Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Theater, comedy, and music are almost equally represented in this week's list of the best things to do in and around Dallas. The theater includes a kids show, a hyper-local production, a local production of a Broadway musical, and a national tour of a Broadway musical. The comedy side features two live podcasts and two actors/comedians. Musically, you can take in a symphony concert or two separate events with well-known R&B stars.

Below are more 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, January 11

TheaterWorksUSA presents Dog Man: The Musical
Based on the worldwide bestselling book series by Dav Pilkey, Dog Man: The Musical follows the chronicles of a canine superhero who loves to fight crime and chew on the furniture. But while trying his best to be a good boy, can he save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and catch Petey, the world’s most evil cat? And will George and Harold finish their show before lunchtime? The production runs through January 28 at Wyly Theatre.

Pod Meets World Live: The Kids Wanna Jump! Tour
Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle host Pod Meets World, a podcast where they rewatch, and earnestly react, to the ‘90s sitcom they starred in, Boy Meets World, now 30 years later. They'll present a live version of the show, which turned an innocent attempt for friends to watch their teenage selves on TV into a worldwide phenomenon. The event takes place at Majestic Theatre.

Soul Rep Theatre Company presents Elm Thicket
Elm Thicket is a serio-comedy set in 2020 in Dallas’ Elm Thicket community where playwright (and Soul Rep Theatre Company co-founder) Anyika McMillan-Herod grew up. It centers around two middle-aged neighbors’ attempt to explore love and friendship while facing a complicated history, world pandemic, social unrest, and neighborhood gentrification. The production, part of AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project, runs through January 20 at Wyly Theatre.

Lyric Stage presents The Producers
A down-on-his-luck Broadway producer and his mild-mannered accountant come up with a scheme to produce the most notorious flop in history, thereby bilking their backers (all “little old ladies”) out of millions of dollars. Only one thing goes awry: the show is a smash hit. The production runs through January 20 at Moody Performance Hall.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Prokofiev Symphony No. 5"
Dallas Symphony Orchestra's latest concert, "Prokofiev Symphony No. 5," features conductor Dmitry Matvienko and DSO Principal Flute David Buck. Selections for the concert include Lyadov's The Enchanted Lake, Nielsen's Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5. There will be performances on Thursday and Friday at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

Friday, January 12

Improv Arlington presents Brandon T. Jackson
Brandon T. Jackson is a multifaceted young actor carving his own path in Hollywood. He started out in stand-up comedy and has evolved into a young film and television star who is perhaps best known for his role in Tropic Thunder. He has also starred in Thunderstruck, the third incarnation of Fox’s Big Momma’s House franchise, and Warner Bros.’ Lottery Ticket. He'll perform five times through Sunday at Improv Arlington.

Two Funny Mamas: Sherri Shepherd & Kym Whitley
Comedic actresses Sherri Shepherd and Kym Whitley blend their comedic power and chemistry to deliver their award-winning podcast, Two Funny Mamas, that speaks to culture, sisterhood, moms, and working women everywhere. Nothing is off limits when these two funny ladies get together to talk about life, love, motherhood, singleness, relationships, dating, pop culture, sex (or the lack thereof), and everything in between. The live version of the podcast will be at Majestic Theatre.

Arlington Music Hall presents Pauly Shore
Pauly Shore tasted stardom in the 1990s thanks to his MTV show Totally Pauly, as well as starring roles in films like Jury Duty, In the Army Now, Bio-Dome, Encino Man, Son In Law, and A Goofy Movie. Apart from actively touring the country with his stand-up comedy, Shore is working on a documentary of his life that spans the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. He'll perform at Arlington Music Hall.

AT&T Performing Arts Center presents Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill is a new musical based on Alanis Morissette’s world-changing music, an electrifying production about a perfectly imperfect American family. The national touring production, featuring a book by Oscar-winning writer Diabolo Cody, will have five performances through Sunday at Winspear Opera House.

Saturday, January 13

Smooth Winter Groove VIII with Kem, Eric Benét, and Leela James
The first of two R&B ensemble concerts at Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie this weekend, Smooth Winter Groove VIII will feature performances by Kem, Eric Benét, and Leela James. Kem is arguably the most successful of the three, with three top 5 albums on the Billboard 200 and two No. 1 albums on the Billboard R&B chart. Kem's most recent album is Love Always Wins in 2020, Benét's most recent album is Eric Benét in 2016, and James' most recent album is Thought U Knew in 2023.

Sunday, January 14

The R&B '90s Kick Back with Keith Sweat, Bobby Brown, Jon B., and Troop
More big names will be on hand for The R&B '90s Kick Back at Texas Trust CU Theatre, featuring performances by Keith Sweat, Bobby Brown, Jon B., and Troop. Sweat's most recent album is Playing for Keeps in 2018, Brown's most recent album is The Masterpiece in 2012, Jon B.'s most recent album is Comfortable Swagg in 2012, and Troop's most recent albums is Mayday in 1998.

Photo by Jeremy Daniel

TheaterWorksUSA presents Dog Man: The Musical at Wyly Theatre, January 11-28.

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Animal News

Latest animal to die at Dallas Zoo is young male gorilla named Zola

Dallas Zoo

Zola RIP

Another animal at the Dallas Zoo has died an untimely death: Zola, a young Western lowland gorilla, died on Wednesday, November 5, at age 23.

The zoo does not know why Zola died. A necropsy will be performed. According to their post, Zola was euthanized after showing symptoms of lethargy, reduced appetite, and signs of discomfort at the end of October.

"Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to begin breathing on his own afterward, despite the extraordinary efforts of our veterinary and animal care teams," their post says. "With his comfort as our priority, we made the difficult decision to let him go peacefully."

The zoo did not announce Zola's death immediately, instead waiting two days until Friday afternoon at 3 pm. Politicians and government agencies prefer to choose Friday afternoons to post news that is negative or controversial, since fewer people, and definitely fewer journalists, are online on Friday afternoons. It's called the "Friday news dump."

The death is very inconvenient for the Dallas Zoo since they were just about to ship off their male gorillas, which also include Juba, B'Wenzi, and Zola's half-brother Shana, to the San Antonio Zoo. Animals are very dear to the zoo — until it's time to ship them off to another zoo.

For now, the relocation of the other three male gorillas is "temporarily on hold" but the zoo says they will be moved "when the time is right," and that is all you need to know about that.

The zoo has already said that they'll be shipping in other gorillas to replace them — although we do not know which gorillas and from where. The Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the overseeing body for zoos, only divulges that kind of intel on a "need to know" basis. Right now, you and I do not need to know. If we did know which gorillas were coming and where they were coming from, we might ask questions that would force the zoo to explain what it's up to.

Zola was born at the Bronx Zoo in 2002 and became internet famous as the "breakdancing gorilla" for splashing in pools and puddles. Some animal experts attributed his actions to frustration at being locked inside a zoo. He was relocated to the Calgary Zoo in 2009 when he was only 7 years old — zoos always play up what great bonds and family ties their animals have, until it's time to ship them somewhere else, and then suddenly the bonds and family ties don't matter.

Unfortunately, Zola did not "integrate well" at the Calgary Zoo, so he got shipped off to the Dallas Zoo in 2013.

At least now he won't have to be relocated again.

Death count
Zola's death is one more in a long-running series of deaths at the Dallas Zoo in recent years, the most previous being Jata, a 7-year-old painted dog who died in June 2024. Jata also showed signs of lethargy and decreased appetite, reportedly due to kidney disease.

Whenever a death occurs, they always wax on about their "extraordinary" veterinary and animal care teams — and yet, so many of these deaths were either unexplained or completely caught their teams by surprise.

Zola the Western lowland gorilla is the latest to join this death march of animals at the Dallas Zoo:

Jata, one of the zoo's three African painted dogs, died in June 2024, at seven years old.
Ferrell, a 15-year-old giraffe, died in December, 2023, following "an unexpected fall in the barn" that injured the giraffe's jaw so badly, they were forced to euthanize him.
Ajabu, a 6-year-old African elephant who died on May 8, 2023, from the herpes virus.
Pin, a 35-year-old lappet-faced vulture, died on January 22, 2023, cause unknown.
Jesse, a 14-year-old giraffe, died on October 29, 2021, cause unknown.
Auggie, a 19-year-old giraffe, died in late October 2021 of liver failure.
Marekani, a 3-month-old baby giraffe, sustained a mysterious injury and was euthanized on October 3, 2021.
Kirk, a 31-year-old chimpanzee, died in August 2021 due to "surprise" heart disease.
Keeya, a 6-year-old Hartmann's mountain zebra, died in March 2021 due to a mysterious unexplained head injury.
Subira, a 24-year-old silverback gorilla, died suddenly in March 2020, due to a cough, or maybe cardiovascular disease. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hope, a 23-year-old Western lowland gorilla, died suddenly in November 2019 after being at the zoo for only two years.
Ola, an 8-year-old female African painted dog, was killed in July 2019 by two other painted dogs, less than a month after she was transferred to the zoo.
Witten, a 1-year-old giraffe, died in June 2019 during a physical exam under anesthesia when he suddenly stopped breathing.
Adhama, a baby hippopotamus, mysteriously died in 2018.
Kipenzi, a baby giraffe, died in 2015 after running in her enclosure.
Kamau, a young cheetah, died of pneumonia in 2014.
Johari, a female lion, was killed in front of zoo spectators in 2013 by male lions with whom she shared an enclosure.

And in February 2021, they lost a crow called Onyx who was part of their "animal ambassador team," "participating in a training session" for a bird show. He was never found.

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