Best Things to Do in Dallas This Weekend

Friday
Pop quiz time! Without resorting to Google, name three ballets. Swan Lake, OK, that's pretty obvious. Yeah, The Nutcracker's another. Easy peasy, since Christmas is only two months away and that thing gets performed, like, a zillion times. But what's another one? If you came up with an answer — we couldn't — you're probably pretty pumped to know that the Russian Grand Ballet will perform Swan Lake at 8 p.m. Friday at Richardson's Eisemann Center, 2351 Performance Drive. Here's what we know about Swan Lake: Dancers say it's technically demanding, though one might assume that's true about all ballet. Tchaikovsky wrote the score. It features an evil sorcerer, a handsome, ornithologically confused prince and a dual role for the lead ballerina. The good guys die at the end, and unlike in the wonderfully trashy movie Black Swan, nobody wanks. Those of you who could answer our quiz, get tickets — $27 to $100 — at eisemanncenter.com. Those who could name only two but have never seen Swan Lake can get the cheap ones and up your cultural IQ tout suite. And those who couldn't name any ... dude, one was in the headline. Just stay home, fire up the bong and rent Black Swan. You'll like it. Eisemann Center, 2351 Performance Drive, 8 p.m., $27-$100, eisemanncenter.com. — Patrick Williams

Panic is a tribute act, meaning its members only cover songs by a particular artist — the Smiths and Morrissey, in this case — and they are dead ringers for the real thing. Singer Josh Venable, whom you may remember as the longtime host of the late great “Adventure Club” on KDGE-FM 94.5 and later 102.1, sounds the way you like to imagine you do when you’re singing along with Moz alone in your car, and Glen Reynolds nails Johnny Marr’s guitar parts and tone. Panic will perform at 8 p.m. Friday in the atrium at the Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St. A screening of the video installation “the world won’t listen,” which shows fans in Colombia, Turkey and Indonesia singing karaoke versions of tunes from the Smiths’ 1987 album of the same name, will follow. The event is $10 for the public, $5 for students, and free for DMA members and children ages 11 and younger. Visit dma.org. Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St., 8 p.m., free-$10, dma.org. — Jesse Hughey

If you were a kid without cable television in the 1990s, you were probably aware of about six stand-up comedians. Sinbad told long, hilarious stories full of physical humor rather than compact jokes and dressed like some deranged costumer shredded every item of clothing in a Gadzooks store and made a single jumpsuit. Sinbad added a turban to his customary stage outfit to play a genie in the seemingly forgotten 1990s comedy Shazaam. None of my friends remember the movie, anyway — maybe because it came out around the time most of them were still reading Berenstain Bears books, little more than a decade after Nelson Mandela died in prison. Jog your memory with the unforgettable stand-up at 7 p.m. Friday at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St. General admission tickets, $30 plus some $11 in service fees, are available at 214-978-258 or livenation.com. House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., 7 p.m., $30, livenation.com. — Jesse Hughey

If you’re a fan of anything, you don’t want to just consume it. You want to share your love of it with the world. You want to show as many people as you can the joy it can bring them in the hopes of using your love for Deadpool comics, Doctor Who or Gilmore Girls to make the world a better place. Make a trip to the Dallas Fan Days from Friday through Sunday at the Irving Convention Center, 500 W. Las Colinas Blvd. This three-day gathering will feature famous faces such as Doctor Who’s David Tennant, Stranger Things’ Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo, and Game of Thrones’ Kristian Nairn. Visitors can also show off their best cosplay costumes in a contest and buy as much pop culture-infused swag as their bank accounts can handle. Tickets range from $20 to $60. Tickets for children ages 6-12 are $5 to $8. Three-day passes, VIP packages and family passes are also available. Visit dallasfandays.com for more information. Irving Convention Center, 500 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Friday-Sunday, $20-$60, dallasfandays.com. — Danny Gallagher

Earlier this year, cinephiles lost legendary filmmaker George A. Romero, who in 1968 single-handedly invented the modern zombie film with his groundbreaking, cinema vérité-style feat of independent filmmaking, Night of the Living Dead. And, like the slow-moving, fresh-from-the-grave, flesh-eating ghouls of Romero’s first feature-length film, Night of the Living Dead is back from the grave of scratched celluloid and murky sound with a new 4K restoration. After decades of midnight showings and home movies of poor-quality prints and video transfers, Romero’s masterwork can finally be viewed on the silver screen as it was intended — scanned from the original negative and supervised by Romero. “What we have now, for good or for bad, is exactly what I shot,” Romero has widely been reported as saying. “This is closer than anything we’ve seen to the definitive version of the film. It’s in the right format, 1.33:1, and that’s never been seen before either.” Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., screens three showings this weekend: at 7 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets, $10, are available at thetexastheatre.com. Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., 7 p.m., $10, thetexastheatre.com.— Daniel Rodrigue

Murder. Temptation. Passion. And that's just act one of Saint Saens' Samson & Dalila, opening the Dallas Opera season Friday at the Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St. Clifton Forbes and Olga Borodina are cast in the lead roles of the Bible tale. Opera-goers will remember Forbes from Tristan and Isolde and Otello. The Russian mezzo soprano Borodina starred with Placido Domingo in Samson in London in 1992. Emmanuel Villaume conducts and enters his fourth season as musical director of the Dallas Opera. Special guest Pierre Vallet makes his Dallas Opera debut as conductor at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Bruno Berger-Gorski directs. The opera, rated PG-13, is sung in French with English subtitles. Other performances are at 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 and 2 p.m. Nov. 5. Call 214-443-1000 or visit dallasopera.org for tickets. Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St., 8 p.m., $19 and up, dallasopera.org. — Reba Liner

Saturday
Flea markets are so named because back in the day, the furniture put out for sale used to be riddled with the jumping buggers. But you won't find anything like that at Flea Style's Fall Dallas Show; the flea markets of 2017 are a different animal entirely. This one, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Dallas Market Hall, 2200 Stemmons Freeway, will have more than 200 booths of handmade and vintage clothes, art and home decor, all perfectly sanitary and ready for Instagram. If you plan to stay all day and knock out a few early Christmas gifts, there will be plenty of food and refreshments for sale when your shopping feet need a break. Tickets are $5 at eventbrite.com. Dallas Market Hall, 2200 Stemmons Freeway, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., $5, eventbrite.com. — Caroline North

If you've been awake in the morning and surfing YouTube, then you’ve probably seen Rhett and Link’s popular morning show, Good Mythical Morning. These North Carolina natives spend their mornings doing just about anything to enlighten and entertain their audiences, including testing their taste buds by identifying fast food tacos while blindfolded, trying to make each other flinch by any means necessary and seeing if snail meat is tastier when turned into jerky. Now that the internet-tainers have the Book of Mythicality, a new release celebrating their unique view of life called, they can share their worldview with a new audience: readers. They’ve also launched a Tour of Mythicality to celebrate the book and get closer to the fans, including those with tickets for their two sold-out shows Saturday at the Majestic Theater, 1925 Elm St. Check axs.com for available seats if they open up. Majestic Theater, 1925 Elm St., 1 and 7 p.m., $29.75 and up, axs.com. — Danny Gallagher

One of the hardest parts of being an emerging artist in any medium is getting people to pay attention to you. You can take classes and spend months on each painting, but you can't become the next Picasso if no one looks your way. So can you fault the Pancakes & Booze Art Show for pandering a bit? Everyone loves booze. Everyone loves pancakes. Sure, neither has much to do with art — unless you consider the funny face pancake at IHOP a masterpiece — but they'll both draw a crowd to The Door, 2513 Main St., beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday, giving more than 75 artists the chance to get their work seen. Along with artist booths, there will be live painting (on bodies and canvases), a free pancake bar and music by DJ Serb & Sweetleaf. The event is for people 21 and older. For more info, visit eventbrite.com. The Door, 2513 Main St., 8 p.m., $15, eventbrite.com. — Caroline North

Sunday
Scott Mescudi uses his atmospheric art to bring his experiences with depression to light as Kid Cudi. In the process, he’s amassed a cultlike following and influenced a new generation of hip-hop with his debut LP, Man on the Moon: The End of Day. His career has seen peaks and valleys as he’s experimented with wide-ranging sonics and genres, all while remaining transparent about his mental health. In 2016, Cudi spent most of the year in rehab for suicidal thoughts, as he told fans via an open letter. During that time, he wrote one of his best albums in years, Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin. Kid Cudi is embarking on a 27-city tour in support of the album, and fans are reporting he looks happier than he has in years. The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St., 7 p.m., $59.50-$75, thebombfactory.com. — Mikel Galicia

We can understand the appeal of home tours for the tourists. The chance to peek inside architecturally interesting or historical homes, to explore the variety of design and decor, to envy the lifestyles of people with way better taste than oneself: That makes sense. Sounds fun, even. We do, however, have questions for people who open their wonderful homes to tours: Are you nuts? You do realize that virtually anyone can buy a ticket, even the sort of people who work here? How much work and stress is involved in prepping your home for a tour? Where do you hide the liquor? All we can say to the people who own the eight homes on view this weekend for the Oak Cliff Fall Home Tour is that it's mighty gracious of you (as we make circling motions with our index finger beside our head). Ranch, prairie style, and contemporary dwellings are among the mix of homes that will be on view in historic Oak Cliff. Heritage Oak Cliff sponsors the event, which will take place from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine. Advance tickets, $20 for adults and $15 for seniors, can be bought at ooccl.org or at Lucky Dog Books, Kessler Baking Studio and participating Tom Thumb stores. Day-of tickets are $25 and $20. Oak Cliff, noon-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, $15-$20, ooccl.org. — Patrick Williams