As a new year begins, event organizers are easing into things slowly, with fewer new events than usual in the Dallas area. The focus is mostly on local happenings, like two local theater productions, a classical music concert, a ballet, an Elvis tribute artist, and two art exhibition closings. Theater lovers will also enjoy an up-close look at the national tour of a Tony-nominated play.
Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend.
Thursday, January 6
AT&T Performing Arts Center presents What the Constitution Means to Me
Playwright Heidi Schreck’s boundary-breaking play breathes new life into the Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful, and achingly human new play, Shreck (portrayed by Cassie Beck) resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives. The play will run at Winspear Opera House through Sunday.
East Dallas Arts presents Romeo & Juliet Shakespeare in Motion
East Dallas Arts will take on a Shakespeare classic with Romeo & Juliet Shakespeare in Motion, a movement and dance retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Directed and choreographed by 17-year-old Tilda McSpadden, the production — running through Sunday — will feature a local Dallas cast ranging in age from 15 to 22.
Friday, January 7
Cry Havoc Theater Company presents The Forever Quest
Cry Havoc Theater Company will begin its eighth season with a new devised work, The Forever Quest. In a chaotic, unpredictable word, the greatest gift we can bestow on children is resiliency. The Forever Quest, Cry Havoc’s first production made by teens for young audiences ages 6 and up, will explore the importance of friends, one’s chosen family, and trust in one’s own abilities. The production will be at South Dallas Cultural Center through January 15.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Ravel + Urioste"
In the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's latest concert, Black composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s rhapsodic violin concerto will be played by the young Mexican-American violinist Elena Urioste. The remainder of the concert, playing at Meyerson Symphony Center through Sunday, features the great French composer Maurice Ravel in some of his most colorful orchestral works, including his hypnotic, ever-expanding Boléro.
Saturday, January 8
Plano Metropolitan Ballet presents Aladdin
Plano Metropolitan Ballet presents its annual fairy tale ballet Aladdin, a story of mystery, thrill, and beauty all told via the wonders of original ballet choreography. There will be five public performances of the ballet through January 22 at Courtyard Theater in Plano.
Irving Arts Center presents Elvis Birthday Concert with Kraig Parker & the Royal Tribute Band
It may be hard to believe, but Saturday marks what would have been Elvis Presley's 85th birthday. To celebrate the King's day, Irving Arts Center will put on this special concert featuring Kraig Parker, who has been hailed as the ultimate image of Presley. Backed by a 10-piece group, the Royal Tribute Band, Parker looks and sounds just like the king of rock 'n’ roll with his powerful voice, electric moves, and charisma.
Sunday, January 9
Dallas Museum of Art closings
The Dallas Museum of Art will close two exhibitions on Sunday. "Point, Line, Plane: The William Jordan and Robert Brownlee Bequest" honors a gift from the estate of distinguished art historian William B. Jordan and his husband, Robert Dean Brownlee, highlighting a selection of nearly 70 works donated to the DMA by Jordan and Brownlee. "Pursuit of Beauty: The May Family Collection" offers a look at the exemplary Dallas-based collection of American art that was built over nearly 60 years by Thomas and Eleanor May and their children, featuring works by influential artists like Cecilia Beaux, William Merritt Chase, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent.
What the Constitution Means to Me will play at Winspear Opera House through January 9.
Figure skater Mariah Bell. Getty Images 