Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

People who have their own unique style will be on display in multiple events around Dallas this weekend. Things start off with our very own CultureMap Stylemaker Awards, then move on to include stylish people in theater, music, comedy, opera, and art. Among your choices will be four big names, including one whose Labor Day appearance was thwarted through no fault of his own.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time Thursday through Monday. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, October 26

2017 CultureMap Stylemaker Awards Reveal Party
Now in its fourth year, the CultureMap Stylemaker Awards, presented by The Plaza, is an annual celebration of the most innovative, dynamic, and fashion-forward men and women in Dallas. At the reveal party at Tootsies, the Readers' Choice and Judges' Choice winners will be announced. Guests can walk the red carpet, meet the finalists and judges, sip stellar drinks, and enjoy light bites, live music, and more.

Theatre Three and Prism Movement Theatre present Lear
Theatre Three is collaborating with local company Prism for a co-production of Lear, a beautiful and moving work of dance theater that focuses on the relationship between King Lear and his daughters. When King Lear is betrayed by his corrupted daughters Regan and Goneril, his sanity is sent into a tailspin, forcing his only faithful daughter, Cordelia, to take up the mantle and fight for her father's dignity and the fate of the kingdom. The production will run through November 19.

Arts & Letters Live: Walter Isaacson
Author Walter Isaacson, known for bestselling biographies on Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and Steve Jobs, will discuss his new biography, Leonardo da Vinci, an engrossing portrayal of the world’s most creative genius. In the book, Isaacson, among other things, describes how Leonardo’s lifelong enthusiasm for staging theatrical productions informed his paintings. This event will take place First United Methodist Church of Dallas.

Halsey in concert with PartyNextDoor and Charli XCX
It's not often that a singer becomes big because of a group of which he or she is not a member, but that happened for Halsey when she was featured on The Chainsmokers' No. 1 hit, "Closer." Her first album, Badlands, did well, but yielded no true hits. Following "Closer" in 2016, Halsey immediately had a hit with "Now or Never" off her new album, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, with more sure to come. She'll play at American Airlines Center with PartyNextDoor and Charli XCX.

Dave Chappelle in concert
Legendary comedian Dave Chappelle was supposed to be the knockout debut act for the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, but construction delays scuttled those plans. Almost two months later, Chappelle will make his way back to the venue for two straight nights of stand-up comedy, delivering his famous stream-of-consciousness act. Bring your sweaters and jackets, as this event will have the back doors open for lawn seating.

Friday, October 27

Nasher Sculpture Center presents Nathan Carter: "The Dramastics — A Punk Rock Victory Twister in Texas" opening day
In a fantastical cornucopia of color, form, and gesture, artist Nathan Carter introduces figuration into his work, presenting the story of a fictional punk rock band who call themselves the Dramastics. The band, and the world Carter created for them, are the focus of his first video, titled The Dramastics are Loud AF, which tells the story of the band’s rise to stardom in a series of vignettes. The exhibit will be on display at Nasher Sculpture Center through January 31.

The Dallas Opera presents La Traviata
After opening its season last weekend with Samson & Dalila, the Dallas Opera will open La Traviata with both a performance at Winspear Opera House and free simulcast at Klyde Warren Park. The opera, which tells the tale of a woman of questionable virtue sacrificing her own happiness for the man she loves, will alternate with Samson & Dalila through November 12.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Pops Series: Raiders of the Lost Ark
The only thing better than getting to see Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen again is watching it while hearing a live orchestra recreate John Williams' iconic score. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos, will do just that at the Meyerson Symphony Center, putting on a performance every day through Sunday.

Bruno Mars in concert with Jorja Smith
There's an argument to be made that Bruno Mars is the biggest singer on the planet since his debut album in 2010. He had two No. 1 hits right out of the gate, and has gone on to have five more, including the completely inescapable "Uptown Funk" and "That's What I Like." He'll play all those hits and more at this concert at American Airlines Center, with support from opening act Jorja Smith

Saturday, October 28

Chris Stapleton in concert with Marty Stuart and Brent Cobb
Bundle up for the final show of the year at Starplex Pavilion, as temperatures could dip into the 40s during this concert by Chris Stapleton. Stapleton went straight to the top of the charts with his 2015 debut album, Traveller, and he's following that up with two albums in 2017, the second of which will be released in December. He'll play alongside Marty Stuart and Brent Cobb.

Ochre House Theater presents Original Man
Original Man, written and directed by Ochre House Artistic Director Matthew Posey, is a riveting musical about Joe, a young man who lives in a world where he fights for a way to be free from an abusive father and a cruel, ruthless world through an imaginary world he creates. The production will run through November 18 at Ochre House Theater near Fair Park.

Halsey will play at American Airlines Center on October 26.

Photo by Lucas Garrido

Halsey will play at American Airlines Center on October 26.

event-planner

Movie Review

Survival takes on new meaning in intense but hokey Whalefall

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Austin Abrams in Whalefall.

Austin Abrams has been a professional actor for 15 years, but the 30-year-old seems to just now be getting his due. After years of mostly supporting roles in films like Paper Towns, Brad’s Status, and Weapons, he has been charged with leading two films in 2026 where he’s largely acting by himself: First Resident Evil and now Whalefall.

Abrams plays Jay Gardiner, who has returned home to California a year after the death of his hard-ass father, Mitt (Josh Brolin). The two had a tempestuous relationship, and while his mom (Elisabeth Shue) and sisters (Jane Levy and Emily Rudd) reminisce fondly about him, Jay finds it difficult to come up with good memories. The two did share a connection with the ocean, and Jay decides to honor him by going scuba diving.

Ignoring warnings of whale activity in the area, Jay makes his way out into a notoriously dangerous part of the ocean near their home. Soon after he starts swimming, he encounters a sperm whale chasing after a giant squid. Jay inadvertently gets sucked into the enormous creature’s mouth and, ultimately, inside its body. Faced with a seemingly inescapable situation, Jay’s only hope lies in the lessons his father taught him.

Directed by Brian Duffield and adapted by Duffield and Daniel Kraus from Kraus’ book of the same name, the film is at its best when it depicts Jay struggling to survive within the whale. The claustrophobic nature of the setting and the various obstacles (multiple contracting chambers, the squid, and more) he faces make every scene inside the whale feel as intense and cover-your-eyes scary as any great horror movie.

Naturally, the entire movie can’t be about his survival efforts, and so the filmmakers toggle back and forth between Jay’s ordeal in the whale to memories of times with his father. Not so coincidentally, these remembrances come with subtle or overt wisdom from Mitt that would serve Jay well in his current situation. More often than not, these flashback scenes are so on-the-nose that they come off as cheesy instead of inspirational.

It’s also difficult to derive any big emotions from the story other than revulsion at the way Jay’s body is brutalized while he’s inside the whale. None of the characters in the film receive a notable introduction to the audience before big events start happening. It’s next-to-impossible to be invested in their stories when their personalities are being revealed in bits and pieces throughout the movie.

Abrams does well enough in bringing out the terror Jay feels in the whale and the sullenness/anger he has toward his father in other scenes. But whether it’s because his lines in the whale are hard to understand (he’s often talking around a scuba mouthpiece) or the disconnect the character has with father, there’s just something missing in his performance. Brolin’s performance is one-note, and Shue, Levy, Rudd, and John Ortiz don’t appear enough to make a big impact.

With Kraus onboard as the co-writer of the film, it may be the case that Duffield was not given leeway to change the story of Whalefall too much. What might have worked in the book doesn’t seem to translate equally to the film, and while Jay’s nightmare in the whale is effective, the rest of his story doesn’t come across as successfully.

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Whalefall is now playing in theaters.

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