Malinda L. Beckham News

So, in no order (and with no clarity of categories), here are the BROADWAY WORLD HOUSTON CRITICS’ CHOICE awards for the 2025-2026 season! CHEERS!

AIRLINE HIGHWAY is a fascinating slice of life from Lisa D’Amour. It feels like we are watching everything happen in real time, and it seems so authentic to New Orleans. It has a wonderful sense of place.

Celebrating the closing production of its 10th anniversary season, Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. (DDTCo.) will present the regional premiere of Airline Highway, written by Lisa D'Amour and directed by Malinda L. Beckham and Curtis Barber.

Kicking off 2026, Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. will present Venus in Fur. Drawing inspiration from Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's 1870 Marchella Venus in Furs, Ives' provocative and dark play is an exploration of power dynamics, control, and sexuality.

Written by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Tracy Letts and nominated for Best Play at the 2022 Tony Awards, THE MINUTES is a political satire infused with dark humor, offering a timely critique of power dynamics, political corruption, and the manipulation of history.

They have managed to restage BUG for 2025, and boy, is it a doozy! You don’t want to miss this revival and reimagining of the Tracy Letts cult classic. The entire company goes for broke, and they create a fiery display of acting, visuals, and audio landscapes that will blow you back in your chair.

Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. (DDTCo.) closes out its ninth season with Bug, the cult thriller by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts. Co-directed by Malinda L. Beckham and Curtis Barber.

This is a wonderfully produced version of an unflinching script, which may be the hardest part of BLACKBIRD. It feels so real that the fear factor of an abuser and a victim seething at each other or, worse, being tender to them feels too real sometimes.

Kicking off 2025, Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. will present Blackbird, a gripping drama about the complexities of human connection, guilt, and redemption. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.

It takes on the clash of white men, black men, and black women and fearlessly looks at all sides when confronted with a crime. Who will do the right thing? It’s a question that seems to hang over the country right now, so RACE could not come at a better time.

DIRT DOGS THEATRE CO. has announced their upcoming production of RACE, a provocative play by David Mamet.

Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. will present the world premiere of FRENZY, a gripping new play exploring human nature and survival instincts. Learn how to purchase tickets.

It is a tense Southern psychodrama about family and the results of abuse on members of it. Cicadas, verbal sparring, racism, and outright brawls all make appearances as one would expect. Yet the show is still surprising in many turns and should have audiences laughing and gasping often simultaneously. The darkest of humor surfaces out of tragedy.

Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. will conclude its 2023-24 main stage season of “nature vs. nurture” with the Houston premiere of Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Directed by Ron Jones, this riveting play explores family secrets, racial tensions, and cultural identity.

Malinda L. Beckham has always been a master of directing testosterone-fueled plays where men fight and abuse each other. She and her cast bravely take on Martin McDonagh’s script and make wise decisions. The pace is breakneck, never allowing the viewer to wallow much in the muck. She brings out the black comedy and never seems to fear that aspect.

Firing up the stage in its first production of 2024, Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. (DDTCo.) presents The Pillowman, a riveting play that examines themes of storytelling, morality, and duality. It's a gripping narrative written by Martin McDonagh and directed by Malinda L. Beckham that uncovers the truth teetering precariously between guilt and innocence.

DIRT DOGS THEATRE CO. opens Season 8 with 'The Birds' in a thrilling production.

Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. (DDTCo.) continues in the tradition of bringing gritty, thought-provoking stories to the stage with their Season 8 lineup for 2023-2024. Learn more about the upcoming shows here!

Plays by local high-school seniors, Andrea Diaz, Seth Brown, and Calliana Duke have been chosen by Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. (DDTCo.) as selections for the 2023 Student Playwright Festival. Each playwright is awarded a $500 scholarship and is paired with a Houston-based playwright as a mentor to fine-tune the plays and prepare them for production.

Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. concludes its 2022-23 “Season of Love” with Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize-winning play August: Osage County. Known for its dark humor and heart-wrenching exploration of familial relationships, the play follows the Weston family as they navigate their complex and dysfunctional bonds. With a talented cast and crew, Dirt Dogs is excited to bring this powerful production to Houston audiences.