The Must-See Fort Worth Theater Shows This Winter — Thought-Provoking Productions Kick Off The New Year

The Cowtown theater scene is ramping up this winter, as several new local productions are kicking off this week. From a regional premiere of a Pulitzer Prize-winning play to a treehouse comedy, these are the must-see Fort Worth theater productions right now.

Primary Trust

When Sasha Maya Ada was tasked with directing the regional premiere of Primary Trust, one of her first key decisions was choosing the year in which to set the Pulitzer Prize-winning play. The script by playwright Eboni Booth makes no direct reference to dates and only notes that the work takes place in Cranberry, New York, before the advent of smartphones. During a visit to her hometown of Charlottesville, South Carolina, Ada found inspiration in old family photos and chose to set the play in 1994 — the year she was born.

Ada says she identifies with the play’s main character, Kenneth, a 38-year-old man who has a past filled with heartbreak and loss.

Like Kenneth, “I find myself going asking what lessons are people in my life teaching me,” she tells PaperCity. “We see him open up to people in his life for the first time. [Eboni Booth] taps into universal feelings of loneliness, shifting, and changing.”

Kenneth, portrayed by Lee George, is a flawed but sincere character, Ada continues. The play follows his journey of self-discovery after he is unexpectedly laid off from his longtime job at a bookstore. The director and actor hope audiences gain a greater appreciation for the power that small gestures of kindness can have on others.

“The world is always loud,” she says, “and the world is quite loud right now. To counter-balance that, we should see people for who they are. Be willing to offer a hand, a smile, a kind word — something that allows the person you are interacting with to leave feeling better than when they arrived.”

Primary Trust runs from January 30 through February 16 at Stage West.

Destroying David

Destroying David invites audiences into a gripping tale where the worlds of art and personal struggle converge. An art restorer orchestrates an exclusive museum tour, unveiling not only the fascinating history of Michelangelo’s David but also a deeply personal story of loss and transformation. Featuring Amanda Reyes, this production opens Circle Theatre’s 44th season with a compelling exploration of beauty, resilience, and the complex relationship between creation and destruction.

In an interview with the iconic Fort Worth theater, playwright Jason Odell Williams describes the origins of the work he conceived of in mid-2020.

“I had read an article about how Michelangelo’s David was in danger of collapsing because of these tiny cracks inside the marble, specifically inside the ankles. And I still had that article on my desk. I had set it aside thinking it was interesting and maybe there was a story there to turn into a play down the line. So while I was feeling this incredible despair and having a sort of existential crisis about being a playwright, I looked at this article again about the 500-year-old masterpiece that might be destroyed because of these cracks they can’t repair. And I thought, ‘Would that be so terrible?’ Maybe it wasn’t meant to last forever anyway.”

Destroying David runs from January 30 through February 22 at Circle Theatre.

Rooted

Home to some of the best theater shows in Fort Worth, Amphibian Stage kicks off 2025 with Rooted — a whimsical and thought-provoking comedy by Deborah Zoe Laufer. The production will transform the theater into an immersive treehouse, serving as a sanctuary for Emery, a woman whose love for plants takes an unexpected twist. When a crowd of devoted followers gathers, believing Emery to be their savior, her quiet retreat spirals into a chaotic mix of faith, absurdity, and unexpected revelations.

In a release, director Scott Evans recalls meeting Rooted’s playwright.

“I first met Deb a few years back at a new works festival we were both working on and instantly fell in love with her writing and her approach to theatre. Just brilliant. So when Amphibian offered me the chance to direct one of her plays — especially this one — I jumped. This story about a woman in a treehouse who accidentally starts a cult is fantastic commentary on internet culture and hero worship run amok, and absolutely perfect fodder for comedy. But at the heart of Deb’s play are these beautifully written characters and these rich relationships that allow this quirky comedy to open up and explore things like the complex relationship between science and belief and the transformative power of human connection — all in surprisingly nuanced and insightful ways.”

Rooted runs January 31 through February 16 at Amphibian Stage.

Also, make sure to check out our round-up of the most exciting performances in Fort Worth in 2025.