It's usually enough for a theater company to put on one show at a time, but one Dallas troupe will up the ante by opening two separate productions this weekend. Other choices include a big festival, four concerts featuring big names, three more local theater productions, and the final days of an art exhibition.
Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. If you want more options, check out our calendar for an even longer list of the city's best events.
Thursday, August 20
Uptown Players presents Application Pending
In Application Pending, B.J. Cleveland stars as Chris Evans, a kindergarten assistant who is unexpectedly thrust into the job as his private school's head of admissions when the previous titleholder is ousted in a scandal. With phones ringing off the hook, Chris must balance beleaguered applicants, venal administrators, and an army of parents who will stop at nothing to get their kids into this exclusive school. The production runs through August 30 in the Theatre Too space within Theatre Three.
Friday, August 21
North Texas Fair & Rodeo
The annual North Texas Fair & Rodeo features 10 nights of country music, rodeos, livestock shows, kid and fun zones, attractions, and more. Headline performers will include Braxton Keith, Chris Cagle, Ned LeDoux, Jake Hooker & The Outsiders, Kody West, William Clark Green, Diamond Rio, and more. The event takes place through August 30 at the North Texas Fairgrounds in Denton.
Avenged Sevenfold and Good Charlotte in concert
It will be a night of rock music when Avenged Sevenfold and Good Charlotte come to Dallas as part of their co-headlining tour. Avenged Sevenfold has released eight albums in their career, most recently Life Is But a Dream in 2023. Good Charlotte is touring in support of their 2025 album, Motel Du Cap. They'll play at Dos Equis Pavilion.
Artstillery presents Los Tres Cabezones
Each solo performance within Los Tres Cabezones incorporates Manifesto Poetico’s 30 years of research and approach to physical theatrical staging. Each piece, though stylistically different, makes use of "spatial dramaturgy" — how the architecture of the theatrical space and the human body work together as one to deliver the story to the audience via direct address. The festival, featuring three solo performers, runs through August 30 at Artstillery.
Theatre Denton presents The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank is a drama that recounts the lives of eight people hiding from the Nazis in an attic for over two years. Based on the real diary of young girl who was among those in hiding, it captures the fear, hope, joys, and grief of these individuals in an extraordinary situation. The production runs through August 30 at Theatre Denton.
Art Centre Theatre presents Clue
It’s a dark and stormy night, and a cast of oddball characters has been invited to a very unusual dinner party. Each of the guests has an alias, the butler offers a variety of weapons, and the host is, well, dead. So whodunit? Scarlet, Plum, White, Green, Peacock, and Mustard race to find the murderer in Boddy Manor before the body count stacks up. The production runs through September 13 at Art Centre Theatre in Plano.
Benson Boone in concert
It's been a busy few years for breakout star Benson Boone, as his 2024 debut album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, featured the hit "Beautiful Things" and earned him three Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. The unrepentant flipper came back quickly with his second album, American Heart, in 2025, going even higher on the Billboard 200, to No. 2, and scoring with another hit, "Mystical Magical." He'll perform at American Airlines Center.
Uptown Players presents Mother Play
Uptown Players presents the regional premiere of Mother Play, the deeply personal and hauntingly resonant new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel. Spanning from 1962 to today, the semi-autobiographical drama follows Phyllis Herman, a fiercely independent single mother, and her two children as they endure five evictions, emotional upheavals, and the ongoing tension between unconditional love and self-preservation. The production runs through August 30 at Theatre Three.
Saturday, August 22
Rick Ross in concert
Rapper Rick Ross comes to Dallas as part of the Port of Miami 20th Anniversary Black-Tie Experience Orchestra Tour, featuring the Sainted Trap Choir. The tour is a celebration of Ross' 2006 debut album, Port of Miami, his first of five No. 1 albums. Ross is also touring in support of his new album, Set in Stone. He'll perform at Winspear Opera House.
Santana and The Doobie Brothers in concert
The Latin rock of Carlos Santana and his band and the yacht rock of The Doobie Brothers wouldn't seem to be a natural fit, but this is the second time they've toured together in the last decade. Maybe it's their ability to know what it's like to have a long history, as both of their careers date back to the early 1970s. And yet they're each still "current" acts, as Santana is touring in support of his 2025 album, Sentient, while The Doobie Brothers are touring in support of their 2025 album, Walk This Road. They'll co-headline this concert at American Airlines Center.
Sunday, August 23
Nasher Sculpture Center presents Nic Nicosia: "Everyday Surreal" closing day
Sunday will be the final day to view Nic Nicosia: "Everyday Surreal" at Nasher Sculpture Center. The exhibition is a survey of the last 25 years of the Nicosia’s five-decade career that reveals the material and conceptual evolution of one of the city’s most important living artists. With a fresh focus on his turn to sculpture in the 2010s, the exhibition features over 70 three-dimensional works, drawings, photographs, and films.
