Weekend Event Planner

These are the 12 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Local theater gets a moment in the sun this weekend in Dallas, with no fewer than four separate productions opening up. You can also check out some mom humor, a well-known comedian, a dance fundraiser, '90s folk rockers, a Texas version of Mardi Gras, some hilarious basketball, a Broadway legend, and some fantastic art.

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, February 20

Soul Rep Theatre Company presents Amazing Grace
This children’s show captures the story of a young African-American girl named Grace, who boasts a colorful and vibrant imagination. In her play world, she becomes the characters: Anansi the Spider, Joan of Arc, Mowgli, Hiawatha. But when she's told by two of her classmates that she can't be Peter Pan in the school play because she is a girl and because she is black, she has to prove that she can indeed do anything she sets her mind to. The play will run at South Dallas Cultural Center through March 8.

Second Thought Theatre presents Mlima’s Tale
Ancient and legendary African elephant Mlima is struck down and his massive tusks stolen as trophies. His ghost is ever-present as the tusks change hands many times and travel the world from Kenya, to Vietnam, to Beijing. Set against the backdrop of the black market ivory trade, and written by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage, Mlima's Tale explores complex questions of global consumerism, ancestral history, and human greed. The production will run at Second Thought Theatre through March 14.

Theatre Three presents Funny, You Don't Act Like a Negro
You know what they say happens when you assume … but then again, there’s also that saying about people who live in glass houses. Denise Lee’s Funny, You Don't Act Like a Negro explores the prejudgments we make on our neighbors, the biases we inadvertently pass on to our children, and how the simple act of talking to one another is being subverted by social media. The production will run at Theatre Three through March 15.

#IMomSoHard: Mom's Night Out Round 2
There’s no one making moms feel as uncomfortably normal as Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley, the hilarious oh-so-real women behind #IMomSoHard. Jen and Kristin’s blend of honesty and humor delivers the kind of straight talk you can only get from discussing body hair in the kids’ playroom while sipping mimosas. They will perform at The Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Improv Addison presents Melissa Villaseñor
Melissa Villaseñor is currently a featured cast member on Saturday Night Live. She made her television debut on America's Got Talent and does extensive voiceover acting on Fox’s Family Guy, Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, and Comedy Central’s Triptank. She'll perform five times through Saturday at Improv Addison.

Friday, February 21

Bruce Wood Dance 10th Anniversary Gala: Cowboy Songs
Bruce Wood Dance will pull out all the stops to celebrate its 10th year with Cowboy Songs. Dancers will perform the Texas-inspired choreography of Bruce Wood, while Broadway’s Joseph Thalken leads Ginny Mac, Sonny Franks, and six musicians through a suite of songs by composers Michael Martin Murphey, Lyle Lovett, Wylie Gustafson, and more. The event will take place on Friday and Saturday at Bruce Wood Dance Gallery.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Indigo Girls
Two decades after releasing their first album and countless U.S. and international tours later, the Indigo Girls continue to make waves on the music scene. They remain the only duo with top 40 titles on the Billboard 200 each decade since the 1980s. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jeff Tyzik, will accompany the Indigo Girls for three concerts through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Cara Mia Theatre Co. presents The House on Mango Street
Esperanza’s story is the experience of so many Mexican-American girls during the stage of life between childhood and adolescence. We see her rush into the innocent games, fantasies, and friendships of childhood, yet she begins to become conscious of the dangers and contradictions of being a young woman living in the barrio. Esperanza tries to make sense of her place in the world while observing the lives of the women around her and decides her life is going to be different. The production will play at Latino Cultural Center through March 8.

Saturday, February 22

Mardi Gras Texas Style
The 19th Annual Mardi Gras Texas Style music festival will feature 20 of Texas country’s hottest emerging and established acts on five different stages. Performers will include Josh Abbott Band, Aaron Watson, Flatland Cavalry, Shane Smith & The Saints, and more. Festivalgoers will also have the opportunity to enjoy Mardi Gras-style eats, beer, and beads. The festival takes place in the Automobile Building at Fair Park.

The Original Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters will bring their all-new show, “Pushing the Limits,” to Dallas. Fans can get up close and personal with a star-stuffed roster, including Big Easy Lofton, Hi-Lite Bruton, and female stars TNT Lister, Swish Sutton, and Torch George. Every show features a blend of hilarious hijinks and incredible basketball skills, including ball handling, high flying dunks, and a new record-breaking attempt. There will be two games at American Airlines Center.

Turtle Creek Chorale presents Rhapsody: 40th Anniversary Gala with Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel, the Tony Award-winning icon of stage and screen, will headline Rhapsody, Turtle Creek Chorale’s 40th Anniversary Gala. The evening will feature a cocktail reception, elegant dinner, open bar, live auction, a performance by Menzel, and other surprises. Funds raised at the event, taking place at The Statler Hotel, will support the Chorale’s mission to entertain, educate, unite, and inspire through its musical, cultural, and educational programs.

Sunday, February 23

Dallas Museum of Art openings and closings (EDIT: "Speechless" will close on March 22, not February 23.)
It's moving day at the Dallas Museum of Art, as one exhibition opens while another closes. Opening is "Frans Hals," featuring two imposing portraits of the same sitter painted a decade apart that showcase the revolutionary technique of Frans Hals, the first major artist of free Holland. Closing is "Speechless," an exhibition that merges research, aesthetics, and innovative new design to explore the vast spectrum of sensory experiences and new approaches to accessibility and modes of communication in the museum setting.

The Harlem Globetrotters will play two games at American Airlines Center on February 22.

Photo courtesy of Harlem Globetrotters

The Harlem Globetrotters will play two games at American Airlines Center on February 22.

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Movie Review

Andrew Garfield leads peasant rebellion in medieval film The Uprising

Photo by Betina La Plante/Focus Features

Andrew Garfield in The Uprising.

Writer/director Paul Greengrass made his name with a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking that brought immediacy and depth to three Jason Bourne films, United 93, Captain Phillips, and more. In The Uprising, he uses those skills to tell the story of the so-called Peasants’ Revolt in 14th century England.

Greengrass wastes no time starting the main plot as Ploughman (Andrew Garfield) and his fellow villagers object to onerous taxes put on them by the country’s nobility, led by the young King Richard II (Woody Norman), to fund an ongoing war. Ploughman initiates a violent response over the tone-deaf — and unseemly — way the king’s guard go about their business, and the rebellion soon starts to spread across the countryside, with the citizens looking for a degree of autonomy.

The ever-expanding group makes their way toward London to try to make their case to the king himself. Meanwhile, the king’s top advisors, including Archbishop Sudbury (Stephen Dillane) and Treasurer Hales (Tom Hollander), try to usurp power from the inexperienced monarch even as the king’s mother (Katherine Waterston) tries to get him to be more assertive.

The history of the English monarchy is long and lurid, as Shakespeare detailed in multiple plays, including Richard II. Though the events in the film took place almost 650 years ago, it’s easy to see parallels between what the peasants were fighting for and modern-day politics. Greengrass’ storytelling intent is solid, and the righteous anger the citizens feel is initially relatable and palpable.

But the populism theme of the story soon gets bogged down in drudgery and minutiae that is difficult to understand, especially when the details are lost in the thick regional English accents. The leaders of the rebels — including John Ball (Jamie Bell), Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis), and Alyce (Thomasin McKenzie) — are shown doing a lot of planning, but the strong feelings they have about their quest don’t come across well, leaving the audience as passive observers.

When there is action, Greengrass and his team employ a frenetic style that is not great for comprehension. While the gist of what is happening and what side is winning is legible, individual moments go by so quickly so as to be nearly meaningless. Save for Ploughman, any connection that has been made with various characters proves futile, as Greengrass doesn’t seem to have any time for emotion. Scenes that should feel thrilling or heartbreaking instead come off as empty.

Garfield is a two-time Oscar nominee who has done great work across multiple genres. He’s fine in this role, but whether it’s the story, the filmmaking, or something else, he’s not as captivating as usual. The same goes for other strong actors like Bell, McKenzie, Dillane, Hollander, and Waterston, who each seem to be giving their all to their performances but are somehow muted in the process.

Done right, The Uprising could have been a rip-roaring account of people standing up against their oppressors. What Greengrass has made, though, is a film that can’t translate its medieval story for a modern audience and concentrates too much on unexciting elements and too little on thrilling ones.

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The Uprising is now playing in theaters.

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