Weekend Event Planner

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

Now that Labor Day is behind us, we can get back to the business of having a full events calendar. Among the options this weekend are an ambitious project in Deep Ellum, comedy from two luminaries in the field, a remembrance of 9/11, and much more.

Below are the best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, September 8

Deep Ellum Foundation presents Reimagine Crowdus
Over the next month, the Deep Ellum Foundation is transforming Crowdus Street into a three-block-long pedestrian walkway, with regular local music performances, live art demonstrations, group activities, and more. The experimental event gives businesses in the area a chance to highlight their products and services and brings the community together with creative free activities. Events happen every day through October 4.

Improv Addison presents Rickey Smiley
It will be a homecoming of sorts when comedian Rickey Smiley performs at Improv Addison this weekend. Smiley got his start on the radio in Dallas back in 2004, making his patented prank calls, and The Rickey Smiley Show, now based out of Atlanta, has gone on to be syndicated nationwide. Smiley performs seven times through Sunday.

Fashion X Dallas 2016
Fashion X Dallas (Fashion “by” Dallas) returns for its third year and adds a new component, Style Setters. Four influencers in the local community — Linda Gray, LeeAnne Locken, Steve Kemble, and Heidi Dillon — have been selected not only for their iconic style but also for their tireless work and dedication to nonprofit organizations. The event takes place through Saturday at Fashion Industry Gallery.

Friday, September 9

Dallas Symphony Pops Series: An Evening with Megan Hilty
The 2016-2017 Dallas Symphony Orchestra season kicks off with this Pops concert featuring Broadway and television star Megan Hilty. The star of shows like Wicked, 9 to 5: The Musical, and Noises Off performs "Popular," "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," and songs from her album, It Happens All the Time, in three concerts through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Lyric Stage presents Camelot
Lyric Stage opens its 24th season with the Broadway classic Camelot. The enchanting fable of chivalry, majesty, and brotherhood is a four-time Tony Award-winning musical that features songs like “If Ever I Would Leave You,” “The Simple Joys of Maidenhood,” and the title song. Dallas native Kristen Beth Williams, recently seen in the national tour of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, plays Guinevere. The show runs through September 18 at Irving Arts Center.

Saturday, September 10

Deron Williams Celebrity Dodge Barrage 2016
The start of the Dallas Mavericks' season — well, preseason — is just three short weeks away. To help get ready, point guard Deron Williams is hosting his Mavericks teammates, other NBA players, and celebrity and amateur teams in the round-robin-style dodgeball tournament. The action takes place at Frisco Fieldhouse and includes MavsMan and Champ, the Mavs ManiAACs, and the Dallas Mavericks Dancers.

Nasher Sculpture Center presents Kathryn Andrews: Run for President Opening Day
With this being a presidential election year, there's no better time for Nasher Sculpture Center to host the exhibit Kathryn Andrews: Run for President. In the exhibit, which is on display through January 8, 2017, Andrews uses images and props to create a loose narrative around candidates, campaigns, and the end of a presidency. Andrews is talking about the exhibit as part of the 360 Speaker Series on Saturday.

CitySquare presents A Night to Remember with Jerry Seinfeld
The annual A Night to Remember, which benefits CitySquare’s poverty-fighting programs, has been musically inclined the past few years, bringing in performers like Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, and Hall & Oates. Not only does this year's event feature superstar comedian Jerry Seinfeld, but in true stand-up comic tradition, he's performing twice at Winspear Opera House.

Kraftwerk in concert
German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk have been making music for nearly 50 years, but they're notoriously reclusive. This multimedia 3-D concert at the Bomb Factory is a rare opportunity to see the band live, as they bring together music and performance art for a true "Gesamtkunstwerk — a total work of art."

Sunday, September 11

Travis Manion Foundation presents 9/11 Heroes Run
The DFW community is gathering for the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The event honors and remembers the heroes of 9/11, the wars since, and all those who bravely serve our communities every day as police, fire, and first responders. The 9/11 Heroes Run 5K and 1-mile fun run is to be followed by a Breakfast with the Brave, where runners and the community can meet, thank, and form relationships with local police, fire, military, and veterans while enjoying local breakfast food trucks and a performance by the Cody Wayne Band.

Nasher Sculpture Center presents Ultra-Seeing
Starting Sunday, the Nasher is going to be presenting monthly screenings of experimental cinema. The program is steered by Frank Dufour, a professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, and Emmanuel Lefrant, director of Light Cone, a French organization dedicated to the diffusion and conservation of experimental cinema. The first screening focuses on avant-garde films from the 1920s and '30s; the series takes place through May 2017.

Jerry Seinfeld performs twice at Winspear Opera House as part of CitySquare's annual A Night to Remember.

Photo courtesy of Jerry Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld performs twice at Winspear Opera House as part of CitySquare's annual A Night to Remember.

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Movie Review

Daniel Craig searches for elusive new bond in audacious film Queer

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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