There’s an unfair assumption about critics that all they do is mercilessly critique the work of others, never actually producing or contributing anything of their own, all while eating bonbons and whole truffles (the fungi, not the candy). Dallas Observer theater critic Elaine Liner has organized the awesomely named YOLO…
You can’t make this stuff up … said no fiction writer, ever. Mostly because they are pretty sure they can. But despite the twisty plot lines, similarities to our own lives and outta-nowhere narrative bends that authors, screenwriters and playwrights create in their minds, there’s nothing we connect with more…
If you’ve forgotten how ridiculously handsome Jake Ryan is and how you never fully understood his attraction to Samantha, then it’s time for a refresher course at Alamo Drafthouse. Tuesday is Girlie Night and they’re showing Sixteen Candles. Relive headgear, Long Duk Dong and a time when John Cusack was…
Denton’s art scene gains momentum with the inclusion of world-renowned artist Kiki Smith, who is serving an artist’s residency at UNT for the 2013-2014 academic year. Known as one of the most influential artists of her generation, Smith spent her childhood in a household she compares to the Addams Family,…
If you happened into Ro2 Gallery’s downtown space in late 2013, you might have caught One Day, an installation of totem-like structures fabricated from discarded Starbucks waste. If you missed Val Curry and Robert Reedy’s exploration of consumer culture, you have another chance to take it in during Objective Strategies,…
Jeff Gibbons is a tinkerer. An inventor. A renovator. An artist. And whether you catch the CentralTrak artist-in-residence unveiling a whirling collection of projections at Oliver Francis Gallery; experimenting with rotting citrus, ice blocks and late-model electronics at the MAC; or teasing out impermanence through foodstuffs, like in El Centro’s…
Your toddler just dropped a Cheerio on the floor and said, “Aww, motherfucking dickjob!” We’ve all been there. But what do you do about it? (After you take a video of it happening one more time, because these days your happiness is based on Facebook “likes” and this moment will…
The Dallas Opera has announced the six-work line-up for its 14th season. In it you’ll see a blend of popular moneymakers, like Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, starring Italian bass-baritone Mirco Palazzi and Austrian soprano Beate Ritter, and the thrill of new with the world premiere of Everest. We’ve been…
Rossini’s classically lighthearted tale of romance and false identity is an operatic standard. Barber of Seville’s music is so prevalent that without even seeing it performed live or in its staged form, you’ve encountered the libretto through untold doses of pop culture parody. Barney Rubble belted it in the bath…
Remember when we told you that local filmmaker Toby Halbrooks’ first short film Dig was selected for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival? Well, he’s there now and he told me to tell all of you lovely people hello. One of the cool Sundance things is watching the short films on…
The Out of the Loop Fringe Festival has been premiering new work for more than a decade. WaterTower just released the 2014 line-up, which includes 18 artists and performing arts organizations, 12 of whom make their festival debut.
Jared’s Epic Party is only a month away and he already has a ton of attractions in store that could make the richest kid in Highland Park’s birthday party look like a gathering at a Chuck E. Cheese. Besides the promise of reuniting Vanilla Ice and his “Ninja Rap” with…
Since hashtags became a thing, the four-letter slogan “YOLO” has been attached to more than 16 million pictures on Instagram of bleary-eyed frat parties, foolhardy stunts and ill-advised trips to tattoo parlors. After all, you only live once. Over at the Margo Jones Theatre in Fair Park, this motto of…
On Saturday night about 1620 of us got together at Artopia. We drank things. We shook things. We absorbed Dallas’ creativity. Picking a favorite part of the night is impossible: Downstairs Magician Confetti Eddie and sidekick the Lovely Karleena were show-stoppers, and the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group captivated us with…
Pamela Smart, the sexpot schoolteacher who seduced three teenage boys to shoot her husband, has been imprisoned without parole since 1991. Her official release year is sometime in 9999, assuming that human civilization is still alive. Yet the captive in Jeremiah Zagar’s Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart isn’t her…
© Courtesy of Sundance InstituteSixty years ago, Fred Flintstone hawked Winston cigarettes. Today, he pitches cereal. And both can kill. Stephanie Soechtig’s rabble-rousing documentary Fed Up argues that it’s time to attack Big Sugar just like we successfully demonized Big Tobacco. Narrated by Katie Couric, Fed Up is the first…
© Beth Dubber, Courtesy of Sundance InstituteKristen Stewart in Camp X-Ray.Kristen Stewart spent five Twilight films getting rescued by werewolves and vampires. Consider Camp X-Ray her rebuttal to a half-decade of playing damsels in distress. As Guantanamo guard Private Cole, Stewart is punched, bloodied, and spat on — and that’s…
File this under “Positively Charming.” Texas Theatre shows Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Saturday night, and in proper Texas Theatre style they’ve filmed a mock doc promo teaser. From the miniature architectural model to the Candy Dungeon, it’s extremely satisfying. (Especially with The Midnight Coterie of Sinister…
The perennial gaming powerhouse ScrewAttack announced that they will hold another massive gaming-gasm in Dallas this summer, and you have your first chance to pick up your tickets. The annual ScrewAttack Gaming Convention (SGC) will return to DFW on July 11-13 to the downtown Sheraton Hotel and the tickets for…
Here’s what I wrote about actor Brian J. Smith in 2002 when he was a 21-year-old student starring as Alex, head of the Droogs, in Collin College’s production of A Clockwork Orange: “His command of this difficult role is impressive and memorable. Smith, who grew up in Allen, has the…
I think by now we’ve reached an understanding. A cultural trust fall, of sorts. This Saturday is Artopia, the Observer’s annual art-dance-music-fashion party, and you should go. I say that with bias aside, because the lineup is crazy good. VIP is sold out. A few general admission tickets are still…
This is the first of what we plan to be a regular series of Q&As with the people behind some of Dallas’ more interesting, unique, art-inspired local businesses. Know of any good ones? Drop us a tip in the comments. We’re leading off with Melissa Mackaly and Photo-Wagon, the mobile…
