Weekend event planner

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

It's officially December, so naturally this weekend is dominated by holiday-themed events, including five local theater productions, two concerts, another Nutcracker, and celebrations in Dallas Arts District. There will also be two non-holiday theater productions, a concert by a YouTube sensation, a visit from a famous actress/comedian, and a stand-up comedy event.

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, December 1

Vocal Majority presents A Blue Suede Christmas
Vocal Majority's A Blue Suede Christmas will transport audiences to Las Vegas for a fun journey of harmony, smiles, and memories. The first act will feature some treasured Vegas icons, and maybe even a sighting of Elfis Presley. In the second act, the mood changes as Vocal Majority inspires the audience with beloved and sacred Christmas songs. There will be four performances through Sunday at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.

WaterTower Theatre presents Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar, the iconic rock opera featuring music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, is set against the backdrop of an extraordinary series of events during the final weeks in the life of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of Judas. Reflecting the rock roots that defined a generation, the legendary score includes "I Don’t Know How to Love Him," "Gethsemane," and "Superstar." The production runs through December 11 at WaterTower Theatre in Addison.

The Firehouse Theatre presents Disney's Beauty and the Beast
This “Tale as Old as Time” centers around Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity. The production runs through December 18 at The Firehouse Theatre in Farmers Branch.

Bishop Arts Theatre Center presents Black Nativity
Black Nativity, returning to the Bishop Arts Theatre Center stage for its 18th anniversary, is a hand-clapping, toe-tapping, finger-snapping theatrical wonderment, inspired by Langston Hughes's retelling of the Nativity story. The production runs through December 18 at the Oak Cliff theater.

Friday, December 2

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Christmas Pops"
The tradition of Christmas Pops continues with the Dallas Symphony Chorus performing transcendent anthems, classical holiday favorites and sing-along carols. Favorite holiday vocalists join the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Symphony Chorus to bring a bit of Christmas magic to Meyerson Symphony Center through December 11. There will also be two "Family Christmas Pops" concerts on December 3 and 10, a special one-hour long family-friendly performance featuring the Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas.

Theatre Arlington presents Hooray for Holidays
Theatre Arlington is bringing back Hooray for Holidays, a hilarious Christmas musical that features special guests at each performance. The production features The Callahan Kids TV Christmas Reunion special. Everyone is excited about the former child stars’ return to television until they realize that as grown-ups, they are no longer cute and their talent is lacking. The only thing that can save the show is a Christmas miracle. The production runs through December 18.

Sandra Bernhard: Bern it Down
Sandra Bernhard is an actress/performer/comedian whose career now stretches more than 40 years, having succeeded in films, on TV, and on stage. Her first big break was at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, and she'll return to her roots with this night of comedy and music at Granada Theater as part of her Bern It Down tour.

Richardson Theatre Centre presents A Hometown Holiday Radio Show
Richardson Theatre Centre's A Hometown Holiday Radio Show is an evening of music and merriment for the entire family, featuring a recreation of old-time radio classics, live songs, and just plain holiday fun. The production runs through December 18.

Theatre Coppell presents A Little House Christmas
The Ingalls family is warm and happy in their little house by Plum Creek, just outside the town of Walnut Grove. It’s time for the Christmas holidays, and everyone is keeping secrets about the presents they have to give. All the characters are there: Laura, Mary, Carrie, Ma, Pa, Mr. and Mrs. Olsen, and Nellie, and there are surprises all around on Christmas Day that remind us that love is the greatest gift of all. The production runs through December 18 at Coppell Arts Center.

The Piano Guys in concert
The Piano Guys are four dads who became an Internet sensation by way of their series of self-made music videos, including One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen. It’s the Guys’ highly original blend of classical music with pop that has led to over 500 million YouTube views. They'll perform at McFarlin Auditorium.

Uptown Players presents Head Over Heels
Head Over Heels is a laugh-out-loud love story set to the music of the iconic 1980s all-female rock band The Go-Go’s. An inspired mash-up of posh and punk, the production is an unpredictable Elizabethan romp about a royal family that must prevent an oracle’s prophecy of doom. In order to save their beloved kingdom, the family embarks on an extravagant journey where they are faced with mistaken identities, love triangles, sexual awakening, and self-discovery. The production runs through December 18 at Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Saturday, December 3

Wait Wait Stand-Up Tour
The Wait Wait Stand-Up Tour is a night of stand-up-comedy featuring some of Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me’s funniest panelists. They answer questions on Wait, Wait, but there they're subject to FCC limitations. This a chance to enjoy a full evening of their unfiltered stand-up comedy. The host is veteran stand-up and Wait, Wait regular Alonzo Bodden. He'll be joined by Adam Burke, Negin Farsad, and Maz Jobrani. They'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Ballet Ensemble of Texas presents The Nutcracker
Ballet Ensemble of Texas will present The Nutcracker to kick off their new season. The production will feature Breanne Granlund and Nathan Vendt, both dancers with American Ballet Theatre, and BET alumni. Over 200 young dancers from the Ballet Academy of Texas will join BET in this production. There will be four performances through Sunday at Irving Arts Center.

Klyde Warren Park presents Tree Lighting Celebration
After starting the day at the Dallas Holiday Parade downtown, head to Klyde Warren Park's Tree Lighting Celebration, where Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson will join Santa to light the iconic holiday symbol. The free annual tradition includes a festive day of activities and entertainment, photos with Santa, story time with Mrs. Claus, face painting, crafts, games, and snow flurries. The day culminates with a live show featuring performances of holiday music, visits from Santa’s friends Frosty and Rudolph, and the Christmas tree lighting. The Salty Donut and Andy's Frozen Custard will also both be making their Klyde Warren Park debut in time for the festivities. Immediately following the tree lighting will be...

Reliant Lights Your Holidays
Reliant Lights Your Holidays, taking place at Sammons Park within the AT&T Performing Arts Center, will feature the illumination of hundreds of thousands of dazzling LED lights, with live performances by Selena tribute band Bidi Bidi Banda, and Vinyl Countdown: A Tribute To Arena Rock. There will also be a Christmas-themed drone show, a wintery snow playground, kids craft area, photos with Santa, and miniature golf on the Reliant Putting Green. For more spectacular Christmas light displays and events around DFW, go here.

Photo courtesy of Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Christmas Pops" at Meyerson Symphony Center, December 2-11.

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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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