Season Announcement

Hip Pocket's theater under the Fort Worth stars aims even higher for 2022-23 season

The Butterfly's Evil Spell at Hip Pocket Theatre

The Butterfly's Evil Spell returns this season.

Photo by John Carlisle Moore

Since Hip Pocket Theatre's al fresco format depends heavily on the weather, they're opening their 47th season a little earlier this year.

The six-show season begins May 19 and runs most weekends through October 29 at the outdoor amphitheatre located at 1950 Silver Creek Dr. in Fort Worth.

It all begins with Riders of the Purple Sage, Johnny Simons and James Maynard's adaptation of Zane Grey’s original story, which was last seen at Hip Pocket in 1996 and enjoyed two previous productions before that.

It’s a classic Western of the silent film era about Lassiter, an avenging gunslinger in black; Jane Withersteen, a plucky and determined cattle rancher; and the dastardly forces that separate them. JoAnn Gracey directs, with music and lyrics composed and music direction by Joe Rogers. It runs May 19-June 11, 2023.

El Maleficio De La Mariposa; The Butterfly’s Evil Spellis another returning Hip Pocket favorite, having last been produced here in 2011. Written by Federico Garcia Lorca, his poetic world of beetles, fireflies, and other magical creatures is disrupted when a hypnotic, wounded butterfly enters their dewdrop paradise.

Boybeetle is cast under the spell of love, and Scorpy is sure to shake things up in this timeless tale of longing and beauty. Yvonne Duque-Guerrero directs, with music composed and performed live by Darrin Kobetich. It runs June 23-July 16, 2023.

White Elephantwas first produced in New York City by La Mama ETC in 2009, receiving two grants from the Jim Henson Foundation, with a reprisal on the Hip Pocket stage with the original New York cast. A reimagining of the original production, it is a meditation on transition, memory and release.

The show is presented as a series of poetic vignettes about animals, people, and objects that transform from one plane to another. Their stories come to life through puppetry, mask, movement, film, and live music. White Elephant was co-written and directed by Lake Simons and John Dyer, with music composed and performed live by Dyer and choreography and design by Simons. It runs July 28-August 20, 2023.

Hip Pocket will return to its roots in experimental theater by producing a festival of three new works by Rob Bosquez, JoAnn Gracey, and Shelby Griffin called Testing Ground 3+3. More information is coming soon, and it runs September 1-3, 2023.

Once upon a time, three friends got the crazy idea to start their own theater. They had grown weary of working with the restrictions of so-called “professional theater," so they burned their equity cards and set out to create a place for original work in a rough- hewn, handmade space reflecting their hearts' desires. Cash for this adventure began with $300 pulled from their hip pockets. Ticket prices were set at $2.50.

Old And In The Way is a nostalgic look back at the early days of a youthful dream, brought to life by the elders of the little Hip Pocket tribe wrangled together by Doug Balentine, Diane Simons, and Molemo!

Molemo! is now one of the last living members of the original tribe, and this presentation is meant to be a tender remembrance of the past and a tragi-comedic look at the last days of an old, elderly hippie. Note: This play is not for children, and tickets for this production are set at $2.50 each. It runs September 15-17, 2023.

James Clavell wrote the screenplay for this special Halloween production of The Fly, which has been adapted by Shawn Gann and who will also direct, with music by Joe Rogers. Music, practical effects, and whimsy will all be used to bring The Fly to life. It runs October 6-29, 2023.

In addition to the season of musicals and plays produced by Hip Pocket, two additional offerings are planned. These do not fall within Hip Pocket’s regular season and are not covered with a Hip Pass.

The theater/movement workshop Rough Magic: Live Wire with Lorca Simons is May 20-21, 2023. This dynamic ritual theatre lab will be produced by Ecstatic Dance Dallas.

In response to Gabrielle Roth’s investigation into what it means to be an authentic human being, Lorca Simons is dedicated to the creation of physical theater that is both interactive and transformative. Offering labs rooted in a visionary and rigorous technique for people to become true “athletes of the heart,” Live Wire ritual theater expands the imagination through curiosity, breath, physical gesture, and space. Registration and more information are available at Ecstatic Dance Dallas.

The special one-night only performance of A Night of Grief & Mystery is July 12 at Hip Pocket Theatre. It combines stories and observations by author/culture activist Stephen Jenkinson, drawn from his decades of work in palliative care, with original songs/sonics by recording artist Gregory Hoskins.

These two Canadian artists have been exploring the intersection of their work for eight years, across three continents, in three recordings and two short films. They come to the road now in 2023 as they did in the beginning: the two of them, a singer and a storyteller, out into the mystery days. Tickets and more information are available on the Nights of Grief & Mystery website.

Hip Passes for five or 10 admissions are available now. Five-show passes are $85 and 10-show passes are $150 for adults, with reduced prices for seniors, military, teachers, students, and children 12 and under. Hip Passes will only be available through June 11.

Single tickets are also now available. Adult tickets range from $20-$25, with reduced prices for seniors, military, teachers, students, and children 12 and under. Tickets are available online at the Hip Pocket website.

The Hip Café in The BackYard opens at 7 pm and offers beer, wine, soft drinks, and snacks for purchase before and after the show and during intermission for shows performed with two acts. No outside food or beverages are permitted.

Live music will be performed in The BackYard before and after the shows, starting at 7:45 pm May through August, and at 7 pm September and October.

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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