Weekend event planner

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

This long holiday weekend across Dallas is dominated by one type of event: theater. There will be six different productions, including a national tour of a Broadway musical and local version of a classic musical. Other choices include two comedy events, two big concerts, two dance events, and the return of a popular Easter event.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events. Still looking for a place for Easter brunch? Find that list here.

Thursday, April 6

The Firehouse Theatre presents Hello, Dolly!
Matchmaker Dolly Levi is a widow, a matchmaker, and also a professional meddler - but everything changes when she decides that the next match she needs to make is to find someone for herself. Set in New York City at the turn of the century, Hello Dolly! is a musical filled with charisma and with heart that is boisterous and charming from start to finish. The production runs through April 23 at The Firehouse Theatre in Farmers Branch.

Improv Addison presents Michael Rapaport
Actor and comedian Michael Rapaport has appeared movies likeTrue Romance, Higher Learning, Cop Land, Deep Blue Sea, The 6th Day, and The Heat, and TV shows like Boston Public, Friends, Prison Break, Justified, and Atypical. He’s also the host of the I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast. He'll perform five times through Saturday at Improv Addison.

Whose Live Anyway?
Whose Live Anyway? is 90 minutes of hilarious improvised comedy and song all based on audience suggestions. Cast members Dave Foley, Greg Proops, Jeff B. Davis, and Joel Murray perform witty scenes they invent before the audience's eyes. The live event showcases some of the improv games made famous on the long-running TV show, as well as some exciting new ones. The event will be at Murchison Performing Arts Center in Denton.

Broadway at the Center: Anastasia
The musical Anastasia transports the audience from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of a dashing conman and a lovable ex-aristocrat. Together, they embark on an epic adventure to help her find home, love, and family. The production will have four performances through Saturday at Winspear Opera House.

Theatre Three presents The Butterfly’s Evil Spell
In a whimsical world of beetles, scorpions, and bugs of all sorts, a beetle falls in love with an injured butterfly. An "insect comedy" written in verse, The Butterfly’s Evil Spell is a story about unrequited love in a “green and humble meadow” covered in dewdrops on the side of the road in South Texas. The production runs through April 30 at Theatre Three.

Friday, April 7

The O'Jays in concert
The R&B group The O'Jays dates back to the late 1950s, when original members Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles formed the group as teenagers. Their biggest success came in the 1970s, when they had a string of top-selling albums thanks to hits like "Love Train," "For the Love of Money," and "I Love Music (Part 1)." They'll play at the Music Hall at Fair Park as part of their final tour, Last Stop on the Love Train. They'll be joined by The Spinners.

Dallas Theater Center presents Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a whimsical, timeless classic from Stephen Sondheim, masterfully intertwining beloved fairy tales with contemporary challenges into a critically-acclaimed musical masterpiece. The enchanted story begins with the Baker and his wife and their desire for a child; when they engage with the vengeful Witch, the adventure brings childhood storybook characters Cinderella, Jack, Rapunzel, a Wolf, giant, and of course a charming prince, "into the woods" for an incredible journey. The production runs through April 30 at Wyly Theatre.

TITAS / Dance Unbound presents Vuyani Dance Theatre - CION: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero
A cathartic, yet uplifting and remarkable work, Vuyani Dance Theatre's CION: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero is a hauntingly beautiful and moving exploration of grief, struggle, and relief. The music of Ravel’s Bolero using South African a cappella voices as a musical device creates the powerful score. There will be two performances - one Friday and one Saturday - at Moody Performance Hall.

Bath House Cultural Center presents A Light in Dark Places
A Light in Dark Places features five short plays working together to break down the stigma surrounding the topic of suicide, using a mix of comedy and drama to encourage healthy discussion, create community, and offer hope to those affected. Performances, running through April 15 at Bath House Cultural Center, will be followed by a Q&A featuring members of the production team and mental health professionals.

Theatre Coppell presents The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Written in 1876, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River, is one of Mark Twain’s best-loved and most quoted works. In this theatrical adaptation, all of the major adventures of Tom and his friends are brought to the stage. The production runs through April 23 at Coppell Arts Center.

Saturday, April 8

Bruce Wood Dance and The Dallas Conservatory presents Dallas Spring Arts Festival
Co-produced by Bruce Wood Dance and The Dallas Conservatory, the Dallas Spring Arts Festival is a multicultural celebration of North Texas artists featuring storytellers, musicians, singers, dancers, poets, visual artists, and interactive art activities. Headlining the festival is mixed media artist and storyteller Jin-Ya Huang and The Wishing Tree. The festival takes place at Klyde Warren Park.

LiveNation presents Hip Hop Classic featuring Scarface
Hip hop of the '80s and '90s makes a comeback as the Hip Hop Classic tour comes The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory. Headlining will be Scarface, and he'll be joined by other great performers like Doug E. Fresh, Rakim, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Big Daddy Kane, and Slick Rick.

Sunday, April 9

Turtle Creek Conservancy presents Easter in the Park
After a three-year hiatus, the Turtle Creek Park Conservancy will bring back Easter in the Park at Turtle Creek Park. The afternoon of fun will feature food trucks, music, games, photos with the Easter Bunny, the Pooch Parade, a live concert, and a new Easter Egg Recognition Wall.

Easter in Lee Park Facebook

Easter in the Park takes place at Turtle Creek Park on April 9.

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Movie Review

The Dink aces pickleball with funny, star-filled comedy

Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

Mary Steenburgen and Jake Johnson in The Dink.

While the sport of pickleball was invented way back in the 1960s, it has exploded in popularity in the 2020s. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out a way to make a movie about the craze, and a comedy like the new Apple TV film The Dink provides the best way to honor and make fun of the divisive sport at the same time.

Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson), aka The Hammer, is a former tennis phenom who’s now working as an instructor at a club owned by his dad, Chuck (Ed Harris). While the two don’t always see eye-to-eye, they have a mutual hatred for pickleball, which they have begrudgingly allowed on the property by giving it the worst court.

Dusty is hoping to stop all future pickleball expansion by winning a one-on-one grudge match, but when he injures his wrist, he’s given a prescription of pickleball as a form of rehab. Older women like Candace (Mary Steenburgen) are the only people he can find to play with, and despite his disdain for the sport, he soon falls prey to its low-key charms.

Directed by Josh Greenbaum (Will & Harper) and written by Sean Clements, the film is probably the best advertisement pickleball will ever have. Dusty’s introduction to the sport serves as a lighthearted tutorial for the uninitiated while still getting in some nice digs at its expense. The other players - Candace, Gail (Cleo King), and Judy (Lynn Marie Stewart) - are equally welcoming and critical of Dusty, who initially has trouble adjusting to the game’s different rules.

The film’s approach to the story is silly but never stupid. Dusty is a blowhard, but he’s also able to admit when he’s wrong, especially when Candace introduces him to multiple things he had never considered before. A long-standing feud between Dusty and Andy Roddick provides more than just a goofy cameo for the real-life tennis star. The film also pushes right to the edge of being over-the-top before pulling back, allowing it to keep a semblance of reality to it.

Clements’ story follows a tried-and-true formula, making the film very predictable but enjoyably so. Where it earns its comedy credentials is in its finer details, like Dusty’s love for his 1999 Buick LeSabre with under 200,000 miles on it, his trunk full of old VHS tapes, or his interactions with his assistant PJ (Aaron Chen), who manages to be the comic relief in an already funny film.

Johnson, probably best known for starring in the sitcom New Girl in the 2010s, has the right amount of smarm and niceness to pull off the role, letting viewers laugh at and root for him at the same time. The film is full of comedy all-stars in small roles like Oswalt, Chris Parnell, and Ben Stiller, but Harris steals everyone’s thunder. The line readings by the four-time Oscar nominee give an extra punch to his character’s jokes, especially one that hints at the sordid history of the tennis club.

It’s a shame that The Dink is only playing on a streaming service as there’s a dearth of good comedies like this in movie theaters. With a solid joke-telling approach, a respect for its subject matter, and a cast who all play off each other well, this is a film that deserves to be seen by more than just those with an Apple TV subscription.

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The Dink is now streaming on Apple TV.

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