Weekend Event Planner

These are the 9 best things to do in Fort Worth this weekend

The arts are front and center this weekend in Fort Worth, with seven of the nine events involving music, theater, or art. There will be classical musicians playing pop and rock songs in two separate concerts, the start of one art exhibition and the end of another, a new theater production from an acclaimed playwright, and more, as well as the first chance to see the new home of the Texas Rangers.

In addition to the continuing Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, here are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, January 23

The Cliburn presents WindSync and Ivan Trevino
WindSync comes to Cliburn Sessions with Song Book, a collaborative experience with progressive songwriter, percussionist, and music ambassador for the U.S. State Department, Ivan Trevino. The program will span from covers of Radiohead, Sigur Ros, and Son Lux to their own original music for wind ensemble, percussion solo, and the collective — plus a little singing, vibraphone, and poetry. The performance will take place at Scat Jazz Lounge. (According to the website, it is now sold out, but a waiting list is being formed.)

Friday, January 24

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth presents FOCUS: Hrair Sarkissian
Hrair Sarkissian's FOCUS exhibition features three major works that explore how violence can be made invisible, histories of erasure and restitution, and the sediments of conflict. All three works focus on different parts of life in modern-day Syria, including a colony of ibises, execution squares, and the crumbling buildings in the war zone. The exhibition will be on display through March 15.

Magnolia at the Modern: The Song of Names
The Song of Names, from director Francois Girard (The Red Violin), is a deeply moving story about friendship, betrayal, and reconciliation that unfolds over two continents and a half century. Tim Roth and Clive Owen star in this emotional detective story. The film will screen seven times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents Revolution: Music of the Beatles - A Symphonic Experience
The Beatles come to life in Revolution, the new symphonic tribute to the Fab Four, featuring the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and top vocalists performing arrangements transcribed from the original master recordings at Abbey Road. Accompanied by photos, video, and animation, Revolution will feature more than 25 top hits like “Ticket to Ride,” “Penny Lane,” “All You Need is Love,” “Get Back,” “Hey, Jude,” and more. There will be three performances through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.

Jubilee Theatre presents To Be Young, Gifted, and Black
After winning fame with her play Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry weaved through the life experiences that shaped her in To Be Young, Gifted, and Black. In angry, loving, bitter, laughing, and defiantly proud turns, the story, voice, and message are Hansberry's own, offering a glimpse of the black experience in mid-century America. The production will run through February 23 at Jubilee Theatre.

Saturday, January 25

Texas Rangers presents Comerica Peek at the Park
Comerica Peek at the Park will allow fans to get a behind-the-scenes look at the new Globe Life Field in Arlington, which is scheduled to open in March 2020. A viewing area will be set up on the outfield main concourse of the new park. The event at Texas Live! will also feature autograph sessions with Rangers’ players and coaches, Q&A sessions with Rangers’ executive and players, food and beverages on sale, and more.

Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth presents "Beethoven the Master Craftsman"
"Beethoven the Master Craftsman" will highlight Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth violinist Gary Levinson, cellist Robert DeMaine, and pianist Louis Lortie. Selections for the all-Beethoven concert, taking place at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, include his Piano Trio in D major, Op.70 No.1: "Ghost," 2nd Symphony Trio (original arrangement), and Cello Sonata, No. 3 in A Major Op. 69.

TCU School of Music presents Festival of American Song
The TCU School of Music will welcome Grammy Award-winning composer Libby Larsen as the guest artist for the sixth annual Festival of American Song. Over the course of her more than 40-year career, Larsen has created a catalog of 500-plus works spanning virtually every genre. As one of the most prolific and most performed living American composers, her music will be the focus of this year’s festival. There will be two separate concerts on the TCU campus on Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday, January 26

Kimbell Art Museum presents Renoir: "The Body, The Senses" closing day
Sunday will be the final day to view Renoir: "The Body, The Senses" at Kimbell Art Museum. The exhibition is the first major exploration of Renoir's unceasing interest in the human form, and it reconsiders Renoir as a constantly evolving artist whose style moved from Realism into luminous Impressionism, culminating in the modern classicism of his last decades. It includes approximately 60 paintings, drawings, pastels and sculptures by the artist, as well as works by his predecessors, contemporaries, and followers.

Renoir: "The Body, The Senses" will close at Kimbell Art Museum on January 26.

Photo courtesy of Kimbell Art Museum

Renoir: "The Body, The Senses" will close at Kimbell Art Museum on January 26.

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Movie Review

The Wild Robot does sweet film adaptation of popular children's book

Photo courtesy of DreamWorks Animation

Roz (Lupita N'yongo) and Brightbill (Kit Connor) in The Wild Robot.

It takes a lot for a new children’s book to become broadly popular, but 2016’s The Wild Robot did just that with its simple but heartfelt story about a robot that finds itself accidentally stranded on an island, forcing it to adapt to a world for which it was not programmed. That instant classic status has now been solidified with its adaptation into an animated movie of the same name.

Roz (Lupita N’yongo) is a helper robot designed to aid humans with almost anything they might need. Instead of its intended destination, though, it mysteriously finds itself washed up on an uninhabited island filled with a variety of animals. The curious creatures soon activate the robot, and it spends a lot of time trying to figure out its purpose in a world devoid of humans.

Roz finds that purpose with a parentless gosling it names Brightbill (Kit Connor). Given instructions by other geese that Brightbill must learn to survive on its own, Roz and a helpful fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal) proceed to do everything in their power to teach Brightbill how to eat, swim, and fly. The straightforward quest turns out to be anything but, with more than a few surprises along the way.

Directed by Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon) and written by Sanders and Peter Brown, the film has a sweet story, although it’s not as affecting as one might expect. The filmmakers focus on creating a strong bond with Roz as the robot is put through a lot of stress, from the natural elements to aggressive animals to not knowing what its mission is. Once Brightbill enters the picture, those feelings are heightened, but the “mother-son” relationship never reaches its full potential.

In addition to the never-ending (and unintended) education of Roz, the film retains its watchability thanks to a load of off-kilter humorous moments. Because it features mostly talking animals, there is a good amount of cutesiness, but the filmmakers add in a few details that make it more pointed than your typical kids movie. The necessary relationship between predators and prey is touched on more than once, with funny (and slightly gruesome) results. And scenes late in the film seem to be a commentary on climate change without being heavy-handed.

Fans of the original book may be disappointed to find that the movie creates its own look, starting with a rounder, sleeker Roz. The animals and natural scenery all feel more rustic, with a fuzziness around the edges that complements the outdoor setting. While perhaps not as immersive as some other modern animated movies, the film has a style that’s dazzling in its own right.

N’yongo has a calming voice that fits Roz perfectly. Thankfully, she forgoes any robotic affect, choosing instead to use a steady, unemotional tone that makes the character appealing nonetheless. No one else is especially memorable in the voice department, even though the film contains big names like Pascal, Ving Rhames, Bill Nighy, Catherine O’Hara, and Mark Hamill.

The Wild Robot is a solid film with some nice messages for children, even if it falls short of being one that demands an immediate rewatch. The book (and its sequels) will continue to be read by kids for generations to come, with the movie serving to bring its story to an even wider audience.

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The Wild Robot opens in theaters on September 27.

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