On Wednesday, March 23, Dallas Summer Musicals announced a name change to Broadway Dallas and its 22/23 Germania Broadway Series Season, at the first in an exciting new “Spotlight Dinner Series” of fundraising evenings generously sponsored by PNC Bank.
The premise of the series is for attendees to experience exclusive dinners in beautiful Dallas homes or venues, each showcasing a specific Broadway Dallas production. On the menu for each event will be fine wines, an exquisite multi-course plated dinner, and exciting show-themed entertainment and décor. These intimate events, filled with song, fun facts, and always a surprise or two, benefit artistic and educational excellence at Broadway Dallas, including programs in classrooms and throughout the community that serve more than 40,000 students and families each year. Interested patrons can select the dinners that entice them the most - or sign up the entire series.
Wednesday’s kickoff saw Ken Novice, Broadway Dallas President and CEO, host the first Spotlight Dinner on the stage of Music Hall at Fair Park in celebration of the Broadway Dallas renaming and the 2022-2023 Season Announcement. Starting in an elaborately decorated Music Hall lobby, in celebration of the show announcement of My Fair Lady, Act One had guests sipping on British inspired cocktails including classics Pimm’s Cup No.1, the Vesper Martini and Elderflower Gin & Tonics paired with passed hors d’oeuvres of tea sandwiches, mini-Yorkshire puddings, and stilton tartlets with pear, with an intermission solo performance of “I Could Have Danced All Night” by Riley Jones, a student from the Broadway Dallas High School Musical Theatre Awards program.
For Act Two, attendees entered the theater and were greeted by the unveiling of the dinner on stage. Attendees including Diane and Hal Brierley, Calvert Collins-Bratton and Vince Bratton, Laree Hulshoff and Ben Fischer, Leigh Ann and Tom Watson, Gail Plummer, Stacey Jones Angel, Kymberley Scalia, Terry Loftis, Veletta Forsythe Lill, and Helen and Brendan McGuire dined on a four-course meal inspired by the 2022-2203 Broadway Dallas season. From the amuse bouche of a deconstructed lobster roll to the decadent milk chocolate crème brûlée dessert the evenings dinner was accompanied by HALL Wines, additional unveilings of the season’s shows including Moulin Rouge, Six, To Kill A Mockingbird and more, [HS3] and additional performances from the Broadway Dallas HSMTA students.
The evening concluded with the curtain lowering and rising again with an encore bow, lights, applause, and a champagne toast to celebrate the announcement that Moulin Rouge! will be the theme for the Broadway Dallas Gala to be held Saturday, April 1, 2023, with Kathryn and Craig Hall serving as Honorary Chairs.
While the organization’s name is changing, its commitment to bringing the best Broadway productions to Dallas is not. As the premier presenter of touring Broadway in the region, Broadway Dallas will continue to deliver the hottest, most award-winning, edge-of-your seat exciting shows to its diverse, multi-generational audiences on a year-round basis (not just in the summer). The name change and a series of new sub-brands also reflect the core of Broadway Dallas’ mission to grow its already expansive education programs and community partnerships which allow the organization to share the “Spirit of Broadway” with members of the community who might not otherwise have access to these world-class productions.
“We changed our name from Dallas Summer Musicals to Broadway Dallas to accurately capture who we are and what we do. It encompasses not only the magnificent work that we put on our stage, but also our other exciting events and community engagement and education programs through which we share ‘the spirit of Broadway’ with as many members of our community as possible,” said Ken Novice, President and CEO of Broadway Dallas.
The next Spotlight Dinner Series will be held on April 27 at a private estate centered around Broadway Dallas’ upcoming performance of Mean Girls. A revival of the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! will be the third themed dinner in the series, held on the 23d floor of Museum Tower on May 19. These intimate gatherings of 50 are already sold out.
Tickets for Broadway Dallas’ Fall 2022 Spotlight Dinner Series, which are $450 a seat, will go on sale in late Spring 2022 and will be themed around the shows Ain’t Too Proud, My Fair Lady and SIX. Proceeds will benefit artistic and educational excellence at Broadway Dallas including programs in classrooms and throughout the community that serve more than 40,000 students and families each year. Tickets on sale now at www.BroadwayDallas.org. Please contact Deborah Ann Trimble, Broadway Dallas Vice President of Development at 214-413-3957 or dtrimble@broadwaydallas.org for more information.