21 Things to Do in Dallas This Week

Thursday
The concept of the Great American Frontier haunts Modest Mouse’s music — even if it’s a twisted version of it. Panoramas of vast, dusty deserts, both brutal and beautiful, streak across each of the indie rock group's records, like blurred landscapes glimpsed through a car window. The indifferent evils of consumerism, the mystical fantasies of religion and the pessimism those engender made Modest Mouse one of the most fascinating bands to survive the indie rock bubble of the mid '90s. While it’s not the act it was back then, Modest Mouse has enjoyed a career arc remarkably invulnerable to the march of time: The band’s fallen some, sure, but it has yet to careen off any cliffs. Inside Modest Mouse’s songs, the bubbly rhythms of dance music are rendered crazed and anxious; the rock structures are filtered through hardcore, influenced by twee pop, and move like an updated, hookier version of post-punk; the themes are distinctly literary, sharply fatalistic and frighteningly prophetic. This is why the band still sounds relevant, even modern. Pain, oppression and greed don’t have expiration dates. South Side Ballroom, 1135 S. Lamar St., 8 p.m., $39.50, livenation.com. – Jonathan Patrick

Janet Jackson's State of the World tour, originally the Unbreakable tour, started in 2015 but suffered some rescheduling throughout because of her health issues. This year, Jackson's back at it after two pregnancies and vocal-chord therapy. She plays American Airlines Center this week, hopefully without another Dallas postponement. Her latest and 11th studio album, Unbreakable, came out two years ago to much critical and commercial acclaim. American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave., 8 p.m., $31 and up, americanairlinescenter.com. – Diamond Victoria

Dallas Center for Photography Speaker Series presents Scott Hilton and Kenda North from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, at 4756 Algiers St. Both speakers are members of the University of Texas at Arlington photography program faculty, and both have mesmerizing approaches to their work. Audience members will have the opportunity to see both present their work and explain their philosophies on photography and teaching. Hilton, a master of the portable darkroom, as required of the age-old collodion process, is a self-proclaimed history buff, and North, who has a penchant for color processes, has created emotional, large-scale fine art, rich with movement. Tickets are $5 and must be purchased at dallascenterforphotography.com. Dallas Center for Photography, 4756 Algiers St., 7-9 p.m., $5, dallascenterforphotography.com. – Merritt Martin

Deep Ellum Art Co., 3200 Commerce St., will showcase some of the most dedicated artists and printmakers in the area with a special showing of printed artwork called Get Inky from 6 p.m. to midnight Thursday, Sept. 14. The evening will feature original printed oddities from 20 artists, including John Hancock, Amber Crimmings, Jack Russell, Matt Bagley, Una Scott and Junanne Peck, as well as live music from DJ Mikey Rodge and adult beverages from the gallery’s bar. Admission is free. Visit facebook.com/DeepEllumArtCo.1 for more information. Deep Ellum Art Co., 3200 Commerce St., 6 p.m.-midnight, free, facebook.com/DeepEllumArtCo.1. – Danny Gallagher

Few composers are as divisive as Mahler — or, more specifically, Mahler’s music. Painfully complex and often difficult to listen to, much less understand, Mahler’s symphonies are feats of spectacular scope, animated above all by an academic-like seriousness. Adorned in dazzling excess and huge momentum shifts, Mahler’s Fifth Symphony rivals his ninth as the composer's most daunting masterstroke. By flitting between grim shadow and blinding light — between a fascination with death and the spark of newfound love — Mahler constructed a map of the human condition. Stucky’s Elegy also makes the program. Jaap Van Zweden conducts. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, at the Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St. Tickets start at $20. For more information, visit mydso.com. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St., 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, $20, mydso.com.  – Jonathan Patrick

Cartoonist and author Alison Bechdel’s comic-memoir, Fun Home, offers a coming-of-age, fresh narrative on sexual orientation, gender roles and dysfunctional family situations. The book spent two weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list after its 2006 debut, pioneered a new kind of storytelling technique unlike typical biographies and was turned into a Tony Award-winning musical that hit Broadway two years ago. The critically acclaimed production hits the Dallas stage beginning at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, at the Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St. The musical runs through Sept. 24 and offers various matinee and evening performances. For more information and to purchase tickets that range from $25 to $158, visit attpac.org. Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St., 7:30 p.m., $25-$158, attpac.org. – Diamond Victoria

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of director Dario Argento’s classic Italian horror film Suspiria. The visually stunning film confronts viewers with a colorful, textural and auditory assault on the senses. And the intense, haunting atmospheric soundtrack, composed by progressive rock act Goblin, stands up on its own as an incredible album. The film is set at a prestigious ballet school with murderous secrets hidden behind the walls. With three showings this weekend, Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., is one of the first theaters in the world to screen the new 4K DCP restoration made from the uncut, uncensored Italian 35mm original camera negative, which Synapse Films has been painstakingly restoring frame by frame for nearly four years. In 1977, Suspiria was trimmed for an R rating in the U.S., removing some graphic violence. The film rolls at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15; and 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17. Tickets, $10, are available at thetexastheatre.com. Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., 8:30 p.m., $10, thetexastheatre.com. – Daniel Rodrigue

It’s OK to admit your weekends have been sadly lacking in the oompah department. Addison is ready to intervene and save you at this weekend’s Addison Oktoberfest in Addison Circle Park, 4970 Addison Circle Drive. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Addison’s Bavarian bash, and live entertainment includes plenty of polka, bier barrel rolling, a German spelling bee, yodeling, Bavarian dancing and, yes, oompah for days. But you’ll need energy for all that, and it’s recommended you get it from traditional Paulaner Bier, strudel, savory sausages and other delicious concessions. Gates open at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, and Friday, Sept. 15, and noon Saturday, Sept. 16, and Sunday, Sept. 17. Tickets start at $10, but admission is free Thursday and Sunday, and ticket packages are available combining admission with food and drink coupons and other attractions for $40 to $60. Visit addisonoktoberfest.com for details, including free parking locations. Addison Circle Park, 4970 Addison Circle Drive, 6 p.m., free, addisonoktoberfest.com. – Merritt Martin

There’s no subtlety in sight at Pocket Sandwich Theatre’s production of Don’t Dress for Dinner, a farcical take on marital deceit that takes damage control to the extreme. Things get convoluted fast when a philandering husband realizes that his wife’s last-minute cancellation of her weekend plans mean that she will soon be face-to-face with his mistress. The wife has a secret of her own, and pretty soon, everyone, including a shrewd caterer brought in for a dinner party, will be grappling with a swirling mass of cons, treachery and betrayal. The play, adapted from Marc Camoletti’s native French, revels in absurdity in two acts through Saturday, Sept. 23. Shows are at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays at Pocket Sandwich, 5400 E. Mockingbird Lane. Tickets are $23 to $25 at pocketsandwich.com. Pocket Sandwich Theatre, 5400 E. Mockingbird Lane, 8 p.m., $23-$25, pocketsandwich.com. – Jennifer Davis-Lamm

Partnering with Dallas’ Office of Cultural Affairs, the AT&T Performing Arts Center presents the Elevator Project, a collaboration between artists and institutions that aims to bring fresh perspectives and new ideas to the performance hall. Created to bring baroque period operas to Dallas audiences, the American Baroque Opera Company opens the 2017-18 Elevator Project season with Masquerade: Opera Cabaret. Featuring arias by Handel and Vivaldi, among others, this performance combines the voices of Dallas-based singers with the rare opportunity to experience a full, period-perfect baroque orchestra (complete with historically accurate instrumentation). Catch this production at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, and at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, and Saturday, Sept. 16, at Winspear Opera House’s Hamon Hall, 2403 Flora St. Tickets start at $20. For more information, visit attpac.org. Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St., 7:30 p.m., $20, attpac.org. – Jonathan Patrick

Friday
Pandora’s Box prides itself on selecting only the most original and thought-provoking poets throughout North Texas for its less-than-family-friendly showcases of poetic literature. To celebrate this year’s Banned Book Week — which honors thousands of authors whose work society has, at least once, dubbed too inappropriate for schools, public libraries or other literary outlets — the collective will host a night of observance of banned poets including Amiri Baraka, Walt Whitman, Brodsky, Ginsberg and Gwendolyn Brooks. Join fellow literati and the folks behind Pandora’s Box at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, at Deep Vellum Books, 3000 Commerce St., for an encore of last year’s Pandora's Box: Only Light Can Do This / Banned Poets!. The event is free to attend. For more information, visit deepvellum.com. Deep Vellum Books, 3000 Commerce St., 6:30 p.m., free, deepvellum.com. – Diamond Victoria

Don’t we love a good superhero? They don’t always have to wear armor, either. The Crow Collection of Asian Art, 2010 Flora St., is putting a spotlight on iconic and brave Japanese figures during After Dark: Heroes and Heroines from 6 p.m. to midnight Friday. Check out representations of seemingly ever-present figure Jizo, the tragic story of Lady Tokiwa, legendary novelist and poet Lady Murasaki, and others featured in the Crow exhibition Styled with Poise: Figures in Japanese Paintings and Prints. Artist Kazuko Goto will lead early attendees through a Japanese woodblock printing demo, and the late-stayers can view a screening of Miss Hokusai, the animated tale of artist O-Ei, the daughter of well-known artist Katsushika Hokusai. There’s a pop-up at the Lotus Shop, too, so local art is ready for the purchase. Admission is free. Find more information at crowcollection.org. Crow Collection of Asian Art, 2010 Flora St., 6 p.m.-midnight, free, crowcollection.org. – Merritt Martin

Once upon a time, a book about how men and women are essentially from different worlds dominated the best-seller lists and took over pop culture dialogue. In it, the author advanced a simplistic worldview that proffers anecdotes to back up a seemingly universal predicament: the inability of married men and women to communicate. Today, it’s almost an anthropological relic; the book Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus ignores same-sex couples and other nontraditional relationships, and the oversimplified premise doesn’t consider complicating factors in a relationship. Neither does the stage show of the same name. Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus has a number of elbow-your-date moments; the one-man show mixes the premise of the book with standup comedy. The vignettes contain flashes of identifiable comedy, which, as long as you’re willing to see the reductive premise behind the show for what it is, will provoke a giggle or two. See it at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, and at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Eisemann Center, 2351 Performance Drive in Richardson. Tickets are $60 at eisemanncenter.com. Eisemann Center, 2351 Performance Drive, Richardson, 8 p.m., $60, eisemanncenter.com. – Jennifer Davis-Lamm

Saturday
It’s hard to stay at the top of the game in a business that relies on constantly appealing to the masses by making them laugh their asses off. But stand-up comedian Ali Wong makes it seem easy. Her unique brand of humor, which includes riffs on feminism, bodily functions and, as she says in her Netflix comedy special Baby Cobra, the good ol’ days when women didn’t have to work, makes it unclear whether she’s trolling us or just being honest. Either way, the comic’s wisecracks and quick punches are plenty of reason to check out her shows at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. Tickets range from $49.50 to $69.50 and can be purchased at artandseek.org. Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St., 7 and 9:30 p.m., $49.50-$69.50, artandseek.org. – Diamond Victoria

There was a time when comics weren’t just movies for big Hollywood studios to exploit. They were things you had to pick up and open with your own hands and scan with your eyes to enjoy. If you long for those days, then make plans to attend the Dallas Comic Show from Saturday, Sept. 16, to Sunday, Sept. 17, at the Richardson Civic Center, 411 W. Arapaho Road. The two-day gathering of comic book fans will include celebrity guests such as WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Kevin Nash, movie actress Lori Petty, Twin Peaks stars Kimmy Robertson and Harry Goaz, and Star Wars stuntman Dickey Beer, better known as Boba Fett. Comics readers will also get to meet Crow creator James O’Barr, Marvel artist Joe Jusko and DC artist Brent Peeples. Tickets are $20 for a two-day pass and $5 for children ages 6-12. Sunday passes are $10 per person. VIP passes are $50 and include line jumps to meet celebrity guests and early entrances. A portion of ticket sales will go to the American Red Cross Hurricane Harvey relief fund. Visit dallascomicshow.com for tickets and more information. Richardson Civic Center, 411 W. Arapaho Road, Saturday-Sunday, $10 and up, dallascomicshow.com. – Danny Gallagher

Every year, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra throws a decadent gala to help kickstart the classical season, and proceeds support the orchestra’s education and community programs. This year, Yo-Yo Ma, the world’s most recognizable cellist, will perform in a program featuring Dvorak’s Cello Concerto and Mahler’s Adagietto & Rondo-Finale from the composer’s Fifth Symphony, which the DSO will perform in full two days before and one night after the gala. The gala concert kicks off at 8:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Meyerson, 2301 Flora St., and an after-party follows. Jaap Van Zweden conducts. Tickets start at $99. Find more information at mydso.com. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St., 8:45 p.m., $99, mydso.com. – Jonathan Patrick

It's easy to appreciate the "Mona Lisa" or "Starry Night." They're works of art we've been exposed to since we were children. Seeing them in a museum is like encountering a celebrity. But it can be even more meaningful to witness and support a local talent before he or she makes it into the Museum of Modern Art. If you attend the Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts' fifth annual Rising Star Exhibition & Fundraiser this weekend, you'll get the chance see work by Texas artists and discuss it with them. Twelve Dallas art galleries each nominated an artist to participate. The fundraiser reception is from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the century-old Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont Ave. Turner was a founding member of the Oak Cliff arts organization and left it his home when he died. Tickets to the reception, $85, are available at turnerhouse.org or at the door. A free public reception will follow from 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17. Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont Ave., 7-9 p.m., $85, turnerhouse.org. – Caroline North

Sunday
Grease is, and will always be, the word. It’s that rare film that’s entirely problematic in just about every way (see: date rape, smoking as the coolest accessory, changing who you are to fit in, etc.) but that we collectively worship and get nostalgic about. The pop-culture phenomenon hit theaters in 1978 and has stayed front and center in our consciousness ever since. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, the oldest high-schoolers ever, rule Rydell with their respective cliques, which sing and dance their way through courtships, drive-ins, car races and carnivals with gleeful abandon. Experience the glory of this electrifyin’ musical on the big screen and sing along just like you were always meant to at 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, at the Majestic Theater, 1925 Elm St. Tickets for the show, co-hosted by the Texas Theatre, are $10 at prekindle.com. Majestic Theater, 1925 Elm St., 5 p.m., $10, prekindle.com. – Jennifer Davis-Lamm

Monday
Artist Richard Hickam began his lengthy career creating brightly colored, heavily patterned photorealistic paintings, but over the decades, he worked through a range of styles. His more recent works are expressionist paintings that revel in bold color and broad, heavy brushstrokes that maintain a realistic edge while bringing life and soul to his subjects, both in portraits and still lifes. See an exhibit of the Los Angeles-born artist’s work, Expressions of Color, at Bivins Gallery, 300 Crescent Court, Suite 100. Hickam will attend the opening reception, which starts at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16. The free show continues through Saturday, Oct. 21. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Bivins Gallery, 300 Crescent Court, Suite 100, 10 a.m.-5 p.m, free. – Patrick Williams

Tuesday
Local artist Hillary Dohoney’s debut Dallas-Forth Worth solo show, Adrift, inspires a sense of peace and tranquility in an often chaotic world. Combining oil paints with gentle brush strokes that embody realism and trompe l’oeil in delicate seascapes, her exhibit transcends everyday life and allows viewers to escape on a balmy voyage to a dreamland. In addition to the exhibit’s many paintings, it includes a 12-foot circular mural that gives viewers the opportunity to experience a 360-degree view of serene waters. Adrift also highlights Dohoney’s painted interpretations of refugee experiences, titled “Hiraerth,” and a portion of proceeds will benefit Refugee Services of Texas. The free exhibit runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays through Saturday, Oct. 28, at Fort Works Art, 2100 Montgomery St. For more information, visit fortworksart.com. Fort Works Art, 2100 Montgomery St., Fort Worth, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., free, fortworksart.com. – Diamond Victoria

Wednesday
The Wild Detectives, 314 W. Eighth St., offers a night of poetry reading from four North Texas poets: Susana Edith, Melania-Luisa Marte, Johnny Olson and James Barrett Rodehaver. Edith is the founder of Lucha Dallas, an activist "mini-magazine." Marte is a member of the 2017 Dallas Poetry Slam Team, an inveterate Instagrammer (@feministmami) and founder of GetFreeStayWoke, a website that describes itself as "A Clapback. A Conversation on Activism and Revolution. Self-Preservation in Memes and other Intersectional Feminist shit." Olson is a founder of MadSwirl, an online literary site, a former Marine and a poet whose works include "She Whispers to Me," a sensuous paean to riding his scooter in downtown Dallas. Rodehaver is the author of Strangely Wonderful a volume that includes a poem titled "Zealots," which has lines about trekking "through the snows of ignorance and dissent, to the grand castle of bigotry, where the moat's filled with intolerant acid and the drawbridge is biased and wary." The Wild Detectives also serves booze and coffee in case you need it. The show, the first Pegasus Reading Series event at The Wild Detectives, is free and starts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20. The Wild Detectives, 314 W. 8th St., 7:30 p.m., free. – Patrick Williams