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In a city this big, there’s something to do every single day of the week. How could there not be? Dallas is a destination for festivals, traveling art exhibitions, stand-up comedy circuits and literally everything in between. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it is a curated, weekly guide of top picks you won’t want to miss. And the ways to fill your schedule don’t stop here — check out our full events calendar for even more ways to get through the week in North Texas.
Savor the humor of Mark Twain — not in person, as he’s really dead now — see a movie about a great progressive, listen to Henry VIII’s wives battle it out in song and more this week.
Monday, Jan. 26
Nothing
At the time of writing, Dallas’ roads are still blanketed with a thick layer of ice, and forecasters anticipate they will remain slick through the beginning of the work week. So if you can, stay home. But if the weekend’s event cancellations have made you stir-crazy, you check out our list of local bars and restaurants that have remained open. Unpredictable freezes are especially hard on local business owners, who are forced to close shop without a way to replace lost revenue. So if you live within walking distance of your favorite bar, brave the cold if you must, and leave an extra good tip while you’re at it.
Tuesday, Jan. 27
Six
Music Hall at Fair Park, 909 1st Ave.
The six wives of English King Henry VII are reborn as a 21st female pop group, competing for the spot of lead singer in this Tony Award-winning musical. They’re all just trying to get ahead (two of them could really use one) in this musical/pop concert with a girl-power message about how they should define their own lives independently of their husband. That message is delivered by Catherine Parr, the only one of Henry’s wives not dumped or sent to the chopping block, so, easy for her to say, as she has a head. Tuesday’s show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $37, and performances continue through Feb. 1.
Richard Thomas in Mark Twain Tonight
Bass Performance Hall, 525 Commerce St., Fort Worth
You may remember him as John-Boy Walton from TV’s The Waltons (if you’re old, anyway). He’s had plenty of work since, naturally, and now, age 72 (!), he’s appearing onstage in Mark Twain Tonight, a one-person play displaying the wit of America’s greatest humorist. Tickets start at $62, and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.
East-West Shrine Bowl
The Star in Frisco, 9 Cowboys Way, Frisco
You say that even after the last Cowboys’ season, you haven’t lost your taste for watching football games that don’t have meaning. Well, you’re in luck, as the East-West Shrine Bowl comes to the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, bringing the nation’s top college football players in an all-star matchup that might be your only chance to see tomorrow’s NFL stars play in the Dallas area. What the game lacks in post-season promise, it makes up for by having a great purpose: raising money for Shriners Hospitals for Children. The game starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $26 and up.
Wednesday, Jan. 28
The Last Class With Robert Reich and Heather Kinlaw
Texas Theatre, 231 Jefferson Blvd.
Robert Reich was Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton and served the administrations of Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama. He’s an author, a newspaper columnist, a fervent Donald Trump critic and a firm supporter of policies that help the working class. In other words, he’s a vanishing breed in public life. He’s also been a teacher for four decades, and the film The Last Class shows him teaching just that, creating a portrait of an influential, progressive thinker. Texas Theatre is screening the film at 6:45 p.m., followed by a conversation with director Elliot Kirschner and Dr. Seemee Ali, director of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture at SMU. Tickets are $20.
Thursday, Jan. 29
Deer
Theatre Three, 2688 Laclede St.
Deer is a grisly dark comedy about “people who snap.” In this case, a New York husband and wife who hit a deer while driving to their weekend house in the Poconos for their first night alone together in years. The wife tries to rescue the dead deer, and the event brings their marriage to a breaking point. Apparently, not all New Yorkers know that the thing to do with roadkill is either eat it or dump it in Central Park, though maybe that only applies to RFK Jr. and bears. The show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $40, and performances continue until Feb. 22.
Friday, Jan. 30
Bill Bellamy
Improv Addison, 4980 Belt Line Road, No. 250
Here’s a fun, potential fact from Wikipedia: Actor and stand-up comedian Bill Bellamy is credited with giving us the term “booty call.” If we had ever made such a contribution to the culture, we would have retired and spent the rest of our lives suing whoever used our registered trademark without permission. Bellamy opted instead to continue acting on TV and in movies and doing stand-up. He’s appearing at the Improv Addison for three nights. Friday’s performances are at 7:30 and 9:45 p.m., and tickets start at $49.94.
The Choir of Man
Majestic Theater, 1925 Elm St.
Set in “the world’s best pub,” the Olivier Award-nominated The Choir of Man features a cast of nine singers, dancers and musicians performing pop hits, sing-alongs and tap dances. You know, everything you see in your typical local pub, minus the beer bottles smashed over patrons’ heads and god-knows-what going on in the restrooms. But tap dancing. Yeah, we see that all the time. Catch the show at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets start at $37.80.
Saturday, Jan. 31
Blade Runner Live
Majestic Theater, 1925 Elm St.
Only a total sci-fi nerd would point out that the movie Blade Runner has not much in common with the Philip K. Dick novel upon which it’s based: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? No such nerds here, so we won’t say that Dick’s novel is darker, more complex and dark. Still, Ridely Scott’s movie is pretty good and well-loved, and you can catch it Saturday with the original Vangelis’ score performed live by The Avex Ensemble. It happens at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $62.80.
Roy Lichtenstein in the Studio Opening Day
Nasher Sculpture Center, 2001 Flora St.
Influential pop-art pioneer Roy Lichtenstein is best known for his colorful, comic-book style images, but the artist also created sculptures along with prints and drawings. Peer into the processes of a creative genius at the joining presentation of works at both the Nasher and the neighboring Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center. The Nasher’s exhibition continues until Aug. 18, the DMA’s will be on view from through July 5.
Sunday, Feb. 1
Fat Ham
Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd.
Dallas Theater Center is staging Fat Ham, the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedic reinvention of Hamlet. Instead of a morose Danish prince, the star here is Juicy, a queer Black Southern man dealing with his father’s ghost, who demands vengeance on his widow for marrying Dad’s brother. Meanwhile, Juicy is coming to terms with his identity and trying to break a cycle of family violence. Sunday’s performances are at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and tickets start at $42.40. Opening night is Saturday, and performances continue through Feb. 8.
Stan’s Blue Note Chili Cookoff
2908 Greenville Ave.
For a $10 donation, you can have as much chili as you could possibly want with Busch Light draft beer. The 14th installment of this annual cookoff, benefitting Amplified Minds a local mental health organization, will crown the best chili in Dallas. The event runs from 2 to 6 p.m. If you feel your concoction of beans, tomato, meat and some secret ingredient has championship potential, the entry fee is $25 when reserved ahead of time, $30 at the door, with limited open slots.
Continuing Events
International Surrealism at the Dallas Museum of Art, through March 22, 2026
The DMA (1717 N. Harwood St.) will be showing its latest exhibition, International Surrealism, from now through March 22, 2026. Featuring Surrealist icons like Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Leonora Carrington, this showcase aims to “[plunge] audiences into the mind-bending dreamscapes of the Surrealist movement” and “[highlight] the wide range of practices and techniques from around the globe that define Surrealism.” Public tickets cost $20 and DMA members get in for free. International Surrealism will be included in the DMA’s Free First Sundays for every month of its run.
Groundbreakers: Post-War Japan and Korea from the DMA Collection at The Crow Museum of Asian Art at UT Dallas, through July 26, 2026
If you missed it at the Dallas Arts District location of The Crow, now’s your chance to see Groundbreakers: Post-War Japan and Korea from the DMA Collection… and consider that second degree. The Crow Museum of Asian Art at UT Dallas offers up the fantastic exhibition that includes pieces created in fascinating ways: with feet, with a mouth, by pouring paint onto a canvas, and other methods that channeled convention after the considerably conventional 1950s. Don’t miss it. Find out more online.
