[Note to self: Buy more bodysuits.] Flashdance the Musical is jog-dancing in Fair Park, educating a new generation of ladies that it’s possible to be both a gentleman’s club headliner and a welder. You’re welcome, planet. That ain’t all: This weekend is loaded up with art openings, magazine release parties,…
With songs in their hearts, Dallas theaters are making this a summer of melodic storytelling. There’s a new musical or three tuning up every week. A trio of tough-to-stage pieces of musical theater just opened at Uptown Players, Theatre Three and Theatre Britain, with varying degrees of success. In 85…
Bosley Crowther, grandfather of critical snark, once described the 1946 film noir The Big Sleep as “one of those pictures in which so many cryptic things occur amid so much involved and devious plotting that the mind becomes utterly confused.” Ditto the too-clever-for-its-own-good 1989 musical noir send-up City of Angels,…
Theatre Britain is back at the Cox Playhouse in Plano with the charming Albert’s Anthology, a comedy-with-music directed by Sue Birch that’s as sweet as the jam on a homemade scone. Jackie Mellor-Guin’s 75-minute script finds 100-year-old British grandpa Albert (nicely played by Frisco Community Theatre producer Howard Korn) celebrating…
Surprising proof that Hollywood still can craft a memorable studio comedy, Roland Emmerich’s White House Down stands as a singular achievement in parody, its auteur’s intentions be damned. It’s not just a pitch-perfect attack on every risible plot point afflicting today’s all-exposition-and-explosions filmmaking, it’s also a mad liberal’s vision of…
There’s just one more day to go until that fat paycheck comes in, but somehow you’ve still managed to find yourself penniless and in desperate need of entertainment. Well, if you can scrounge together enough change from between your couch cushions to get yourself to Cowtown for the night, then…
Oral can be dangerous … just ask Michael Douglas or Larry David. (He got that pube lodged in his throat once, remember?) But oral can also be outrageous, as in Outrageous Oral, a storytelling showcase organized by The Dallas Way. And even though it sounds all bow-chicka-wow-wow, it’s really a…
One-on-one relationships are so … two-person. For those who prefer other mathematical permutations of the standard model, there’s the 50 Shades of Erotica Swinger’s Ball. I know what you’re thinking: “But Observer, aren’t swingers’ conventions confined to the humid nether regions of Central and Southern Florida?” That’s a logical assumption,…
With the wildly successful Oak Cliff Film Festival earlier this month, Texas Theatre (231 W. Jefferson Blvd.) proved just how versatile it can be, especially if it continues hosting live music behind the screen, as it did for several OCFF aftershows. That weekend was a blur of old-timey lounges, Kronenbourg…
This week’s print edition of the Observer is a celebration in portraits. It’s a highlight of those influential humans who are helping drive the city toward new, brighter goals. One of the chosen is the illuminating Sally Glass, local artist, curator, student, party-starter and editor in chief of semigloss. Magazine,…
We’re heading into that particular stretch of summer when the baseball season starts to flag a little for even us diehards. We love our Texas Rangers, to be sure, but when you’ve already caught a few games and eaten your way through a dozen dollar dogs in a Ballpark that’s…
Things have been a little too quiet lately. It’s been years since you felt the excitement of coming home to couch cushions thrown asunder and trash that has been thoroughly cataloged, plus you’ve really missed the easy community of canine ownership. Maybe it’s time to bring a loveable four-legged whirling…
The second summer session of Girls Rock Dallas starts July 15, and during that week, girls ages 8 to 17 learn instruments, form a band, write a song and play a showcase. They’re also offered classes on body image, women in rock history and team building, a truly immersive experience…
Ethan Osterman has a heart! For those who don’t know, baby Ethan and his parents have faced some tumultuous times but he has finally found a heart and they want to celebrate with you. TopGolf (1500 Andrews Parkway, Allen) will be the host. TopGolf, a golf entertainment complex, obviously, has…
He’s a comedic author and actor who has made a name for himself in TV, theater and film. He’s been nominated for both a Grammy and a Tony, and he won the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion for Best Actor. But to us, David Alan Grier will always be Antoine…
Party-goers and hosts hold one truth to be self-evident: A party is only as good as the food served. To make sure your next shindig is one for the books, you’re going to have to toss the Buffalo wings, jalapeño poppers and Velveeta and Ro-tel to the wayside and offer…
The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden’s Concerts at the Arboretum series taps Dallas-based talent Havana NRG for the ultimate Latin-infused musical garden experience on Tuesday evening. NRG stands for “New Rhythm Generation,” and the energetic Cuban natives live up to their name with an innovative timba sound that combines traditional…
No need to wait until the Fourth to celebrate Independence Day because there’s plenty happening on July 3. Lone Star Park (1000 Lone Star Parkway) will be celebrating in usual style with horse racing, live music, a truck giveaway (2013 Chevrolet Silverado) and fireworks. Be warned, this 20-minute fireworks display…
Flashdance The Musical is coming to a stage near you at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Remember that little silver-screen gem? Back when young movie stars didn’t suck. (I’m looking at you, Ashley Benson … or, you know, any of them.) Plus, it gave us two of the hottest things ever: one-shoulder…
If you’ve never seen Sandra Bullock blow a peanut shell out of her nose, and you’d like to, The Heat is your movie. That’s not meant sarcastically: It’s one of the highlights of this often dismal but occasionally inspired comedy from Paul Feig, director of Bridesmaids, which pits Bullock’s hoity-toity…
Saturday night marks the opening reception of the curiously titled Lunchmeat (less than) Catfood at Cohn Drennan Contemporary (1107 Dragon St.), with Denton artists Ayrton Chapman, Bailey Chapman, Jennifer Leigh Jones and Alex Revier. The success of their Dallas. PUNK! exhibition earlier this year has proven Cohn Drennan one of…
In this week’s Dallas Observer we profile 30 of the metro area’s most interesting characters, with new portraits of each from local photographer Stanton Stephens. See the entire Dallas Observer People Issue here . Two nights after Jerry Seinfeld, the biggest stand-up comic in the world, came to Dallas, Paul…
