Weekend Event Planner

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

Once again, it's a big concert and theater weekend across Dallas. There will be six notable concerts, all featuring classic or long-established bands or musicians. Five local theater companies will start new productions, and DFW will also get visits from two well-known comedians and a live version of a blockbuster movie franchise.

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 10

Boy George & Culture Club in concert
Music icons Boy George & Culture Club will play at Dos Equis Pavilion as part of their 2023 tour, The Letting It Go Show, featuring special guests Howard Jones and Berlin. The prolific band will be performing all their hits from the past 40+ years, including "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me," "Karma Chameleon," "Church of the Poisoned Mind," and more.

The Plano House of Comedy presents David Koechner
Actor, writer, and producer David Koechner got his first break as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, but he is best known for his roles as Todd Packer on The Office and Champ Kind in the Anchorman series. In addition to acting and standup, he creates original content videos for his YouTube channel, "Full On Koechner." He will perform five times through Saturday at the Plano House of Comedy, and he will also be on hand for The Office Trivia with Todd Packer on Saturday.

Bishop Arts Theatre Center presents One Year in Egypt
Bishop Arts Theatre Center presents the world premiere of One Year In Egypt, which details the journey of writer and Oak Cliff native Camika Spencer during her first time abroad as a middle school ESL teacher in Al Giza, Egypt, the same year she turned 50. The show is frank, funny, emotional, and informative as Spencer narrates her personal transformation while deconstructing the myths associated with how she romanticized Africa as a “woke” woman who’d never been to the Motherland. The production runs through August 27.

Friday, August 11

Jurassic World Live Tour
Jurassic World comes to life against a backdrop of scenery where dinosaurs from the iconic franchise, including fan-favorite Velociraptor Blue and a Tyrannosaurus rex more than 40 feet in length, take center stage. The production features more than 24 film-accurate, life-sized dinosaurs, with scale, speed, and ferocity, operated by animatronics and performers. There will be six performances through Sunday at American Airlines Center.

Neal Brennan: Brand New Neal
Three-time Emmy nominated writer, director, producer, and standup comedian Neal Brennan has become a force in the comedy world, co-creating Chapelle’s Show with Dave Chappelle and writing for The Daily Show. He recently released his latest Netflix comedy special, Neal Brennan: Blocks. He'll perform at Texas Theatre.

Foreigner in concert
After a nearly 50-year career, classic rock band Foreigner is taking their final bow as a touring act on their "Historic Farewell Tour." Starting with 1977's self-titled album, the band had a string of multi-platinum albums thanks to hits like "Feels Like the First Time," "Cold as Ice," "Hot Blooded," and "Waiting for a Girl Like You." They'll play at Dos Equis Pavilion, with support from Loverboy.

Los Lobos in concert
For 50 years, the band Los Lobos has stood at the forefront of the Latin music genre, dabbling in rock, country, and more. They rose out of East Los Angeles in the late '70s and got their big break playing several of Ritchie Valens' big hits for the movie La Bamba. The band will celebrate their 50th anniversary with a special “Disconnected” concert at the Meyerson Symphony Center, joined by The South Austin Moonlighters.

Art Centre Theatre presents Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
George and his wife, Martha, have just returned home, drunk from a Saturday night party. Martha announces that she has invited a young couple to stop by for a nightcap. George and Martha’s bitterness toward one another is provoked by the enormous personal sadness that they have pledged to keep to themselves: a secret that has seemingly been the foundation for their relationship. The production runs through August 27 at Art Centre Theatre in Plano.

Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas presents Tigers Be Still
Sherry Wickman is a recent college grad with a master’s degree in art therapy whose job search hasn’t quite gone as planned. Unemployed and overwhelmed, she retreats to her childhood bed and remains there … until an unexpected employment opportunity gives her a renewed sense of purpose and hope. The production runs through August 26 at Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas.

Theatre Coppell presents Rounding Third
Rounding Third is the tumultuous journey of two Little League coaches through an entire season, from their first tentative meeting to the climactic championship game. Despite their differences, Michael and Don form an uneasy alliance for the benefit of the team. And over the course of exhilarating victories, heartbreaking defeats, and interminable rain-outs, the two men battle over how to lead the team. The production runs through August 27 at Coppell Arts Center.

The Core Theatre presents Little Women the Musical
Based on Louisa May Alcott's life, Little Women follows the adventures of sisters, Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March. Jo is trying to sell her stories for publication, but the publishers are not interested – her friend, Professor Baer, tells her that she has to do better and write more from herself. Begrudgingly taking this advice, Jo weaves the story of herself and her sisters and their experience growing up in Civil War America. The production runs through September 3 at The Core Theatre in Richardson.

Saturday, August 12

Mudvayne in concert
Heavy metal band Mudvayne comes to Dallas as part of their The Psychotherapy Sessions 2023 Tour, their first headlining endeavor since 2009. They have released five albums in their career, most recently their 2009 self-titled album. The band will be joined at Dos Equis Pavilion by Coal Chamber, GWAR, Nonpoint, and Butcher Babies.

Sunday, August 13

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Ziggy Marley in concert with Mavis Staples and Robert Randolph
Jazz music has been declared dead or dying by a variety of people over the years, but as long as there are talented people like Trombone Shorty keeping the tradition alive, the genre will survive. He has worked with some of the biggest names in music, and his popularity allows him and his band, Orleans Avenue, to fill up a big venue like The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory. He'll play in support of his 2022 album, Lifted, joined by co-headliner Ziggy Marley, Mavis Staples, and Robert Randolph.

The Offspring in concert with Sum 41 and Simple Plan
Although The Offspring have played in Dallas-Fort Worth multiple times in recent years, it's always been as part of a festival or as an opening act. The punk rock band will make a rare headlining appearance at Dos Equis Pavilion, playing songs from throughout their career, including 2021's Let the Bad Times Roll. They'll be joined by Sum 41 and Simple Plan.

Photo courtesy of Jurassic World Live Tour

Jurassic World Live Tour will be at American Airlines Center, August 11-13.

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Movie Review

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney go off in trashy film The Housemaid

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid.

Both Amanda Seyfried (the upcoming The Testament of Ann Lee) and Sydney Sweeney (Christy) are starring in movies with Oscar ambitions this year. By sheer coincidence, the two actors are also co-starring in The Housemaid, a thriller coming out within weeks of their more ambitious works, one that is likely to be seen by many more people than those prestige plays.

Sweeney is given top billing as Millie, a down-on-her-luck ex-convict looking to land any type of job so as not to break her parole. She finds a too-good-to-be-true lifeboat with Nina (Seyfried), who hires her to be a housemaid for her large house on Long Island, where she lives with her husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), and daughter, Cecilia (Indiana Elle).

After a warm interview, Nina almost immediately becomes highly erratic, whipping back-and-forth between happy-go-lucky and rageful. It seems clear that Nina is suffering from mental health issues, as she’ll often accuse Millie of misplacing or stealing items that she didn’t take. Andrew, apparently used to Nina’s tirades, tries to protect Millie from the worst, something that grows increasingly difficult as Nina ups the ante.

Directed by Paul Feig (A Simple Favor) and adapted by Rebecca Sonnenshine from the bestselling book by Freida McFadden, the film is likely the trashiest mainstream movie to come out in 2025. The first half of the movie relies not on story but on moments as Nina embodies the word “hysterical” to an unbelievable extent. The resigned acceptance of the abuse by Millie, as well as the saintly patience of Andrew, make almost every scene laughable, as nobody seems to be acting anywhere close to how a person would normally react to such extreme situations.

The scenes and the performance of Seyfried are so over-the-top, in fact, that it’s clear that the filmmakers are in on the joke. It’s next to impossible not to have a little bit of fun while watching the actors react to outrageous incidents as if nothing is out of the ordinary. The worse Nina acts, the more Millie and Andrew retreat into their chosen roles, and the funnier the film becomes.

Fans of the book will know that the story changes course, eventually turning into a more stereotypical thriller that also has some relatively gnarly visuals to offer. But the trashiness continues, with Sweeney’s, um, assets repeatedly on display in both clothed and unclothed ways. The sex appeal of the R-rated movie makes it an outlier, as recent studio films have shied away from asking their big stars to disrobe completely.

Both Seyfried and Sweeney are far from their Oscar hopeful roles here. Seyfried is given free rein to act as brazenly as she pleases, and she takes full advantage of that ability. Sweeney seems to have been told to be much more reserved, and unfortunately that results in too many wooden line readings. Sklenar continues his breakout streak (It Ends with Us, Drop) with a role that allows him to show more range than either Seyfried or Sweeney.

The Housemaid is an unusual type of movie to be released at a time of year when most films are either those aiming for awards or more family-friendly fare. Despite its many flaws, it’s still an enjoyable watch that features a variety of crazy scenarios not typically seen in movies nowadays.

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The Housemaid is now playing in theaters.

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