Weekend Event Planner

These are the 13 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Theatre Arlington presents Sister Act, March 25-April 16.

Photo by Eric Younkin

This weekend in and around Dallas is heavy on the arts, including three local theater productions, a classical music concert, a dance production, and two opera events. Other choices include a live event from a beloved sitcom, two well-known comedians, a film and music festival, a unique expo, and the closing of a traveling art exhibition.

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

Thursday, March 24

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents All-Mozart Concert
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will pay tribute to one of the greatest composers of all time with this All-Mozart Concert, featuring conductor Bernard Labadie and pianist Benedetto Lupo. Selections for the concerts, which will have three performances through Saturday at Meyerson Symphony Center, will include Mozart's Chaconne from Idomeneo, Piano Concerto No. 23, and Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter.”

Letterkenny Live!
The makers of the sitcom Letterkenny are living the dream for a show that started on YouTube. Star/creator Jared Keeso and his team have taken it from those small roots in 2013 to a show that's now had 10 seasons and is distributed by Hulu. This show at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie will be a 90-minute comedy experience will feature nine of the cast members along with never-before-seen sketches and more.

Thin Line Film and Music Fest
Thin Line Fest is a blend of documentary film and multi-genre music that has been Texas' international documentary film festival since 2007 and one of Dallas-Fort Worth's largest music festivals since 2014. Taking place at Movie Tavern Denton and various Denton music venues through Sunday, the festival will feature over 50 documentaries and performances by over 50 bands.

Friday, March 25

Theatre Arlington present Sister Act
Sister Act is the feel-good musical comedy smash based on the hit 1992 film. When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won’t be a found: a convent. Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with both the rigid lifestyle and uptight Mother Superior. Using her unique disco moves and singing talent to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new life into the church and community but, in doing so, blows her cover. Soon, the gang is giving chase, only to find them up against Deloris and the power of her newly found sisterhood. The production, featuring original music by Alan Menken, will run at Theatre Arlington through April 16.

John Mulaney: "From Scratch"
Comedian John Mulaney has, shall we say, a unique sense of humor, as anybody who has seen one of his hosting jobs on Saturday Night Live can attest. A former writer for SNL, Mulaney has had his own eponymous sitcom on Fox and starred on Broadway in Oh, Hello with Nick Kroll. He'll bring that same energy to his From Scratch tour, which will be at American Airlines Center.

Richardson Theatre Centre presents Present Laughter
At the center of his own universe sits matinee idol Garry Essendine: suave, hedonistic, and too old, says his wife, to be having numerous affairs. His line in harmless, infatuated debutantes is largely tolerated but playing closer to home is not. Just before he escapes on tour to Africa, the full extent of his misdemeanors is discovered. And all hell breaks loose. Noel Coward's Present Laughter will run at Richardson Theatre Centre through April 10.

Dallas Theater Center presents The Sound of Music
A country under attack. A family paralyzed by loss. And a woman who is afraid to love. Dallas Theater Center boldly reexamines The Sound of Music, one of the most exhilarating musical theater classics ever written. The inspirational story follows a young postulate who is dispatched to serve as governess for the seven children of an imperious naval captain, bringing joy and music to the household. But as the forces of Nazism take hold of Austria, Maria and the entire von Trapp family must make a moral decision. The production will run at Wyly Theatre through April 24.

Saturday, March 26

The Oddities and Curiosities Expo
The Oddities and Curiosities Expo, featuring over 150 local and national vendors, is a "one part horror convention, one part dark arts" expo show will feature vendors and small businesses showcasing taxidermy, preserved animal specimens, original horror and Halloween-inspired artwork, antiques, handcrafted oddities, quack medical devices, creepy clothing, odd jewelry, skulls, bones, and funeral collectibles. The event takes place at Centennial Hall at Fair Park.

Hyena's presents T.J. Miller
T.J. Miller is driven by the altruistic mission statement that life is fundamentally tragic and the best thing he can do is provide an ephemeral escapism from that tragedy which permeates everyday life by doing comedy. Miller, best known for starring in Silicon Valley, the Deadpool series, and the How to Train Your Dragon series, will perform three times through Sunday at Hyena's Dallas.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents "Dancing Beyond Borders - North"
The dancers of Dallas Black Dance Theatre will travel north to Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson for this special event. DBDT: Encore! dancers appear to levitate across the stage as they perform Opaque, a mysterious and majestic work choreographed by Nycole Ray. In Nineteenth, another Ray showpiece, the dancers portray a historic tug-of-war for power.

American Baroque Opera Co. presents Acis & Galatea
Acis & Galatea received its premiere in 1718 in the gardens at Cannons as a one-act pastorale, or semi-opera, with a cast of only five singers. It was later revived by Handel in 1732 for the Italian troupe in London, and again in 1739 with changes to the original version, creating the two-act English version known today. The story is drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and tells the story of the shepherd Acis, and his love, the nymph Galatea. The production will have two performances — one Saturday and one Sunday — at Wyly Theatre.

The Dallas Opera presents Javier Camarena
Internationally acclaimed Mexican tenor Javier Camarena will make a rare one-night-only appearance in Dallas in a special event for The Dallas Opera. The Mexican-born tenor superstar is just one of three singers in the last 70 years at the Metropolitan Opera to be called upon by audiences to give an encore of his aria during the opera. The program at Winspear Opera House will include beloved Neapolitan and Latin songs, and famous arias by composers including Verdi and Donizetti.

Sunday, March 27

"Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel - The Exhibition" closing day
Sunday will be the final day to view "Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel - The Exhibition" at Irving Mall. This unique immersive event re-creates one of the world’s greatest artistic achievements, Michelangelo’s renowned ceiling frescoes from the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, reproduced photographically and artfully displayed in their original size. Visitors are given a chance to engage with the artwork in ways that were never before possible: seeing every detail, every brushstroke, and every color of the artist’s 34 frescoes.

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition will close on March 27 at Irving Mall.

$Michelangelo\u2019s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition$

Photo courtesy of Bridgeman Images and SEE Global Entertainment

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition will close on March 27 at Irving Mall.

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Movie Review

Fairly typical biopic Christy rides on buzz of star Sydney Sweeney

Photo courtesy of Black Bear

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Sports fans of a certain age will remember the name of boxer Christy Martin (née Salters), who became one of the first big female names in the sport in the 1990s. Her moment in the sun resulted in a lot of wins, but her legacy has not been as lasting as some other female sports pioneers. The new biopic Christy attempts to change that, as well as tell a fuller account of her life.

As we meet Christy (Sydney Sweeney) in 1989, she’s in her early twenties and still living in her hometown in rural West Virginia with brother Randy (Coleman Pedigo), mom Joyce (Merritt Wever), and father Johnny (Ethan Embry). After developing a reputation in local “toughman” contests, promoter Larry Carrier (Bill Kelly) recruits her for small-time boxing matches. Success there leads to her starting to be trained under Jim Martin (Ben Foster), who initially resists coaching a woman.

As Christy starts to prove her worth against almost all-comers, Jim starts to believe more in her talent, although that belief also includes a side of control issues/jealousy. As Christy rises up the ranks, including getting promoted by Don King (Chad L. Coleman) himself, her relationship with the much older Jim remains fraught even after they get married. Her winning wins her the respect of the public, but her private life stands in stark contrast with the feeling of victory.

Written and directed by David Michôd, and co-written by Mirrah Foulkes, the film plays out in a very typical biopic kind of way, with the protagonist achieving a good bit of fame before being brought back down to earth thanks to a complicated personal life. The filmmakers do a decent job of navigating through the tropes, although early fight scenes lean hard into the idea that Christy is a rare talent who can knock out people of both sexes with ease. Still, the fight scenes themselves are staged well, with Sweeney and the other actors ably embodying the athleticism of pro boxers.

The depiction of Christy’s personal life is similarly up-and-down. Struggles with a controlling and/or abusive partner and substance addiction issues are regrettably common in these types of stories, and so it’s up to the filmmakers to show them in a way that doesn’t feel trite. While the film does a decent job of digging into why Christy makes the choices she does, it never reaches the level of being completely compelling.

Christy’s sexuality plays a relatively big part in the story, as she’s forced to tamp down her being gay in order to please others in her life and to further her career. The sacrifice she has to make is clear, especially when she marries Jim out of convenience (and maybe more). The idea of her appearing more feminine, including wearing bright pink while boxing and styling her hair differently, is brought up to her on multiple occasions, weighing on her even as she goes along to get along.

Sweeney follows the playbook of other actors like Charlize Theron in Monster and Hilary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry, making herself less glamorous to play up the drama of the role. She succeeds for the most part, with her best scenes coming during the multiple fights. Foster has played similar slimeballs before, and - with the help of a heinous haircut and more - he inhabits the role completely. It’s a little disappointing to see Wever reduced to a one-note part, however.

The story of Christy Martin is one filled with everything you could want for an engrossing sports movie, but even though it has its high moments, it ultimately fails to deliver the knockout punch it needed. Sweeney deserves credit for portraying the boxer in an interesting way, but the story around her could have used some more oomph.

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Christy opens in theaters on November 7.

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