This weekend around Fort Worth will feature two new local theater productions, events from two major local orchestras, a music festival featuring acts from an independent record label, a concert from a '90s country throwback, one final gasp of summer, and more.
Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend.
Thursday, September 2
Circle Theatre presents The Last Wide Open
Fate plays its hand in this romantic regional premiere play by Audrey Cefaly that features original songs by Matthew M. Nielson. Lina and Roberto have been working together for years but rarely talk. When a late-night thunderstorm finds them alone in the restaurant at closing time, they find their lives intersecting in surprising and mystical ways. The production will run at Circle Theatre through September 25.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Circle T Ranch Music Festival
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will go on the road to present the inaugural Circle T Ranch Music Festival. Taking place on an expansive outdoor stage at the titular ranch in Westlake through Friday, the family-friendly festival will feature performances by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and special guest artists, along with food trucks and a number of pre-concert activities. Each concert will be followed by a fireworks display.
Friday, September 3
Magnolia at the Modern: The Lost Leonardo
The Lost Leonardo tells the inside story behind the Salvator Mundi, the most expensive painting ever sold, at $450 million, and claimed to be a long-lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci. From the moment it is purchased from a New Orleans auction house and its buyers discover masterful brushstrokes beneath its restoration, the fate of the Salvator Mundi is driven by an insatiable quest for fame, money, and power. But as its price soars, so do questions about its authenticity. Is this multi-million-dollar painting actually by Leonardo, or do certain power players simply want it to be? The film will screen six times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Artisan Center Theater presents The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
This dramatization of C.S. Lewis' classic work faithfully recreates the magic and mystery of Aslan, the great lion, his struggle with the White Witch, and the adventures of four children who inadvertently wander from an old wardrobe into the exciting, never-to-be-forgotten Narnia. The intense action features chases, duels, and escapes as the witch is determined to keep Narnia in her possession and to end the reign of Aslan. The production will run through October 2 at Artisan Center Theater in Hurst.
Improv Arlington presents Michael Blackson
Michael Blackson has been called one of the most original stand-up comics in the country. Inspired by the stand-up comedy of Eddie Murphy, Blackson began to develop his comedic talent in 1992 in the unkind comedy clubs of Philadelphia. Also known as "The African King of Comedy" because he was born in Liberia, he has been entertaining audiences around the globe since the mid-2000s. He'll perform four times at Improv Arlington through Saturday.
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents Bugs Bunny at the Symphony
During Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Wile E. Coyote, and Road Runner will be projected larger than life on the big screen while the Fort Worth Symphony plays the original scores live. This new edition celebrates the 30th anniversary of Bugs Bunny at the Symphony with classics like What’s Opera, Doc?, The Rabbit of Seville, and Rhapsody Rabbit, as well as some newer material. There will be three performances through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.
Saturday, September 4
Deadbeats Tour: The Revival
Deadbeats is the record label started by Canadian electronic music duo Zeds Dead, a label that has now grown to feature over 40 bands and artists. This festival-style event at Panther Island Pavilion will feature performances by a variety of current and former Deadbeat artists, including Zeds Dead, TroyBoi, Rusko, Herobust, GG Magree, MIJA, Esseks, Wreckno, and Nostalgix.
Sunday, September 5
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth presents Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler: "Flora"
Two important new works by Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler, Flora and Bust, have joined the Modern’s permanent collection. Flora is based on Hubbard / Birchler’s discoveries about the unknown American artist Flora Mayo, with whom the Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti had a love affair in Paris in the 1920s. Unfortunately, Mayo’s oeuvre has been destroyed and her biography relegated to a footnote in Giacometti scholarship. Interweaving reconstruction, reenactment, and documentary into a hybrid form of storytelling, Hubbard / Birchler reframe history through a feminist perspective and bring Mayo’s compelling biography to life. The exhibition will remain on display through January 2, 2022.
Tarrant Regional Water District presents Sunday Funday
The laidback family-friendly series Sunday Funday will come to an end on Sunday at Panther Island Pavilion, featuring tubes and pedal boats available for rent along with kayaks, paddle boards, and canoes from Backwoods Paddlesports. Cold beer and loaner ice chests are also available. There will also be a morning yoga class, food trucks, and fun in and along the Trinity River.
Doug Stone in concert
Country singer Doug Stone is an anomaly in the genre. From his debut 1990 single, "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)" to "Little Houses" in 1994, Stone had 15 straight top 10 songs, including four No. 1 hits. Yet somehow none of his albums cracked the top 10 on the Billboard Country charts. Fans can get nostalgic for Stone's 1990s heyday at this concert at Downtown Cowtown at the Isis.
The final Sunday Funday of the year will take place on September 5 at Panther Island Pavilion.
