Weekend Event Planner

These are the 10 best things to do in Dallas this holiday weekend

Just because Christmas has passed doesn't mean that you have to stop celebrating the holidays. This long holiday weekend around Dallas will feature a few more holiday-themed events, including a theater production, a cirque performance, a concert, a hybrid performance, and a bad movie. Other choices include a Broadway-style musical, a concert, an electronic music festival, video game music played by a symphony, and a comedian.

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. Looking for the best Christmas lights still illuminating Dallas? Those lists are here and here.

Thursday, December 26

Broadway Dallas presents Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a high-flying musical brought back to life in a new adaptation by celebrated playwright Larissa FastHorse. The adventure begins when Peter Pan and his mischievous sidekick, Tinker Bell, visit the bedroom of the Darling children late one night. With a sprinkle of fairy dust and a few happy thoughts, the children are taken on a magical journey they will never forget. the production runs through January 5 at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Yippee Ki Yay: The Parody Celebration of Die Hard
When gunmen seize an LA skyscraper, off-duty policeman John McClane is the hostages’ only hope. Yippee Ki Yay is an uplifting action romp (and unauthorized parody) that pays affectionate tribute to the iconic '80s festive fan favorite and is essential viewing for Hans Gruber superfans and newcomers alike. The production runs through Sunday at Wyly Theatre.

Friday, December 27

Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland
Celebrating its 15th anniversary, Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland is filled with acrobatics, aerial feats, and musicians and singers, taking audiences on a journey into a world of music, cirque, and wonder. With new costumes, music, and storylines, the all-new show blends the grace and athleticism of circus performers with a musical mix of seasonal favorites. The one-night-only event takes place at Comerica Center in Frisco.

Bob Schneider in concert
Austin-based musician Bob Schneider is a Texas original who's been a part of three different bands, but has experienced his biggest success as a solo singer. Over the past 25 years, he's released 21 albums - most recently The Human Torch in 2023 - a track record that means this concert at Granada Theater won't be short of great material. He'll be joined by special guests J Isaiah Evans & The Boss Tweed.

Saturday, December 28

Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert
Trans-Siberian Orchestra comes to Dallas as part of their The Lost Christmas Eve tour, the first time they've presented their rock opera since 2013. The Lost Christmas Eve is the final chapter of their Christmas trilogy, which also includes Christmas Eve and Other Stories and The Christmas Attic. There will be two performances on Saturday at American Airlines Center.

Lights All Night
The annual Lights All Night festival is an all-electronic music extravaganza, featuring performances by almost 40 acts. Headliners include Excision, Audien, Friction, Thought Process, Delta Heavy, William Black, Ganja White Knight, Zorza, and more. The festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday at Dallas Market Hall.

Eisemann Center presents Campana Sobre Campana: Christmas in Mexico
Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar and Ballet Folklorico del Rio Grande will celebrate the holiday season with Campana Sobre Campana: Christmas in Mexico. The show is named after the beloved Andalusian Christmas Carol and brings cherished Mexican traditions to life in a magical celebration of the season. They will journey through the joyous rhythms of "Bells Upon Bells" and the vibrant spectacle of Mexican dance, capturing the heartwarming story of Mary and Joseph's journey. The show will be at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Sonic Symphony
Sonic Symphony is an immersive live experience that celebrates more than three decades of music from Sega’s iconic mascot. From the classic 8-bit and 16-bit tunes to rock bands and EDM, the concert will take the audience on a musical journey through the colorful world of Sonic the Hedgehog. The event takes place at Winspear Opera House.

Sunday, December 29

The Mocky Horror Picture Show presents Jack Frost
At the Mocky Horror Picture show, comedians Liz Barksdale, Danny Gallagher and Albie Robles make fun of a movie while audiences watch it in the theater. At this event, they'll mock Jack Frost, which stars Michael Keaton as a dad who dies right before Christmas and comes back to life as a snowman. Except this snowman walks and talks like an Eldritch horror created for a Rankin/Bass television Christmas special. Audience members will get a special bag of props to use during the movie, and this time, there will be snowball fight right in the middle of the movie. The screening takes place at Texas Theatre.

Hyena's presents Ralph Barbosa
Ralph Barbosa was named the Funniest Comic in Texas in 2019, was the winner of the New York Latino Film Festival Stand Up Comedy competition in 2021, and recently made his HBO debut on the HA Festival Comedy Special. He also sold out six shows in Dallas for his 2023 Netflix special, Cowabunga. He'll perform four times through Monday at Hyena's Comedy Nightclub.

Photo by Matthew Murphy, MurphyMade

Broadway Dallas presents Peter Pan at the Music Hall at Fair Park through January 5.

theater music kids families holidays concerts symphony movies event-planner

Movie Review

Andrew Garfield leads peasant rebellion in medieval film The Uprising

Photo by Betina La Plante/Focus Features

Andrew Garfield in The Uprising.

Writer/director Paul Greengrass made his name with a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking that brought immediacy and depth to three Jason Bourne films, United 93, Captain Phillips, and more. In The Uprising, he uses those skills to tell the story of the so-called Peasants’ Revolt in 14th century England.

Greengrass wastes no time starting the main plot as Ploughman (Andrew Garfield) and his fellow villagers object to onerous taxes put on them by the country’s nobility, led by the young King Richard II (Woody Norman), to fund an ongoing war. Ploughman initiates a violent response over the tone-deaf — and unseemly — way the king’s guard go about their business, and the rebellion soon starts to spread across the countryside, with the citizens looking for a degree of autonomy.

The ever-expanding group makes their way toward London to try to make their case to the king himself. Meanwhile, the king’s top advisors, including Archbishop Sudbury (Stephen Dillane) and Treasurer Hales (Tom Hollander), try to usurp power from the inexperienced monarch even as the king’s mother (Katherine Waterston) tries to get him to be more assertive.

The history of the English monarchy is long and lurid, as Shakespeare detailed in multiple plays, including Richard II. Though the events in the film took place almost 650 years ago, it’s easy to see parallels between what the peasants were fighting for and modern-day politics. Greengrass’ storytelling intent is solid, and the righteous anger the citizens feel is initially relatable and palpable.

But the populism theme of the story soon gets bogged down in drudgery and minutiae that is difficult to understand, especially when the details are lost in the thick regional English accents. The leaders of the rebels — including John Ball (Jamie Bell), Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis), and Alyce (Thomasin McKenzie) — are shown doing a lot of planning, but the strong feelings they have about their quest don’t come across well, leaving the audience as passive observers.

When there is action, Greengrass and his team employ a frenetic style that is not great for comprehension. While the gist of what is happening and what side is winning is legible, individual moments go by so quickly so as to be nearly meaningless. Save for Ploughman, any connection that has been made with various characters proves futile, as Greengrass doesn’t seem to have any time for emotion. Scenes that should feel thrilling or heartbreaking instead come off as empty.

Garfield is a two-time Oscar nominee who has done great work across multiple genres. He’s fine in this role, but whether it’s the story, the filmmaking, or something else, he’s not as captivating as usual. The same goes for other strong actors like Bell, McKenzie, Dillane, Hollander, and Waterston, who each seem to be giving their all to their performances but are somehow muted in the process.

Done right, The Uprising could have been a rip-roaring account of people standing up against their oppressors. What Greengrass has made, though, is a film that can’t translate its medieval story for a modern audience and concentrates too much on unexciting elements and too little on thrilling ones.

---

The Uprising is now playing in theaters.

movies film reviews