Theater will be a big focus in Fort Worth this weekend, as the national tour of a beloved Broadway show, a local production that uses a former president's name, and a screening of a London production come to town. You can also enjoy an opera recital, a new movie about a famous comedy duo, an event celebrating the Texas Rangers, an opening of one art exhibit, and the closing of two others.
Below 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 24
Broadway at the Bass: The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is still a mainstay on Broadway, as theatergoers can't get enough of the nine-time Tony Award-winning Best Musical. The national tour of the outrageous comedy that follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word, will play at Bass Performance Hall through Sunday before heading to Dallas next week.
The Cliburn presents A Night of Cabaret with Ava Pine and Jonathan Beyer
Texas native Ava Pine, a Grammy-nominated soprano, is equally at home with opera, oratorio, or recital repertoire. She'll be joined at this performance by baritone Jonathan Beyer, who has been hailed for his clear, commanding voice and memorable character interpretations. The two will perform a one-night-only concert at Scat Jazz Lounge.
Friday, January 25
Magnolia at the Modern: Stan & Ollie
In this film, Laurel and Hardy (Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly), the world's most famous comedy duo, attempt to reignite their film careers as they embark on what becomes their swan song, a grueling theater tour of postwar Britain. The film will screen six times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Jubilee Theatre presents Obama-ology
When African-American college graduate Warren takes a job with the 2008 Obama campaign, he’s fired up and ready to go, until he lands in the troubled streets of East Cleveland. But somewhere between knocking on doors, fending off cops, and questioning his own racial and sexual identity, he learns that changing society isn’t as easy as he imagined. The play will run at Jubilee Theatre through February 24.
Saturday, January 26
Texas Rangers Fan Fest
Baseball season is still two months away, but you can get excited early at the annual Texas Rangers Fan Fest at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The event will feature autograph sessions with current Texas Rangers players, interactive Q&A sessions with Rangers executives, players and announcers, a behind-the-scenes look at the construction at Globe Life Field, tours of the Rangers clubhouse and dugout, and more.
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth presents FOCUS: Dirk Braeckman
The photographs of Dirk Braeckman have a distinct stillness and quietude that counter the whirl of today's visual landscape. Images of empty, unidentifiable interiors, architectural details, oceans, and partially obscured nude figures are just some examples of the artist's subject matter. Braeckman's work is relatable and open-ended, eschewing photography's documentary impulse. This exhibit will be on display at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth through March 17.
National Theatre Live: Allelujah!
The Beth, an old fashioned cradle-to-grave hospital serving a town in Yorkshire, is threatened with closure as part of an efficiency drive. A documentary crew, eager to capture its fight for survival, follows the daily struggle to find beds on the Dusty Springfield Geriatric Ward, and the triumphs of the old people’s choir. This screening of the live production in London will take place at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Sunday, January 27
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth presents Laurie Simmons: "Big Camera/Little Camera" closing day
Sunday will be the final day to take in two different art exhibits in Fort Worth. Laurie Simmons: "Big Camera/Little Camera” showcases the artist's photographs spanning the last four decades, from 1976 to the present, a small selection of sculpture, and two films. Simmons' career-long exploration of archetypal gender roles, especially women in domestic settings, is the primary subject of this exhibition and is a topic as poignant today as it was in the late 1970s.
Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents Hedda Sterne: "Printed Variations"
Also closing is this exhibition of prints by Hedda Sterne at the Amon Carter Museum of Art that celebrates the artist’s exquisite variety of formal interests. Although most often associated with a group of artists called the “Irascibles," avant-garde forerunners of Abstract Expressionism, Sterne defied stylistic categorization. Her aesthetic experimentations fluctuated between organic and geometric, figural and abstract, and painterly and graphic.
The Book of Mormon will play at Bass Performance Hall through January 27.
