21 Things To Do in Dallas This Week

Wednesday With elements of classic rock, soul, gospel and R&B, Anderson.Paak throws pretty much every style against the wall. Surprisingly, it all sticks. In February, he won his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance, an honor that served as a crescendo for an impressive past couple of years, growing…

Jonathan Norton Studied the Crack Epidemic for his Play Penny Candy

This Wednesday, the Wyly Theatre will premiere an original play written by Dallas’ Jonathan Norton. Inspired by true events, Penny Candy takes place in Dallas’ Pleasant Grove neighborhood in the late ’80s and depicts the effects of the crack epidemic during the Reagan-H.W. Bush era. The play, which runs until…

Journalist Dave Lieber’s New Play Is a Love Letter to Fort Worth

After studying at the prestigious Stella Adler Studio of Acting as a child in New York, Dallas Morning News columnist Dave Lieber homed in on journalism. “It was because of Watergate,” he says. “When Watergate happened, I realized that I wanted to be, like, a columnist and an investigative reporter.”…

Dallas Comedians Who Made It Big

On any given night, on any given stage, a local comedian is taking his or her first steps to becoming the next big comedy star. Dallas has long been overshadowed by the reputation of Austin’s comedy scene, but over the last decade, Dallas has produced some of the most recognizable…

Classical Pianist Thiago Nascimento Just Wants To Make You Laugh

Supposing a man tells you he loves to make people laugh, you could probably guess what careers he’d go about pursuing. Comedian would top the list, followed closely by clown or cartoonist. Comedic pianist  probably wouldn’t be near the top of that list, but then again, who even knew that…

Meet The Dallas Artist Challenging the Rules of Theater

Ilknur Ozgur has boundless energy. She talks quickly and effusively, often digressing into detailed, rambling stories that somehow, someway, make their way back to a larger point. When you ask her about any of her passions (art, performance or her performance art company, Artstillery, to name a few) she lights…

Conspiracy Theorists Rejoice: There’s a Lee Harvey Oswald Musical

From the Von Trapps to Mary Poppins, Firehouse Theatre has seen numerous musical characters grace their stage, and in May they’ll add an unexpected icon to that list: Lee Harvey Oswald. Performed for the first time ever in its entirety, audiences can watch Oswald, the musical, Friday through Sunday, May…

Ochre House’s Remember Rudy Explores the Ghosts of a Child Actor

In Remember Rudy, the latest original production from Dallas’ Ochre House Theater, the self-described “alternative theater” asks audiences some intriguing questions. “Do you believe in ghosts?” reads the musical’s promotional materials. “Do we create our ghosts? Or do our ghosts create us?” Set to make its premiere on Saturday, April…

Hamilton Lives Up to Its Hype

Is Hamilton overhyped? The musical created by some guy from Puerto Rico about a treasury secretary in the 1700s set to hip-hop sounds a little strange. With all the buzz around it, it seems bound to be. Dallas doesn’t seem to think so, though. We’ve been waiting for this hit…

Q&A With Hamilton’s Marcus Choi Before the Show Comes to Dallas

Hamilton is one of the hottest tickets to be had, and now Dallas can fight over seats for the Tony Award-winning musical with its arrival to the Music Hall at Fair Park. From its premiere Tuesday through May 5, audiences can see firsthand the Lin-Manuel Miranda brainchild that mixes history…