Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

The first full weekend of September brings an interesting mixture of events in and around Dallas. Choices include Harry Potter in concert, two local theater productions, an early Halloween event, three concerts, a unique dance/sound performance, a festival celebrating all things pickle, and two comedians.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. If you want more options, check out the calendar for an even longer list of the city's best events.

Photo courtesy of Nelly

Nelly will perform at Dos Equis Pavilion on September 5.

Thursday, September 4

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in Concert
CineConcerts goes back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for an evening of music and magic in the Harry Potter Film Concert Series. Audiences can relive the magic of Harry Potter soaring across the big screen in high-definition and experience the music of a live symphony orchestra performing Nicholas Hooper’s score. The experience includes themed photo backdrops, specialty food and beverages, and more. There will be four performances through Sunday at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Ochre House Theater presents Opera Box
A poor Southern family, caught up in the addiction of the opioid crisis and the collapse of their American Dream, journeys through a Tibetan bardo seeking clues to understand their lives. The production, written in verse, will employ live music, shadow play techniques, projections, puppetry, and a wickedly hilarious cast of talented unflinching artists. It runs through September 20 at Ochre House Theater.

Friday, September 5

Galleria Dallas presents Boo!
BAYMO, the creative team behind Santaland and Snowday! at Galleria Dallas, has taken over ownership of the BooMont Hotel. Guests will enter the "hotel" through the refurbished lobby, still decorated in the golds and greens that delighted guests when it opened in 1901. Elevators transport guests through the hotel, where older children and adults can expect the unexpected as they navigate through mysterious rooms, interactive spaces, and imaginative photo opportunities. The Halloween-style event will be open at Galleria Dallas through November 2.

Kidz Bop: Certified Bop Tour
The Kidz Bop: Certified Bop Tour is a high-energy concert that features family-friendly versions of today’s biggest pop hits, including “espresso,” “HOT TO GO,” and “Dance Monkey.” The interactive concert will feature eye-popping visuals, engaging stage design, and the fan-favorite Daddy Dance Off. There will also be a special opening performance by Snoop Dogg’s DOGGYLAND*, a colorful crew of musical pups. The concert will be at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Repertory Company Theatre presents Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Jersey Lily
The wit of Oscar Wilde meets the cunning of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the sleuthing caper Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Jersey Lily. Wilde’s muse, actress Lillie Langtry (a.k.a the Jersey Lily) presents Holmes with what seems like an open and shut case. But with his superior powers of deductive reasoning, Sherlock wastes no time in exposing a much more sinister conspiracy. Meanwhile, Wilde is in the throes of writing his acclaimed The Importance of Being Earnest and Holmes might inspire some of the play. The production runs through September 14 at Repertory Company Theatre in Richardson.

Shakti Collective presents Shades of Women in Love
Shades of Women in Love discovers the timeless power of love through the lens of feminist poets and ancient texts. From Maya Angelou to Natya Shastra’s Ashta Nayikas, the program explores the emotional states of women in love, as well as how these archetypes connect to modern-day experiences, highlighting themes of love, longing, and empowerment. The production, part of AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project, will have three performances through Sunday at Wyly Theatre.

Nelly in concert
Rapper Nelly is now one of the old guard in the hip hop genre, having released his debut album, Country Grammar, in 2000. Known best for early hits like "Ride Wit Me" and "Hot in Herre," Nelly has also been in an on-again, off-again relationship with Ashanti that resulted in a recent marriage and child. He'll celebrate the 25th anniversary of Country Grammar at this concert, joined by special guest Ja Rule and others at Dos Equis Pavilion.

Saturday, September 6

Grand Prairie Parks, Arts & Recreation presents Pickle Fest
Pickle Fest will feature more than 65 pickle-themed vendors, pickle-inspired food and drinks, and fun for the whole family. Guests can challenge their friends in the pickleball tournament, show off their speed in the pickle-eating and juice-drinking contests, or dress to impress in the pickle costume contest. The event takes place in Historic Downtown Grand Prairie.

Leanne Morgan: Just Getting Started
Leanne Morgan’s style of comedy combines her Southern charm and hilarious storytelling about her own life. As a stay-at-home, mother of three with a husband, people are always accusing her of spying on them because she seems to be living the same life that they do. The fact that everyone can relate to her comedy has made her a hit even among the strangest of audiences. Morgan, who recently released the sitcom Leanne on Netflix, will perform an early show and late show at American Airlines Center.

Simple Plan in concert
Canadian rock band Simple Plan has always been a bigger deal in their home country than the United States, but they've had some success south of the border, most notably with their 2004 album, Still Not Getting Any..., which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. They are celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band with the Bigger Than You Think! tour. They'll play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, joined by 3OH!3, Bowling for Soup, and Lolo.

Sunday, September 7

Anthony Rodia: Laugh Till It Hurts Tour
A first-generation Italian-American born and raised in Westchester, New York, Anthony Rodia came out of the womb making people laugh. In his twenties he tried a few open mics, but ultimately took a different career path as a finance manager of a luxury car dealership. In 2019, Rodia returned to comedy and left his day job to become a full-time stand-up comic. He hit the ground running and performed 100 shows in just nine months, and within a few years Rodia gained a massive fan base online and around the country. He'll perform at Texas Theatre.

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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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