Weekend Event Planner

Comedians take top billing in the 12 best Dallas events this weekend

Plenty of big comedians make their way through the Dallas area, but this weekend will be a tad unusual, with five notable comedy events taking place over two days. Other choices include the start of more holiday events, a conversation with a brash pundit, a symphony concert, a new local theater production, a concert from a longtime producer, a dance production, and a huge outdoor art event.

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, November 14

Holiday events
Every weekend in November will bring more and more holiday events, with three more starting this weekend. They include Holiday at the Arboretum at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, featuring the the 10th anniversary of their 12 Days of Christmas display and more; The Trains at NorthPark at NorthPark Center, featuring model trains traveling through small versions of American landmarks; and Gaylord Texan ICE! featuring Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in Grapevine, featuring two million pounds of ice sculptures and more. All events will be open through January 5. (And here is a long list of the best Christmas lights in Dallas this season.)

The Eisemann Center presents An Evening with Fran Lebowitz
In a sea of pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands tall as one of the sharpest cultural observers. Her essays and interviews dissect current events with a razor-sharp wit, taking aim at everything from tourists to after-shave lotion. Purveyor of urban cool, Lebowitz is hailed as the heir to Dorothy Parker, her insights cutting through the noise with unmatched clarity. She'll appear for a conversation at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Ravel’s Boléro"
Gershwin’s Concerto in F is a concert favorite that speaks in America’s musical vernacular - jazz - and is the perfect vehicle for the talents of pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Internationally renowned conductor Juanjo Mena returns to lead the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s first-ever performance of Bartók’s The Wooden Prince. The concert will finish with Ravel's iconic Boléro. There will be three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Theatre Three presents Sleuth
A cunning mystery writer, Andrew Wyke, invites his wife's lover, Milo Tindle, to his secluded English manor, setting off a deadly game of manipulation and deceit. As the tension rises, surprising twists keep the audience guessing the dramatic end. Thie production will take place in the Theatre Too space at Theatre Three through December 15.

T Bone Burnett in concert
Musician T Bone Burnett is arguably best known for his producing work on albums for Elvis Costello, Brandi Carlile, and others, as well as his contributions to the soundtracks of O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Walk the Line, and Crazy Heart. But he has solo albums dating back to 1972, a career that is still ongoing with the release of his new album, The Other Side. He'll play at the Kessler Theater.

Friday, November 15

Rhett & Link: Good Mythical Tour
Comedy duo Rhett & Link and the Mythical Crew will present a night that will bring their show to life like never before. It features favorite segments, classic games, music, mayhem, Mythicality, and more, and audience members may even become part of the show. The performance takes place at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Hyena's presents Christopher "Kid" Reid
Christopher "Kid" Reid is best known as one-half of the late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop musical act Kid 'n Play. Reid, who was particularly notable for his extreme high-top fade hairstyle, now tours as a stand-up comedian. He'll perform twice on Friday at Hyena's Comedy Nightclub.

Bruce Wood Dance presents Touch
As part of its latest program, Touch, Bruce Wood Dance will perform Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of A Wayfarer) by world–renowned choreographer and former artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater, Jirí Kylián; Dvorák Serenade by legendary American choreographer Lar Lubovitch; and the return of Bruce Wood’s riveting audience favorite, RED. There will be three performances through Sunday at Moody Performance Hall.

Martin Lawrence: Y’all Know What It Is! Tour
Comedy legend Martin Lawrence comes to Dallas as part of his first comedy tour since 2016. After a 30-year acting career that saw him star in four Bad Boys movies and his own sitcom, Lawrence has gone back to his roots with an all-new stand-up show where he brings the real talk and finds the funny in everything from family to culture as only he can. He'll be joined by fellow comedians Deon Cole and Benji Brown at American Airlines Center.

Saturday, November 16

Matteo Lane: Can't Stop Talking
New York-based comedian Matteo Lane has been a part of Netflix’s The Comedy Lineup, and has self-released four specials in the past three years. He’s also appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, HBO's Crashing, and Will & Grace. He currently co-hosts the podcasts I Never Liked You with Nick Smith and Teach Me Daddy with Chris Distefano. He'll perform twice on Saturday at Majestic Theatre.

AURORA Biennial: FuturePresentPast
The AURORA Biennial, taking place at Dallas City Hall and surrounding areas, is a free public one-night-only exhibition curated by New York City-based Kendal Henry and Mexico City-based Leslie Moody Castro. Under the title FuturePresentPast, Henry and Moody Castro look into the shared experiences of North Texas, reflecting on the past to consider and shape our future through the present. Artwork themes will include bridging disconnected communities, health advocacy, environmental sustainability, and urban transformation due to displacement and migration.

Chelsea Handler: Little Big Bitch Tour
Comedian Chelsea Handler has had the bulk of her success in the 21st century, hosting The Chelsea Handler Show in 2006 and 2007, and then Chelsea Lately from 2007 to 2014. She has also written six New York Times best-selling books, hosts the advice podcast, Dear Chelsea, and released her latest special, Revolution, on Netflix in 2022. On the Little Big Bitch tour, she will give fans a retrospective look at what made her the person and comedian she is today. She'll perform at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Photo courtesy of Martin Lawrence

Martin Lawrence will bring his Y’all Know What It Is! Tour to American Airlines Center on November 15.

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Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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