WED ▪ 16
There’s plenty of French opera going on at the Fort Worth Opera festival (see sidebar), but if you need an appetizer, the UNT Concert Orchestra is performing excerpts from Berlioz’ The Damnation of Faust, which was largely ignored at its premiere in 1846 because of its unorthodox structure but has since won admirers. Bass-baritone Stephen Morscheck will sing the part of Mephistopheles. The concert starts at 8pm at Winspear Hall, 801 N Texas Blvd, Denton. Tickets are $8-10. Call 940-369-7802.
THU ▪ 17
We’ve done the math, and for the amount of time you’d spend at our fourth annual Visionary Awards, which goes from 6 to 9pm, there’s no better deal in town. Not only do you get all the noshes you can eat from Reata and all the beer, wine, and liquor you can handle, you’ll get a show by the soft-rocking Son of Stan, a.k.a. Angeleno-via-Fort Worth Jordan Richardson. All for the price of only $20 per person or $30 per couple, payable at the door or via Spunetickets.com. Our celebration of our 2014 winners –– director Adam Adolfo, artist Bradly Brown, and the art collective HOMECOMING! Committee –– is at Artspace 111, 111 Hampton St, FW. Call 817-321-9700.
FRI ▪ 18
If you’re out in northeast Tarrant County and eager for a food event, head to Taste of Keller this weekend. In addition to the usual array of samples from local restaurants, you can check out a barbecue cook-off, a beauty pageant, live music, and boat races. Plus, you can take part in a 1K fun run to work up an appetite. The festival is Fri-Sat at Keller Town Hall, 1100 Bear Creek Pkwy, Keller. Admission is free.
SAT ▪ 19
The insanely ambitious director Alejandro Jodorowsky tried to film Frank Herbert’s novel Dune in the 1970s and got the likes of Salvador Dalí, H.R. Giger, and Orson Welles to sign on to the project before it fell through. (He also signed up Pink Floyd despite yelling at the band members for eating Big Macs while he was pitching them the film.) The now-85-year-old Chilean filmmaker tells us all about that movie that could have been, in the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, which plays Fri-Sun at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St, FW. Tickets are $7-9. Call 817-738-9215.
SUN ▪ 20
Because of the significance of the number 420 among marijuana smokers, April 20 is the perfect day to hold the Herb’s the Word Comedy Showcase at The Grotto. Six standup comics (including the awesomely named Tokin WhiteGuy) will be on hand to deliver their brand of potty humor starting at 9pm at 517 University Dr, FW. Admission is free. Call 817-882-9331.
MON ▪ 21
Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers is atypical of his work, forgoing most of the easy laughs and sentimentality in favor of a serious autobiographical story of a 15-year-old boy sent to live in upstate New York with an emotionally abusive grandmother and a childlike aunt who could use his protection. Artisan Center Theater’s production of this Pulitzer Prize-winning play runs Apr 18-May 10 at Belaire Theater, 420 E Pipeline Rd, Hurst. Tickets are $9-20. Call 817-284-1200.
TUE ▪ 22
Giant insects are the stuff of our nightmares, so we’re grotesquely fascinated by the Fort Worth Zoo’s new exhibit Gigantabugs!, a display of giant animatronic versions of insects whose real-life inspirations can be seen at the zoo. The Madagascan sunset moth is rather beautiful, but the stag beetle and the Mexican red-knee tarantula look terrifying at this scale. The exhibit is on display thru Jul 6 at 1989 Colonial Pkwy, FW. Admission is free with entry to the park. Call 817-759-7360.
