Weekend Event Planner

These are the 14 best things to do in Dallas this Labor Day weekend

Sometimes Labor Day weekend across Dallas is slow on the event side, with people getting in one last summer vacation, but not this year. The long weekend includes five big concerts, an appearance by a famous wrestler, a concert featuring an Oscar-winning film, three new local theater productions, a swim party, two comedy events, and the closing of a long-running exhibition.

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

Thursday, August 31

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in concert
Country rock band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has existed in a variety of forms since releasing their debut album in 1967. The two constants have been singers/instrumentalists Jeff Hanna and Jimmie Fadden, who have guided the group through 56 years of touring and albums, including 2022's Dirt Does Dylan, their first album in 13 years. They'll play at Longhorn Ballroom.

Yngwie Malmsteen & Glenn Hughes in concert
Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen and English musician Glenn Hughes have joined forces for a co-headlining tour, stopping at Majestic Theatre on Thursday. Malmsteen will perform the "greatest hits" of the band of the same name he's led since 1984, while Hughes, who spent time as the lead singer of Deep Purple, will play a set of classic Deep Purple songs celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Burn album.

Friday, September 1

Danzig in concert
Heavy metal band Danzig, led by lead singer Glenn Danzig, has been a unique presence on the rock scene for 35 years. Since the band is named after him, he's been the only connecting tissue over the years as the band has cycled through 19 other members. He'll celebrate the 35th anniversary of the band's debut album, Danzig I, by playing the album in its entirety at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Majestic Theatre presents An Evening with Kevin Von Erich
Iconic wrestler Kevin Von Erich is having a moment. Von Erich, now 65, will be the subject of a new movie, Iron Claw, starring Zac Efron and set for release in late 2023. And he's going on his first public tour, titled Stories From the Top Rope, that will feature Von Erich sharing insight into his career, personal triumphs, and tragedies. He'll appear at Majestic Theatre.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Amadeus Live in Concert
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will present the multi-Academy Award-winning 1984 motion picture Amadeus on the big screen while Mozart’s most celebrated works are performed live in-sync by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Lawrence Loh. The concert will have three performances through Sunday at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

Lionel Richie in concert with Earth, Wind & Fire
Over the past 50 years, there are few more iconic singers than Lionel Richie. After coming to fame as lead singer of the Commodores, he went on to a massive solo career that made him the household name to this day. He'll be joined by special guest Earth, Wind & Fire, known for hits like "September" and "Let's Groove," as part of Sing A Song All Night Long tour, which will be at American Airlines Center.

The Classics Theatre Project presents The Seagull
The Classics Theatre Project will present a modern twist on the classic story of The Seagull. The play takes place on a secluded estate and follows a group of contemporary artists as they navigate unrequited love, artistic competition, and personal obsessions. Through the characters' humorous and heartfelt pursuit of love and recognition, as well as their struggle against narcissism and obsession, the play addresses the challenges of the digital age. The production runs through September 24 at Addison Conference and Theatre Centre.

Richardson Theatre Centre presents Misery
Misery follows successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon, who is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes, and wakes up captive in her secluded home. While Paul is convalescing, Annie reads his latest book and becomes enraged when she discovers the author has killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain. Annie forces Paul to write a new Misery novel, and he quickly realizes Annie has no intention of letting him go anywhere. The production runs through September 17 at Richardson Theatre Centre.

Saturday, September 2

Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark presents Epic Waves Pool Party
Summer swimming season will come to an end with Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark's Epic Waves Pool Party. Visitors can enjoy the final days of Epic Waters' wave pool for the year, as well as live entertainment, activities, dance parties, and a live DJ. The event takes place through Monday.

Art Centre Theatre presents Medea
Foreign princess and sorceress Medea has murdered her own father to help Jason win the Golden Fleece and the kingdom of Thessaly. Medea is told that Jason will be marrying the Corinthian princess. The King of Corinth, anticipating her wrath, sends her into exile. She plans revenge against Jason and negotiates safe haven with the naïve King of Athens. There will be four performances through September 10 at Art Centre Theatre in Plano.

Karol G in concert
The biggest concert of the weekend will feature Colombian reggaeton singer Karol G, who has dominated the Billboard Latin charts since her 2017 debut album, aptly titled Unstoppable. Each of her four albums has been bigger than the last, culminating with her new album, Mañana Será Bonito, coming in at No. 1 on both the Latin and overall Billboard 200 charts. She'll perform at the Cotton Bowl, joined by Agudelo888.

Bill Maher in concert
For 30 years, Bill Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television. First on Politically Incorrect from 1993-2002, and for the last 20 years on HBO’s Real Time, Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him a plethora of Emmy nominations. He'll bring his outrageous style to Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie.

Sunday, September 3

The Bald Brothers Tour featuring Tony Baker & KevOnStage
Comedians Tony Baker and KevOnStage, also known as The Bald Brothers, will perform at Majestic Theatre as part of their 2023 co-headlining tour. Baker has appeared on NBC's Last Comic Standing, Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand-Up Revolution, Comics Unleashed, and more comedy TV specials, while KevOnStage has appeared on the HBO Max series, A Black Lady Sketch Show, and was also the host of Will Smith’s Dad’s Just Don’t Understand.

Monday, September 4

Perot Museum of Nature and Science presents "The Science Behind Pixar" closing day
After almost 10 months, "The Science Behind Pixar" will come to a close at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Visitors can learn about the science and technology needed to create their favorite animated films and characters through hands-on activities, firsthand accounts from members of the studios’ production teams, and life-size recreations of Pixar characters.

Photo courtesy of Live Nation

Lionel Richie will play at American Airlines Center on September 1.

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Movie Review

Spanish film La Bola Negra showcases unique slice of gay history

Photo by Carla Oset/Netflix

Miguel Bernardeau and Guitarricadelafuente in La Bola Negra.

For a long time — too long — gay characters in movies tended to appear as either side characters with no real stories or as tragic figures who were usually unable to express their true selves for fear of what the world at large would think. That has changed in recent years, but the remnants of the past can still haunt, as the new film La Bola Negra demonstrates.

The film takes shape in storylines involving three different men: Carlos (Milo Quifes), a young man in Granada, Spain in 1932 who wants to join an exclusive casino (aka social club); Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente), who unwillingly joins the military during the Spanish Civil War in 1937, only to have desires aroused in him when he’s asked to guard an enemy detainee; and Alberto (Carlos González), an out gay man in 2017 whose inheritance from his recently-deceased grandfather opens up a world he knew nothing about.

The film goes back and forth between each man, detailing how they handle their individual situations and the complications that arise in their individual lives. Along the way their stories are deepened through people they meet who either welcome them with open arms or shun them for various reasons. While tragedy bonds their stories, so too does hope, resistance, and love.

Co-director/co-writers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, along with co-writer Alberto Conejero, have expanded Conejero’s play, La Piedra Oscura, which was inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca’s unfinished play, La Bola Negra. Lorca, who was killed during the Spanish Civil War, had only finished four pages of the work, his first to feature an openly gay protagonist. It’s clear there’s a desire by the filmmakers to honor the legacy of Lorca as both a playwright and a gay man, and the seriousness of their pursuit is evident throughout the film’s 160 minutes.

Calvo and Ambrossi do little handholding to guide viewers through the three distinct stories, an approach that mostly works but occasionally leads to confusion, especially as more characters are added to the equation. None of the stories are overly complicated, but they take their time with each, making the long film feel even longer. Only Alberto’s story contains any kind of development that might be considered surprising, making it tough to fully engage with the other two.

Where the film does come alive is when it brings in two well-known actors for brief-but-fascinating stints. Penélope Cruz plays Nené Romero, a singer who entertains the troops and further expands Sebastián’s mind. Glenn Close pops up as Isabelle Durand, a scholar of Lorca who helps Alberto with a unique discovery he makes in his inheritance. Both actors bring up the level of the film significantly through their performances.

Quifes, Guitarricadelafuente (the stage name of Spanish singer Álvaro Lafuente Calvo, no relation to Javier), and González all put in good work in their roles, even if none are overly engaging. They are often overshadowed by supporting actors like Cruz and Close, as well as Miguel Bernardeau as Rafael Rodríguez Rapún, the captured soldier; Julio Torres as Alberto’s partner, and Alberto Cortés as Lorca, who brings a symmetry to the film as a whole.

La Bola Negra — which means “the black ball,” represented both literally and figuratively in the film — is an ambitious film that becomes a slight victim of its filmmakers’ aspirations. Although each of the three stories contain interesting elements, a strong emotional connection is lacking overall despite good-to-great performances.

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La Bola Negra is now playing in select theaters; it debuts on Netflix on December 2.

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