Time Warp

Rocky‘s back with his sweet transvestite

10/15

The Rocky Horror Show is a theatrical haven for all manner of sexual deviants. Are you an S&M-loving transvestite? So is the lead. An incestuous man with an attraction to phallic weaponry? Climb on board. A sexually confused, less-than-a-day-old, muscley sex toy? Look no further than the title character for a kindred spirit. And not to be called exclusivist, there’s even room for ordinary, healthy kids in this fishnetted freak show. Directed by Bob Hess, the latest production of this classically camp ’70s rock musical will be performed at the Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, which makes its home at 5601 Sears St. in the old Baptist church–that joke’s too easy–a block from Lower Greenville. The show runs from October 15 through November 6 with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, plus 2 p.m. October 24, 9 p.m. October 31 and midnights October 29, October 30 and November 6. Regular tickets are $21; seniors, students and groups get in for $15. Recommended for mature audiences because…you read the first few sentences, right? Call 214-828-0094. –Mary Monigold

Wilde Nights

10/20

Being earnest during the current political debates? Why not? We admire people who know when to fess up and laugh at their mistakes. Whether politicians, socialites or common Joes down at the corner bar, people who take themselves lightly are easier to be around. Stan Wojewodski Jr. learned this during his time at Yale and brings his experience to the Dallas Theater Center’s production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. He directs the DTC’s staging of Wilde’s sharp social exposé, satirically poking fun at the hypocritical wealthy and their attempts at fitting into the current trendy stereotype–a theme that never loses a contemporary audience. The 1895 London debut of Earnest was performed for the very socialites he was mocking. His artful volleys of comic misunderstandings is considered by many to be the finest comedy in the English language since those written by Shakespeare. Previews are October 20 through October 24 with the regular run taking place from October 26 though November 14 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and 7:30 p.m. select Sundays. Tickets are $15 to $60. Call 214-522-8499 or visit www.dtcinfo.org. –Danna Berger

Life of Brian

10/15

You gotta respect a comedian who’s as deeply obsessed with complex doughnut purchases as Brian Regan is and can make that mundane Sunday-morning ritual funny. At 8 p.m. Friday, Regan will probably talk about more than breakfast sweets, perhaps even science projects (aka a cup with dirt in it), conversations dogs have and saying seemingly polite things like “You, too!” to a waitress when she tells you to “have a nice meal.” Ticket prices range from $25.50 to $32.50 through Ticketmaster by calling 214-373-8000 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com. –Mary Monigold

Last Chance

10/16

For music elitists and Arts Magnet kids, the Majestic Theater, 1925 Elm St., is the place to be at 7 p.m. October 16. Four 89-plus-year-old bluesmen–Henry James Townsend, Joe Willie “Pinetop” Perkins, Robert Lockwood Jr. and David “Honeyboy” Edwards–make all other singer/songwriters seem like whiny babies with insignificant problems during The Blue Shoe Project’s The Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen. Tickets range from $45 to $65 and are available through Ticketmaster. Call 214-373-8000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. –Mary Monigold

You Gotta Have Soul

10/20

You can say one thing about Fort Worth, besides “Heard of it.” It’s a city that holds on tight to its cowboy heritage. The only thing, in fact, it holds onto tighter is the land under Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. City mamas and papas fought so fiercely for the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, blood spewed from their ears. They got it, too. Yee-haw. They kick that shit seriously in Cowtown. So expect a sell-out crowd of local folk for The Soul of the West at 8 p.m. October 20 at Bass Performance Hall, and not necessarily for the celebrity performers, who are a motley group of household names (from a few years back). The Soul of the West features Wilford Brimley (Cocoon, Our House), Red Steagall (cowboy poet/musician and Soul‘s writer), Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure), Buck Taylor (Gunsmoke), Anne Lockhart (Battlestar Galactica, JAG) and Don Edwards, cowboy troubadour and entrepreneur, who will perform cowboy campfire music to set the stage and move the action. Actors will portray famous Wild West figures such as Chief Quanah Parker, Charles Goodnight (who invented the chuckwagon, as all Fort Worthers know), Teddy Roosevelt and Buffalo Bill. “We’re bringing the great cowboy legends to life,” says Steagall, who lives near Fort Worth on a cutting horse ranch. “This is the Southwest premiere of a new play with music that tells the tale of the great Charles Goodnight and the settlement and development of the glorious West.” Steagall was recently inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum (not in Fort Worth). Tickets start at $15; but, for $100, you get a better seat and attend a “Meet the Cast” reception. Call 1-877-212-4280 or see www.basshall.com. –Annabelle Massey Helber