HOT TICKETS

Arts & Letters Live

Moody Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St., Dallas, dma.org

Mo Rocca The Dallas Museum of Art and KERA host the popular humorist as he takes the audience through favorite passages from his book, Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving. The funny and insightful Rocca celebrates dead people — entertainers, artists, athletes, politicians and more — who fascinate him. VIP tickets include a copy of the book, front-row seats and a priority pass for a book signing. Jan. 22

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

Will Rogers Memorial Center, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave.; Dickies Arena, 1911 Montgomery St.; fwssr.com

It’s no surprise that tickets for this year’s rodeo events are hot items. The chance to see everything from the fan favorite Best of the West Ranch Rodeo to Bull’s Night Out in the new Dickies Arena is a big draw for veteran and first-time FWSSR attendees. New events at Dickies include a ProRodeo tournament; new appearances include the Budweiser Clydesdales. But some things remain the same. The parade in downtown Fort Worth on Jan. 18 is ever popular, with more than 2,000 horses featured in the nonmechanized event, and the midway continues to light up Lancaster Avenue along with the newly restored Pioneer Tower. And the Will Rogers complex remains a big draw. One of Fort Worth’s underrated venues, Will Rogers Auditorium hosts new events including concerts and an invitational mariachi competition featuring the top high school teams from around the state. The Bud Light Roadhouse returns with a full schedule of musicians, bands and cowboy poetry. Of course, there’s the full lineup of livestock shows to enjoy. One of the best parts of the stock show is to wander through the barns to check out everything from cattle to pigs to rabbits. And the traditional final day sale of champions returns to the West Arena. Check out the detailed website for more about everything from parking to vendor location. Jan. 17-Feb. 8

Eat/Drink

Reata remains an FWSSR fixture with its trio of dining options: the Backstage Club will be open to the public (no memberships required) for imbibing and dining. Reata at the Rodeo returns inside the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall as a full-service restaurant for lunch and dinner. And La Espuela Mexican Cantina offers fast casual tacos, enchiladas and more in the Centennial Room of the Charlie and Kit Moncrief Building. To find days, hours and menus, go to reata.net/fwssr. For breakfast, check out the biscuits and gravy at the Stockman’s 24 Hour Cafe. Wine and craft beer are gaining a foothold at the FWSSR with multiple sip-and-shop events, The Corkyard and a Bubbles & Bites Culinary Experience featuring brunch items from local chefs paired with bubbly. Check out times, tickets and information on the FWSSR website.

Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St., 817-877-3003, chambermusicfw.org

“Beethoven the Craftsman” 2020 is Beethoven’s 250th birthday year, and the classical musical world is going all-out in celebration. This concert offers three CMSFW regulars (including artistic director Gary Levinson on violin) in an all-Beethoven program, including the piano trio nicknamed “Ghost,” with one movement partly inspired by the witches in Macbeth. 2 p.m. Jan. 25

Cliburn at the Bass

Bass Performance Hall, 4th and Calhoun streets, Fort Worth, 817-212-4280, cliburn.org

“Beethoven at 250” The year’s first big Beethoven bash is so very Cliburn: all five of the composer’s piano concertos performed in one day, each by a different pianist, with Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra as collaborators. In the afternoon, 2005 Cliburn silver medalist Joyce Yang is the soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1, followed by David Fray in No. 2 and 1997 gold medalist Jon Nakamatsu in No. 3. In the evening, pianist George Li performs No. 4 and Till Fellner plays No. 5, “The Emperor,” for the big finish. 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 4

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Bass Performance Hall, 4th and Calhoun streets, Fort Worth, 817-665-6000, fwsymphony.org

• Disney Fantasia: Live in Concert Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts music from Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 as memorable scenes from the films — including Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Hyacinth Hippo dancing in her little tutu — screen overhead. 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3

• Revolution: Music of the Beatles The Fab Four’s catalog gets the full orchestral treatment in a new tribute program (not the same arrangements — or personnel — that fans have enjoyed for years at Concerts in the Garden). Hundreds of rare photos along with video clips accompany the show. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday Jan. 24-26

Melange Musical

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St.; Lancaster Theatre in the Palace Arts Center, 300 S. Main St., Grapevine; melangemusical.com

Oboist Susanna Hilliard, violist Iris Messinger and violinist Chuong Vu, a trio of classical musicians based in Grapevine, along with guest artists perform in a pair of chamber music concerts in Fort Worth and Grapevine. The program includes music by Fauré and Stamitz, and a world premiere by composer Dang Hong Anh. Fort Worth, 2 p.m. Jan. 11; Grapevine, 4 p.m. Jan. 12

Sounds Modern

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St., 817-738-9215, themodern.org

“Alone Within the Herd” Sounds Modern explores themes inspired by the art of Robyn O’Neil, subject of a current show at the museum, with music by Chaya Czernowin, Toshio Hosokawa and local composer Andrew May. The audience is invited to join in the avant-garde classic Les Moutons de Panurge by Frederic Rzewski, whose score calls for “any number of non-musicians playing anything.” 2 p.m. Jan. 4

The Grand Berry Theater

2712 Weisenberger St., Fort Worth, grandberrytheater.com

In Fabric In a film by British director Peter Strickland, a divorced woman shops a London department store in search of a dress that will change her life. But the blood-red gown she chooses leads to horror. Jan. 6-9

Waves Texas-born writer-director Trey Edward Shults tells the story of an African American family in South Florida as they steer through the aftermath of a tragedy. Sterling K. Brown of This Is Us (also an Emmy winner for The People vs. O.J. Simpson) leads the cast. Jan. 10-23

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

Magnolia at the Modern, 3200 Darnell St., 817-738-9215, themodern.org

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project Documentarian Matt Wolf chronicles the life of a left-wing activist who became a wealthy eccentric who obsessively videotaped decades of TV news broadcasts, creating an archive of our times. Jan. 3-5

The Kingmaker A documentary look at Imelda Marcos, wife of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, along with her family and their legacy in the Philippines, including Imelda’s efforts to get her son, Bongbong, elected vice president (he lost, narrowly, in 2016). Jan. 10-12

Cunningham A must-see for dance fans, this innovative documentary celebrates the late modern choreographer Merce Cunningham with footage that includes restagings of key excerpts, including the famous Summerspace (1958) and RainForest (1968). Jan. 17-19

Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2020 The annual screenings of short live-action and animated films nominated for this year’s Academy Awards. The two packages alternate, with the live-action batch screening only 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday; and the animated group 4 and 8 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday, and noon and 4 p.m. Sunday. Jan. 31-Feb. 2

Amon Carter Museum of American Art

3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, 817-738-1933, cartermuseum.org

Eliot Porter’s Birds The pioneering color photographer made ravishing images of birds every spring for more than 50 years, setting a new standard for the form, much as Audubon did with his paintings in the 19th century. The exhibit includes more than 30 photos along with some of Porter’s research notes and other archival objects. Jan. 4-May 10

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

3200 Darnell St., 817-738-9215, themodern.org

FOCUS: Hrair Sarkissian The Modern gives this Syrian-born artist his first solo exhibition in Texas. The three pieces represent different strains of his life’s work, which explores issues of conflict, violence and erasure. His best-known piece is Execution Squares (2008), 14 photos taken in three Syrian cities in early morning, when criminals are executed in public squares. Jan. 24-March 15

Broadway at the Bass

Bass Performance Hall, 4th and Calhoun streets, Fort Worth, 817-212-4280, basshall.com

Hello, Dolly! New York went crazy for the 2017 revival of this Broadway classic, with Bette Midler in the title role. This month, that colorful new production hits Bass Hall with three-time Tony nominee Carolee Carmello as Dolly Levi. Jan. 14-19

Casa Mañana

3101 W. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth, 817-332-2272, casamanana.org

Frank-N-Friend In a world premiere from Casa Mañana Children’s Theatre, a boy named Oliver faces common problems for a new kid in school: how to make friends and how to deal with a bully. His solution is to use his computer smarts to build one: Frank-N-Friend. Jan. 31-Feb. 16

Circle Theatre

230 W. 4th St., Fort Worth, 817-877-3040, circletheatre.com

One Man Two Guvnors In 1960s England, Francis Henshall is employed by two bosses who are mortal enemies. Naturally, he tries to hide each from the other. For extra farcical oomph, one of the bosses is actually dead and being impersonated by his sister. (Note: It’s silly fun, but the language and some subject matter are for adults.) Jan. 30-March 7

Jubilee Theatre

506 Main St., Fort Worth, 817-338-4411, jubileetheatre.org

To Be Young, Gifted and Black The pioneering Lorraine Hansberry followed up Raisin in the Sun, the first Broadway play written by an African American woman, with this autobiographical work that’s a window on black life in the mid-20th century (and that inspired the Nina Simone anthem of the same title). Jan. 24-Feb. 23

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

Fleabag Before Phoebe Waller-Bridge became a hero to millions through her BBC television series Fleabag, she performed the character in this funny one-woman show. Revisit her world in this broadcast from London’s National Theatre. 2 and 7 p.m. Jan.
29 and 1 p.m. Feb. 1

Stage West

821/823 W. Vickery Blvd., Fort Worth, 817-784-9378, stagewest.org

Ada and the Engine It’s a fun fact of history that Lord Byron’s much less famous daughter, Ada, was a brilliant mathematician and visionary whose work anticipated the computer age. Lauren Gunderson’s brainy play explores Ada’s relationships with Lord Lovelace and the less eligible but more compatible Charles Babbage, a scholar and creator of the “analytical engine” — a (very) early computer. Jan. 9-Feb. 9