Theater Critic Picks

The 6 most memorable onstage moments in Dallas-Fort Worth theater 2019

This year, Dallas-Fort Worth theater companies really doubled down on local work, a trend that only seems to be growing in 2020. Before we get there, though, let's take a look back at some of the biggest moments of 2019 in the DFW performing arts world.

There were two notable departures, starting with associate artistic director Joel Ferrell leaving Dallas Theater Center in August and continuing with artistic director Alex Organ announcing in October that he'll step down from his leadership position at Second Thought Theatre at the end of 2020.

The theater community lost two more important leaders with the deaths of Circle Theatre co-founder Bill Newberry and Katherine Owens, co-founder and artistic director of the Deep Ellum-based Undermain Theatre.

Owens' husband, actor and executive producer Bruce DuBose, is taking her place but will be supported by new associate artistic director Danielle Georgiou, whom many know as a powerhouse choreographer, dancer, and teacher around town.

Georgiou joined Christie Vela in the "females killing it in leadership roles" group, as Vela was announced as Theatre Three's associate artistic director in March.

The hiring spree actually started a week earlier with Shane Peterman, formerly the artistic director of Lyric Stage, assuming the artistic director role at WaterTower Theatre. He succeeded Joanie Schultz, who resigned in late 2018 and made her mark on DFW with several of my favorite moments of that year.

Speaking of the new and now, Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas opened a new performance space while Cara Mía Theatre Co. and Teatro Dallas made history by becoming the first two Latinx theater companies to be granted residency in a municipal arts building, the Latino Cultural Center (which will also open a second theater space slated for completion in 2021).

The city upped its commitment to getting butts in seats by offering free tickets to theaters, museums, concerts, films, and other arts and culture events — all a Dallas resident has to do is use their library card.

And plenty more people on both coasts saw Self-Injurious Behavior, the searing play by Jessica Cavanagh about raising a child with autism. It traveled first to Off-Broadway in New York and then North Hollywood a few months later — thanks to actor and producer Joe Mantegna — where it partnered with the nonprofit Autism Works Now.

Earlier in the year, the Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum (of which I am a member) announced its top picks for the September-August season, but this list below tackles a few of my own favorite onstage moments of 2019.

Proud of our boys
DFW's own Major Attaway and Clinton Greenspan returned home in the national tour of Disney's Aladdin. Fort Worth-raised Attaway had previously played the Genie on Broadway (and returned to the Great White Way following his stint in the tour), while Dallas actor Greenspan graduated from ensemble member to leading man on the road. We talked to both about what it meant it be performing onstage at the Music Hall at Fair Park, where each had grown up seeing shows, and to have friends, family, and teachers in the audience. Witnessing the love and support they received at the stage door was the very definition of heartwarming.

Lizzie Borden took an axe...
Imprint Theatreworks continues to push the envelope with innovative programming and mostly flawless execution, and that was certainly on display in November with the rock musical Lizzie. Based on the true story of alleged murderer Lizzie Borden, this hardcore, concert-esque production of Steven Cheslik-deMeyer, Tim Maner, and Alan Stevens Hewitt's musical was chilling, sexy, raw, and dangerous. The quartet of women (plus mostly female onstage band) were mesmerizing, but none more so than Devin Berg as the titular daughter who was pushed too far. When she discovered the pigeons she loved to visit in her family's barn all slaughtered, the wild look in her eyes and blood smeared on her hands and face as she mourned gave a terrifying glimpse at her actions to come.

Take a leap
Echo Theatre excels at intimate shows, and Leslie Ayvazian's comedy High Dive was the very definition of immediate and up-close. Actor Kristin McCollum played a woman celebrating her 50th birthday in Greece, paralyzed with fear at the idea of leaping off the high dive into the pool where her daughter is waiting below. But she wasn't the only person in the cast — the audience itself played a role (or several) each performance, being handed snippets of scripts on their way in and tasked with a line here and there to help move the story along. Not only was it a bonding moment for those watching the show, but it added an exciting layer of immersion and "what might happen next?" to live theater.

In the holiday spirit
While Dracula was busy damning souls upstairs, the basement of Theatre Three played host to another set of ghouls and ghosts with Danielle Georgiou Dance Group's Bippy Bobby Boo Show. Patterned after a 1960s variety show and hosted by the ultra-suave yet entirely kooky Justin Locklear, the groovy good time let the spirits of the theater run wild for the night. There was killer comedy, devilish dancing, a spooky seance, and a warm-up to Christmas with a bloody twist on "Jingle Bell Rock" from Monet Lerner that's still making me giggle months later.

The worst (best) pies in London
Circle Theatre tackled Stephen Sondheim's classic musical Sweeney Todd in a whole new way, with a dark, gritty staging and aura of menace that began before you even entered the theater. Director Joel Ferrell purposefully let the seams show in his production, with found objects making up most of the set and costumes and actors playing instruments in lieu of a lush, full orchestra. Overall, it was a glorious gothic romp but Sarah Gay, as the immoral baker Mrs. Lovett, was truly revelatory in a role that so many before her have made their mark.

We did not throw away our shot
Hamilton finally came to Dallas, and it did not disappoint. Even better, the sound at the Music Hall — something most were very, very worried about — was crystal clear. Lin-Manuel Miranda's masterpiece ignited an excitement among Dallas theatergoers that we hadn't seen in a long time, and it brought together fans of all ages and backgrounds. Y'all were so excited, in fact, that you made our Hamilton review the most-read arts and entertainment story of the year. If you missed the magic this year (or just want to experience it again), Hamilton is coming to Bass Hall in Fort Worth June 9-28, 2020.

Fort Worth-rased Major Attaway as Genie in the national tour of Disney's Aladdin.

Photo by Matthew Murphy

Fort Worth-rased Major Attaway as Genie in the national tour of Disney's Aladdin.

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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.

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