Weekend Event Planner

These are the 12 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

While Easter festivities will dominate many people's long holiday weekend in Dallas, there are also some fine local and traveling events to catch, too. They include two local theater productions, a symphony concert, a comedian, college basketball, three concerts, three dance productions, and the grand opening for a new location of an art museum.

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. Still need Easter brunch plans or some sweet treats for your gathering? Find those lists here and here.

Thursday, March 28

Second Thought Theatre presents Heroes of the Fourth Turning
It's nearing midnight in Wyoming, where four young conservatives have gathered at a backyard after-party. They've returned home to toast their mentor Gina, newly inducted as president of a tiny Catholic college. But as their reunion spirals into spiritual chaos and clashing generational politics, it becomes less a celebration than a vicious fight to be understood. The production runs through April 13 at Second Thought Theatre in Dallas.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Mahler Symphony No. 5"
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra's "Mahler's Symphony No. 5" concert will be conducted by Fabio Luisi and feature pianist Jeremy Denk. The program, which will have three performances through Saturday at Meyerson Symphony Center, includes the world premiere of Anna Clyne's piano concerto, Atlas, and Mahler's Symphony No. 5.

Ralph Barbosa: The Super Cool Ass Tour
Ralph Barbosa was named the Funniest Comic in Texas in 2019, was the winner of the New York Latino Film Festival Stand Up Comedy competition in 2021, and recently made his HBO debut on the HA Festival Comedy Special. He also sold out six shows in Dallas for his 2023 Netflix special, Cowabunga. He'll perform once on Thursday and twice on Saturday at Majestic Theatre.

Friday, March 29

2024 NCAA Division I Men's South Basketball Regionals
For the first time since 2018, Dallas will play host to games for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Weekend two of the South Regional will kick off with Sweet Sixteen games, featuring No. 1 seed Houston vs No. 4 seed Duke and No. 2 seed Marquette vs. No. 11 seed North Carolina State. The winners of those two games will face off on Sunday in the Elite Eight for a chance to go to the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona. All games will be at American Airlines Center.

Home Free in concert
Country a cappella group Home Free comes to Dallas as part of their tour, "Crazy(er) Life," celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their 2014 breakout album, Crazy Life, released after they won the fourth season of NBC’s The Sing Off in 2013. They released their latest album, As Seen On TV, in 2023. They'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Theatre Arlington presents Alice in Wonderland
Adapted from Lewis Carroll's beloved tale, Alice in Wonderland follows the curious journey of young Alice as she falls through a rabbit hole into a surreal and fantastical realm. The family-friendly show runs through April 14 at Theatre Arlington.

Avant Chamber Ballet presents Women's Choreography Project
Avant Chamber Ballet's Women's Choreography Project features an evening of world premieres and commissions with live music in an intimate setting that lets the audience experience dance up close and meet the artists after the performance. The program is celebrating its 10th anniversary of commissioning new works by women choreographers. There will be performances on Friday and Saturday at Sammons Center for the Arts.

The Polyphonic Spree in concert with FIT
For almost 25 years, lead singer Tim DeLaughter and The Polyphonic Spree have been bringing good vibes with their psychedelic pop/symphonic rock sound. The Dallas choral band has only had a few notable hits over the years, but they're a mainstay in their hometown, putting on multiple shows every year, including their annual holiday extravaganza. They'll play at Longhorn Ballroom in support of their 2023 album, Salvage Enterprise.

TITAS/Dance Unbound presents Giordano Dance Chicago
Jazz dance is quintessentially American, and Giordano Dance Chicago is America’s original jazz dance company. Celebrating 60 years of commitment to and expansion of jazz dance, the powerful, passionate, and elegant company - making their Dallas debut - occupies a singular position within the local, national, and international dance communities. They'll perform at Winspear Opera House.

Saturday, March 30

Arlington Museum of Art Grand Opening exhibits
The Arlington Museum of Art has moved from its longtime location in downtown Arlington to join the Arlington Entertainment District near the city's three stadiums. They'll celebrate their grand opening with two new exhibitions: "Pompeii: The Immortal City," in which guests will hear and feel the roar of Mount Vesuvius erupting while they take in the wonder of original artworks and newly-discovered artifacts; and "One Point Five Degrees," the museum's first-ever, immersive art experience that draws its name from the 2018 report on the threats from global climate change. Both exhibitions will remain on display through June 23.

Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts presents Contemporary West Dance Theatre
Contemporary West Dance Theatre is a multicultural nonprofit organization founded in March 2007 by Alvin Ailey protege Bernard H. Gaddis and Charmaine Hunter. The company has a dance methodology that integrates classical and modern paradigms with an athleticism that gives audiences a more profound dance experience. They'll perform at Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson.

Sunday, March 31

Thee Phantom & The Illharmonic Orchestra in concert
Thee Phantom combines the energy and passion of hip-hop, with the beautiful, sweeping sounds of live orchestration featuring strings, horns, woodwinds, and a pianist. Add to that a soul songstress, a crowd controlling DJ and a fire breathing MC and that is still but a fraction of what you'll get when you catch Thee Phantom & the Illharmonic Orchestra in action. They'll perform at Majestic Theatre.

Photo courtesy of The Polyphonic Spree

The Polyphonic Spree will play at Longhorn Ballroom on March 29.

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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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