Compiled by Marilyn Bailey
There’s a lot to see and do out there.
Get up. Get out. Get going.
DANCE
Ballet Concerto
Will Rogers Auditorium, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth, 817-738-7915, balletconcerto.com
A Holiday Special The program is a bag of gifts, including short pieces The Christmas Grump, O Holy Night, Winterwonderland and A Flamenco Hanukkah. 7 p.m. Dec. 13
Texas Ballet Theater brings The Nutcracker to life for the holidays.
Photo courtesy of Texas Ballet Theater
Texas Ballet Theater
Bass Performance Hall, 4th and Calhoun streets, Fort Worth; Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St., Dallas; 877-828-9200, texasballettheater.org
The Nutcracker The area’s most lavish production of the beloved Christmas ballet opened in Dallas in November and moves to Fort Worth in mid-December for three weeks’ worth of performances, including 10 family-friendly matinees. Dallas, through Dec. 8; Fort Worth, Dec. 13-29
ART
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
1720 Gendy St., Fort Worth, 817-336-4475, cowgirl.net
Laura Wilson: Looking West Check out the work of this 2019 Hall of Fame inductee whose work chronicles the land, the traditions and the people of the West. Through March 15
William Campbell Contemporary Art
4935 Byers Ave., Fort Worth, 817-737-9566, williamcampbellcontemporaryart.com
Otis Jones The Texas-born artist, who lives in Dallas, shows his minimalist but mesmerizing collection of geometric shapes that explores scale and composition along with nuances of color. Through Jan. 4
Otis Jones, Blue with 2 White Rectangles Far Apart, 2019; acrylic on linen on wood.
Photo courtesy of William Campbell Contemporary Art
Artspace111
111 Hampton St., Fort Worth 817-692-3228, artspace111.com
Jon Flaming We love his “Modern Cowboy” series, just some of the work from this Dallas-based artist (his last name is pronounced “Fleming”) with a passion for Texas icons, from dance halls to barbecue joints. His bold style is part folk art with a contemporary twist. And John Wayne’s family are fans, too.
Dec. 5-Feb. 8
Jon Flaming, Approaching Rider, 2019; oil on canvas.
Photo courtesy of Artspace111
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, 817-738-1933, cartermuseum.org
The Carter bids farewell to the Gordon Parks exhibit Dec. 29 and opens three photography shows drawn from the museum’s extensive collection.
• Tracing the Past: Scott and Stuart Gentling’s Birds of Texas The museum’s spotlight on the Fort Worth artists’ watercolors and drawings continues with the second of two shows featuring work from the Gentlings’ “Of Birds and Texas” portfolio. The 21-piece show explores how the brothers focused on Texas birds, with a nod to historical imagery from other artists. Dec. 7-March 8
Eliot Porter, Purple Gallinule, Everglades National Park, Florida, March 2, 1954; dye imbibition print
Image courtesy of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art
• Looking In: Photography From the Outside More than 60 works from six artists including Richard Avedon, Laura Gilpin and Dorothea Lange examine documentary photography and how each photographer approached their subjects. It also examines how these images were perceived by viewers and the line photographers straddled between ethics and privacy in depicting a community and culture. Dec. 21-May 10
Richard Avedon, Freida Kleinsasser, Thirteen Year Old, Hutterite Colony, Harlowton, Montana, 6/23/83; gelatin silver print
Image courtesy of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art
• Eliot Porter’s Birds Opening in the new year is an exhibition of little-seen color photographs of birds by the nature photographer better known for his landscapes. The photos are part of the Carter’s large Porter collection, which also includes writings from the artist about his work. Jan. 4-May 10
Scott Gentling and Stuart Gentling, Cattle Egret, Sept. 5, 1984; graphite, opaque and transparent watercolor
Image courtesy of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art
MUSIC
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Unless otherwise noted (the FWSO is spreading holiday cheer widely this season, from the Will Rogers complex to Denton and Southlake), concerts are at Bass Performance Hall, 4th and Calhoun streets, 817-665-6000, fwsymphony.org.
• Handel’s Messiah After the Home for the Holidays pops weekend wraps up Dec. 1, the orchestra joins with guest vocal soloists and the University of North Texas A Cappella Choir in presenting the Easter-themed oratorio we all love to hear as Christmas nears. This year, for the first time, FWSO performs both at Bass Hall and at Murchison Performing Arts Center, 2100 N. Interstate 35 on UNT’s main campus. Denton 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6; Fort Worth 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9
• Sounds of the Season FWSO’s young conducting fellow Alex Amsel leads a pair of family-friendly concerts filled with light holiday fare. Catch the program at White’s Chapel United Methodist Church, 185 S. White Chapel Blvd., Southlake, 7 p.m. Dec. 19; Arborlawn United Methodist Church, 5001 Briarhaven Road, Fort Worth, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20
Trumpeter Byron Stripling also sings and conducts in his festive holiday concert with the Fort Worth Symphony.
Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
• Holiday Swing With Byron Stripling The trumpeter, singer and conductor leads a concert for those who like their holiday tunes with an old-school, toe-tapping swing. Will Rogers Auditorium, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave.,
Fort Worth, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 21
• New Year’s Eve: A Gershwin Celebration Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts a midevening concert that might make an elegant start for your New Year’s Eve. Ann Hampton Callaway, a Tony nominee for the Broadway musical Swing!, sings all the Gershwin standards, and Grammy nominee Shelly Berg is the pianist in Rhapsody in Blue. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 31
Performing Arts Fort Worth
Bass Performance Hall, 4th and Calhoun streets, 817-212-4280, basshall.com
Cowtown-pleasing holiday favorites return.
• Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis Holiday Shindig The country/Americana couple have honed a sweet show of Christmas covers. At Bass Hall’s McDavid Studio. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4
• Michael Martin Murphey’s Cowboy Christmas A pioneer of Austin’s early ’70s music scene, Murphey left Texas long ago for the mountains, but he has kept up his study of old Cowboy music and traditions and keeps this longtime favorite show fresh. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16
Robert Earl Keen returns to Fort Worth for his Christmas concert.
Photo courtesy of Robert Earl Keen
• Robert Earl Keen If you know his sardonic holiday song “Merry Christmas From the Family,” you’ll get the spirit of this show. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, the theme this year is “Countdown to Christmas: Lunar Tunes & Looney Times.” Austin’s Shinyribs opens. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 30
FILM
The Grand Berry Theater
2712 Weisenberger St., Fort Worth, grandberrytheater.com
• The Aeronauts Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones (Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde in The Theory of Everything) reunite for this action caper about a 19th-century hot-air balloonist and a meteorologist. Dec. 6-12
• Temblores (Tremors) A married man who is part of an evangelical-Christian community in Guatemala leaves his wife when he falls in love with another man. Dec. 13-19
• Mickey and the Bear A teenage girl in Anaconda, Montana, must navigate a loving but fraught relationship with her single dad, a veteran (James Badge Dale). Dec. 20-26
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
3200 Darnell St., 817-738-9215, themodern.org
• Parasite Director Bong Joon Ho’s dark comedy about class conflict in South Korea has been getting some of the best reviews of the year and won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Nov. 29-Dec. 1 and Dec. 6-8
• Human Screening as part of the Movies That Matter series presented with the city of Fort Worth, the ambitious Human is made up of stories and footage that celebrate Earth and its inhabitants, complete with aerial imagery and inspiring music. 7 p.m. Dec. 5
Parasite is one of the most talked-about movies this year.
Photo courtesy of NEON
HOLIDAYS
Grapevine’s Parade of Lights celebrates 40 years.
Photo courtesy of Grapevine Chamber of Commerce
Grapevine’s Parade of Lights
Main Street, downtown Grapevine, grapevinetexasusa.com/christmas
This is the 40th anniversary of the celebration that bills itself as the biggest lighted parade in North Texas. It is spectacular: Expect more than 100 lighted floats (with Santa arriving on the final one), plus great marching bands and more. 7 p.m. Dec. 5
Reliant Lights Your Holidays
Sammons Park, 2403 Flora St., Dallas, attpac.org
AT&T Performing Arts Center marks the start of the holiday season with a concert and fireworks show. Enjoy arts and crafts for the kids and an interesting mix of holiday music from Mariachi Rosas Divinas, an all-female mariachi group, and War — yes, the band behind “Low Rider” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” 5:30 p.m. Dec. 7
Twinkle Light Boat Parade
Grapevine Lake, grapevinetexasusa.com/christmas
Watercraft of all sizes are decked out in holiday lights in a festive floating parade. Landlubbers can watch from Silver Lake Park, 100-248 E. Hudgins St., and Rockledge Park, 3600 Pilot Point, Grapevine. 6-8 p.m. Dec. 7
Palace Theatre
300 S. Main St., Grapevine, 817-410-3100, grapevinetexasusa.com/palace-theatre/movies
Holiday movies The Palace’s generous annual holiday-film programming is too extensive for a complete listing here, but many screenings sell out, so check the full schedule online and buy tickets to your favorites early.
• A Christmas Carol Kick things off with the 1951 version Dec. 2
• It’s a Wonderful Life and White Christmas Four showings each of these holiday classics
• A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Multiple showings of this animated double feature Dec. 16, 21 and 23
• Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer make for double the fun. Wear Christmas pajamas to the 11 a.m. screening the final day. Dec. 17 and 22
THEATER
Broadway at the Bass
Bass Performance Hall, 4th and Calhoun streets, Fort Worth, 817-212-4280, basshall.com
Miss Saigon One of the biggest spectacles of modern Broadway returns to Bass Hall in a new production. The story, a version of the Madama Butterfly plot set in the Vietnam War era, is a true epic, and the production values are cinematic (there’s a working helicopter rotor onstage at one point). Note: This comes with a “mature content” warning. Dec. 3-8
Looking ahead to January, tickets are on sale for the one-night performance of the Tony Award-winning revival of The Color Purple Jan. 5 and Hello, Dolly! Jan. 14-19.
Thuy dies as Kim and young Tam look on in Miss Saigon.
Photo by Matthew Murphy
It’s a one-night stand for The Color Purple at Bass Performance Hall.
Photo by Matthew Murphy
National Theatre Live
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3100 Darnell St., 817-738-9215 (the Modern) or 817-923-3012 (Amphibian box office), themodern.org/films or amphibianstage.org
A Midsummer Night’s Dream This broadcast of a production from London’s Bridge Theatre promises an “immersive” staging that will plunge you into a world of nasty fogs and flying fairies. Gwendoline Christie, so memorable as Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones, plays Titania. Dec. 11 and 14
Gwendoline Christie is Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Photo by Manuel Harlan
Stolen Shakespeare Guild
Fort Worth Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy St., stolenshakespeareguild.org
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley This little classical-theater company is developing quite a sideline in Jane Austen stagings. Billed as a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, this one focuses on Mary Bennet. Mary! (Austen fans are fanning themselves.) As the family gathers for Christmas at Liz and Darcy’s house, can the bookish middle sister find love? Dec. 6-22