Comedy news

Comedian John Mulaney adds suprise San Antonio stop to 2025 tour

Comedian John Mulaney will tour in fall 2025.

Photo courtesy of John Mulaney

After previously announcing Texas dates in Austin, Grand Prairie, and Sugar Land, John Mulaney has added San Antonio as a surprise stop to his new stand-up comedy tour, John Mulaney: Mister Whatever. The comedian will swing into the Majestic Theatre on November 7.

The announcement of the tour comes in the midst of Mulaney's run on his current Netflix talk show, Everybody's Live with John Mulaney, airing live weekly on Wednesdays through May 28.

The multi-city North American tour starts on June 27 in Newark, New Jersey and runs through at least December 18. In addition to the San Antonio date, Mulaney will perform in Grand Prairie on November 7, Sugar Land (outside of Houston) on November 8, and Austin on November 9.

This will be Mulaney's first live dates in Texas since his 2022 tour.

Mulaney has grown to become one of the most popular comedians in the United States. After working as a writer for Saturday Night Live from 2008-2013, he starred in his own short-lived sitcom and starred alongside Nick Kroll in Oh, Hello on Broadway.

He also released two Emmy Award-winning comedy specials on Netflix, went back to SNL to host six times, and hosted two different Netflix talk shows.

Tickets for the tour will be available via presales starting on Wednesday, June 11 at 10 am local time. The general on-sale starts on Friday, June 13 at 10 local time at johnmulaney.com.

John Mulaney: Mister Whatever Tour Dates

Fri, June 27, 2025 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center with Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson
Sat, June 28th 2025 – Verona, NY – Turning Stone Resort Casino
Sun, June 29th 2025 – Lenox, MA – Tanglewood Theater
Fri, July 18th 2025 – Hinckley, MN – Grand Casino Hinckley Amphitheater
Sat, July 19th 2025 – Winnipeg, MB – Assiniboine Park – Great Outdoors Festival with Martin Short
Sun, July 20th 2025 – Edmonton, AB – Kinsmen Park – Great Outdoors Festival with Martin Short
Thurs, Aug 7th 2025 – New Haven, CT – Westville Music Bowl with special guests Fred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia, and Nick Kroll
Fri, Aug 8th 2025 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts with special guests Fred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia, and Nick Kroll
Sat, Aug 9th 2025 – Portland, ME – Cross Insurance Arena with special guests Fred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia, and Nick Kroll
Sun, Aug 10th 2025 – Halifax, NS – Halifax Citadel Garrison Grounds – Great Outdoors Festival with special guests Fred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia, and Nick Kroll
Fri, Sep 5th 2025 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
Sat, Sep 6th 2025 – Canandaigua, NY – CMAC
Sat, Sep 13th 2025 – Vancouver, BC – Brockton Oval – Great Outdoors Festival with special guests Fred Armisen, Mike Birbiglia, and Nick Kroll
Thurs, Sep 18th 2025 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
Thurs, Sep 25th 2025 – Boston, MA – Boch Center Wang Theater
Sat, Oct 4th 2025 – Durham, NC – DPAC
Sun, Oct 5th 2025 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Performing Arts Center
Fri, Oct 10th 2025 – Saratoga, CA – The Mountain Winery
Sat, Oct 11th 2025 – Las Vegas, NV – Dolby Live Park Theater
Sun, Oct 12th 2025 – San Diego, CA – Rady Shell
Thurs, Oct 16th 2025 – Detroit, MI- Fox Theatre
Thurs, Oct 23rd 2025 – Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events Center
Fri, Oct 24th 2025 – Cleveland, OH – Playhouse Square – Palace Theatre
Fri, Nov 7th 2025 - Grand Prairie, TX - Texas Trust CU Theatre
Sat, Nov 8th 2025 – Houston, TX – Smart Financial Centre
Tue, Nov 11 2025 – San Antonio, TX – Majestic Theatre
Thurs, Nov 13th 2025 - Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall
Sat, Nov 22nd 2025 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
Sat, Dec 6th 2025 – Tampa, FL – Straz Center
Sun, Dec 7th 2025 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
Thurs, Dec 11th 2025 – Orlando, FL – Walt Disney Theater
Fri, Dec 12th 2025 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
Thurs, Dec 18th 2025 – Washington, DC – The Anthem

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Movie Review

New 'How to Train Your Dragon' remake soars with high-flying fun

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Toothless and Mason Thames in How to Train Your Dragon.

Let’s get it out of the way right at the top: The new live-action How to Train Your Dragon, coming a mere 15 years after the original animated film, serves no real purpose other than to make more money for Universal Pictures and Dreamworks Pictures. However, unlike Disney’s approach toward remaking their animated movies, this attempt manages to succeed on its own merits instead of being a half-baked vessel for nostalgia.

As fans will remember, Hiccup (Mason Thames) lives in Berk, a town on a remote island populated by Vikings who constantly have to defend themselves against rampaging dragons. Hiccup’s dad, Stoick (Gerard Butler), is the community’s vaunted leader, with a legacy that seems impossible for Hiccup to measure up to, especially since he’s stuck in the armory alongside Gobber (Nick Frost).

But Hiccup has a knack for inventions, and his use of one new weapon during a dragon attack takes down a feared Night Fury. Finding the wounded dragon deep in the forest, Hiccup decides against killing it, leading to an unexpected bond between the two of them. Most of the film shows Hiccup trying to prove himself to his townspeople, including the fierce Astrid (Nico Parker), while also nursing the dragon he dubs Toothless back to health with the help of another one of his ingenious creations.

Written and directed by Dean DeBlois (who’s had the same roles on all four HTTYD films), the film is most notable for how engaging it is despite it retelling a story many already know and love. The biggest reason for this is a pivot away from telling a story mainly for kids toward one that feels like an extremely light version of Game of Thrones. Almost right away, there are real stakes for the people in the film, and the way DeBlois and his team stage the scenes, the danger can be felt by the audience.

This sense of “realness” comes through especially well in the scenes between Hiccup and Toothless. The design of Toothless is faithful to the original, but the CGI makes the dragon feel amazingly believable. And when they start flying, the film literally and metaphorically takes off. At multiple points, the camera seems to have trouble keeping them in frame, a smart move toward verisimilitude when the filmmakers clearly could have made it an overly smooth watching experience.

Even though it’s more serious than the original, the film still has plenty of fun to offer. Characters like Gobber (who replaces his two missing limbs with odd contraptions) and the ragtag group of teenagers who come to be in awe of Hiccup’s skills at taming dragons provide more than a few laughs. Hiccup isn’t quite as goofy as he was when voiced by Jay Baruchel, which turns out to be a good thing as his sense of purpose amps up the drama of the story.

Thames’ performance gets better and better as the film goes along, as Hiccup goes from town whipping boy toward hero. He really shines in the last act when he’s given a few scenes that show off his acting range. Parker is equally good, demonstrating the girl power needed for the role, but also the softness of a potential love interest. Butler, the only actor reprising their voice role, is a great presence who sells the outsized personality of Stoick.

Against the odds, this new version of How to Train Your Dragon is equal to the success of the first film, accomplishing the goal of making it feel like you’re watching the story for the first time. If live-action remakes are going to continue to come out, future filmmakers should study this film for how to respect both the history of the franchise and the audience paying good money to be entertained.

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How to Train Your Dragon opens in theaters on June 13.

movies film universal pictures mason thames gerard butler nick frost animation movie review