Dallas Theater Center Announces Public Works Dallas' THE ODYSSEY

Dallas Theater Center, in collaboration with Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts and AT&T Performing Arts Center, announced the highly anticipated title of the 2022 Public Works Dallas production, The Odyssey.

The upcoming Public Works Dallas summer pageant will take place July 8-10 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre and will be directed by Enloe/Rose Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty. Public Works Dallas is a groundbreaking community engagement and participatory theater project designed to deliberately blur the lines between professional artists and Dallas community members.

Tickets to The Odyssey will be free to the public and available through DTC's box office and at community partner sites at a later date.

"For the first time since the summer of 2019, Dallas Theater Center will welcome 200 members of our community to come together to create a large-scale musical theater production of the classic Ancient Greek story of The Odyssey," said Moriarty. "As the director of the production, I am so excited to collaborate with people of all ages and experience levels to tell this epic story. The production will be filled with singing, dancing, action and adventure as our community comes together to tell the story of the hero, Odysseus, and his journey home."

The musical adaptation of The Odyssey will feature a large cast, with only eight being professional actors and the majority of the cast from Public Works Dallas' community partner organizations: Bachman Lake Together, City of Dallas' Beckley Saner Recreation Center and Janie C Turner Recreation Center, Jubilee Park and Community Center and The Cohen Clinic at Metrocare. The Odyssey will also feature special cameo performances to be announced at a later date. The production will include opportunities for children, senior citizens, first-time actors and singers to join in.

"Everyone will have a part to play. It will be the largest, most energetic and joyful production of the season," said Moriarty. "The Odyssey will be a living embodiment of our belief that we are strongest when we come together as a community and that everyone's voice matters."

"Our community is hungry to be together again," explained Stephanie Cleghorn Jasso, director of Public Works Dallas. "After years of having to pivot, due to the pandemic, this is an opportunity for Dallas Theater Center to say, 'welcome home' to our friends and family who have been with us throughout the years and have cherished memories of seeing their loved ones on stage."

Joining Moriarty to bring The Odyssey to the stage are Scenic Designer Dahlia Al-Habieli, Costume Designer Yvonne Miranda, Lighting Designer Amanda West and Sound Designer Brian McDonald. Additional positions will be filled by SMU Meadows fellows as assistant designers, assistant stage managers and ensemble captains. This adaptation of The Odyssey was originally commissioned and produced by The Public Theater with book, music and lyrics by Todd Almond. It first premiered at The Old Globe in San Diego in 2011.

"The Odyssey is a story about the power of community and coming home," said Moriarty. "After surviving two years of a pandemic that has isolated so many people, I'm excited to bring everyone together in a community-wide celebration of joy."

Support for Public Works Dallas' The Odyssey is generously provided by Executive Producing Partner Central Market, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, National Endowment for the Arts and Texas Commission on the Arts.

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