Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

This weekend in and around Dallas has the theme of "local" and "new." While there are a few national visitors, including one huge concert and two comedians, many of the events are inherently local and will give attendees something they haven't seen before. That includes the selection of a new basketball star, the debut of a new theater company, a traveling prehistoric exhibit, and more.

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, June 21

Dallas Mavericks NBA Draft Watch Party
The Dallas Mavericks' finish toward the bottom of the NBA standings ensured that they would get a high draft pick this year — No. 5. Last year's first-round pick, Dennis Smith Jr., will be on hand for the Mavs' official draft party at Canton Hall, which also will feature appearances by the Mavs ManiAACs, Dancers, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Mavs legend Derek Harper.

The Classics Theatre Project presents The Cherry Orchard
The Classics Theatre Project will present its inaugural production, a new adaptation by Ben Schroth of Anton Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard. In Chekhov’s last work, a family finds itself unable to save its estate and beloved cherry orchard when nostalgia for a fictitious golden age, desire for the safety of dated familiarities, and an ignorance of youth and responsibility combine to create "the action of inaction” against looming economic and social ruin. The play will run through July 14 at Trinity River Arts Center.

Ochre House Theater presents Picasso: Matador De Málaga
Presented in collaboration with the 2018 Dallas Flamenco Festival, Picasso: Matador De Málaga is a journey into the rich mind of Pablo Picasso, one of the 20th century's most iconic and famous painters. Through his adventures from Málaga to Paris and around the world, and from his torrid love affairs and marriages, Picasso read the world as a matador reads the movement of a bull. The play will run at Ochre House Theater through June 30.

Friday, June 22

Rockwall Summer Musicals presents Into the Woods
Set in an enchanted forest, a childless baker and his wife will do anything to undo a curse placed on their family tree and live happily ever after. Into the Woods combines many Brothers Grimm fairytale classics including "Little Red Riding Hood," "Rapunzel," "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Cinderella," and more. Rockwall Summer Musicals will present Stephen Sondheim’s classic at the Rockwall High School Performing Arts Center through July 1.

Michael Che in concert
Since taking over as co-anchor for "Weekend Update" on Saturday Night Live almost four years ago, Michael Che's profile has gotten bigger and bigger. His social and political commentary has gotten more pointed, he co-starred in Chris Rock's film Top Five, and he was named co-head writer on SNL in December 2017. With SNL done for the summer, he'll come to Dallas to perform a stand-up comedy set at Majestic Theatre.

Saturday, June 23

Perot Museum presents "Ultimate Dinosaurs"
Based on groundbreaking research from scientists around the world, "Ultimate Dinosaurs" reveals a new breed of dinosaurs that evolved in isolation in South America, Africa and Madagascar — dinosaurs that are unfamiliar to most North Americans. "Ultimate Dinosaurs" tells the story of the break-up of supercontinent Pangaea into today’s continents and the ways that continental drift affected the evolution of dinosaurs. The exhibit will be on display at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science through January 6, 2019.

Martin Lawrence Galleries presents Takashi Murakami opening reception
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth recently opened a major retrospective for Takashi Murakami, and now Dallas can get a taste of the Japanese artist. This exhibit, on display through July 10, will be showing Murakami’s colorful paintings, which reveal the consistent, universal themes that have guided the artist’s work. Each work of art reflects his craft and insightful engagement with popular culture, folklore, and pop art style, all mixed with traditional Japanese culture.

Reunion Lawn Party
The Reunion Lawn Party will return to Dallas for its fourth year, allowing Dallasites to gather on the lawn under Reunion Tower to celebrate summer and soak in the skyline. The event will include cuisine from 10 food trucks, Dallas’ newest dessert bar, Baldo’s Ice Cream, lawn games, and entertainment from Emerald City Presents: Limelight Band. There will also be Armadillo Races and a special light show on “The Ball.”

Eagles in concert with Chris Stapleton
The legendary rock band Eagles will come back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the first time since the death of original member Glenn Frey. Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit will be joined by Vince Gill and Glenn's son Deacon Frey at AT&T Stadium to play all of the Eagles' greatest hits. As if that's not enough, reigning CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, Chris Stapleton, will be the opening act.

Chris D'Elia in concert
Chris D’Elia has become one of the most sought-after performers in the comedy world in recent years. He's best known for his stand up and starring role on the NBC comedy series, Undateable. He has a recent Netflix special, Man on Fire, and his weekly podcast, Congratulations With Chris D’Elia, has been a mainstay on iTunes’ comedy podcast charts. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Sunday, June 24

The Aronson Cello Festival
The Aronson Cello Festival honors the legacy of legendary cello player and teacher Lev Aronson. The seven-day festival will feature a series of concerts, as well as master classes and presentations in honor of Aronson. There will also be a panel featuring women trailblazing the classical musical industry; a screening of a series of short films about Aronson; and a discussion with the author of The Lost Cellos of Lev Aronson. The festival will take place through July 1 at the SMU Meadows School of the Arts.

Eagles will play at AT&T Stadium with Chris Stapleton on June 23.

Photo by George Holz

Eagles will play at AT&T Stadium with Chris Stapleton on June 23.

event-planner

Movie Review

Michael Jackson can do no wrong in fawning biopic Michael

Photo by Glen Wilson

Jaafar Jackson in Michael

Among the complicated figures in pop culture history, Michael Jackson has to be at or near the top. On one hand, he’s responsible for some of the most enduring music of all time, thrilling generations with his voice and dance moves. But his later years were marred by accusations of child sexual abuse and erratic behavior, including his premature death at the age of 50.

So the new biopic Michael is a tough one to judge from a critical standpoint, not least because director Antoine Fuqua and writer John Logan have elided - perhaps temporarily - the thornier parts of Michael’s history. Instead, this film focuses on the 20-year period in which Michael (played as an adult by Michael’s nephew Jaafar Jackson) goes from the prepubescent lead singer of the Jackson 5 to one of the biggest music superstars of all time.

That choice puts an overly sympathetic tint to Michael’s story, as he spends most of that time under the thumb of his domineering father, Joseph (Colman Domingo). Joseph has a vision for Michael and his brothers, and he pushes them hard in a quest to become rich and famous. Even when they achieve that goal, though, Joseph refuses to let up, holding onto Michael even when it’s clear he should go out on his own.

As a reminder of the enormous impact Michael Jackson had on the music industry and world at large, the film is successful. Fuqua and Logan include plenty of music, naturally, but they seem to be most interested in depicting Michael as a human being. They lay it on thick, whether it’s showing him spending time among his family members away from the stage, hanging out with bodyguard Bill Bray (KeiLyn Durrel Jones), or visiting sick kids in hospitals. The message that Michael is a harmless, good person couldn’t be clearer.

The film hints at but doesn’t really explore Michael’s oddities. His obsession with kids literature and movies, especially Peter Pan, are seen as inoffensive quirks, as is his menagerie of animals, including a creepy CGI version of Bubbles the chimp. His arrested development seems to be partially blamed on his parents treating him like a child well into his adulthood, and the resulting fallout is not (yet) addressed.

Many viewers will be most interested in the music sequences, and - save for some repetitive shots of fans fainting at the mere presence of Michael - they are handled well. Whether it’s at home, in the studio, on the set of the “Thriller” video, or at live performances, the film manages to fully get across just what a phenomenon Michael was at his peak. The staging and editing of each scene is dynamic, complementing Michael’s other-worldly abilities well.

If there is one reason to see the film, it is the performance of Jaafar Jackson. Whether he’s capable of doing any other kind of role is undetermined, but his portrayal of his uncle is compelling, as he demonstrates singing, dancing, and acting skills in equal measure. He’s aided by an equally great performance by Domingo, who - with the help of facial prosthetics - overcomes the trope of the bad father. Nia Long and Larenz Tate are also good in smaller roles, but Miles Teller is an odd presence as Michael’s manager.

There are reports that legal complications prevented the filmmakers from using previously-shot scenes delving into accusations against Michael, and there are rumors that a second film will be made about the last 20 years of his life. But that speculation can’t absolve Michael of showing all the positive aspects of Michael Jackson’s life and not even touching any of the negative ones.

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Michael opens in theaters on April 24.

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