Weekend Event Planner

These are the 12 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

This weekend around Dallas is dominated by concerts, seven in total, with four of them featuring acts still riding high on music they released long ago. There will also be two new theater productions, the start of a unique Biblical exhibition, two great comedy events, and the end of a milestone art exhibition.

Below are the 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.

Thursday, August 24

Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper: "Freaks on Parade" 2023 Tour
Shock rockers Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper are joining forces to co-headline the 2023 "Freaks on Parade" Tour. Cooper is as long-lasting as they come, having released albums in seven different decades, including 2023's Road. Zombie truly lives up to his reputation, with seven albums with scary-sounding titles, most recently 2021's The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy. They'll be joined at Dos Equis Pavilion by supporting acts Ministry and Filter.

Lyric Stage presents Cinderella
Lyric Stage opens its 30th season with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. The adaptation of the timeless fairytale brings new spirit to the story of a young woman forced into servitude who dreams of – and achieves – a better life. The musical features some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible,” and “Ten Minutes Ago.” The production will have five performances through Sunday at Majestic Theatre.

Carin León in concert
Mexican singer/songwriter Carin León has been taking the Latin music world by storm since releasing his debut album, El Malo, in 2019. He's now released three albums in four years, including the new Colmillo de Leche, which marked his first entry onto both the Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums charts on Billboard. He's developed quite the following, as indicated by this concert taking place at American Airlines Center.

Friday, August 25

50 Cent in concert
Rapper 50 Cent comes to Dallas as part his "The Final Lap" Tour. He will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of his 2003 debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', performing dozens of fan-favorite and chart-topping hits along with select tracks that have not been performed live in years. He'll be joined at Dos Equis Pavilion by special guests Busta Rhymes and Jeremih.

Theatre Arlington presents Avenue Q
Avenue Q is a puppet-filled comedy (for adults) that follows a group of twenty-somethings seeking their purpose in big-city life. The laugh-out-loud musical tells the timeless story of a recent college grad named Princeton, who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. He soon discovers that, although the residents seem nice, it’s clear that this is not your ordinary neighborhood. The production runs through September 10 at Theatre Arlington.

Randall King in concert
A throwback to classic country, Randall King formed an Americana group in college called the Randall King Band, which released an album called Old Dirt Road before splitting. He then debuted as a solo artist in 2016 with the EP Another Bullet before releasing his first self-titled album in 2018. He'll play at Longhorn Ballroom in support of his 2022 album, Shot Glass.

Hyena's presents Helen Hong
A fan favorite on the hit NPR podcast Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Helen Hong has been a recurring character on HBO's Silicon Valley, CBS' The Unicorn, and others. She will perform four times through Saturday at Hyena's in Mockingbird Station.

Saturday, August 26

Kidz Bop "Never Stop Live" Tour
The Kidz Bop Never Stop Live Tour introduces four new Kidz Bop Kids - Jackson, Kiya, Shila, and Tyler - who will perform today's biggest hits live on stage. Kidz Bop is touring in support of their album Kidz Bop 2023, which includes pop hits like "Anti-Hero," "About That Time," "Sunroof," and "Late Night Talking." The concert takes place at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo in concert
Fans know and love Pat Benatar for hit songs like "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Love Is a Battlefield," "We Belong," and more. The name Neil Giraldo may not be as familiar, but the guitarist has been Benatar's musical partner since 1979, and her husband since 1982. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame together in 2022, they will play at Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie.

Sunday, August 27

Nasher Sculpture Center presents Mark di Suvero: "Steel Like Paper" closing day
After seven months, Mark di Suvero’s “Steel Like Paper” will come to a close at Nasher Sculpture Center. The milestone exhibition of the sculptor’s more than six-decade career surveys di Suvero’s work, showing rarely-seen drawings and paintings along with small and moderately scaled sculptures, as well as some of the artist’s first forays into working at a large scale.

Please Don’t Destroy Live
The comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy - Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy - performed live sketch together all over New York City before they landed their current gig, writing and making videos for Saturday Night Live. Videos like “Three Sad Virgins” featuring Taylor Swift and Pete Davidson, “Good Variant,” “Hard Seltzer," “The Stakeout,” “Hangxiety,” and more have made them an invaluable part of the legendary program. They'll perform live at The Factory in Deep Ellum.

Summer Block Party featuring Jodeci, SWV, and Dru Hill
Fans of '90s R&B will want to be on hand for the Summer Block Party, as it will feature performances by Jodeci, SWV, and Dru Hill. Each of the groups was a mainstay on the Billboard R&B charts in the '90s, with Jodeci having the most success with three No. 1 albums. They'll play all the hits at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory.

Photo by Hannah Bell

Theatre Arlington presents Avenue Q, August 25-September 10.

music concerts theater exhibitions-visual-arts comedy kids families galleries event-planner

Movie Review

The life of an actor is far from rosy in dramedy Misty Green

Photo courtesy of A24

Rosalind Eleazar in Misty Green.

For every well-known/successful actor in Hollywood, there are thousands of others whose lives are more tenuous as they struggle to find work. The new film Misty Green is about one such actor who, after a period in the limelight, now finds herself on the outskirts of the industry, just hoping to find her way back in.

Misty (Rosalind Eleazar) won an Emmy for a 2000s-era TV show that still gets her recognition, but not much work. Still living in the apartment of a recently-deceased man with whom she was having an affair, Misty spends her days sleeping in and her nights getting blitzed on alcohol and drugs. She seems to be heading nowhere fast until a few things coincide to break up her routine.

The man’s wife (Amy Landecker) shows up and tells her she has seven days to vacate the apartment; Misty’s brother, Jay (Daniel Kaluuya) — who is bipolar — arrives after being kicked out of his facility for non-payment; and Jordan (Chris Rock), a former colleague with whom she had a falling-out, reappears in her life, offering a possible chance to rehabilitate her image.

Written and directed by Rock (his first feature since 2014’s Top Five), the film is a funny and excruciating look at how the entertainment industry might actually work. Misty is her own worst enemy thanks to late nights fraternizing with unsavory characters like Zach (Adam Driver), who deals in drugs and women in equal measure, but her frustration proves warranted when her agent, Randy (Topher Grace), and casting directors like Rhonda (Tracie Thoms) hardly give her the time of day.

Misty tries her best to stay positive, but when jobs like singing in a bar are the best she can do, the mountain seems insurmountable. Rock does an effective job of demonstrating the elements that are within and without Misty’s control that affect her ability to regain her position in the industry. The chip on her shoulder is almost as big as the bias some have against her, and other negative circumstances don’t help matters much.

There are many small touches that Rock and his crew put in the film to give it an air of authenticity. Filming in Los Angeles (a rarity these days), Rock uses both subtle and overt shots of homeless people in the city, suggesting that the line between the haves and have-nots is a fine one, especially with Misty on the verge of not having a place to live. He also has cameos from a few of his funny friends, including a bit of meta-casting of Anthony Anderson (who has faded a bit after starring in Black-ish) in a bit part as a cop.

Eleazar, a British actor best known for appearing on the Apple TV show Slow Horses, is a magnetic presence as Misty. The character herself is somewhat cringey in her decision-making, and Eleazar sells every bit of her righteous indignation and self-defeating actions. The supporting cast is great across the board, including Rock, Driver, Kaluuya, Thoms, Grace, Anna Kendrick, and Rich Sommer.

Misty Green makes you rage against the Hollywood machine, laugh at the various ways different people deal with its maddening quirks, and hide behind your fingers as Misty chooses options that don’t help, either voluntarily or because her back is against the wall. It’s a powerhouse of acting that gives a unique angle on the inner workings of Hollywood, one that ironically might be competing for awards at year’s end.

---

Misty Green is now playing in theaters.

movies film