REVIEWING ‘ONCE’: Jubilee Theatre’s Once On This Island has received extra attention because it is the first directorial effort by the company’s new artistic director, Tre Garrett. The musical is a classic tale of star-crossed lovers, this time set on a mythical Caribbean island. Lawson Taitte mostly liked the show, though he notes in his dallasnews.com review that, “If this first effort is any indication, Garrett favors dramatic truth over vocal splendor in a musical.” Meanwhile, Robert Neblett calls it a, “memorable, dynamic introductory statement by Jubilee’s new artistic director,” on Critical Rant and Rave. Catch it through Aug. 21.

FROM RUSSIA TO NY: North Texas will be well-represented at New York’s Fringe Festival, which get going later this month. Sundown Collaborative Theatre will bring its show, Happily Ever After. And local actress Lisa Dalton will perform the Chekhov short story The Darling. She spoke with theaterjones.com on video about adapting the story to the stage. Before heading to New York, Dalton performed the piece a handful of times in Fort Worth, and dfw.com was at one of the performances.

ARTS CUTS: State support for Texas arts groups is taking a pretty hefty trim for fiscal year 2012. But, as nytimes.com reports, we’re certainly not alone – 31 states cut their arts budgets for next year. That contributes to a 42 percent cut in arts funding over the last decade.