If you have even glanced at one of the many admission brochures and pamplets provided to you by SMU, you’ve probably come across the fact that Dallas is home to the country’s largest urban arts district.
It is true. And with such a large variety of options, narrowing down your to do list can be tough. Here are a couple options that can make your acclimation to Dallas’ art scene not only easy, but fun.
Music
Don’t let Austinites fool you, Dallas live music scene is full of offerings from the mainsteam and indie scene alike.
Victory Park’s American Airline Center attracts the world’s biggest names to Dallas with concerts ranging from Beyonce to Andre Bocelli. Neighboring House of Blues is where you’ll find up-and-comers like Fitz and the Trantrums, and Emeli Sande.
Hipster-types can find their slow-strumming serenaders at smaller venues like the Granada Theater on Greenville Avenue and Trees in Deep Ellum.
Perhaps Dallas’ live music scene’s best kept secret is on our very own campus: McFarlin Auditorium. It houses SMU’s high-brow Tate Lecture Series, also brings intimate concerts from names like Nora Jones and Morrissey.
Art
Besides SMU’s own Meadows Museum, which houses some of the best Spanish art outisde of Spain, a bulk of Dallas’ best art museums can be found downtown in the aforementioned Arts District. The Dallas Museum of Art is where you’ll find big exhibitions like Cindy Sherman and Marc Chagall while its neighbor, the Nasher Sculpture Center, is the area’s go-to for modern and contemporary sculptures.
The Crow Collection of Asian Art is a well-curated glimpse of fine Asian art that is often overlooked despite its Downtown local.
Theater
Theater is alive and booming in Dallas with a bevvy of original and adapted works popping up every weekend. Of course, the Dallas Theater Center is where the major action is taking place. In fact, this summer, the DTC is home to the world premiere of “Fly,” a new twist on the story of Peter Pan. The Winspear Opera House is home to the Lexus Broadway Series that will bringing the national tours of “Porgy & Bess” and “Beauty and the Beast” to Dallas with its upcoming season.
Smaller theaters like Uptown’s Theater Three, and Addison’s WaterTower Theatre are consistently delivering solid work while Irving’s Lyric Stage is known to impress with its full-orchestra and equity cast.
Tucked beneath the stairs and in the basement of Theater Three is the quirky troupe of Theatre Too, which is home to the now-legendary adaptation of “Avenue Q.” The show may have run its course last year, but its a box-office darling and the Dallas audience loves it.
Speaking of basements, make sure to pay attention to the student-made flyers peppering the Meadows School of the Arts. Often times, theater students will produce their own original works in Meadow’s dark basement theaters. The attendance is often lacking and the production quality is less than, but the talent is undeniable.
