In the second act of The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, our protagonist, Annie, realizes that her fairy godmother is a blue-haired prostitute. Studying abroad in her native country, the American-raised Annie doesn’t believe in evil eyes, and she doesn’t believe in witches. Which is a shame, because she might…
Enrollment is now open for the Dallas Observer’s Fifth Annual MasterMind Awards…
At Undermain Theatre, a new play puts a kickass spin on folklore. In Los Angeles-based playwright Meg Miroshnik’s The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls an American woman returns to her home country, Russia, to study abroad. Upon arrival, the story takes an absurdist twist and the young girl quickly realizes…
When I was a little girl, I had a fantasy about wearing my mother’s wedding dress. Hers was the first white gown that represented marriage and happiness to me. As humans we learn traditions from our parents. We learn where in life to place value, and daughters learn from their…
In addition to language, humans have also developed symbols to communicate. From numbers to scientific data, these modern hieroglyphs inspire the work of Dallas-based artist Ryan Gollsby. In his exhibition at Liliana Bloch Gallery, Semantic Field, his reference to these symbols subtly questions the trustworthiness of the systems we use…
Some might argue that Will Ferrell is solely responsible to make the holiday film, Elf, a hit. But that didn’t stop it from traveling to Broadway with a more vocally proficient actor in the role. Now the movie turned musical goes on tour, stopping at the Bass Performance Hall (525…
What started as two friends fooling around in a series of clever Youtube videos eventually grew into the hit Comedy Central show, Broad City. After years of the frat pack and stoner slacker comedy about 20-something dudes, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer are currently lighting up the television with a…
” Join us for a rare opportunity to experience one of Dallas’ most elegant architectural icons. Designed by Philip Johnson for Dallas construction magnate Henry C. Beck and his wife Patty, the home was completed in 1964 and features an exterior of arched colonnades, a double grand staircase in the…
On the same weekend that the city hosts the Dallas Faces Race conference, the Dallas Museum of Art presents Black Radical Imagination, “a touring program of seven short filmsthat delve into the worlds of new media, video art, and experimental narrative. Focusing on new stories within the diaspora, each artist…
Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order. Erica Felicella is endlessly likable. That she would be a driving force behind one of the city’s coolest art events comes as little surprise after spending an afternoon with her. This executive director of Art…
Ed Blackburn’s Ancient History I find myself pointing to shows at Mountain View College’s Cliff Gallery quite a bit recently. I’m not sure if it’s just a string of good shows, recently acquired awareness of the space, or if the programming has seen an uptick. Regardless, this weekend the space…
It’s not every day you get a press release in your inbox that makes you believe in this “world class city” business people in Dallas are always talking about. But today, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra announced its plans for the inaugural Soluna Festival, a 3-week performing and visual arts feast…
Art Conspiracy, the coolest art party in Dallas, started a decade ago as a way to raise money for people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The brainchild of two Dallas culture-philes, Jason Roberts and Sarah Jane Semrad, that first year a small team cleaned up the then-vacant Texas Theatre, hung the…
Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order. The art of Jeff Gibbons defies definition. His work is anything but straightforward, often subduing any obvious meaning in its layers of media. His art spans genres and takes on an interior life that requires…
When Kitchen Dog Theater mounts a new play, you put on your theater loafers and show up. This weekend, the well-oiled comedy machine mounts a new translation of Swiss playwright Max Frisch’s mid-century classic, The Arsonists. This comedic parable focuses on a town that’s struggling with a serious arson problem,…
Product placement can sometimes be a magical experience. Disneyworld, for example, is genius. It’s like one big, interactive advertisement for all the films, TV series, and stuffed animals in the entire company. This holiday season, Dreamworks makes a smart move by tying itself to the mall experience of Santa Claus…
When a city becomes plagued with unexplained fires, one man and his wife give shelter to house guests, who need a little bit of extra space in his attic for several drums of gasoline. Reignited by a new translation by Alistair Beaton and produced by the well-oiled comedy machine, Kitchen…
There’s not much to see in Denton. Rather, there’s plenty to see, and not much to do. Which might be why the Univeristy of North Texas gives us so many talented musicians and artists. They occupy themselves with their work. They’re creating and innovating on campus, and if you happen…
Inspiration can be found around every corner in Dallas. Artists funnel it into work they present to an audience that greets it with exuberant applause. But sometimes that relationship can be a bit more reciprocal. At Monologue Jam, the audience provides the inspiration, giving improv performers a prompt that they…
As more dance companies opt to dance alongside recorded tracks, Avant Chamber Ballet is a local dance company committed to performing with live music. It’s made them a go-to company for dance and music lovers. Recently they launched a concert series (Just music, no dance). This weekend, the second in…
In daily life, pretty is quite the compliment. Sure, it may rank lower than beautiful or stunning. But every good flatterer knows the power of telling a woman she’s pretty. In art, pretty is perjorative. You want to insult a serious painter? Tell her that her life’s work is pretty…
You, sir, look like you could use a fancy new pocketsquare. Or a bowtie. Look, if you’re going to reach your full potential as a dapper gentleman, you might want to check out Caviar Club’s menswear line. Because nothing says swanky like caviar and club. Stroll into the Winter trunk…
