As it always is during the first weekend of December, holiday spirit will be alive and well in events in and around Fort Worth through theater, concerts, and a special show. Other choices include a few non-holiday theater productions, including the national tour of a Broadway musical, a comedian, and three country concerts, including one singer playing before his biggest audience yet.
Photo courtesy of Jon Pardi
Jon Pardi will play at Dickies Arena on December 2.
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 in the area? That list is here.
Thursday, November 30
Casa Mañana presents Christmas in the Movies
Everyone has that list of must-watch Christmas movies, from the classic White Christmas to the recent hit Spirited, as well as Love Actually, The Polar Express, Holiday Inn, or Elf. Visitors can cozy up with a spiked hot cocoa or winter cocktail for a night of songs from the big screen. With performances taking place in the Reid Cabaret Theatre, the production runs through December 16 at Casa Mañana.
Stage West presents Poor Clare
Clare is a stylish teen living in medieval Italy, trying out the newest hairstyles, and keeping up with the latest fashions and juicy town gossip. But everything changes when she meets a man named Francis who has started ranting in the streets. Her mother, sister, and maids don’t understand it, but this man’s ideas are, like, totally starting to make sense – and now she can’t unsee the world he has shown her. The production, making its regional premiere, runs through December 17 at Stage West Theatre.
Broadway at the Bass presents Six
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take the mic to remix 50 years of historical heartbreak into an exuberant celebration of 21st century girl power. The national tour of the Tony-winning musical runs through Sunday at Bass Performance Hall.
Friday, December 1
Artisan Center Theater presents The Elves and the Shoemaker
A lone shoemaker makes shoes that are uncomfortable and impossible to walk in … leaving a lot of barefoot villagers and the shoemaker without means to provide for his family. The shoemaker’s fate changes when a stranger makes an offer of a lifetime. The shoemaker and his family quickly learn that fortune doesn’t necessarily equal happiness. The production runs through December 30 at Artisan Center Theater in Hurst.
TCU School of Music presents Christmas Festival at TCU
The Christmas Festival at TCU ushers in the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany with a seamless program of ensemble and combined works familiar and new. The TCU Symphony Orchestra, Cantiamo, Concert Chorale, and Frog Corps will perform as individual groups and as a massed ensemble of nearly 200 performers. The concert takes place at Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU.
Lauren Daigle in concert
Contemporary Christian singer Lauren Daigle has been topping the Billboard Christian charts since she released her debut album, How Can It Be, in 2015. Now 32, Daigle has had multiple No. 1 songs that have helped her maintain her dominance in the genre, including "Thank God I Do" off of her recently-released self-titled album. She'll play at Dickies Arena.
Theatre Arlington presents A Christmas Carol: The Radio Show
It’s Christmas Eve, and with the actors snowed in and unable to make it to the studios of WXMS for the live radio performance of A Christmas Carol, the sound effects person decides to take the audience through the classic tale himself. This telling is performed as a 1940s radio play with one person providing all of the characters’ voices and sound effects. The production runs through December 17 at Theatre Arlington.
Stolen Shakespeare Guild presents Emma
Stolen Shakespeare Guild will highlight an evening with Jane Austen’s matchmaking heroine, Emma, and her romantic misadventures as she navigates finding love. The production runs through December 17 at Arts Fort Worth.
Hyena's presents Kurt Metzger
Kurt Metzger is an Emmy and Peabody Award winning comedian and writer who was a series regular alongside Alan Alda, Jessica Lange, Steve Buscemi, and Edie Falco on Louis C.K.’s Horace and Pete. He also appeared on Inside Amy Schumer, IFC’s Benders, and FX’s Louie, voiced the lead role of Randall Skeffington on Comedy Central’s Ugly Americans, and can be heard on Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He'll perform four times through Saturday at Hyena's Comedy Club.
Brett Young in concert
Unlike some other country stars, Brett Young's career has been a bit of slow burn. He released three albums in 2012 and 2013, with none of them making much of an impact. But his 2017 self-titled album made it to No. 2 on the Billboard Country charts, followed by the No. 1 Ticket to L.A. in 2018. He'll play at Billy Bob's Texas in support of his new album, Across the Sheets.
Saturday, December 2
Jon Pardi in concert
Country singer Jon Pardi has been popular since his debut in 2014, with all four of his albums getting to the top five on the Billboard Country charts, topped by 2016's No. 1 California Sunrise. His string of hits read like a primer for any good country musician, including "Head Over Boots," "Dirt on My Boots," "Heartache Medication," and "Ain't Always the Cowboy." He's graduated from dates at Billy Bob's Texas to this concert at Dickies Arena, which comes soon after the release of his first Christmas album, Merry Christmas from Jon Pardi.
City of Grapevine presents Merry & Bright Christmas Drone Show
Grapevine’s Merry & Bright Christmas Drone Show takes the Christmas Capital of Texas to new heights, with a fleet of 160 drones creating Christmas magic in the sky over Main Street in front of Grapevine Main Station. There will be shows every Saturday night through December 16.
Stoney LaRue in concert
Singer-songwriter Stoney LaRue is part of the recent wave of Texas Country/Red Dirt artists, having put out six albums since 2002, including 2019's Onward. LaRue is as close to a regular at Billy Bob's as you can get, having played there multiple times and even recording a live album there in 2007. He'll play there yet again on Saturday night.
