Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

It's a relatively light weekend for new events around Dallas, but there are still plenty of interesting choices. They include a competition for young pianists, new local theater, concerts from three legendary singers or bands, the annual Dallas Pride celebration, a festival honoring volunteers, and more.

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

Thursday, May 30

Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival
The Second Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival will feature 23 young pianists competing for the title. Taking place through June 8, early rounds will be at Caruth Auditorium on the SMU campus, with the final round concert taking place at Meyerson Symphony Center. The festival will also feature a variety of free events, starting with a concert at Klyde Warren Park on Thursday.

The Classics Theatre Project presents Summer and Smoke
One of Tennessee Williams’ most subtle and tender works, Summer and Smoke explores the conflict between the hedonistic body and the lofty spirit. Set in Mississippi, Alma Winemiller, the minister’s daughter, has grown up loving the boy who lives next door. John Buchanan, the doctor’s son, is a wild, adventurous, mischievous pleasure seeker. The romance that almost blooms between the two of them is among the most engaging and heartbreaking love stories in Williams’ canon. The production will run at Margo Jones Theatre at Magnolia Lounge through June 22.

Friday, May 31

Judas Priest in concert with Uriah Heep
The list of bands still going strong after more than 40 years on the scene is very small. Judas Priest debuted in 1974 with Rocka Rolla, and they've rarely gone more than four years between albums ever since. They'll play at the Bomb Factory in support of their latest album, 2018's Firepower, their highest-charting album ever. They'll be joined by opening act Uriah Heep.

Saturday, June 1

Crow Museum of Asian Art presents Master Shen-Long: "Future Retrospective" opening day
The Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas will open "Future Retrospective: Master Shen-Long." Boasting items never before seen in a U.S. museum, it will feature sculptural and dynamic works dating from the 1980s to the present, offering visitors an immersive installation to explore and experience the artist’s practice. The exhibit will remain on display through August 23, 2020.

Dallas Pride Weekend
Dallas Pride Weekend, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community, includes a festival featuring music, community and merchant vendor booths, pet adoptions, live entertainment, and more at Fair Park on Saturday. That will be followed by the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade on Sunday, which will wind through the Fair Park grounds with parade announcers, and food and beverage along the route.

VolunteerNow presents Voly in the Park
VolunteerNow will bring to life its innovative volunteer-matching platform VOLY.org at the sixth annual Voly in the Park. Taking place at Klyde Warren Park, the event will feature an afternoon of hands-on volunteer projects, live entertainment, and 75 nonprofits in need of volunteers. Attendees can connect with nonprofits, play tic tac toe with the Ronald McDonald House, meeting some of Equest’s mini horses, and more.

TITAS presents Command Performance
Command Performance always delivers one of the most exciting performances of the year. It features artists from leading dance companies delivering spectacular, surprising, and jaw-dropping performances. Taking place at Winspear Opera House, it includes works created specifically for this gala performance by some of the world’s leading choreographers, such as Twyla Tharp, Jessica Lang, Bridget L. Moore, and Wang Yuanyuan.

Joe Jackson in concert
Another musician who's been at it for a long time, Joe Jackson, will bring his Four Decade Tour to Majestic Theatre. Jackson will draw on five of his albums, each representing a decade: Look Sharp (1979), Night and Day (1982), Laughter and Lust (1991), Rain (2008), and his new album, Fool (2019). The concert will include a couple of songs from other albums and some new covers.

Sunday, June 2

An Acoustic Evening with John Hiatt
The weekend closes with yet another legendary musician making his return to Dallas. John Hiatt also released his debut album in 1974, and he has been extremely busy ever since, releasing 24 albums in 45 years, including 2018's The Eclipse Sessions. This concert at The Bomb Factory will be a special acoustic one featuring songs from throughout his illustrious career.

John Hiatt will play at The Bomb Factory on June 2.

Photo courtesy of John Hiatt

John Hiatt will play at The Bomb Factory on June 2.

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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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