Stage Whispers
PERFORMING ARTS NEWS AND NOTES

It's obvious that the musical Hair is soon opening at AT&T Performing Arts Center, because the trees, light poles and other inanimate objects in the area have been "yarn bombed." You know, the hippies didn't just "make love not war," they made crafts!

The installation is made up of more than 100 individual pieces of art produced by more than 70 artists from local knitting groups The Dallas Yarn Bombers, The Lakewood Library KnitWits, Sisters of the Wool Fort Worth and MAFIA of Mansfield.

Get down there and check it out.

And in addition to tonight's opening of The Tempest at Dallas Theater Center/Wyly Theatre, there's also a "Dallas Arts District Crawl" happening this evening. It's the first of what's planned as a monthly happening, with "pop up park installations," happy hour bingo, concerts, karaoke and more.

Here's what up for Sept. 16:

Food trucks and Parking Day at 2121 Flora

5-9 p.m.

The amount of public community space in Downtown Dallas will increase dramatically Friday, September 16, 2011 as citizens transform parking spaces into short-term "PARK" installations.  The Dallas Arts District and Earth Day Dallas will transform parking along Flora with grass, trees, games and food trucks. The project is part of an effort to make downtown a more lively, active and community-oriented place to live, work and play.

Dallas Museum of Art (Tapas and Bingo)

Happy Hour Art Bingo

6-7 p.m., Atrium

Play the DMA's version of bingo as you enjoy happy hour drink specials at the bar. DJ Woodtronic and KERA's Rawlins Gilliland will spin music and call the games. Fill in all the spaces on your card to win. Four games will be played during the hour and the winner of each game will win a prize!

Late Night Tapas

6-9:30pm, Seventeen Seventeen

Experience Late Night Tapas with exhibition-influenced "small plate" preparations by our chef and half-price bottled wines.

Nasher (Get Your 80′s On!)

7 p.m. Concert:  LIVE 80

Live 80 plays all of the 1980's favorites everyone remembers outside in the garden. Grab a few friends, bring blankets to spread on the grass, and enjoy the magic of downtown as the sun sets over Dallas!

9 p.m. Film: Footloose (1984)

You'll also have the pleasure of exploring Tony Cragg: Seeing Things

Cragg is lauded for his innovative and varied forms, which draw upon the artist's broad intellectual interests in science and literature, as well as an intuitive and emotional response to form and material.

ATTPAC (Concert Under the Stars)

8 p.m. Explosions in the Sky, Annette Strauss Square

Easily one of the most intense live bands ever, their sound proves to be every bit as triumphant as their name implies. Equal parts romance and tragedy, their beautiful melodies have the tendency to ignite into head-spinning walls of noise.

Crow Collection (Free Beer Tastings and Multi-lingual Singing)

After Dark Karaoke with DJ Mark Ridlen

10:30 p.m.-midnight, Grand Gallery

Cool down from a day of yoga and join DJ Mark Ridlen for a multimedia karaoke experience. Sip complimentary Asian beer and sign up to sing your favorite song in English, Mandarin, Japanese and Hindi. Supplies limited; must show proof of age to be served alcohol.

There are more theater reviewers in town than ever before, thanks to the explosion of blogs and online media (ahem).

But AT&T Performing Arts Center is taking it a step further in searching for a "Review Crew" for each show in its Lexus Broadway Series, including Hair, Les Miserables, In the Heights, American Idiot and Jersey Boys.

Selected "Review Crew" members will receive tickets to opening night and a T-shirt, but you gotta work for it (trust us, it's not as glamorous as it sounds).

Learn more about it here.

The French Canadian pianist Louis Lortie, who was to open the first recital of Cliburn Concerts' 2011-'12 season, has been forced to cancel due to illness. But not to worry, the Cliburn organization knows every pianist performing today and a dazzling last-minute substitute was found on short order.

On Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Forth Worth’s Bass Hall, the 17-year-old prodigy Conrad Tao will make his Cliburn debut. The Chinese-American pianist will present a completely different program. He will open with Bach's Overture in the French Style, followed by Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata, a selection of Debussy and Rachmaninoff preludes, and close with Stravinsky's Trois mouvements de Pétrouchka.

Although he only graduated from high school, the brilliant prodigy has attended the Juilliard Pre-college Division for years. Tao is also an award winning composer and a violinist. We reviewed him when he played with the Dallas Symphony, here.

The National Theatre of London announced its 2011'-12 season of broadcasts a while back, but we've finally received the dates and info about all of the North Texas showings. The Angelika Film Center in Dallas and Plano have been screening this productions—filmed with a live audience—for two seasons.

Now, Fort Worth is jumping in the game, with the screenings at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, co-presented by Amphibian Stage Productions.

The four productions that we'll see in the 2011-'12 National Theatre season are Richard Bean's play One Man, Two Guvnors (based on Carlo Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters), Arnold Wesker's comedy The Kitchen, John Hodges Collaborators and Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors.

Tickets at the Angelika showings are $20, and $10-$18 at the Modern (tickets sold through Amphibian Stage Productions). And keep watching TheaterJones, because we'll have ticket giveaways for each of the films in all locations.

Here's more about the films and when and where they can be seen in North Texas:

One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean

2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2 at Angelika Dallas

7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4 at Angelika Dallas

7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6 at Angelika Plano

2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8 at Angelika Plano

1 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8 at Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

One Man, Two Guvnors is Nicholas Hytner's sold-out, five star production of Richard Bean's play based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, with songs by Grant Olding.

Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancee's dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who's been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers.

Holed up at The Cricketers' Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.

James Corden stars in "one of the funniest productions in the National's history" (The Guardian).

The Kitchen by Arnold Wesker

7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 at Angelika Dallas

2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at Angelika Dallas

2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30 at Angelika Plano

7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1 at Angelika Plano

2 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3 at Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

Arnold Wesker's extraordinary comedy The Kitchen, directed by Bijan Sheibani, is set in a restaurant in 1950s London, featuring an ensemble cast of 29 actors.

Thrown together by their work, chefs, waitresses, and porters from across Europe argue and flirt as they race to keep up. Peter, a high-spirited young cook, seems to thrive on the pressure. In between preparing dishes, he manages to strike up an affair with married waitress Monique, the whole time dreaming of a better life. But in the all-consuming clamor of the kitchen, nothing is far from the brink of collapse.

Collaborators by John Hodge

2 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15 at Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15 at Angelika Dallas

2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17 at Angelika Dallas

2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18 at Angelika Plano

7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20 at Angelika Plano

From the screenwriter of Trainspotting comes a new play set in Moscow, 1938. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, Collaborators by John Hodge centers on an imaginary encounter between Joseph Stalin and the playwright Mikhail Bulgakov. This blistering new play depicts a lethal game of cat and mouse through which the appalling compromises and humiliations inflicted on any artist by those with power are held up to scrutiny.

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

7 p.m. Thursday, March 15 at Angelika Dallas

2 p.m. Saturday, March 17 at Angelika Dallas

2 p.m. Sunday, March 18 at Angelika Plano

7 p.m. Tuesday, March 20 at Angelika Plano

2 and 8 p.m. Thursday, March 29 at Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

In William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, two sets of twins separated at birth collide in the same city without meeting for one crazy day, as multiple mistaken identities lead to confusion on a grand scale. Consistently recognized by strangers, the visitors question their very selves as the turmoil escalates. Director Dominic Cooke stages this furiously paced comedy in a contemporary world.  

Ticket at the Angelika Dallas can be purchased through its website or at the box office; and the same goes for the Angelika Plano.

At the Modern, members of Amphibian Stage Productions and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth receive an additional $5 discount. To purchase tickets, theatergoers may call 817-923-3012 or email boxoffice@amphibianproductions.org.

The annual Free Night of Theater is back in North Texas for a fourth year, and tickets are up for grabs beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 9. It's run a little differently this year, though. You have two weeks to log in at the Free Night Dallas site, and then you select up to five shows you want to see in October. The window to enter is Sept. 9-23.

You'll be notified of the tickets you win in the lottery-style system. The available tickets will be randomly distributed based on the patrons' selections and ticket availability, allowing each patron to win as many as five different pairs of tickets.

Free Night of Theater is presented by the Office of Cultural Affairs, in conjunction with Theatre Communications Group.

"We’re excited to be able to offer this opportunity to Dallas audiences for the fourth year in a row," said Maria Munoz-Blanco, Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs, in a news release. "This program continues to be a tremendous opportunity for performing arts groups to connect with new audience members and develop the kind of lasting relationships that are the foundation of a healthy cultural community.

Terence McFarland, CEO of LA Stage Alliance, which came up with this new Enter-to-Win system, added, "It's inspiring to our Alliance members that the ideas developed by our community can have a significant impact in many of our sister regions. Through the Enter-to-Win system, patrons can have a more expansive set of options, and arts organizations will be able to start building relationships with many more patrons than they could before. Our research and reporting partnerships should help move the organization/audience relationship forward in a great new way."

This year the participating organizations also include dance, music and opera organizations. We'll update this list below as we find out what's on the table. As for now, the participating groups (and the shows) include:

Contemporary Ballet Dallas — Danse Macabre

Contemporary Theatre of Dallas — Bad Dates

Dallas Asian American Youth Orchestra

Dallas Black Dance Theatre — DanceAfrica Festival at the Majestic Theatre

Dallas Children's Theater — Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Dallas Opera — A family friendly one-act opera (Oct. 30)

Dallas Symphony Orchestra — various concerts and events

Dallas Theater Center — The Tempest

Dallas Wind Symphony — Hymn to a Blue Hour (Oct. 18 at the Meyerson Symphony Center)

Garland Civic Theatre — Pillow Talk

Jubilee Theatre — Topdog/Underdog

Kitchen Dog Theater — In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play

MBS Productions — Octavia

Pocket Sandwich Theatre — Camp Death and various comedy events

Repertory Company Theatre — The 39 Steps

Rover Dramawerks — More Fun Than Bowling

Shakespeare Dallas — Hamlet (at Addison Circle Park)

Teatro Dallas — Horror, Mystery and Crime

Theatre Three — Duets and A Catered Affair

Turtle Creek Chorale — Messiah (Oct. 23 at the Meyerson Symphony Center)

Undermain Theatre — Ages of the Moon

WaterTower Theatre — Spring Awakening

Canadian actor Jonathan Crombie is playing Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, the upcoming co-production between Fort Worth's Casa Mañana and the Dallas Theater Center. The production begins in Fort Worth, running Sept. 24-Oct. 2 at Casa, and then Oct. 21-Nov. 20 at the Wyly Theatre in Dallas.

Crombie was the replacement for Bob Martin as the Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway, and also performed that role in tour, including the stop that came to Dallas. You might know him as the young Gilbert Blythe in the 1985 TV movie version of Anne of Green Gables, a role to which he returned in 2000's Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story. And if you were a fan of the terrific Slings and Arrows, he was the playwright, Lionel, in the Macbeth season (the second). A video clip of Crombie in that role is embedded below.

Casa and DTC are also launching a Community Read of Harper Lee's classic novel, and related events will include a film screening of the 1962 film at the Fort Worth Public Library and elsewhere, screenings of the documentary Hey Boo, and more. Here's more on all that.

Here's the rest of the cast for Mockingbird, which is directed by Wendy Dann, and is heavily local:

Morgan Richards as Scout

David Allen Norton as Jem

James Dybas as Bob Ewell

Aidan Langford as Dill

Van Quattro as Boo Radley

Akron Watson as Tom Robinson

Anastasia Munoz as Mayella

Pam Dougherty as Mrs. Dubose

Greg Dulcie as Judge Taylor and Walter Cunningham, Sr.

Matthew Gray as Heck Tate

Bob Hess as Mr. Gilmer

Akin Babatunde as Reverend Sykes

Denise Lee as Calpurnia

Sally Vahle as Miss Maudie Atkinson

Dawson Holder as Walter

Bob Reed as Doctor and Clerk

In 2010, Dallas Summer Musicals inadvertently announced its 2011 season before its head honcho, Michael Jenkins, wanted the press to find out about it. How? The ad listing the next season was in the Playbill for a 2010 show, although it was supposed to have been pulled before that show opened.

This year, the same situation is happening, sort of. The 2012 season for Dallas Summer Musicals has not officially been announced yet, although we've known about some of the big shows since 2010, when they wanted subscribers to rest assure that despite a relatively weak 2011, the big tours of new shows would make it here in 2012.

These previously announced shows include the first national tours of the Tony-winning Memphis, Million Dollar Quartet and The Addams Family, as well as a tour of the most recent Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles, starring George Hamilton. They've been on DSM's website for months, as has one of the other shows, the return of the Beatles extravaganza Rain, which has new momentum after a successul Broadway in 2010 and 2011. (The last tour of Rain was at DSM in early 2010.)

So, what will the other shows be? DSM is still putting off their big announcement, but they forgot to take down the big banner announcing all the shows in front of the Music Hall, on First Street, by the DART rail tracks. It must have been up since early July, because the first two shows listed are Guys and Dolls and West Side Story, which are the final musicals of the 2011 season (G&D has already come and gone).

In addition to the aforementioned five shows, they're also getting the umpteenth return of Mamma Mia!, a new production of Peter Pan (Cathy Rigby and Tom Hewitt are in the tour that starts today in Pennsylvania), and the other new show is a bit of a surprise: The musical Bring It On!, a new show that is about cheerleaders and has the same title as, but is not based on, the 2000 cheerleading movie.

The latter show has been rumored for a Broadway run for a while now, but hasn't made it there. And now that the Dallas-bred cheerleader-heavy musical Lysistrasta Jones is opening on the Great White Way (it began at Dallas Theater Center as Give It Up!), perhaps Bring It On will have to sit on the sidelines, or, a tour.

Here's the website for Bring It On!, which features by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights), and a book by Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q). The Dallas dates aren't on the site yet, but on the DSM banner, it's listed first, so expect it early in the season.

So, although dates and pricing haven't been announced, here's the Dallas Summer Musicals 2012 season at the Music Hall at Fair Park:

• Bring It On 
• Million Dollar Quartet 
• La Cage aux Folles with George Hamilton 
• Rain 
• Memphis
• Mamma Mia!
• Peter Pan
• The Addams Family

We'll let you know when the season is officially announced.

The Nasher Sculpture Center has announced that Tony- and Emmy Award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth will appear at its NasherSALON on Nov. 15. The previously scheduled Salon with a Tony-winning actress was Bernadette Peters in October, and that's been canceled because Ms. Peters is doing a little show called Follies on Broadway.

Here's more from the Nasher's press release about Chenoweth:

The NasherSALON will take place on Tuesday, November 15 at 8 pm in the intimate, 200-seat Nasher Hall auditorium. Tickets are $65 for adults ($50 for Members) and available beginning October 4 at NasherSculptureCenter.org/Salon or 888.695.0888.The speaker presentations are moderated by esteemed journalists and/or cultural experts, and include question and answer sessions from the audience. 

Emmy and Tony Award winner and Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductee, Kristin Chenoweth effortlessly transitions between stage, television and film. She received rave reviews while starring in the ABC series Pushing Daisies, where she received an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Pushing Daisies was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award for Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy. She has appeared in Fox’s comedy Glee, where she played a former student who comes back to help re-energize the Glee club. She also starred as Annabeth Schott on the hit drama The West Wing and guest judged on American Idol.
Many remember her show-stealing, Tony-winning performance in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown and her triumphant star turn when she originated the role of Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, which earned her a leading actress Tony Award nomination. 

Kristin was most recently seen on Broadway as Fran Kubelik in the revival of Promises, Promises starring alongside Sean Hayes at the Broadway theater. Chenoweth was also recently seen in the Disney movie You Again alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Kristen Bell.  She is the voice of Rosetta in Walt Disney Picture’s Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure and The Great Fairy Rescue. Kristin wrote an uplifting candid, comedic chronicle of her life so far, A Little Bit Wicked, which was released by Simon & Schuster in April 2009 and debuted at No. 12 on the New York Times Hardcover Non Fiction Best Seller List. In the fall, Chenoweth will star in the new ABC show, Good Christian Belles, and she recently wrapped production of her next movie Ed Zwick's Family Weekend.

Here's a video of Chenoweth performing the song "For Good" from Wicked:

Back in March, we told you that Dallas actor Cedric Neal—a member of the Diane and Hal Brierley Acting Company at Dallas Theater Center—was cast as Frazier in a high-profile revival of the American masterpiece Porgy and Bess at Massachusetts' American Repertory Theatre (Neal is also the understudy for Sportin' Life, played by David Alan Grier).

How high-profile? Well, it stars Norm Lewis and four-time Tony winner Audra McDonald in the title roles, is directed by Diane Paulus (the director of the Broadway revival of Hair that's coming to Winspear Opera House in September), and has some revisions by playwright Suzan-Lori Parks and composer Diedre Murray. It's also booked for Broadway (previews begin Dec. 17), as The Gerswhins' Porgy and Bess. Oh, and there's been quite a ruckus about the revisions, with no less than Stephen Sondheim weighing in.

At A.R.T., the show is already in previews and opens Aug. 31.

Here's a video with interviews and rehearsal footage. Neal is in the orange shirt.

Tony-winning actress Betty Buckley is holding another new six-session Song Interpretation Intensive class beginning Sept. 7, and has Scene Study in the mix. In the class, Buckley assists aspiring artists, educators and experienced performers in the craft of singing, acting and storytelling. Here's more:

Ms. Buckley shares her expertise for telling stories in song and guide her students through a methodology that facilitates audience connection through songs and monologues. Her emotional connection to songs and audiences is renowned, and that very connection is at the heart of what Ms. Buckley imparts to her students.

The classes begin Sept. 7 and are at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. An accompanist will be provided.

For further details and to arrange an interview, prospective participants should contact m@marjoriehayes.com. For more information go to www.bettybuckley.com.

Buckley's most recent classes culiminated with her students performing an evening of "Story Songs" at the Modern. Here's what we had to say about that.

WaterTower Theatre has made an interesting move to prepare for more economic uncertainty. For its previously announced 2011-'12 season, which kicks up at the end of September with the area premiere of the musical Spring Awakening., the shows' runs have been shortened by one week, or five performances. That's with the exception of the holiday show Rockin' Christmas Party and the Out of the Loop Festival.

From the WaterTower news release:

The date changes have been made as a long-term, proactive strategy to mitigate against a continuance of the economic downturn that has been forecast by many economists for the coming year.

While subscription renewals for the 2011-2012 season are higher than the previous season with new subscription sales on track to meet projections, single ticket sales and some areas of contributed income could be adversely affected by a further slowing of the economy. Therefore, [artistic director Terry] Martin decided that a small reduction in overhead by the elimination of five performances out of each run was in the best interest of the company during these uncertain economic times.

The run of the shows that are shortened are now:

• Spring Awakening: Sept. 30-Oct. 23
• The Diary of Anne Frank: Jan. 6-29 
• August: Osage County: March 30-April 22 
• Boeing-Boeing: May 25-June 17 
• Smokey Joe’s Café: July 20-Aug. 12

Any subscribers affected by the date adjustments are being offered comparable seating for other performance dates as available seating allows.

Cara Mía Theatre Company is at the end of its six-week collaboration with Laboratorio de la Máscara from Mexico City. The groups presented a terrific production of El Viaje de Tina last weekend at the Latino Cultural Center.

It culminates with a demonstration of new masks, performed by actors from both companies. The event is 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at Park Cities Yoga, 5934 Royal Lane, Suite 252, Dallas.

The masks, which you can view in the slideshow (click the link below), were commissioned by the Ford Foundation and NALAC (National Association of Latino Arts and Culture) for a new co-production in 2012, The Desert Prairie of Texas, inspired by the writings of Eduardo Galeano.

Also, to see a video from the performance of El Viaje de Tina, go back to our review and scroll to the bottom.

The Dallas Theater Center opens its 2011-'12 season soon with Shakespeare's The Tempest, and has some pretty sweet ticket pricing for the entire run: $25. That's the top price. Tickets in Area 4 of the Wyly Theatre, and youth tickets, are just $15.

The deal is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Project Discovery, which is funded in part by the National Enowment for the Arts' Shakespeare for a New Generation Grant.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 18.

The show begins previews on Sept. 9 and opens on Sept. 16, running through Oct. 9. Kevin Moriarty directs. The production features DTC Brierley Resident Acting Company members Chamblee Ferguson (Prosopero), Abbey Seigworth (Miranda), Lee Trull (Stephano) and Steven Walters (Ferdinand). Other cast members include Joe Nemmers (Caliban), Stage West's Jerry Russell (Gonzalo) and Kitchen Dog Theater's Christopher Carlos (Sebastian). Ariel is played by New York actor Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, a graduate of Plano West Senior High School. He was was in A Little Night Music on Broadway with Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta Jones, and then with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch.

Also, with this show Dallas Theater Center introduces a new "Screen to Stage" series, screenings of movies related to the plays and musicals that will be on the stage at DTC. First up is Julie Taymor's 2010 film version of The Tempest, starring Helen Mirren as Prospera and Djimon Honsou is Caliban. M. Lance Lusk reviewed it for TheaterJones last year, here. The film also features Russell Brand, Alan Cumming, Chris Cooper and Alfred Molina, among others.

The event, which will feature a meet and greet and autograph signing with the DTC Tempest actors, is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23 (film starts at 7:30 p.m.) at the Studio Movie Grill, Royal Lane location (11170 N. Central Expressway, Dallas). It's free.

Shakespeare's Globe London has jumped into the arena of international performing arts organizations showing their stage productions on the big screen. The National Theatre of London's NT Live Series has been going for a few years (and will kick back up in September), and the Broadway productions of Memphis and The Importance of Being Earnest were given this treatment this year. The Metropolitan Opera in New York has been doing it for years. (Looks for the series announcements and participating local theaters to be announced soon.)

The Globe also already shown its productions of The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV Part 1 at theaters around the world this summer, including four in the Metroplex.

There are still two upcoming events: Henry IV Part 2 on Thursday, Aug. 18 (at 6:30 p.m.); and Henry VIII on Thursday, Sept. 15 (6:30 p.m.). Tickets are $15.

The films are presented by Fathom Events, which also shows concerts and other events in the movie theaters. The Shakespeare's Globe London series is at the following North Texas theaters:

• Galaxy Theatre, 11801 McCreed Road, Dallas 
• AMC Northpark Center, 158687 N. Central Expressway, Suite 3000, Dallas 
• Cinemark 17 with IMAX, 11819 Webb Chapel Road, Dallas 
• Cinemark West Plano, 3800 Dallas Parkway, Plano

Here's the trailer for Henry IV Part 2:

Dallas — Teatro Dallas is holding a fundraiser at its theater in Dallas' hopsital district, Sept. 15 and 16. The highlight of the event is a one-woman show, Come On Rául Write Me a Monologue! by Mexican playwright Tomás Urtusástegui, whose works Teatro Dallas has produced frequently.

The comedy will be performed by Elena Hurst, and is about the "always challenging life of an actor."

There's a reception both nights that begins at 7:15 p.m., the performance starts at 8 p.m. Teatro's space is at 1331 Record Crossing Road, Dallas. Tickets are $25 for the show, or you can purchase a membership for $125. Order by Sept. 15 and Donor Bridge will match 25 percent of your order. Call 214-689-6492 or visit www.teatrodallas.org.

The season includes the annual Day of the Dead production, which this year is Horror, Mystery and Crime by Alfredo Cardona Peña, adapted and directed by Cora Cardona, in October. In Feburary 2012, Teatro will present its 15th International Festival. Details coming soon.

Brothers Dick and Jerry Van Dyke are starring as the former vaudevillian team in Neil Simon's comedy The Sunshine Boys, and they're bringing the show to D/FW for three performances. It will be Sept. 8 and 9 at the Eisemann Center in Richardson, and Sept. 10 at Casa Mañana in Fort Worth.

Local actress Denise Lee is playing the registered nurse. L.A. actor Brent Moon is Ben Silverman. Jerry, 80, directs the production and also plays Willy, and Dick, 85, is Al.

Here's how that happened: Jerry was in Dallas a few weeks ago to scout locations for the production, which he and Dick performed in April in Malibu, Calif. He happened to catch a performance of the Dallas Theater Center's The Wiz, and stayed around for the talk-back. Lee, who played Aunt Em and Glenda in that production, recognized him in the audience during the talk. She found him after the show, they struck up a conversation, and before you know it, she was cast in the project.

Although they both worked in TV and film for decades, and Jerry appeared in The Dick Van Dyke Show and in other projects with Dick, the brothers have never appeared in a play together. Jerry has done this play several times with other actors, including Tommy Smothers.

"I've always wanted to do something with [Dick]," says Jerry, who once had short-lived restaurants in Dallas and Fort Worth. "Once he made it big, I couldn't get him to do anything. I'm more of the stage comic, and he's an actor. I wanted to be Bob Hope, he wanted to be Fred Astaire or Cary Grant. That's what makes the play so great. We could never switch roles."

Jerry says he has hopes that the production will move to New York, although it's unlikely Dick will make that transfer. He's looking for another actor to play Al if that happens.

The show is produced by a company called 5 Star Productions.

The performances are 8 p.m. each night. Tickets, $50-$100. At the Eisemann they will be available by calling 972-744-4650 or visiting www.eisemanncenter.com. At Casa, they're available through Ticketmaster, at 800-745-3000 or at www.ticketmaster.com. A portion of proceeds at each show will go to charity.

Charles Wyly, the Dallas entrepreneur, philanthropist and billionaire whose name is on the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, has been killed in a car accident Sunday in Colorado. He was 77.

He had stopped at stop sign in Aspen in his Porsche, then mad a turn and was hit by another driver.

Charles made his fortune from Michaels arts and craft stores, among other ventures. After the AT&T Performing Arts Center opened, he and his brother Sam were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with insider trading. 

Here's the story about the death in the Aspen Daily News.

Here's the statement from the AT&T Performing Arts Center:

CENTER MOURNS THE LOSS OF VISIONARY ARTS PATRON

Charles Wyly A Founding Father of the AT&T Performing Arts Center

DALLAS (August 7, 2011) – The AT&T Performing Arts Center is mourning the loss of Charles Joseph Wyly, Jr., a major Dallas arts patron and a member of the Center’s Board of Directors. He is also considered one of the Center’s founding fathers.

"We would not have had the Center without him," said Bess Enloe, vice-chair of the AT&T Center for the Performing Arts’ Board of Directors. "He was one of the critical people who really made it happen. He understood how the Center, over time, would absolutely transform the city of Dallas, and he never lost sight of that."

Wyly played a major role in the creation of the Center and its world class performance venues in the Dallas Arts District. One of the facilities, the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre is considered one of the most innovative, versatile and dynamic theater spaces in the world. The facility, designed by REX/OMA Joshua Prince-Ramus (partner in charge) and Pritzker Prize winning architect Rem Koolhaus has a highly flexible mainstage and audience space that has won accolades for creating unique and compelling new theatrical experiences. A $20 million donation from the Wyly family helped make the facility possible.

"Charles’ vision and passion for the Center was always so clear," said Deedie Rose, a Board member for the Center. Ms. Rose is also the namesake for the Potter Rose Performance Hall, the mainstage in the Wyly Theater. "The creation of the Center was an enormous undertaking with so many moving pieces. He was always the voice of calm and reason. His clarity of thought helped everyone keep their eyes on the prize, and his financial contribution clearly was critical to getting this done."

The Wyly Theatre is home to the Center’s resident company, the Dallas Theater Center and has received acclaim for its innovative use of the performance space. Other Center partners, including the Dallas Black Dance Theatre, the Dallas Opera and the Texas Ballet Theater all have performances scheduled in the Wyly Theatre during their upcoming seasons.

"He has left behind a tremendous legacy here in Dallas," said Mark Weinstein, President and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. "The Center, the arts community and the city has been truly blessed to have had Charles Wyly as their champion."

Lysistrata Jones, the Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn musical that began at the Dallas Theater Center as Give It Up! in early 2010, is officially transferring to Broadway, according to the New York Times. The show is set to open on Dec. 14, with previews starting Nov. 12 at the Walter Kerr Theater. Here's the show's official website.

Although casting has not officially been announced yet, signs seem to indicate that Dallas' Liz Mikel, who was in the Dallas incarnation and the off-Broadway production from the Transport Group this spring, will be moving with it to the Great White Way (that is, if Facebook is to be believed).

The musical is a contemporary take on Aristophanes' anti-war classic Lysistrata, set at the fictional Athens College, and involves cheerleaders setting some rules for the basketball players. When the show had its world premiere in Dallas, Andrew Rannells was one of the b-ballers. He was recently Tony-nominated as one of the co-stars of The Book of Mormon. Beane is also currently represented on Broadway with the musical Sister Act.

Lysistrata Jones is directed and choreographed by Dan Knechtges, who also did those duties in Dallas. The NYT gave the show a good review and loved Mikel when it was off-Broadway, although some reviews were not as positive. (It's painful to bring up for some of us, who didn't care for the show in Dallas.)

We wish the cast and Mikel, who is a member of the Dallas Theater Center's Diane and Hal Brierley Acting Company, all the best.

Incidentally, there's another Broadway-aimed show that also features a DTC company member. That would be Cedric Neal, who plays Frazier in The Gerswhins' Porgy and Bess, which is soon opening at American Repertory Theatre in Massachusetts. It is scheduled to begin previews on Dec. 17 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, opening Jan. 14, 2012.

Looks like an NYC roadtrip is mandatory.

The Dallas/Fort Worth actors, musicians and musical directors who brought you the Holidazzle recording for Christmas listening in 2009 are back in the studio singing away the heat wave with more holiday songs for Holidazzle Act II.

They are willing to share the spotlight and are inviting adult and youth (ages 8 to 17) theater artists to be a part of the community group number, "The Night Before Christmas." To be part of the recording, you must commit to both the rehearsal on Aug. 22 and the recording session on Aug. 29. Both sessions will be in the evening.

To participate, RSVP to DFWactorsgiveback@yahoo.com by Aug. 20. You will receive an email reply with a confirmation and rehearsal and recording locations and times. When you RSVP, be sure to indicate if you are over 18 or under (your call times will vary). All services are donated.

If you want to participate, don't wait to sign up. Due to space restrictions, there are only 100 spots available.

Holidazzle Act II will be released in early November, just in time for Christmas gift-giving and stocking-stuffing. It will be available at several theaters throughout the Metroplex during their holiday productions as well as on the DFW Actors Give Back website. The website also allows you to pre-order the CD, which will sell for $15.

All proceeds from Holidazzle Act II will benefit Jonathan's Place, which has provided residential care and specialized services to the abused and neglected children of North Texas for more than 15 years. Jonathan's Place depends on the generosity of the community to give these children a bright future and the opportunity to be a child. In 2009, DFW Actors Give Back donated nearly $9,000 to Jonathan's Place with the proceeds from their first CD.

Theaterjones reviewed the first CD, here.

DFW Actors Give Back is a not-for-profit organization providing the DFW theater community with an opportunity to "give back" to local children's charities. To learn more about DFW Actors Give Back, or to make a tax-deductible donation towards producing this year’s holiday CD, visit www.dfwactorsgiveback.org.

Casting for the national tour of the Tony-winning musical Memphis has just been announced, and it includes local favorite Julie Johnson, who'll be playing the role of Mama. Interestingly, that means she won't be playing Mama Rose in Lyric Stage's upcoming full-orchestra production of Gypsy, as was previously announced.

Lyric's founding producer Steven Jones confirms that Mama Rose will now be played by Sue Mathys, a Swiss-born musical theater actress who performed in concert for a Lyric fundraiser in 2009.

More information on Gypsy, which is directed by Len Pfluger and with musical direction by Jay Dias, will be announced soon. The production runs Sept. 9-19 at the Irving Arts Center.

As for Memphis, the national tour kicks off in October in—where else?—Memphis. It will come to Dallas, courtesy of Dallas Summer Musicals, May 15-27, 2012.