Weekend Event Planner

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

Although the weather's been running hot and cold, 2023 definitely has started to heat up on the event side of the world. This weekend in and around Dallas will feature two well-known comedians, two orchestra concerts, two new local theater productions, two closings of notable art exhibitions, and more.

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, January 12

Noel Miller: Everything is F#&ked
Noel Miller's biting one-liners and topical social commentary has made him a force to be reckoned with in the comedy world. In addition to starring in popular YouTube series That's Cringe, and comedy duo + podcast Tiny Meat Gang with fellow comedian Cody Ko, Miller has created successful series on his own, including his format around hit British reality show Love Island. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Sibelius Symphony No. 2"
Solemn Prelude, a lost work by Afro-English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor that recently discovered, opens this Dallas Symphony Orchestra concert. Pianist Paul Lewis will solo on Grieg’s Concerto in A minor for Piano and Orchestra, and the concert closes with Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2. Conducted by Ryan Bancroft, there will be performances on both Thursday and Friday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Rover Dramawerks presents Four Weddings and an Elvis
Anything can happen in a wedding chapel in Las Vegas ... and does! From a couple getting married by the King himself as revenge on their exes, to arrogant, aging stars tying the knot as a publicity stunt, to a ceremony that really needs to happen before the police arrive, to the nuptials of the wedding chapel owner herself, what happens in Vegas ... is hilarious! The production will run through January 28 at Cox Building Playhouse in Plano.

Arts Mission Oak Cliff presents Cabaret
In collaboration with Arts Mission Oak Cliff, Brian Harden, Oak Cliff resident and founder of The Lost Boy Presents, brings a contemporary rendition of Cabaret to the neighborhood. The historic sanctuary of AMOC, which mirrors the sanctity of the Kit Kat Club, provides an immersive and intimate setting for the show’s historically relevant and politically provocative narrative set in 1931 Berlin. As romances develop in this modern iteration of the Broadway classic, so does the swelling tide to suppress individuality and increase conformity with the Nazi ideal. The production runs through January 21.

Friday, January 13

Jeff Dunham: Still Not Canceled
Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham is a comedy superstar, with a career that has included broadcast specials, global tours, and a best-selling autobiography. Dunham’s new one-hour Comedy Central Special, Me the People, premiered on November 25, 2022. Dunham and his cast of characters will perform at American Airlines Center as part of his “Still Not Canceled” North American tour.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Hamid Rahmanian's Song of the North
Hamid Rahmanian's Song of the North, making its Texas debut, is a magical evening of large-scale shadow puppetry that transports the audience into ancient worlds full of color, history, and stunning imagery. An inspirational epic from ancient Persia comes to life in the multi-disciplinary performance created through shadow puppetry, projected animation, music, movement, and theater. There will be performances on Friday and Saturday.

Saturday, January 14

Allen Philharmonic Orchestra & Symphony Chorus presents The Wonderful Wizardry of Harry Potter
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the U.S. publication of J.K. Rowling’s first installment of her iconic Harry Potter series, the Allen Philharmonic Orchestra & Symphony Chorus presents The Wonderful Wizardry of Harry Potter. The evening will feature a family-friendly collection of music designed to celebrate the magic of storytelling, including music from Harry Potter, the Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings, and the Chronicles of Narnia, as well as famous classical works such as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and The Firebird Suite. The concert takes place at Lowery Auditorium in Allen.

Sunday, January 15

Dallas Museum of Art presents "Octavio Medellín: Spirit and Form" closing day
Sunday will be the final day to view "Octavio Medellín: Spirit and Form" at the Dallas Museum of Art, the first-ever museum retrospective for Medellín, an influential Mexican American artist and teacher whose work helped shape the Texas art scene for six decades. Medellín was a noted sculptor who mastered a wide range of media, engaging with modernist trends in both his native Mexico and the United States.

Nasher Sculpture Center presents Matthew Ronay: "The Crack, the Swell, an Earth, an Ode" closing day
Sunday will also be the final day to view "The Crack, the Swell, an Earth, an Ode" by Matthew Ronay at Nasher Sculpture Center. The Brooklyn-based artist expanded the scale of his work to create his largest and most ambitious sculpture to date, "The Crack, the Swell, an Earth, an Ode," a 23-foot-long sculpture that offers a comprehensive introduction to Ronay’s surreal worlds and the various creatures inhabiting them.

The Dallas Opera presents Titus Family Recital: Ying Fang
If you love the sound of an exquisitely beautiful voice and the emotion that can only be expressed by a true artist, then you must hear Ying Fang. On the cusp of a sparkling career, she has mesmerized audiences at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, the Salzburg Festival, and more. She'll perform at Moody Performance Hall.

Photo by Dario Acosta

The Dallas Opera presents Titus Family Recital: Ying Fang at Moody Performance Hall on January 15.

comedy concerts symphony music theater dance galleries opera event-planner

Movie Review

Michelle Pfeiffer is an unappreciated mom in Oh. What. Fun.

Photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

Michelle Pfeiffer in Oh. What. Fun.

Of all the formulaic movie genres, Christmas/holiday movies are among the most predictable. No matter what the problem is that arises between family members, friends, or potential romantic partners, the stories in holiday movies are designed to give viewers a feel-good ending even if the majority of the movie makes you feel pretty bad.

That’s certainly the case in Oh. What. Fun., in which Michelle Pfeiffer plays Claire, an underappreciated mom living in Houston with her inattentive husband, Nick (Denis Leary). As the film begins, her three children are arriving back home for Christmas: The high-strung Channing (Felicity Jones) is married to the milquetoast Doug (Jason Schwartzman); the aloof Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) brings home yet another new girlfriend; and the perpetual child Sammy (Dominic Sessa) has just broken up with his girlfriend.

Each of the family members seems to be oblivious to everything Claire does for them, especially when it comes to what she really wants: For them to nominate her to win a trip to see a talk show in L.A. hosted by Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria). When she accidentally gets left behind on a planned outing to see a show, Claire reaches her breaking point and — in a kind of Home Alone in reverse — she decides to drive across the country to get to the show herself.

Written and directed by Michael Showalter (The Idea of You), and co-written by Chandler Baker (who wrote the short story on which the film is based), the movie never establishes any kind of enjoyable rhythm. Each of the characters, including competitive neighbor Jeanne (Joan Chen), is assigned a character trait that becomes their entire personality, with none of them allowed to evolve into something deeper.

The filmmakers lean hard into the idea that Claire is a person who always puts her family first and receives very little in return, but the evidence presented in the story is sketchy at best. Every situation shown in the film is so superficial that tension barely exists, and the (over)reactions by Claire give her family members few opportunities to make up for their failings.

The most interesting part of the movie comes when Claire actually makes it to the Zazzy Sims show. Even though what happens there is just as unbelievable as anything else presented in the story, Showalter and Baker concoct a scene that allows Claire and others to fully express the central theme of the film, and for a few minutes the movie actually lives up to its title.

Pfeiffer, given her first leading role since 2020’s French Exit, is a somewhat manic presence, and her thick Texas accent and unnecessary voiceover don’t do her any favors. It seems weird to have such a strong supporting cast with almost nothing of substance to do, but almost all of them are wasted, including Danielle Brooks in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. The lone exception is Longoria, who is a blast in the few scenes she gets.

Oh. What. Fun. is far from the first movie to try and fail at becoming a new holiday classic, but the pedigree of Showalter and the cast make this dismal viewing experience extra disappointing. Ironically, overworked and underappreciated moms deserve a much better story than the one this movie delivers.

---

Oh. What. Fun. is now streaming on Prime Video.

movies film