Theater Season

New leadership drives Fort Worth's Amphibian Stage forward for 2025

Amphibian Stage has stories of growth on tap for its 2025 season.

Photo by Evan Michael Woods

Fort Worth theater company Amphibian Stage has new plays and new leadership on tap for the New Year, but audiences can also expect the return of its new-play festival, stand-up comedy residencies, National Theatre Live screenings, and other special events.

After 25 years as founding artistic director, Kathleen Culebro passed the torch to Jay Duffer, formerly the co-artistic director. It was announced in October that Elizabeth Kensek is joining Amphibian Stage as managing director, after abruptly being let go from Addison's WaterTower Theater two months earlier.

Both Duffer's and Kensek's roles go into effect on January 1, 2025. Kensek will work closely with Duffer and the board of directors to guide the organization’s future.

"The 2025 season at Amphibian Stage reveals characters embracing the unexpected to seek connection — whether in close quarters, across ideological divides, or in unfamiliar lands — as they strive for common ground amidst challenges and surprises," reads a release.

The mainstage season opens with Rooted, a quirky comedy by Deborah Zoe Laufer that's directed by Scott Evans.

Who knew a love for plants could grow ... a cult following? Emery’s devotion to her plants takes an unexpected turn when a mass of unwanted fans gather outside her treehouse, convinced she’s their new savior. Now she’s dodging her sister Hazel’s big dreams of cashing in, while her followers worship every leaf she drops. It runs January 31-February 16, 2025.

In Rift, or White Lies, Gabriel Jason Dean tackles family and ideology in a powerful drama about two estranged brothers — one a writer, the other an imprisoned alt-right gang member — struggling to confront their pasts.

Directed by Lily Wolff, this production is part of the National New Play Network's Rolling World Premiere. In a unique twist, the actors will switch roles throughout the run, offering audiences a distinct perspective each time. It runs April 18-May 11, 2025.

The summer brings The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh and directed by Shyama Nithiananda.

This heartfelt comedy follows Jane and Luna, recent immigrants who find solace in their shared experiences on Thanksgiving night, blending humor with a deep look at friendship and the immigrant experience. It runs August 1-17, 2025.

The season concludes with The Birds, a suspenseful adaptation by Conor McPherson based on Daphne du Maurier’s classic short story, which was the inspiration for Hitchcock’s film.

When killer birds start attacking, three strangers seek shelter in an isolated cabin, but as paranoia and fear begin to grow they realize that the biggest threat might come from within. Directed by artistic director Jay Duffer, it runs October 17-November 9, 2025.

SparkFest, Amphibian Stage’s annual festival supporting the creation of new work and serving as a platform for underrepresented voices, this year celebrates Native Americans and peoples indigenous to Turtle Island (or the North American continent) and Hawai'i.

The arrival of SparkFest 2025 commemorates the fifth anniversary of the festival and the third year the festival will highlight a specific group of artists. The national acting competition, inspired by the Van Cliburn Festival, will offer Native American and Indigenous actors a chance to compete for $18,000 in cash prizes. It all happens June 13-22, 2025.

National Theatre Live brings the best of UK theater here to Fort Worth, thanks to Amphibian Stage's partnership with London’s National Theatre. From Andrew Scott to Emma D’Arcy, audiences will see stars in some of the greatest productions from the UK, screened at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

The Importance of Being Earnest will screen February 26 and March 1, 2025, and Dr. Strangelove May 21 and 24, 2025.

Throughout the year, Amphibian Stage also offers additional events including stand-up comedy residencies, solo shows, cabaret performances, and more. More information about these programs will become available throughout the year.

amphibian stage national theatre live 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.

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