Summertime used to be when theaters, museums, and galleries took a break, but in this never-ending maelstrom of information we’re all trapped in (thanks, iPhones; thanks, Zuck), well, our theaters, museums, and galleries have got to keep up. And they do. To wit …
Stage West Theatre (821 W Vickery Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-784-9378) will be humming all summer. From Jun 12 thru 29, the second part of David MacGregor’s Sherlock Holmes trilogy will take over Russell Theatre. Set on the eve of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Fallen Soufflé follows Victoria’s son — the playboy Prince of Wales — and French chef Auguste Escoffier, who have both “just turned up at 221B Baker Street in the thick of scandal and blackmail,” the troupe says. Holmes is accompanied by his beloved Irene Adler and trusty sidekick Dr. John Watson for “their tastiest and most bizarre case yet.” The Fallen Soufflé is rated PG.
And from Aug 28 thru Sep 14, James Ijames’ Pulitzer Prize winner and Tony Award nominee for best play takes the stage (west). In a startling new take on Hamlet, Fat Ham centers on Juicy, a queer Black man in a Southern family whose mom has just married his uncle, but “here’s the rub,” as Stage West says: Juicy’s father’s ghost turns up at a backyard barbecue demanding vengeance. Will Juicy take the bait or break the cycles of violence to experience his own liberation and joy? Rated R.
At Amphibian Stage (120 S Main St, Fort Worth, 817-923-3012) Jul 30-Aug 17, it’s Thanksgiving, 1973. Two immigrants meet cute and go through the highs and lows of budding romance in Lloyd Suh’s comedy The Heart Sellers, one of the Top 10-produced plays in the country in 2024.
Summer is when Hip Pocket Theatre (1950 Silver Creek Rd, Fort Worth, 817-246-9775) really shines (often in moonglow), and this year is no different. In the Backyard, Sam Shepard’s The Mad Dog Blues will trail Kosmo and Yahoodi as they adventure through American mythology thru Jun 8, while from Jun 20 thru Jul 13, Federico Garcia Lorca’s The Billy Club Puppets wonders if Rosita will marry her true love, Cocoliche, or fall in with the dastardly Don Cristobol, with live music by Fort Worth guitar virtuoso Darrin Kobetich.
“A daring exploration of self and society that resonates with powerful authenticity and humor,” says The Guardian, the 2022 Tony and Pulitzer winner for best musical is being put on by Circle Theatre (230 W 4th St, Fort Worth, 817-877-3040) Jun 19-Jul 12. Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop follows a Black, queer musical theater writer “navigating his identity, creativity, and personal challenges as he crafts a show about his own complex journey,” Circle says. Contains adult language and situations.
Cats is back. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award-winning musical comes to Casa Manana (3101 W Lancaster Av, Fort Worth, 817-332-2272) May 31-Jun 8. It’s one of the longest-running Broadway musicals of all time, and if you haven’t heard of it, you’re probably on the first of your nine lives. This show is suitable for most audiences.
Jubilee Theatre (506 Main St, Fort Worth, 817-338-4411) has an exciting summer planned, starting Jun 6-Jul 13, when the country’s oldest Black troupe presents The Fall of Heaven. Walter Mosley’s dramatic comedy is set in a realm where “celestial beings navigate the complexities of human existence” with lots of wit, quirkiness, and laughs. The play is followed Aug 15-24 by Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds. Featuring all the reggae legend’s hits, including “One Love” and the title track, Cedella Marley’s heartwarming musical set in Jamaica follows Ziggy, a young boy who “embarks on a journey of self-discovery and bravery,” Jubilee says.
While most local galleries are quiet now, Fort Worth’s big three museums offer ample opportunity to come in from the heat and cool down with some heady paintings. And sculpture. And mixed-media works. And more.
Featuring a mix of paintings and sculptures, Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910-1945 runs thru Jun 22 at the Kimbell Art Museum (3333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-332-8451), and it’s a must-see. There are many parallels between Deutschland circa the two world wars and the United States now, namely a time of enlightenment and open-mindedness followed by abject fascism and censorship. Prepare to be distraught. And maybe more than a little nostalgic for HOPE.
On view thru Jul 13 at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (3501 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-738-1933), Classically Trained: The Gentlings and Music explores the Fort Worth brothers’ fascination with the Age of Enlightenment, a time in Europe between the 17th and 19th centuries rife with new intellectual and creative thoughts. Organized by the Carter, the show features more than 20 artworks, including paintings, drawings, and music inspired by the Enlightenment’s cultural flavor.
At the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (3200 Darnell St, Fort Worth, 817-738-9215), there’s still ample time to catch their stellar twin exhibitions. Up now thru Sep 7, The Whale gathers more than 40 paintings, several drawings, and a video from Alex Da Corte’s vast, multilayered, pop culture-loving oeuvre, while Feeling Color, featuring the brilliantine handiwork of two pioneering Afro-Caribbean titans, Aubrey Williams and Frank Bowling, will be up thru Jul 27.
Abeeku Yankah
