Best Things To Do in Dallas This Weekend

Friday

Who knew? In the ’50s and ’60s, companies such as General Electric, Ford and Xerox were producing industrial musicals for their clients and employees featuring performers who would become stars — Chita Rivera, Bob Fosse, Florence Henderson. The documentary film, Bathtubs Over Broadway, revealing the history of these productions, will play at the Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets cost $10. Steve Young, comedy writer for David Letterman, found the cache of vintage record albums and unseen footage of the shows and turned it into the documentary. For information, call 214-948-1546 or go to texastheatre.com. Reba Liner

For classical music fans who’ve always felt that orchestral performances could use a little more sketch comedy, or for improv lovers who wish for a little Beethoven between the jokes, there’s The Second City Guide to the Symphony. The famed comedy troupe joins the Dallas Symphony Orchestra onstage at the Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St., for a show that lovingly spoofs and explains the tropes of symphony performances, bringing notes of laughter and learning to the stage for two shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $24 for Friday’s performance and $25 for Saturday at mydso.com. Patrick Williams

Was 2018 a train wreck of a year? Do you need to hit the reset button on your outlook? The best way to start is just to have a good laugh. The inspiration comedy of The Power of Laughter Heals the Soul returns to Dallas on Friday and may be able to help. The show features live stand-up, sketch comedy and interactive audience moments that showcase some of the funny, soulful moments that shaped each comedian’s life as a way to inspire others. This time, the show is bringing its “Men’s Edition,” with live talks from Pastor Fred Thomas and DFWiGospel’s Darnell “Big Husky” Roebuck and performances by comedians Michael Prince and A-Train. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Clarence Muse Café Theater, 650 S. Griffin St. Tickets are $50 per person and are available at ticketmaster.com. Danny Gallagher

David Bowie was born on Jan. 8, 1947, and died on Jan. 10, 2016, so to celebrate his life, the Granada will host a tribute show on Jan. 4. Longtime local Bowie tribute act Thin White Dukes will headline, playing material from all of Bowie's eras, from the best-known songs to the fan favorites. They're one of the best tribute acts around, so if you've never seen them before, give them a shot. Also, get there early for Panic, fronted by former Adventure Club host Josh Venable. They play songs Morrissey did with the Smiths and as a solo artist — but do not cancel shows at the last minute. 8 p.m. Friday at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., $15-$24 at prekindle.com. Eric Grubbs

Saturday

It’s everyone’s favorite musical about a young woman giving up her singing voice to be with a man. Now it’s coming to life in the form of a ballet. Plano Metropolitan Ballet presents The Little Mermaid, a family-friendly show where you can see Ariel and all of her colorful friends come to life. The show just had its premiere and goes through Jan. 19. Girl Scouts attending the performance can receive an embroidered mermaid patch and an autograph session with the dancers after the performance. The show costs $18, and it’s at Courtyard Theater, 1509 H. Ave., Plano. For more information, visit planometballet.com. Paige Skinner

You know what was missing from your 2018? Art. You didn’t see enough of that. Right that wrong in 2019 with gallery shows, exhibitions, pop-ups, showcases and just about anything else you can feast your eyes on. Here’s a great way to start: Chris Worley Fine Arts, 1845 Levee St., No. 110, presents “Timothy Harding: New_Drawings_1-21c,” a site-specific installation in wood that explores the limits of the traditional four-edged frame by playing with the balance between pictures in two dimensions and forms in three-dimensional space. The result is a mind-bending optical illusion created by layers of paint laid out in grids on fabric and paper. It’s precise, bright, industrial and trippy — and it sets the bar high for the rest of your art exploits this year. The show opens with an artist reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, or see it during gallery hours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, through Saturday, Feb. 9. Visit crisworley.com for more information. Jennifer Davis-Lamm

We can hardly think of a cheerier way to celebrate the optimism and hope of a new year than to look at a bunch of photos of haggard, sun-faded, windblown, ramshackle houses that are either abandoned and awaiting demolition (or at least should be) or raised on stilts in anticipation of the rising seawater made inevitable by climate change. “Houses for Sale” collects works including Ben Marcin’s photo essay Last House Standing and pictures from Jason Lee’s book A Plain View and Ira Wagner’s book Houseraising and various other artists’ works that fit the theme, including Edward S. Curtis. Marcin and Lee will be at the opening reception from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery, 154 Glass St., No. 104, and the exhibition will hang through March 2. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free. Call 214-969-1852 or visit pdnbgallery.com. Jesse Hughey

Blake Ward is one of the busiest DJs in Dallas, with four different weekly events and recently having taken up the management of his new Four Four Booking agency. He has a longstanding Saturday night Glamorama gig at Beauty Bar. As far as promotion goes, Ward is relentless, a perfect example of how to connect, inform and grow a DJ audience. 9 p.m. Saturday at Beauty Bar, 1924 N. Henderson Ave., free. Wanz Dover

Dead Mockingbirds received a few nods at the Dallas Observer Music Awards ceremony this year, and for good reason. The rock trio gives high-energy performances on every stage they play. Catch them Saturday night at Tradewinds Social Club with The Pleasers, same brain and The Lash Outs. 8 p.m. Saturday at Tradewinds Social Club, 2843 W. Davis St., $5. Diamond Victoria

More than 10 years after the Hanson brothers set the world on fire with 1997’s Middle of Nowhere, the trio of performers is still touring the country, doing what they do best. Back in July the band announced their 11th studio album, String Theory, a collection of Hanson tunes new and old, set to the symphonic arrangements of composer David Campbell. The album was released Nov. 9, and the brothers are bringing the show to Bass Performance Hall in one of the final stops of their tour and one of the year’s first for Fort Worth. While the brothers may have lost some of their boyish charm, with all now in their 30s, tracks like “MMMBop” and the Canadian hit “This Time Around” have been given an orchestral face-lift. But no matter if you light a candle in honor of Taylor Hanson every May 6 or you only vaguely remember them as popular pubescent pop stars, the brothers’ lungs are still packing heat and they're likely to put on one of the best orchestral shows of 2019. 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth, 525 Commerce St., (817) 212-4200. Nicholas Bostick

2018 has been a year of riches for Dallas' Motorcade. As session musicians, the local gentlemen — James Henderson, Andrew Huffstetler, John Dufilho and Jeff Ryan — have impressive resumes littered with names like St. Vincent, The War on Drugs, The Apples in Stereo and The Deathray Davies, among others. Together, they've steadily been building upon their shimmering indie rock sound with headline shows played before larger and more enthusiastic audiences. Most interesting, at last spring's SXSW, the quartet caught the ear of legendary critic and radio host Greg Kot, who went on to sing their praises on his nationally syndicated "Sound Opinions" program. The impression proved no flash in the pan, as Kot recently included Motorcade's self-titled album in his year-end top-10 list, thus adding an exclamation point to ring out a great year for the band. See them kick off 2019 at The Kessler with another local outfit, Tommorrowpeople on the bill. 8 p.m. Saturday at The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis St., $15 at prekindle.com. Jeff Strowe

Showing up at The Free Man on Saturday will almost guarantee you a story for years about how you “saw them before they became superstars,” when Claire Morales, Remy Reilly and Rosegarden Funeral Party unite their talented powers for a show. From the energetic pop meets folk style of Morales, to the channeling of Norah Jones before she’s able to get a learner’s permit pathos of Reilly, anyone who considers themselves a fan of singer-songwriters should be ashamed for not already purchasing a ticket. A VIP ticket will not only give you a reserved seat, but it also gives you one Tito’s cocktail, one PBR and select discount on other drinks as well. At $20 per VIP, you might actually make money at the end of the night with those deals. 10 p.m. Saturday at The Free Man, 2626 Commerce St., $10 and up at prekindle.com. Brad LaCour

Sunday

When Elaine Pagels’ young son died, she was overcome with sadness. When her husband died a year later, the question of why religion matters took on a new urgency in her life. In Why Religion?: A Personal Story, Pagels writes about her own story while also explaining why she believes religion matters. She’ll be at the Dallas Museum of Art’s Horchow Auditorium, 1717 N. Harwood St., as part of DMA’s Art and Letters Live at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $40 for the public, $30 for members and $20 for students. Buy them at dma.org. Paige Skinner

Before we get to the event, allow us to pause to talk about another crime Holmes and Dr. Watson should work on — the theft of hard-earned money from any poor sucker who bought a ticket to Holmes and Watson, particularly those who went to see that awful flick on Christmas Day. Hopefully, the bad taste that "comedy" left in the mouths of audiences won't dull the interest in what surely will be a better take, the Sherlock Holmes Murder Mystery dinner at the Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road. Dress up in your Victorian finery and enjoy a three-course buffet from Two Sisters Catering while the game's afoot. It happens at 6 p.m. Sunday. Reservations, $140 for nonmembers and $125 for arboretum members, can be made at reservations.dallasarboretum.org. Patrick Williams