It's an arts-heavy weekend around Dallas-Fort Worth, as most of the big events revolve around culture. You can choose between multiple theater productions, popular classical music, a big fashion event, tap dancing and more.
Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.
Thursday, February 19
Once the Musical
It's been a couple of months since the national tour of Once the Musical was in Dallas, but the anticipation of its arrival in Fort Worth makes seeing it that much sweeter for musical fans in the Panther City. The simply enchanting love story has a short stay at Bass Performance Hall, running through Sunday.
Dallas Theater Center presents Medea
The first of two new Dallas Theater Center productions this weekend is the classic — as in ancient — Greek tragedy Medea. It's an intimate affair for the cast and the audience, as all performances take place in the basement of Kalita Humphreys Theater. The play alternates with the other new DTC production (see below) through March 29.
Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts presents The Last Two People on Earth
Two theater legends, Mandy Patinkin and Taylor Mac, have teamed up for The Last Two People on Earth, an "apocalyptic Vaudeville." After a flood of Biblical proportions leaves Patinkin and Mac as the last two people on Earth, the only thing they can do is sing and dance and hope the world comes back again. The cabaret plays at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts through Sunday.
Friday, February 20
Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Disney in Concert
Songs from Disney films are some of the most iconic in movie history, so they're a natural to be performed by symphony orchestras. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra tackles selections from Frozen, Aladdin, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and many more in three concerts through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.
Dallas Theater Center presents The School for Wives
As an antidote to the tragic Medea, DTC presents the comedy The School for Wives by Moliére. The French farce, playing through March 29 in the main space of Kalita Humphreys Center, contains razor-sharp observations about love, marriage and desire. And to make it even better, it features almost the exact same cast as Medea, letting them really show off their acting range.
Saturday, February 21
Crow Collection of Asian Art presents Chinese New Year Festival
Horse lovers, your year is over as the Chinese calendar flips from the Year of the Horse to the Year of the Ram. The Crow Collection of Asian Art celebrates with an all-day festival featuring an array of specialty booths, wellness activities, entertainment, cultural performances and food trucks along Flora and Harwood streets.
The Pin Show presents Scene: A Fashion Concert
You can tide yourself over for the actual Pin Show in April, which will take place at the newly revived Bomb Factory, with this event taking place at Trees in Deep Ellum. Take in performances by French 75 and Diamond Age while witnessing a behind-the-scenes photo shoot of the designs of Nha Khanh, Lucy Dang, Nine Muses and Emmanuel Tobias.
Sunday, February 22
Arts & Letters Live: Jacqueline Woodson — Dreams Come True
The Arts & Letters Live series at Dallas Museum of Art always brings in a great variety of authors — some celebrities and some not. Jacqueline Woodson falls on the "not yet" side, but that doesn't mean she won't be interesting, as she talks about her collection of poems Brown Girl Dreaming, which won the 2014 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre presents Rhythmic Souls
The tap dance troupe Rhythmic Souls has been making a name for themselves all over Dallas with their energetic routines that utilize different genres of music, like jazz, classical, blues, hip-hop and rock. This performance at Pocket Sandwich Theatre is the start of a new series for the troupe, titled Play It By Ear — Volume 1: Experiments in Rhythm.
Mandy Patinkin and Taylor Mac perform The Last Two People on Earth at the Eisemann Center through February 22.
