Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Machine Gun Kelly will play at at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving on October 24.

Photo by Daniel Cavazos

If you love local theater, this first full weekend in June will be your jam, as it features no fewer than five different theater companies staging new productions. The weekend will also feature a dance production, a festival-style EDM event, a notorious rapper/rocker, everyone's favorite Netflix cheerleaders, a small-scale concert, and a well-known comedian.

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, June 9

Lyric Stage presents Cabaret
Set in Berlin as the 1920s draw to a close, Cabaret focuses on the hedonistic nightlife at the seedy Kit Kat Klub, while exploring the dark and tumultuous life in Germany as the Third Reich ascends to power. The fully-staged concert production, which features a 13-piece, all-female orchestra led by Vonda K. Bowling, will play five times through Sunday at Majestic Theatre.

Pegasus Theatre presents Death is a Bad Habit!
Pegasus Theatre continues their 2022 season with the RadioVizion presentation of Death is a Bad Habit! by Kurt Kleinmann. Bishop Perkins suspects that something is amiss at Our Lady of Perpetual Weepiness and has asked Harry Hunsacker, a world-famous detective and aspiring actor, to check into things at the convent. Harry, Nigel Grouse, and Lt. Foster find themselves in more trouble than they could possibly imagine. The production will run through June 25 at Bath House Cultural Center.

Uptown Players presents Broadway Our Way
The Uptown Players divas return for another entertaining weekend of Broadway music with plenty of twists, laughs, and surprises. The evening features many favorite actors from past Uptown Players seasons performing selections from Broadway shows, both past and present, all done with an Uptown Players spin. There will be four performances through Sunday at Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Kitchen Dog Theater presents New Works Festival
The annual New Works Festival from Kitchen Dog Theater was supposed to feature the world premiere of High Five this weekend, but due to a positive COVID test for a member of their production team, the production will now run June 16-26. Still taking place will be PUP Fest, an afternoon of six world premiere staged readings written by local high school students mentored and developed through playwriting workshops. There will be two performances on Saturday at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Friday, June 10

Art Centre Theatre presents Bride of Frankenstein Goes Malibu
Dr. Frankenstein has come to California to recreate his famous monster and monster bride. Why California? Because he plans to use the brains of ... surfers. To this end, he is always looking for good material. One stormy night, Lum, a master at riding the waves, stumbles into the gloomy house, and the fun begins. The production will run through June 19 at Art Centre Theatre in Plano.

Bruce Wood Dance presents Spring
Bruce Wood Dance presents Spring, featuring a world premiere from guest choreographer Stephanie Martinez; the mainstage production of Joy Bollinger’s Slip Zone Suite commissioned by Dallas Museum of Art and inspired by its exhibition, "Slip Zone;" and the Dallas premiere of Bruce Wood’s riveting interpretation of Rite of Spring, the classic work by Igor Stravinsky. There will be three performances through Sunday at Moody Performance Hall.

Saturday, June 11

Camp Nowhere featuring Porter Robinson, Lane 8, Nora En Pure, Fletcher, and more
Camp Nowhere is a festival-style event that will feature performances by some of the top electronic music producers working today. Headlining the event will be Porter Robinson, who has released three albums — one of all-new material and two live ones — in the last year alone. Also performing will be Lane 8, Nora En Pure, Fletcher, and LP Giobbi. The concert will be at Dos Equis Pavilion.

Machine Gun Kelly in concert
Rapper, rocker, and Houston native Machine Gun Kelly is equally well known for his personal life as he is for his music. When he's not engaging in excessive PDA with or drinking the blood of his fiancée Megan Fox, he's putting out some very popular music, as both of his last two albums, including the new Mainstream Sellout, went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200. He'll play at American Airlines Center.

Cheer Live
Fans of the Netflix docuseries Cheer will have lots to cheer about when the Cheer Live tour comes The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving. The event will feature coach Navarro College Monica Aldama alongside cheer stars such as Gabi Butler, Morgan Simianer, and many others. The athletes will present an exhibition of never-before-seen stunts and stage performances, an athletic event staged with the production value of a live concert.

Sunday, June 12

Turtle Creek Chorale presents Freedom Fighters: A TCC Small Ensemble Showcase
Turtle Creek Chorale will present its small ensembles for an intimate evening of music dedicated to the idea of “freedom” and the costs surrounding the lofty goals of it. Framed by the words and ideals of Nelson Mandela, the concert at Northhaven United Methodist Church will showcase the TCC Chamber Chorus, Coloratura, and TerraVox.

Anjelah Johnson-Reyes: Who Do I Think I Am? Tour
Anjelah Johnson-Reyes became an internet sensation with her viral video, Nail Salon, which led to many stand up, television, and film opportunities. That same year she joined the cast of MADtv as a series regular, which spawned another internet sensation, Bon Qui Qui, a disgruntled fast food employee with no filter. Johnson has also appeared in multiple commercials, including as the spokesperson for Taco Cabana. She'll perform at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory.

Lyric Stage presents Cabaret at Majestic Theatre through June 12.

Photo by Jamie Brogdon Photography

Lyric Stage presents Cabaret at Majestic Theatre through June 12.

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Movie Review

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck team up for Netflix crime thriller The Rip

Photo by Claire Folger/Netflix

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in The Rip.

For as closely tied together as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are, it might come as a surprise how few times they’ve led a movie together. They’ve appeared alongside each other in Good Will Hunting, The Last Duel, and Air, but the only time they were on equal footing in a story was Kevin Smith’s Dogma. So the fact that they are the two true stars of the new Netflix movie The Rip makes it a rare opportunity for the longtime friends to square off against each other.

Damon and Affleck play Lt. Dane Dumars and Detective Sgt. J.D Byrne, respectively, the two highest ranking members of a Miami police department squad that specializes in drug and drug money raids. A tragedy to begin the film already has the team - which includes Detectives Mike Ro (Steven Yeun), Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor), and Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandina Moreno) - on edge, with the FBI and DEA breathing down their neck.

Going off a tip, Dumars gathers the team to raid a house in nearby Hialeah that is supposed to have a stash of a relatively small amount of money. But when they get to the house occupied only by Desiree Molina (Sasha Calle), they soon discover that there’s close to $20 million there instead. The team, required by law to count the money on site, must not only fight the urge to skim a little off the top for themselves, but also worry about the Cartel and other agencies that might want a slice of the pie.

Written and directed by Joe Carnahan, the film is a surprisingly effective crime thriller made even better by its high-quality cast, which also includes Kyle Chandler as a DEA agent. The story is designed for the audience to not know who’s trustworthy until the last possible second, and the various twists and turns it takes are well done, with barely a hint of narrative cheating.

Taking place entirely at night, the mood is set right from the start, with the only surprise being that Carnahan didn’t add in rain for extra effect. He keeps things tense with a number of subtle elements, including having the house located in a seemingly deserted cul-de-sac. This allows for the characters to remain on high alert at all times, with anything out of the ordinary - an unexpected noise, a flashing light, etc. - adding to the stress of the situation.

The only element that could have used a bit more of a punch-up is the characterization. The story is set up to cast suspicion on almost everybody, making it tougher to understand exactly what type of person each of them is. As the two leads, more time is spent with Dumars and Byrne, leaving everyone else with slightly underwhelming arcs. It’s to the credit of the actors that everyone else below Damon and Affleck is still compelling.

Damon and Affleck play their sometimes friendly, sometimes adversarial roles well, showing an ease together that’s a result of their friendship and the acting skills they’ve honed over 30+ years. Taylor, an Oscar hopeful for One Battle After Another, and Oscar nominee/Emmy winner Yeun have a pedigree that elevates their supporting roles. Chandler, Moreno, and Calle each get just enough to demonstrate why they were cast in their respective roles.

Damon and Affleck have had their individual ups and downs throughout their careers, but when they choose to work together, the results are usually good-to-great, as they are in The Rip. It’s a different take on a crime thriller that features a story that will keep viewers guessing until the very end.

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The Rip is now streaming on Netflix.

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