Weekend Event Planner

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

It's another solid weekend of events across Dallas, with a nice mix of traveling and local performers. Choices include two well-known comedians, a national tour of a Broadway musical, three local theater productions, a circus, a symphonic celebration of a movie composer, a dance production, St. Patrick's Day celebrations, and more.

Below are more 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. Want some local spring break ideas? That list is here.

Thursday, March 14

Improv Addison presents Melissa Villaseñor
Comedian Melissa Villaseñor is best known as a former featured cast member on Saturday Night Live. She made her television debut on America's Got Talent and does extensive voiceover acting on Fox’s Family Guy, Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, and Comedy Central’s Triptank. She'll perform five times through Saturday at The Addison Improv.

Trevor Noah: Off the Record Tour
Comedian Trevor Noah comes to Dallas as part of his Off The Record Tour, his first tour since leaving The Daily Show. In addition to hosting the The Daily Show on Comedy Central for seven years, he's also the author of Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, and has a new book, Into the Uncut Grass, scheduled for release in 2024. In Noah's newest Netflix comedy special, I Wish You Would, he shares revelations about learning to speak German, modern communication, and his love for curry. He'll perform on both Thursday and Friday at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Broadway at the Center presents Annie
Holding onto hope when times are tough can take an awful lot of determination, and sometimes, an awful lot of determination comes in a surprisingly small package. Little Orphan Annie has reminded generations of theater goers that sunshine is always right around the corner, and now the best-loved musical of all time is set to return in a new production. The celebration of family, optimism and the American spirit remains the ultimate cure for all the hard knocks life throws your way. The production runs through Sunday at Winspear Opera House.

Friday, March 15

Repertory Company Theatre presents Titanic the Musical
An operatic recount of the events of the maiden voyage of the proclaimed unsinkable ship, the Titanic, Titanic the Musical follows a selection of guests from the first three classes and a handful of crew members as they recount their hopes and dreams, and come to grip with their ultimate mortality for those 1,500 souls that perished. The production runs through March 24 at Repertory Company Theatre in Richardson.

Circus Vazquez
Circus Vazquez blends the modern with the traditional, featuring a new cast of circus superstars led by third-generation performer and Ringmaster, Memo Vazquez. Performers include Boris Nikishkin, a Russian clown, comedian, and acrobat, The Bone Breakers quartet, daredevils Duo Vanegas, Ricardo and Alejandro, gymnastics troupe The Liazeed Angels, and handbalancing Duo Marruffo. They'll be at Riders Field in Frisco through April 1.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "A Night at the Movies - Music of John Williams"
"A Night at the Movies - Music of John Williams" will pay tribute to the iconic composer with pieces from classic movies like Superman, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, The Patriot, Jaws, E.T., Star Wars, and more. The concert will be led by conductor Sarah Hicks. There will be three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Lyric Stage presents Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber, returns to 19th century London, seeking vengeance against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful proprietress of a failing pie shop, above which he opens a new barber practice. Mrs. Lovett’s luck sharply shifts when Todd’s thirst for blood inspires the integration of an ingredient into her meat pies that has the people of London lining up. The production runs through April 7 at Lyric Stage in Dallas.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Parsons Dance
Known for its energized, athletic, and joyous style, Parsons Dance is internationally renowned for creating and performing contemporary American dance. Their bold works and distinctive style have solidified them as one of the world’s leading dance companies. Works like Caught, one of the world’s most famous solos, exemplify this company’s innovation and huge audience appeal. They'll perform on Friday and Saturday at Moody Performance Hall.

Saturday, March 16

Lower Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Block Party
At the annual Lower Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Block Party, taking place between Vanderbilt Avenue and Vickery Boulevard, guests 21 and older are encouraged to dress in green and come prepared for a day full of music, beer, and plenty of St. Patrick’s Day cheer. The event features three music stages with DJs. Participating bars include Stan’s Blue Note, The Dubliner, Dodie’s Reef, Terilli’s, Halcyon, Christies, and Sisters.

Dallas St. Patrick's Day Parade & Festival
A few miles up Greenville Avenue will be the annual Dallas St. Patrick’s Parade & Festival, the largest St. Patrick’s Parade in the Southwest. Starting at Greenville Avenue and Blackwell Street and ending at SMU Blvd. and Central Expressway, the parade draws upwards of 125,000 people along the two-mile route to see more than 90 floats, 1,700 participants, bands, and more.

Dallas Children's Theater presents Life Doesn't Frighten Me: I Am Fearless Royalty
Life Doesn't Frighten Me: I Am Fearless Royalty stars four heroes as they conquer their fears using heart, soul, body, and mind. With original music from Grammy-nominated Kris Funn and themes inspired by actual students across the country, the show is a moving multicultural performing arts experience. The production runs through March 30 at Dallas Children's Theater.

Old Crow Medicine Show in concert
The name of the band Old Crow Medicine Show immediately conjures up a certain type of music. And since their debut in 2000, the string band that used to busk in Nashville has lived up to that idea, playing original country and bluegrass songs like their hit "Wagon Wheel" alongside old blues and folk songs. They'll play at Longhorn Ballroom.

Sunday, March 17

Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts presents Cenicienta
Ten-year-old Belinda is a budding poet and loves to tell stories, but when she’s stuck in the basement preparing for a party upstairs that her stepmother and stepsisters will host, she’ll have to get creative. It’s a story within a story; Belinda lives out her version while also re-enacting the classic tale of Cinderella. But to do that, she must learn to stand up for herself and take charge of her life and dreams. The one-day-only production will take place at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.

Greenville Avenue St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dallas

Photo by Jerry McClure

The Dallas St. Patrick's Day Parade & Festival takes place on Greenville Avenue on March 16.

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Movie Review

Nordic film Fjord challenges cultural and linguistic biases

Photo courtesy of Neon

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In modern society, where fear of “the other” has made many people into insular creatures, it has become easy to get locked into one point of view. The new film Fjord will be a challenging one for many viewers, as it puts forth a situation that confronts narrow-minded thinking and forces even those who think they’re open-minded to re-evaluate their own biases.

Mihai (Sebastian Stan) and Lisbet (Renate Reinsve) are a married couple who have just moved back to Lisbet’s home country of Norway. They have five children, all of whom were born in Romania, Mihai’s home country. The family, which is part of an unspecified Evangelical Christian sect, runs into issues almost right away when their oldest daughter, Elia (Vanessa Ceban), shows up to school with bruises on her body.

A well-intentioned but perhaps overzealous Child Protective Services system gets put into motion, resulting in the children being removed from the home while Mihai and Lisbet are being investigated. The parents, while acknowledging some minor physical punishment, deny doing anything that would cause bruising, and the possible failings of the system mostly get ignored despite a lack of hard evidence.

Written and directed by Cristian Mungiu, the film is an infuriating watch due to its depiction of a system that seems to be oblivious to its own faults. But it’s also illuminating, as the cultural and linguistic divide that exists between the characters in the film could just as easily be applied to those viewing it. Misunderstandings arise as people switch between Norwegian, English, and Romanian, and interpretations of different words or phrases play a crucial role in how people and actions are perceived.

But the film is about much more than just language mix-ups. Mungiu is purposefully vague about Mihai and Lisbet’s religion, but it’s clear that it leans conservative. This puts them at odds with a liberal society in Norway, and more than one character voices their disapproval of the family’s beliefs. The film is framed in such a way, though, that it’s those who are seemingly most progressive who can’t get over their own prejudices, with Mihai and Lisbet rarely being able to object to how they’re being treated.

The cold and forbidding landscape adds to the drama of the film, especially when Mungiu includes side stories from Mihai and Lisbet’s neighbors about, for example, a rebellious neighbor daughter or their ailing father. While those elements don’t impact the plot much, they add complexity to the film as a whole and demonstrate that some characters are more than who they seem to be on the surface.

Stan, who’s had notable roles in recent years in A Different Man and The Apprentice, puts in another solid performance that is less showy. With a bald head and stoic-but-firm demeanor, he brings depth to a potentially unlikable character. Reinsve, coming off the success of Backrooms, is the emotional center of the film and demonstrates chemistry with Stan after co-starring in A Different Man. The supporting cast is all solid, especially the actors portraying lawyers, who bring to life a system that seems much different from that in the U.S.

Fjord does not play out like a typical American film would if it were depicting a similar situation, and by holding back where western storytellers wouldn’t, it allows viewers to make up their own minds on who is right or wrong. Many things go unspoken in the film, and the debate on what should happen with Mihai, Lisbet, and their family continues even after the film ends.

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Fjord is now playing in select theaters.

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