Weekend Event Planner

These are the 16 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Even though there is a lot going on around Dallas this weekend, there is not one event that stands above the others. Instead, you can choose from a lot of really good events, including five different local theater productions, a trio of big-name comedy events, four concerts from a variety of genres, and more.

Below are more 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.

Thursday, February 15

SMU Meadows Lyric Theatre presents Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Giacomo Puccini, Meadows Lyric Theatre presents a double-bill of the composer’s heart-rending Suor Angelica, the story of a young woman who has had a child out of wedlock and is sent to a convent to atone for her sin; and his only comedy, Gianni Schicchi, in which the greedy Donati family discovers that the wealthy Buoso has left all his money to the church, leaving them bereft of an inheritance. Both operas, sung in the original Italian with English titles projected above the stage, will have four performances through Sunday at Owen Arts Center.

WaterTower Theatre presents Ann
Ann is a no-holds-barred portrait of Ann Richards, the legendary governor of Texas. The inspiring and hilarious play brings the audience face to face with a complex, colorful, and captivating character bigger than the state from which she hailed. It takes a revealing look at the impassioned woman who enriched the lives of her followers, friends, family, and fellow Texans. The production runs through February 25 at WaterTower Theatre in Addison.

Ochre House Theater presents Town for Sale
Town for Sale is about a secluded resort town that has passed its prime, with the current residents stuck in a place which could disappear from the map at any time. A stranger arrives with a mysterious plan, and is quickly caught up in mistaken identity. Town for Sale is a magical world of bright characters, bizarre turns, and delicious music. The production runs through March 2 at Ochre House Theater.

Friday, February 16

Repertory Company Theatre presents Bonnie and Clyde the Musical
Two small-town kids from the middle of nowhere became the biggest folk heroes in all America. They craved adventure and each other. Their names were Bonnie and Clyde. Fearless, shameless, and alluring, this is the electrifying story of love, adventure, and crime that captured the attention of an entire nation. The production will have three performances through Sunday at Courtyard Theater in Plano.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd in concert
Blues rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd got an early start in the music business, getting his first big exposure at the age of 13. Since his official debut in 1995 at 18, he has been atop the blues charts, with all 11 of his albums hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Blues charts, including Dirt on My Diamonds Vol. 1 in 2023. He'll play at Majestic Theatre.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Uptown Nights: It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing"
Inspired by Harlem’s famed musical hot spots like The Cotton Club and The Savoy, this swingin’ night of musical sensations focuses on Harlem’s heyday when Duke Ellington’s orchestra was the house band, and Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ethel Waters showcased the classics of the Great American Songbook. The concert, conducted by Jeff Tyzik, will feature trumpeter/vocalist Byron Stripling, vocalist Carmen Bradford, and tap dancer Leo Manzari. There will be three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Company of Rowlett Performers presents Moon Over Buffalo
Charlotte and George Hay are on tour in Buffalo in 1953 with a repertory consisting of Cyrano de Bergerac (the "revised, one nostril version") and Noel Coward's Private Lives when they receive word that they might just have one last shot at stardom: Frank Capra is coming to town to see their matinee. The production runs through February 25 at Plaza Theater in Garland.

Improv Arlington presents Rob Schneider
Rob Schneider is an accomplished actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director. A stand-up comic and veteran of the award-winning NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, Schneider has gone on to a successful career in films, television, and stand-up comedy. He'll perform four times through Saturday at Improv Arlington.

The Definition of Love II : The Love and Laughter Edition featuring Joe & Cedric The Entertainer
Valentine's Day may have passed, but love will still be in the air at this special music and comedy event featuring Joe and Cedric the Entertainer. Joe has released 13 albums in his career, most recently My Name Is Joe Thomas in 2016. Cedric the Entertainer is best known for co-starring on The Steve Harvey Show, as one of The Original Kings of Comedy, and for his starring role in Barbershop. They'll perform at Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie.

Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts presents The Sound of (Black) Music
The Sound of (Black) Music is a dynamic and groundbreaking production that reimagines one of America's most beloved musical classics through an Afrofuturistic lens. The score, featuring elements of jazz, soul, funk, and hip-hop, celebrates the rich cultural heritage of black music and its impact on American popular culture. The one-night-only event takes place at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.

Saturday, February 17

Majestic Theatre presents Brad Williams
Brad Williams has become one of the most in-demand comedians working today. He has parlayed that success into a multitude of stand-up television experiences, including two one-hour specials on Showtime. In addition to stand-up and acting, Williams has a podcast with Adam Ray, About Last Night. He'll perform twice at Majestic Theatre.

Avant Chamber Ballet presents Star-Crossed: Swan Lake Act 2 + Romeo & Juliet
For the Valentine’s season, Avant Chamber Ballet presents an evening of live orchestra and ballet masterpieces telling tales of romance and enchantment, true love and sacrifice. This triple bill features George Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht Ballet, Swan Lake Act 2, and Paul Mejia’s Romeo & Juliet. There will be performances on Saturday and Sunday at Moody Performance Hall.

Cara Mía Theatre presents Yanga
Jaime Chabaud’s Yanga is inspired by the real-life story of Gaspar Yanga, an enslaved African Prince who led a rebellion and successfully negotiated an independent territory with the Spanish crown less than 100 years after the arrival of Hernán Cortés in Mexico. Newly translated to English for the first time, Yanga sheds light on the history of the Afro-Mexican experience. The production runs through March 3 at Latino Cultural Center.

Plano Symphony Orchestra presents Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis received early acclaim as a saxophonist bringing new energy and new audiences to jazz. Since then, the multiple Grammy-winning icon has refined and expanded his talents and his horizons as a musician, composer, and educator to become a 21st century mainstay of artistic excellence. The Plano Symphony Orchestra will highlight the acclaimed musician in this concert at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.

Sunday, February 18

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live: King for a Day
Daniel, O the Owl, Miss Elaina, Katerina Kittycat, Prince Wednesday, and more familiar friends will go on a brand-new adventure in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, where Daniel learns just what it takes to be King. The beloved characters come alive on stage with new songs, magical moments, and surprise guests along the way. The event takes place at Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie.

Black Violin in concert
For nearly two decades, Black Violin - comprised of Kev Marcus and Wil Baptiste - has been merging string arrangements with modern beats and vocals and building bridges in communities along the way. The duo is coming off a recent Grammy nomination for “The Message,” a collaboration with Blind Boys of Alabama. They have released six albums in their career, most recently Give Thanks in 2020. They'll play at Majestic Theatre.

Photo by Jessica Paris/Paris Marie Photography

WaterTower Theatre in Addison presents Ann through February 25.

opera theater music concerts symphony comedy dance kids families event-planner

Movie Review

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma gives horror a surreal twist

Photo courtesy of MUBI

Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.

The horror genre really ramped up in the 1970s and ‘80s, bringing with it a new subgenre - the slasher - that gave audiences new visuals of gore, but also a reliance on sexism and homophobia that would come to define the era. The new film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma wrestles with that legacy in ways that are funny, thought-provoking, and downright strange.

Kris (Hannah Einbinder) is a queer filmmaker who has been hired to reboot the moldy IP that is the Camp Miasma franchise, one that was fresh in the 1970s but which numerous shlocky sequels have rendered irrelevant. In an attempt to get to know the property better, Kris has scored a meeting with the reclusive Billy (Gillian Anderson), the star of the original film who has shunned the public eye for decades.

Turns out that Billy lives deep in the woods at Camp Rivoli, which served as the location for the first film. As Kris tries to get to know Billy and convince her to be a part of the new film, she starts to fall under Billy’s spell and the lore of the franchise as a whole. That includes believing that the movie’s villain, Little Death - a transgender person who has an air conditioning vent as a head/mask - may not just be a character created for the movies.

Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow), the film at first feels like it’s going to go the straight-up comedy route, with comic explosions of blood, a strange fascination with candy brands, and a production design that does nothing to hide that the two main actors are on a movie set with painted backdrops. This is backed up by Kris’ phone conversations with her girlfriend, Mari (Jasmine Savoy Brown) and her agent (Sarah Sherman), as well as numerous other details.

But the film starts to go down the surreal route the longer Kris stays at the camp with Billy, especially when they sit down to watch the original Camp Miasma. An extended sequence shows a good amount of that film-within-the-film, demonstrating why Kris and Billy have a love/hate relationship with the property. For Kris, though, the lines between the film and the real world start to blur, and Schoenbrun uses a variety of out-there elements to drive the point home.

The final act of the film can barely be described as Kris goes deeper down the rabbit hole, with Schoenbrun using her film to comment on the horror genre as a whole, its treatment of women and LGBT people, the movie industry, and more. All the while the “camp” of Camp Miasma maintains a presence, with candy wrappers showing up everywhere and the tongue-in-cheek references to Little Death (the French term La petite mort, which means “the little death,” is a euphemism for orgasm).

Einbinder, an Emmy winner for Hacks, is the perfect person to inhabit her role. Her established real-life and fictional personas color everything she does in the film, with her enthusiasm and curiosity shining through. Anderson leans heavily into another reference - Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard - to create a character that is as mysterious as she is alluring. Supporting actors like Brown, Sherman, Patrick Fischler, Dylan Baker, and Eva Victor keep the movie at the right pitch all the way through.

While other films have made fun of horror movie tropes before, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma finds a wholly unique way of doing so. It’s a funny and daring trip into the psyches of two women who may be victims of their own obsessions, and of the movies that made them that way.

---

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is now playing in select theaters

movies film