Dallas Summer Musicals does it again with deadly dull production

The microphones don't cut out during Bullets Over Broadway, but you might leave hoping they had. Soon after the touring production of Ragtime disappointed during its Dallas stop, here comes another non-equity tour that relies on sub-par music and its young cast's enthusiasm to carry the show. There is a hidden orchestra this time (or at least the program promises so), but they sure sound canned on "the best sound system in North Texas." Although...

Versatile Dallas actress is stoked to throw punches in her latest show

Kitchen Dog Theater is making its first attempt at repertory theater, with Steve Yockey's plays Blackberry Winter and The Thrush & The Woodpecker. Not only that, but the company is doing it in the temporary space of Undermain Theatre. Actor Kristin McCollum is part of Thrush's cast, adding to her impressive resume yet another challenging role, as a mother whose college-age son unexpectedly returns home. Before the second Yockey show opens on May 27, McCollum...

Dallas art galleries blossom with outdoor shows and exhibitions

Feeling the impetus to get outside and bask in the not-yet-unbearable heat? Now you can, while scratching that artistic itch at the same time. Garden parties and slideshows on the lawn join female-positive exhibits and intimate installations to make this a most intriguing month of May. "Girls Just Wanna," Various Artists, at Galleri Urbane Reception: May 14, 6-8:30 pm Exhibition dates: May 14-June 18 A not-so-fun fact: 51 percent of today's visual artists are women,...

Dallas art galleries blossom with outdoor shows and exhibitions

Feeling the impetus to get outside and bask in the not-yet-unbearable heat? Now you can, while scratching that artistic itch at the same time. Garden parties and slideshows on the lawn join female-positive exhibits and intimate installations to make this a most intriguing month of May. "Girls Just Wanna," Various Artists, at Galleri Urbane Reception: May 14, 6-8:30 pm Exhibition dates: May 14-June 18 A not-so-fun fact: 51 percent of today's visual artists are women,...

1950s musical fails to shake, rattle, or roll at Dallas' Theatre Three

A poor but plucky white kid in the segregated 1950s South struggles to integrate the hometown music scene. Kid's white mom disapproves. Black father figure of loud-sangin' friend disapproves too. But all too predictably, before intermish there's "race music" on the radio and everybody's ponying to the beat. Sounds like Hairspray, right? No, it's Memphis, a lesser show on similar themes now playing at Theatre Three. The formula-bound Best Musical Tony winner by Joe DiPietro...

Dallas Opera spares no expense with history-making Show Boat

Though not technically an opera, Show Boat is a natural fit for such a company to perform. Dallas Opera, using Francesca Zambello's Lyric Opera of Chicago production, has breathed new life into the American classic with soaring voices and nuanced performances. The sheer scale of Show Boat, based on Edna Ferber's sweeping book, can be intimidating. Spanning from the late 1800s to the 1920s, it follows the daughter of a river boat entertainer as she...

Dallas art galleries bloom this month with intriguing mix of works

Birds, bunnies, and blooms of all sorts make for some very seasonally appropriate Dallas art gallery shows this month. Add in an alternate universe created by a singular talent, and you've got one of the more intriguing mixes of work (and mediums) we've seen in quite some time. Here is what's naturally wonderful in April: "Spelboken," Natasha Bowdoin, at Talley Dunn Gallery Reception: April 1, 6-8 pm ​Exhibition dates: April 1-May 14 Timing is everything,...