Weekend Event Planner

These are the 10 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

If this week's list of things to do around Dallas looks odd, that's because there's a wide variety of choices, including a very odd convention. Also happening are two comedians, an opera, a trio of concerts from across the musical spectrum, a local theater production, a Shakespearean festival, and a dance production.

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.

Thursday, March 23

Photo courtesy of The Core Theatre

The Core Theatre presents A Trip to Bountiful, March 24-April 9.

Improv Arlington presents DeRay Davis
DeRay Davis has been killing it in Hollywood with his hilarious humor and persona, with film credits like Semi-Pro, Imagine That, Scary Movie 4, Barbershop 1 & 2, and Johnson Family Vacation. On the small screen, he has appeared in HBO's Entourage, Comedy Central's Reno 911, and as numerous voices on The Boondocks. He'll perform nine times through Sunday at Improv Arlington.

Friday, March 24

The Dallas Opera presents Così fan tutte
In Così fan tutte, the women have the last laugh when the men they plan to marry come up with a really bad idea: Egged on by a cynical old bachelor, the guys decide to put their fiancées to the “fidelity test.” Big mistake, as the resulting romantic debacle demonstrates. Mozart does it again, with glorious music fueling comedy that cuddles right up to a calamity just waiting to happen. The production, which is sung in Italian with English supertitles, will have four performances through April 1 at Winspear Opera House.

Marco Antonio Solis in concert
The 2023 concert season at outdoor venue Dos Equis Pavilion gets started a bit early with this visit from Mexican singer Marco Antonio Solis. For the first half of his career, he was part of the group Los Bukis, during which he became known as a great songwriter. He finally went out on his own in the late 1990s, releasing 10 albums, most recently 2013's Gracias Por Estar Aquí. He'll come to Dallas as part of his El Buki World Tour.

The Core Theatre presents A Trip to Bountiful
A Trip to Bountiful is a classic American play about a remarkable journey home. In her autumn years Carrie Watts dreams of escape from the bustling city and of a return to simpler times in her beloved Bountiful, Texas. She sets out on a risky journey to her long lost hometown, with her family in hot pursuit. The production runs through April 9 at The Core Theatre in Richardson.

Sabrina Carpenter in concert
The 23-year-old Sabrina Carpenter is a multi-hyphenate who's dipped her toes into multiple parts of the entertainment industry. She's had parts in productions as diverse as Disney's Girl Meets World, the film The Hate U Give, and the two Tall Girl movies on Netflix. She put out her first music single in 2014, and has gone on to release five albums, including 2022's Emails I Can't Send. She'll perform at The Factory in Deep Ellum.

Saturday, March 25

Oddities & Curiosities Expo
The Oddities and Curiosities Expo features over 150 oddity vendors and artists selling a wide variety of rare and unusual items, including taxidermy, preserved animal specimens, original horror and Halloween-inspired artwork, antiques, handcrafted oddities, skulls, bones, and funeral collectibles. The one-day expo at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will also feature photo ops, tarot reading, sideshow performers, and concessions.

Adriatica Village presents Shakespeare McKinney
Shakespeare McKinney provides residents and businesses with an opportunity to show their support for the local arts community, including theatre, dance, music, and visual arts, at the celebration of culture, creativity, and community. Shakespeare’s work comes to life through presentations, adaptations, and modernized renditions of his repertoire performed on the MainStage. Taking place at Adriatica Village, there will be multiple other stages of entertainment, as well as street performers and visual artists, a variety of food truck options, a vendor market, and a kids zone.

Luke Combs in concert
There was no wait-and-see period with country star Luke Combs; he was big out of the gate, going to No. 1 with his 2017 debut album, This One's for You. He maintained that popularity with his next two albums, so there's no reason to think that his just-released fourth album, Gettin' Old, won't have the same success. He'll be joined at this huge concert at AT&T Stadium in Arlington by special guests Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, Flatland Cavalry, and Brent Cobb.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre presents "Dancing Beyond Borders"
DBDT: Encore! takes its talents to Richardson with "Dancing Beyond Borders," pushing the lines of contemporary modern dance. Choreographer Jess Hendricks brings the dancers to the brink of physical exhaustion in the dance Shedding Skin. Tears of War choreographer Christopher L. Huggins mirrors the heartbreak of war during six periods of American history. Spiritual Suite is a collection of spiritual works choreographed in a collaborative effort by Nycole Ray, Richard A. Freeman, Jr., Floyd McLean, Jr., and Dianne Grigsby. The production will be at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts.

Druski: "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda Tour"
Acclaimed comedian, actor, and entrepreneur Druski comes to Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie as part of his first-ever headlining comedy tour. The tour will feature a traditional comedic stand-up performance, as well as a live element of Druski’s record label, Coulda Been Records. Online, Druski facetiously offered aspiring performers an opportunity to showcase their skills online in front of millions. Now, these prospective entertainers will have the chance to perform for a live audience for the first time ever.

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Movie Review

Jessica Chastain drama Dreams stumbles through steamy romance

Photo courtesy of Teorema

Isaac Hernández and Jessica Chastain in Dreams.

The opening scenes of the new drama Dreams are bracing, fictional sequences that call to mind real-life scenarios. In them, a young Mexican man named Fernando (Isaac Hernández) goes through a somewhat harrowing journey from the back of a semi truck in South Texas all the way to San Francisco. It’s a familiar immigrant story that seems to set the stage for a film with something interesting to say.

It turns out, however, that Fernando has not made the long and arduous trek for a job. Instead, it’s to be with Jennifer McCarthy (Jessica Chastain), a rich woman who helps lead a foundation dedicated to multiple things, including funding dance academies. Fernando, a talented dancer, and Jennifer have been in an off-and-on affair for years, with Jennifer wanting to keep their relationship a secret.

Although both are drawn to each other in an inexplicable, lustful way, their bond is tenuous, with each of them dissatisfied for different reasons. Fernando clearly sacrifices much more of himself than Jennifer, who wants for nothing except maybe more affection from her father, Michael (Marshall Bell), and brother, Jake (Rupert Friend).

Writer/director Michel Franco seems to try to inject tension into Fernando and Jennifer’s relationship from the start, an attempt that is only halfway successful. It’s clear from the way they greet each other - not to mention a steamy sex scene shortly thereafter - that they have known each other for a good length of time. Franco is able to get across this familiarity with an economy of scenes, and the intensity of their bond holds for a while.

But as the film progresses and both of them grow disenchanted with their arrangement, Franco starts taking the story in some odd directions. The biggest issue is that it’s never clear at what point in time the story is taking place. Fernando ends up making multiple trips back and forth across the border, with Jennifer doing the same at one point, and Franco’s use of flashbacks muddies the waters, wrong-footing the audience when he should be trying to draw them further into Fernando and Jennifer’s complications.

Revelations in the final act make the story even more confusing, as both main characters start saying and doing harsh things that seem to come out of nowhere. That would be all well and good if Franco actually committed to their changes of heart, but he keeps things wishy-washy for most of the final 15 minutes, resulting in an ending that makes little sense for either character.

Despite the story issues, both Chastain and Hernández give compelling performances. Chastain has been a little under the radar since winning an Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, but she keeps this character interesting longer than it should have been. Hernández has limited credits and appears to have been cast for his dancing ability, but he goes toe-to-toe with Chastain on more than one occasion and acquits himself well.

Dreams had all of the ideas to explore a more in-depth story about the complicated immigration policies between Mexico and the U.S., or how wealthy people take advantage of those less fortunate. But Franco never finds the right footing, settling instead for a titillating and somewhat mystifying relationship story that feels half-baked.

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Dreams is now playing in select theaters.

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