Executive Producer Steven D. Morris is thrilled to begin work on Theater Arlington’s historic 50th anniversary. It has been five busy and exciting decades full of live performances, education, expansion, development and a commitment to improving the community around them that have enabled Theater Arlington to reach its Golden Jubilee. A goal that those Potluck players back in 1973 couldn’t have even dreamed was possible! With the theater’s recent renovations, Theater Arlington is better than ever—with a new look, new equipment, and a new cabaret stage in the lobby—all to enhance not only the quality of the production, but also the experience of every patron, young and old. The 2023 season will feature three great musicals, family-friendly shows, a fun musical for young adults, award-winning dramas, hilarious comedies and the return of Theater Arlington’s Club Series, which includes Club Cabaret, Comedy Club and Play-Reading Club. All Club Series performances are presented in the beautiful, intimate lobby with great access to Theater BARlington. Combined with the theater’s purposeful efforts to become a more diverse theater that better represents the community, on stage and in the seats, Theater Arlington will shine even more brightly as the heart of the city’s cultural district.

THEATER ARLINGTON’S MAINSTAGE SEASON

GYPSY
Musical
Book by Arthur Laurents | Music by Jule Styne | Text by Stephen Sondheim
Suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee
Director Steven D. Morris | Music Director Vonda K. Bowling | Choreographer Nicole Carrano

10 February – 5 March 2023

The mother of all musicals! Considered by many theater professionals to be the finest musical ever created, Gypsy is the ultimate story of an ambitious stage mother fighting for her daughters’ success – while secretly longing for her own. Set across America in the 1920s and 30s, when vaudeville was dying and burlesque was being born, Arthur Laurents’ landmark show explores the world of two-bit show business with brass, humor, heart and sophistication.

Adult content

NOISE OFF

Comedy
By Michael Frayn
Director Cheryl Denson

31 March – 16 April 2023

Called “the funniest farce ever written,” Noises Off features a manic menagerie of traveling actors rehearsing a flop called Nothing’s On. Slamming doors, on- and off-stage intrigue, and an errant herring all figure in the plot of this hilarious and classic comedy play.

Adult humor

ON THE GYLLEDAMMEN
Drama
By Ernest Thompson
Director Steven D. Morris | Starring Deborah Brown and David Coffee

5 – 21 May 2023

This is the love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who return to their summer home on Golden Pond for the forty-eighth year. He is a retired professor, approaching eighty, with palpitations and failing memory – but still as foolish, observant and eager for life as ever. Ethel, ten years younger and the perfect foil to Norman, delights in all the little things that have enriched and continue to enrich their long life together. They are visited by their divorced, middle-aged daughter and her dentist fiancé, who then leave for Europe, leaving their teenage son behind for the summer. The boy quickly becomes the “grandson” the older couple have longed for, and while Norman enjoys taking ward fishing and throwing good books at him, he also learns some lessons about modern teenage consciousness – and slang – in return. Finally, as the summer wanes, so does their brief idyll, and in the final, deeply moving moments of the play, Norman and Ethel are brought even closer together by the occurrence of a mild heart attack. Time, they know, is against them, but the years have been good, and perhaps another summer awaits at Golden Pond.

FLY AT NIGHT
Musical
Designed by Kim Rosenstock | Written by Will Connolly, Michael Mitnick and Kim Rosenstock
Director Major Attaway | Starring David Coffee

16 June – 2 July 2023

A star-crossed prophecy. Two charming sisters and an unfortunate sandwich maker. Lots of music. Just not much light. In this darkly comic rock fable, the tough life of a melancholic sandwich maker is crossed by two enchanting sisters. Fly By Night is a sweeping ode to young love set against the backdrop of the Northeast blackout in 1965, and is a tale of finding your way and discovering hope in a world characterized by darkness.

SUPERIOR DONUTS
Comedy
By Tracy Letts
Directors Larry Cure and Sharon Kaye Miller

21 July – 6 August 2023

Arthur Przybyszewski owns a run-down donut shop in the Uptown area of ​​Chicago. Franco Wicks, a black teenager who is his only employee, wants to change the store for the better. This comedy-drama from Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Letts explores the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship.

Adult language

AVENUE Q
Musical
Music & Lyrics by Jeff Marx & Robert Lopez | Book by Jeff Whitty
Based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx
Director Bryan Stevenson | Music Director Mark Mullino | Choreographer Nik Blocker

25 August – 10 September 2023

A puppet-filled comedy follows a group of twenty-somethings searching for purpose in big-city life. The laugh-out-loud musical tells the timeless story of a recent college graduate named Princeton who moves into a shabby New York apartment right off Avenue Q. He soon discovers that while the residents seem nice, it’s clear that this isn’t your usual neighborhood. Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life. Although the show deals with humorous adult issues, it resembles a beloved children’s show; a place where dolls are friends, monsters are good and life lessons are learned.

Adult content, language and humor

AMERICAN SON
Drama
By Christopher Demos-Brown
Director Kenja Brown

6 – 15 October 2023

An estranged biracial couple must confront their feelings about race and bias after their son is arrested by the local police following a traffic stop. Their different stories and backgrounds inform their assumptions as they try to figure out what happened to their son.

Adult situations and language

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: RADIO SHOW
Comedy
By David Alberts
Director Steven D. Morris | Starring BJ Cleveland

1 – 17 December 2023

It’s Christmas Eve, and with the actors snowed in and unable to make it to the studios of WXMS for the live radio performance of A Christmas Carol, the sound effects guy decides to take the audience through the classic story himself. In an impressive and hilarious feat, this tale is performed as a 1940s radio play with one person providing all the characters’ voices and sound effects. This rollicking, creative adaptation of Dickens’ classic work is sure to warm the hearts of even the coldest of audiences.

Suitable for ages 6+

THEATER ARLINGTON’S FAMILY SERIES

CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, JR.
All-Youth Musical
Music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman
Adapted for the stage by Jeremy Sams | Licensed screenplay adapted by Ray Roderick
Director Cindy Honeycutt

3 – 12 November 2023

Take an amazing musical adventure with an out-of-this-world car that flies through the air and sails the ocean. The eccentric inventor, Caractacus Potts, sets about restoring an old racing car with the help of his children Jeremy and Jemima. They soon discover that the car is magic, and has the ability to float and fly. When the evil Baron Bomburst wants the magical car for himself, the family teams up with Truly Scrumptious and Grandpa Potts to outwit the wretched Baron and Baroness and their villainous henchman, the Child Catcher.

Suitable for audiences aged 3+

THEATER ARLINGTON’S CLUB SERIES

CLUB CABARET

Theater Arlington’s popular cabaret show returns with the Metroplex’s best performers for a relaxed evening of music and fun in an intimate setting.

27 January 2023
28 January 2023
March 10, 2023
March 11, 2023
28 April 2023
29 April 2023
26 May 2023
27 May 2023
15 September 2023
29 September 2023
30 September 2023
27 October 2023
28 October 2023
17 November 2023
18 November 2023

Performers and more details will be announced later

COMEDY CLUB

On the second Sunday of every month, our newly formed comedy group will present a fun night of comedy that includes a mix of improv, skits, musical numbers and stand-up.

12 February 2023
March 12, 2023
14 May 2023
11 June 2023
9 July 2023
13 August 2023
10 September 2023
8 October 2023
12 November 2023
10 December 2023

More details will be announced later

PLAY READING CLUB

Enjoy staged readings of new plays by local playwrights plus the debut of Theater Arlington’s Playwriting Contest. All with talkbacks with cast and director.

21 and 22 April 2023
The Game by Brian George

2 and 3 June 2023
World premiere of brand new musical in connection with musicalwriters.com

7 and 8 July 2023
TBA

11 and 12 August 2023
TBA

22 and 23 September 2023
Winner of the Theater Arlington Playwriting Contest

For more information on Theater Arlington’s 2023 season:

Show logos of SoloShoe Communications, LLC

ABOUT THEATER ARLINGTON:

Located in the heart of Arlington’s Cultural Arts District, Theater Arlington is one of the largest semi-professional, non-profit theaters in the Southwest with roots dating back to 1973 and a gypsy theater group known as The Potluck Players. Forty-eight years later, the staff and board remain as dedicated to improving the quality of life in North Texas by presenting superior, diverse, artistic experiences through performance, production and education as they were in their infancy.

In addition to a regular season of seven productions, an all-youth musical and a club series, the theater operates a year-round theater school including spring break and summer camps, and partners with Arlington ISD and local community organizations to provide free and low-cost arts enrichment programs for area children and teens . The theater is also proud to perform under an Actors’ Equity Small Professional Theater contract. Theater Arlington has become a key player in enriching the city’s cultural environment.

City Council District 5, Downtown Arlington, Theater Arlington

News, entertainment, community, arts and culture, headlines