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Weekend Event Planner

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

Alex Bentley
Aug 25, 2022 | 6:00 am
Il Divo
Il Divo, now without the recently deceased Carlos Marin, will perform at the Music Hall at Fair Park on August 27.
Photo courtesy of Il Divo

Some of the biggest venues across Dallas will be in use this weekend, but the acts playing there each appeal to certain groups of music fans. The eight concerts, all of which feature national or international bands/singers, will be joined by a trio of local theater productions and a unique dance production.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, August 25

Lyric Stage presents Mamma Mia!
Lyric Stage will open its 29th season with the hit musical Mamma Mia!, which tells the story of Sophie, a young woman in search of her birth father on the eve of her wedding. Sophie’s quest to discover the identity of her father brings chaos, love, laughter, and a lot of singing & dancing to their sunny Greek island, as well as the unexpected 20-year reunion of three men from her mother’s past. The production runs through Sunday at Majestic Theatre.

Loona in concert
K-pop is all the rage these days, and new groups are increasingly making their way over to the United States. Girl group Loona was formed way back in 2016, but they come to Dallas as part of their first world tour in support of their mini-album, Midnight (12:00). They'll play at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Gloria Trevi in concert
Singer Gloria Trevi is known as "The Supreme Diva of Mexican Pop" for her long career at the top of the Latin charts. She released her debut album in 1989, notching a series of top 10 albums, including three in the 2010s. Trevi, whose most recent album was 2019's Diosa De La Noche​, will play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving as part of her Isla Divina World Tour.

Friday, August 26

OneRepublic in concert with NEEDTOBREATHE
Pop rock bands OneRepublic and NEEDTOBREATHE will co-headline this special concert at Dos Equis Pavilion. OneRepublic started off their career with the megahit "Apologize" off their debut album, Dreaming Out Loud, and have gone on to release four more top-selling albums, including 2021's Human. NEEDTOBREATHE is a big-time Christian alternative rock band whose sound has landed them high up on a number of Billboard charts.

Bombshell Dance Project presents In the Conservatory with a Knife
In the Conservatory with the Knife is an immersive dance experience, loosely inspired by the game of Clue. With a unique, free-form nature, audiences will choose for themselves how and when to move throughout the theatre and experience the show. Audiences become the detectives, picking up on clues through character-driven scenes, and making their own conclusions as to whom the murderer may be before the final reveal. The production, part of AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project, will have three performances through Sunday at Wyly Theatre.

Swedish House Mafia in concert
Acts that play at American Airlines Center are typically some of the biggest in the world, building up fanbases over years that would make such a venue necessary. So it's a bit odd that Swedish House Mafia, a Swedish house music group, would be playing there, especially since their 2022 album, Paradise Again, is their first proper album and first release of any kind since 2014. You can see for yourself what all the fuss is about when they show up on Friday.

The Classics Theatre Project presents Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
A benchmark of the modern American canon, the Pulitzer Prize winner for drama in 1955, and the play the legendary Tennessee Williams considered his favorite of his works, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a study in mendacity. With a romanticism rooted in reality, the story unfolds on a night in the Mississippi Delta, as the Pollitt family gathers to celebrate the birthday of its aging and ailing patriarch, Big Daddy. His two sons vie for an inheritance with former football hero, Brick, also contending with his wife’s unbridled sexuality and the nature of his own, in a relationship burdened by repressed love. The production runs through September 11 at Margo Jones Theatre at Magnolia Lounge.

Sebastián Yatra in concert
Colombian singer-songwriter Sebastián Yatra made it big on the Billboard Latin Pop charts right away upon his debut in 2018, with both of his first two albums coming in at No. 1. But his voice came to a larger audience in 2021 when he sang "Dos Oruguitas" in the Disney smash film, Encanto, a song that would go on to be nominated for an Oscar. Yatra will perform at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie in support of his new album, Dharma.

Richardson Theatre Centre presents The Hollow
An unhappy game of romantic follow-the-leader explodes into murder one weekend at The Hollow, home of Sir Henry and Lucy Angkatell. Dr. Cristow, the Harley Street lothario, is at the center of the trouble when, assembled in one place, we find his wife, Gerda, his mistress, Henrietta, and his former lover, Veronica. Also visiting are Edward and Midge, whose romantic assertions are likewise thrown into the mix. As the list of romantic associations grows so does the list of potential suspects when Cristow is shot dead. Nearly everyone has a motive, but only one of them did the deed. The production runs through September 11 at Richardson Theatre Centre.

Saturday, August 27

$uicideboy$ in concert
Hip hop duo $uicideboy$ are considered one of the most popular acts in the underground rap scene, but if they continue on their current trajectory, you might have to consider them to be mainstream. Each of their first three albums, including the new Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation, has landed on the top 10 of the Billboard 200 charts, and now they're playing a big-time concert at Dos Equis Pavilion.

Il Divo in concert
Following the tragic passing of Il Divo’s Carlos Marin, the remaining members of the group — David Miller, Sebastien Izambard, and Urs Buhler — are proceeding with their tour in tribute to Marin. The tour is now a Greatest Hits Tour and will include special guest vocalist Steven LaBrie. The concert, taking place at the Music Hall at Fair Park, will be filled with Il Divo’s hits from their vast catalog of songs.

Sunday, August 28

Jack Johnson in concert with Ziggy Marley
Jack Johnson is known for his laidback music that epitomizes the state where he was born, Hawaii. Best known for songs like "Upside Down" and "You and Your Heart," Johnson comes to town in support of his new album, Meet the Moonlight. He'll be joined at this concert at Dos Equis Pavilion by reggae singer Ziggy Marley, son of the legendary Bob Marley.

Jack Johnson will play at Dos Equis Pavilion on August 28.

Jack Johnson
Photo by Kizzy O'Neal
Jack Johnson will play at Dos Equis Pavilion on August 28.
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Movie Review

Spanish film La Bola Negra showcases unique slice of gay history

Alex Bentley
Oct 30, 2026 | 10:15 am
Miguel Bernardeau and Guitarricadelafuente in La Bola Negra
Photo by Carla Oset/Netflix
Miguel Bernardeau and Guitarricadelafuente in La Bola Negra.

For a long time — too long — gay characters in movies tended to appear as either side characters with no real stories or as tragic figures who were usually unable to express their true selves for fear of what the world at large would think. That has changed in recent years, but the remnants of the past can still haunt, as the new film La Bola Negra demonstrates.

The film takes shape in storylines involving three different men: Carlos (Milo Quifes), a young man in Granada, Spain in 1932 who wants to join an exclusive casino (aka social club); Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente), who unwillingly joins the military during the Spanish Civil War in 1937, only to have desires aroused in him when he’s asked to guard an enemy detainee; and Alberto (Carlos González), an out gay man in 2017 whose inheritance from his recently-deceased grandfather opens up a world he knew nothing about.

The film goes back and forth between each man, detailing how they handle their individual situations and the complications that arise in their individual lives. Along the way their stories are deepened through people they meet who either welcome them with open arms or shun them for various reasons. While tragedy bonds their stories, so too does hope, resistance, and love.

Co-director/co-writers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, along with co-writer Alberto Conejero, have expanded Conejero’s play, La Piedra Oscura, which was inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca’s unfinished play, La Bola Negra. Lorca, who was killed during the Spanish Civil War, had only finished four pages of the work, his first to feature an openly gay protagonist. It’s clear there’s a desire by the filmmakers to honor the legacy of Lorca as both a playwright and a gay man, and the seriousness of their pursuit is evident throughout the film’s 160 minutes.

Calvo and Ambrossi do little handholding to guide viewers through the three distinct stories, an approach that mostly works but occasionally leads to confusion, especially as more characters are added to the equation. None of the stories are overly complicated, but they take their time with each, making the long film feel even longer. Only Alberto’s story contains any kind of development that might be considered surprising, making it tough to fully engage with the other two.

Where the film does come alive is when it brings in two well-known actors for brief-but-fascinating stints. Penélope Cruz plays Nené Romero, a singer who entertains the troops and further expands Sebastián’s mind. Glenn Close pops up as Isabelle Durand, a scholar of Lorca who helps Alberto with a unique discovery he makes in his inheritance. Both actors bring up the level of the film significantly through their performances.

Quifes, Guitarricadelafuente (the stage name of Spanish singer Álvaro Lafuente Calvo, no relation to Javier), and González all put in good work in their roles, even if none are overly engaging. They are often overshadowed by supporting actors like Cruz and Close, as well as Miguel Bernardeau as Rafael Rodríguez Rapún, the captured soldier; Julio Torres as Alberto’s partner, and Alberto Cortés as Lorca, who brings a symmetry to the film as a whole.

La Bola Negra — which means “the black ball,” represented both literally and figuratively in the film — is an ambitious film that becomes a slight victim of its filmmakers’ aspirations. Although each of the three stories contain interesting elements, a strong emotional connection is lacking overall despite good-to-great performances.

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La Bola Negra is now playing in select theaters; it debuts on Netflix on December 2.

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