Stage Whispers
PERFORMING ARTS NEWS AND NOTES

Fort Worth — Our new media partners at DFW.com are again hosting an Oscar Watching Party at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, along with the Lone Star Film Society. This year, Mark Lowry from TheaterJones will be one of the judges for the costume contest.

That's right. Costumes, not red carpet fashion. So come dressed as your favorite nominee (we're guessing lots of The Artist outfits, in black-and-white), and you'll have a chance to win prizes. The event is free (first-come, first-served), and the red carpet entry begins at 6 p.m. There will be a bar and noshes from the Café Modern.

But if you don't come in costume, then we expect you to bring out the bling and glam on the red carpet.

To read more about the event, go here. At that link you'll also find out how to make your Oscar predictions for the night, and the winners there will be rewarded, too.

For today's giveaway, we have two full festival passes for WaterTheatre's 2012 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival. It runs March 1-10, with more than 20 theater, dance, music and comedy performances in the Addison Theatre Centre's various spaces.

This contest is for a festival pass, worth $65, so you need to commit to going to a lot of Loop events, which might mean two, three or four shows on each Saturday and Sunday of the festival, and one on the weeknights. If you think you would just make one or two events throughout the festival, don't enter. Let someone else who plans on being a Loop warrior have a shot.

You can see the performers, shows and the Loop schedule here. Headliners include Charlie Ross doing his One Man Lord of the Rings (see video trailer below), Colleen Ballinger's "Miranda Sings" and mime Bill Bowers performing Beyond Words. There are lots of local and regional performers, too.

TheaterJones is proud to be a media sponsor of Loop for the fourth year in a row.

Here's how to win:

Email tickets@theaterjones.com and put LOOP 2012 in the subject line. In the body of email, include your name, number and address.

Also, write a sentence or two assuring us that you will put the pass to good use. And tell us if you just need one pass, or would like a pair for an equally avid Loop-goer. We might give one pass to two people who entered, or we might give two passes to one entrant.

This is a two-day giveaway. You have until 11:30 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 22) to submit an email. We will select and notify the winners Thursday morning.

◊ Other giveaways coming up include: the film screening of Andrew Lloyd Weber's Love Never Dies; The Laramie Project at DVA Productions; Jason Robert Brown and Shoshana Bean in concert at Casa Mañana; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented by Cliburn Concerts at Bass Hall; Rent at Casa Mañana; the TITAS Command Performance at Winspear Opera House; the musical concert extravaganza Do You Hear the People Sing (featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stephanie J. Block and others) at the American Airlines Center; and more.

Here's a trailer for this year's Out of the Loop:

And here's a video about Charlie Ross' One Man Lord of the Rings:

For today's giveaway, we have lots of tickets to the NT Live screening of National Theatre of London's Travelling Light, a new play by Nicholas Wright (Vincent in Brixton, The Reporter), directed by Anthony Sher. Here's a description (and you can watch the video trailer below):

In a remote village in Eastern Europe, around 1900, the young Motl Mendl is entranced by the flickering silent images on his father’s cinematograph. Bankrolled by Jacob, the ebullient local timber merchant, and inspired by Anna, the girl sent to help him make moving pictures of their village, he stumbles on a revolutionaryway of story-telling. Forty years on, Motl—now a famed American film director—looks back on his early life and confronts the cost of fulfilling his dreams.

We have tickets for three North Texas locations where it will be shown: the Angelika Film Centers in Dallas and Plano, presented in conjunction with By Experience HD; and also at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, where the screenings are presented by Amphibian Stage Productions.

The showings are 2 and 7 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; 7 p.m. Feb. 23 and 2 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Angelika Film Center Dallas; and 2 p.m. Feb. 26 and 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Angelika Film Center Plano.

To win a pair, email tickets@theaterjones.com with TRAVELLING in the subject line. Include your name and number. Also, include which location and day/time you'd like to attend. We have five pairs of tickets to each of the Angelika locations, and two pairs in Fort Worth.

Your six choices of time, date and location are:

• 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 at Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
• 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 at Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
• 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 at Angelika Film Center Dallas
• 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 at Angelika Film Center Dallas
• 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26 at Angelika Film Center Plano
• 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28 at Angelika Film Center Plano

Tickets are normally $20 at the Angelikas and $18 in Fort Worth.

You have until 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21 to submit an email. We'll notify the winners Wednesday morning.

◊ Other giveaways coming up include: the Cultural Awareness Series at Dallas Black Dance Theatre; the film screening of Andrew Lloyd Weber's Love Never Dies; The Laramie Project at DVA Productions; passes for WaterTower Theatre's Out of the Loop Fringe Festival; Jason Robert Brown and Shoshana Bean in concert at Casa Mañana; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented by Cliburn Concerts at Bass Hall; Rent at Casa Mañana; the TITAS Command Performance at Winspear Opera House; the musical concert extravaganza Do You Hear the People Sing (featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stephanie J. Block and others) at the American Airlines Center; and more.

Richardson — Check your emails if you entered yesterday's giveaway for Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester and Tuna's Greatest Hits at the Eisemann Center, because the winners have been notified.

Our current giveaways are for a full festival pass to WaterTower Theatre's 2012 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival; and to the NT Live screening of Travelling Light.

◊ Other giveaways coming up include: the Cultural Awareness Series at Dallas Black Dance Theatre; the film screening of Andrew Lloyd Weber's Love Never Dies; The Laramie Project at DVA Productions; Jason Robert Brown and Shoshana Bean in concert at Casa Mañana; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented by Cliburn Concerts at Bass Hall; Rent at Casa Mañana; the TITAS Command Performance at Winspear Opera House; the musical concert extravaganza Do You Hear the People Sing (featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stephanie J. Block and others) at the American Airlines Center; and more.

Fort Worth — Our tickets for Ben Stevenson's ballet Dracula at Texas Ballet Theater have been given out. Check your email if you entered.

Our current giveaway is for Tuna's Greatest Hits and Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester, both at the Eisemann Center in Richardson.

◊ Other giveaways coming up include: Cultural Awareness Series at Dallas Black Dance Theatre; the film screening of Andrew Lloyd Weber's Love Never Dies; The Laramie Project at DVA Productions; passes for WaterTower Theatre's Out of the Loop Fringe Festival; Travelling Light, the next play broadcast in the National Theatre of London's NT Live series; Jason Robert Brown and Shoshana Bean in concert at Casa Mañana; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented by Cliburn Concerts at Bass Hall; Rent at Casa Mañana; the TITAS Command Performance at Winspear Opera House; the musical concert extravaganza Do You Hear the People Sing (featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stephanie J. Block and others) at the American Airlines Center; and more.

Jerome Weeks reports on KERA and Art&Seek that the 2013 conference for the Theatre Communications Group is coming to Dallas. The campaign to get the event here was headed up by Kevin Moriarty and the Dallas Theater Center, which formed a host committee with members of the local theater community, with help from the Office of Cultural Affairs and the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Dallas beat out Houston and Kansas City for this honor, and it means that about 1,300 representatives from hundreds of national theaters will converge on Dallas and Fort Worth in the summer of 2013.

In Weeks' story, Moriarity says: "It was an exciting couple of days, the whole city coming together to convince the national theater community that what we have here is special."

TCG is a 50-year old organization that serves as a networking group for regional theaters around the country, is a major publisher of plays, and also produces the monthly American Theatre magazine.

You can read the full story here (and there's also an audio file with the radio version).

Here's a video, by Fabian Aguirre, that was presented to TCG by the host committee:

Betty Buckley has always been big news for North Texans, but the Tony-winning diva has been all over the national news in recent weeks, what with her Twitter war with Randy Jackson about American Idol and singers being "too Broadway"; and the revival of the musical Carrie in New York, which she recently witnessed. You'll recall that Buckley was in the original Brian de Palma movie version of Carrie, and in the notorious Broadway flop.

So it's perfect timing to spotlight her acclaimed Song Interpretation Master Classes, which she started doing in Fort Worth several years ago, and is now conducting in New York, Chicago and Boston. Catherine Mallette of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently spent time in one of those classes and has an excellent feature about it, which you can read at this link on DFW.com, a TheaterJones media partner.

Here's an excerpt:

Sure, Buckley fusses at her students for slurring and for not standing correctly, but what she's really doing is teaching principles she has learned and embraced through the years.

She is teaching focus, something that sounds kind of New Age-y and vague but that she insists is extremely definable, practical and translatable far beyond the realm of music.

She asks students to play, to imagine, to stop thinking about "me, me, me."

And what happens, somehow, is no less than magic.

Buckley's next workshop starts Feb. 22, and there is promise of a recital of its students this spring at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (date to be announced). The last local recital of Buckley's students was called "Story Songs" in 2011, which we reviewed.

Fort Worth — Our tickets for Ailey II have been given out. But you can still buy tickets at www.basshall.com.

Our current giveaway is for Texas Ballet Theater's Dracula.

◊ Other giveaways coming up include: the Cultural Awareness Series at Dallas Black Dance Theatre; passes for WaterTower Theatre's Out of the Loop Fringe Festival; Leonardo Live at Angelika Film Center; Travelling Light, the next play broadcast in the National Theatre of London's NT Live series; Jason Robert Brown and Shoshana Bean in concert at Casa Mañana; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented by Cliburn Concerts at Bass Hall; the TITAS Command Performance at Winspear Opera House; the musical concert extravaganza Do You Hear the People Sing (featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stephanie J. Block and others) at the American Airlines Center; and more.

Dallas — Today the Dallas Symphony Orchestra announced an international distribution partnership with Naxos, a major distributor of classical music recordings. The symphony's label is called DSO Live, and its recordings will be available for download beginning April 1, 2012.

"This agreement will put our superlative recordings in the international market place," said Interim President and CEO David Hyslop. "Naxos is a pipeline to vendors throughout North, Central and South America, in Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This partnership will also allow music lovers around the globe to download Dallas Symphony recordings."

The agreement covers all of the recordings with Music Director Jaap van Zweden that have been released or are scheduled for release on the DSO Live label during the contract.

"Naxos' interest in the Dallas Symphony is proof of the tremendous artistic growth of this orchestra," van Zweden said. "This international exposure will reflect well not only on the musicians of the Dallas Symphony, but on the city itself as a major cultural center. We are proud to serve as cultural ambassadors for Dallas through this new partnership."

The recordings to be distributed initially include Beethoven's Fifth and Seventh Symphonies; Tchaikovsky's Fourth and Fifth Symphonies; Capriccio Italien and Mozartiana Suite; and Steven Stucky's August 4, 1964, an acclaimed work for soloists, chorus and orchestra about the Presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson. The Stucky is scheduled for release in late February, 2012. Future recording projects will include Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony and Rococo Variations, which will be recorded live at concerts in February and May of this year.

Celebrating 25 years in 2012, Naxos has evolved from its beginnings as a budget label to a leading classical music group. Headquartered in Hong Kong with distribution and marketing subsidiaries in 15 countries, the group distributes its Naxos, Naxos AudioBook and Marco Polo labels, while providing distribution and licensing services to more than 200 independent and major CD and DVD labels. The Naxos group is also an industry leader in music education, boasting a wide range of physical and digital education products. Operating across six platforms, the Naxos Group's digital products include the Naxos Music Library, Naxos Spoken Word Library, Naxos Video Library subscription service, and the ClassicsOnline download platform.

Jason Robert Brown, the acclaimed and critically adored composer of such musicals as Parade and Songs for a New World, and Broadway star Soshana Bean, are touring in concert, and they'll be stopping at Fort Worth's Casa Manana on Saturday, Feb. 25.

Bean was in the original Broadway production of Hairspray, moving up from chorus to playing Penny Pingleton as a replacement; and has played Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway.

Brown was part of a new crop of Broadway composers that emerged in the 1990s, in a group that included Adam Guettel and Michael John LaChiusa, whose musical version of Giant is now on at Dallas Theater Center.

Brown's shows include the Tony-nominated Parade (for which he won the Tony for Best Score), the glorious The Last Five Years, the delightful 13 and his oft-performed Songs for a New World. The latter includes his best-known song, "Stars and the Moon," which has been recorded by Betty Buckley and Audra McDonald, among others.

Here is that song from the original cast recording, performed by Jessica Molaskey:

Here's more from the Casa news release:

Casa Mañana is excited to announce that Tony Award-winning Composer Jason Robert Brown and Broadway actress Shoshana Bean will perform live in concert Saturday, February 25, 2012 at Casa Mañana Theatre. Tickets are only $25 and are on sale now.

Along with Broadway veteran Bean, Brown will perform musical numbers from his award-winning productions including 13, The Last Five Years, Parade and Songs for a New World. Bean is well-known for starring as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway, as well as the Tony Award-winning production of Hairspray.

The New York Times refers to Jason Robert Brown as "a leading member of a new generation of composers who embody high hopes for the American musical." His four major musicals as composer and lyricist include: 13, which opened on Broadway in 2008; The Last Five Years, which was cited as one of Time Magazine's 10 Best of 2001 and won Drama Desk Awards for Best Music and Best Lyrics; Parade, which premiered at Lincoln Center Theatre in 1998, and subsequently won both the Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best New Musical, as well as garnering Brown the Tony Award for Original Score; and "Songs for a New World," which played Off-Broadway in 1995, and has since been seen in hundreds of productions around the world. 

Jason Robert Brown LIVE IN CONCERT is February 25 at 8:30 p.m. at Casa Mañana Theatre. Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at 817-332-2272 or visiting www.casamanana.org.

We've given out our tickets for the new musical Bring It On, opening the 2012 season for Dallas Summer Musicals at the Music Hall at Fair Park (curtain is 8 p.m.); and Dixie's Tupperware Party at McDavid Studio in Fort Worth (next to Bass Hall), presented by Performing Arts Fort Worth (it starts at 7:30 p.m.).

Our current giveaway is for John Leguizamo's Ghetto Klown at the Majestic Theatre, here.

◊ Other giveaways coming up include: Ailey II dance company at Bass Performance Hall; the Cultural Awareness Series at Dallas Black Dance Theatre; passes for WaterTower Theatre's Out of the Loop Fringe Festival; Travelling Light, the next play broadcast in the National Theatre of London's NT Live series; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented by Cliburn Concerts at Bass Hall; the TITAS Command Performance at Winspear Opera House; the musical concert extravaganza Do You Hear the People Sing (featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stephanie J. Block and others) at the American Airlines Center; and more. 

Some of the giveaways may happen through our newsletter Art Flash, so be sure to sign up for that to have a chance to win. You can sign up at http://artsandculture.theaterjones.com.

We've given out the tickets to Epiphany DanceArts' Valentine's show, Dawn: A Love Story. The performance is Friday and Saturday night at the Granville Arts Center in Garland. You can still buy tickets at www.epiphanydancearts.org.

Our current giveaway is for two things on Valentine's Day: Bring It On at Dallas Summer Musicals and Dixie's Tupperware Party in Fort Worth.

◊ Other giveaways coming up, including: Dixie's Tupperware Party at McDavid Studio in Fort Worth; Ailey II dance company at Bass Performance Hall; the Cultural Awareness Series at Dallas Black Dance Theatre; Travelling Light, the next play broadcast in the National Theatre of London's NT Live series; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented by Cliburn Concerts at Bass Hall; the TITAS Command Performance at Winspear Opera House; the musical concert extravaganza Do You Hear the People Sing (featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stephanie J. Block and others) at the American Airlines Center; and more.

Some of the giveaways may happen through our newsletter Art Flash, so be sure to sign up for that to have a chance to win. You can sign up at http://artsandculture.theaterjones.com.

We have given out the tickets for opening night of Charlotte's Web at Casa Mañana Children's Theatre in Fort Worth. The show runs Feb. 10-26.

But there are other giveaways coming up, including: Ailey II dance company at Bass Performance Hall; the Cultural Awareness Series at Dallas Black Dance Theatre; Travelling Light, the next play broadcast in the National Theatre of London's NT Live series; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented by Cliburn Concerts at Bass Hall; the TITAS Command Performance at Winspear Opera House; the musical concert extravaganza Do You Hear the People Sing (featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stephanie J. Block and others) at the American Airlines Center; and more.

Some of the giveaways may happen through our newsletter Art Flash, so be sure to sign up for that to have a chance to win. You can sign up at http://artsandculture.theaterjones.com.

Garland — Tony-winning Broadway legend Chita Rivera will headline The Column Awards, Feb. 27 at the Granville Arts Center in Garland. The event is a long-running awards show in which local theaters, performers, designers and others are awarded for their work in the previous year (voted by their peers).

The showcase, founded by John Garcia, raises money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and in the past 12 years, it has donated nearly $70,000 to the organization.

Rivera has won two Tony Awards as Best Actress in a Musical (for The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman) and received seven additional Tony nominations. She originated the role of Anita in the Broadway debut of West Side Story (a role that went to fellow Puerto Rican Rita Moreno in the film version). 

She recently starred in the Broadway and touring productions of The Dancer’s Life, a dazzling new musical celebrating her spectacular career, written by Terence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele. Rivera was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama on Aug. 12, 2009. She received the Kennedy Center Honor in Washington, DC in December, 2002, and is the first Hispanic ever chosen to receive this award.

On Oct. 13, 2009, Rivera released a new solo studio CD, And Now I Swing (Yellow Sound label), which pays homage to her stage legacy while also displaying her passion for jazz. From classic theater songs to jazz standards, all tracks featured on this new album have received new arrangements recorded by New York’s finest musicians, reimagining some of Chita’s favorite tunes.

The 13th Annual Column Awards Gala will be held Monday, Feb. 27, 2012 at the Granville Arts Center. Cocktail Reception is at 7 p.m., with ceremonies starting at 8 p.m. The gala is open to the general public. General admission is $25, while VIP tickets (which include catering and a chance to meet Ms. Rivera) are $50. To purchase tickets and for info on the 2012 Column Award nominees, visit www.thecolumnawards.org.

This year, the Column nominations are lead by two popular community theaters (Artisan Center Theater and Plaza Theatre Company, with 52 and 51, respectively), followed by Dallas Theater Center (39), ICT Mainstage (33), Uptown Players (28), Theatre Three (21), WaterTower Theatre (19), Garland Summer Musicals (12), Casa Mañana (11) and Lyric Stage (10).

Dallas — It is no secret that the Dallas Opera had cut back on the current season in an attempt to put the company on a sound financial footing. The new General Director and CEO, Keith Cerny, took measures to inject some business reality into the rarified operatic atmosphere and his efforts are already paying off.

A perfect example of his steady-handed stewardship is the convoluted journey that the upcoming production of Wagner's masterpiece, Tristan and Isolde, took as it wound its way to the Winspear Opera House. When it opens on Feb. 16, it will be the fully staged production that was originally imagined.

Jonathan Pell, Artistic Director, explained the twists and turns in a recent interview.

"When we realized our situation, we initially went to the board of directors and told them that we were going to have to cancel two productions, Janacek's Káťya Kabanová and the Tristan," Pell said. "The board said that we should give them a week to see what they could do. Well, they succeeded in raising some significant funds and we thought that we could restore the Tristan in a concert version."

Actually, they had originally planned to bring a massive production from Seattle that was done by Francesca Zambello.

"Once we took a closer look at that production, we realized that it was just too expensive to import and mount here. There are more than seven trucks of scenery alone. In fact, Seattle didn't even revive it themselves due to its costs. Last time they did Tristan, they pulled out an older production. Zambello's show was stunning, but it is just very expensive," Pell said.

The concert version began to morph as the financial picture improved.

"First, we said that it would be semi-staged. That would eliminate the need for scenery, stage hands, costumes, and all of that," Pell said. "Then we talked with the stage director, Christian Rath, and video designer, Elaine McCarthy, and asked them what they could do with a more limited budget. Elaine, who was the genius behind all of the projections that wowed the audience in our production of Moby-Dick, felt that an innovative full production would be possible."

They went for it, and Pell is pleased with the results.

"It is a minimalist production, with moving panels and brilliant projections, but it isn't a compromise," he said. "Once the concept was established, the production has been put together in a world-class manner. If you didn't know the background, you would never suspect that this is a rescue production. In many ways, it has turned out to be quite spectacular."

The Dallas Opera has a sleek production of Tristan that is specifically designed for the Winspear Opera House and for the way that opera needs to be produced in the current era of reduced budgets without sacrificing artistic quality. It could even become a revenue source for TDO by renting it to other companies, which the opera companies often do.

"Productions are always made available to other companies," he said. "The opera world is completely interconnected and we share all the time. Having something like this will be attractive to other producers, without a doubt."

One has only to look at the Seattle production to understand how attractive this Tristan will be. That production was too massive for even the Seattle Opera to remount. TDO has developed something quite different and equally creative.

Tristan is a favorite of work for many, including Dallas Symphony Music Director Jaap Van Zweden, as he told me in a recent interview. In fact, it is one of the most popular of the Wagner canon. The story of the courageously loyal warrior and the already-promised Irish princess caught in the vortex of an impossible love is timeless, as the 2006 film version proved. Wagner transports it to ecstatic heights with some of his most sublime music. 

It is excellent that TDO has found a way to bring it to the Winspear in all its glory. The production will star Clifton Forbis and Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet in the title roles.

We have given away the pair of tickets to opening night of the new musical Bring It On, opening the 2012 season for Dallas Summer Musicals at the Music Hall at Fair Park. But don't worry, there'll be another giveaway coming soon. Keep an eye out.

Here's a description of the show:

Bring It On: The Musical is the explosive new musical comedy that raises the stakes on over-the-top high school rivalries. Set against the world of competitive cheerleading, this powerhouse new show hilariously proves that winning isn’t everything when it means losing something—or someone—you really care about. Bring It On: The Musical combines an exciting fresh sound, gravity-defying choreography, and a thrilling story to create a total theatrical event worth cheering for.

Bring It On: The Musical unites some of the freshest and funniest creative minds on Broadway with libretto by Tony Award-winner Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q), music and lyricsby Tony Award-winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights), music by Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal), lyrics by Broadway lyricist Amanda Green (High Fidelity) and music supervision by Tony and Grammy Award-winner Alex Lacamoire (Wicked). The production is directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Andy Blankenbuehler (In the Heights).

◊ Ticket giveaways coming up include: Ailey II dance company at Bass Performance Hall; Travelling Light, the next play broadcast in the National Theatre of London's NT Live series; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented by Cliburn Concerts at Bass Hall; the musical concert extravaganza Do You Hear the People Sing (featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stephanie J. Block and others) at the American Airlines Center; and more.

Dallas — Our tickets to Riverdance: The Farewell Tour have been given out, so check your email if you entered. 

If you didn't win, you can purchase tickets here. There are three performances: 8 p.m. Feb. 7, and 2 and 8 p.m. Feb. 8. You can read our interview with lead dancer Padraic Moyles here.

Our current giveaway is for Bring It On: The Musical, here.

◊ Ticket giveaways coming up include: Charlotte's Web at Casa Mañana Children's Theatre; Dawn - A Love Story by Epiphany DanceArts; Dixie's Tupperware Party at McDavid Studio in Fort Worth; Ailey II dance company at Bass Performance Hall; Travelling Light, the next play broadcast in the National Theatre of London's NT Live series; the musical concert extravaganza Do You Hear the People Sing (featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stephanie J. Block and others) at the American Airlines Center; and more.

The Fort Worth Opera has announced that the contract for General Manager Darren Woods have been extended for two years, meaning he'll be there at least through June 2018. And that's a good thing, because Woods has brought some positive changes to the organization, notably proving that you can get crowds for new and less often-produced opera.

Most recently, he announced a New Works initiative, to take place in the FWO's 2013 festival season.

The Opera also announced six principal artists for its upcoming 2012 season, which features the opera Tosca and The Marriage of Figaro, plus Mark Adamo's version of Lysistrata, and the Jake Heggie/Terrence McNally chamber piece Three Decembers. Here's more info on that.

And here's the latest release from the Fort Worth Opera:

Now in its 66th season and staging its sixth festival this May/June 2012,

Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) proudly offers audiences four compelling operas—Puccini's passionate blockbuster Tosca, Mozart's effervescent romantic comedy The Marriage of Figaro, and two regional premieres: Mark Adamo's Lysistrata (based on the ancient Greek comedy) and a new production of Jake Heggie's Three Decembers (based on Terrence McNally's play, Some Christmas Letters). This will be the first time audiences can experience Adamo's and Heggie's works programmed together, and the casting—a mixture of returning favorites and new exciting voices on the cusp of major careers—is typical of Fort Worth Opera under the eleven-year tenure of General Director Darren K. Woods, whose contract was just extended for the third time.

Festival fans this season will hear six talented singers making their company debuts in leading roles. In Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, audiences will be introduced to four young artists: soprano Andrea Carroll (―a bright soprano, The New York Times) as Figaro's fiancée Susanna, baritone Jonathan Beyer (―a robust, handsome voice, and promising years ahead‖ The Washington Post) as Count Almaviva, soprano Jan Cornelius (―a wonderfully attractive soprano with a solid core" Opera News) as the Countess, and mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta ("vocally outstanding" Opera News) as Cherubino. Bass-baritone Donovan Singletary returns to FWOpera to take on the title role for the first time, and director Eric Einhorn makes his house debut with this period production.

In the highly anticipated regional premiere of Jake Heggie's Three Decembers (based on Terrence McNally's play Some Christmas Letters), audiences will hear soprano Emily Pulley (―faultless and exquisite‖ The New York Times) and baritone Matthew Worth ("fully powered and persuasively expressive" The New York Times) for the first time on the company's stage, joined by returning soprano Janice Hall. The chamber opera chronicles the dysfunctional family relationships between Broadway diva Madeline (Hall) and her adult children Bea (Pulley) and Charlie (Worth) over a period of three decades. Three Decembers will receive a new production conceived by director Candace Evans, set designer Bob Lavallee, and costume designer Rondi Hillstrom Davis, all of whom are making their house debuts.

The 2012 Festival continues with a second regional premiere: Mark Adamo's Lysistrata, which gives audiences an opportunity to hear some of their favorite FWOpera alumni, all making role debuts. In a striking satire of humanity's endless legacy of war (between nations and between the sexes), soprano Ava Pine appears in the title role opposite tenor Scott Scully singing the role of her lover, the Athenian soldier Nico. Mezzo-soprano Meaghan Deiter sings the role of the Athenian female leader Kleonike, and mezzo-soprano Alissa Anderson sings her Spartan counterpart, Lampito, with bass-baritone Seth Mease Carico singing the role of Lampito's husband, the Spartan general Leonidas. Soprano Ashley Kerr and baritone Michael Mayes round out the cast as the Athenian couple Myrrhine and Kinesias.

Rounding out the four Festival offerings, FWOpera opens the 2012 season with Puccini's Tosca, and welcomes back soprano Carter Scott and baritone Michael Chioldi in the title role and as Baron Scarpia, respectively. When they appeared together in the company's 2005 acclaimed production of this tale of love and lechery, ―the intensity they projected was almost frightening, (Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Tenor Roger Honeywell returns to Fort Worth as the passionate painter Cavaradossi.

This season's casting of local favorites as well as new singers is a staple at FWOpera, whose audiences have had the privilege of hearing many young singers on the brink of major careers (like the ones mentioned above) performing in the Festival before their debuts in other houses. Woods has also instituted several other successful endeavors, ranging from the Fort Worth Opera Studio (a year-round training program for emerging young artists) to switching the company over to its current month-long festival format, to the recently announced Frontiers new works showcase. During Woods' time, the company also has produced two world premieres (Thomas Pasatieri's Frau Margot, 2007, and Jorge Martín's Before Night Falls, 2010), which were both released on CD as well.

Announcing the two-year extension of Woods' contract, FWOpera board president Kris Lindsay commented on his accomplishments, stating, ―Darren's artistic and financial leadership have created an incredible era of growth and innovation at FWO, and have taken us from a small, provincial opera company to a well-respected and critically acclaimed opera festival. The extension to June 2018 will bring Woods' tenure as General Director to 17 years. This is the third consecutive time that the board has voted to extend his contract.

The performing arts and sports worlds will be intersecting a lot this spring.

For instance, tonight, the baseball-themed and Tony-winning play Take Me Out opens at Uptown Players; and then a new comedy about the 1960s Dallas Cowboys and changing sports journalism, The Sports Page, by Dallas writer Larry Herold, opens at Stage West next weekend.

To boot, the Dallas Opera recently announced a live simulcast of its April production of Mozart's The Magic Flute at Cowboys Stadium. There are already rumors of tail-gating parties for that (at which we assume the cheese will at least be baked brie, not the usual cubed orange stuff).

And then there's the new musical Bring It On, which opens Dallas Summer Musicals' 2012 season on Valentine's Day. To get you in the mood, there will be a "pep rally" for the show at NorthPark Center, co-hosted by 106.1 KISS FM, 1-3 p.m. Feb. 11.

Here's more on that from the DSM news release:

Join Dallas Summer Musicals and 106.1 Kiss FM for a giant Pep Rally at NorthPark Center on Saturday, February 11 from 1-3 p.m. as we cheer for BRING IT ON: The Musical!

106.1 Kiss FM will keep the crowd pumped with games, prizes, ticket giveaways and exclusive discounts! Meet local celebrity guests and see special cheers by local cheerleading squads as they step to the center court to welcome BRING IT ON: The Musical to Dallas! Visit www.dallassummermusicals.org for more info and don’t forget to like us on Facebook!

About BRING IT ON: The Musical

Inspired by the popular movies, BRING IT ON: The Musical is the explosive new musical comedy that raises the stakes on over the top team rivalries.  Set against the world of competitive cheerleading, this powerhouse new show hilariously proves that winning isn’t everything when it means losing something - or someone you really care about.  BRING IT ON: The Musical combines an exciting fresh sound, gravity-defying choreography, and a thrilling story to create a total theatrical event worth cheering for.

Single tickets, priced from $15-$75, are on sale now at The Box Office, 5959 Royal Lane, #542 in the Preston/Royal Shopping Center.  Tickets are also available by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.  For groups of 15 or more, please call 214-426-GROUP.

For DSM internal use on eNotes, Twitter and FB, please use the copy below:

Come on, y'all! Let's hear it! Show your Broadway spirit!
Join Dallas Summer Musicals and 106.1 Kiss FM for a giant Pep Rally at NorthPark Center on Saturday, February 11 from 1-3 p.m. as we cheer for BRING IT ON: The Musical! 106.1 Kiss FM will keep the crowd pumped with games, prizes, ticket giveaways and exclusive discounts! Meet local celebrity guests and see special cheers by local cheerleading squads as they step to the center court to welcome BRING IT ON: The Musical to Dallas!

Also note that TheaterJones will have a giveaway for opening night of Bring It On on the site very soon.

Fort Worth — We've selected the winner for Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim, with pianist Anthony de Mare, presented by Cliburn Concerts at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Check your email if you entered. Click the link above to find out more about buying tickets for this event.

We now have a giveaway for Riverdance: The Farewell Tour, here.

◊ Ticket giveaways coming up include: Riverdance: The Farewell Tour at the Music Hall at Fair Park; the musical Bring It On at Dallas Summer Musicals; Charlotte's Web at Casa Mañana Children's Theatre; Dawn - A Love Story by Epiphany DanceArts; Dixie's Tupperware Party at McDavid Studio in Fort Worth; Ailey II dance company at Bass Performance Hall; Travelling Light, the next play broadcast in the National Theatre of London's NT Live series; the musical concert extravaganza Do You Hear the People Sing (featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Stephanie J. Block and others) at the American Airlines Center; and more