Theater teachers who spend their days directing high schoolers are stepping into the spotlight themselves this week, staging Meghan Kennedy's acclaimed play The Counter at the Lewisville Playhouse. The production, running from today until next Sunday, brings together fine arts educators from four North Texas school districts for their second annual summer show, trading lesson plans for the stage in a 100-seat historic venue in Old Town Lewisville.
The cast and crew represent Lewisville ISD, Frisco ISD, Richardson ISD and Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, according to The Dallas Morning News. Lewisville ISD coordinator of fine arts Michael Valentine directed the show and brought the group together, telling the paper that both years of the project focused on finding a show that fits Lewisville and the group's goals. The play was produced by the theater educators during their summer break, giving them a rare chance to perform rather than instruct.
The Counter follows the relationship between café waitress Katie and café regular Paul, exploring connection, conversation, and finding common ground between strangers. The three-actor production, with a crew of eight technicians, runs about one hour and 15 minutes and even lets audience members order snacks and refreshments from an onstage counter during the show.
Familiar Faces Returning to the Boards
Jordan Barrett, the theater arts teacher and tech theater director at Lebanon Trail High School in Frisco ISD, plays Katie in the production. Barrett told the Dallas Morning News the experience invigorates teachers' reasons for teaching, and said the play centers on the conversations people strike up with others. Barrett is returning to the stage after 10 years away from acting.
Michael Holloman, Frisco ISD's fine arts coordinator, plays Paul opposite Barrett — marking just his second time acting in 20 years, per the same account. Barrett said teachers benefit from experiencing theater as artists working alongside other adults, a perspective that shapes how they approach their own classrooms during the school year. John Davenport, who manages Frisco ISD's visual and performing arts center, designed the set for the production.
A Critically Acclaimed Script Comes to Denton County
Kennedy's play carries real pedigree beyond the Lewisville stage. The Counter premiered Off-Broadway in 2024, running with Roundabout Theatre Company at the Laura Pels Theatre from September 19 through November 17 of that year, according to the Edgerton Foundation, which awarded the script a 2024 New Play Award, funding extended rehearsal time. That original production, Kennedy's third commissioned play for Roundabout, was directed by Tony winner David Cromer and starred Emmy winner Anthony Edwards as Paul alongside Susannah Flood as Katie, as reported by TheaterMania.
Choosing a recent, critically recognized Off-Broadway play marks a shift for the educator group, whose 2025 summer production was Horton Foote's Blind Date, a 1985 one-act comedy set in 1929 Texas about a well-meaning aunt trying to arrange a date for her reluctant niece, according to Concord Theatricals.
Inside a Building That Predates the City's Modern Downtown
The Lewisville Playhouse itself carries plenty of local history. Built in 1885 as a dry goods store originally known as Cobb's Dry Goods, the building at 160 W. Main St. is the oldest structure in Lewisville and still features a steel entrance plate dating back to 1904, according to Old Town Lewisville. The nonprofit venue, previously known as Greater Lewisville Community Theatre, provides theater education and performance opportunities for Denton County out of its intimate 100-seat space.
That history earned recognition last year when the city's Centennial Historical Preservation Subcommittee named the playhouse one of 10 official historic landmarks on a municipal self-guided tour marking the city's centennial, as per Hoodline. The playhouse sits in contrast to the city's larger Lewisville Grand Theater, which anchors the municipal arts scene with a 294-seat main auditorium and black box performance spaces near Main Street. Earlier this year, the Playhouse staged Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in April, directed by Chris James Cognetta, according to Visit Lewisville.
Performance Details
The Counter runs from today until Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with additional performances next Sunday at 2:30 p.m., next Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and August 16 at 2:30 p.m., all at the Lewisville Playhouse. Tickets cost $15. The run gives North Texas audiences several chances to catch a group of educators who spend the school year shaping the region's next generation of performers now taking their own turn under the lights.
