[Editor’s Note: This column covers the next two-plus weeks of events, to accommodate for a holiday break. Other blogs, including our Top 10 Concerts and Top 10 Films of 2015, will continue through the end of the year.]
THURSDAY, DEC. 24
What: MatzoBall
Where: Il Bacio, 29 S.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; and Honey, 16 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach
When: 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Cost: $30
Contact: 212/389-9922, matzoball.org
If you’re of the Jewish faith and Dec. 24 and 25 roll around, it’s easy to feel neglected, not to mention bored: Nothing is open but movie theaters and gas stations, and, in many cases—like this year for instance—your own holiday has long passed. But for 29 years, around the time bleary-eyed parents are huddling under trees to assist Santa Claus, Jewish locals have been congregating, partying and networking at the MatzoBall, an event launched by Boca resident Andrew Rudnick that has been billed as the nation’s largest Jewish singles event; there are now 16 MatzoBalls nationwide. This year, singles age 21-35 are welcome to attend the bash at Il Baccio, with the hope that it will generate friendships, business opportunities and romance. To accommodate demand, singles ages 25-55 can mingle at Honey. To increase your chances, purchase a $50 combo pack to allow entrance into both nightclubs.
FRIDAY, DEC. 25
What: Opening day of “Joy”
Where: Most movie theaters across South Florida
When: Show times and prices vary
A movie that truly lives up to its title, David O. Russell’s “Joy” is the most emotionally satisfying film opening among the Christmas Day embarrassment of riches that includes “Carol,” “The Hateful Eight” and “Youth.” Jennifer Lawrence excels as Joy Mangano, a real-life divorced mother of two who shares a complicated abode with her vain ex-husband (Edgar Ramirez) and her soap opera-addicted mother (Virginia Madsen). The setting is the 1980s, and Joy’s future is bleak, save for the invention she engineers from her bedroom: the Miracle Mop. “Joy” follows the title character’s ascent toward QVC celebrity, a nearly insurmountable journey marked by crushing setbacks, offbeat comedy and unexpectedly touching triumphs, handled with virtuosic control by a writer-director unafraid to merge archness and naturalism, comedy and sentiment. In a holiday season when “It’s a Wonderful Life” once again fills the TV screens of thousands, “Joy” feels like a direct descendent of Frank Capra’s rags-to-riches populism.
SATURDAY, DEC. 26
What: Brad Ross: “Unbelievable”
Where: Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $40
Contact: 561/243-7922, oldschoolsquare.org
If he’s good enough to impress Mickey Mouse, he ought to impress us humble South Florida folks. For the past six years, Brad Ross has been the timeless mouse’s magician of choice, touring with Mickey and his cast of characters on the Disney Live! world tours. Along the way, Ross has performed in 25 countries on five continents, earned praise from Rosie O’Donnell and received a Merlin Award for his eclectic and interactive performances. Not bad for a kid from Scotch Plains, N.J., who took up magic at age 6 on a whim, at a class at his Jewish Community Center. Now he’s a member of four magicians’ societies and the founder of Get Well Magic, a nonprofit that uses magic as a form of rehabilitation for hospitalized children. “Unbelievable,” a collection of new tricks and illusions Ross has been touring since 2014, offers a broad survey of his talents, from large-scale illusions involving disappearances, fire, levitation and swordplay to close-up tricks with pint-sized audience volunteers.
What: Kevin Hart
Where: Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $70-$150
Contact: 800/937-0010, seminolehardrockhollywood.com
Comedian Kevin Hart is proof that perseverance pays off. Weaker-willed standups wouldn’t have lasted beyond Hart’s inauspicious entry into the field, back in the ‘90s. Performing under the stage name Lil Kev in his native Philadelphia, he was booed off the stage on multiple occasions; once, an audience member threw a chicken bone at him. He—and his millions of fans—have enjoyed the last laugh, as he’s risen to become the first comedian to sell out a major football arena. His material borrows liberally from his troubled childhood as well as his personal dramas as an adult, in a style that finds a welcome common ground between Chris Rock’s ratatat, cuss-filled delivery and Bill Cosby’s self-effacing universality. The comic, whose Hollywood cachet continues to increase (he starred in the $100 million smash “Ride Along”), will bring his “What Now?” tour to Hollywood, in a performance sponsored by Rally Health; expect Hart to preach a gentle gospel of healthy eating and an active lifestyle among his rapid-fire jokes.
FRIDAY, JAN. 1-SATURDAY, JAN. 2
What: The Lennon Sisters
Where: The Wick Theatre, 7901 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton
When: 3 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $85
Contact: 561/995-2333, thewick.org
The three siblings currently touring as the Lennon sisters—Mimi, Janet and Kathy Lennon—represent just a fraction of their busy and talented family of 11 children, born to a milkman and a homemaker who wed in 1939. If they were born in this century, their lives would probably be a reality show; growing up in the ‘40s, they enjoyed the freedom to pursue faith and music, two elements that ran—and skipped, and galloped—in the family. In their more than 50 years of singing, some of which have included retired Lennons Peggy and DeeDee, the Lennon Sisters have released just one album, but they’ve continued to ply their lush vocal harmonies at live appearances, especially around Christmastime. These veterans of “The Lawrence Welk Show” and Vocal Group Hall of Fame members will perform many of their storied hits (such as “Sad Movies” and “Twilight Time”) at this rare Boca concert. Tickets are also available to see the Lennon Sisters New Year’s Eve at the Wick, which includes a gala dinner, for $225.
SATURDAY, JAN. 2
What: Audra McDonald
Where: Broward Center, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
When: 8 p.m.
Cost: $51.50-$126.50
Contact: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org
Audra McDonald made history in 2014, when she won her sixth Tony Award—more than any other actress—for her uncanny, shattering embodiment of Billie Holiday in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.” Off-script and in concert, this versatile star of stage and screen is likewise the total package: Witty, charming and lovely to look at, McDonald brings effortless panache to her frequent cabaret-style performances, with a repertoire as eclectic as it is unconventional. Her Jan. 2 appearance in Fort Lauderdale is particularly special, because she’ll be joined by her husband Will Swenson, a formidable Broadway talent in his own right whose credits include “Les Miserables” and “Hair.” This convivial, conversational concert will be hosted by SiriusXM host and pianist Seth Rudetsky.
SUNDAY, JAN. 3
What: Delray String Quartet’s Program III
Where: Colony Hotel, 525 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach
When: 4 p.m.
Cost: $35
Contact: 561/213-4138, delraystringquartet.com
In a landmark performance from this virtuoso foursome, the Delray String Quartet will present the live Palm Beach County premiere of American composer Richard Danielpour’s Quartet No. 7, a work commissioned specifically for the DSQ. This contemporary piece joins a program of classics: romantic composer Anton Arensky’s “Quartet No. 2” and contrapuntal selections from Bach’s “Art of the Fugue.”
