Events News

The latest event cancellations in Dallas-Fort Worth due to coronavirus concerns

Shakespeare in the Park presents A Midsummer Night's Dream

Shakespeare Dallas' Shakespeare in the Park, scheduled June 10-July 19, has been canceled.

Photo courtesy of Shakespeare Dallas

As concerns regarding the spread of the coronavirus and government restrictions on group gatherings continue, more event cancellations and postponements are being announced every day in Dallas-Fort Worth. In an effort to keep you as up-to-date as possible, we'll compile a list of different announcements every week.

Note: Given the pace at which things are happening during these times, cancellations are coming at a rapid clip. To be sure you're up to speed, you may want to check with the presenting organization or venue regarding the status of any particular event.

Dallas

Dallas Summer Musicals: The production of Jesus Christ Superstar, scheduled for April 28-May 10, has been postponed to an undetermined date.
Etsy Dallas Spring Bash: The maker event, scheduled for May 2 at Gilley's Dallas, has been canceled.
Shakespeare in the Park: The annual summer productions by Shakespeare Dallas, scheduled for June 10-July 19 at Samuell-Grand Amphitheater, have been canceled.
The HiFi Dallas: The new music venue in the Dallas Design District, scheduled to open on May 15 with a concert by Blue October, has postponed all events through at least May 30. As of now, the concert by Hayley Williams on June 5 will be its debut event.

Grand Prairie

98.7 KLUV presents Rewind featuring Blondie, Berlin, and more: This concert, scheduled for May 20 at The Theatre at Grand Prairie, has been canceled.
Elevation Nights with Elevation Worship and Pastor Steven Furtick: This concert, scheduled for May 28 at The Theatre at Grand Prairie, has been canceled.
Lonestar Landfest: The music festival scheduled for May 30 and 31 at The Theatre at Grand Prairie, which was to have featured Allison Krauss, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and more, has been postponed to an undetermined date.
The Monkees: This concert, originally April 16, has been rescheduled for July 25.

Fort Worth

Billy Bob's Texas: The music venue has rescheduled a number of postponed and forthcoming concerts, including Shane Smith & The Saints (now June 5), Easton Corbin (June 19), Robert Earl Keen (June 20), Roger Creager (July 17), Gary Allan (was May 23, now August 1), Drake White & The Big Fire (was May 22, now August 14), Tracy Byrd (was May 1, now August 21), Sammy Kershaw (September 11), Justin Moore (September 26), Lonestar (October 30), Josh Ward (November 13), Colter Wall (November 19), Stoney Larue (December 5), and Flatland Cavalry (December 26).
Carole Bufford - Come Together: When the '60s Meet the '70s: This cabaret production, scheduled for April 28-May 2 in the Reid Cabaret Theatre at Casa Mañana, has been rescheduled for October 6-10.
El Fuerte Taco Fest: The taco and music festival, scheduled for May 2 at Panther Island Pavilion, has been canceled.
Fort Worth Camera presents Foto Fest: This annual event celebrating photography and cameras, scheduled for May 1-8 at various venues in Fort Worth, has been rescheduled for October 9-18.
Fortress Festival: The annual music festival at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, which had previously postponed its event on April 25 and 26, has been rescheduled for April 24-25, 2021, with most of the announced artists still participating.
Stage West Theatre: The theater company has canceled its production of Church & State, scheduled for May 7-June 7.
Texas Motor Speedway: Changes to events through the end of May at the car racing venue include Pate Swap Meet (originally April 30-May 2, rescheduled for October 1-4), American Flat Track Texas Half-Mile (scheduled for May 2, now canceled), Ducks Unlimited Expo (scheduled for May 15-17, postponed until 2021), Lone Star Corvette Classic (scheduled May 22-24, now canceled), and the Classic Parts of America C10 Nationals (originally May 28-30, now August 14 and 15).

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Movie Review

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is better than the first but not by much

Blumhouse

Five Nights at Freddy's 2

Blumhouse Productions first made their name with the Paranormal Activity series, establishing themselves as a leader in the horror genre thanks to their relatively cheap yet effective movies. In recent years, they’ve added on “soft” horror films likeM3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy’s to draw in a younger audience, with both films becoming so successful that each was quickly given a sequel.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 finds Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and his sister Abby (Piper Rubio) still recovering from the events of the first film, with Abby particularly missing her “friends.” Those friends just so happen to be the souls of murdered children who inhabit animatronic characters at the long-defunct Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, children who were abducted and killed by William Afton (Matthew Lillard).

A new threat emerges at another Freddy Fazbear’s location in the form of Charlotte, another murdered child who inhabits a creepy large marionette. Mike, distracted by a possible romance with Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), fails to keep track of Abby, who makes her way to the old pizzeria and inadvertently unleashes Charlotte and her minions on the surrounding town.

Directed by Emma Tammi and written by Scott Cawthon (who also created the video game on which the series is based), the film tries to mix together goofy elements with intense scenes. One particular sequence, in which the security guard for Freddy Fazbear’s lets a group of ghost hunters onto the property, toes the line between soft and hard horror. That and a few others show the potential that the filmmakers had if they had stuck to their guns.

Unfortunately, more often than not they either soft-pedal things that would normally be horrific, or can’t figure out how to properly stage scenes. The sight of animatronic robots wreaking havoc is one that is simultaneously frightening and laughable, and the filmmakers never seem to find the right balance in tone. Every step in the direction of making a truly scary horror film is undercut by another in which the robots fail to live up to their promise.

It doesn’t help that Cawthon gives the cast some extremely wooden dialogue, lines that none of the actors can elevate. What may work in a video game format comes off as stilted when said by actors in a live-action film. The story also loses momentum quickly after the first half hour or so, with Cawthon seemingly content to just have characters move from place to place with no sense of connection between any of the scenes.

Hutcherson (The Hunger Games series), after being the true lead of the first film, is given very little to do in this film, and his effort is equal to his character’s arc. The same goes for Lail, whose character seems to be shoehorned into the story. Rubio is called upon to carry the load for a lot of the movie, and the teenager is not quite up to the task. A brief appearance by Skeet Ulrich seems to be a blatant appeal to Scream fans, but he and Lillard only underscore how limited this film is compared to that franchise.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is better than the first film, but not by much. The filmmakers do a decent job of making the new marionette character into a great villain, but they fail to capitalize on its inherent creepiness. Instead, they fall back on less effective elements, ensuring that the film will be forgettable for anyone other than hardcore Freddy fans.

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Five Nights at Freddy's 2 opens in theaters on December 5.

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