Dallas Theater Center to Present WHERE WE STAND in February 2026
Dallas Theater Center offers an interactive performance, inviting audience participation in a critical moral decision.
Dallas Theater Center will launch the third production of its 2025-2026 season on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, with Where We Stand at Bryant Hall on the Kalita Humphreys Theater campus. Written by acclaimed playwright Donnetta Lavinia Grays, the production runs through March 22, 2026, and is produced in association with Stage West Theatre.
In this immersive theatrical experience presented as a town hall gathering, audiences are not just observers, they are participants. A neighbor, desperate and out of options, has made a dangerous bargain. Now the fate of that neighbor - and the moral direction of the community - rests in the audience's hands. Each performance asks attendees to choose: mercy or justice?
Broadway actor and Dallas legend Liz Mikel anchors the story as a lone storyteller, conjuring an entire world through music, rhythm, and spellbinding narrative. Blending fable with call-and-response, Where We Stand transforms the theater into a shared civic space where every voice matters. The future of the town - and the fate of a soul - hang in the balance. This isn't a game. It's a choice.
"I still remember the exact moment I mentioned Where We Stand to director and mastermind Akin Babatunde," said Interim Artistic Director Jonathan Norton. "We were in the audience at the Wyly waiting for The Little Mermaid to start. In my mind, Akin and Liz made the perfect duo to bring this beautiful, poetic and deeply moving experience to life. I am so grateful that Dana Schultes at Stage West agreed to take the ride with us. And I can't wait to share this offering with DTC audiences. Where We Stand is not a play. It is a communal experience."
The production is directed by Akin Babatunde, who is joined by Bob Lavallee (Scenic Design), Hope Cox (Costume Design), Bryan Stevenson (Lighting Design), Claudia Jenkins Martinez (Sound Design) and Rayven Harris (Production Stage Manager).
Where We Stand features Diane and Hal Brierely Resident Acting Company member Liz Mikel, and Bwalya Chisanga is understudy for the role. Liz Mikel will also lead Stay Late, which is DTC's post-show conversation with cast and crew that follows each performance.
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