The Best Things To Do in Dallas, May 17–23

Wednesday, May 17

Magic Mike Live: The Tour at the Stonebriar Centre
The Magic Mike movie series in which shirtless guys who clearly work out may have ended, but the live tour is still going as strong as its stars. The latest incarnation of Magic Mike Live has been expanded into a 360-degree entertainment experience with choreographed dancers, acrobatics and live musical performances to create the ultimate girls' night out — designed and directed by Channing Tatum. Now you'll have a chance to see it live at the Stonebriar Centre (2601 Preston Road) in Frisco starting at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17. If you can't make it then, don't worry. The show will be in town through June 11. Tickets start at $49–$59 depending on showtimes and can be purchased online at MMLtour.com.

Dallas Noir Fest at the Violet Crown
Noir is a genre of film that can never be re-created because of the passage of time. Its mood and atmosphere are the product of its own time, and the only way to truly experience its full beauty and ugliness is on a big screen. The Dallas Classic Film Festival and the Violet Crown (3699 McKinney Ave.) are presenting the ultimate film noir viewing experience: the four-day Dallas Noir Fest with some of the best detective and mystery films ever committed to celluloid. The festival kicks off with a party at Four Corners Brewing Co. (1311 S. Ervay St.) at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17. The next day, the films start with a screening of the Oscar-nominated Western detective story Hell or High Water at 7:30 p.m. at the Violet Crown. On Friday, catch Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M For Murder at 5 p.m. followed by John Boorman's Point Blank at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, catch a full day of the best noir movies at the Violet Crown: Strangers on a Train at 11 a.m., the original Cape Fear at 1:45 p.m., Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway at 3:45 p.m. and the Sam Spade classic The Maltese Falcon at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at DallasNoirFest.com.

Thursday, May 18

Disney's Tarzan at The Majestic
The retelling of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic tale of The King of the Apes premiered 17 years ago on Broadway. Now is your chance to catch the high-swinging musical powered by the mastery of Phil Collins and the words of Tony-Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, and you don't have to push your way through a crowded Times Square just to see it. Lyric Stage's presentation of Disney's Tarzan swings onto the stages of The Majestic (1925 Elm St.) starting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 18, followed by additional performances at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20, and at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, May 21. Tickets are $35–$100 and can be purchased at TicketDFW.com.

On Golden Pond at Theatre Arlington
Ernest Thompson's beautiful, Tony-winning play will remain timeless because it represents the idyllic kind of life everyone hopes to have and hold with someone in the twilight of their lives. It also reminds us that no part of life can ever be that perfect. Even so, there are moments that can make those hard facts of life melt away if you can learn how to live in them while they last. This is the last week to catch Theatre Arlington's (305 W. Main St.) retelling of Norman and Ethel Thayer's iconic love story in its latest performance series. Performances are at 7:30 p.m, Thursday, 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $30 at the box office or $32.45 online for adults; $28 in person or $30.40 for seniors 62 and older; $28 at the ticket window and $30.40 online for students and $26 per person for groups of 10 or more with a 25% deposit. Tickets are available online at TheatreArlington.org.

Friday, May 19

The Impractical Jokers' Drive Drive Drive Drive Drive Tour at UTA's College Park Center
Wanna see your favorite TV pranksters in person without having to deal with the soul-crushing humiliation that comes from one of their schemes? Catch Murr, Sal and Brian Quinn (Q) live on stage at the University of Texas at Arlington's College Park Center (600 S. Center St.) at 7:30 pm on Friday, May 19. The Impractical Jokers are a group of three lifelong friends who host a show on TruTV competing in various challenges designed to embarrass the hell out of each other with the hope of forcing one of them to endure an even more grueling punishment at the end of each episode. Tickets are $49–$245, and guests can also purchase a pre-show backstage tour with Murr for $250 or a meet and greet with Murr for $150. Tickets are available at UTATickets.com.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial with the Dallas Symphony at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center
Remember when you were a kid and you cried when Elliott said goodbye to E.T. at the end of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial? It wasn't just the performances, the script or even Steven Spielberg's directing that made you tear up and bawl: The music composed by Spielberg's longtime collaborator John Williams had a hand in making you lose it. If you want a real challenge, try not to cry while watching E.T. as the Dallas Symphony recreates the score along with the movie at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 19, or Saturday, May 20, or 3:30 pm on Sunday, May 21 at the Meyerson, 2301 FloraSt. Tickets start at $45 for Friday, $48 for Saturday and $46 for Sunday and can be purchased online at DallasSymphony.org.

Saturday, May 20

Jokes for Jan at Backdoor Comedy Club
Comedian Jan Norton helped to bring a comedy club to Dallas with Backdoor Comedy Club (940 E. Belt Line Road in Richardson). More than that, she helped bring comedy to Dallas. Now, she needs your help, and her comedy club partner and award-winning comedian Linda Stogner is doing just that with a special benefit show to help raise money as Norton continues her long fight against ovarian cancer. Jokes for Jan: A Comedy Benefit Show will present live performances by Stogner, Dean Lewis, Paul Varghese, David Jessup, Sheridi Lester and more, and all proceeds will go toward Norton's medical expenses. The evening will host two shows at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. with a ticket price of $25 per person. Tickets can be purchased at the club or online at eventbrite.com.

Chalk Art Festival at Mary Heads Carter Park
Summer is coming up once again and even though the lack of rain and other precipitation will make you wish it were winter, at least you'll have some beautiful things to look forward to, like chalk art. Carrollton hosts an annual Chalk Art Festival at which some of the best and most eager young artists grab a box of chalk and turn the sidewalks into their canvas. The Chalk Art Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, at Mary Heads Carter Park (2320 Heads Line) in Carrollton. The festival will also hold an art contest for professionals and amateurs with prize money up to $150. Admission is free.

Sunday, May 21

The New Texas Symphony Orchestra's Beyond Boundaries at the Moody Performance Hall
Now that things are back to normal (or whatever normal was before the pandemic), aren't you tired of just passively listening to music through your Alexa while you fold laundry or through your car radio as you yell at people driving on 635 who can't read road construction signs? Make some time to enjoy music the way it was meant to be heard with the New Texas Symphony Orchestra, currently in its 19th season. Its latest show, Beyond Boundaries, will also present guest violin soloist Angela Fuller Heyde. The concert begins at 3 p.m, on Sunday, May 21, at the Moody Performance Hall (2520 Flora St.). Tickets are free and can be reserved at the venue or online at funraise.org.

Classic Car and Truck Show at Castle Hills Village Shops & Plaza
If you're a gearhead, there's nothing like the sight of a classic, pristine vehicle that's still running well past its expiration date. Now you can see a whole bunch of them at Castle Hill's Classic Car and Truck Show from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 21, at Castle Hills Village Shops & Plaza (2540 King Arthur Blvd.) in Lewisville. Some of Dallas' biggest car collectors and curators in Dallas will be there with their autos. Admission is free.

Monday, May 22

Secret Screening #99 at the Alamo Drafthouse Richardson
If you're sick of being disappointed by movies you'd wanted to see that you thought had even a small chance of being good? Then make time to see the Alamo Drafthouse Richardson's (100 S. Central Expressway) Secret Screening film series in which guests buy a ticket to see a mystery movie — yes, meaning they don't know what will run through the projector. Hey, if it's bad, at least it'll be a surprise this time. The movie starts at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 22. Tickets are $6 and can be purchased at the ticket counter or online at drafthouse.com.

Tuesday, May 23

John Early at the Texas Theatre
Comedian John Early has a lot more credits on his Internet Movie Database page than most comics. He first entered our collective consciousness on TV as Jenna's egg donor son Jerome on NBC's 30 Rock and on the big screen with director David Wain's cult comedy Wet Hot American Summer. Since then, he was given his own episode on the criminally short-lived Netflix sketch series The Characters, and he starred in the acclaimed HBO series Search Party. Now see him perform live at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23, at the Texas Theatre (231 W. Jefferson Blvd.) in Oak Cliff. Tickets are $39.50 and can be purchased at the box office or online at prekindle.com.