Season Announcement

Broadway at the Bass lifts curtain with jubilant 2021-22 season

In July we wear pink for Mean Girls.

Photo by Joan Marcus

Shortly after Dallas Summer Musicals announced its grand return to the indoor stage in August (yes, as in three months from now), Performing Arts Fort Worth revealed its own 2021-22 Broadway at the Bass season.

The six-show series features many of the titles that were previously scheduled prior to COVID-19, as well as a newly added hit show direct from Broadway.

"Today marks an important milestone as we look ahead and prepare for an exciting 2021-22 season," says Performing Arts Fort Worth president and CEO Dione Kennedy in a release. "We can't wait to welcome audiences back to Bass Hall this fall, and our top priority is providing a safe environment to enjoy live theater together again.

"We will continue to follow CDC and industry health and safety guidelines as we refine our reopening plans with leaders in science, technology, and medicine. Our goal is to be able to present full-capacity performances by the time our Broadway season starts in October."

It all starts with Come From Away, the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers on 9/11 and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. The show actually just wrapped filming in its (empty) Broadway theater for a possible September release on Apple TV, but there's something special about seeing this emotional story live. It runs October 19-24, 2021.

Just in time for the holiday season, Cats returns to the Bass Hall stage in an all-new production. I promise you, the stage version is vastly superior to the movie. It runs November 16-21, 2021.

The winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and the 2018 Grammy Award, Dear Evan Hansen is the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it. It makes its long-awaited Bass Hall debut January 4-9, 2022.

A reimagined production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, the winner of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival, is next, running June 21-26, 2022.

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Jesus Christ Superstar returns with a new mesmerizing production creating a modern, theatrical world that is uniquely fresh and inspiring. It runs July 12-17, 2022.

The 2021-22 season concludes with Mean Girls, based on the fetch film by Tina Fey. It runs July 26-31, 2022.

Hamilton, rescheduled to January 18-February 6, 2022, is a season add-on. Tickets for the original June 9-28, 2020, dates will be honored for the new dates, but new tickets are not on sale at this time. Patrons that purchase new 2021-22 Broadway at the Bass season tickets will have pre-sale access to secure tickets to Hamilton.

The highly anticipated return of Disney’s The Lion King will be part of the 2022-23 Broadway at the Bass season. 2021-22 season ticket holders that renew their seats for the 2022-23 season will have priority access to The Lion King.

Performing Arts Fort Worth is currently in conversations with other local arts organizations to plan reduced capacity, socially distanced performances in Bass Hall this summer in preparation for the new season starting this fall. Additional details will be announced at a later date.

Broadway at the Bass six-show season ticket packages start at $231. Season tickets can be renewed through June 21, and new season tickets can be purchased beginning July 15, online and by phone at 817-212-4450.

Tickets to individual shows in the 2021-22 Broadway at the Bass season are not available for purchase at this time. On-sale dates for individual tickets will be announced at a later date.

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Theater Critic Picks

These are 12 must-see shows in Dallas-Fort Worth theater for November

Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical

Photo by Jeremy Daniel

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Grocery and department stores might want us to believe it's already the holidays, but at least local theater companies are (mostly) holding off until around Thanksgiving.

November starts with absurdism, moves along to a movie-turned-Broadway musical, and even throws a creepy thriller in the mix before it's time for Grinches, Scrooges, and Charlie Brown's sad Christmas tree.

In order of start date, here are 12 local shows to watch this month:

Exit the King
Undermain Theatre, through November 24
Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist comedy is set in the crumbling throne room of the palace in an unnamed country, where King Berenger the First has only the duration of the play to live. Once, it seemed he ruled over an immense empire and commanded great armies; now his kingdom has shrunk to the confines of his garden wall. Refusing to accept his end, he is attended by his present and former Queens, who must help him face the final inevitable truth of life.

Patti & Theo
Ochre House Theatre, November 2-23
The dark comedy with music that's written and directed by artistic director Matthew Posey returns. Patti and Theo are struggling artists in Brooklyn, New York. They are big boozers, and time will tell if the Drinking Religion outlives them. Song, music, and shadow play highlight this story of two lovers who hold each other passionately at arm’s length.

Mrs. Doubtfire
Broadway at the Bass, November 5-10
Everyone’s favorite Scottish nanny comes to Fort Worth in the musical based on the beloved film, which tells the hysterical and heartfelt story of an out-of-work actor who will do anything for his kids.

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe
WaterTower Theatre, November 6-17
Jane Wagner’s ever-timely one-woman show examines American society, art, and human connectivity, and explores the feminist movement. As one actor transforms into a series of other archetypal characters, they become the play’s guiding conscience for the audience. Under the guidance of the narrator, a role originated by Lily Tomlin, the audience is treated to a mischievously clever observer of the society around her.

A Tuna Christmas
Casa Mañana, November 9-17
It's 24 hours before Christmas and all comic hell is about to break loose. Tuna’s delightfully eccentric characters attempt to cope with seasonal traumas, like a disaster-prone production of A Christmas Carol and a yard-decorating contest that’s being sabotaged by a mysterious Christmas phantom.

Sleuth
Theatre Three, November 14-December 15
A cunning mystery writer, Andrew Wyke, invites his wife's lover, Milo Tindle, to his secluded English manor, setting off a deadly game of manipulation and deceit. As the tension rises, surprising twists keep the audience guessing the dramatic end. Presented in the Theatre Too space.

Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical
Performing Arts Fort Worth, November 19-24
Max the Dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is "two sizes too small," decides to steal Christmas away from the holiday-loving Whos.

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Dallas Children's Theater, November 23-December 22
Discover the meaning of Christmas — or experience the nostalgia of childhood — while sharing laughs with the Peanuts Gang along the way. As a live combo fills hearts with music, merriment, and warmth, the story based on the Charles Schulz classic special is here just in time for the holidays.

Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings
Lyric Stage, November 29-December 22
The holiday classic by Stewart Ross opens Lyric Stage's 31st season. At first, Francis, Jinx, Smudge, and Sparky aren't sure why they've returned to Earth for another posthumous performance, but a phone call from the heavenly Rosemary Clooney lets them know that they're needed to put a little harmony into a discordant world.

The Play That Goes Wrong
Stage West, November 29-December 22
At opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor, things are quickly going from bad to horrible. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), the whole evening is a disastrous smash.

A Christmas Carol
Dallas Theater Center, November 29-December 28
Three spirits have come to visit the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and take him on a fantastic journey through Christmases past, present, and future. Brimming with joyful songs, magical spirits, and holiday cheer, this holiday classic embodies a story of joy, redemption, and the spirit of Christmas.

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
Theatre Three, November 29-December 29
The vibrant musical spectacle set in 19th-century Russia, and based on a 70-page segment of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, lets romance and intrigue unfold amid glittering ballrooms and tumultuous relationships. Its score features a unique blend of electro-pop and Russian folk-inspired music.

a christmas carol musicals opening plays theater