Weekend event planner

These are the 15 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

There will be a lot of funny business going on around Dallas this weekend, with five events featuring well-known comedians, another with a famous sitcom producer, and a parody musical. There will also be four theater productions (including a Broadway tour), the first holiday light show of the season, the return of a big hometown singer, and more.

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, November 3

Crow Museum of Asian Art openings
Two new exhibitions will open at the Crow Museum of Asian Art on Thursday. "Phoenix Rising: Xu Bing and the Art of Resilience" highlights a celebrated work, Bronze Phoenix 2016 (Feng and Huang), complementing it with five works from the Crow Museum’s Chinese jade collection that also celebrate the revered phoenix. "Cast: Molding a New Museum for UT Dallas" looks to the future, providing an exclusive first look at the Crow Museum’s second location on the campus of UT Dallas in Richardson. Both exhibitions will be on display through March 5, 2023.

An Evening with Phil Rosenthal of Somebody Feed Phil
The name Phil Rosenthal may not be that recognizable, but he's the creator of one of the biggest sitcoms of all time, Everybody Loves Raymond. These days, he's better known as the star of the Netflix reality show Somebody Feed Phil, in which he travels to different cities around the world to sample local cuisine. At this event at House of Blues Dallas, Rosenthal will talk about his travels, the food along the way, and the new Somebody Feed Phil The Book.

Second Thought Theatre presents One Flea Spare
The final show of Second Thought Theatre's season (which actually opened last weekend), One Flea Spare takes place in a plague-ravaged London, where the home of a wealthy aristocrat and his invalid wife is broken into by a pair of intruders demanding food and refuge. Resigned to quarantine together, the unlikely group sees the social paradigms that once defined their behavior begin to break down. The production runs through November 12 at Bryant Hall on the Kalita Humphreys Theater campus.

Broadway Dallas presents My Fair Lady
Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady.” But who is really being transformed? The musical, which runs through November 13 at the Music Hall at Fair Park, boasts such classic songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” and “On the Street Where You Live.”

Chris Rock: Ego Death World Tour
Comedian Chris Rock has been a star for a long time, finding success on stage, on TV, and in movies. But his profile went way up this year thanks to a dumb joke he told at the Oscars garnering the rage of Will Smith, who slapped Rock in front of a worldwide audience. Rock has lightly addressed the incident in the months since, but anything is possible in his stand-up show. He'll perform on both Thursday and Friday at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Kitchen Dog Theater presents The Sound Inside
In the 17 years since she was last published, novelist Bella Baird has almost completely isolated herself from the world. But things change when she meets Christopher, a brilliant but enigmatic student in her creative writing class at Yale. Intensely intimate and deeply moving, The Sound Inside explores the stories we tell about ourselves, the stories that shape us, and the intersection of fact and fiction. The production runs through November 20 at Trinity River Arts Center.

Marc Maron: This May Be the Last Time
For almost 30 years, Marc Maron has been writing and performing raw, honest, and thought-provoking comedy for print, stage, radio, online, and television. A legend in the stand-up community, Maron has appeared on many television talk shows, including with Conan O’Brien more than any other comedian. He starred in his own sitcom, Maron, on IFC, co-starred in GLOW on Netflix, and continues to put out two episodes a week of his podcast, WTF with Marc Maron. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Friday, November 4

The Light Park
Most holiday light shows wait until around Thanksgiving to open, but the new The Light Park is already raring to go. It features a mile-long, drive-thru spectacular where guests will witness millions of lights synchronized to a mix of music by DJ Polar Ice. Open daily through January 1 at Hurricane Harbor Arlington, the show claims it has the longest light tunnel in the world.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Fabio Luisi & Lise de la Salle
Leading into Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Women in Classical Music Symposium (running Sunday through Wednesday), they will explore the work of three female composers who dared to make a difference in the world of classical music. Julia Perry, Clara Schumann, and Louise Farrenc were highly educated and internationally trained musicians. These talented women helped pave the way for female artists, like featured pianist Lise de la Salle. The concert, which will have three performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center, will include Perry's Study for Orchestra, Schumann's Piano Concerto, and Farrenc's Symphony No. 3.

Mainstage Irving - Las Colinas presents Gypsy
Gypsy is the ultimate tale of an ambitious stage mother fighting for her daughters' success while secretly yearning for her own. Set in 1920s and '30s America, when vaudeville was dying and burlesque was born, the landmark musical explores the world of two-bit show business with brass, humor, heart, and sophistication. The production runs through November 19 at Irving Arts Center.

Coppell Arts Center presents Spamilton: An American Parody
Hamilton gets the comedy treatment with Spamilton: An American Parody, the story of a very famous writer/director/star trying to save Broadway from mediocrity and oblivion. The show not only takes aim at Broadway's mega-hit, but manages to make hysterical mincemeat out of all current and classic Broadway, plus a good deal of pop culture, too. There will be performances on Friday and Saturday at Coppell Arts Center.

Lewis Black: Off The Rails
Lewis Black's live performances provide a cathartic release of anger and disillusionment for his audience. He is a passionate performer who is a more pissed-off optimist than a mean-spirited curmudgeon. Lewis is the rare comic who can cause an audience to laugh themselves into incontinence while making compelling points about the absurdity of our world. He'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Saturday, November 5

Piff The Magic Dragon & Puddles Pity Party: Misery Love Company
Piff the Magic Dragon and Puddles Pity Party have both become big acts around the world, not bad for two "losers" from America’s Got Talent. These satin-adorned down-and-outers have been pals since they first met ages ago at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Neither is easily amused, but when offered the chance to play a double bill, they both agreed it was a pretty good idea, and thus was born The Piff and Puddles Misery Loves Company Tour. They'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

D.L. Hughley's Funnier than a Mutha
Completing the weekend of comedy in and around Dallas will be D.L. Hughley's Funnier than a Mutha. The event at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie will feature some of the funniest Black comedians working today, including Hughley, Rickey Smiley, Donnell Rawlings, Tony Baker, and Cocoa Brown.

Sunday, November 6

Demi Lovato in concert
Since the last time Demi Lovato played in the Dallas-area, a lot has changed for the hometown singer. She suffered a drug overdose shortly after that concert, took a break from music, released two new albums in back-to-back years, and came out as non-binary, now alternating between using they/them and she/her pronouns. The show will take place at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in support the new album Holy Fvck.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rock

Chris Rock will perform at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving on November 3 and 4.

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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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