Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Fort Worth this weekend

With Christmas weekend just a week away, holiday events will once again be prominent in this week's roundup. Three local theater companies will put on holiday parties and the Nutcracker will go nutty for one night. There will also be a trio of bands playing concerts, an anniversary celebration for an iconic museum, Star Wars backed by a symphony, and more.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events. Looking for the best Christmas lights around town? That list is here.

Thursday, December 15

Stolen Shakespeare Guild Holiday Party
Stolen Shakespeare Guild's Holiday Party is a special fundraising event for the theater company. Taking place at the Ball-Eddleman-McFarland-House, it will feature a reading of their Christmas Carol radio show, some singing of carols, drinks, and hors d’oeuvres.

Amphibian Stage presents A Winter's Cabaret
Amphibian Stage's A Winter's Cabaret will be a night of holiday classics, Broadway favorites, and a boozy sing-a-long. Performers will include Broadway’s Tari Kelly and Dallas-Fort Worth favorite Lauren Urso. There will also be a champagne station and passed hors d'oeuvres by Tasha Monticure at South Main Bodega. The event takes place at Amphibian Stage.

Blue October in concert
Houston rock band Blue October has been at it for almost 25 years now, chugging along with their core group of fans despite never achieving true breakthrough success. Their biggest songs, "Hate Me" and "Into the Ocean," came off their 2006 album, Foiled, although their five subsequent albums charted higher. They'll play on both Friday and Saturday at Tannahill's Tavern & Music Hall in support of their new album, Spinning the Truth Around.

Friday, December 16

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth presents Ando Building's 20th Anniversary
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Modern’s building, visitors can explore the museum for free through Sunday. Tadao Ando’s “arbor for art” has become a beloved destination for Fort Worthians and people around the world since opening on December 14, 2002. Visitors can experience the tranquil, light-filled spaces and restful pond that reflect Ando’s genius. The highlighted exhibition on display is "Modern Masters: A Tribute to Anne Windfohr Marion," and The Modern trees will be illuminated with an array of festive lights in celebration of the holiday season.

Magnolia at the Modern: Memories of My Father
Memories of My Father tells the story of Héctor Abad Gómez, a doctor and a human rights activist concerned with both his own children and the children of the underprivileged classes in the violent 1970s in Medellin, Colombia. Driven by sadness and rage when a terrible cancer takes the life of one of his daughters, Héctor devotes himself to the social and political causes of the time, without regard to his personal safety. The film, in Spanish with English subtitles, will screen six times through Sunday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Upright Theatre Co. presents Holly Jolly Holiday Party
The talented performers at Upright Theatre Co. will present an evening of holiday fun. Visitors will enjoy food, holiday games, and live entertainment, all while raising money for a great cause. Two dollars from every ticket sold will go towards the Euless Police Benevolent Organization, a nonprofit organization formed to provide college scholarships for police department employees’ dependent children, honor retiring employees, and more.

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra presents Star Wars: A New Hope
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will take audiences on a journey as young farm boy Luke Skywalker is thrust into a galaxy of adventure when he intercepts a distress call from the captive Princess Leia. The event launches him on a daring mission to rescue her from the clutches of Darth Vader and the evil Empire. The orchestra will play John Williams’ beloved score live while the film is played on a big screen. There will be three performances through Sunday at Will Rogers Auditorium.

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutty Nutcracker
Back for one night only - and for possibly the last time - The Nutty Nutcracker is a nutty take on the holiday classic. From current events and pop culture, hilarious new characters join Clara to turn the traditional tale on its head. You never know who will make an appearance, so get ready for a magical evening of side-splitting laughs. The performance will be at Bass Performance Hall.

Flatland Cavalry in concert
Flatland Cavalry, a country/Americana band from Lubbock that has released an EP and three studio albums, has experienced a modicum of national success, with their first album, 2016's Humble Folks, peaking at No. 38 on the Billboard Country charts. They'll play on both Friday and Saturday at Billy Bob's Texas in support of their new EP, Songs to Keep You Warm.

Sunday, December 18

Jared's Epic Blaster Battle Holiday Edition
Jared's Epic Blaster Battle, hosted by YouTuber Jared Guynes, will present their first ever holiday edition event for what they promise will be the largest and most incredible foam blaster battle of all time. The event, taking place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, will feature appearances by other popular YouTube and TikTok creators.

Charlie Robison in concert
Anyone who knows Texas country music knows the name of Charlie Robison, as he's the brother of singer/songwriter Bruce Robison and the ex-husband of Emily Strayer of The Chicks. His last album was 2013's High Life, and in 2018 he retired after complications from surgery left him unable to sing at the time. Things have clearly improved in the four years since, and fans can see the result when he plays at Tannahill's Tavern & Music Hall.

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutty Nutcracker

Photo courtesy of Texas Ballet Theater

Texas Ballet Theater will present The Nutty Nutcracker at Bass Performance Hall on December 16.

theater holidays fundraisers music concerts movies symphony dance festivals kids families event-planner

Movie Review

Long-anticipated Wicked movie adaptation does not disappoint

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-Butera in Wicked.

The musical Wicked is indisputably the biggest Broadway smash of the 21st century, having grossed more $1.6 billion in New York alone and achieving the rare feat of running for over 20 years. All of which is to say that the long-awaited movie adaptation of The Wizard of Oz prequel will most likely be a massive success whether it lives up to what longtime fans envisioned or not.

Part one — yes, this 2 hour and 40 minute film is merely the first act of the musical; part two arrives a year from now — introduces Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), the green-skinned witch who goes on to become Dorothy’s nemesis, and G(a)linda (Ariana Grande-Butera), the pink-garbed “good” witch, as they meet at Shiz University in Oz. Glinda is the ultra-popular one with sycophantic hangers-on, while Elphaba is shunned by almost everyone, sometimes including her disabled sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode), who’s desperate to make her own space away from Elphaba.

Her mistreatment by others leads Elphaba to get angry, which manifests itself in uncontrollable magic. Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) notices this and takes a personal interest in her, giving her one-on-one instruction in hopes of harnessing her power. In the meantime, Elphaba and Glinda attempt to go from forced roommates to actual friends, although Glinda’s entitled personality is more of an obstacle than anything else they encounter.

Directed by Jon M. Chu and written by original book writer Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, the film does a great job of distinguishing itself from the stage version while still remaining true to what made it so beloved. As Chu showed in his last film, In the Heights, he has an innate feel for how to tap into the essence of the source material while expanding it into something befitting the scope of a blockbuster movie.

In this case, he finds a way to give even greater emphasis to the bigotry that Elphaba faces simply because of her green skin; the fact that she is being played by a Black woman drives home the point even more. The story remains light and fluffy for the most part, but the ostracization/otherness that Elphaba feels is delivered in a powerful way, as is her empathy for talking animals like Dr. Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage), who are facing their own persecution.

Of course, the highlight of the film is Stephen Schwartz’s music, and while not all of the songs are equal in impact, they still make for a cohesive whole. The number of songs and order they appear in the first act is identical to the stage musical, with the standouts remaining “The Wizard and I,” “Popular,” and “Defying Gravity.” While there is some superfluous action and cutaways added to certain numbers, it’s not enough to distract from what makes the songs effective.

Oddly, the progression of the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda works better on stage when the timeline is accelerated, but Erivo and Grande-Butera make up for this slight lack with their fantastic performances. The emotion each brings to their characters fits them almost perfectly, and there’s simply no denying the strength of each of their voices. Bode, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, and more make for a solid supporting cast.

The well-known ending of the first act of Wicked is a huge high point that is so good that it almost makes up for the fact that audiences won’t see the second film for a long time. But if part one is any indication, part two should turn out to be another great musical theater adaptation in a decade that has already seen its fair share.

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Wicked opens in theaters on November 22.

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Movie Review

Long-anticipated Wicked movie adaptation does not disappoint