written by George Bernard Shaw and directed by Emily Scott Banks. The setting for the play is a wild dinner party filled with a comical web of love triangles and business dealings.

Closing out the season is an adaptation of the horror classic Frankenstein, based on the book by Mary Shelley and directed by Christina Cranshaw. The show will run October 10-November 2, 2025.

Hip Pocket’s annual Puppet Pageant, a gift to the community, will be presented prior to the performances of Frankenstein on October 31 and November 1-2.

This season will be performed onsite at the Hip Pocket Amphitheatre, with season passes and individual tickets will be available for purchase at a later date.

Based in Fort Worth, Hip Pocket Theatre is a unique, alternative theatre company known for its imaginative, experimental productions and its rustic outdoor setting. Established in 1976, the theater combines an unconventional approach to storytelling with original scores, drama, humor, puppetry, mime, and movement. Hip Pocket produces a wide variety of works, including original plays, adaptations, musicals, and multimedia performances.

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