{"id":171520,"date":"2026-02-19T16:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T16:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/171520\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T16:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T16:26:09","slug":"amphibian-stages-bull-in-a-china-shop-most-satisfying-show-in-north-texas-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/171520\/","title":{"rendered":"Amphibian Stage\u2019s \u2018Bull in a China Shop\u2019 most satisfying show in North Texas right now"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mary Woolley became president of Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts in 1901, bringing along her lover and former student Jeannette Marks to teach English. The history books say they never publicly acknowledged their romantic relationship. But in Bull in a China Shop, Bryna Turner\u2019s crystalline play covering Woolley\u2019s 36 years running the women\u2019s liberal arts school, it\u2019s an open secret on campus.<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn-based Turner, who goes by they\/them pronouns, has said they spent years trying to figure out how not to write a boring biographical account. They succeeded. Bull does a remarkable job telling a thematic story rather than getting bogged down in the details. What\u2019s depicted focuses on the advances these early feminists made at the school and in society, and the personal tensions between the relentlessly radical Marks and the more politic Woolley. Bull is based on their letters while never quoting them directly.<\/p>\n

Kels Ervi, director of a streamlined, swiftly moving production at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth, draws strong, confident performances from everyone in the first-rate cast. Though Woolley is ostensibly the title character, portrayed with a winning grace by Emily Scott Banks, it\u2019s Dani Nelson\u2019s nuanced portrayal of the fiery Marks that\u2019s at the center of the play. Her lecture on Orlando, Virginia Woolf\u2019s fantastical 1928 novel about an English nobleman who turns into a woman halfway through his centuries-long life, is a showstopper. <\/p>\n

The show\u2019s also a coming-out party for the young actor Mia Azuaje, who\u2019s done solid work in other local productions. In Bull, she flashes serious chops in the role of Pearl, the increasingly lusty head of a Marks admiration society at Holyoke. In one scene, she brings a boombox to her mentor\u2019s window, blasting Sinead O\u2019Connor\u2019s hit version of Prince\u2019s \u201cNothing Compares 2 U\u201d while pleading and weeping.<\/p>\n

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\"Mia<\/p>\n

Mia Azuaje as Pearl, a Mount Holyoke student and president of the secret Jeannette Marks fan club.<\/p>\n

Evan Michael Woods<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The cast of Amphibian Stage’s production of “Bull in a China Shop” rocking out to Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl” at the top of the show.<\/p>\n

Evan Michael Woods<\/p>\n

Music plays a central role throughout the Amphibian Stage production, acting as a transition between scenes and lightening the drama. The show opens loudly with Bikini Kill\u2019s punk anthem \u201cRebel Girl,\u201d Banks, Nelson, Azuaje and co-stars Laurel Lynn Collins and Nicole Renee Johnson striking poses and lip-syncing. The soundtrack to which they dance and mouth the words also includes iconic songs by Madonna (\u201cLike a Prayer\u201d), Tracy Chapman (\u201cGive Me One Reason\u201d) and Joan Jett (\u201cBad Reputation\u201d). A playlist is available on Spotify.<\/p>\n

The action takes place in a gorgeous, two-level cherrywood library created by scenic designer Leah Mazur. Murell Horton\u2019s costumes are beautifully period correct.<\/p>\n

As Woolley consolidates power, the righteous Marks worries Woolley\u2019s rise is more important to her than the cause. For one thing, Woolley is slow coming around on suffrage. \u201cWhen did you turn into such an opportunist?\u201d Marks asks.<\/p>\n

Her love for Woolley is just as fierce. During a discussion of past relationships, Marks declares, \u201cI hate you for existing before I met you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banks and Nelson have great chemistry.<\/p>\n

Collins as the Holyoke dean and Johnson as a philosophy professor act as voices of reason and sometimes resistance to Woolley\u2019s wholesale changes to the school\u2019s curriculum and Marks\u2019 impatience with the pace of progress.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s not a more satisfying show currently on the boards in North Texas.<\/p>\n

Details<\/p>\n

Through March 1 at 120 S. Main St., Fort Worth. $20-$60. amphibianstage.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Dani<\/p>\n

Dani Nelson as Jeannette Marks (left) and Emily Scott Banks as Marks’ mentor-lover Mary Woolley.<\/p>\n

Evan Michael Woods<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>Review: Undermain Theatre\u2019s \u2018Skin of Our Teeth\u2019 leans into the absurd<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dallas theater troupe is presenting the Thornton Wilder play, which piles farce upon farce in telling the story of one American family. <\/p>\n

\"Liz<\/a>After \u2018Friday Night Lights\u2019 and Broadway, Dallas\u2019 Liz Mikel swings big with new show<\/a><\/p>\n

Sarah Hepola on the local acting legend who has braved fire (literally) and built a career on commanding performances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mary Woolley became president of Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts in 1901, bringing along her lover and former…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[6818,116,118,117,5351,2509],"class_list":["post-171520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-amphibian-stage","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-performing-arts","tag-theater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}