We’re Gonna Die is a cabaret-style musical about something we all have in common – certain death. This is not, as director and producer Jack Nice points out, the story of star-crossed lovers who “come together, sing about their love for each other, then turn to the audience and do a…
The cornucopia of amateur porn known as HUMP! will grace the Texas Theatre this weekend. Now in its 12th year, the festival is the brainchild – nay, lovechild – of Dan Savage, the writer behind the Savage Love column. Every film at HUMP! has, at minimum, two things in common: For one,…
It’s easy to giggle at The Circle, the movie, just as it’s easy giggle sometimes at Dave Eggers, whose novel is the film’s source. James Ponsoldt’s adaptation (co-written with Eggers) is, like Eggers’ books, nakedly earnest, engaged with nothing less but The State of Things Now, more smart than its…
When 19th century journalist Nellie Bly set out to break the fictional record of Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days, she was told she’d never make it. She would need male protectors, undoubtedly, and the amount of baggage she would be required to carry as…
The Handmaid’s Tale premieres April 26 on Hulu In the first episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood herself shows up to slap our heroine in the face. The grande dame of dystopian fiction plays an aunt, one of the abbesses in charge of a new order of so-called handmaids:…
Twice I’ve described Kitty Green’s curious, alienating docu-whatzit Casting JonBenet to friends, and twice I’ve been asked, with surprising heat, “Why?” and “What’s the point?” So, this time, before we get into the specifics of what this documentary actually documents, let’s take a moment to consider what the film isn’t…
Wedding planning is such a chore. Well, we wouldn’t know because we are super single, but all our friends who are planning their fairytale weddings make it seem like one. There are so many people to hire and boss around, and sometimes you just want to do all of your…
Commerce Street Night Market 444 W. Commerce St. 6-10 p.m. Friday Free The Commerce Street Night Market is like the UN for good times. It unites the local citizenry with artists, musicians and food and beer vendors for an evening of arts, entertainment and local shopping. And better yet, this…
Addison doesn’t have many things in common with Chicago, but now it has at least one: Joanie Schultz. The new artistic director of WaterTower Theatre spent 20 years in the Windy City earning her master’s and a reputation for producing edgy new work. Now she’s bringing a Chicago theater mentality…
We are in the thick of film festival season, a span that’s grown wider and richer across DFW. Now host to 11 film festivals, some new regional offerings like Women Texas Film Festival are much more niche, and others, like DIFF give a span of styles and budgets targeting a…
Mermaids are real. At least that’s what one Austin-based company wants you to believe. Sirenalia is an all-inclusive mermaid production company. That means they sell mermaid tails and tops and hire out mermaids to attend your events. Starting at $275, a mermaid can – and probably should – be the…
Keep your eyes on the magician’s hands. She’ll attempt to distract you with compliments and silly quips, but her most effective feint will be the story she tells as she shuffles the cards. She might give quaint mention to a lover’s spat between the King of Hearts and the Queen…
Much has been made of the blossoming literary scene in Dallas; and yet, the daily struggle of being a writer, in Dallas and in general, is less openly discussed. To “make it” in most other professions is to climb to the top of a predetermined ladder, while a writer’s path…
The Leftovers airs Sundays on HBO If you don’t have religion, you should at least have The Leftovers. HBO’s rapturous drama hasn’t found much of an audience during its brief time on Earth, but those who listen to its sermon long enough tend to convert — nothing else on television…
Regular attendees of the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF) felt the absence of one vibrant film critic at this year’s gathering. Gary Murray died during last year’s festival after a pickup truck hit him while he was crossing Mockingbird Lane. The driver, still unidentified, fled the scene. “When Gary was…
The Dallas Opera is ending its 60th season on a high note with a masterful production of the bel canto opera Norma. The company’s first ever presentation of Vincenzo Bellini’s 1831 masterpiece fills out what company director Keith Cerny has called “a noticeable gap in the company’s repertoire.” This grand…
Tue 4/25Cite and release, Dallas’ newly approved policy on marijuana possession, means possessing less than 4 ounces of marijuana won’t mean an automatic trip to jail. But don’t get too excited. This is a far cry from decriminalization, and some may feel more safe living vicariously through the two kings…
Kevin Laroy had a constant case of what he calls “swamp hands” while competing on the most recent season of Spike TV’s Ink Master. Sweating palms may seem like a major setback during a televised tattoo competition, but Laroy managed to beat out more than two dozens artists on the show…
In 1899, French actress Sarah Bernhardt famously played Hamlet and brought an impishness to the Danish prince that audiences had never seen before. There is a movement catching fire now for women to take on these classic, meaty Shakespearean roles traditionally played by men: The latest production of Twelfth Night…
“Rob has this ridiculous beard and it’s such great, self-effacing, wonderful work he’s doing,” James Gray says about his film recounting the life of a British explorer who disappeared while pursuing his lifelong obsession with a mythical city in the Amazon.
Jay Pharoah performs at the Arlington Improv Friday, April 21, and Saturday, April 22 You won’t see Jay Pharoah doing anymore Barack Obama impersonations on Saturday Night Live, but that’s just about the only place you won’t see him. Pharoah is still doing regular stand-up gigs just like he’s done…
This week, the Dallas Museum of Art opened its Keir Collection Gallery, and in doing so it’s exhibiting more than the third largest collection of Islamic art in North America: It’s also exhibiting a great sense of timing. Islam is one of the most frequently maligned religions today, and now…
