Weekend Event Planner

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

It's a big theater weekend across Dallas, with no fewer than six productions starting their runs, including the national tour of a Broadway musical. There will also be four concerts in a four different genres and three comedy events, most notably from a comedian who's so popular he can fill up large arenas.

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, August 8

The Firehouse Theatre presents Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville is an upbeat and energetic musical that tells the story of a part-time bartender, part-time singer, and full-time charmer named Tully who thinks he’s got life all figured out until a beautiful career-minded tourist steals his heart and makes him question everything. The musical comedy, running through August 25 at The Firehouse Theatre in Farmers Branch, features classic Jimmy Buffett songs like “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Margaritaville,” “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” “Fins,” “Volcano,” and more.

Fair Assembly presents King Lear
An aging king abdicates the throne, but clings to his authority. Betrayal, sedition, and revenge plague the kingdom, and the storm surges on, inside and out. Starring Dennis Raveneau with music by Ian Ferguson, Shakespeare’s King Lear presents the battle of a lifetime: the rage against mortality. The production runs through August 17 at Latino Cultural Center.

Broadway Dallas presents Funny Girl
Funny Girl is a love letter to the theater with one of the most celebrated musical scores of all time, including classic songs “Don’t Rain On My Parade,” “I’m the Greatest Star,” and “People.” The bittersweet comedy is the story of the indomitable Fanny Brice, a girl from the Lower East Side who dreamed of a life on the stage. Everyone told her she’d never be a star, but then something funny happened - she became one of the most beloved performers in history, shining brighter than the brightest lights of Broadway. The national tour runs through August 18 at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Friday, August 9

Jordan Davis in concert
Country/pop singer Jordan Davis got a later start in the music industry than some of his peers, releasing his first album, Home State, at the age of 30 in 2018. He went from zero to 60 pretty quickly, though, with each of his first six singles making the top 10 on the Country charts, including the No. 1 "Buy Dirt" with Luke Bryan. Davis will play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving in support of his 2023 album, Bluebird Days.

Photo courtesy of Trae Crowder

Comedian Trae Crowder will perform at Improv Addison, August 9-11.

CenterStage Theatre Works presents Alice By Heart
Alice by Heart is a moving musical inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Young Alice Spencer escapes her London bunker during World War II into her favorite book. As Alice's adventure unfolds, the line between reality and fantasy blurs, forcing her to confront the world around her. What begins as an escape turns into a journey of self-discovery, as she comes to terms with love, loss, dreams, and death in a time of war. The production runs through August 18 at CenterStage Theatre Works in Fairview.

10CC in concert
British band 10CC may not be top of mind for the general population when it comes to groups that came from the other side of the pond. But the band, which released its debut album in 1972, has a couple of indelible mid-'70s hits - "I'm Not in Love" and "The Things We Do for Love" - that secured their place in music history. They'll play at Majestic Theatre as part of their The Ultimate Greatest Hits Tour.

Improv Addison presents Trae Crowder
Trae Crowder first gained attention (or notoriety, depending on your politics) in 2016 for his viral series of “Liberal Redneck” comedic rant videos. Since then, Crowder has written a book, toured the country thrice over, appeared on HBO, ABC, MTV, WTF with Marc Maron, and in the Veronica Mars reboot, among others. He'll perform five times through Sunday at Improv Addison.

Theatre Arlington presents Big Fish
Big Fish tells the story of Edward Bloom, whose incredible, larger-than-life stories thrill everyone around him. Overflowing with heart and humor, it is an extraordinary musical that makes for an experience that’s richer, funnier, and bigger than life itself. The production runs through August 25 at Theatre Arlington.

Grupo Frontera in concert
Regional Mexican band Grupo Frontera, out of Edinburg, Texas, is relatively new to the music business, releasing two EPs in 2022 and then albums in back-to-back years in 2023 and 2024. In that short amount of time, they've become one of the biggest acts in their genre, with seven No. 1 hits, including collaborations with other stars like Junior H, Carín León, Christian Nodal, and Shakira. They'll play at American Airlines Center in support of their new album, Jugando a Que No Pasa Nada.

Saturday, August 10

The LadyGang Podcast: You Never Forget Your First
Hosts Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin, and Jac Vanek of the podcast LadyGang will present a live performance of their unfiltered and high-energy show, complete with good week bad week, freebies, giveaways, audience participation and some wild and crazy LadyGames. They'll perform at The Echo Lounge & Music Hall in Dallas.

Sebastian Maniscalco: It Ain't Right Tour
Comedian, actor, and podcast host Sebastian Maniscalco has been performing for over two decades, starring in six comedy specials for networks such as Netflix, Showtime, and Comedy Central. He can also be seen in the new MAX series, Bookie, and in recent films like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spinning Gold, Somewhere in Queens, and About My Father. He'll perform at American Airlines Center.

Ochre House Theater presents Daddy's Rabbits: A Cotton Tale
Mommy and Daddy run a quaint boarding house, where eccentric boarders reside together in perfect harmony with Daddy’s hutch of jackrabbits. Life is "status quo" until a stranger arrives. Daddy’s Rabbits is an enchanting, immersive world of magic, music, spectacle, and long forgotten fables. The production runs through August 31 at Ochre House Theater.

Sunday, August 11

I Prevail and Halestorm in concert
Rock can be a tough genre in which to find success in the 21st century, but I Prevail and Halestorm have both find their niche. I Prevail first got notice for their cover of Taylor Swift's "Blank Space," and have gone on have decent showings on the Billboard 200 with their three albums, most recently True Power in 2022. Co-headliner Halestorm has done a bit better, even notching two top 10 albums among their five releases. They'll play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

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Movie Review

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is better than the first but not by much

Blumhouse

Five Nights at Freddy's 2

Blumhouse Productions first made their name with the Paranormal Activity series, establishing themselves as a leader in the horror genre thanks to their relatively cheap yet effective movies. In recent years, they’ve added on “soft” horror films likeM3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy’s to draw in a younger audience, with both films becoming so successful that each was quickly given a sequel.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 finds Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and his sister Abby (Piper Rubio) still recovering from the events of the first film, with Abby particularly missing her “friends.” Those friends just so happen to be the souls of murdered children who inhabit animatronic characters at the long-defunct Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, children who were abducted and killed by William Afton (Matthew Lillard).

A new threat emerges at another Freddy Fazbear’s location in the form of Charlotte, another murdered child who inhabits a creepy large marionette. Mike, distracted by a possible romance with Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), fails to keep track of Abby, who makes her way to the old pizzeria and inadvertently unleashes Charlotte and her minions on the surrounding town.

Directed by Emma Tammi and written by Scott Cawthon (who also created the video game on which the series is based), the film tries to mix together goofy elements with intense scenes. One particular sequence, in which the security guard for Freddy Fazbear’s lets a group of ghost hunters onto the property, toes the line between soft and hard horror. That and a few others show the potential that the filmmakers had if they had stuck to their guns.

Unfortunately, more often than not they either soft-pedal things that would normally be horrific, or can’t figure out how to properly stage scenes. The sight of animatronic robots wreaking havoc is one that is simultaneously frightening and laughable, and the filmmakers never seem to find the right balance in tone. Every step in the direction of making a truly scary horror film is undercut by another in which the robots fail to live up to their promise.

It doesn’t help that Cawthon gives the cast some extremely wooden dialogue, lines that none of the actors can elevate. What may work in a video game format comes off as stilted when said by actors in a live-action film. The story also loses momentum quickly after the first half hour or so, with Cawthon seemingly content to just have characters move from place to place with no sense of connection between any of the scenes.

Hutcherson (The Hunger Games series), after being the true lead of the first film, is given very little to do in this film, and his effort is equal to his character’s arc. The same goes for Lail, whose character seems to be shoehorned into the story. Rubio is called upon to carry the load for a lot of the movie, and the teenager is not quite up to the task. A brief appearance by Skeet Ulrich seems to be a blatant appeal to Scream fans, but he and Lillard only underscore how limited this film is compared to that franchise.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is better than the first film, but not by much. The filmmakers do a decent job of making the new marionette character into a great villain, but they fail to capitalize on its inherent creepiness. Instead, they fall back on less effective elements, ensuring that the film will be forgettable for anyone other than hardcore Freddy fans.

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Five Nights at Freddy's 2 opens in theaters on December 5.

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