Weekend Event Planner

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

While most big events in and around Dallas have either been postponed or canceled during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there are a few that have popped up to offer the masses some entertainment while still adhering to the necessary social distancing measures.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. While they're not all outside of the house, they all promise to provide a nice distraction from the everyday life.

Thursday, September 24

Arts Mission Oak Cliff presents Parking Lot Series: Agora Artists' Tether
In Agora Artists' Tether, five local performers navigate the parking lot while tethered by rope, as the piece explores themes of relationship, communication, and allyship in a time when systemic racism is challenged and physical contact is restricted. Performers will wear protective gear, and music will be transmitted through the radio so audience members can enjoy the entire event from the comfort of their cars. The event takes place at Arts Mission Oak Cliff on select dates through October 3.

Friday, September 25

Austin Street Center presents Humble Beginnings Luncheon
Austin Street Center’s 20th Annual Humble Beginnings Luncheon will be a virtual event, featuring Tony and Grammy Award-Winning artist, Leslie Odom, Jr. who will perform live and participate in a moderated conversation. The luncheon celebrates Austin Street Center’s work to provide safe shelter and basic needs to help the most vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness.

Hometown Heroes Music Festival
Hometown Heroes Music Festival is a hybrid of a drive-in and a socially-distanced outdoor music festival. Taking place at Knotting Hill Place in Little Elm on both Friday and Saturday, performers will include Randy Rogers Band, Lee Brice, and Kody West on Friday, and Parker McCollum, Pat Green, and Flatland Cavalry on Saturday. There will be streamed performances by Wade Bowen and Nelly on Friday, and Stoney Larue and Snoop Dogg on Saturday, who will be performing live at the festival's two other locations in Austin and Lubbock.

Six Flags Over Texas presents HallowFest
Six Flags will present HallowFest, featuring haunted experiences every weekend between September 25 and November 1. Thrills by Day will include activities like photo opportunities, a Trick-or-Treat Trail, and delicious treats. For Chills by Night, all Halloween attractions will be transported outdoors to the wide-open midways, featuring creepy fog, eerie lighting, larger-than-life Halloween props, and sinister music in four hair-raising Halloween zones. Roller coasters will ramp up the fear factor as guests fly through the air at high speeds in total darkness. The park will be operating at a limited capacity to avoid overcrowding and guests will be required to make a reservation.

Dallas Children's Theater presents Social Justice Play Series
Dallas Children’s Theater continues its commitment to using the power of theater to spark important conversation about race by producing a series of short plays by award-winning playwright, poet, and changemaker Idris Goodwin. The three short shows, dubbed the ‘Social Justice Play Series,’ will be available completely free of charge, starting with The Water Gun Song, streaming September 25-October 4. In the play, a parent tries to find the words to explain why a water gun isn't simply a toy.

Uptown Players presents Pageant
Uptown Players will present a virtual production of the 2014 audience favorite, the farcical Off‐Broadway hit Pageant. The show takes its shots not by mocking the pageant from the outside, but by being one. The six contestants, Miss Deep South, Miss West Coast, Miss Great Plains, Miss Bible Belt, Miss Industrial Northeast, and Miss Texas (all played by men) compete in evening gown, talent, swim-wear, and spokesmodel, plus each finalist answers calls from the Beauty Crisis Hotline. The production is available to stream anytime between September 25 and October 4.

The Firehouse Theatre presents Daddy Long Legs
A heartwarming Cinderella story about a witty and winsome young woman and her mysterious benefactor, Daddy Long Legs is a beloved tale in the spirit of Jane Austen. Jerusha Abbott is the “Oldest Orphan in the John Grier Home” until a mysterious benefactor decides to send her to college to be educated as a writer. Required to write him a letter once a month, she is never to know the benefactor’s identity – so she invents one for him: Daddy Long Legs. This two-person musical starring real-life couple Caitlin Martelle Jones and Preston Lee Isham will be streamed live on select dates through October 11.

B. Moore Dance presents ROOTED: Envisage Dance Installations
As part of the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project, B. Moore Dance will present world premiere of ROOTED: Envisage Dance Installations, which draws inspiration from the repertoire created and curated by Founder/Artistic Director, Bridget L. Moore. These works challenge artistic practices by reimagining, rebuilding, and reinstalling works that were made in the past to reflect the present, and the Global World as it reopens for the future. ROOTED is specifically set for the Annette Strauss Square stage and replaces the previously scheduled production of The Neglected Heart of Soul: An Ode to Donny Hathaway in Hamon Hall.

Saturday, September 26

Oktoberfest celebrations
Two local venues will push ahead with Oktoberfest celebrations in safe and socially-distanced ways. Legacy Hall's Oktoberfeast in Plano will offer two time slots by reservation only, featuring a traditional live German band performance, stein-holding competitions, German fare, and beer-a-plenty. McKinney Main Street's Parktoberfest will feature live music from Brave Combo, a keg tapping, and stein holding competition. Traditional German fare will be offered as well as a variety of beers from the venue, TUPPS Brewery.

Ballet North Texas present Night on the Trinity
Ballet North Texas opens its 2020/21 season with Night on the Trinity, a celebration of diverse choreography and original music composition from local and national artists, including Kiyon Gaines Ross, guest performers by Bruce Wood Dance and Ballet Frontier of Texas, and live musical accompaniment from composer Quinn Mason and the musicians of MAKE Trio. The event will take place at Annette Strauss Square.

Sunday, September 27

Dallas Museum of Art presents "To Be Determined" opening day
The Dallas Museum of Art will present "To Be Determined," a new exhibition that explores individual and collective meanings through works of art, sacred objects, and design. Drawing from the museum’s encyclopedic collection, including 13 new acquisitions and three major paintings by Dallas-based artists, the exhibition juxtaposes works from across time, geography, and cultures, from the 13th century to the present day, to trace how the resonance of art can shift when presented in new contexts and as viewers imbue them with their own personal meanings. The exhibition will remain on display through December 27.

Agora Artists will present Tether at Arts Mission Oak Cliff through October 3.

Photo by Corey Haynes

Agora Artists will present Tether at Arts Mission Oak Cliff through October 3.

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Movie Review

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney go off in trashy film The Housemaid

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid.

Both Amanda Seyfried (the upcoming The Testament of Ann Lee) and Sydney Sweeney (Christy) are starring in movies with Oscar ambitions this year. By sheer coincidence, the two actors are also co-starring in The Housemaid, a thriller coming out within weeks of their more ambitious works, one that is likely to be seen by many more people than those prestige plays.

Sweeney is given top billing as Millie, a down-on-her-luck ex-convict looking to land any type of job so as not to break her parole. She finds a too-good-to-be-true lifeboat with Nina (Seyfried), who hires her to be a housemaid for her large house on Long Island, where she lives with her husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), and daughter, Cecilia (Indiana Elle).

After a warm interview, Nina almost immediately becomes highly erratic, whipping back-and-forth between happy-go-lucky and rageful. It seems clear that Nina is suffering from mental health issues, as she’ll often accuse Millie of misplacing or stealing items that she didn’t take. Andrew, apparently used to Nina’s tirades, tries to protect Millie from the worst, something that grows increasingly difficult as Nina ups the ante.

Directed by Paul Feig (A Simple Favor) and adapted by Rebecca Sonnenshine from the bestselling book by Freida McFadden, the film is likely the trashiest mainstream movie to come out in 2025. The first half of the movie relies not on story but on moments as Nina embodies the word “hysterical” to an unbelievable extent. The resigned acceptance of the abuse by Millie, as well as the saintly patience of Andrew, make almost every scene laughable, as nobody seems to be acting anywhere close to how a person would normally react to such extreme situations.

The scenes and the performance of Seyfried are so over-the-top, in fact, that it’s clear that the filmmakers are in on the joke. It’s next to impossible not to have a little bit of fun while watching the actors react to outrageous incidents as if nothing is out of the ordinary. The worse Nina acts, the more Millie and Andrew retreat into their chosen roles, and the funnier the film becomes.

Fans of the book will know that the story changes course, eventually turning into a more stereotypical thriller that also has some relatively gnarly visuals to offer. But the trashiness continues, with Sweeney’s, um, assets repeatedly on display in both clothed and unclothed ways. The sex appeal of the R-rated movie makes it an outlier, as recent studio films have shied away from asking their big stars to disrobe completely.

Both Seyfried and Sweeney are far from their Oscar hopeful roles here. Seyfried is given free rein to act as brazenly as she pleases, and she takes full advantage of that ability. Sweeney seems to have been told to be much more reserved, and unfortunately that results in too many wooden line readings. Sklenar continues his breakout streak (It Ends with Us, Drop) with a role that allows him to show more range than either Seyfried or Sweeney.

The Housemaid is an unusual type of movie to be released at a time of year when most films are either those aiming for awards or more family-friendly fare. Despite its many flaws, it’s still an enjoyable watch that features a variety of crazy scenarios not typically seen in movies nowadays.

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The Housemaid is now playing in theaters.

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