Events News

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

Alicia Keys has postponed her 2020 tour, including the September 16 date at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Photo by Michelle Watson/CatchLight Group

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.

New and virtual events are on the uptick, so we may be able to occasionally present the regular weekly events roundup. Still, 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

Adam Ant: This concert, scheduled for September 16 at Majestic Theatre, has been rescheduled for April 30, 2021.
Brittany Howard: This concert, scheduled for September 30 at McFarlin Auditorium, has been canceled.
Deep Ellum Arts Festival: The annual event, which had been postponed from April 3-5 to September 11-13, has been canceled. The event will return April 2-4, 2021.
DMA Arts & Letters Live: The event featuring Erik Larson, which had been rescheduled for September 10, has been transformed into a virtual event on the same date. The appearance by David Sedaris, which had been rescheduled from May 11 to October 30, has been rescheduled again for May 17, 2021.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Concerts featuring Bobby McFerrin (July 23) and National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (July 26) have both been canceled.
#HearHere: Samin Nosrat: This event featuring the chef/author, originally scheduled for June 13 at Winspear Opera House and then rescheduled for September 14, has been rescheduled again for February 1, 2021.
My Chemical Romance: This concert, scheduled for September 30 at American Airlines Center, has been rescheduled for September 29, 2021.
State Fair of Texas: The 2020 edition of the biggest event of the year in Dallas has been canceled.
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical: This national touring theater production, scheduled for September 15-20 at Winspear Opera House, has been postponed to undetermined dates.
Taste of Dallas: The annual foodie event, scheduled for September 4-6 at Dallas Market Hall, has been canceled.

Fort Worth

Billy Bob's Texas: After postponing all of their July concerts last week, the music venue has rescheduled Robert Earl Keen (now November 6) and The Bellamy Brothers (now December 4).
Casa Mañana: The theater company has canceled its production of A Man of No Importance, scheduled for July 31-August 2.
Kurt Vile and Cate Le Bon: This concert, scheduled for September 17 at Tulips FTW, has been canceled.
Rockin' the River: The music and tubing series, scheduled to begin on July 11, will now start on July 18. The July 11 date has been rescheduled for August 15.
University Christian Church presents Alive at the Bass: This concert, scheduled for September 15 at Bass Performance Hall, has been postponed to an undetermined date.

Arlington

Jay Pharoah: This appearance by the comedian, scheduled for October 1-3 at Improv Arlington, has been canceled.

Grand Prairie

John Legend: This concert, scheduled for August 12 at The Theatre at Grand Prairie, has been rescheduled for August 11, 2021.

Irving

5 Seconds of Summer: This concert, scheduled for September 15 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, has been rescheduled for June 12, 2021.
Alicia Keys:This concert, scheduled for September 16 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, has been postponed to an undetermined date.
Backstreet Boys: This concert, scheduled for September 30 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, has been rescheduled for June 18, 2021.
Big Rock Summer Tour featuring RATT, Tom Keifer, Skid Row, and Slaughter: This concert, scheduled for September 9 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, has been canceled.
Blackberry Smoke: This concert, scheduled for August 6 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, has been rescheduled for August 5, 2021.
Goo Goo Dolls: This concert, scheduled for September 2 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, has been rescheduled for September 1, 2021.
Juanes: This concert, scheduled for September 27 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, has been canceled.

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Movie Review

Much-anticipated film sequel Gladiator II tells a very familiar story

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Paul Mescal in Gladiator II.

There are some films for which making a sequel is natural, and others where a follow-up is wholly unnecessary. Gladiator, which made both tons of money and was named Best Picture at the Oscars, told an impactful stand-alone story that ended with the protagonist dead and no real loose ends. And yet because there’s always more money to be made, here we are 24 years later with Gladiator II.

The lead character this time around is Lucius (Paul Mescal), a general in a North African army who becomes a prisoner of war when the Roman army led by Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) bests him and his troops in battle. Taken back to Rome, he is put in the pool of captured men forced to fight at the Colosseum for the amusement of twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracella (Fred Hechinger).

Lucius is controlled by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), an ambitious schemer who bets liberally on his prized fighter and always has an eye to move up in the world. Meanwhile, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), the sister of Emperor Commodus from the first film, is now married to Marcus Acacius and has a unique connection with Lucius that is fairly obvious from the get-go.

Directed once again by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa, the film commits a number of sins throughout its 150-minute running time, the most blatant of which is that, aside from a few embellishments, it essentially tells the same story as the first film. Lucius, like Maximus, is a deposed military leader who’s out for revenge on the person who killed his family. Instead of one obnoxious emperor, there are now two. And the only way for Lucius to earn his freedom is to fight his way out.

Stories told in the same world can echo each other and, if done well, overcome those similarities. But Gladiator II is shockingly boring for a purported sword-and-sandals epic. Scott and his team try to introduce new elements to the fights, like a gladiator riding a rhinoceros or a ship battle inside the Colosseum (with sharks!), but most of the sequences are inert with no propulsion to them.

The action fails because none of the relationships in the film amount to much. There are stand-out characters like Macrinus and the twin emperors, but instead of creating antipathy or strong feelings of triumph or defeat, the story just kind of happens without any sense of excitement or importance. Much of that issue lies at the feet of Lucius, who simply doesn’t inspire in the same way that Russell Crowe’s Maximus did.

Mescal is a fine actor who’s done good work in more intimate roles, but he’s not up to the task of being an action star, at least not in this film. Any bombast he shows with the character feels forced, and the story doesn’t give him enough opportunities to counteract that lack. Washington, however, fills up the screen with his charisma, and it’s during his scenes that the film comes closest to being rousing. Quinn and Hechinger are a lot of fun as the twin emperors, but in the end they feel like retreads of Joaquin Phoenix from the original.

Any sequel should have a purpose that sets it apart from what came before, but Scott, Scarpa, and the rest of their team fail in that respect in Gladiator II. It’s a mostly lifeless film that delivers scenes that would be exciting if they had any kind of good story to back them up.

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Gladiator II opens in theaters on November 22.

movies film

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

Movie Review

Much-anticipated film sequel Gladiator II tells a very familiar story

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