by Jayne Herring
There is so much happening this week in the performing arts scene here that it makes my head spin. Since it grates my nerves when my fellow Dallasites mention that there is nothing to do, I am here to help. Below is my list of suggestions for what live performances you should catch this weekend, depending on your taste or mood. And since you procrastinated, check these links to see if there are any last-minute deals. Let's get cultured, Dallas.
Interested in a Family-Friendly Broadway Classic? Sincerely one of my favorite touring productions to come through Dallas, Godspell at the Winspear Opera House is entertaining from start to finish. The 10-actor and 5-musician cast sings, dances, and acts out parables from The Gospel According to Matthew, using rock, pop, R&B, ragtime, improvisation, and even rap. Funny and truly powerful regardless of your beliefs, the overall message is one of love. And as Joseph Campbell taught, you don't need to believe the stories are true to get the message. Tuesday through Saturday 8pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2:30, and Sunday 7:30pm
Edgy? Do you remember the classic Greek tragedy you studied in high school about the man who is destined to murder his father and marry his mother? (Maybe you don't but have dated someone with the complex named after it.). In Dallas Theater Center's Oedipus El Ray, playwright Luis Alfaro puts a Chicano delinquent into the tragic hero role and sets this story in an L.A. prison yard, staged on a 6 by 8 foot space surrounded on all sides by the audience. (Think being on the set of HBO's Oz.) Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 2pm in the Wyly's Studio Theater. Directed by DTC treasure Kevin Moriarty; contains adult themes, violence, language, and nudity.
Sexy? Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, one of Isreal's most prominent dance companies, performs If At All directed by Rami Be'er at Dallas City Performance Hall in the Dallas Arts District, 2pm and 8pm on Saturday. Described as "a moving theatrical event in figurative and abstract circles, from the closed form to the open structure; Physical space in motion whose essence is a chain of events of diverse and ever-changing interpersonal relationships." Presented by TITAS.
Absurdly Funny? Uptown Players kicks off its MainStage season with Christopher Durang's 2013 Tony-winning dark comedy, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Although not a parody of Chekhov's works, Durang admitted he took "Chekhov scenes and characters and put them into a blender." He set gloomy adult siblings in a Bucks County, Pennsylvania farmhouse, where they hash out their issues of insecurity, jealousy, and self-pity in absurdly funny discomfort. Directed by B. J. Cleveland. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 8pm, Sundays 2pm, through March 9th at the Kalita Humphreys Theatre in Uptown.
Little Mermaid run through March 2
Sophisticated? Maestro van Zweden conducts Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Bolero at the Meyerson Symphony Center Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 2:30pm. Ravel's "Bolero" reaches one of the greatest climaxes in all of music, and the brilliant Louis Lortie performs Mozart's delicate Piano Concerto No. 21, "Elvira Madigan."
Taking the Little Ones? You can still catch The Little Mermaid at The Music Hall at Fair Park. Presented by Dallas Summer Musicals, this is a reworked version of the 2008 Broadway musical, and which will now tour nationally as the official Disney version. Playing every night through Saturday 7:30pm, with 1:30pm matinees Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.
See? No excuses. Please let me know what you saw and what you thought of it!
About the author: Jayne Chobot Herring
