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

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.

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Misty Green is now playing in theaters.

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