Weekend Event Planner

These are the 7 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

As a new year begins, event organizers are easing into things slowly, with fewer new events than usual in the Dallas area. The focus is mostly on local happenings, like two local theater productions, a classical music concert, a ballet, an Elvis tribute artist, and two art exhibition closings. Theater lovers will also enjoy an up-close look at the national tour of a Tony-nominated play.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend.

Thursday, January 6

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents What the Constitution Means to Me
Playwright Heidi Schreck’s boundary-breaking play breathes new life into the Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful, and achingly human new play, Shreck (portrayed by Cassie Beck) resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives. The play will run at Winspear Opera House through Sunday.

East Dallas Arts presents Romeo & Juliet Shakespeare in Motion
East Dallas Arts will take on a Shakespeare classic with Romeo & Juliet Shakespeare in Motion, a movement and dance retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Directed and choreographed by 17-year-old Tilda McSpadden, the production — running through Sunday — will feature a local Dallas cast ranging in age from 15 to 22.

Friday, January 7

Cry Havoc Theater Company presents The Forever Quest
Cry Havoc Theater Company will begin its eighth season with a new devised work, The Forever Quest. In a chaotic, unpredictable word, the greatest gift we can bestow on children is resiliency. The Forever Quest, Cry Havoc’s first production made by teens for young audiences ages 6 and up, will explore the importance of friends, one’s chosen family, and trust in one’s own abilities. The production will be at South Dallas Cultural Center through January 15.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Ravel + Urioste"
In the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's latest concert, Black composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s rhapsodic violin concerto will be played by the young Mexican-American violinist Elena Urioste. The remainder of the concert, playing at Meyerson Symphony Center through Sunday, features the great French composer Maurice Ravel in some of his most colorful orchestral works, including his hypnotic, ever-expanding Boléro.

Saturday, January 8

Plano Metropolitan Ballet presents Aladdin
Plano Metropolitan Ballet presents its annual fairy tale ballet Aladdin, a story of mystery, thrill, and beauty all told via the wonders of original ballet choreography. There will be five public performances of the ballet through January 22 at Courtyard Theater in Plano.

Irving Arts Center presents Elvis Birthday Concert with Kraig Parker & the Royal Tribute Band
It may be hard to believe, but Saturday marks what would have been Elvis Presley's 85th birthday. To celebrate the King's day, Irving Arts Center will put on this special concert featuring Kraig Parker, who has been hailed as the ultimate image of Presley. Backed by a 10-piece group, the Royal Tribute Band, Parker looks and sounds just like the king of rock 'n’ roll with his powerful voice, electric moves, and charisma.

Sunday, January 9

Dallas Museum of Art closings
The Dallas Museum of Art will close two exhibitions on Sunday. "Point, Line, Plane: The William Jordan and Robert Brownlee Bequest" honors a gift from the estate of distinguished art historian William B. Jordan and his husband, Robert Dean Brownlee, highlighting a selection of nearly 70 works donated to the DMA by Jordan and Brownlee. "Pursuit of Beauty: The May Family Collection" offers a look at the exemplary Dallas-based collection of American art that was built over nearly 60 years by Thomas and Eleanor May and their children, featuring works by influential artists like Cecilia Beaux, William Merritt Chase, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent.

What the Constitution Means to Me will play at Winspear Opera House through January 9.

Cassie Beck in the national tour of What the Constitution Means to Me

Photo by Joan Marcus

What the Constitution Means to Me will play at Winspear Opera House through January 9.

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Movie Review

Chris Hemsworth tries to steal diamonds and hearts in Crime 101

Photo courtesy of Amazon Content Services

Chris Hemsworth in Crime 101.

The career of actor Chris Hemsworth is a curious one, as it feels like he’s a huge star (mostly from playing Thor in Marvel movies) and not at the same time, with most of the non-MCU movies featuring him in a lead role failing to become big successes. But he still has a certain presence about him, which is why he’s being given another chance to prove his star power in the new thriller, Crime 101.

Hemsworth plays Davis, a talented thief who knows how to get what he wants without resorting to violence. When a job early in the movie turns slightly sideways, it makes him think twice about working with his handler (Nick Nolte), who seems to prefer someone with a stronger touch, like the up-and-coming Ormon (Barry Keoghan).

Davis is the main character, but two others who come into his orbit get their own subplots. Lou (Mark Ruffalo) is a slightly schlubby LAPD detective who’s convinced he knows the pattern of an unknown thief that likes to hit places close to Highway 101. Sharon (Halle Berry) works for a high-end insurance agency known for working with ultra-wealthy clients, the types who might be a great target for a thief like Davis.

Written and directed by Bart Layton, the film has a decent propulsion to it that comes with most crime thrillers. Davis and Ormon represent the yin and the yang of criminal approaches, and and it’s interesting to see the juxtaposition between the two as their simmering rivalry heats up over the course of the film. When the film commits to actually showing its crimes, it has an excitement that’s worth watching.

Unfortunately, Layton displays a real lack of focus, taking the audience into subplots with each of the three main characters that prove unnecessarily distracting. Lou’s marriage problems may explain his disheveled appearance, but there’s no need to see him deal with them with wife Angie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Sharon’s troubles with her male-dominated company prove slightly pivotal, but still don’t merit the time put into exploring them.

The most baffling subplot is Davis pursuing a relationship with Maya (Monica Barbaro), a woman he randomly meets. At different points in the movie, including many of his interactions with Maya, Davis seems like the most uncomfortable, antisocial person in the world. And yet he somehow morphs into a suave smooth-talker who’s able to convince anyone to do what he wants at other key points, making it unclear exactly what kind of person he really is.

Hemsworth does relatively well in the lead role, but he’s still missing that certain something to make his character, and therefore the movie, truly compelling. The rest of the cast is fine, too, but each of them seem to be putting in just the minimal amount of effort to make the film watchable. Ruffalo and Barbaro come off the best, but with the talent in the cast (11 Oscar nominations and one win), they could have been used better.

Crime 101 has most of the ingredients to be another great entry in the genre, and it succeeds when it actually decides to deliver on its promise. But too much of the film is spent on things that have no real bearing on plot or character development, leaving the movie in the middle of the pack.

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Crime 101 is now playing in the theaters.

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