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,...

The next AT&T Broadway series in Dallas feels a little, well, familiar

The next Broadway Series season for AT&T Performing Arts Center has been announced, and many of the titles might sound familiar to regular Dallas-Fort Worth theatergoers. That's because three of the eight shows have had recent professional productions in the area, and a fourth is returning for what's sure to be another sold-out run. Rent, Into the Woods, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch are all on the schedule, even though Casa Mañana, Lyric Stage,...

Dallas-Fort Worth galleries spring forth new crop of indispensable art

Spring has sprung, and along with it comes a collective of young talent, an essential stop in Fort Worth's gallery night, a homage to environmentalism, an explosion of color, and -- finally -- a brand new venue to show off a Dallasite's artistic vision. Here's what matters in the art world this month: "That's So Hot (An Invitational)," various artists, at 500 X Gallery Exhibition dates: Through April 3 What's so hot right now? Dallas...

Dallas actor who plays LBJ likes a challenge, not a kale smoothie

Brandon Potter wasn't originally cast as our 36th president in All the Way, a co-production between Dallas Theater Center and Houston's Alley Theatre. But when the first actor had to step down for medical reasons, Potter found himself in the spotlight. For the Brierley Resident Acting Company member, who has been consistently earning good notices for his supporting roles, it's a chance to make his mark as a leading man. Potter recently played Richard III...

There's savage honesty in this Dallas production of Lord of the Flies

There is so much that feels new in WaterTower Theatre's Lord of the Flies, but still with an undercurrent of deja vu. The story, about a group of British schoolboys stranded on an island after a plane crash, is familiar to anyone who read William Golding's novel in high school. But this production, with its uber-naturalistic set and thundering sound design, brings Golding's boys to life in frightening reality. Director Kelsey Leigh Ervi is using...

Famous wistful romance becomes more layered on musical Dallas stage

It's hard to top Meryl Streep. The vaunted actress was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of a lonely Italian housewife in the film The Bridges of Madison County, but now actresses are being asked to make Francesca Johnson sing -- literally and figuratively -- in the musical version. First it was Broadway darling Kelli O'Hara, who received a Tony nomination for her work. Now on the national tour it's Elizabeth Stanley, who...