SPECIAL EVENTS
A montage from TBT’s Dracula sets the stage for Bram Stoker’s Dracula at Coyote Drive-In.
Photos courtesy of Texas Ballet Theater
Fright Night
Texas Ballet Theater offers a Dracula twofer at Coyote Drive-In with the presentation of a filmed montage of highlights from artistic director Ben Stevenson’s Dracula along with a screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s lushly filmed 1992 film, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves. Enjoy the double-header from the comfort of your vehicle; the event is the first since March for Texas Ballet Theater. Coyote Drive-In, 223 N.E. 4th St., Fort Worth. Tickets, $60 per car; 7 p.m. Oct. 22, texasballet.org
Drive in, look up
The 30th annual Bell Fort Worth Alliance Air Show is scheduled Oct. 17-18 at Alliance Airport and will showcase the Air Force Thunderbirds. This year’s event will be a drive-in experience. The number of parking slots are limited and available for purchase on a first come, first served system mid-September. No tickets will be sold at the event. Each vehicle will be given adequate space to meet social distancing requirements and to allow guests to sit safely outside their vehicles to see — and feel — the the spectacle in the sky. Go to allianceairshow.com for all the details.
The Thunderbirds will perform at October’s Bell Fort Worth Alliance Air Show.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Air Force
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Egyptian Royalty
At the Kimbell Art Museum, a late fall exhibit celebrates the wives of pharaohs during the New Kingdom period (1550-1070) and includes objects such as papyrus manuscripts, jewelry, statues and mummies. This exhibition is organized by the Kimbell Art Museum in association with Tate Britain and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. “Queen Nefertari’s Egypt” opens Nov. 15.
3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, 817-332-8451, kimbellart.org
Statuette of Ahmose-Nefertari
Photo courtesy of Kimbell Art Museum
FACES
Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Opera
Fort Worth Opera gets a new director
It took a six-month worldwide search after Tuomas Hiltunen resigned in January after two seasons, but Fort Worth Opera found homegrown talent to lead the company into the near future. Afton Battle, a native of Amarillo, arrives as FWO celebrates its 75th anniversary in these pandemic times. The celebration actually started in August with the digital launch of the FWO Green Room, an online effort to stay connected with longtime fans and, hopefully, connect with new ones via a series of performances, seminars and roundtable discussions. It was an optimistic start to a year which saw the cancellation of Fort Worth Opera’s 2020 spring festival. The nine scheduled performances were basically its entire season and have not been rescheduled to date. Battle takes over in difficult times, not just because of COVID-19 but also the ongoing effort to raise money and maintain the high artistic level the FWO has sought to sustain over the years. After Battle performed as a young singer, she moved into the administrative and consulting worlds in ballet, art and theater in Chicago and New York City. Her resume includes clients such as the National Black Theatre, and she previously was director of the annual campaign for The Joffrey Ballet. Battle is grateful also to Texans who have helped her along the way, including Mila Gibson, founder of the Amarillo Opera. She will work closely with Joe Illick, the longtime artistic director, conductor and composer who’s been a constant presence for FWO. Go to fwopera.org for the Green Room link and more information.