Weekend Event Planner

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

Music and theater will share top billing for the slate of events in and around Dallas this weekend. There will be no fewer than seven concerts in a variety of genres, all of of them with well-known singers or bands headlining. There will also be five theater productions, including a festival dedicated to showcasing smaller groups. The odd event out on this list is an epic battle in a huge venue featuring foam dart guns.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, August 1

Third Eye Blind in concert
Alt-rock band Third Eye Bland has been living a semi-charmed kind of life in the music business since their debut release in 1997. They scored a number of hits off of their first two albums, but they haven't had a song in the Hot 100 since 2000. They've continued to release new music, with their most recent album being Our Bande Apart in 2021. They'll play at Dos Equis Pavilion as part of the fourth edition of the "Summer Gods Tour." They'll be joined by special guests Yellowcard and A R I Z O N A.

Festival of Independent Theatres
After a 23-year run at the Bath House Cultural Center and a five-year pandemic-related hiatus, the Festival of Independent Theatres returns in a brand-new location, Theatre Three and its downstair space, Theatre Too. The three-week festival, running through August 24, will feature 10 productions, including Gods & Heroes by Paul Williams, Where the F is Joseph Mara? by Mac Welch & Emily Bernet, and An Evening with Penis presented by Pegasus Theatre.

North Texas Performing Arts Repertory Theatre presents Jesus Christ Superstar
The first musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera set against the backdrop of a universally known series of events seen, unusually, through the eyes of Judas Iscariot. Based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the musical follows the last week of Jesus Christ’s life and the personal relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, and His disciples and followers. The production runs through Sunday at North Texas Performing Arts in Plano.

Junior Players presents Much Ado About Nothing
In Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, power defies legacy. Throughout the show, audiences will see greed, jealousy, and deception make a valiant effort to foil the love of young courtship. The comedic play unfolds as Leonato, leader of Spain, awaits the arrival of Don Pedro of Aragon and his victorious army of Portuguese soldados (soldiers). The production runs through Sunday at Samuell-Grand Amphitheater.

Rover Dramawerks presents Wrong Turn at Lungfish
Peter is a blind and bitter former college professor, and Anita is a saucy, streetwise young woman who volunteers to read to him in the hospital. The clash of intellect and wit takes the two from animosity and fear to friendship and understanding. Both come with questions, hers dealing with her station in life and her handsome yet abusive boyfriend Dominic, and his about past life choices. As their relationship develops, both end up with hopeful answers. The production runs through August 17 at Cox Playhouse in Plano.

Friday, August 2

Blues Traveler & Big Head Todd and the Monsters in concert
Blues Traveler and Big Head Todd and the Monsters come to town to co-headline the “Blue Monsters Tour.” While both rock bands have continued to release new music - Blues Traveler is touring in support of their 2023 album, Traveler’s Soul, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters is touring in support of their new album, Thunderbird - their biggest successes came in the 1990s. They'll play at The Pavilion At Toyota Music Factory.

Niall Horan in concert
The solo careers of former One Direction members have been varied in their success, but Niall Horan hasn't suffered in the slightest. His first solo album, Flicker, went to No. 1 upon its release in 2017, and his next two albums have performed almost equally as well, with his latest - 2023's The Show - coming in at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. He'll perform at Dos Equis Pavilion, joined by Del Water Gap.

Donny Osmond in concert
Now over 50 years into his singing career, Donny Osmond will bring his award-winning Las Vegas show to Dallas, a 90-minute spectacle in which he performs his hits, shares stories of his greatest show-stopping memories, and introduces brand new music in a fresh and completely reimagined song and dance celebration. Osmond has released 18 albums in his career, most recently Start Again in 2021. He'll perform at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives in concert
Country Music Hall of Famer Marty Stuart got his start in bluegrass legend Lester Flatts’ band, and on the road and in the studio with legend Johnny Cash. Over 40 years as a solo artist, he has released more than 20 major label albums, most recently Altitude in 2023. He and his band, His Fabulous Superlatives, will play at Majestic Theatre.

Dale Watson & His Lone Stars in concert
Dale Watson is a singer who champions "Ameripolitan" as a new genre of original music, one that he says is "authentic country music." Since releasing his debut album at the relatively old age of 33, he has been a workhorse, releasing new music in one form or another almost every year for close to 25 years. He'll play with his band, His Lone Stars, at Longhorn Ballroom.

Art Centre Theatre presents Bat Boy: The Musical
Based on a story in The Weekly World News, Bat Boy: The Musical is a comedy/horror show about a half boy/half bat creature adopted by a small town veterinarian. When Bat Boy and the vet's daughter run away together, their happiness is shattered when her mom arrives and reveals the secret shocking story of Bat Boy’s unholy origin. The production runs through August 18 at Art Centre Theatre in Plano.

Saturday, August 3

Jared's Epic Blaster Battle
Jared's Epic Blaster Battle returns to Dallas for the ninth year, featuring dozens of inflatable bunkers, a live DJ, special guests, and special battles. The event, a four-hour series of more than 15 themed foam-flinging battles, also includes access to more than 50,000 free foam darts to take home, a chance to meet some Toy Blaster YouTube Celebrities and content creators, and more. The event takes place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Photo by Daniel Cavazos

Niall Horan will play at Dos Equis Pavilion on August 2.

Iron & Wine in concert
Iron & Wine is not a music group but instead a lone singer - aka Samuel Beam - whose brand of folk music has been earning him acclaim for over 20 years. His debut album, 2002's The Creek Drank the Cradle, didn't make an impact on the charts, but it did lead to him recording a version of The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights," which landed on the Garden State soundtrack. He's had a steady-if-unspectacular career since, releasing 10 albums, including the new Light Verse. He'll play at Majestic Theatre.

comedy concerts event-planner events families kids music theater

Movie Review

Legendary filmmaker makes tepid return with meandering film Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

---

Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

movies film