The slate of events in and around Dallas this weekend can be divided into two sections. Thursday and Friday see the start of five different theater productions, ranging from one aimed at kids to one featuring two drag queens and a transsexual. Saturday and Sunday feature comedy and music, including concerts from up-and-comers and long-established veterans.
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, July 12
My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy
Brad Zimmerman’s My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy is the story of one man’s struggle to fulfill his dream and "make it" as a comedic actor in New York. The show is one part standup, one part theatrical, and all parts uproarious. Zimmerman tells of his pursuit, along with stories about his childhood, family, and misbegotten love life with warmth, wit, self-deprecating humor, and wicked charm. The show will run at Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson through July 29.
Junior Players presents Dogfight: The Musical
In Dogfight, three young Marines set out for one final boys' night of debauchery, partying, and maybe a little trouble. But when Corporal Eddie Birdlace meets Rose, an awkward and idealistic waitress whom he enlists to win a cruel bet with his fellow recruits, she rewrites the rules of the game and teaches him the power of love and compassion. Junior Players will present four performances through Sunday at the University Theatre on the campus of the University of Texas at Dallas.
Friday, July 13
Theatre Arlington presents Stellaluna
This all-youth production is about baby bat Stellaluna, whose life is flitting along right on schedule — until an owl attacks her mother one night, knocking the bewildered batlet out of her mother’s loving grasp. The tiny bat is lucky enough to land in a nest of baby birds, but her whole world has just turned upside down. Stellaluna’s adoptive bird mom accepts her into her nest, but only on the condition that Stellaluna will act like a bird, not a bat. The production will run at Theatre Arlington through July 22.
Uptown Players presents Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Adapted from the 1994 Academy Award-winning film, Priscilla Queen of the Desert is the heartwarming, uplifting musical adventure of three friends, Tick, Bernadette, and Adam (two drag queens and a transsexual), who take their show to the middle of the Australian Outback. Aboard a battered old bus called Priscilla, they search for love and friendship and end up finding more than they ever could have dreamed. The production will run at Kalita Humphreys Theater through July 29.
Festival of Independent Theatres
The Festival of Independent Theatres aids local theater companies without a permanent performance space. The eight shows are all one-act plays, paired in two-show blocks and will continue in rotating repertory at Bath House Cultural Center through August 4. In addition to the eight main stage productions, the festival also includes the art exhibition "Revived with Light: An Exploration of Expired Photographic Media," a variety of live music on select weekend afternoons, and FIT Underground.
Saturday, July 14
Funnier Than a Mutha#*@%!& Comedy Festival
This comedy showcase at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie will likely live up to its profane name, as it features five of the funniest comedians working today. Among the performers will be Lavell Crawford (aka Huell from Breaking Bad), Bill Bellamy, Dominique, Huggy Lowdown, and Guy Torry.
Paramore in concert with Foster the People
For a band that's only had one top 10 song, Paramore has an outsized reputation in the music world. Led by singer Hayley Williams, who's fronted the band for half of her 29 years, the band has released five albums in 14 years, including 2017's After Laughter. They'll be joined by opening act Foster the People at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.
Sunday, July 15
Dallas CASA presents Parade of Playhouses final day
Sunday is your final day to get an entry in for one of the whimsical playhouses being given away as part of Dallas CASA's Parade of Playhouses, taking place at NorthPark Center. Each of the custom-built children's playhouses can be won by entering a raffle, which will take place on Sunday. Proceeds go to Dallas CASA, which recruits, trains, and supervises community volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children living in foster care.
Say Indie! Summer Music Festival
The Say Indie! Summer Music Festival will showcase some of the nation's most talented and prosperous unsigned bands. Performers at this event at Deep Ellum Art Company will include The Band Camino; Phangs; Natalie Clero; Alex Di Leo; The New Schematics; Moth Wings; Guys on a Bus; Quiet, Please.; McAllister; Makeshift Cities; and more.
Violent Femmes and Echo & The Bunnymen in concert
Violent Femmes have been a cult group since their debut in 1983. After disbanding in 2009, they came back together in 2013, going on to release their first album in 16 years, 2016's We Can Do Anything. They'll be joined at this co-headlining concert at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory by Echo & The Bunnymen, who are touring in support of their new album, The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon.
The 2018 Festival of Independent Theatres, featuring WingSpan Theatre Company‘s production of Landscape, runs at Bath House Cultural Center July 13-August 4.
