Weekend Event Planner

Big concerts boost the best Halloween weekend events in Dallas

There is sure to be a lot of scary fun on Halloween this year, but the thrills won't be contained to just that day. The day before Halloween brings three big-name concerts, and those events are complemented by an array of interesting and cultural activities spread around the Dallas area.

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, October 29

Off Broadway on Flora Series: A Divine Evening with Charles Busch
Charles Busch, a cross-dressing cabaret star responsible for movies and plays like Psycho Beach Party, Die Mommie Die, and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, will bring A Divine Evening with Charles Busch to Wyly Theatre. The performance, playing four times through Saturday, features unforgettable characters like the sort-of actress Miriam Passman recounting her brushes with stardom, mixed with Busch’s own memoirs.

TITAS presents Kyle Abraham: Abraham.In.Motion
TITAS presents the world premiere and Dallas debut of New York’s Kyle Abraham: Abraham.In.Motion. Developed by MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient Abraham, the company mixes together urban funk with modern dance for a thoroughly unique experience. They'll put on performances on Thursday and Friday night.

Friday, October 30

KEGL Freaker's Ball featuring Marilyn Manson, The Cult, Theory Of A Deadman, Pop Evil, and Aranda
There's nothing like the Halloween season to get you in the mood for something called the Freaker's Ball. The annual event, put on by KEGL 97.1 FM at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, will feature holiday appropriate bands like Marilyn Manson, The Cult, Theory Of A Deadman, Pop Evil, and Aranda.

Ludacris in concert
The evolution of the rap/hip hop genre is so fast and furious that it's easy to get left behind. Such is the case for Ludacris, who, after a nonstop beginning to his career in the early 2000s, began to focus movies as much as music. He's back with his first album in five years, Ludaversal, which he'll showcase in a concert at Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco.

Salt-N-Pepa in concert
Even though they haven't put out a new album since 1997, the name of rap trio Salt-N-Pepa still resonates, especially locally because DJ Spinderella now calls Dallas home. The group will play a special Halloween eve concert at The Rustic, and the audience is encouraged to come decked out in their best costumes.

Dallas Opera presents Great Scott
The season-opening production from the Dallas Opera is a world premiere that gets a little meta. Opera star Arden Scott returns to her hometown to save the struggling company that launched her career, but the opening night performance of the long-lost opera she discovered falls on the same night as the championship game of the local football team. The production will play five times through November 15 at Winspear Opera House.

Saturday, October 31

Perot Museum of Nature and Science presents Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science will be all aglow when its latest traveling exhibition, Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence, opens. The exhibit features organisms that produce light, from flickering fireflies to the glowing deep-sea fish and other fantastic creatures that illuminate the perpetually dark depths of the oceans. The exhibit will on display through February 21, 2016.

Sunday, November 1

Shortcuts Film Festival
Outside of film festivals, short films don't often get a lot of love. Helmed by Dallas Morning News film critic Chris Vognar and film producer Doug LeClaire, this screening will feature 10 films that the two organizers believe deserve to be noticed. The event at Alamo Drafthouse in Richardson will also include a cocktail reception following the screening.

Marilyn Manson headlines KEGL's annual Freaker's Ball, taking place at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie on October 30.

Photo courtesy of Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson headlines KEGL's annual Freaker's Ball, taking place at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie on October 30.

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Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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