Weekend Event Planner

These are the 13 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

If you like comedy or holiday festivities, this weekend in and around Dallas will have a lot to offer. Two big-name comedians will come to town, and they will be surrounded by a host of new holiday happenings, including four local theater productions, two dance productions, a classical music concert, a parade, two festival-type events next door to each other, and more.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Looking for the best places to view Christmas lights? That list is here.

Thursday, December 2

Taylor Tomlinson: Deal With It Tour
The perspective of comedian Taylor Tomlinson possesses a degree of wisdom that's typically earned with age. Named to Forbes' 2021 class of 30 Under 30, she gave fans a healthy dose of that wisdom when her first-ever, hour-long special, Quarter-Life Crisis, debuted on Netflix in March 2020, just as the world entered into a once-in-a-century pandemic. She'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

The Firehouse Theatre presents Elf the Musical
Based on the beloved holiday film, Elf the Musical is a hilarious fish-out-of-water comedy that follows Buddy the Elf in his quest to find his true identity. Faced with the harsh realities of the human world, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. The production will take place outdoors at The Sound at Cypress Waters in Coppell through December 12.

Bishop Arts Theatre Center presents Black Nativity
Bishop Arts Theatre Center will present their 17th annual production of Black Nativity. Directed by Zetra Goodlow and Albert Wash II, the production is a hand-clapping, toe-tapping, finger-snapping theatrical wonderment, inspired by Langston Hughes' retelling of the Nativity story. It will run through December 18. There are both in-person and virtual ticket options available.

Friday, December 3

Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents Black on Black
Black on Black delivers a holiday party-feel with original new works choreographed by the DBDT and DBDT: Encore! dancers as they take the reins and fully produce this fun-filled evening. The all-inclusive holiday affair, taking place on Friday and Saturday at Dallas Black Dance Theatre, includes a complimentary happy hour, followed by an eclectic performance in the intimate setting of DBDT’s studios and a festive after-party.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Christmas Pops
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will once again present the beloved tradition of Christmas Pops, featuring the Dallas Symphony Chorus performing transcendent anthems, classical holiday favorites, and sing-along carols. Vocalists Ava Pine and Reginald Smith, Jr. will join the concert to bring a bit of Christmas magic to Meyerson Symphony Center. The concert, which will have 10 performances through December 12, will also feature an appearance by Santa Claus and a bit of snow.

Richardson Theatre Centre presents Inspecting Carol
Inspecting Carol deals with a regional theatre company that is rehearsing its annual production of A Christmas Carol when it gets news of the impending arrival of an inspector from the National Endowment for the Arts to review their work. When they assume that the man who asks to audition is really an informer for the NEA, everyone caters to the bewildered wannabe actor and he is given a role. What will happen when the actual inspector shows up? The production runs through December 19 at Richardson Theatre Centre.

The Core Theatre presents The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge
A year after his miraculous transformation, Ebenezer Scrooge is back to his old ways and is suing Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future for a litany of supposed crimes. One by one, Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s nephew, solicitor and philanthropist Sara Anne Wainwright, and the ghosts themselves take the witness stand to give their account of the night in question. The production runs through December 31 at The Core Theatre in Richardson.

Saturday, December 4

Dallas Holiday Parade
The Dallas Holiday Parade is the city’s largest one-day, outdoor event and has become a holiday tradition for thousands of families throughout North Texas. The showstopping parade begins at the intersection of Commerce and Houston streets, proceeds down Commerce past the Adolphus Hotel and The Statler, turns right on Harwood and right on Young, and winds up in front of Dallas City Hall. Viewing is free, with reserved seating available for purchase.

Ballet Ensemble of Texas presents The Nutcracker
The Ballet Ensemble of Texas will present their annual production of The Nutcracker, featuring Emily Speed as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Simon Wexler as her Cavalier. The production, which will have two performances Saturday and two Sunday at Irving Arts Center, will also feature more than 200 children from Ballet Academy of Texas.

Klyde Warren Park presents Tree Lighting Celebration
Klyde Warren Park's Tree Lighting Celebration is a festive day of activities and entertainment, including photos with Santa, story time with Mrs. Claus, face painting, games, and crafts for children. The day will culminate with a live holiday show that includes visits from Frosty and Rudolph, the second act of The Nutcracker Suite performed by The Dallas Conservatory, and Klyde Warren Park’s annual tree lighting. Attendees can then walk across the street to...

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Reliant Lights Your Holidays
Reliant Lights Your Holidays features an evening of holiday magic and music, illuminating the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s campus with dazzling LED lights to celebrate the arrival of the holiday season. The festival includes a holiday concert featuring Vinyl Countdown: A Tribute to Arena Rock, Selena tribute band Bidi Bidi Banda, projections on the campus' venues, crafts for the kids, and, of course, Santa.

Bert Kreischer: The Berty Boy World Tour
Comedian Bert Kreischer has evolved from being named Rolling Stone’s 1997 "Number One Partier in the Nation" to one of the top names in comedy. Lauded as one of the best storytellers of his generation, Kreischer seamlessly and sincerely shares anecdotes about his family and fatherhood. He'll perform twice at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Sunday, December 5

Galleria Dallas presents Grand Holiday Ice Show
Galleria Dallas will partner with Bryan’s House to create a special event featuring Canadian ice dancing champions Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje, who competed in the 2014 and 2018 Olympics. Families attending will be assigned to a private pod, where they can enjoy the holiday magic without the crowds. In addition to the celebrity skaters, fans will enjoy a performance by Missile Toes, Galleria’s ice-skating Santa, and indoor fireworks.

The Dallas Holiday Parade will take place on December 4 in downtown Dallas.

Children's Medical Center Holiday Parade

Children's Medical Center/Facebook

The Dallas Holiday Parade will take place on December 4 in downtown Dallas.

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Movie Review

Podcaster lets creepy noises get under her skin in Undertone

Photo courtsy of A24

Nina Kiri in Undertone.

While the horror genre is still capable of producing some innovative filmmaking, most of the output tends to fall back on jump scares and other tropes to deliver their terror. So when a film like the new Undertone tries something different, it should be applauded for the effort, even if it’s not as successful in its execution.

Evy (Nina Kiri) is a podcaster who co-hosts a show called Undertone, which focuses on paranormal videos and sounds they find on the internet. Her co-host, Justin (Adam DiMarco), lives in London, so - for kind of contrived reasons - in order to make the time difference between them work, Evy records at around 3 am her time. Evy - who lives at home with her bedridden, dying mother - is the skeptic of the two, consistently debunking clips that Justin presents to her.

Her doubts are tested when Justin brings in a series of 10 audio clips that purport to be about a boyfriend recording his girlfriend as she talks in her sleep. The audio begins in a lighthearted manner and quickly turns creepy and then sinister as unexplained things start happening. Evy senses that what she’s hearing is bleeding into her own world, especially when inexplicable actions take place in her mother’s bedroom.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Ian Tuason, the film is effective early on when it introduces the story concept. Making great use of sound design, Tuason essentially puts the audience inside Evy’s head, where every little sound is heightened. Setting the podcast sessions in the middle of the night ups the anxiety level for both her and the audience.

However, as the film goes along it gets a little tedious watching Evy listen to the audio, even as Tuason attempts to keep the film dynamic by moving the camera around her. The premise of the story - progressively going through 10 clips - and Tuason’s framing of shots that focus as much on the background as they do on Evy seem to promise more interesting results than actually transpire.

What ultimately holds the film down more than anything is its lack of different viewpoints. The only other person who’s actually seen is Evy’s mother, who is unable to speak. Evy speaks to Justin, another friend, and a doctor over the course of the story, and while each broadens our understanding of Evy somewhat, none of them make her a truly three-dimensional person. Getting a little more information about her history might have helped the story work better.

Kiri does her level best to vary her acting in the various podcast scenes, and even when they start to get repetitive, she remains compelling and watchable. It’s difficult to judge the other actors based on audio alone, but knowing that DiMarco also starred in season 2 of The White Lotus helps to visualize him and his acting style.

Undertone does well in creating a spine-chilling mood, but it needed something beyond that to become a truly great horror movie. Tuason shows some promise as a filmmaker, especially in the way he uses the camera to create tension, but a more complete story will serve him better the next time around.

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Undertone is now playing in theaters,

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