Love’s No Accident In Gruesome Playground Injuries

The lifelong connection between the two characters in Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries begins when they are 8, meeting in the school infirmary. Kayleen has tummy troubles. Dougie has just ridden his bike off the roof, splitting his forehead. Thirty years and many accidents and illnesses later, the pair finally…

Doug Benson Came to Hyena’s on Saturday. Superfans Rejoiced.

Doug Benson’s podcast, Doug Loves Movies, has gained a considerable audience in the seven years since it started. One that knows all his inside jokes, catchphrases, and recurring bits. His live taping at Hyena’s on Saturday afternoon was visual proof as the comedy club filled with superfans, many holding up…

The Best Open Mic Comedy Nights in D-FW

So you’ve got some jokes, right? Think you can make people laugh? Then you might find this list we’ve compiled, of the most prominent comedy open mics in D-FW, particularly useful. We’ve also got local comedy guru Dean Lewis to share his thoughts on not only the venue but the…

Start laughing now at Dinosaur and Robot Stop a Train at FIT

The audience just would not leave. Rhythmic Souls, a Dallas tap-dancing troupe, had already taken their bows after a 40-minute performance called Play It by Ear, one of four shows premiering the second weekend of the four-week Festival of Independent Theatres at the Bath House Cultural Center. But the crowd…

FIT’s in Good Shape with Two Strong Shows (for a Start)

The first weekend of the 15th annual Festival of Independent Theatres, which gives small companies one-hour slots to try out new work at the Bath House Cultural Center, yielded two strong new pieces by Dallas writers: Like Me by gay monologist John Michael Colgin (directed by Donny Covington); and Lydie…

The Five Best Comedy Shows in Dallas This Weekend, May 30-June 2

Every week we highlight the best comedy of the coming weekend. Find more comedy events at dallasobserver.com/calendar. Aziz Ansari at the Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie Aziz Ansari is taking his Buried Alive! tour across America, targeting any cities he had to skip last time. Loved for his role as…

Ochre House’s Good Nuts, a Salty New Comedy

Dull jobs in dreary surroundings have inspired many a wonderful play: David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross, set in a rundown sales office; Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan’s Mister Roberts, about bored sailors on a WWII supply ship; Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, the granddaddy of all dramas about soul-sucking…

Kitchen Dog Theater’s New Works Festival: The Lineup

Kitchen Dog Theater’s New Works Festival started Friday at The MAC and runs through June 22. Here’s the lineup: Se Llama Cristina by Octavio Solis is the mainstage feature of this annual festival of new plays and script readings. A couple (Israel Lopez, Vanessa DeSilvio) wake up after a heroin…

The Five Best Comedy Shows in Dallas This Weekend, May 23-26

Every week we highlight the best comedy of the coming weekend. Find more comedy events at dallasobserver.com/calendar. Jon Reep at Hyena’s in Fort Worth North Carolina native Jon Reep has been on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and the half-hour special Comedy Central Presents: Jon Reep. On…

Kind of a drag: Priscilla Queen of the Desert at DSM

High camp: Mae West in a feather boa in She Done Him Wrong. Low camp: Jamie Farr in a dowdy dress on M*A*S*H. Camp adjacent: Every cock in a frock in the mock campy Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical, whose national tour is now at the Dallas Summer…

The Five Best Comedy Shows in Dallas This Weekend, May 16-19

Every week we highlight the best comedy of the coming weekend. Find more comedy events at dallasobserver.com/calendar. Amy Schumer at the House of Blues Schumer is the creator, star and writer of Inside Amy Schumer, her Comedy Central TV show that premiered last month. You’ve seen her roast some of…

Fela! Shakes It (and You) at the Winspear

Whole lotta twerking going on in Fela!, the Broadway musical whose national tour is now steaming up the Winspear Opera House. The dancing in this show is hotness on a whole other scale from other Broadway hits. Bill T. Jones’ nonstop choreography fills Fela! with an athletic eroticism centered roundly…