The Phat Lady Sings

Those of you who've seen Beyoncé Knowles' fine, fine, fine acting work in Dreamgirls and Austin Powers in Goldmember might have missed out on her first feature-length offering--Carmen: A Hip Hopera--which hit the little screen in 2001 on MTV. Co-starring ER's Mekhi Phifer as a cop, Mos Def as a crooked cop and Wyclef Jean as a fortuneteller, the film tells the story of Carmen, a seductress played by Knowles. Directed by Robert Townsend (the genius behind such anti-classics as The Meteor Man and B.A.P.S.) and based on the modern Georges Bizet opera Carmen, it is perhaps the finest combination to date of melodramatic opera plot, urban hip-hop soundtrack and 21 Jump Street production values. (Actually, we take that back. Trapped in a Closet totally owns on this.) Oh yeah, Li'l Bow Wow's in it too. Sure, he dropped the adjective at some point after this project, but in our hearts he'll stay forever li'l. See it on the big screen for the first time 7:30 p.m. Wednesday as the Dallas Opera sponsors a free screening in Victory Park. Visit dallasopera.org.
Wed., July 16, 7:30 p.m., 2008