The Arts District in downtown Dallas is the argument that Dallas is more than football and brisket. Two exceptional venues side by side, a Fort Worth hall worth the drive, and a comedy scene that lives where you'd expect - Deep Ellum.
Two Buildings, One Block
Winspear Opera House seats 2,200 and was designed with obsessive acoustic precision - the chandelier above the audience is actually part of the sound system, and the room is warm and immediate in a way that makes you forget it's that large. Go for opera, obviously, but the touring Broadway productions here are as good as they get outside New York.
Right next door, the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre is the architectural oddity of the campus: the seating can be reconfigured six different ways, so the relationship between audience and stage shifts completely depending on the production. It sounds gimmicky. It's actually revelatory.
Worth the Drive
Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth is one of the best concert halls in the country, and you should make the 30-minute drive. The acoustic design came from the same firm that worked on Carnegie Hall, and you can hear the difference the moment a full orchestra hits the room. The 40-foot bronze angels flanking the exterior entrance are the most dramatic building entry in North Texas. Pre-show dinner at Reata on Sundance Square - get the tenderloin, sit on the upper floor - and you've got a proper Fort Worth evening.
Deep Ellum After Dark
Dallas Comedy Club has a consistent lineup of touring headliners and a room that doesn't require you to squint at the stage from the back. The bar-show comedy circuit along Deep Ellum is looser and more fun on the right night - small rooms, drinks within reach, and sets that can go anywhere. For the big touring comedians, Majestic Theatre on Elm Street is the room - beautiful old venue, great balcony sightlines, and it fills up fast for the right headliner. Grab tickets through Evil Tickets when a name you recognize is playing the Majestic.
