Feature: TRAVELING INTO THE UNKNOWN at Theatre Three

DALLAS, TX: After a year of out-of-the-ordinary experiences, Theatre Three's next season is a mix of classic drama, new works, and a celebration of the local talent in DFW. Following a season of streaming, the critically-acclaimed success of the traveling production of The Music Man and because of the ongoing construction at The Quadrangle, the Theatre Three team plans to continue to break the mold with a fully nomadic season. All programming will take place outside of the Theatre Three building at various indoor and outdoor venues.

Opening the season is the hilariously frightening musical favorite Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Joel Ferrell, music directed by Cody Dry and performed at the Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre. Next up is Maytag Virgin, a southern love story by Audrey Cefaly and directed by Whitney Latrice Coulter. Climb aboard the next production, the world premiere of a new musical Stede Bonnet: A F*cking Pirate Musical written by local artists Nicole Neely and Clint Gilbert and directed by Gloria Vivica Benavides. Edward Albee's masterpiece Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe? is directed by Blake Hackler and ends the 2021-2022 season, featuring Theatre Three's Associate Artistic Director Christie Vela as Martha and Artistic Director Jeffrey Schmidt as George.

"As we go into our 59 ½th season, I'm looking forward to finding ways to build on the lessons of 2020 - namely identifying community partners who are as committed to the cultural health of our city as we are, and to providing opportunities to the new young theater-making voices we met at the Pre-Season Social!" says Associate Artistic Director Christie Vela.

"While we desperately miss seeing patrons in our lobby and producing shows on our stages, the past year has shown us that Theatre Three is much more than our building," says Artistic Director Jeffrey Schmidt. "We can produce great theater regardless of the challenges. I'm excited to continue looking at classic pieces with fresh eyes, new approaches and non-traditional casting like we did with The Music Man. I'm thrilled that a playwright has matriculated up through our Monday Night Playwright series to receive a full production. And I'm just as excited about our ancillary programming T3Translates and the Festival of Bad Ideas. There are discoveries to be made!"

The Monday Night Playwright series will continue, showcasing new works by local writers. Because Theatre Too is temporarily unavailable due to the Quadrangle's construction, locations may vary. Theatre Three is also proud to announce the T3Translates project. This will be a 3-Play Series where commissioned writers will translate a play that doesn't have an English translation, ending with a staged reading. Theatre Three continues their dedication to new and local works with the first annual Festival of Bad Ideas, a collection of short pieces inspired by the worst possible ideas, perhaps leading to some of the greatest. Lastly, Theatre Three is pleased to announce a partnership with Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. The students in Associate Artistic Director Christie Vela's Advanced Acting course will have access to all of Theatre Three's programming in the coming season.

Theatre Three welcomes back the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group's co-production of The Bippy Boppy Boo Show: Again! Again! to be performed in October. With the combined powers of Bippy Bobby and Little Shop of Horrors, the Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre will be hoppin' this Halloween.

Subscriptions for the 2021-2022 season will go on sale Thursday, August 19 and single tickets will be available September 1. Tickets can be purchased online at www.theatre3dallas.com or over the phone at 214-871-3300. Theatre Three is located at 2800 Routh St., #168, Dallas, TX 75201.

About the shows:

Little Shop of Horrors (10/5/2021-10/31/2021)

Book & Lyrics by Howard Ashman

Music by Alan Menken

Directed and Choreographed by Joel Ferrell with Musical Direction by Cody Dry

Performed at the Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre

A deliciously devious Broadway and Hollywood sci-fi smash musical, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS has devoured the hearts of theatre goers for over 30 years. The meek floral assistant Seymour Krelborn stumbles across a new breed of plant named "Audrey II" - after their co-worker crush. As the plant grows, Seymore begins to realize how the plant that gave them everything desires to take everything (and everyone) in return. A classic blood-thirsty musical like you've never seen it before!

Maytag Virgin (1/27/2022-2/20/2022)

Written by Audrey Cefaly

Directed by Whitney Latrice Coulter

MAYTAG VIRGIN follows Alabama school teacher Lizzy Nash and her new neighbor, Jack Key, over the year following the tragic death of Lizzy's husband. The play explores the ideas of inertia and self-enlightenment, and the bridge between the two. Unflinchingly honest!

Stede Bonnet: A F*cking Pirate Musical (4/7/2022-5/1/2022)

Written by Nicole Neely

Music and Lyrics by Clint Gilbert

Directed by Gloria Vivica Benavides

Music Director TBA

Choreographer TBA

The WORLD PREMIERE of a brand new swashbuckling musical, STEDE BONNET: A F*CKING PIRATE MUSICAL is a hilarious, touching tale based on the true story of the Gentleman Pirate. Stede, depressed and exhausted of his luxurious life, chooses to leave everything behind and become the best pirate in the world! One problem... he doesn't know what he's doing. After a run-in with the dramatic and conniving Blackbeard, Stede wonders if he's made a terrible mistake. This is a tale of grief and loss that utilizes humor to entice audiences on their own journey of self discovery.

Mishaps! Mayhem! Depression... Pirates!

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (6/9/2022-7/3/2022)

by Edward Albee

Directed by Blake Hackler

Albee's 1962 masterpiece, an escalating, perversely erotic dance of booze, anger and resentment, remains as relevant as the day it was written. Late one evening, after an alcohol-fueled university faculty party, a middle-aged couple, Martha and George, receive an unwitting younger couple, Nick and Honey, as late evening guests. They draw them into their bitter and frustrated marital love-hate ambivalence and pummel each other senseless in a verbal slugfest. Grotesque games-playing until dawn is ultimately uplifting and cathartic as illusions are shed and the bitter truth comes to light.

Intensity. Darkness. Complexity. Ambiguity.

The Bippy Bobby Boo Show: Again! Again! (10/21/2021-10/30/2021)

A Co-Production with Danielle Georgiou Dance Group

Written by Danielle Georgiou and Justin Locklear

Directed and Choreographed by Danielle Georgiou

THE BIPPY BOBBY BOO SHOW: AGAIN! AGAIN! is the 3rd annual production of DGDG's swanky, ghost extravaganza. And this year, it's happening again AGAIN! The ghosts have been quarantined in prop boxes, and they're finally escaping to bring you the songs, jokes, dances, jokes, and also the jokes that you love! Bringing back the haunting characters you've enjoyed in the past, and introducing a few new ones, Bippy Bobby and the ghastly theatre ghouls will have a hearty helping of haunt just for you!

Imagine Broadway: Theatre Three Musical Revue (Dates TBA)

Step inside the swanky Manhattan apartment of a Broadway composer for an evening of song and dance bubbling with elegance, fun and dishy theater gossip! Overflowing with panache and pizzazz, four of Dallas' top vocal talents will perform a concert showcasing Broadway's best musicals, including some familiar favorites from our theatre's history. All proceeds to benefit T3's programming.

T3Translates (Dates TBA)

Theatre Three is proud to announce the T3Translates project in an effort to offer a path to production for playwrights while building a bridge for contemporary audiences to experience works originally written in another language. This will be a 3-Play Series where commissioned writers will translate a play that doesn't have an English translation, ending with a staged reading. More information about this project will be made available soon!

Festival of Bad Ideas (Dates TBA)

This will be an evening of short performances encompassing various artists' worst ideas ever. This is a project that will encourage writers and artists to break the mold and try something new. More information about this project will be made available soon!

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