Onstage NTX Reviewers’ “Bests & Faves” of Area Theater in 2024 (Part 2)
—coordinated by Managing Editor Jan Farrington
From reviewer Teresa Marrero, Professor of Latiné and Latin American Theater at the University of North Texas, Department of Spanish. In addition to her theater reviews for Onstage NTX, Teresa covers dance performances in the D-FW area. These are her Best of 2024 theater picks in order of preference, focused around the expanded presentations at the 2024 “Latinidades” International Theatre Festival:
Teatro Dallas, 2024 International Theatre Festival, La Celestina, Tragicomedia de Lita (La Celestina, Lita´s Tragiccomedy). From Argentina´s Rey Marciali Producciones. Devised by David Piccotto (director) and Julieta Daga, (performer). In Spanish. This one-person performance displayed several outstanding features: the actress (Julieta Daga) performs the full play dressed in a clown outfit, tied up by huge cords that restrict her movements. She is mostly prone on the ground. The play is staged in the round on the Latino Cultural Center´s main stage, so she must perform in circularity. Secondly, this is a loose adaptation of a classic Spanish Renaissance play, but with modern Argentinean language. Thirdly, she addresses the audience directly and even requests the assistance of two people to help her with the ropes, thus enlarging the ´cast´ of the performance. The volunteers flow seamlessly into the action. All of this done while lamenting the loss of a lover. I wrote “in my years as a theater-goer, I have never experienced such empathetic identification with a fictional character who played so openly with our humanity. And for this, Julieta Daga … deserves more than a standing ovation. She deserves a crown.” And I meant it.
Cara Mía Theatre Company´s 2024 International Theatre Festival. Ghostly Labor, by San Francisco´s La Mezcla. Directed and devised by Vanessa Sanchez and company. In English. A complex dance/theater, multi-media piece based on live interviews of ‘invisible’ farm and domestic workers in Northern California, this piece hit home for me in a deeply emotional way. I wrote “a mostly non-verbal theater-dance piece with multiple aesthetics, brilliant precision, and a sure storyline that worked….The performers not only danced, they embodied what the piece is about: oppression, resistance, and ultimately pride and joy.”
Cara Mía Theatre Company´s 2024 International Theatre Festival. Yo no estoy loca / I am not insane, Teatro Petra, Bogotá, Colombia, devised by Fabio Rubiano (director) and Marcela Valencia (performer). In Spanish. This hour-long monologue features Valencia as Cielo, taking on an imaginary dialogue with the audience and several characters about the misogynist practices in her native Colombia. “The narrative structure of the piece has unusual turns. Cielo begins by telling her stories in the first person, but at some point tells us she will narrate now in the third person so as not to sound too sordid (in her husband’s infidelity scene, for instance). At other times she interrupts the narrative flow by creating an imaginary ellipsis, telling us she will get back to this segment later, but first she must tell us about…. What I found so effective is that at each turn of the narrative, she would first announce her next technique and explain why this might be a better way of telling the story. Simply put, there are elliptical breaks, and a switching of person (from the first person, I, to an impersonal voice … This innovative technique keeps the audience glued to her every word, as we had to pay attention and follow the story.”
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From reviewer/editor Jan Farrington:
I saw approximately 70 shows in 2024, some of them more than once. I reviewed about 60 of them. The terrific work put onstage by North Texas theater companies this past year makes picking and choosing a tough job. I have a Top Twelve in mind—but already know there will be some Very Honorable Mentions below as well. Here goes, and the Twelve are in no particular order; they were all great!
Marjorie Prime, Stage West (January): Director Sasha Maya Ada and a great cast (Parker Gray and Cindee Mayfield were standouts among very fine performers) brought a “tender lightness” to this startling, poignant story of a widow (Mayfield), her family, and the relationships they develop with an eerily humanoid AI robot (Gray) who’s a dead ringer (pun intended) for their late husband/father as his younger, most attractive self. Marjorie posed serious questions and left us a bit haunted by what we’d seen, teetering on the yes/no fence. Would this be an option we’d want for our future?
King Lear, Fair Assembly (August): Will Shakespeare’s heart-breaking story told in a crystal-clear reading of Shakespeare’s complex dialogue. Fair Assembly stripped Lear down to its uncluttered and dynamic essence, and gave it a warm heart with the pairing of marvelous Dennis Raveneau and Emily Ernst as Lear and Fool—a ravaged and unwise King , and a loyal, loving Fool who won’t “quit” him. (Ernst co-directed with Ian Ferguson and Sara Romersberger.) Gripping performances by the entire cast; every “lit” student from age 12 to 25 should have put down Romeo and Juliet and come to see this one!
The Pillowman, Outcry Theatre (February): Can’t say I “liked” Martin McDonagh’s Pillowman, but it was, as I said then, an “electric, unsettling” experience. Director Becca Johnson-Spinos pulled extraordinary, odd, chilling performances from the cast, with Connor McMurray as the interrogator Ariel and Bruce Lederer as the eternal suspect Katurian. Performed in what felt like a lock-in at the Stone Cottage, it was at times all we could do not to bolt for the door. The vagueness of the accusations and consequences in this portrait of a “you’re nobody” totalitarian state were more terrifying than the occasional splatters of blood.
Marie and Rosetta, Amphibian Stage (April): On a completely different note, I’m almost (but not) embarrassed to say I saw M & R three times. I needed some joy, and this show had it. The music-filled story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and her partner Marie Knight gave singer/actors Denise Lee and Denise Jackson the roles of a lifetime. Backed by music director Steven A Taylor on keys and great guitarist Darrin Kobetich, their singing raised Amphibian’s roof right off its pins. Director Egla Birmingham Hassan had a perfect feel for the right balance among the show’s elements of comedy, race awareness, tenderness—and blow-the-doors-off musicality. This show really ought to go on the road!
Aeschylus’ The Persians, Undermain Theatre (May): Amazing, that director Kara-Lynn Vaeni and a wonderful cast could make this oldest-play of the Western world (it “opened” several centuries before the Christian era was even thought of) into so much more than a period piece. The Persians was vibrant, strange, relevant to the wars and grief of our time, and filled with characters we could understand. Marianne Galloway as the Queen and Thomas Leverton as the Herald (bringing all the bad news from the battlefields) were astonishing (as was Mac Welch as the anything-but-steadfast Prince Xerxes). And the cast of elders and councillors, rapping rhythmically with their wooden staffs as they chanted lines, gave us the shivers hearing old, old theater come alive. Undermain’s thick columns once again did noble duty for an ancient-Greek play—as did the contoured map of the known world that covered the stage. Magnificent throwback theater!
The Amazing, Fabulous, and Spectacular Untruths of Juan Garcia, Amphibian Stage (October): Playwright Kathleen Culebro’s colorful and delightfully sharp-witted “vintage” comedy took us to colonial Mexico in the 1700s, with the story of charming con man Juan (Danny Quintero) coming home to Papa (David Lugo), planning to make his fortune by marrying one of the wealthier local ladies. Amber Flores and Amanda Reyes play clever best friends who are onto Juan’s game—and give him the works. The big cast had incredible comic chops, and the costumes by Laura Anderson Barbata were to die for! This was a world premiere for the ‘Phibs, and I’d love to see this show find “takers” with other theaters….
Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Second Thought Theatre (March): Will Arbery’s extraordinary play about the reunion of conservative Catholic college alumns, packed full of “issues” that weren’t just talk—but connected to these people and their ongoing lives. But talky it is, a late-night wordfest played out in the star-lit back yard of one student who stayed put near their Wyoming college, while the others worked in the wider world. Arbery’s Heroes startled New York audiences, got great buzz, and (he was raised partly in the Dallas area) came home to STT, which was exactly the right courageous, smart company to take it on. Jay Duffer directed with a compassionate and sharp-edged understanding.
Patti & Theo, Ochre House Theatre (November/2nd run): Ochre House AD Matt Posey’s vivid, weird, and touching play came back for a second run after premiering earlier in 2024, with Polly Maynard as Patti and Posey as Theo, Lauren Massey as a preacher right out of The Crucible, and two sets of memorable players—a trio of stumbling, nearly-comatose musicians, and another of saggily diapered adult-size “babies” (P & T’s “kids”) who revealed themselves as unexpectedly resourceful. Don’t make me tell you the plot. I only know that it was the strangest, most compellingly alive and oddball show I saw all year. Everyone on stage just laid it out there, 100%—and I walked away wishing them the best life their quirky hearts could cobble together.
POTUS, Or Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, Stage West (March): A quorum of my favorite area actresses filled out the cast of Selena Fillinger’s “crazy, potty-mouthed, and terribly funny play” about the women of a dysfunctional presidency. (His feet are all we ever see of the man himself.) Chief of staff, press secretary, journalist, First Lady, chippie on the side, crazy sister, all-around WH assistant…have I missed anyone? Kara-Lynn Vaeni directed POTUS at warp speed, on a stage with umpteen doors that opened and closed incessantly. (That’s the rule in farce.) The day’s events bring crises of all sizes, from Possibly Preggers girlfriends to International Incidents—and as they’re done and dusted by the women, the play repeatedly poses its serious question: “Why isn’t She President?” I’ll go anytime to see Dana Schultes, Olivia Cinquepalmi, Laurel L. Collins, Kristin McCollum, Octavia Y. Thomas, vickie washington, and Vanessa DeSilvio onstage again!
I Am Delivered’T’, Dallas Theater Center (February): Playwright Jonathan Norton returned to his Dallas-area roots with this small-scale but powerful story about ushers and congregants at a small Black church. Our reviewer Chris Sanders said the four characters of the play “react to, argue about, and try to survive church politics, church relationships, and church hurts…all on a Good Friday that ought to be subtitled: "Jesus wept."” Questions and struggles abound: Can one be queer and churched? If you have to walk away, what replaces that beloved community? There’s comedy aplenty, and a look at the mechanics of “herding” a rowdy congregant—and Liz Mikel as usher Sis is a hoot. She is also the character who carries the biggest load of sadness and “church hurt,” though cast members Zachary J. Willis, E. Faye Butler, and Naqui Macabroad each have their troubles.
Wink, Second Thought Theatre (July): Jen Silverman’s Wink, directed by Jenna Burnett, turned the boring old “husband and wife need a change” trope into a wild, surreal romp…with a cat named Wink lurking around every corner. Lauren LeBlanc and Omar Padilla play the couple, who have a shrink in common (Dr. Frans, played by John M. Flores), and a rescue cat named Wink, played by the slinky, sexy, and semi-dressed Garret Storms. Beds are hopped, old flames dug up for consideration, and Dr. Frans develops an obsession with fur and wildness. Is he getting Wink’s vibe? The unhappy couple decides to ignore the Doc’s advice, and ends up in better shape than we expect. One wonders if Wink, the “stick of dynamite” that blows up their marriage, will move on to help other tragic couples….
Imposter! Hypocrite! Tartuffe!, Circle Theatre (August): Ashley H. White’s quick-moving, clever, and nicely feminist re-do of the Moliere classic grabbed us by the lapels even before the “curtain” went up. Actors plopped down in empty seats to charm the audience, characters/actors exchanged banter…and then the story began! Zak Reynolds is awful and funny as the religious grifter. He has the head of the house Orgon (Michael Phillips Thomas) in his grip, but the family is onto him—and they’re determined to shove Tartuffe out of the house! Christine Sanders is wily yet kind as loyal wife Elmire, aided by wised-up housemaid Dorine (Kathy Trageser)—but really, the whole ensemble was terrific.
The Very Honorable Mentions: Stage West’s first of a trilogy of recently written “Holmes” plays, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Elusive Ear, with extra layers on the familiar characters, and famous drop-in visitors…Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas The Children’s Hour, reminding us with this gutsy 1934 play what a brave writer and crackerjack creator of dialogue Lillian Hellman was. Devon Rose, Katie Macune, and young Millicent Manning starred…Hip Pocket Theatre’s Big Love, directed by Emily Scott Banks, and full of male-female energy…Dylan, starring Joey Folsom at The Classics Theatre Project…CenterStage Theatre Works’ Alice By Heart, a trauma-informed (but comic, too) blending of the Alice tales and the London Blitz—fascinating stuff!…Circle Theatre’s dynamic wrestling epic The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity…Rover Dramawerks Go Back for Murder, another older “well made” play that came off beautifully…Theatre Arlington’s Visiting Mr. Green, a delightful, poignant two-actor show with David Coffee and Parker Gray…The Play That Goes Wrong in a reprise by Stage West and WaterTower Theatre—yay, it came back!…Theatre Three’s lively Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, with Scott Eckert and strolling players a musical joy throughout…Circle Theatre’s production of Lauren Gunderson’s Artemisia, about the greatest woman painter of the Italian Renaissance--and with a stunning set…Upright Theatre Company’s Into the Woods, directed by Natalie Burkhart and music directed by Noël Clark—making ambitious, quality theater in a tiny space!…Jubilee Theatre’s tuneful Bread ‘n’ Gravy, a life of Black singer Ethel Waters, portrayed onstage (sometimes all at once) by Kayla Marshall, Crystal Williams, and Denise Lee…The Core Theatre’s production of Steven Young’s The King’s Face, a dramatic two-actor play about a near-fatal incident in the live of a young prince who would become Henry V; Joey Folsom and James Hansen Prince starred…James M. Barrie’s 1917 play Dear Brutus at Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas—a heart-tugging and funny mix of Into the Woods/A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and some old English folk tales—all perpetrated on a posh crowd of Brits visiting a country house…Circle Theatre’s Water By the Spoonful, an engaging look at a group of modern family and friends (it’s the second in a trilogy by Quiara Alegria Hudes about war vet Elliot) trying to help one another…and What the Constitution Means to Me, a much-coveted premiere for Stage West, and politically timely…And there was (and will be) so much more—aren’t we lucky?!
