Weekend Event Planner

These are the 8 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

While the number of in-person events is starting to increase, the list of activities in and around Dallas this weekend is a reminder that things are not back to normal yet, with a handful of them still going the virtual route. This weekend will feature several theater productions, comedy from an A-list name, and outdoor opera, theater, dance, and movies.

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

Thursday, May 20

Latino Theater Co. and Cara Mía Theatre present Ursula
Ursula tells the journey of Nadia, a 7-year-old, separated from her mother after seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. As Nadia waits for her asylum to be processed, she reflects on the difficulties she is leaving behind in Honduras and the new reality she is facing. The production, performed mostly in Spanish with some English with subtitles, will be available to stream at any time through May 30.

Improv Addison presents Whitney Cummings
Comedian Whitney Cummings is best known for creating and starring in the NBC series Whitney, and she also co-created and co-wrote the Emmy-nominated CBS comedy series 2 Broke Girls. In 2019, Cummings launched her own podcast, Good For You, and debuted her fourth stand-up special, Can I Touch It?, on Netflix. She'll perform six times through Saturday at Improv Addison.

Friday, May 21

Dallas Opera presents "OperaPops!" (UPDATE: This event has been moved indoors to Winspear Opera House due to expected inclement weather.)
The Dallas Opera Orchestra will perform an outdoor OperaPops! concert featuring soprano Deanna Breiwick, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, and baritone Lucas Meachem in a program of favorites from both the opera and Broadway stages. The concert, taking place at Annette Strauss Square, will include songs and music from My Fair Lady, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, Carousel, Candide, and more.

Echo Theatre presents Echo Reads: The Great Lonely Roamer & The Night That Changed Everything
As part of their Echo Reads series, Echo Theatre will present The Great Lonely Roamer & The Night That Changed Everything by CQ (Christina Quintana). Only two polar bears are left on the planet. On New Year’s Eve, one bear searches suburban Texas for a new, air-conditioned home, while his sister attempts to track him down in New York City. A gun-toting trucker tries to race his pregnant wife to the hospital. A first date laced with supercharged marijuana takes a turn at a police stop. A wild night ensues that will affect the future of an entire species. There will be virtual performances on both Friday and Saturday.

Saturday, May 22

Shakespeare Dallas presents The Wars of the Roses
In its return to the stage, Shakespeare Dallas will journey across nearly 50 years of history between 1422 and 1485 with an abridged staged reading of Shakespeare’s four history plays: Henry VI Parts I, II and III and Richard III. The Wars of the Roses will be an all-day affair on both Saturday and Sunday at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Pilobolus in the Garden
Pilobolus in the Garden is a premiere outdoor site-specific performance commissioned by TITAS that will take audience members through a physically and emotionally moving performance experience that explores the vistas of Nasher Sculpture Garden while exploring the nature of nature. A collaborative work between famed Pilobolus Dance Company and local dance, music, and creative writing artists of the Arts Magnet, the project will have four separate performances on Saturday.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents "Spring Celebration"
Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s Spring Celebration features guest artist Alicia Graf Mack, who will perform a sentimental solo, Don’t Stop, from a New York City rooftop. DBDT veteran dancer and rehearsal assistant Claude Alexander III will take viewers on an emotional journey through the process of forgiveness and unconditional love in his full company work, A Tender Pardon. The program will also feature an emotionally moving male trio, Evidence of Souls Not Seen, choreographed by Lloyd Whitmore. The virtual event will be available to stream at any time on Saturday or Sunday.

Carbaret Drive-In presents Hedwig and the Angry Inch
After a five-month break, CarBaret will open its second season with the 2001 John Cameron Mitchell adaptation of his own off-Broadway musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. They'll also premiere the new North Texas short film That, and host a pre-show live performance by Harley Deville. The drive-in event, which was rescheduled from May 9, will take place in the parking lot outside of Brizo in Richardson.

Latino Theater Co. and Cara Mía Theatre present Ursula, available to stream at any time, May 20-30.

Photo courtesy of Cara Mia Theatre

Latino Theater Co. and Cara Mía Theatre present Ursula, available to stream at any time, May 20-30.

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Movie Review

Improv acting proves a detriment for Dakota Fanning-led The Sun Never Sets

Photo courtesy of Independent Film Company

Dakota Fanning in The Sun Never Sets.

The movies of writer/director Joe Swanberg have always been an acquired taste, as he prefers to give his actors a loose framework of a story and let them improvise most of their lines to give the films a more natural feel. Sometimes that approach can yield great results, and sometimes - as in The Sun Never Sets - it can result in addled and maddening storytelling.

Wendy (Dakota Fanning) is in her early 30s and at a crossroads in her life. When a friend announces she’s pregnant, she starts to re-evaluate what she wants, including her two-year relationship with the older Jack (Jake Johnson). Although they love each other, their disagreements on having more children and extracurricular activities call their long-term viability into question.

Jack, not wanting Wendy to settle, encourages her to explore her options where they live - Anchorage, Alaska - telling her he’ll be waiting should she strike out. What he doesn’t expect is that Wendy’s ex-boyfriend, Chuck (Cory Michael Smith), has returned to the city, giving her an attractive alternative. The three engage in a love triangle that proves frustrating and confusing for both the participants and the viewers.

What works best about the film is its location in Alaska, which rarely gets showcased in movies, and even more rarely in the way it is here. The story takes place in warmer months, and Swanberg gives his characters multiple opportunities to be outside, showing off Anchorage’s harbor, surrounding mountains, and seemingly vibrant city life. The subtle but effective way Swanberg frames various scenes makes the landscape enormously appealing.

It’s too bad, then, that the story never measures up to its surroundings. Too often Fanning, Johnson, Smith, and others seem to be grasping for their next line, unsure of what they want their character to do or say next. That lets their scenes mimic real conversations, but you might not realize how much you want scripted dialogue until you see actors trying to come up with their own in the moment.

The larger issue is that there’s no consistency from scene to scene about where the plot is heading. The characters of Wendy, Jack, and Chuck are extremely wishy-washy about their desires, with each of them vacillating back-and-forth in just how much they want to be with each other. Depending on your experience, this may or may not be true to life, but watching it is excruciating and not enjoyable or romantic in the slightest.

As actors, Fanning, Johnson, and Smith are talented and interesting, with each capable of connecting with viewers in different ways. But working in improvisation is a different beast, and only Johnson - who has worked with Swanberg multiple times - seems truly at home. A few others, like Debby Ryan and Anna Konkle, do well in the format and maybe deserved bigger parts.

Swanberg has proven in the past that his method of filmmaking can be insightful and entertaining, but that is not the case here. In The Sun Never Sets, his hands-off approach is a detriment to the flow of the film and the story as a whole, resulting in an experience that is far from what most viewers will want to go through.

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The Sun Never Sets is now playing in select theaters.

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