Weekend Event Planner

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

The quality of events in and around Dallas this weekend is off the charts, starting with the annual CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. Other choices include four theater productions (including two Broadway tours), four comedy events with a slew of big names, a symphony concert, the grand opening of a new park, and a trio of concerts featuring well-known acts.

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, May 7

Broadway Dallas presents Wicked
Wicked looks at what happened in the Land of Oz ... but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin — smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships ... until the world decides to call one “good,” and the other one “wicked.” The musical runs through June 14 at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Chelcie Lynn: Trailer Trash Tammy The Loose Lips Tour
Chelcie Lynn is an internet personality, actress, and stand-up comedian who began her career on the video sharing platform Vine as her character, Trailer Trash Tammy. She was seen in the Duplass Brothers feature film Tangerine and starred in the digital series Coach Von Pidgeon for Funny or Die & Facebook Watch. She'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

2026 CultureMap Dallas Tastemaker Awards
The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards return to celebrate Dallas' top restaurant and bar talent for 2026. Our mission is to shine a spotlight on the people and places that make Dallas a world-class culinary destination. Our signature tasting event and awards ceremony will celebrate all of the nominees and unveil this year’s winners, and guests will enjoy an evening full of chef-prepared bites and specialty drinks. The event takes place at Astoria Event Venue in Irving.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Beethoven, Bach, Haydn & Mozart"
Three soloists grace "Beethoven, Bach, Haydn & Mozart," which follows a thread of musical styles from Baroque to early Classical. Co-concertmaster Nathan Olson is front-and-center in Bach’s Violin Concerto. Principal trumpeter Stuart Stephenson does the honors in Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major. And Mozart’s festive “Haffner” Symphony will feature a dramatic concert aria sung by soprano Kathryn Henry. The concert, conducted by Fabio Luisi, will have three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Improv Arlington presents Marlon Wayans
Marlon Wayans is an actor, producer, comedian, writer, and director. His first-ever comedy special, Woke-ish, premiered on Netflix in 2018, and he can also be seen in the Netflix movies Sextuplets and The Curse of Bridge Hollow. In 2026, he and his brother Shawn are returning to the Scary Movie franchise for the first time in 25 years. He'll perform six times through Saturday at Improv Arlington.

Friday, May 8

Brad Williams: The Tall Tales Tour
Comedian Brad Williams comes to Dallas as part of his The Tall Tales Tour. Williams was recently seen in the movie Spinal Tap II: The End Continues and just came out with his own hot sauce, Death By Dwarf. Williams’ most recent stand-up special, Brad Williams: Starfish, premiered in December 2023 on the streaming platform Veeps. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

We Them One's Comedy Tour
The comedy-heavy weekend gets a big boost with the the festival-style We Them One's Comedy Tour, featuring performances by Mike Epps, DC Young Fly, Karlous Miller, Chico Bean, Mojo Brookzz, Tony Roberts, Just Nesh, and Navv Greene. They'll perform at Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie.

Dallas Theater Center presents Malcolm X & Redd Foxx Washing Dishes at Jimmy's Chicken Shack in Harlem
In the sweltering summer of 1943, two young men — Little & Foxy — forge an unlikely bond over leftover fried chicken and a dirty dishwasher. But as the world outside erupts in chaos, their friendship is tested by betrayal, ambition, and the call of history. Inspired by a true story, this world premiere, written by DTC’s resident playwright and Interim Artistic Director Jonathan Norton, imagines the moments that shape legends — and the friendships that define them. The play runs through June 7 at Wyly Theatre.

Art Centre Theatre presents The Monkey's Paw
A small family lives in the middle of nowhere, no money to their name; they only have each other. But when an old friend inquires about needing a place to stay, they stumble across a mummified monkey's paw. Drawn to the mystique of the hideous paw, as if possessed, they keep it, not heeding the warning of its cursed nature. The production, running through May 16 at Art Centre Theatre in Plano will be presented in Monochrome, creating a haunting live-action monochrome look that mirrors the 1940s cinematic era.

Broadway at the Center presents Stereophonic
The most Tony Award-nominated play of all time, Stereophonic mines the agony and the ecstasy of creation as it zooms in on a music studio in 1976. An up-and-coming rock band recording a new album finds itself suddenly on the cusp of superstardom. The ensuing pressures could spark their breakup — or their breakthrough. The production will have five performances through Sunday at Winspear Opera House.

Saturday, May 9

Halperin Park Grand Opening Weekend
Halperin Park, a five-acre bridge park spanning Interstate 35E between Ewing and Marsalis Avenues, will officially open to the public on Saturday. Located directly adjacent to the Dallas Zoo, the park is a landmark achievement in urban renewal, physically re-connecting neighborhoods that were severed in the 1950s by highway construction. The official opening ceremony will take place at the park’s 12th Street Promenade, kicking off a weekend-long celebration featuring live performances, special Mother’s Day activities, and more.

Micky Dolenz: 60 Years of The Monkees
One of pop music’s most beloved legacies, Micky Dolenz, the legendary voice and drummer of The Monkees, comes to Dallas to presents his new show, 60 Years of The Monkees. The Monkees' first four albums all reached No. 1 and launched three No. 1 singles: "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer," and "Daydream Believer." Dolenz will perform at Majestic Theatre.

Dave Matthews Band in concert
If it's May, that means it's time for the annual visit from Dave Matthews Band. The group has consistently played the same venue, Dos Equis Pavilion, at the same time of year almost every year since at least 2013. Though their days of delivering hits like "What Would You Say," "Crash Into Me," and "The Space Between" are behind them, they still sell albums as well as anyone, most recently Walk Around The Moon in 2023, which made it to No. 5 on the Billboard 200.

Sunday, May 10

Sting in concert
Singer Sting first came to fame as the frontman/bassist and principal songwriter for The Police from 1978 to 1983, which released classic songs like "Every Breath You Take," "Roxanne," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," and more. The Sting 3.0 tour pulls from a career that includes Sting's 15 solo albums, most recently The Bridge in 2021. He'll play at The Pavilion At Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Jessie Davidson and Zoe Jensen in the National Tour of Wicked

Photo by Joan Marcus

Broadway Dallas presents Wicked at the Music Hall at Fair Park through June 14.

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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.

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The Uprising is now playing in theaters.

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