It’s a busy three days, so I’ll skip my usual pleasantries and just get right to it.
Friday
If you missed French designer Jean Paul Gaultier last week at The Round Up Saloon, never fear. His video-animated mannequin is still here. Tonight’s late night at the Dallas Museum of Art celebrates the massive Gaultier exhibit, on loan from the Musée des Beaux Arts de Montreal, where you’ll find 140 haute couture dresses and ready-to-wear pieces alongside 40 years of Gaultier’s designs (including wardrobes for various films and Madonna’s Blonde Ambition tour).
Admission to the exhibit isn’t included in the regular ticket price, but if you enjoy wearing stripes, as I do, you can get in for two bucks less. Also part of the party: Oak Cliff community artists and artisans. I suggest bundling up, since it sounds like much of the festivities will take place outside. Expect art and craft installations from Oil & Cotton in the courtyard, and the hungry should keep an eye out for Katherine Clapner of Dude, Sweet Chocolate and folks from Oak Cliff Crêperie. The Texas Theatre will screen The Fifth Element, the 1996 film featuring costumes designed by Gaultier, on the exterior of the building. If you don’t want to see a movie exposed to the elements, check out Madonna’s Truth or Dare, which follows the singer on her aforementioned Blonde Ambition tour.
Saturday
As Krista reported on Wednesday, downtown has spent the last couple weeks prepping for CityLights, Downtown Dallas Inc.’s big holiday extravaganza. In addition to the tree lighting and ceremony, there will be an outdoor market, face-painting, ornament-making, music, food and more. My favorite part is always the Neiman Marcus store windows, which will be unveiled Saturday as well. Kids get to explore the store’s crawl tubes (jealous). Adults get to take advantage of the discounts at local restaurants Krista posted on SideDish, but I’m not convinced it’s quite an even trade.
And speaking of lights and Christmas and all that stuff, it’s Nutcracker season. And while we’ll have much more info on the best North Texas productions next week on FrontRow, the first, performed by the traveling arm of the Moscow Ballet, goes up this weekend at McFarlin Auditorium. If you appreciate authenticity, a Russian production is the way to go. The popular ballet was first commissioned by the director of Moscow’s Imperial Theatres and performed in 1892, and it wasn’t until 1934 that the piece worked its way out of Russia. Saturday is the last day to see it here. And because I know that this is a deal-breaking detail for some: the dancers are accompanied not by a recording of Tchaikovsky’s score, but the live strains of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Sunday
I’ve been in sort of a twitchy mood since I mustered up an unexpected amount of anger to write about a children’s movie over on FrontRow. So, parents, I’d really like to take this opportunity to implore you not to take your kids to see Happy Feet 2 this weekend. Anything would be better than that mind-numbingly lazy excuse for entertainment. Pinkalicious at the Eisemann Center is sold out, but there’s A Tuna Christmas at Casa Mañana, Madeline’s Christmas or a puppet version of The Nutcracker at the Dallas Children’s Theater, a mega exhibit of sharks at the Museum of Nature and Science…seriously. Anything.
For more to do this weekend, go here.
