Recent Performances

September 10 - October 4, 2008

Directed by
KATHERINE OWENS

Adapted by
BRUCE DUBOSE

Associate Producer
SUZANNE THOMAS

CAST: Bruce DuBose, Newton Pittman, Shannon Kearns-Simmons, Stefanie Tovar, Ian Sinclair, Jonathan Brooks, Marjorie Hayes, Richard Rollin, and Ashley Randall.

BAND: Lead guitarist Kenny Withrow of New Bohemians. Paul Semrad of Course of Empire on bass, and Grammy© winning drummer Alan Emert, of Brave Combo

DESIGNERS: Giva Taylor and Rhonda Gorman, costumes; Steve Woods, lighting; and Robert Winn, set.

Neil Young's GREENDALE
Directed by Katherine Owens
a rock opera
adapter for the stage
by Undermain Theatre
May 29 - May 3, 2008

Click Here For Press Photos

Performed with a live band and sung by an ensemble cast, Greendale explores the lives of three generations of the Green family through themes ranging from corruption to mass media consolidation to environmentalism.

From Lawson Taitte of The Dallas Morning News:

“…Greendale is an overwhelming experience, musically and theatrically.”

“…The singing actors all have stunning moments, but the three instrumentalists are the real stars here. Kenny Withrow of New Bohemians leads from the guitar; Paul Semrad of Course of Empire plays bass; and Alan Emert of Brave Combo is on drums. The music drives this show like the rolling river mentioned in one of the songs.

They're calling this Greendale a rock opera, but it's really a fresh form of its own. The musicians are on the greatly expanded Undermain stage the whole time, sometimes stepping forward into the central spotlight. The actors, too, sit or move around, pantomiming some clarifying action when they're not singing, breaking into dance that looks spontaneous but is carefully integrated.

… this bunch will have you leaving the theater rarin' to go and determined to save the planet.”

Photo by Susan Kandell

The Snow Queen
By Lynne Alvarez
Directed by Katherine Owens
A fairy tale for strange adults
Dec. 1—Dec. 22, 2007

As adults we are told that we must grow up and leave the fairytale world behind but Lynne Alvarez, distinguished playwright and poet, has a different idea. She has bridged this gap and created a link to the world of fairytales in this new play commissioned by Undermain Theatre. In The Snow Queen, Alvarez has fashioned a beautiful ice covered world set in Denmark in the early 1890s to showcase the grandeur that is love. As in most fairytales, this story too revolves around the ideals of love and the lengths we go for love. But just as the seasons change, just as birds migrate, just as snows melt, so do our feelings, until we find that one true love.

CLICK HERE to read Lawson Taitte's (of The Dallas Morning News) story featuring Lynne Avarez, UMT and The Snow Queen

Shining City
By Conor McPherson
Directed by Katherine Owens
A chilling urban ghost story
Sept. 22-Oct 20, 2007

"...a superb version of this otherworldly Irish saga."

"...great acting as active expression or great acting as intense concentration. They're both on the Undermain stage in 'Shining City.'"

- The Dallas Morning News review

The Appeal
By Young Jean Lee
Directed by Katherine Owens
April 21 - May 19, 2007

This super-charged electronica version of the lives of the English Romantic poets will star Shelby Davenport as William Wordsworth, Todd Haberkorn as Lord Byron, Shannon Kearns - Simmons as Dorothy Wordsworth, and Kent Williams as Samuel Coleridge. Designers will include Happy Yancey.

"If you thought experimental drama was weird before, just wait."

"laugh out loud funny"

"Undermain gives it an assured, even luxurious production"

"All four performers are terrific"

- The Dallas Morning News

Waiting for a Train: The Life and Songs of Jimmie Rodgers
By Bruce Dubose
Directed by Katherine Owens

"There's a heap of avant-garde sophistication behind Undermain Theatre's current populist success."

- The Dallas Morning News

“Bruce DuBose's remarkable Rodgers treatise, is like a trip to an earlier decade…he replicates Rodgers' style deftly on signature songs such as "Never No Mo' Blues", "Mule Skinner Blues", "T for Texas" and the title song. DuBose's guitar picking sounds better than my memory of Rodgers', and the backup players are likewise slick.”

- Fort Worth Star Telegram

Margo Veil
By Len Jenkin
Directed by Katherine Owens

From Dallas Morning News:

"Margo Veil Reveals Madcap Thrills"

"When Undermain Theatre tells you they're going to show you a good time, better believe it."

"Len Jenkin's noir fantasy....morphs into a wacky comedy filled with music and gracefully absurd dancing."

"Extraordinary acting, too."

"...it's all wonderous and a heck of a lot of fun."