Cory Graves
Have A Merry Tuba Christmas.
Unless your boss is the world's biggest Scrooge, there's a good chance you've got a day off coming to you sometime this week.
Make the most of it by enjoying some of the city's annual traditions or just doing some guilt-free wassailing tonight. Or, better yet, go out and make some new traditions of your own.
We have it on pretty good authority that just because it's Christmas Eve doesn't mean there isn't anything cool going on.
Merry Tuba Christmas at Thanksgiving Square
The tuba section is definitely the Rodney Dangerfield of the marching band, but when dozens of the suckers get low, low, low, low, low this afternoon at Thanksgiving Square for this annual holiday tradition, they'll certainly command quite a level of respect. Even if it's just for the afternoon. — Cory Graves
Die Hard at Alamo Drafthouse
In a lengthy but poignant essay for Movie Fone, film critic Drew Taylor argues that Die Hard is, hands down, the greatest Christmas flick ever made. He reasons that, like Home Alone, another contender for the title, Die Hard is full of scenes of bad guys getting their asses kicked. In this case, though, there's 100 percent more F-bombs, boobs and cocaine. This year, we might point out, is also the 25th anniversary of the film's original theatrical release. Merry effing Christmas, indeed. — CG
It's a Wonderful Life at Angelika Film Center
Does the impending arrival of Christmas make you suicidal? Don't worry, you're not alone. Folks have been struggling with the true meaning of Christmas since the Depression era, when retailers like Montgomery Ward were busy inventing marketing gimmicks like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. We could all stand to take a step back and reevaluate our lives from time to time, though, just as George Bailey is forced to do in this classic Christmas flick. Catch it on the big screen tonight — especially if a lack of funds this time of year has you questioning whether you are, in fact, the richest person on earth. — CG
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer The Musical at Majestic Theatre
Thanks to some flashy costumes and inventive, over-the-top puppets, this onstage recreation of the 1964 claymation Christmas special is a surprisingly faithful one. And while this staging is probably geared mostly towards the younger crowd, we'd argue that some of the story's more subtle elements are, perhaps, lost on that set. For instance: Is Hermey the Elf's desires to shed his upbringing as a toymaker in favor of practicing dentistry really an allegory to the character's ambiguous sexuality? Just something to think about. — CG
Pharr's Christmas Extravaganza!
One Farmers Branch accountant is so enamored with Christmas that he uses 14 miles of cords to turn his house into what he calls “North Texas' largest Christmas light display.” The block-long display has gotten so out of hand in recent years that he's installed wireless control systems in his neighbors' yards, too. Yes: Every house on his street has lights synced to the songs he broadcasts via his low-powered FM transmitter. Check out the Pharr's extravaganza for yourself at 14535 Southern Pines Cove.
To find out what else is going on today, this week and beyond, check out our events page.
