Park News

Park in the works for Dallas' Trinity River reveals new location

The Trinity River, Dallas

Courtesy photo

A major park long in the works for Dallas has shifted its location to a more stable setting: Harold Simmons Park, the 250-acre park centered around the Trinity River, will now be situated on a parcel of land that's west of the floodway.

The park, which was first announced in 2016 with a $50 million gift from Annette Simmons, widow of Dallas businessman Harold Simmons, has expanded from a 200-acre park within the floodway, stretching from the Ronald Kirk Bridge to the Margaret McDermott Bridge, to a 250-acre park which includes overlook parks and development within the floodway.

A new rendering on the park's website shows the park jutting out on the west side of the river, south of the Union Pacific train route and north of the Commerce Street bridge.

Trinity River park Harold Simmons Park, outside the levees.dallas.culturemap.com

A panel on December 4 hosted by The Trinity Park Conservancy, the organization bringing the park to life, introduced the new plan, with comments from CEO Tony Moore; landscape designers Matthew Urbanski and Elizabeth Silver of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc (MVVA); park architect Ted Flato from Lake|Flato Architects, and Oak Cliff community leader Pastor Vincent Parker, from Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church. Moderator was Veronica Torres Hazley

The park was described as being "located in the center of Dallas, with a river in the center of the park" - an urban recreational park that would provide an outdoor green space, with attention to conservation and sustainability, and one that is free. (Although the current cost to build it is estimated to be $325 million, up from the originally estimated $200 million, and with $130 million currently pledged, according to a subscription-only story in the DMN.)

Moore said the park would break ground in 2024.

He cited some financing opportunities, including rental income from a 300-seat structure being designed by Lake Flato that would boast skyline views, as well as partnerships that might include a hotel or other brands.

"Harold Simmons will not have an admission price," Moore said. "It's going to be a free park, thanks to donors including Harold Simmons and Annette Simmons who provided the foundation of $50 million. But after the park gets built, it's critical that we have funding for operations and maintenance, to endure it will continue to run and not just at the opening."

Flato spoke to the sustainability element, listing features like solar collectors, porches, and natural daylight, with comfortable spaces that can provide for activities but also a place to be quiet.

Active elements include two acres of bike and skate parks, a roller-skating rink, courts for various sports, and six "play towers" with different themes, plus a cable ferry where kids can pull themselves along.

Programmed activities will include concerts, festivals, and educational classrooms, geared towards families, designed for a range of audiences from communities both near the park and across the city.

Matthew Urbanski from MVVA said that their goal was to make it a place that was easy to understand and use.

"Can people go there and enjoy themselves all day?" he said, describing a picnic area with a shed structure and grills - a family center with play areas and places for kids to go.

"The idea is that it’s like an in-town vacation where you can be there for hours at a time," he said.

"American cities are complex places, lots of people are here, and we need to find places for people to come together," Urbanski said. "The park connects us to the river which has been a divider and can be a joiner - and that has always been the reason why we wanted to do this."

downtown nature

Movie Review

Long-awaited Wicked movie adaptation lives up to the hype

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-Butera in Wicked.

The musical Wicked is indisputably the biggest Broadway smash of the 21st century, having grossed more $1.6 billion in New York alone and achieving the rare feat of running for over 20 years. All of which is to say that the long-awaited movie adaptation of The Wizard of Oz prequel will most likely be a massive success whether it lives up to what longtime fans envisioned or not.

Part one — yes, this 2 hour and 40 minute film is merely the first act of the musical; part two arrives a year from now — introduces Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), the green-skinned witch who goes on to become Dorothy’s nemesis, and G(a)linda (Ariana Grande-Butera), the pink-garbed “good” witch, as they meet at Shiz University in Oz. Glinda is the ultra-popular one with sycophantic hangers-on, while Elphaba is shunned by almost everyone, sometimes including her disabled sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode), who’s desperate to make her own space away from Elphaba.

Her mistreatment by others leads Elphaba to get angry, which manifests itself in uncontrollable magic. Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) notices this and takes a personal interest in her, giving her one-on-one instruction in hopes of harnessing her power. In the meantime, Elphaba and Glinda attempt to go from forced roommates to actual friends, although Glinda’s entitled personality is more of an obstacle than anything else they encounter.

Directed by Jon M. Chu and written by original book writer Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, the film does a great job of distinguishing itself from the stage version while still remaining true to what made it so beloved. As Chu showed in his last film, In the Heights, he has an innate feel for how to tap into the essence of the source material while expanding it into something befitting the scope of a blockbuster movie.

In this case, he finds a way to give even greater emphasis to the bigotry that Elphaba faces simply because of her green skin; the fact that she is being played by a Black woman drives home the point even more. The story remains light and fluffy for the most part, but the ostracization/otherness that Elphaba feels is delivered in a powerful way, as is her empathy for talking animals like Dr. Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage), who are facing their own persecution.

Of course, the highlight of the film is Stephen Schwartz’s music, and while not all of the songs are equal in impact, they still make for a cohesive whole. The number of songs and order they appear in the first act is identical to the stage musical, with the standouts remaining “The Wizard and I,” “Popular,” and “Defying Gravity.” While there is some superfluous action and cutaways added to certain numbers, it’s not enough to distract from what makes the songs effective.

Oddly, the progression of the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda works better on stage when the timeline is accelerated, but Erivo and Grande-Butera make up for this slight lack with their fantastic performances. The emotion each brings to their characters fits them almost perfectly, and there’s simply no denying the strength of each of their voices. Bode, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, and more make for a solid supporting cast.

The well-known ending of the first act of Wicked is a huge high point that is so good that it almost makes up for the fact that audiences won’t see the second film for a long time. But if part one is any indication, part two should turn out to be another great musical theater adaptation in a decade that has already seen its fair share.

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Wicked opens in theaters on November 22.

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