Weekend Event Planner

These are the 10 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

As the world continues to open back up amid the ongoing pandemic, the slate of events this week will be a mixture of virtual, outdoor, and socially-distanced events. It will offer a nice variety, including three new theater events, two opera-themed events, circus performers, a symphony performance, burlesque, and a concert from a local favorite.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. And don't forget, Sunday is Mother's Day. Here is a list of the best brunches around town, and here are more ideas for great "mom dates."

Thursday, May 6

Soul Rep Theatre Company presents Soul-O Shorts Series
Soul Rep Theatre Company's Soul-O Shorts Series features world premiere solo shows written, directed, and performed by Soul Rep Theatre's company members. This unique play series, available to stream at any time through May 24, features six original 10-15 minute one person solo shows exploring the beauty and struggle of Black men, the brilliant imagination of children, and pieces about notable historical figures, including Zora Neale Hurston, Hattie McDaniel, Nat Turner, and Ida B. Wells.

Ochre House Theater presents Ghosts in the Kitchen: Idle Spirit
Ochre House Theater's Ghosts in the Kitchen is a series of storytelling through virtual theater as written and told by core company members. Next up will be Idle Spirit, an engaging story of a man in a kitchen full of telephones, seeking voices of affirmation and understanding to end his surreal crisis of identity. The production will be available to stream at any time through May 16.

Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas presents Bell, Book and Candle
In a world where witches can’t fall in love, Gillian Holroyd complicates her situation by casting a spell over Shepherd Henderson out of spite. When he falls head over heels in love with her, Gillian must choose whether to love a mortal, or lose him entirely. This successful play from the 1950s inspired the popular television show, Bewitched! The production will be available to stream at any time through May 22.

Friday, May 7

The Dallas Opera presents "Viva Opera!"
The Dallas Opera’s annual spring gala has been reimagined as a special virtual fundraising event, streaming on TDO’s website beginning Friday at 7 pm. This year’s event, which will be available for on-demand viewing through June 4, stars mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, soprano Ailyn Pérez, countertenor John Holiday, and baritone Lucas Meacham in selections from The Barber of Seville and Great Scott, and in recital. Funds raised benefit The Dallas Opera’s artistic and learning programs.

Laughter League and Shakespeare Dallas present Circo Metropolis
Circo Metropolis is an outdoor pop-up circus experience where families can bring blankets, sit back, and enjoy an afternoon of zaniness from the dynamic clown duo Slappy and Monday and their endearing circus friends. The cast for the production, running on weekend dates through May 16 at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre, will also feature hula hoop artist Jesse Patterson, aerialist Emma D’Lemma, comedian Audrey Crabtree, Magic Mike Williams, and more.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Hollywood Serenade: The Artistry of Caroline Campbell"
Violinist Caroline Campbell joins guest conductor Steven Reineke and the DSO for a weekend of movie music favorites and violin magic. Audiences will hear silver screen favorites like “Love Theme” from The Godfather, the popular tango “Por una Cabeza” (as heard in Scent of a Woman), “America” from West Side Story, the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean, and more. There will be three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Saturday, May 8

West Main Arts Festival
The 5th Annual West Main Arts Festival (formerly known as the East Main Arts Festival) will be on West Main Street surrounding the Arlington Museum of Art and other businesses in the arts district of Arlington. The day-long event will feature 78 local artists and vendors in a socially-distanced environment with a variety of media, including live painting, sculpting, and pottery, along with two stages with numerous bands and performers.

Sarah Jaffe in concert
Singer/songwriter Sarah Jaffe has been on the verge of stardom for a decade. After getting her start in Denton, she's gone on to release four acclaimed albums, including 2017's Bad Baby, and has toured with the likes of Norah Jones, The Polyphonic Spree, and Old 97's. She'll perform twice at The Kessler.

Dallas Burlesque Festival
The Dallas Burlesque Festival, after taking a break due to the pandemic returns for its 12th year, this time at a new, outdoor venue, the historic Band Shell at Fair Park. The audience will enjoy world-class burlesque and celebrate glitter, glam, and the art of the tease featuring Lou Lou D'Vil and some of the other best local and regional performers.

Sunday, May 9

The Dallas Opera presents Great Scott movie premiere
The Dallas Opera will host a one-time only premiere screening of Great Scott to celebrate the release of the DVD of Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s 2015 production, starring Joyce DiDonato. Viewers can enjoy DiDonato as both singer and comedienne extraordinaire as she stars as Arden Scott, international diva, who returns home to save her town’s ailing opera company. The film will screen at Winspear Opera House.

Joyce DiDonato will be at the center of two Dallas Opera events, a virtual fundraiser starting May 7 and a screening of Great Scott at Winspear Opera House on May 9.

Photo courtesy of The Dallas Opera

Joyce DiDonato will be at the center of two Dallas Opera events, a virtual fundraiser starting May 7 and a screening of Great Scott at Winspear Opera House on May 9.

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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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