Friday 12.08 — Sunday 12.10

TrumpLear15
David Carl explores a true American tragedy in ‘Trump Lear’
Earlier this year, solo performer David Carl (a North Texas native) dazzled audiences with his One-Man Celebrity Hamlet, as he impersonated Gary Busey as the Melancholy Dane (complete with puppets). Well, he’s back with an even more relevant show: Trump Lear, another Shakespeare adaptation where he plays… you guessed it. We don’t need to tell you, you’ll laugh and cry at this all-too-poignant tragedy of political hubris.
DEETS: Trinity River Arts Center,
2600 N. Stemmons Freeway. $15–$20. 214-953-1055.
KitchenDogTheater.org.  

Friday 12.15

Nutty-Nutcracker-print
Lighten up! ‘The Nutty Nutcracker’ makes fun of the holiday staple
You of course get many chances to see the traditional version of The Nutcracker, but once every year, Texas Ballet Theater pulls out all the stops to go more comic than heartwarming with The Nutty Nutcracker. Imagine how different Christmas morning would be with Edward Scissorhands rather than the Rat King! This zany parody dances into Bass Hall for one night only.
DEETS: Bass Performance Hall,
535 Commerce St., Fort Worth. 8 p.m.
BassHall.com
TexasBalletTheater.org.  

Wednesday12.13 — Saturday 12.23

3q
Cirque du Soleil retires its ‘Varekai’ in North Texas
If you’ve ever been to a Cirque du Soleil show — and if you haven’t, what’s wrong with you? — you know that the troupe creates many different productions, each with its own slate of acts and styles. One of the longest-running is Varekai, which has been around for 15 years. But Varekai is coming to its end, and so the last chance you’ll have to see it is for one of 13 performances — seven in Fort Worth, and six in Frisco. Come out and be amazed for one last time.
DEETS: Fort Worth Convention Center,
1201 Houston St., Fort Worth. Dec. 13–17.
Dr Pepper Arena, 2601 Avenue of the Stars,
Frisco. Dec. 20–23.
CirqueDuSoleil.com/varekai.