Dallas Theater Center

Even though I was slightly distressed by the condition of the building «The school for wives» by Moliere was good! Incredible turtle creek park setting, what could be an amazing Frank Loyd Wright icon building for Dallas, and was rumored to be up for demolition several years ago. Who are these people that think demolishing an iconic building, by Frank Loyd Wright built towards the end of his life, is okay? Unfortunately the Kalita Humphreys Theater is in great disrepair! A little rust here a little mold there and some parts are functionally obsolete. Where are the friends of Kalita Humphreys Theater, if not in place maybe it’s time to start a foundation to support this building? (!)

The Kalita Humphreys theater is a nice piece of Dallas history. The architectural design on the outside is beautiful. I like the intimate setting and the comfortable seats.
My friends and I saw Next to Normal there. A very intense musical that took us through every emotion.
Pros: small theater (every seat is great), lobby bar (you can take drinks to your seat), cool bathrooms downstairs, cool a/​c once seated (will provide you blankets), friendly staff members
Cons: stuffy in the lobby area (could use more air circulation in this area)

Kalita Humphreys – This theater is hard to explain in words. The feeling I get when I am inside the theater is as if it was trying to tell me stories of all the amazing people who have passed through there on stage and in the audience.
Subscribing is a must!
«Arsenic and Old Lace» was very entertaining. And I REALLY enjoyed the red velvet cupcake at the concession bar. :)

Am I reviewing the place or the play? Hmm, I love the space, but arsenic and old lace was a huge disappointment. It was played too campy for my taste.
Still tyhe building is lovely, good sight lines from everywhere.
Super friendly, helpful staff. Good lobby bar. All in all a good neighborhood theater. Compare and contrast with the Wylie, more of which later.

It took almost a year of having known my good friend Trey for me to discover that he was the nephew of, now deceased, local Dallas playwright Preston Jones, a playwright whose work meant something dear to me since I performed his play «the last meeting of the knights of the white magnolia» in high school.
Through Trey, I found out about how Preston worked at this theatre in the 70s and just wrote some plays about Texas that were performed in the
experimental theatre in the basement. New York critics came down to check things out and his Trilogy plays quickly went to broadway.
Unfortunately Preston died unexpectedly in his early 40s, which cut his career short.
This now tattered theatre has many stories and ghosts, a Frank Loyd Wright building that lurks in the wooded park by Katy Trail and Turtle Creek.
This theatre is now rented out by different theatrical companies, but I can only hope someone will eventually save it from it’s sort of hapless purgatory.
Regardless, Preston’s spirit continues to grace Trey and I with artistic inspiration.

One of the best investments in your cultural experience in Dallas is to subscribe to the theatre center. They have really cool events with lots of giveaways. The last time we attended and subscribed, we got to choose from a list of neat prizes. We chose dinner at the races, which was cool.
Their seasons are always a good mix of national talent with some locals sprinkled in there for good measure. However, I wish they’d use even more local talent, since Dallas has it in droves.

It’s always hard to see people a decade younger than you show more talent in a two hour production than you can ever muster in your lifetime, but its Christmas time, and I won’t spend it wallowing in my childhood dreams of being a famous actress/​singer/​dancer/​comedienne and… yes, kung fu expert.
Anyway, the Christmas Carol at the DTC is the perfect event to put you in the mood of the season. For 2 hours, forget the elbow-​shoving of shop-​a-​thons and the fact that our nation keeps giving money to people who would rather piss on it than use it to «stimulate» the economy. This production has some great talent and innovative sets. You just can’t go wrong with a rotating stage.
Quaint yet classy, even the mezzanine seats were divine, and dare I say preferable than sitting a few rows back on the main floor.

I went to see their production of Moliere’s «The Misanthrope», it was terrific! Hilarious too. The tickets were $ 25ish for the last row, center, downstairs, and it wasn’t sold out so we had some leeway in where we sat instead of sitting on our assigned seats. The ticket counter staff were really nice and funny, though a little inefficient. The facility is clean, intimate but not claustrophobic and ideal for small theater productions. I am sure I’ll be back here the next time I’m in Dallas.

Over priced. Self Absorbed. Over rated. Singlehandedly killing the moral of the Dallas Theatre scene.
Don’t waste your time or money.
They just got a new artistic director, so maybe it’ll change but. ..