What people are saying about Joel Ferrell.
No director has staged two, back-to-back mainstage shows at the Dallas Theater Center in 25 years (if we exclude ‘Christmas Carols’). Joel Ferrell not only did it, he did it with two of the DTC’s best productions recently: ‘Dividing the Estate’ and now, ‘Cabaret.’ READ FULL ARTICLE
The Talented Joel Ferrell: The Director as Workhorse by Jerome Weeks, ArtSeek.org
Texas theatrical insiders have always known that if somebody gave Joel Ferrell all the resources Broadway directors enjoy, he could turn out a musical as good as any in the country. With Cabaret, it has finally happened.In the nearly 45 years since librettist Joe Masteroff and songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote the show, Cabaret has evolved. For the Dallas Theater Center version, which opened Friday, Ferrell has taken it a step further.
Lawson Taitte, Dallas Morning News (2011)
Of course there’s Kander and Ebb’s potent score, but Ferrell’s direction is stand-out. His deftness with political subtext, foreshadowing the horrors of the Holocaust and conveying the allure of institutionalized hatred as a rallying point for a defeated and scared proletariat, echoes realities of our own politically divisive society with haunting poignancy.
Arnold Wayne Jones, Dallas Voice (2011)
Director Joel Ferrell has paced this dark, witty play to zip along like a knockabout farce (it clocks in at a swift 75 minutes sans intermission). But God of Carnage is more of a newfangled comedy of manners, making great, mean fun of certain types of modern urban snobs. … It’s a smart evening of theater, expertly staged to deliver surprise visual whammies.
Elaine Liner, Dallas Observer (2012)
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Joel Ferrell is a seasoned director, choreographer, actor, educator, and consultant of American theater. Spanning more than forty years, Joel has worked with some of the nation’s best commercial, regional, and community theaters and universities to deliver dynamic performances and cultivate up and coming artists. Learn more at www.joel-ferrell.com.
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JOEL FERRELL is a veteran director, choreographer, producer, and consultant. He currently serves as Professor of Practice in Theatre and Inaugural Director of the Sexton Institute for Musical Theatre. Ferrell has directed and choreographed for theatres across the United States, including Dallas Theater Center, Denver Center Theater, Portland Center Stage, North Shore Music Theater, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and Lyric Theater of Oklahoma.
Ferrell is the former Associate Artistic Director of the Dallas Theater Center (2011-2019), where he directed productions of Romeo and Juliet, Cabaret (starring Wade McCollum), Dividing the Estate (starring June Squibb), Dreamgirls (starring Marisha Wallace), and Frankenstein (in a co-production with Meadows School of the Arts). For the Dallas Theater Center, he served as a producer on new musicals including Fortress of Solitude by Micheal Freidman and Itamar Moses, Giant by Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson, and Fly by Rajiv Joseph and Bill Sherman, and directed by Broadway producer/director Jeffrey Seller. Ferrell is the recipient of the Linda and Bill Custard Award for his body of work in theater.
As Artistic Director of Casa Manana Musicals (Fort Worth, TX; 1996 to 2001) Ferrell directed productions of Once on This Island, Carousal, Rocky Horror Show, Oklahoma, The King and I, and Sleuth, among many others. Ferrell is currently Director in Residence for Theatre Three in Dallas where he has directed Blake Hackler’s new adaptation of The Seagull. Other Dallas/Fort Worth directing credits include Trinity Shakespeare Festival, Second Thought Theater’s Necessities by Blake Hackler (world premiere) and Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph (regional premiere), as well as regional premieres for Stage West and Circle Theatre.
Ferrell’s acting credits include Broadway National tours, regional theater, television, and film. His experience as a theater producer and creator has made him a valuable resource for non-profit and commercial organizations in their efforts to re-envision mission, purpose, and programming. He is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and a proud member of Society of Directors and Choreographers and Actor’s Equity Association.
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Joel Ferrell 