Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

While many events in and around Dallas have either been postponed or canceled during the 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, October 15

Shakespeare Dallas presents Shakespeare and the Suffragists
Shakespeare and the Suffragists is a new virtual performance project honoring the centennial passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted many women the right to vote. The unique performance will examine Shakespeare’s more feminist texts and how they have been interpreted over time. Through the lens of four historical female figures, the production will shed new light on how Shakespeare’s works might have shaped the Suffragist movement and the ways in which his characters and monologues would have resonated in the 1920s. The production will be available for streaming through November 30.

Symphony Arlington presents Season Opening Concert
Symphony Arlington’s 2020-2021 Season will open with this concert at Arlington Music Hall featuring pianist Alex McDonald. The program includes Rossini’s Overture to The Italian Girl in Algiers, as well as two Beethoven works: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major and Symphony No. 4 in Bb Major. The concert, like all of Symphony Arlington's concerts this season, will offer both an in-person and live streaming option.

Cara Mia Theatre Co. presents My Red Hand, My Black Hand
Cara Mia Theatre Co. will present the regional premiere of Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Dael Orlandersmith’s My Red Hand, My Black Hand, which marks the return of the Café/Negro Series, a co-production with Soul Rep Theatre. The play unfolds as a teenager describes the past, present, and future of her parents' cultures. She talks about the "Red" Tlingit and Lakota parentage of her father, who leaves the reservation to play the blues in Boston, and the "Black" rural Virginia background of her mother, who goes to Boston seeking the big-city life. Her parents meet at a dance and fall in love, but not without the complications of prejudice from their families. The virtual production will be livestreamed on various dates through November 8.

Friday, October 16

The Mockingbird Station Fair
Mockingbird Station will keep the State Fair of Texas' spirit alive on what would have been the fair's final weekend with The Mockingbird Station Fair. The event, taking place through Sunday, will include Instagrammable moments like the iconic Midway sign, and a magical unicorn horse petting zoo. Along with carnival games like LED cornhole, double shot basketball, and more, Corn Dog With No Name will be on hand to serve fair-themed foods, beers, and other alcoholic beverages.

Subtronics in concert
Electronic dance music, or EDM, doesn't often get a prime showcase like this, but in the topsy-turvy COVID world, things are changing. DJ Subtronics has been massively prolific in the past five years, releasing 12 EPs and albums in that time. He'll be joined at this drive-in outdoor concert in the parking lot next to Dos Equis Pavilion by HE$H, Al Ross, Level Up, and Ace Aura.

Carbaret drive-in screenings
Carbaret will present two shows instead of one this week, traveling to Four Corners Brewing Co. on Friday to host a concert by Joshua Ray Walker and Matt Hillyer of Eleven Hundred Springs, followed by a screening of the critically acclaimed film This World Won't Break. On Saturday, they'll be back at Brizo in Richardson to team up with Texas Frightmare Weekend for a special screening of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

The Firehouse Theatre presents Back to the '80s
The Firehouse Theatre will present the majorly rad musical revue Back to the '80s. The outdoor production at The Sound at Cypress Waters tells the story of the senior class of William Ocean High School as remembered through the eyes of a now thirtysomething former student. The show, playing Friday-Sunday through October 25, includes a Star Wars dream sequence, the obligatory '80s party scene, high-energy dance routines, and some of the most popular songs ever written.

Saturday, October 17

Kitchen Dog Theater presents Get Up, Stand Up! A Drive-In Celebration of Democracy
Kitchen Dog Theater kicks off its 30th season of theater with a weekly series of singular events called Get Up, Stand Up! A Drive-In Celebration of Democracy. A variety of local artists will perform protest songs from throughout history to celebrate democracy as well as amplify the voices of the local artist community who have struggled to be heard during the pandemic. The drive-in style event will take place weekly through October 31, with a special fourth show on Election Day, November 3.

Shakespeare Dallas presents Shakespeare and the Suffragists, available for streaming through November 30.

Photo by Jennifer Rogers

Shakespeare Dallas presents Shakespeare and the Suffragists, available for streaming through November 30.

event-planner

Movie Review

Stephen King film adaptation The Life of Chuck aims for the heart

Photo courtesy of NEON

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Just like actors, once a filmmaker becomes known for a certain genre, it can be difficult to escape that pigeonholing. Writer/director Mike Flanagan has worked for 20 years in both film and television, and literally every project he’s done has been related to horror. He’s finally breaking out with The Life of Chuck, which is ironically based on a short story of the same name by Stephen King.

Told in three chapters in reverse order, the film is almost impossible to describe without giving away its magic. The first section centers on Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a teacher grappling, like everyone around him, with what seems to be the world falling apart. He’s comforted to a degree by reuniting with his ex-wife, Felicia (Karen Gillan), but is also baffled by multiple ads touting the retirement of Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) after “39 great years.”

The second section consists of little more than a slightly younger Chuck happening upon Taylor (The Pocket Queen), a drummer busking on a street corner, giving Chuck and a younger woman, Janice (Annalise Basso), the inspiration to start dancing. The final section goes back to the childhood of Chuck (Benjamin Pajak), where he’s raised by his grandparents (Mark Hamill and Mia Sara), discovers dance as an outlet, and wonders about various small mysteries.

Flanagan finds a way to deliver a lot of story with relatively little effort. Using a wry narrator (Nick Offerman), a limited number of locations, and a series of great small performances, he creates an intriguing premise with few straightforward answers. The structure of the film is designed to confuse the viewer until just the right moment, and the revelation forces you to reexamine everything that came before.

The biggest accomplishment by Flanagan is making what are essentially three short films and having each of them resonate equally. The film contains elements of science fiction, although the first section may hit a bit too close to home for some of those watching. All three sections, though, have a heartwarming bent to them that sells their central idea without becoming overly saccharine.

To do so, each of the characters have to connect in a short amount of time. The casting of the film is crucial, and not only does that department succeed with the main roles, but a series of small roles are filled expertly as well. Carl Lumbly as a funeral home owner, David Dastmalchian and Harvey Guillen as parents of students, Matthew Lillard as Marty’s neighbor, Q’orianka Kilcher as Chuck’s wife, and Jacob Tremblay as a teenage Chuck are just a few of the recognizable actors that do yeoman’s work in their brief time on screen.

Hiddleston is only prominently featured in the second chapter, but his performance there and in small glimpses throughout makes a big impression. Ejiofor is given the star turn in the first chapter and he absolutely kills, both in moments by himself and in scenes with Gillan, with whom he has great chemistry. Hamill, making a rare non-voiceover appearance outside of the Star Wars universe, and Sara, in her first notable role in 11 years, are also very memorable in the final chapter.

The Life of Chuck is a film that’s filled with emotion, but the full impact of the story is not felt until the final moments. It has a mysterious journey that is initially frustrating, but the performances keep the film going until it gets to its satisfying payoff.

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The Life of Chuck is now playing in theaters.

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