Wait Until Dark–first staged in 1966 and written by Frederick Knott–tells the story of Susy, a woman forced to confront three hoodlums who’ve come to her apartment looking for a very valuable doll. If that doesn’t sound too suspenseful, try this on for size–Susy is blind and the doll is…
Henry VIII was an all-around bastard, but just in case you had any doubts on that score, go and check out Anna Bolena, Donizetti’s Italian opera version of how Henry’s second wife ended up with her head separated from her neck. Back in Good King Henry’s day, Anne Boleyn started…
Hegemony (n.): the political, economic, ideological or cultural power exerted by a dominant group over another group, usually through unwitting consent. In less stilted graduate-school terms, hegemony is manipulating the masses to accept a way of thinking, acting, consuming, etc. without them realizing they’re being manipulated. The saps on Jersey…
National Grandparents Day wasn’t the only important day in September this year, as the 16th marked the bicentennial of Mexico’s independence. To celebrate, Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery has a new exhibition of Nickolas Muray’s portraits of Frida Kahlo on display through January 1. Nickolas Muray was born in Hungary…
When we first see Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, the final adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” trilogy, she is being transported to a hospital in Gothenburg, bloodied almost beyond recognition, the result of a bullet put in her brain by Zalachenko, her barbaric…
Life is wonderful, death is wow, chance is weird and Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter is a puddle of tepid ick. Is America’s last cowboy icon prospecting for more Oscar gold? Taking for his map an original screenplay by British docu-dramatist Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon), Eastwood rides a sleepy burro deep…
After Fox Searchlight’s Amelia spectacularly flamed out last October, the studio tries again to grab awards-season honors with another biopic starring and executive-produced by Hilary Swank. Gone is the Kansas-patrician enunciation and smartly tailored Depression-era trousers; as Conviction’s Betty Anne Waters, a Massachusetts high school dropout and single mom who…
A name and voice that has transitioned and translated across cultural borders is coming to the American Airlines Center Sunday. El Idolo de Mexico, the Latin Elvis Presley and an icon of Latin music since his emergence in the ’60s, Vicente Fernandez brings his rich, longing voice to Dallas with…
Doggone it. Every dog has its day. Slip on one of these cliches–along with your running shoes–for the Lakewood Service League’s seventh annual Walk, Wag and Run this Saturday. There will be a 5K and 10K at 8 a.m., followed by doggy events (a walk and wag, canine agility course…
We remember the very first Art Conspiracy way back in 2005, when it was held in the Texas Theatre and we were able to land a sweet painting of a grinning bandito for only $20, because no one else could see the value in it (suckers!). Five years later, Art…
It’s been right around six months since the devastating fire that devoured four beloved bars and restaurants on Lower Greenville Avenue. And while the time has passed and more and more information has leaked out about insurance (or the lack thereof) claims, lost jobs and the cause of the blaze,…
It’s not that stand-up comics aren’t a bunch of go-getters. It’s rough work hitting up open mikes and going on the road for weeks before returning to ungainful employment. But comic Jose Sarduy isn’t another joke-cracking pizza delivery engineer–he’s an Air Force officer who worked on bits when he wasn’t…
Want to get the heck out of Dallas but aren’t sure where to go? Don’t worry, it’s a common problem. There are so many destinations that it can be overwhelming to plan for what should be a relaxing (or enjoyably adventurous) vacation. The Travel & Adventure Show aims to help…
Whenever the Mavs play the Rockets, we think back on that 40-point beat-down our boys in blue delivered in their game seven, round one match-up in the 2005 playoffs, and how we called our Houston buddy and left obnoxious voice mails on his phone for several hours afterwards. Life has…
Who’s really scared of haunted houses? I’m sure that some people consider a strobe light or two and some creepy ass dude wearing a stupid rubber mask in an old house a good way to get a thrill, or a laugh. But what about someplace where you can experience genuine…
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas–no, this isn’t a belated “Best of Dallas” recommendation–is opening this weekend for a quickie run at Casa Manana. The whorehouse, dubbed the Chicken Ranch during the Depression, when the pleasure palace’s policy was “one bird, one lay,” does brisk business with college boys and…
Hard to believe it’s been 25 years since Super Mario Bros. came out, but it’s true. After our parents relented and got us the Nintendo Entertainment System, we spent so many hours trying to rescue the princess that the game’s fantasy world started to bleed over into real life. We’d…
Even though we all thought he was a happy, vivacious performer best enjoyed at a humid outdoor venue or inside minivans, Rick Springfield has had a dark life. And he wants to tell you about it, so read his new autobiography, Late, Late at Night. The book, which Springfield authored…
Imagine traveling through the mountains of Asia, the deserts of Africa and beaches of Mexico, all in one weekend. After dropping a few thousand bucks exploring Asia, you may or may not take that trip down to Africa, and you’ve probably already forgotten about Mexico. This year’s third annual WorldFest…
There are some (like me) who can watch the very first season of Star Trek (aka TOS) and find themselves absolutely giddy at the costuming, the dialogue, the sets, the everything. There are others who are so into The Next Generation that they identify as a Spiner Femme and take…
For everyone who has ever said that Deep Ellum is dead…well, here you go: proof positive. Because throughout the month of October, all manner of dead things will be wandering around in Slaughterhouse 2010 as they set up shop at 2615 Elm St. Slaughterhouse is scarier than the bathrooms at…
If we drew a Venn diagram, how much overlap would there be between Renaissance fair-goers and haunted house lovers? Surely, the folks who don velvet berets and corsets in the spring also enjoy applying fake wounds and black garb in the fall, right? At the very least, there’s a common…
