Weekend Event Planner

These are the 12 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

If you wanted, you could camp yourself at Winspear Opera House this weekend and see four wholly different types of events, including a concert, dance performance, a unique film screening, and an appearance by a famous scientist. Other options include two local theater productions, four other concerts, and a well-known comedian.

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

Thursday, January 13

Outcry Youth Theatre presents Pippin
Pippin is the story of one young man's journey to be extraordinary. A mysterious performance troupe, led by the Leading Player, tells the story of Pippin, a young prince in search of the secret to true happiness and fulfillment. He seeks it in the glories of the battlefield, the temptations of the flesh, and the intrigues of political power, but nothing seems to satisfy him. After unsuccessfully trying to find happiness in the unextraordinary moments that happen every day, the Leading Player proposes a finale to Pippin's story the likes of which the world has never seen before. The production will run at Addison Conference and Theatre Centre through Sunday.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Ehnes Plays Elgar"
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents violinist James Ehnes and conductor Fabio Luisi with the orchestra. Selections for the concert, playing on Thursday and Friday at Meyerson Symphony Center, will include Elgar's Violin Concerto, Adolphus Hailstork's Epitaph for a Man who Dreamed (a solemn orchestral homage to the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.), and Schumann's Symphony No. 1, “Spring.” (Note the DSO's new COVID-related entry requirements.)

Rover Dramawerks presents Love Loves a Pornographer
Lord Loveworthy has a problem. His only daughter Emily is soon to be married, and to an Earl. The only way Lord Loveworthy can afford pay for her wedding is to blackmail the next-door neighbor, who happens to be seducing his wife. But how does a Victorian pornographer commit extortion, without inordinate discord, at tea? Love Loves a Pornographer is a clever homage to classic drawing room comedy that would doubtless please past wit masters Wilde and Coward. The production will run at Cox Building Playhouse in Plano through January 22.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Pink Martini featuring China Forbes
Drawing inspiration from music from all over the world, crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop, Thomas Lauderdale founded Pink Martini in 1994 to provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks. They'll perform at Winspear Opera House.

Joshua Radin in concert
Folk rock musician Joshua Radin is the epitome of a music lifer. He earned acclaim in the early 2000s, getting his songs played on TV shows like Scrubs and Grey's Anatomy. But he's never truly achieved breakout status, with his biggest success coming on the Billboard Indie or Folk charts. But he remains undaunted, continuing to churn out music like 2021's The Ghost and the Wall, in support of which he'll play at The Kessler.

Friday, January 14

Deon Cole: "Coleology Tour"
Comedian Deon Cole has come a long way from being a staff writer for Conan O'Brien. He's appeared on ABC's Black-ish and its spinoff series, Grown-ish, as well as the TBS comedy Angie Tribeca. He's also hosted the BET game show, Face Value and had a supporting role in the recent Netflix movie, The Harder They Fall. He'll perform a stand-up comedy show at Majestic Theatre.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Ballet Hispánico
Ballet Hispánico fuses Latin dance with classical and contemporary techniques, creating a new style of concert dance where theatricality and passion are at the core. The choreographers represent rich Latinx cultures and nationalities, including Venezuela, Cuba, Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia. They will perform at Winspear Opera House as part of their 50th anniversary tour.

Saturday, January 15

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live comes back to Dallas with an all-new production. Emily Connor and the world’s greatest, and only, movie riffing robots, Tom Servo, Crow, and GPC, will take audiences on an rollercoaster ride through the film Making Contact, imposed by Mad Scientist, Mega-Synthia. The event will be at Winspear Opera House.

Sarah Jaffe in concert
Singer/songwriter Sarah Jaffe has been on the verge of stardom for more a decade. After getting her start in Denton, she's gone on to release four acclaimed albums, including 2017's Bad Baby, and has toured with the likes of Norah Jones, The Polyphonic Spree, and Old 97's. Her latest release was the 2019 EP, SMUT. She'll perform at The Kessler.

Sunday, January 16

AT&T Performing Arts Center Presents Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson is considered to be one of the foremost astrophysicists in the world. He's become well-known not just for his wide breadth of knowledge about the universe, but for his outgoing and charming personality that makes a deep subject fascinating. In this talk at Winspear Opera House, Tyson will talk about the search for life in the universe.

Bell Biv Devoe in concert with Jagged Edge and Tony! Toni! Toné!
For anybody who came of age in the late '80s/early '90s, R&B/New Jack Swing groups like Bell Biv Devoe, Jagged Edge, and Tony! Toni! Toné! still loom large. Each of their runs to the top of the music world was relatively short, but the impact they had remains to this day. They, along with groups like 112 and 702, will play a special concert at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Monday, January 17

MLK Celebration Week: Virtual Parade
The 2022 MLK Celebration Week Virtual Parade will be pre-recorded and broadcast on public access channel 16 (over-the-air), Spectrum 16, or AT&T 99. It will feature a compilation of videos and pictures depicting MLK Day parades of the past. There will also be interviews discussing the 2022 theme: “40 Years Strong: A Look Toward the Future.”

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson will appear at Winspear Opera House on January 16.

Courtesy photo

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson will appear at Winspear Opera House on January 16.

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Movie Review

Podcaster lets creepy noises get under her skin in Undertone

Photo courtsy of A24

Nina Kiri in Undertone.

While the horror genre is still capable of producing some innovative filmmaking, most of the output tends to fall back on jump scares and other tropes to deliver their terror. So when a film like the new Undertone tries something different, it should be applauded for the effort, even if it’s not as successful in its execution.

Evy (Nina Kiri) is a podcaster who co-hosts a show called Undertone, which focuses on paranormal videos and sounds they find on the internet. Her co-host, Justin (Adam DiMarco), lives in London, so - for kind of contrived reasons - in order to make the time difference between them work, Evy records at around 3 am her time. Evy - who lives at home with her bedridden, dying mother - is the skeptic of the two, consistently debunking clips that Justin presents to her.

Her doubts are tested when Justin brings in a series of 10 audio clips that purport to be about a boyfriend recording his girlfriend as she talks in her sleep. The audio begins in a lighthearted manner and quickly turns creepy and then sinister as unexplained things start happening. Evy senses that what she’s hearing is bleeding into her own world, especially when inexplicable actions take place in her mother’s bedroom.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Ian Tuason, the film is effective early on when it introduces the story concept. Making great use of sound design, Tuason essentially puts the audience inside Evy’s head, where every little sound is heightened. Setting the podcast sessions in the middle of the night ups the anxiety level for both her and the audience.

However, as the film goes along it gets a little tedious watching Evy listen to the audio, even as Tuason attempts to keep the film dynamic by moving the camera around her. The premise of the story - progressively going through 10 clips - and Tuason’s framing of shots that focus as much on the background as they do on Evy seem to promise more interesting results than actually transpire.

What ultimately holds the film down more than anything is its lack of different viewpoints. The only other person who’s actually seen is Evy’s mother, who is unable to speak. Evy speaks to Justin, another friend, and a doctor over the course of the story, and while each broadens our understanding of Evy somewhat, none of them make her a truly three-dimensional person. Getting a little more information about her history might have helped the story work better.

Kiri does her level best to vary her acting in the various podcast scenes, and even when they start to get repetitive, she remains compelling and watchable. It’s difficult to judge the other actors based on audio alone, but knowing that DiMarco also starred in season 2 of The White Lotus helps to visualize him and his acting style.

Undertone does well in creating a spine-chilling mood, but it needed something beyond that to become a truly great horror movie. Tuason shows some promise as a filmmaker, especially in the way he uses the camera to create tension, but a more complete story will serve him better the next time around.

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Undertone is now playing in theaters,

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