April Blooms with Performances on North Texas Stages

Every weekend in April is hopping with theater, opera and music at North Texas art organizations.

The first weekend of April marks the beginning of Dallas Theater Center’s production of Into the Woods. The Tony Award-winning musical by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim runs April 7 – 30 at the Wyly Theatre in the Dallas Arts District.

“I dearly love theater that involves smart playwrights re-examining myths and stories we all know--or believe we know,” said the show’s director Joel Ferrell. “Into the Woods allows James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim to weave familiar stories together in dazzlingly funny ways, surprising the audience at every turn, then flip the world they've created on its head! Directing this show in 2023 means; highlighting the dopey humanity and hilarious dexterity of act one, then taking the audience on a truly wild ride in act two, pulling the audience deeper and deeper ‘into the woods’ of the human experience. Whether you've seen the show many times or never experienced its magic, be ready for big surprises delivered by a stellar cast.”

The musical is an example of Sondheim’s brilliance.

“Stephen Sondheim was one of the greatest writers in the history of American musical theater. The entire theater community mourned when he died last season. Now we have the opportunity to celebrate his genius with our production of one of his most revered musicals, Into the Woods. Filled with witty lyrics, a deeply nuanced score, and profound insights into the human experience, Into the Woods remains as fresh, funny and moving today as it did 35 years ago when it premiered,” said Kevin Moriarty, the theater company’s Executive Director

Learn more: Dallas Theater Center

Fort Worth Opera concludes its 2022-2023 season with Verdi’s Aida, running at the Van Cliburn Hall in Fort Worth on April 14 and 16. The semi-staged production features the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, a full chorus and custom-curated digital art and projections.

"This performance is set to be one of the most remarkable experiences Fort Worth Opera lovers have witnessed in a very long time. The commanding voices that will be on stage, which can fill world-class opera houses, including The Met, combined with the intimate and acoustically-rich venue of the Van Cliburn Music Hall, will produce an unparalleled experience as powerful human sound washes over patrons. This iteration of Verdi's grandiose work strips down AIDA to its essence, facilitating a connection with the story's core and captivating attendees with each exquisite note sung by these fiercely talented performers. We're thrilled to share this world-class performance with our community!" said Angela Turner Wilson, Fort Worth Opera’s General and Artistic Director.

Learn more: Fort Worth Opera

Cara Mía Theatre’s world premiere production of Orígenes/Origins is a new collaborative bilingual play with Mexico City’s Laboratorio de la Máscara. The play tells the immigrant story of a teenager sent by her family to live with her father in the United States. Featuring masks, movement and original music by Peruvian composer Fabricio Cavero, Orígenes/Origins will be performed mostly in Spanish with English supertitles from April 15-April 30 at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas. 

“Orígenes is a uniquely Mexican and Latin-American lens on immigration, yet it seeks to connect to the worldwide experiences of immigration throughout the world,” said Executive Artistic Director David Lozano. “Like all of our work with Mexico City’s Laboratorio de la Máscara, cultural roots are a means for healing for those who immigrate to the United States. In Orígenes/Origins, culture is center stage as the pathway towards self-realization.” 

Learn more: Cara Mía Theatre

Broadway Dallas is presenting Tootsie, Robert Horn and David Yazbek’s Tony Award-winning musical, at the Winspear Opera House in the Dallas Arts District April 18 -30.

This hilarious love letter to the theater tells the story of Michael Dorsey, a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime.

After its Dallas run, the show will be presented in Fort Worth by Performing Arts Fort Worth at Bass Performance Hall May 9 - 14

Learn more: Broadway Dallas and Bass Hall

The regional premiere of The Manic Monologues by Zack Burton & Elisa Hofmeister is the third production of WaterTower Theatre’s 2022-2023 season. The show will run at the Addison theater company from April 19 – 30.

The play showcases true stories of mental illness in an effort to disrupt stigma.

“Manic Monologues strives to acknowledge that struggle is universally human and not a shameful secret. As an artist, the opportunity to work on something so inventive, collaborative, and creative is rare and precious. As a human with GAD [generalized anxiety disorder] and a mom to a neurodivergent kiddo, I am humbled to be trusted with such an important piece. Now, I don’t like to throw around the word ‘important’. ‘Important’ can get us into trouble if we elevate our importance over our message, or our work, but this is important. We must change how we, as a society, deal with mental illness and divergence. We must make the next generation feel safe being raw and honest. There is so much beauty in raw humanity and our production of The Manic Monologues will be beautiful,” said the show’s director, Ashley Puckett Gonzales.

Learn more: WaterTower Theatre

Just in time for William Shakespeare’s 459^th birthday, Shakespeare Dallas will host staged readings of The Henriad plays April 20-30 at the Samuell-Grand Amphitheater in Dallas. Shakespeare’s timeless stories will be explored through Play On Shakespeare’s modern verse translation, allowing audiences to understand Shakespeare's History like never before.

“We are excited to bring the work of three nationally recognized playwrights to our community for this project,” said Shakespeare Dallas Interim Artistic Director Jenni Stewart. “Each playwright was tasked with matching Shakespeare’s mastery of language as they approached the text. This means preserving the rhyme, rhythm, metaphor, symbolism, and rhetoric that make Shakespeare’s plays still relevant to us and bring in 30,000 people each year to our amphitheater. Play On Shakespeare began as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the largest Shakespeare festival in the country. We are delighted to partner with Play On Shakespeare to give Dallasites this unique theater experience.”

The shows presented in the series are:

• King Richard by William Shakespeare in a modern verse translation by Naomi Iizuka (Thursdays)
• Henry IV (part 1) by William Shakespeare in a modern verse translation by Yvette Nolan (Fridays)
• Henry IV (part 2) by William Shakespeare in a modern verse translation by Yvette Nolan (Saturdays)
• Henry V  by William Shakespeare in a modern verse translation by Lloyd Suh (Sundays)

Shakespeare Dallas also presents a Music in the Park series April 14-16 at the Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre. The line-up includes Cosmic Cowboy Country Review on April 14, Maya Piata on April 15, and Salvage Enterprise Listening Experience with Tim DeLaughter of The Polyphonic Spree on April 16.

Food trucks will be available at the three-night event and guests are also welcome to bring their own food and beverages. Gates will open at 7:15 p.m. each night and the set will begin at 8:30 p.m.

Learn more: Shakespeare Dallas