Weekend Event Planner

These are the 14 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

As we count down the days to the State Fair of Texas' return, this weekend in and around Dallas is absolutely packed with things to do. You can celebrate Oktoberfest, take in concerts that run the spectrum of genres, see one of four new local theater productions, bask in the glow of hot air balloons, 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, September 19

Addison Oktoberfest
Addison Oktoberfest features four days of family-oriented entertainment, including German entertainers in authentic costumes performing traditional Bavarian folk dances, schuhplatten, oompah music, sing-a-longs, yodels, carnival rides, midway games, children’s entertainment, and more. A special “Oktoberfest” Paulaner Bier is served along with several types of German sausage, sauerkraut, strudel, giant pretzels, and more. The festival will take place at Addison Circle Park through Sunday.

Cake and Ben Folds in concert
Cake and Ben Folds will co-headline this special concert at The Theatre at Grand Prairie. Cake is touring in support of its new album, Age of Aquarius, while Ben Folds' most recent album was 2015's So There, a chamber pop/classical collaboration with the Nashville Symphony. Folds will be sticking around a few days, as he'll also talk about his memoir, A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons, as part of the Arts & Letters Live series at the Dallas Museum of Art on Saturday.

Undermain Theatre presents Red Chariot
Red Chariot is a world premiere science fiction thriller set amid the downfall of civilization after the Internet has created a mysterious tarot deck that, when read, can actually affect the past, present, and future. Playwright Gordon Dahlquist takes the audience on a journey though time as he explores the chaotic effects of new technological advancements and the role humans have, or haven’t, played in stopping that chaos. The play will run at Undermain Theatre through October 13.

Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra in concert
Jeff Goldblum has an acting career spanning four decades and film credits that include Jurassic Park and Independence Day, but this visit to Annette Strauss Square will showcase his musical talents. It will be an evening of jazz standards like "Straighten Up and Fly Right," "Nostalgia in Times Square," "Cantaloupe Island," and more from Goldblum and his band, The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, who released their first album in 2018.

Shakespeare Dallas presents Macbeth
While keeping true to Shakespeare’s original bloody script, Shakespeare Dallas will move Macbeth, the classic tale of power, ambition, and tragic downfall, to an alternative near future Silicon Valley where tech companies bid for ultimate control in a dynamic and changing industry. Following a prophecy from three witches that he will be king, Macbeth — at the urging of his wife — plots King Duncan’s murder to secure the throne. The production will run through September 28 at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre before moving to The Sound at Cypress Waters in Coppell from October 3-13.

Friday, September 20

InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival
The InTouch Credit Union Plano Balloon Festival is a three-day weekend event that features a balloon glow, skydivers, hot air balloons, concerts, a fireworks show, a huge kids fun zone, merchandise vendors, corporate exhibitors, and variety of foods. There will also be a half marathon, relay, 5K run/walk and 1-mile fun run. The festival will take place through Sunday at Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve in Plano.

Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival
Rock legends will come together for a good cause at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, taking place on Friday and Saturday at American Airlines Center. Clapton will perform at both shows alongside an all-star lineup that includes Jeff Beck, Joe Walsh, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Peter Frampton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan, Gary Clark Jr., and more. Proceeds will support The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility founded by the guitarist for those struggling with drug or alcohol addictions.

Lyric Stage presents Evita
Lyric Stage kicks off its 2019/2020 season with Evita, the seven-time Tony Award-winning musical that tells the passionate and unforgettable story of Eva Duarte de Perón, and her meteoric climb from the slums of Argentina to one of the most powerful women in the world as the first lady of Argentina. The musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice features some of theatre's most well-known songs, including the unforgettable “Don't Cry for Me Argentina.” The production will play through Sunday at Majestic Theatre.

TITAS/Dance Unbound: Ronald K. Brown/Evidence
Ronald K. Brown's choreography is to be experienced, not watched. His stories and movement express traditional themes of community, ritual, and collective experience. Ronald K. Brown/Evidence’s return to Dallas, taking place at Winspear Opera House, will feature a mixed rep, including the extraordinary work, Grace, originally created for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Saturday, September 21

Dallas Arboretum presents Autumn at the Arboretum
For the 14th year, the Dallas Arboretum will present Autumn at the Arboretum, highlighting a Pumpkin Village that features pumpkin houses and creative displays utilizing more than 90,000 pumpkins, gourds, and squash. This year's theme is "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," and there will be a variety of displays with all of the Peanuts characters. The festival, taking place through October 31, will also feature daily tastings, cooking demonstrations, and more.

National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Weekend Concert featuring OneRepublic, The Fray, and Maelyn Jarmon
Following a private ceremony inducting U.S. Women's soccer legend Abby Wambach and former U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, the organization will open up its celebration to the masses with a concert featuring performances by OneRepublic, The Fray, and Maelyn Jarmon, the most recent winner of NBC's The Voice. The concert will take place at Toyota Stadium in Frisco.

Dallas Theater Center presents In the Heights
In the Heights, that "other" Tony Award-winning musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is the universal story of a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood. It's a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams, and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you and which ones you leave behind. The production will run through October 20 at Wyly Theatre.

Sunday, September 22

Peter Frampton in concert
Legendary guitarist Peter Frampton will make his second appearance of the weekend for this concert at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, part of his Peter Frampton Finale — The Farewell Tour. Frampton has been making music for almost 50 years, and despite his heyday being in the 1970s, he's rarely slowed down when it comes to releasing new music. Frampton has released 17 albums in his career, including All Blues, which was released this past June. The concert will feature special guest Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening.

Dallas Theater Center presents In the Heights at Wyly Theatre, September 21 through October 20.

Xavier Cano and cast of Dallas Theater Center's In the Heights

Photo by Karen Almond

Dallas Theater Center presents In the Heights at Wyly Theatre, September 21 through October 20.

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Movie Review

Horrific filmmaking makes DC villain Clayface less appealing

Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh

Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie in Clayface.

The history of DC Comics in movies has been hit-and-miss, especially when it comes to anything not directly involving Batman or Superman. Over the years, films have been headlined by heroes like Catwoman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Shazam, the Flash, and more, and while some succeeded, none left a lasting mark on moviegoers’ imaginations.

Much like they did with Joker, the powers-that-be behind DC Studios productions are trying to entice viewers with a no-holds-barred story in Clayface. Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is an A-list movie actor with both critical and commercial appeal. Unfortunately, a night of celebration for his recent Oscar nomination leads to him sleeping with Theresa (Ruby Sear), the girlfriend of Markos Szabo (David Dencik), a prominent mobster in Gotham City. Markos then enacts revenge by taking a razor to Matt’s face.

Desperate to find a way to look like his old self again, Matt seeks out Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who’s conducting cutting-edge nanotechnology research that can heal any kind of damage. While the solution works on Matt, it also has the side effect of his body doing unintended things, even morphing into those with whom he comes into contact. After initially struggling with his new body, Matt decides to use his powers to enact revenge on those who’ve done him wrong.

Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) and written by Mike Flanagan (The Life of Chuck) and Hossein Amini, the film is only intermittently entertaining as it tries to sell its ridiculous premise. Right from the start, it seems like the filmmakers have been given a limited budget, as everything from the sets to the CGI to the stilted dialogue feels cheap. For a film coming from a major studio, the whole thing comes off as schlocky and undercooked.

Watkins and his team try to make up for that shoddiness by delivering R-rated thrills like nudity and body horror, but those elements can only distract for so long. Much of the film is spent dealing with Matt’s trauma, and the downbeat nature of his body issues combined with very little action makes the movie not very fun to watch. The film also tries to make hay with more than a doctor-patient bond between Caitlyn — who has a boyfriend on the police force — and Matt, but like the most of the film, it never connects.

It’s not until the final third of the movie that the filmmakers land on the tone they should have been using the whole time. Matt’s ability to transform himself, while illogical and confounding, provides multiple over-the-top, funny moments and some legitimately creative kills. Instead of taking forever to set up Matt/Clayface’s origin story, Watkins and his team should have just cut to the chase and let him loose to see what the character could truly do.

This is the first big role for Welsh actor Harries, and while he’s not exactly magnetic, he proves himself worthy of the lead role. Ackie is also fine, but after several years of trying to advance up the Hollywood ladder, she may be running out of time to show she’s a star. The supporting cast has a couple of familiar faces, but it’s mostly lesser-known actors who do nothing to indicate they deserve bigger showcases.

It’s difficult to imagine any non-DC Comics fans having a strong attachment to the character of Clayface, and the film fails to make the case that he should be a continuing character. The poor quality of almost everything that appears on screen is indicative of the kind of effort and money that was put into the film, and sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

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Clayface opens in theaters on October 23.

movies film clayface