Lyric Stage
Lyric Stage is a Dallas-based 501c3 nonprofit professional musical theatre company, founded 1993, producing live shows with full orchestras across three Dallas venues and serving DFW theatre audiences, local artists, and high-school musical theatre programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersDallas, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Lyric Stage does
Lyric Stage, Inc. is a Dallas-based 501c3 nonprofit professional musical theatre company founded in 1993 by Steven Jones with a stated mission to develop and preserve the musical. Across 32 seasons it has produced 125+ productions, including 21 world premieres and 2 Off-Broadway transfers, and has restored classic scores in partnership with the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, the Jule Styne Estate, and the Jerome Moross family — notably full 39–40 piece orchestral productions of CAROUSEL, THE KING AND I, SHOW BOAT, and GYPSY. Operations span three Dallas venues: the owned Lyric Stage Studios (1170 Quaker St, Dallas Design District, opened 2023), the historic Majestic Theatre (since 2017), and the Moody Performance Hall (partnership since 2024), supported by all-local casts, musicians, and fabricators and a stated 3,000+ jobs created in Dallas County over the company's history.
The business model is a hybrid nonprofit revenue stack: ticket sales via tix.com and TicketDFW, charitable contributions processed through Square, season sponsorships from foundations (Stemmons Foundation, Moody Fund for the Arts) and public agencies (National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, City of Dallas Office of Arts & Culture), and ancillary programming. Supporting products include the Schmidt & Jones Awards (a high-school musical theatre adjudication program across Dallas, Tarrant, and Collin counties since 2010), the 2022-launched Ashley Newman-Schneider Scholarship, dance and performance enrichment classes at the studio, and a back catalog of audio recordings and promotional video content. Leadership includes Founder Steven Jones, Producer Catherine Carpenter Cox (joined 2019), Executive Artistic Director Christopher J. Deaton, and a new co-artistic direction team of Tricia and Scott Guenther installed in 2024; the organization is governed by a small board and operates with a core staff of 1–10.
The technology footprint is minimal and consistent with a performing-arts nonprofit: Square for donations, Tix.com and TicketDFW for ticketing, and YouTube plus a Squarespace-hosted website for marketing and content distribution. There is no disclosed AI/ML capability, no proprietary software, and no app. Strategic differentiators rest on restored theatrical IP, live-orchestra production capability, deep community relationships across three counties, and multi-venue distribution — all of which carry moderate-to-strong intangible-asset, ecosystem, and talent moats but expose the organization to the operating economics of a small nonprofit, including concentration on a handful of foundation sponsors and public funders.
Lyric Stage firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lyric Stage
- Legal name
- Lyric Stage, Inc.
- Website
- https://lyricstage.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Lyric Stage is a Dallas-based 501c3 nonprofit professional musical theatre company, founded 1993, producing live shows with full orchestras across three Dallas venues and serving DFW theatre audiences, local artists, and high-school musical theatre programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lyric Stage industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Live Musical Theater
- NAICS
- Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Performing Arts Companies (7111)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Musical Theatre (Non-Broadway/Fringe) (MPAGABAG)
Keywords
Where Lyric Stage is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dallas
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Lyric Stage business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Lyric Stage product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lyric Stage is a 501c3 nonprofit professional musical theatre company that produces, develops, and preserves musical theatre works for live audiences in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Its core offering is a season of professional musical theatre productions featuring full live orchestras and local casts, supplemented by educational programs such as the Schmidt & Jones Awards for high school theatre and dance enrichment classes.
Product overview
Lyric Stage is a Dallas-based 501c3 professional musical theatre company founded in 1993, dedicated to developing and preserving the musical. The company operates as a single unified offering centered on live musical theatre productions, supplemented by three supporting programs: The Schmidt & Jones Awards (high school musical theatre competition), Dance and Performance Enrichment Classes, and the Ashley Newman-Schneider Scholarship. The company also offers digital content including audio recordings from past productions and production promo videos. Venues include the historic Majestic Theatre (1925 Elm Street), the Moody Performance Hall in the Dallas Arts District, and the Lyric Stage Studio in the Dallas Design District (opened 2023).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Schmidt & Jones Awards: Awards program honoring excellence in high school musical theatre in Dallas-Fort Worth, established in 2010 and named after Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones.
- Lyric Stage Studios
Products and services
- Musical Theatre Season Productions Professional live musical theatre productions featuring local actors, musicians, and creatives. Productions include classic Broadway shows, world premieres, and restored historical musicals performed with full live orchestras at venues including the Majestic Theatre, Moody Performance Hall, and Lyric Stage Studio. Targeted at theatre-goers and musical theatre enthusiasts in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
- Schmidt & Jones Awards Annual high school musical theatre competition and awards ceremony for students in Dallas-Fort Worth counties. Schools submit productions for adjudication by a panel of theatre educators and professional artists, with nominations and awards in performance and design categories. Annual awards ceremony held at Moody Performance Hall.
- Dance and Performance Enrichment Classes Group dance and performance classes including ballet, tap, lyrical, modern, contemporary, jazz, yoga, and stretch/flexibility, held at Lyric Stage Studio with live streaming capability. Open to teens, adults, and seniors.
Companies that use Lyric Stage
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Lyric Stage technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Lyric Stage partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Rodgers & Hammerstein OrganizationcoreLyric Stage worked with R&H Organization to restore and produce full, orchestral productions of classic musicals including CAROUSEL, THE KING & I, SHOW BOAT, GYPSY, and THE GOLDEN APPLE. In 2009, R&H Organization asked Lyric Stage to produce the world premiere of the newly restored THE KING AND I.
- Jule Styne EstatecoreLyric Stage worked with the Jule Styne Estate to complete a full restoration of the original Broadway score of GYPSY in 2011. Lyric Stage's production was the first to be performed with a full 39-piece orchestra playing Sid Ramin and Robert Ginzler's original orchestrations since the original 1959 Broadway production.
- Jerome Moross FamilyminorWorked with the Jerome Moross family to restore and produce classic musical productions.
- PS ClassicsminorGrammy-nominated record label that released a commercial recording of Lyric Stage's production of THE GOLDEN APPLE in 2015. This is the only complete, full-length recording of this critically acclaimed musical.
- Moody Performance HallcorePartnership venue in Dallas Arts District for larger shows starting in 2024. Lyric Stage began a partnership with The Moody Performance Hall for larger productions.
- Moon Shepard Baker Insurance, Inc.minorCorporate sponsor and partner of Lyric Stage.
- Frost BankminorCorporate sponsor and partner of Lyric Stage.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Lyric Stage competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Uptown Players: Dallas-based nonprofit theater focused on LGBTQ+ themed productions. Comparable as a DFW nonprofit producing a multi-show season in shared/repurposed venues, with a similar fundraising model.
- Stage West: Fort Worth-based professional theater producing a season of contemporary plays and musicals. Comparable as a DFW nonprofit theater but skews more toward plays; serves an adjacent but overlapping audience.
Broad incumbents
- Goodman Theatre: Major Chicago-based nonprofit producing theater with a musical theatre component. Comparable as a nonprofit, season-based producing organization with educational outreach, though at materially larger scale and budget.
- Roundabout Theatre Company: NYC-based nonprofit known for classic musical revivals and new productions. Comparable as a nonprofit producing organization with deep rights-holder relationships (analogous to Lyric Stage's R&H and Styne Estate partnerships), but at a much larger national scale.
- Broadway Dallas (Dallas Summer Musicals): DFW's dominant presenter of touring Broadway productions at the Music Hall at Fair Park. Competes for the same musical-theatre audience but operates a touring-presentation model rather than locally-produced productions.
- AT&T Performing Arts Center: Dallas Arts District venue operator and presenter hosting Broadway tours and resident productions. Overlaps with Lyric Stage's Moody Performance Hall partnership and competes for the same arts-patron donor base.
Direct peers
- Casa Mañana: Fort Worth-based professional musical theatre company with its own venue (Casa Mañana Playhouse). Directly comparable as a regional musical-theatre-focused nonprofit in the DFW metroplex with full seasons and educational programming.
- Dallas Theater Center: Dallas's flagship regional theater and Tony Award-winning LORT company. Directly comparable as a locally-produced, professional theater serving the same DFW audience with a multi-production season, donor-supported model, and educational programming.
- WaterTower Theatre: Addison-based professional theater company producing a season including musical theatre. Comparable as a North Texas regional musical theatre producer with similar audience demographics and venue-partnership model.
- Theatre Three: Long-running Dallas-based professional theater producing a season of plays and musicals. Comparable in regional scale, nonprofit structure, and reliance on local talent and donor support.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Lyric Stage social profiles
Digital presenceLyric Stage financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lyric Stage leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Lyric Stage funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lyric Stage M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lyric Stage
What does Lyric Stage do?
Lyric Stage is a 501c3 nonprofit professional musical theatre company that produces, develops, and preserves musical theatre works for live audiences in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Its core offering is a season of professional musical theatre productions featuring full live orchestras and local casts, supplemented by educational programs such as the Schmidt & Jones Awards for high school theatre and dance enrichment classes.
Is Lyric Stage a public or private company?
Lyric Stage is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Lyric Stage founded?
Lyric Stage was founded in 1993. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Lyric Stage based?
Lyric Stage is headquartered in Dallas, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Lyric Stage's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Uptown Players and Stage West. Broad incumbents are Goodman Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, Broadway Dallas (Dallas Summer Musicals) and AT&T Performing Arts Center. Direct peers are Casa Mañana, Dallas Theater Center, WaterTower Theatre and Theatre Three.
Does Lyric Stage have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lyric Stage.
What industry is Lyric Stage in?
Lyric Stage's product category is Live Musical Theater. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGABAG, Musical Theatre (Non-Broadway/Fringe). Its NAICS code is 71111 and its SIC code is 7900.