If you love stories, you'll get your fill around Dallas this weekend. Among the different events are two high-profile theater productions, a visit from two master storytellers, and a film festival.
Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.
Thursday, January 28
AT&T Performing Arts Center presents If/Then
If/Then, playing at Winspear Opera House through Sunday, is a contemporary Broadway musical about living in New York today — and all the possibilities of tomorrow. With Tony-nominated songs and a deeply moving story, the musical simultaneously follows one woman’s two possible life paths. Dallas just missed out on seeing original star Idina Menzel, but replacement Jackie Burns is no slouch herself.
Dallas Theater Center presents Romeo and Juliet
The latest adaptation of Shakespeare from Dallas Theater Center will be a modern take on the ever-popular story of star-crossed lovers. Playing at Kalita Humphreys Theater through February 28, this sleek, sexy new production immerses you in the emotional chaos of two innocent teens fighting desperately to choose their own destiny.
Eisemann Center presents An Evening with Garrison Keillor
For fans of A Prairie Home Companion, it's the end of an era: Garrison Keillor will step down as host later this year. This visit to Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson is not part of that series, but rather one more chance to hear Keillor tell hilarious anecdotes about growing up in the American Midwest, the people of Lake Wobegon, and late-life fatherhood.
Friday, January 29
Denton Black Film Festival 2016
With all the hullabaloo over no black actors getting nominated for an Academy Award for the second year in a row, there almost couldn't be a better time for the Denton Black Film Festival to take place. Over three days at the Campus Theatre, audiences will have a chance to witness many works of art created solely by black artists.
Vanessa Carlton in concert with Skye Steele
Singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton burst onto the scene in a big way back in 2002 thanks to her debut album, Be Not Nobody, and the hit song, "A Thousand Miles." She hasn't hit those heights again since, but you have to give her credit for continuing to plug away in a brutal industry. She'll play at the House of Blues in support of her latest album, Liberman, with support from opening act Skye Steele.
Saturday, January 30
The 2016 Dallas Travel & Adventure Show
Whether or not you have the means to travel the world, you can live vicariously through the Dallas Travel & Adventure Show, returning to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center through Sunday. Attendees will have access to travel celebrity speakers like Rick Steves and Patricia Schultz, dozens of seminars, trip giveaways, prizes, and fun activities for the entire family.
Harlem Globetrotters 2016 World Tour
There's nothing like the brand of entertainment the Harlem Globetrotters bring to the basketball court. The sleight of hand, twirling, spinning, and generally acrobatic moves they display while taking it to their hapless opponents — no longer the Washington Generals — are a joy to watch. They play three times at American Airlines Center on Saturday and Sunday.
Sunday, January 31
The Dallas Opera presents Frederica von Stade with Jake Heggie
Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade is one of the most famous opera singers of all time, influencing countless others through the performances and recordings she's done since the early 1970s. The Dallas Opera will host a special concert by her, featuring accompaniment by pianist/composer Jake Heggie, whose Moby-Dick will make a return visit to the Dallas Opera later this year.
Arts & Letters Live: Chris Grabenstein
Children's author Chris Grabenstein has dabbled in multiple genres, including comedy, horror, and adventure. But he's perhaps most well known for his Mr. Lemoncello's Library series, which uses brain-tickling puzzles to enthrall readers. Grabenstein will talk about his latest book, Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics, at this Arts & Letters Live event at the Dallas Museum of Art.
The national tour of If/Then will play at Winspear Opera House through January 31.
Crystal Charity Ball 2024 chairman Cheryl Joyner and Richard Joyner.
Photo by Ashley Gongora