Weekend Event Planner

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

The final weekend in September is shaping up to be a huge one. Not only do you have the start of the single biggest event on the Dallas calendar, but you have no fewer than four big name concerts, two new local theatrical productions, the start of a new classical music season, and a new art exhibit to enjoy.

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, September 27

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Wagner Overtures"
The classical portion of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra kicks off with a program called "Wagner Overtures," featuring Wagner’s overture to Tannhäuser and his prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Those selections are paired with two of Richard Strauss’s most transcendent works, Four Last Songs and Death and Transfiguration. The concert, featuring Soprano Aga Mikolaj, will be presented three times through Sunday at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

Drake in concert with Migos
The "In My Feelings" challenge will be in full effect at American Airlines Center as Drake comes back to town. It's been a couple of years since the Canadian rapper was in the area, giving him enough time to release yet another No. 1 album, Scorpion, and score a few more No. 1 hits like "In My Feelings," "Nice for What," and "God's Plan." He'll be joined by Migos, who featured Drake on their hit, "Walk It Talk It."

5 Seconds of Summer in concert
Since the dissolution of One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer has taken over as the current reigning boy band. This is actually their second stop in the Dallas area in just five months, as they booked a concert at House of Blues Dallas in April before realizing they'd need a much bigger venue for their next concert. They'll play at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving in support of their new album, Youngblood.

Friday, September 28

2018 State Fair of Texas
The 24-day, four weekend extravaganza that is the State Fair of Texas is finally back. Some people can't wait for the festivities, some people dread them, but the one thing it's impossible to do is ignore them. For almost the next month, you can indulge in all the fried food you can handle, carnival rides, concerts, livestock shows, butter sculptures, and all the other fun and weird stuff on display at Fair Park. Learn how to get discounts for it all here. The State Fair will run through October 21.

Uptown Players presents Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika
As one of the great plays of the 20th century, Angels in America, Perestroika picks up right where Millenium Approaches leaves off, with the epic conclusion of the fate of two couples in which one partner has abandoned the other and God has abandoned Heaven. The award-winning play, presented by Uptown Players at Kalita Humphreys Theater through October 7, explores gay culture, race, political injustice, inequality, and the future of America through the lens of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.

Dallas Theater Center presents Steel Magnolias
Every Southern woman knows there are few institutions on earth more important than the town beauty parlor. At Truvy Jones’ salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, neighborhood women gather to swap stories, share gossip, and of course, style their hair. But when tragedy strikes, the community comes together in a bond more powerful than 10 coats of hairspray. Dallas Theater Center will present Steel Magnolias at Wyly Theatre through October 21.

Saturday, September 29

Florence + the Machine in concert with Kamasi Washington
English indie rock band Florence + the Machine is one of those groups that has had an outsized impact on the music world compared to their record sales and hit songs. They have had one No. 1 album and their most recent album, 2018's High as Hope, debuted at No. 2, but their best known song, "Dog Days Are Over," didn't even crack the top 20. They'll play at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory.

Sunday, September 30

Dallas Museum of Art presents Runo Lagomarsino: "Concentrations 61"
"Concentrations 61" is the first solo museum exhibition for Runo Lagomarsino, a conceptual artist of Italian and Argentine descent. Transforming everyday objects and phrases into historically referential works of art, Lagomarsino considers the unstable nature of national identities. "Concentrations 61" spans two galleries and features new commissions and previous works that have been specifically reformatted for the DMA. The exhibit will be on display through April 14, 2019.

Lauryn Hill in concert
For a singer who has been part of only three albums — two with the Fugees, one solo, all released in the '90s — Lauryn Hill still enjoys a reputation as a great artist. She's released a handful of songs in the past 20 years, but has also become known for her erratic behavior. Fingers crossed we'll get the the good Hill when she performs at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

Lauryn Hill will play at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory on September 30.

Photo courtesy of LiveNation

Lauryn Hill will play at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory on September 30.

event-planner

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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