New theater company, Upstart Productions, makes Dallas debut this November

by Shawn Parikh

With so many theater companies in Dallas/Fort Worth, big and small, it's quite a task for a new one to grow, survive, and have success. But it's not impossible, as we have seen with the newer and reputable Second Thought Theatre and Risk Theater Initiative.

Upstart Productions is about to make its professional debut this November with a very bold piece: Topdog/Underdog. Some may even remember how Dallas Theater Center tackled this controversial show a few years back to a lot of acclaim.

Upstart was originated to "usher in the next generation of local artists by providing them with the opportunity to showcase their talents and develop their craft on and off stage. They are dedicated to the ideal of contributing to the local community by providing these artists the opportunity to produce exceptional contemporary, classical, or original works."

Topdog/Underdog is a darkly comic fable of brotherly love and family identity written by Suzan-Lori Parks. The play tells the story of Lincoln and Booth, two brothers whose names were given to them as a joke, foretelling a lifetime of sibling rivalry and resentment. Haunted by the past, the brothers are forced to confront the shattering reality of their future.

The show will run from November 7-23 at the Dallas Hub Theater. Purchase tickets online or by calling 877-238-5596.

Up next for the company will be This Is Our Youth from March 6-22, 2009. Written by Kenneth Lonergan, the play takes place in Dennis Ziegler's apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in March 1982. Dennis's friend Warren Straub, a dejected 19-year-old, has just been kicked out of his house and stolen $15,000 from his abusive lingerie-tycoon father. Dennis, the more wily and domineering of the two, spends some of the money on cocaine, hoping to sell it to a friend of his for much more. Jessica Goldman, an "anxiously insightful" fashion student, comes over and Warren hopes that he can use the money to entice her into bed.