The Music Hall at Fair Park is preparing to lower the lights and narrow the distance between performer and audience. Broadway Dallas has announced CLUB 909, a new cabaret series staged inside the Music Hall’s Crystal Terrace restaurant. Launching Sept. 3–5 with Broadway actor and musician Reeve Carney, the concept introduces an intimate, 200-seat performance format to an organization better known for the large-scale touring productions presented on its mainstage.
It is Broadway Dallas’ first dedicated cabaret program in its 85-year history. “Broadway Dallas has always believed that musical theater has the power to move, uplift, and connect us, and cabaret is one of the purest expressions of that power,” said Ken Novice, president and CEO of Broadway Dallas. “CLUB 909 gives us the opportunity to offer our audiences something deeply personal and intimate, right here in one of Dallas’ most storied venues,” he continues.
For each performance, the Crystal Terrace will be transformed into a richly appointed cabaret room with table and bar seating, specialty drinks, chef-curated light bites, and full tableside service. The visual direction draws from the jewel-toned interiors and close quarters associated with traditional cabaret halls in Paris and New York.
Novice cited New York venues such as 54 Below and Madame George as inspirations for the series, which will bring Broadway performers and other musical artists into a setting designed for direct exchange rather than theatrical distance.
Seating is general admission, with a limited number of reserved VIP seats available. As in many traditional cabaret rooms, guests may be seated at shared tables, and larger parties may be divided depending on the evening’s configuration. Broadway Dallas restaurant partner Culinaire has developed a dedicated food and beverage menu for the series, with a $30 minimum per guest in addition to the ticket price.
The smaller format allows Broadway Dallas to explore a different dimension of musical theater, one centered on interpretation, personality, and the art of the song. Rather than relying on elaborate scenery or ensemble spectacle, CLUB 909 places the performer and the stories surrounding the music at the center of the evening.
Carney will inaugurate the series with Reeve Carney: Broadway Divas, a program spanning Broadway standards, selections from the Great American Songbook, and original material from his album Youth Is Wasted.
Currently appearing as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby on Broadway, Carney originated the role of Orpheus in the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown. His stage credits also include Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, while his screen work includes Penny Dreadful and Fox’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist began his recording career with Interscope Records before moving into independent releases. His debut solo album, Youth Is Wasted, received five Independent Music Awards.
At CLUB 909, that range will be compressed into a room small enough to register the shifts between Broadway leading man, rock musician, and cabaret interpreter.
The series also represents a broader effort by Broadway Dallas to activate the Music Hall throughout the year and to introduce audiences to forms of musical performance beyond the touring Broadway season. Founded in 1941 as Dallas Summer Musicals, the nonprofit adopted the Broadway Dallas name in 2022 while continuing its performance, education, and community outreach programs.
With CLUB 909, one of Fair Park’s most familiar venues becomes temporarily unfamiliar: less auditorium than after-hours salon, with the formality of the proscenium replaced by shared tables, close listening and a performer only a few feet away.
Tickets for CLUB 909 featuring Reeve Carney begin at $75 and go on sale July 17 through Broadway Dallas. A limited number of VIP tickets include a meet-and-greet.