Review: Dallas Theater Center and Stage West's WHERE WE STAND gives us the power of choice

Photos by Evan Michael Woods

Where We Stand

By Donnetta Lavinia Grays

Directed by Akin Babatunde

Co-produced by Stage West Theatre and Dallas Theater Center

at the Evelyn Wheeler Swenson Theatre, Fort Worth, Texas

Audience rating: PG

Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (no intermission)

Accessible seating: Available

Hearing devices: Available

Sensory friendly: Not Available

ASL showing: February 13, 2026

Noises or visuals to prepare for: None of note

Reviewed by Stacey L. Simpson

In Donnetta Lavinia Grays’ fable "Where We Stand," a lonely man at a moral crossroads spins a tale of temptation, forgiveness, and mercy. The play is a vital reminder of the power of the oral storytelling tradition. It somehow manages to feel both familiar and new.

Stage West’s production, capably directed by Akin Babatunde, is elevated by the incomparable Liz Mikel. Stepping confidently into the role of Man, Mikel delivers a stirring performance. With no costume changes other than turning a garment inside out and with minimal props, she populates an entire village through subtle vocal shifts, changes in physicality, and an emotional range that draws you in. Speaking or singing, Mikel’s rich contralto fills the room.

Set Designer Bob Lavallee designed an elevated thrust stage that was surrounded on three sides by the audience. Costume design by Hope Cox, lighting by Bryan Stevenson, and sound design by Claudia Jenkins Martinez simply but effectively created the world in which Man confronted the moral dilemma central to the play.

The play invites the audience to join the story and to form an opinion about its ending. Along the way, we become not passive observers, but "townspeople"—citizens, jury, and the heartbeat of the story. By the time the story resolves, you have become part of a collective moral reckoning. Mikel’s vibrant performance and Grays’ sharp prose manage to make a room full of strangers feel like a unified community.

Where We Stand asks tough questions about what we owe one another, and thanks to Liz Mikel’s remarkable performance, the answer feels like hope. Runs through February 15. Tickets at stagewest.org/tickets.

On with the show,

Stacey L. Simpson