Weekend event planner

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

Post Malone will play at American Airlines Center on October 21.

Photo by Adam DeGross

It's a big and varied weekend across Dallas, headlined by the return of one of the hottest music stars in the world. There will also be four new local theater productions, three notable comedy events, two symphony events, a visit from Disney princesses, 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, October 20

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents "Ravel & Debussy"
At the latest concert from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, distinguished conductor Juanjo Mena and soloist Javier Perianes will take the stage to celebrate Spanish and Latin contributions to classical music. The concert, which will have three performances through Sunday at the Meyerson Symphony Center, will feature Haydn’s “Trauer" Symphony, Ravel’s Concerto in G, Alberto Ginastera's Variaciones Concertantes, and Debussy’s Ibéria.

Pegasus Theatre presents Hate Mail
Pegasus Theatre kicks off its 37th season with Hate Mail by Bill Corbett and Kira Obolensky. When Preston writes a furious letter to a store demanding a refund for a broken snow globe, he gets Assistant Manager Dahlia fired - and finds a vengeful epistolary match. In this wickedly funny alternative to Love Letters, the two embark on an epic, often acrimonious, correspondence as their lives intertwine. The production runs through November 5 at Bath House Cultural Center.

Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons in concert
The original Jersey boy himself, Frankie Valli is a true American legend. His career with the Four Seasons, as well as his solo success, has spawned countless hit singles like "Sherry," "Grease,” "Rag Doll," "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," and more. He and the Four Seasons will perform a collection of songs from throughout their career, including Valli’s most recent album, 2021's A Touch of Jazz, at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Radney Foster in concert
Singer Radney Foster is one in a long line of Texas country music legends, and his 1992 debut album, Del Rio, TX 1959, is hailed by many to be one of the best of all time. Foster will celebrate the 30th anniversary of that seminal release at this concert at The Kessler.

Friday, October 21

Bishop Arts Theatre Center presents Fairview
At the Frasier household, preparations for Grandma's birthday party are underway. Beverly is holding on to her sanity by a thread to ensure this party is perfect, but her sister can't be bothered to help, her husband doesn't seem to listen, her brother is MIA, her daughter is a teenager, and maybe nothing is what it seems... Fairview, a co-production with Undermain Theatre making its regional premiere, runs through November 6 at Bishop Arts Theatre Center.

Post Malone in concert
One of the biggest contemporary artists to come out of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, rapper/singer Post Malone has been huge since the release of his debut album, Stoney, in 2016. Since then, he's gone on to work with a string of other big artists like Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, and Doja Cat, helping him solidify himself as a trendsetter. He'll play at American Airlines Center in support of his new album, Twelve Carat Toothache.

Art Centre Theatre presents Evil Dead The Musical
Evil Dead the Musical takes all the elements of the cult classic films The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness, and combines them into one of the craziest theatrical experiences of all time. Five college students go to an abandoned cabin in the woods and accidentally unleash an evil force that turns them all into demons. It's all up to Ash (a housewares employee turned demon-killing hero) and his trusty chainsaw to save the day. The production runs through November 6 at Art Centre Theatre in Plano.

NTPA Repertory Theatre presents Heathers the Musical
Heathers the Musical is the darkly delicious story of Veronica Sawyer, a brainy, beautiful teenage misfit who hustles her way into the most powerful and ruthless clique at Westerberg High: the Heathers. But before she can get comfortable atop the high school food chain, Veronica falls in love with the dangerously sexy new kid, J.D. When Heather Chandler, the Almighty, kicks her out of the group, Veronica decides to bite the bullet, but J.D. has another plan for that bullet... The production runs through October 30 at Willow Bend Center of the Arts in Plano.

Jo Koy: "Funny is Funny" World Tour
As one of today’s premier stand-up comics, Jo Koy has come a long way from his modest beginnings performing at a Las Vegas coffee house. He was given the “Stand-Up Comedian Of The Year” award at the 2018 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and has four highly rated comedy specials on Comedy Central and Netflix. He can also be heard on his weekly podcast, The Koy Pond with Jo Koy. He'll perform for one-night-only at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie.

Saturday, October 22

Nasher Sculpture Center presents Matthew Ronay: "The Crack, the Swell, an Earth, an Ode" opening day
Brooklyn-based artist Matthew Ronay is best known for his chromatic, handmade wood sculptures that at different turns suggest otherworldly landscapes with futuristic architectures and bodily processes like digestion and aging. For his exhibition at the Nasher, Ronay expands the scale of his work to create his largest and most ambitious sculpture to date, "The Crack, the Swell, an Earth, an Ode," a 23-foot-long sculpture that offers a comprehensive introduction to Ronay’s surreal worlds and the various creatures inhabiting them. The exhibition will remain on display through January 15.

Klyde Warren Park's 10th Anniversary Birthday Party
The idea of covering up part of a highway with a park seemed like a fanciful idea when it was first announced, but 10 years after it opened to the public, Klyde Warren Park has become a fixture in Dallas and inspired another deck park coming to Oak Cliff. To celebrate the milestone anniversary, the park will bring in live music from Emerald City Band, games on the lawn, birthday cake, and more.

EarthX and The Dallas Symphony Orchestra present The Way of the Rain: Hope for Earth
EarthX and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra will present the U.S. premiere of The Way of the Rain: Hope for Earth. The multidisciplinary environmental performance, a creation for orchestra, chorus, film, art, and spoken word, performance interprets nature’s powerful beauty while calling attention to the Earth’s vulnerability brought on by climate change. Created and directed by Sibylle Szaggars Redford, and featuring a special narration by Robert Redford, the performance takes place at the Meyerson Symphony Center. Sibylle Redford's art is also on display at Christopher Martin Gallery through November 4.

Disney Concerts presents Disney Princess: The Concert
Disney Princess: The Concert celebrates all the Disney Princesses in an evening of story, animation, and song. Broadway stars Christy Altomare, Susan Egan, Isabella McCalla, and Syndee Winters join forces in this concert alongside Music Director Benjamin Rauhala and Adam J. Levy to sing Disney Princess songs and share their exclusive, hilarious, and heartfelt behind-the-scenes stories. The concert takes place at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

Steve Martin and Martin Short: You Won't Believe What They Look Like Today!
In this special performance, Steve Martin and Martin Short recall their iconic careers, creative influences, and most memorable encounters, uniquely presented though a blend of stand-up, musical numbers and conversations about their lives in show business. Martin and Short will also be joined on stage by Jeff Babko, Alison Brown, and The Fair Weather Friends.

Sunday, October 23

Amy Schumer: "Whore" Tour
Comedian Amy Schumer has been such a fixture in movies and TV in recent years that it's easy to forget she got her start as a stand-up comic. Schumer, best known for her Comedy Central series Inside Amy Schumer and the movie Trainwreck, has a new Hulu comedy series, Life & Beth, and recently co-hosted the 94th Academy Awards alongside Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall. She'll perform at Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie.

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Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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