Wed 21 – If you’re keen to hear photographers talk about their work, the Arlington Camera Lecture Series holds its very first lecture this evening at UTA. Alec Soth discusses Gathered Leaves, his mid-career retrospective containing portraits, landscapes, and interiors taken from the less-traveled parts of America. The talk starts at 7pm at UTA Fine Arts Bldg, 502 S Cooper St, Arlington. Admission is free. Call 817-272-2891.
Thur 22 – The playwright Jon Robin Baitz took a break from the stage to create the TV show Brothers & Sisters, and the experience seems to have energized him, judging by Other Desert Cities, the play that debuted shortly after the show went off the air. This drama about a Coachella Valley family torn by partisan politics and personal tragedy was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize. Circle Theatre’s production runs Oct 22-Nov 21 at 230 W 4th St, FW. Tickets are $10-30. call 817-877-3040.
Fri 23 – Prokofiev wrote his First Piano Concerto at age 20 and won a piano competition at the St. Petersburg Conservatory by performing it. He wrote his Fourth Piano Concerto for Paul Wittgenstein, the pianist who lost his right arm in World War I — the work is for the left hand alone. You can hear both works when Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra welcomes Van Cliburn winner Vadym Kholodenko as a soloist. The concerts run Fri-Sun at Bass Performance Hall, 555 Commerce St, FW. Tickets are $20-82. Call 817-665-6000.
Sat 24 – What’s scarier, the animals who live at the Fort Worth Zoo year-round or the activities they’ve got planned for Boo at the Zoo? The annual event runs this weekend and welcomes costumed guests for Halloween with live music, strolling entertainers, a ghost hunt, and a pumpkin patch. The event runs today thru Sun at Fort Worth Zoo, 1989 Colonial Pkwy, FW. Admission is free with the price of zoo admission. Call 817-759-7630.
Sun 25 – There’s no shortage of pumpkin carving contests to be found at this time of year, but Flying Saucer’s event is worth singling out because it’s for a good cause (the Tarrant Area Food Bank) and because the prizes for the best entries include gift cards for the bar’s enormous selection of craft beers. The contest is open to everyone, and the registration fee includes a beer. The event starts at 6pm at 111 E 3rd St, FW. Registration is $10. Call 817-336-7470.
Mon 26 – Purveyors of breezy, listenable rock and roll with hints of surf rock, the Omaha band Twinsmith comes to Denton to promote their latest album, Alligator Years. They’ll be accompanied by Fun Button and William Austin Clay, who used to go by Blessin’. The doors open at 9pm at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, 411 E Sycamore St, Denton. Admission is $3-5. Call 940-387-7781.
Tues 27 – The musical that won Cyndi Lauper a Tony Award comes to Fort Worth. Based on a 2005 movie starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kinky Boots is about a drag queen and a British shoe factory owner who work together to save the latter’s factory by making high-heeled boots. The show runs today thru Nov 1 at Bass Performance Hall, 555 Commerce St, FW. Tickets are $44-132. Call 817-212-4280.
